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

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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!]]

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The tall blonde bartender does catch Yukine's attention, and he smiles a little and raises a hand in greeting when Shizuo calls out to him.

"It has been. Huh. I didn't realize I was so close to this place. Is the bar all fixed up, then?" And then the memory of when they'd last seen each other clicks-

"You said you'd treat me to some food next I was by."

It's not all that surprising that Yukine remembers the promise of food far better that Shizuo remembers giving it. Then again, a lot's happened.

"Did I? Huh. C'mon in then," he says while holding the door open. It's not his most common offer, but he had to make some food anyway. "Yeah, we finished a little while ago, including the apartment upstairs. The only thing in progress is this memory wall that Izumo's working on."

He gladly takes the invitation to go inside (yay, food!) and looks around, curious to see what it looks like now.

“You and Izumo live down here? What about your gods? It’s not a good idea to be alone down here, you know. …And what’s a memory wall?” To be honest he already doesn’t see the point, but he might as well get it explained first.

Edited 2017-08-31 14:41 (UTC)

"Nah, we still live at the temples," though it was more accurate to point out that Izumo stayed at a couple of temples and not just his god's. "The apartment's for convenience more than anything else."

He motions over at the wall that had a growing collection of photos that have been taken. "I don't get it completely, but I think it's to help remember the gods and shinki that've disappeared. I just did the labor, not the design choices, so you'll have to ask Izumo to explain all that better."

"Mmm. You should know it’s not good to leave your god without you for long- it’s dangerous for you both. Although I suppose some of the gods have more than one shinki…" He frowns, the disturbing thought surfacing in his mind that it’s probably through making them nora. "Can you both draw good borderlines?"

As he asks, he comes close to look over the wall and comments, "It’s a bit weird, but I guess it’s kinda nice. If you’re into that."

It’s painful to make a friend just to lose them. He still hasn’t quite reconciled that issue for himself yet. But at least he has the garden.

"Yona's practicing archery at her temple," meaning that there's certain a way for him to keep tabs on his god. Even more, that seemed to be the safest place for her most of the time. Especially with the fact- "She's got two other shinki who normally stay close to her. Always have since they first arrived."

The only one that was at risk was Shizuo, really. Any dangers would happen through him. "But y'know, if you asked that a few days ago I would've shrugged. The only thing I had going for them before is the duration that they'd last. Now I can say both of our lines're good enough for performing ablutions when needed."

Two in a row for Shizuo, but he wasn't going to brag or anything. He figured that 'ablution' level was a good enough indicator. As for the wall... He already directed Yukine to ask Izumo about it. That was never a project he was really part of. There was a specific reason that brought it all about, probably some post on the boards, but damned if he could remember anything about that.

Yukine comes to a complete halt at 'ablutions', and turns on Shizuo sternly, height difference be damned.

"'When needed'? What the-- have you new guys been needing more ablutions? Did no one pay attention to the warning?"

"It was kind of a shit warning," which was his response to both the one Yukine and Kairi made as well as the one that Chikusa made in response to dealing with Shizuo's. "I dunno, maybe that kind of thing is infectious. You know what none of y'all mention when you're busy looking down at everyone? How easy it is to spiral and end up choking on all those feelings. How you'll make up and decide old shit was your responsibility."

He's pretty still when going over this, and aside from returning that stern tone, he's relatively calm. Mostly because it's dangerous for him to actually act out in his feelings. "Plus, I had to give two in a row because all of it got triggered after those shinki's god disappeared. How the hell does that fit in with your damn warning?"

"You new guys are just dense," Yukine snipes back to the 'shit warning', crossing his arms. But he listens to the rest properly.

"Two in a row?" he hisses under his breath. Unbelievable. Tragic. Frustrating!
"It so happens that it is infectious. Which is why I said I would talk to people in person about it- doing it on the bbs would have been just asking for disaster. And listen, I'm trying, okay? I give you guys advice, but it's based on my experience as an 'old' shinki to an 'old' god. Don't take it out on me when something I can't expect happens."

It really didn't help that Shizuo was giving all those warnings a blanket response. Chikusa, who had the perception of a 'new' shinki, just parroted the stuff Yukine said.

"There wasn't any time," even his had turned into something that escalated severely over the day, especially when the news of the blight came out. This was all just getting mixed up, which is why Shizuo pulls his sunglasses off to pocket them and rub the bridge of his nose. "Look, it ain't just you. You just opened a door that others decided to run with and act like they knew just as well. Look, lemme get some food together and I'll try to clear this all up. In a way, it's all my fault anyway."

He'll direct Yukine over to sit, though he wasn't going to force the choice. If the kid wanted to go into the back to the kitchen, he wasn't going to stop him either. Especially with how Shizuo left it at taking full responsibility.

Yukine rubs his hands through his hair irritably. “Argh! I knew that would happen! And people wonder why I don’t tell them about every little damn thing.” Sighing loudly he drops into a chair. “Sure, I’ll take the food and an explanation then. … And are you just saying that, or is it actually your fault? Because if it is, I might have to kick you into next week.”
Other than calling that question after him into the kitchen, he’ll leave him to his work. The less you disturb someone cooking, the faster the food comes, after all.

Really, because Shizuo eats in excess and he's got more varieties to make, this was more of heating up leftovers that he cooked about an hour or two ago than starting something from scratch. With that started, he has enough time to talk for a short period back at the door. Curry really doesn't need to be watched over constantly. Though what he'll say really isn't the most helpful. "How about you don't. Not because it'd hurt, but you'd probably hurt yourself. Then I'd have to carry you over to Hakkai to get it dealt with."

Was that enough of a sign that he's actually considering it to be his fault? He takes out his phone to scroll back on the boards, bringing up the newest warning about ablutions and leaving it on the back for Yukine to read over.

"Mine actually happened at the end of last month, and he made an even shittier warning than yours, given he's one of the ones I dealt with a few days ago. Ah, go ahead and read through it," he says, leaving the phone while going to the back to deal with the food again.

Considering Shizuo has a weird super-strength, he might be right. But he'd still kick him into next week.

Taking the offered phone - saves him having to find it himself - he starts reading. And immediately starts reacting badly.

"Three in the last two months?!" At least Chikusa agrees that disclosing all this to newly-arrived shinki is a bad idea.

"... I hope you're gonna remember my name right from now on, by the way." He makes sure Shizuo hears his flatly serious tone.

"So one of those soulless guys needed an ablution too?" The lot of them seem so ...limited when it came to emotions, he was starting to think it was almost impossible for them to sting their god by guilt. Creepy.
"So Hakkai-san, this soulless one, and you, huh."

"Geh- gods with attitudes like this won't help any. This 'Ta-Bitjet' guy is gonna be a pain in the ass, just watch."

He hisses at the phone loudly. "Everyone is saying too much." There's something awful about that last thread too, but he can't let-- his mind won't rest on it. Not even for a second.

Putting the phone back on the counter sharply he huffs. "There's a lot in here to be angry over! Why is everyone so eager to push the boundaries whenever someone says 'it's dangerous, don't do that?!"

He smells that curry. Give him something to chew on other than angry words.

Yes, it's time to stuff the angry face with food. Then maybe it'll make them, well not less angry, but more distracted by all of it. Coming out with the bowl in one hand and silverware rolled into a napkin, Shizuo sets it on the bar in front of the boy. With it served, he'll also grab a bottle of plain and chocolate milk; the plain for himself and the chocolate to give the boy.

While opening the bottle he goes around to the customer side of the bar to sit down on one of the stools. "In a way, it doesn't really work to say 'it's dangerous to feel guilty or do things that make you feel guilty.' Because sometimes you're gonna start worrying about it constantly, which just makes you embarrassed by it all."

It had gotten to where he was feeling guilty about being upset for his own stupid actions, then too embarrassed that Yona felt the sting from that. Because it was so dumb and small.

He gets a gulp of milk in before starting that explanation he promised. "Right, so the short of it all is that I made a promise to Yona to protect and keep her safe, then it turned out that I feel guilty about a lot of stupid shit that some would say is out of my control. Between that and things breaking more cuz of how I had trouble controlling my strength when angry enough..."

Can you already see how the spiral started? He's not even going into a lot of detail. "Anyway, after seeing what I was doing to Yona with the blight, I tried forcing her into revoking my name so she'd be free of all that pain. I mean, I was the biggest threat and breaking that promise, y'know? Eventually the shitty hat kid was grabbed to deal with my ablution, with Izumo and Goten. Anyway, a few days ago something went down and that brat and the other shinki from his temple decided everything they did was wrong and felt like shit over it. Because I was familiar with the whole thing now, Hakkai called me.

"Which he got pretty damn lucky on. I can hold borderlines up for a long time, but they weren't strong until the day before that happened."

Except for a quick but sincere “thank you for the food”, Yukine listens in silence, taking huge bites of the curry. He sighs at a couple points, getting the picture that the guy worries way too much. But it’s not like he can’t relate, Yukine reasons, thinking back to how long he’d stayed in bed ~~crying~~ worrying over what happened to Suzuha and Kazuma.

Sullenly poking his spoon into his curry a couple times he breathes out once slowly then calmly looks up at Shizuo.

“I get it. I’m mostly angry just because it happened, never mind why, and I think you can agree that you wouldn’t want anyone else to go through what you did.” What ‘we’ did, but Yukine isn’t about to tell anyone else that without reason.

“So, how about now? Are you still with Yona-sama? Do you deal with your guilt any better?”

He did more than just worry, but essentially manufactured reasons that just exasperated the problem.

"She refuses to get rid of me," he said, leaning back against the bar. "But I was pretty open about the reasons until something stupid happened and I'd hold it in. The ablution sucked, but it's the only thing that kicked my ass enough to knock me straight again."

With the tone he used, Shizuo was well aware that ablutions were meant to be last resorts. "Yona's ready to die before she's forced to release me. I'm still pretty sure she'd be safer if she did, but I'm working on bettering myself so I don't let her down like that again. Which I think I'm doing pretty good at now. Though I guess that doesn't mean as much to someone that's been at this whole thing a lot longer than any of us."

Yukine frowns over that last remark. “I don’t know what you mean by that. … Except that you’d be surprised by how much it means to me, at least. I can relate better than you think.”

Scraping up the last of the curry he swallows it down, then goes for the chocolate milk. While he’s busy with that he doesn’t have to look up as he speaks. “If anything, I didn’t think you new guys were taking the shinki bond that seriously. For your god to not let you go--” He then looks up at Shizuo, and he can only hope that his tone conveys the weight of the unidentified mix of feelings sitting in the back of his mind. “That’s a lot on you.”

"Yeah, no shit," and though the words seem nearly flippant, it's said with an understanding amount of weight of the situation. Which he kind of knew since the beginning, but there were those few days where he just... strayed.

"I know the way we take this whole thing's not really 'traditional,' or what you'd expect," which is why he's not losing to his easy temper over those kinds of statements. Drinking a little more of his own milk, the older blond hangs his head back even more. "It's just what some people are doing with it is different."

Though something comes to mind, and now he's curious- "If a shinki goes through several ablutions and still can't stop themselves from blighting a god- not that they're doing it intentionally or anything, it's just something in their system that they can't change- what would usually be done about them?"

Although Yukine has a brief moment of bristling over the seemingly flippant words, he also takes in the tone and calms down, sipping his milk. (It's good.)

"Huh?" Trying to make sense of Shizuo's previous statements, the question takes him off guard, but he puts down the nearly empty milk bottle to think about it.

"Usually a shinki gets their name revoked as soon as they sting their god, never mind going through an ablution. I guess if they couldn't stop doing it, they'd just keep getting shuffled around to other gods..." He pauses for a long moment, trying to fill in the rest of the picture from what he knows. "I guess the shinki might eventually change what's 'in their system' over all those experiences, land a good god, and manage to get a happy ending. Or ... maybe they'd get a bad reputation, no god would want them, and they'd end up a nameless wandering spirit... ayakashi food."

That's bleak, man. But although he hasn't heard about it for himself, he can easily see it going that way from what he knows.

"A wandering spirit, huh," he mused for a few seconds. Noticing that the bottle was just about empty, Shizuo gets up to retrieve a second for the kid. Some of the bartenders might be confused or wonder why there was several small bottles, but this was a good enough example of how it wasn't just for himself.

Setting the bottle on the table, he adds a reminder to his phone before leaning against the counter. "So, if you're just bait at that point and a constant danger to any potential gods, no matter how you try... Cuz sometimes having a good god just makes you feel worse about minor disappointing things," he pauses in trying to figure out how he was going to go about this. While not really the plan, Shizuo wanted a backup in case he started to 'stray' and Yona still refused to release him. "Say it's me in that situation. If I went to one of the old gods, d'you think they'd deal with me if I asked?"

Because he'd rather be executed than get caught up in a spiral that caused Yona all that pain again.

Wow, he's being really treated. He gives a quiet thanks for the second bottle and finishes off the first in that pause.

Seeing as they've hit a super-serious topic Yukine listens carefully as Shizuo talks it out, but is again thrown a bit by his question.

"Deal with you?" He repeats it back as if it'll help it make more sense. "How do you mean? You should know, I don't think the old gods like you new guys much."

Even Yato is really put off by them somehow, and Yukine has been given the odd start himself too, like just a bit earlier.
The new guys are dangerous. He believes in working together to get this whole thing sorted, and some of them really are nice, but... He presses his lips together into a thin line. Dangerous.

"That's kind of," though he trails off in realizing that the kid wasn't really picking up his intentions. Shizuo didn't think he was being subtle, but maybe this was something 'out there' enough that it didn't even occur to the other shinki.

"I'm kind of hoping that the fact that they don't like us would help," he says before taking the very direct path. "Y'see, when I say deal with me, I mean something along the lines of execution. Say I go to Bishamon- do you think she'd follow through on that request?"

It sure is 'out there' to this shinki.

Yukine openly gapes at Shizuo at the word 'execution', and gives an abrupt sharp laugh.

"Bishamonten-sama would be the last person to do something like that! But before that! Execution? As in kill you?" Anger overwhelming him in the moment, he bangs his fists on the counter top, causing the bottle of milk to topple over. Ignoring it, he rounds on Shizuo.

"What the hell are you thinking? Asking to be killed? That just- SO-! Argh! I have no damn words for how stupid it is! We are alive! You have to live this life that's been given to you!"

Still bristling, he turns away to right the milk bottle and apply some napkins to the spill. He needs to get his anger under control before he stings Yato, if he hasn't already.

"If you really want to protect your god and yourself, that is not the answer. At all."

Shizuo's already on top of getting a rag to clean the spill up, not taking the anger too personally. Even though he should, given that this is directly because of what he said. At least this was enough of a heads up that he should find someone else if it started coming to that.

"Relax kid," he says with a little too little tension in his shoulders. "It's not like I'm giving up on living or protecting my god. I know what I said is really fucking dumb, and it's not even a ready option. Thing is, I need to keep some backup in the case that I keep causing Yona blight. No matter what she's promised, there's no way she'll actually revoke my name if it happens again."

Returning the rag to the bucket full of sanitizer, Shizuo leans against the bar. "I'm probably doing better than ever right now. There's a chance that it'll never be a thing that comes up. If it does... Another ablution might not work, because I wouldn't want to be forgiven."

So he wants someone in place before people even tried.

There is not a lot of relaxing to be had on Yukine's end.

"You wouldn't want to--?" Sputtering out at the end, Yukine crosses his arms and frowns flatly at the guy.

"'Kay. I'm no psychologist. It's obvious I don't get what you're thinking, right? If you're doing good now, that's fine. If you don't think you'll be needing an ablution again, that's fine." He rubs his hands roughly through his hair again.

"Look, it's not like I don't understand having a god dumb and stubborn enough to not revoke your name even if their life is on the line. But if you're not giving up on living or protecting your god, then of course you'd want to come out the other side of an ablution. Why wouldn't you want to be forgiven? Take some responsibility, would you? If you know your god won't revoke your name and would never change her mind, then you'd better step up even more to keep her safe."

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