( open ) ❀ hanakotoba

[festal]

Who: Sakura and y o u
When: Morning through evening, August 13
Where: Mostly the Near Shore but also the Far Shore
What: Sakura loses an important item and listens to the flowers. It's a no good day.

1. ( 7/12 ) Sakura ❀ kind, gentle, transience of life

( She'd woken up early in the morning and starter about her day. She'd put away her futon and gone to wash her face. She'd gotten dressed and brushed her hair so she could go out for the day and before she could get another step farther— making breakfast, tending the garden, checking any prayers— she'd come to a startling realization. It's a late start to her morning as she searches her room and the entirety of her temple, careful to not wake up Tsuzuki all while wondering if maybe he could help? Is it possible… that she'd misplaced it somewhere? Would he have seen it? No, he would have returned it to her, wouldn't he? Left it on the table for her to find easily?

When her first search fails, she sets out, forgetting her original plans. Those could wait. The longer it took her to find that the more lost it would become. It would become dirty, damaged, someone would take it and she'd never see it again.

Sakura can be found through the morning and afternoon searching,

1. A park in the Near Shore, again, checking some of the gardens but also near a vendor selling delicious crepes.
2. Outside a small European bakery on a quiet street. She stands on her toes to look over the shelves of breads and sweets in the window to see if she can see anything inside the dark store. It looks like it's closed this day of the week.
3. A local shrine on the Near Shore. She's looking at the purification spring and a wall lined with ofuda, apologizing as she tries to not get in anyone's way.

Regardless of where you find her, her eyes are on the ground and she looks horribly distressed. Anyone familiar with Sakura will notice she's missing her signature cherry blossom hair pin. In every new place she searches, she bites her lip and shakes her head, )

No… it isn't here either… ( She tries the other side of where ever she's looking, ) How could I be so careless…?

2. ( 7/12 ) Higanbana ❀ to never meet again, lost memories, abandonment

( While searching for her hair pin, she searches in a garden near her temple on the Far Shore. There are all sorts of summer flowers— sunflowers, daisies, marigolds, and even a few of those red spider lilies. As she searches, she hears a familiar voice calling out to her and she stops and continues only to hear the voice again.

The whispering continues, sweet and gentle. It isn't terrible to hear but it's heartbreaking all the same and as she listens, she raises her hands to her face and begins to wipe away tears, crying quietly to herself. )

Comments

Higanbana

[tacomeme]

[Seeing Sakura with the flowers isn't strange, but once he gets close enough it's clear she's crying...

Takumi rushes over, all concern and a little bit of aggression- just in case there is a someONE that caused her to be so upset]

Sakura-?

1.3

[lostinshadows]

Sakura?

[He was just managing to get back on his feet again, looking somewhat better than the last time she's seen him. With all the healing that's been done, he's been able to get up and move around, even if his movements still seem a bit stalled or jerky at some points.

As it is, being at a local shrine is easy for him to be able to transport back to the Far Shore, simply wanting to get away from everyone a bit when he notices her.]

What's wrong?

1, option 2

[priforprince]

If it's croissants you're after, I can provide.

[ Hibiki has just landed on this street herself after a trip elsewhere on the Near Shore. One simply cannot get acceptable baked goods when limited to the most common haunts for this pantheon. And what good is being a god who can travel anywhere if one does not avail oneself of everything the world has to offer....?

Long story short, this pastry you're being offered is still warm from the (sadly non Pri-)Parisian bakery that created it. Hibiki was there for opening. Time difference. ] Fresh out of the oven.

[festal]

( She jumps when she hears someone approaching, hurrying to wipe away her tear and get herself to stop.
How embarrassing, she thinks. Crying outside in public like this isn't suitable at all and-- ah, it's only Takumi and she relaxes just a bit, looking up at him in surprise. )

T-Takumi. ( It's a quiet greeting as she still tries to stop the tears. She can hear Mikoto still, though, "Takumi.... See? You aren't alone." Sakura nods her head once both acknowledging Takumi and the voice whispering to her.

This is Takumi so she doesn't dance around the problem. She doesn't need to hide what's bothering her around him and so she cries sadly, ) I-I hear m-mother.

[festal]

S-sorry...

( She's apologizing as a mother ties her child's ofuda on the wall for him to see. She bows out of the way and lingers awkwardly as she tries to avoid getting on more people's way but keeps searching the ground with her eyes. When she hears Lavi, she jumps. There have been so many people here today and none of them have spoken to her so she wasn't really prepared to be approached, )

L-Lavi?! ( She sounds surprised and also concerned. It's probably the last person she'd expected to see around and she gives him a look over as if wondering if he should be out at all, ) What a-are you doing here?! Is it okay for you t-to be out right now? Are you b-better?

( This is about her friend right now. )

[festal]

( She jumps, surprised to see someone else here. The shop is closed so there's really no need for anyone else to be here. Ah, but it's just Hibiki with fresh bread? It's being offered to her and she reaches to take it but stops short, )

A-are you sure, Hibiki?

[lostinshadows]

[The questions has him blinking, patiently waiting for her to calm down first before he can finally manage to get a word in otherwise.

He manages a smile.]

Yeah, better than a couple of days ago, at least. I thought I'd get some fresh air.

[Then he looks worried.]

What about you? You look like you were searching for something.

[festal]

. . .

(It isn't the best answer. Better than a few days ago isn't actually fine but its better. She gives him a relieved smile and nods,)

I... (her smile drops some and she bows her head a bit, reaching to play with her hair nervously,) I lost my hair pin.

(She touches the place where it would have been. There's nothing there. Just her hairband sans a cherry blossom.)

[lostinshadows]

Ah.

[His eye flickers to where he normally sees it in her hair.]

Do you recall where you've dropped it last?

[festal]

(She shakes her head no,)

I remember... having it the day before yesterday and I-I think I had it yesterday... I-I was here yesterday helping for the holiday b-because one of their shrine maidens is gone. (Basically answering a small prayer for an extra pair of hands to help at this busy time of year.) I couldn't wear it with the special robes s-so I c-can't remember if I left it at my temple or brought it here o-or if I had it at all. It wasn't back home though so...

(She frowns. Had she lost it for two days? She's certain she didn't really lose it for two days but she's been searching so long, she's begun to doubt everything.)

It wasn't anywhere else so i-it must be here s-somewhere...

1.1

[sweetdeath]

Sakura? -- There you are!

[He'd woken up with vague, half-asleep memories of her bustling around the temple, doing -- something? Anyway, he'd heard her moving around, and gone back to sleep, but when he'd woken she was gone.

Then he'd started to worry. It's lucky the park he's found her in isn't far from her shrine, because circling out form the shrine would've started taking him days awfully fast. This's just a few blocks away, though. The sweet scent of crepes almost overpowers the smell of the August flowers blooming across the park, but Tsuzuki's got more important things on his mind than sweets right now. He hurries over to his goddess.]

What's going on?

[festal]

(She looks up from a park bench near the crepe vendor, looking around at the sound of a familiar voice. She looks pretty flustered like she's been searching for awhile and it's hot and humid and she's trying to not show as much but she's already exhausted.)

Tsuzuki...! (Had he come looking for her?) I... (She looks around her one more time in case it were to suddenly appear,) I lost my hair pin...

[lostinshadows]

[For that long?

Lavi cups his chin in thought, giving the area a cursory glance.]

Alright, then let's do it this way. We can check the few areas here where you might've dropped it. If worst comes to worst, it might be possible that someone's picked it up.

[sweetdeath]

That flower one you wear all the time?

[She looks kind of tired. Has she been looking all day? Since before he got up? Tsuzuki winces, and settles on the opposite end of the park bench, shooting her an earnest glance.]

-- You should've woken me up so I could help you look! Have you been out here all day?

[festal]

It wasn't at the park or bakery either s-so this is the last place...

(Ah, but someone else may have picked it up? She's quiet, holding her hands tightly in front of her as she takes in the idea. Her anxiety is spiking and her eyes are beginning to water,)

D-do you mean... (Her voice shakes and what comes out is a strained whisper,) Someone could have taken it?

(It's somethign she'd thought about but it was the worst case scenario in her imagination. Someone that would only happen if everything else went wrong but... realistically, it was clear that could have happened too. If she can't find it... if she can't see it again... she sniffles. She isn't going to cry. Crying won't change anything and it certainly won't help now but the anxiety that comes with thinking her hair pin is gone is too much to keep bottled up completely.)

[festal]

(She nods. That's the exact one. Even if she's begun to wear more modern clothes-- sun dresses and modest skirts and the like-- she always kept the same hair pin. Even if she was wearing the ritual robes for the shrines she sometimes helped at, she would try to wear it as long as she was able to.)

I didn't want to wake you... (Of course. She never wants to trouble anyone but she was also so sure she'd be able to find it on her own. And she nods in response to his question. She's been searching all day.) I thought I-I would have found it by now but...

(Nothing.)

[lostinshadows]

[...

Please don't cry, Sakura.

He reaches out, gently smoothing some of her hair.]

It's a possibility, but we should still search before we really do reach to that conclusion.

[festal]

(Her head bobs a bit at the touch and she tries to calm herself.)

I-I'm so careless... (It's a quiet mumble, scolding herself for getting into this situation in the first place. It's silly-- it's just a hair pin but she feels so plain and vulnerable without it. It was a gift from a loved one to remind her of her good points and without it...

Eyes on the ground, she looks around them once more.) L-Let's try around the shrine area. I-it's the only place I haven't looked yet...

[sweetdeath]

Huh. Okay, so... [He glances over at the crepe stand, and breaks into a reassuring smile.]

... why don't we get some crepes and go over everyplace you went yesterday, before it turned up missing?

[And then they can check all of those places. Gods' belongings probably aren't as hard to notice as gods are, so it might be in someone's lost-and-found.]

[festal]

Ah...( She looks at the crepe stand. Honestly, she doesn't have much of an appetite but she can see what Tsuzuki is trying to do. Maybe it'll help? To take her mind off of things for a little bit, at least. And she hadn't really eaten breakfast this morning either so... ) Alright.

I-it might help to remember more...

( Maybe something will click. )

[lostinshadows]

Alright.

[Withdrawing his hand, he gives her a nod.]

Let's go.

[festal]

( She nods once and leads the way. It clearly isn't here by the ofuda wall so that only leaves a few more areas. In front of the shrine is a short path, a few wooden steps, and an offering box and altar for the shrine's deity. Next to them is another path that leads to a large pile of black rocks with steps leading up to a gate on top. From below, they can see statues and what looks like another altar (maybe).

She hurries up the steps and is about to start searching when she stops in front of the altar. She bows twice, claps her hands, does a quick prayer, and then bows one more time. It's pretty easy to guess what she prayed for as she begins to search around the box, standing on her tip toes to even look over it. )

[lostinshadows]

[For some reason, it feels a little odd to actually approach the shrine. He rubs the back of his head, feeling somewhat sheepish as he watches Sakura.

Would she be offended if he doesn't do the same?

But he does his best to keep up, even if there is a little lag. He raises an eyebrow when he sees her standing on her tip toes.]

...Sakura, do you think it'd be on top of that?

[sweetdeath]

Yeah, it'll at least give you a list of places to check.

[And even if gods don't need to eat, panicking and skipping breakfast to search all over the Near Shore can't be good for her. He gets back to his feet, offering her a hand up.]

That strawberry-and-creme one looks good, huh? [And the chocolate banana, too!]

[priforprince]

[ Hibiki wraps the croissant in a napkin and tries to lightly press it into Sakura's hand. With her hands. Both of them. ]

No kindling is too dear for the sake of lighting your face with a smile.

[ I think she's sure. ]