thenearshore | So much to do, and all the time to do it. [Open and Closed Prompts]

Who: Yukine and you! Open and closed prompts.
What: Being idle around the Near Shore, and working hard on the Far Shore.
When: August 18 and 19
Where: Various places on the Near Shore; around the school and Hakkai's temple on the Far Shore.
Warning: None

Stuff happened. And as a result of that stuff, Yukine had even more time on his hands than usual.
So he threw himself into his studies, as well as catching up on some other projects.

--August 18--
Garden
In the morning, Yukine can be found on the Near Shore. Along a particular riverbank is a large lone cherry tree. (Not that it's easy to tell that it's a sakura when it's not spring.) And not far from that tree is a garden. Full of tall sunflowers, hollyhock, and various other bright summer-blooming flowers, it is a strange but welcome sight along the greenbelt of the riverbank.
Among the flowers is Yukine. Tying the sunflowers to poles, clearing away fallen flowers, snagging any weeds that dare appear, it is clear he is diligently tending the garden.
His expression is quietly satisfied as he works, and he won't mind being approached at all, even if it would be surprising to him.

Math class
The afternoon is class. From one until three Yukine studies math with Hakkai and takes advantage of the free study time. Math being one of his better and more liked subjects, he's in a good mood as he studies.

Meeting
[Closed to Chinatsu]
After school he'd arranged to meet a shinki that is having problems because her god is gone, and she's worried about being basically defenseless. He'd agreed to meet with her in person to talk about it, so he waits outside the school, sitting under the shade of a tree in the yard with a notebook balanced on his leg. Might as well get some homework done as he waits. He's not worried about being recognized- his name is visible above the collar of his shirt, after all.

--August 19--
English class
From nine until eleven in the morning, Yukine is forcing his way through English. At least Izumo as a teacher is pretty interesting, even if he can be awfully strict about some stuff.
But English free study... ugh. Save him, please.

Driving!
[Closed to Hakkai]
Yukine cannot escape English class fast enough, especially since he has something good waiting for him. For an hour Hakkai will give him a driving lesson in Jeep!
Yukine comes to Hakkai's temple prepared with a small box of bought cookies for Hakkai-san as the teacher, and a bit of cooked fish to offer Jeep as the vehicle.
Giving up the offerings, Yukine says the traditional "If you would, please..." Please take it easy on him? It's his first time.

[Open, with Hakkai]
Once they get underway, passers-by are welcome to notice the young shinki behind the driver's wheel instead of the adult, and try to make conversation. (Parallel parking is tricky, okay? Maybe don't distract him while he's trying to pull that off-)

Wandering the Near Shore
With a few hours to burn after lunch, Yukine wanders the Near Shore as he sometimes does. He likes window shopping around the clothing stores, and even though he doesn't play any games himself he'll watch people in the game centers. He spends some time at a garden supply store, and as the afternoon gets later he'll work his way back home, stopping at the supermarket on the way to pick up some things for dinner.

[Closed to Yuto]
Even in the busy shopping district, a head of spiky black and purple hair is hard to miss. Waving a bit to get Yuto's attention, Yukine comes closer.
"Hi! It's been a while. What you doin' down here?" And even as he speaks he's trying to think of when the last time they met actually was ... oh. Yah. It'd be during that whole kid thing, wouldn't it.

[[I prefer prose, but bracket form is totally fine too!
If anything needs a tweak or you'd like a specialized prompt, just let me know!]]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[It takes Yukine a long beat to realize who it is too, but her calling him 'senpai' helps.
Smiling a little he raises a hand in greeting.]

Hi. It's been a while. I guess you found your god all right eventually, right? Are you settling in okay?

[She smiles and nods, glad to see he remembers her. She does feel a little guilty though about not keeping in better touch with him.]

It has. And yes, we did manage to successfully find each other eventually.

[She chuckles softly at that. She had been getting gradually more panicked as the night of the Tanabata Festival had worn on, hadn't she? She can only imagine how she must have seemed to Yukine at the time.]

I have been settling in well. It certainly took some time to adjust and learn the basics of life as a shinki, but it's since become more routine.

That actually sounds pretty normal. That’s good.

[He then glances around them.] Did you come down here alone? It’s a bit dangerous without your god, you know. Can you make a good borderline now?

Hm? Oh no, I'm not here alone.

[She points down the street towards an arts and crafts supply store.]

I left my god in there for a moment. He tends to take his time when browsing, so I thought I'd go take care of my own purchases.

[Yukine looks incredibly relieved at that.]

Good. You'd not believe how many come down here alone. [...And he hopes that she's not evading his question about borderlines on purpose.]

Ah, yah, that looks like a pretty intense amount of books. I mean, I like reading too, but... you're really going to read all those?

[She smiles, a little uneasily, and nods. She would actually be guilty of that herself a few times already... probably best not to bring it up right now.]

Hm? Oh, [She looks down and then holds up her shopping bag filled with her new purchases.] yes, I find that it's a good hobby for killing time when I'm not otherwise busy with shinki duties. Also, I'm hoping to brush up on a new topic in particular, and there weren't any books already in the Izanagi household on the subject.

Ahhh, you guys are so lucky to even get stuff like books in those new temples. [He rolls his eyes to the sky for a moment, wishing for a moment that he wasn’t living where he is, but just as quickly thankful that it’s not worse. (Although the bar is set pretty low.)]

What 'topic' is that?

[She tilts her head to the side a moment, intrigued by what Yukine could meet by that. But when he asks about her books, Naoto blushes a little, apparently feeling embarrassed for some reason. She reaches into the bag and pulls out one of the books for Yukine to look at. "The Basics of Karate: Learn Self Defense in Your Own Home." It looks about as basic and generic a how-to book as one would imagine a title like that would imply.]

I'm... um... starting from the ground up... as it were...

Huhh-! That's cool! [He sees nothing here to be embarrassed over. After all--] Just a little while ago I started learning about a bunch of new things myself, too. Karate, huh? Once you get going, I'm sure there's a bunch of people kicking around who'd be able to help you with it.

[Although Kurosaki-sama springs to mind, he dismisses it almost at once. That guy is too high-level.]

Anyway, good luck with it!

[Naoto looks back up at Yukine, blinking slightly in surprise at his reaction. She chuckles softly. Still feeling a little embarrassed.]

Ah, you think so? Admittedly, I felt a little silly buying books on the subject, but I would have felt more foolish asking someone to train me without first attempting to familiarize myself with the basics.

But thank you, Yukine-senpai. I appreciate it.

[She smiles at him in genuine gratitude.]

What brings you down here by the way?

Mm? [He kinda gets her feeling, wanting to be not a total beginner at something when asking for a teacher, but on the other hand, that's what teachers are for!

But he smiles back at her thanks, waving a hand to say 'it was nothing'.]

Nothin' in particular. I- [I live down here is embarrassing if he has to explain it. Stupid, pathetic, bottom-tier Yato.] I'm down here a lot for different stuff. And when my idiot god actually bothers to show his face, we do a lot of work around here.

[She tilts her head slightly to the side, blinking at him in mild surprise.]

You don't get along with your god?

[She's not sure, but she thinks this is the first time she's heard Yukine mention his god. And, well, his tone conveys a certain... well, irritation.]

Not at all! [If there was any doubt over his irritation level, let them be dispelled now: it's high.]

The guy is horrible! I hate him with every fiber of my being! [Clenching a fist in emphasis he starts to growl out his grievances, now that he has a sympathetic(?) ear.]

He's completely useless, doesn't do anything helpful around the house, is a total freeloader-- I'm working to pay off some debts, but I have to support him, too! It's gonna take me forever at this rate. And the jerk keeps skipping work- he's gonna have to earn a mountain of 5-yen coins to make up for this!

[Naoto can only blink in stunned surprise as Yukine goes on his tyrade. Boy, he certainly seems to have his grievances. Naoto had heard that not all gods and shinki partners necessarily get along, but this is the first time she's had such clear evidence of such. Once Yukine seems to be finished, Naoto attempts to pick her next words carefully so as to not upset her shinki senpai further.]

I see... um, that all does sound rather frustrating to deal with.

Pardon my ignorance, but... couldn't you request a transfer of sorts if you're god is this problematic?

Yukine turns to Naoto with a thankful expression that clearly reads, it is frustrating, isn’t it!

The mention of a transfer takes him down a notch though, and he can reply more calmly, “You’re right. Shinki can ask to have their name revoked and go to another god. But… I’m not going to do it. My god and I have been through a lot together.” His faintly soft expression as he admits that turns abruptly into a fierce grin. “I’m gonna whip that dumb jersey into shape no matter how long it takes.”

It’s… a sort of loyalty.

[Naoto practically jumps in surprise at that face Yukine's making. Whoever his god is, she feels a brief moment of pity for him.]

Well, you, uh... certainly seem "dedicated."

I'm sure you'll have him whipped into shape in no time.

[RIP Yato...]

Thanks. I'll do my best.

[For sure he'll do it! (It's ok if Yato rests in pieces. He'll come back.)]

And I'm sure you'll be doing karate in no time, too! But don't forget to practice your borderlines. You need that way more than a karate chop.

So much to do, and all the time to do it. [Open and Closed Prompts]

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Sorry for changing styles on you there /o\