thenearshore | [CLOSED] Where'd you wanna go?

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[CLOSED] Where'd you wanna go?

Who: Ken, Butch, Hakkai, and Chikusa
When: August 23nd or thereabouts
Where: Epona's temple, Li Tieguai's temple, and then Epona's temple again
What: Chikusa is named by two gods; Ken is only named by one of them. The garbage duo yin and yang have become unbalanced, and Ken wants to fix it.

[After their explosions of grief and guilt that led to their dual ablutions, Ken and Chikusa had both been too exhausted to do much for several days. And, as far as that goes, Ken can also be kind of slow on the uptake. He hadn't quite processed that Chikusa is now a shinki to two different gods - Butch, Ken's new god, and Hakkai(who Ken still only vaguely knows). But once he'd finally realized it, he'd asked Chikusa - in a mixture of shock and anger - how he can serve two gods at once. He'd thought that, when it came to loyalty, he and Chikusa were on the same page: each of them giving their full, unreserved loyalty to their god. How can that be possible with more than one god?

As it turned out...they do still have very similar ideas of loyalty. They just apply it in very different ways.

...I'm still only loyal to one god, Chikusa had told him, blinking slowly. I'm loyal to Axel-sama.
But if Axel-sama can't be here...then it doesn't matter how many names I have, as long as there's at least one so I can cast lines and spells. So I can defend us...Axel-sama would want that. They're just names in the end...

Ken's been thinking that over ever since Chikusa said it. It doesn't sit right with him, not quite; he thinks maybe it's because he doesn't see how being loyal to Axel still, if he's not even around, can mean anything. Actually, he's not even sure how he'd do that if he wanted to. If Axel came back, Ken would go back to him in a heartbeat like he'd never left, sure...but that only applies if Axel does, indeed, come back. Until then, Ken's happy to serve Butch. (And he tries not to think guilty thoughts, like how Butch takes better care of him than Axel ever did, and is around more than Axel ever was. He doesn't want to get blighted again and cause more trouble.) Chikusa's obviously different, but as long as they're both happy, what does that matter?

Well...it does matter, to Ken. It took him a day or two longer to figure out why, though. But now he knows - it bothers him because he and Chikusa were Axel's, and they've been partners for a long time now, and now Chikusa's...serving another god that Ken isn't. They're not partners when it comes to serving Hakkai; if anything, Chikusa's moving on to being partners with Hakkai's other shinki instead. Like he's still only partners with Ken because they happen to be assigned to the same god, and doesn't actually care what other shinki he does or doesn't end up working with when it comes to any given god.

What if Butch disappears? Ken won't have any god left, and he'll lose Butch, which is bad enough...but he wouldn't have any connection to Chikusa left, either. He'd be left behind, with no partner.

He hates every part of that thought. Is borderline scared of it, even. And he sets about avoiding that fate without even thinking to ask Chikusa what he thinks, or what he wants.]

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[Ken huffs, glancing away.] 'Cause you named the four-eyed kappa, byon. We're partners. So...you should name me, too.

[Then, after a pause - ] Roy-sama said it was okay. [So at least Ken has put some forethought into this.]

Just to be clear, you do mean Chikusa, correct?

[It'll never stop startling him to hear Chikusa called a kappa. At least four-eyed is distinguishing in one direction the same way perverted is in the other....

Smiling a little, he reaches for his phone, and flashes it at Ken.]

I have no personal objections, but I do have a few questions first, and I need to ask my exemplar, of course.

[He quickly composes a text, presses send, and looks back up.]

I assume you'd continue to live at Roy's temple with Chikusa.

Yeah, who else would I mean? [Ken still doesn't know Hakkai knows two kappas, although this is the second time he's been asked for clarification on the matter.

At the statement of having to ask Hakkai's exemplar, Ken cocks his head.] You have to ask? How come? I mean...you're their god, byon. [Ken's still too new to being Roy's shinki to have experienced - much less become familiar with - the concept of a god who consults with his shinki rather than treats them as subordinates.]

Yeah, I wanna stay with Roy-sama. His temple's nicer anyway, byon. [Ken's mouth has zero filters.] And he takes care of me. [He squints at Hakkai.] ...I dunno anything about you except you stopped me stealing rice once, byon. But Chikusa likes you, so I guess you can't be awful.

[Hakkai smiles, and doesn't explain the "kappa" joke, because Gojyo wouldn't understand it himself anymore.]

Isn't it her business as well? It's one thing if it's an emergency, but we have plenty of time to do this properly, this time.

[Ken's not suffering from blight without a name, there are no ayakashi threatening them, and besides, it gives them a little time to get to know each other.]

And you would have started a fire upstairs if you'd tried cooking rice, I suspect. [He adds, curiously:] Would you want to help me answer prayers?

I dunno...Axel-sama never consulted us about anything, byon. But he never took on new shinki, either.

And maybe there would've been a fire if I did it, byon. [Ken huffs.] But Chikusa's smart. He could've figured it out, byon. And I was gonna take it to him! [Ken was the provider of food, not necessarily the preparer.]

[At the question about prayers, he scratches his cheek, frowning.] I dunno...I don't think I answered any prayers with Axel-sama, byon. [For all Ken's loyalty to him, Axel spent almost the entirety of his godhood during Ken's stint as his shinki absent. Ken never had the chance to do much of anything with him.] What's it like?

In my case, I often take medicines I've prepared to worshipers of mine who are asking for cures for certain conditions. It's not very difficult, but sometimes ayakashi do get in the way, or there are other issues that turn out to need a resolution.

[He shrugs, cheerfully.]

And while I haven't always consulted Ayumu, she prefers that I do.

Well, I'm good at fighting...but not with borderlines. [Ken would consider lying about this, but Hakkai was present at his ablution so he knows he wouldn't get away with it.] I'm better at fighting shinki and gods than ayakashi...although I haven't fought a god yet, byon.

[He says this like it's just a matter of time.]

I'm good at lots of stuff with my channels, though. [Maybe that will tip the scales back in his favor?] I helped Chikusa and some guys track down that murderer, byon.

Did you?

[That rivets Hakkai's attention for a long moment, before he inclines his head. His phone chimes, and he looks down at it again, tapping out a quick answer.] I'm not a bad fighter myself, but you should master borderlines; they're an important defense for you if you're out somewhere without your god.

That aside.

[He sets his phone down, and says, mildly:] I'll name you.

Yeah. We caught him 'cause of my nose, byon. [Ken says this with a touch of pride. Chikusa was right; this has given Ken a definite, specific thing to feel accomplished about.] I mean, he wound up dying anyway, but we still caught him.

I try, byon. [Ken looks a touch sulky.] It's stupid, though. Just drawing lines in the air with your fingers...and it's hard to focus on 'em. [What you mean, Ken, is that you have a short attention span and are way too eager to fight the 'normal' way.

He perks up when Hakkai agrees to his request, though.] You will?

I can help you practice if you'd like.

[He doesn't plan on bending on this topic, but he nods, regardless, at Ken's question.]

Do you have a name you'd prefer?

I guess... [Ken doesn't exactly sound enthused, but he at least recognizes he's in no position to refuse. He can hardly ask a god to accept him as his shinki and then reject tutoring to do his job as his shinki better.

Besides, he does want to get better at it. Not so much for Hakkai - although he doesn't want Hakkai to decide against naming him, or to revoke his name, so being acceptable to Hakkai does have some importance - but Roy has helped Ken a lot, and so Ken wants to repay him by being a good shinki. And, perhaps more than anything else...if Ken gets better at borderlines, he can protect Chikusa better. Maybe he can even help perform ablutions on Chikusa if his partner gets blighted again.]

I don't care what the name is as long as it's not something dumb, byon.

I'll do my best, then.

[He tilts his head, considering the boy. Joshima Ken... well. He shifts, uncrossing his legs and getting to his feet as he holds his hand out, two fingers outstretched.]

My name is Li Tieguai. Grasping thy true name, I bind thee here. With borrowed name, I dub thee my servant. The name answers, the vessel to sound. The name, Joshima Ken. The vessel, Ken. Come, Kenki!

[He traces the character for dog in the air, and it glows scarlet as the spell takes hold.]

[Well, Hakkai gets...exactly what he asked for. Honestly, one wonders if there was any reason to expect anything else.

A medium-sized, rather scruffy dog with fur roughly the color of Ken's hair is now standing in front of Hakkai, looking at him curiously. When he processes the sudden, marked difference in his height as compared to a minute ago, he immediately looks down at himself, then around at himself, and then spins in place a couple times trying to look himself over properly. Then he sits down with an irritated whuff of breath.]

Dammit, people already call me a dog too much as it is. [Despite his complaint, however, his tail is wagging a bit. He seems almost a little pleased at this vessel form. He does like dogs...even if he doesn't like people calling him one even when he's human-shaped.]

Edited 2017-10-03 03:14 (UTC)

[Hakkai is silent for a moment as the violence of Ken's final moments flood into his mind. Is that Chikusa, bloodied on the ground?

Is it the truth? There's no way for him to be sure; not when he'd seen Gojyo's death, and knows it had never happened that way. But it's very like what he'd seen when he named Chikusa.

His eyes focus again, slowly, and he blinks at the scruffy mutt wagging its tail a few paces away.]

I suppose it is your name.

[Before he'd even given it to Ken as a vessel name, in fact. He smiles.]

And you'll fit in better on the Near Shore than Chikusa's vessel form.

I will? [Ken's always quizzically cocked his head the same way as a human, but when doing it as an actual dog it's just that much more obvious how quintessentially canine the movement is.] What's Chikusa's vessel form for you?

[Interestingly, Ken's 'byon' speech affectation only seems to apply when he's actually speaking Japanese. Like this, or when he'd spoken Italian as a child, there's no evidence of it.]

[The gesture is note-perfect for the scruffy mutt Ken has become, Hakkai has to admit. He'll fit in, all right. He seems almost more natural in this form.]

He's a large crane.

[He gestures, slightly taller than himself, and adds:] About this tall, I'd say.

[This gets another canine huff.] Stupid kappa! He's taller than me even when he's not him! He should've stayed a stupid yoyo!

[Ken has Opinions about Chikusa being taller than him, and they're very sulky ones.]

[Hakkai can't help laughing at that: the annoyed tone of Ken's thoughts comes through as clear as it would in a voice, even without the huff.

As annoyances go, it's the sort that friends have about one another.]

He's taller than I am, too. But I think you may be heavier!

[The crane, big as it is, is bird-fragile, after all. Hakkai's not sure how well Chikusa will be able to fight in that shape; he'll be cautious dragging Chikusa into serious combat until they're sure that battle doesn't risk broken bones or worse.]

That just means I can tackle him. [At the thought of it, Ken's tail starts wagging.]

[Ken's tail gives away more of his emotion than the self-satisfied tone of his thoughts. Hakkai shakes his head, amused.]

Yes, you can. Go for the knees first, and be careful of that beak.

[That's in a confiding tone: after all, Ken could use some help, and being tackled won't be too bad for Chikusa, bird-bones or no.

Having these two as shinki, Hakkai thinks, won't be bad after all.]

[Ken's tail wags faster, even as he gets to his feet; perhaps sitting while he's wagging so hard is awkward.] I'll sit on him!

[Ken might be straightforward and not too bright, but Hakkai now has the comforting knowledge that he's just as much of an irrepressible shit as Chikusa and Hakkai can be.]

[At least his tail isn't thumping quite so loudly against the ground now that he's standing. Hakkai chuckles.]

I'm sure you will. Return, Ken!

[He might not have thought this out properly; Ken and Kenki are very close to one another.

Well, it'll do; Chiki and Chikusa are extremely close in pronunciation as well. And they're both nora, which means that calling just the one name won't be enough to affect them with a spell.]

[And in moments, Ken is once again himself, and looking marginally less canine. Honestly, though, with Hakkai having seen him as an actual dog, it somewhat accentuates the canine qualities that shine through in Ken even while he's not channeling anything at all.

His rather belatedly stopping his tongue hanging out, for instance, would feel like a momentary oversight due to the shift in forms if it weren't for the fact that he often has his tongue hanging out anyway.

Ken looks himself over briefly, confirming that he's back to himself, then looks questioningly at Hakkai.] So...now what, byon?

That depends on you.

[Hakkai smiles at him, faintly, and settles back into the chair. He can feel Ken's new name settling into place in his own mind, joining the names he's given others: Maiki, Shiki, Chiki....

There's no strong emotion carried with the name this time, nothing but a new sense of presence. He'll have to get used to it, he thinks.

How the old gods who have dozens of shinki manage, he'll never understand.]

I'm sure Ayumu will want to be properly introduced to you at some point, but not immediately... so is there anything else you'd like me to know?

[Ken hesitates, thinking hard, then lifts his head after a few moments with a look of fierce defiance on his face. His whole body seems to stiffen with it.]

Chikusa likes you, byon. [Not that Chikusa's ever said as much to Ken, but Ken can tell.] So you can't disappear, byon. Not after Axel-sama.

And Roy-sama's taking care of us, mostly, and I guess Chikusa wouldn't trust you if you were bad. But - [He seems to struggle for a moment, then bares his teeth.] But you better treat him good! God or not, I'll make you pay if you don't!

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