And sometimes you close your eyes and see the place where you used to live

[chickshades]

Who: Bandou & YOU
When: Aug 27th
Where: One of the abandoned temples of the Far Shore & Starbucks a fairly popular coffee shop on the Near Shore
What: With his childhood friend having left the Far Shore, Bandou takes a day to himself.



A. Training
Bandou'd been told that if he ever wanted to train outside of the monthly sessions provided to gods and their shinki, that there were abandoned temples throughout the Far Shore that were free to use. Hence why he's here, in the large, overgrown front lawn of a once powerful god.

He's known, for sometime now, that he possessed a power beyond what he was capable of as a shinki. It was control over fire that he knew, for a fact, he'd gained in his mortal life. And though he couldn't recall just how his own flame ability came to be, the memories he'd regained of his life long friend, Shouhei Agaki, told him enough about the power for him to be able to summon and control it.

However, until now, he'd hardly explored just what he could do with the red aura he was able to feel inside of him. And it was odd that with Shouhei gone, and the sadness and anger he felt from it, it was burning hotter than usual. So he's come here to see just what he could do with it, letting the aura flow out of him and mildly scorch the dried grass around him.

B. Coffee Shop
Towards the back of the coffee shop, Bandou sits in one of the plush chairs. But whether or not you recognize him is up to you. He's got super skinny, dark denim pants on and a green plaid shirt that's untucked but neatly buttoned. There's no hoodie, nor sunglasses, and while he still has a baseball cap on, it's not his usual one. Instead it features a graphic design of the letters 'HMR' set within red flames. Anyone who spoke to Shouhei Agaki enough before he left the Far Shore may, at least, recognize the hat as once belonging to him.

The guy's been there for nearly two hours. If it weren't for him being hardly noticeable by the residents of the Near Shore, he probably would have been kicked out for loitering, by now. His iced coffee has hardly been touched, the ice practically melted, and instead he's staring rather absently at his phone. Whether or not he's actually paying attention to what he's watching is questionable.

Perhaps you'd like to find out who this 'new' member of the Far Shore is. Or perhaps you do realize who he is and are curious as to why he seems so gloomy.

Comments

A!

[thevanguard]

[ It's not unusual to find Yata out among the old abandoned temples himself. Sometimes it's to train - or to see who else is training - or sometimes it's just because they make great places to skateboard without anyone yelling at him for it.

Either way, this morning he feels a strange itch that makes him especially restless and he travels without really thinking of a destination and winds up here anyway. Skating into the front lawn of a big old temple he's used a time or two, he skids to a halt when he spots the guy standing there with a fire aura around him, blinking in surprise. ]

[chickshades]

[ It's not a big aura, by any means, and certainly not in comparison to Yata's, but it's obvious the guy is trying to concentrate on focusing what he can pull from himself. In the back of his mind he thinks this should be so much easier. Why can't he just summon up a big fireball or something. Maybe it's just that he doesn't actually remember how this fire ability works, but he can't keep himself from cursing and irritatiedly kicking at the loose gravel beneath his feet. ]

Damnit! How did he do this so easily?!

[ In all those memories of shouhei he got back, the power had seemed to flow through him so easily! ]

[thevanguard]

He probably practiced for more than two minutes.

[ Yata is smirking as he saunters towards the other guy, skateboard tucked under his arm, his expression curious. ]

You're not giving up already, are you?

[chickshades]

[ Bandou hadn't even noticed someone was approaching him. Probably another thing he should work on. He sort of recognizes this guy, but not enough to remember his name. Doesn't mean he's not gonna keep that grimace on his face, though. ]

Shut up. [ Yup, Shouhei def did practice a lot. Especially in the beginning when he first got his aura. ]

And no, I'm not.

[thevanguard]

Good.

[ Setting his skateboard down, he narrows his gaze at the guy, because that fire had definitely been familiar. Maybe this explained the weird feeling he'd been having. ]

Because it gets easier.

B!

[darkestbefore]

[ Finding her way while in the Near Shore is often still an adventure for Yona - and something she's rather relieved that most of the mortals can't typically witness. But having stopped here today to try a treat recommended to her by one of her friends, she can't help but notice the figure sitting towards the back of the little coffee shop.

After getting a drink of her own, she considers him for a moment before wandering over in his direction and casting him a warm but tentative smile. ]

Good morning. Would you mind if I joined you?

[chickshades]

[ It takes Bandou a moment to realize that the person speaking is actually talking to him, he's just that out of it. But once it clicks, he's straightening up and awkwardly shifting over so the girl can sit on the opposite end of the large seat, if she wants. ]

Eh? Oh! Yeah, sure.

[darkestbefore]

[ She smiles brightly as she slides in across from him, setting her coffee drink down on the table as she settles comfortably. ]

Thank you. I hope I'm not interrupting anything?

[chickshades]

No. Just watching stupid videos.

[ Which he just now remembers he needs to pause if he's gonna talk with this girl. ]

Kinda having a bad day, so I thought I'd just relax here.

[darkestbefore]

[ She glances around the cafe with a small smile. ] If you were here to hide from your troubles, it seems like it would be a good place from it. It's pleasant here. [ She glances back to him, casting him an understanding smile. ] Although I'm sorry to hear that's the reason you were driven here. Is there anything I might do to help?

B

[lostinshadows]

Something the matter?

[Lavi recognizes Bandou easily enough, the hat even more.

He frowns a bit, noticing the rather....gloomy air surrounding the other shinki.]

[chickshades]

[ He lazily glances up from his phone when he recognizes Lavi's voice. ]

Hey. Just in a shitty mood.

[lostinshadows]

[He places a hand on the chair, a silent inquiry if he could sit.]

What happened?

[chickshades]

[ He nods at Lavi, and reaches for his drink. ]

Found out my friend isn't here anymore.

[ And the look of irritation is instant, even as he sips at his coffee. ]

[lostinshadows]

You mean Shouhei.

[A glance at the hat on Bandou's head.

He takes a seat.]

I didn't realize you two were close.

B

[deniles]

[He's been here for two hours. Staying in the shadows where Bandou couldn't see him or sense him. He's not here to stalk Bandou (stalk other people, however...), but he does see him there. For two hours. Doing next to nothing at all.

When his job is done, he sighs, slowly stands up and moves over to him. He doesn't say anything before he stands in front of him.]

...Well? What's on your mind today?

[This is probably a 3 am call after Niles has been with Zoro, tbh.]

[chickshades]

[ Ok, that voice isn't exactly what he wanted to hear right now. Or anytime today, really. Yeah, maybe he would have called him up later tonight, shush. But right now he's just trying to ignore everything. So he just lets out a hiss through his teeth, not even looking up. ]

Nothing. I'm just having coffee.

[deniles]

[He taps that cup, for two hours, being full of coffee and partial water.]

Really?

[He's certainly unsure of that.]

[chickshades]

I'm drinking it slowly.

[ And he picks up the drink, sipping enough to maybe make up for, at last, the last 5 mins. ]

[deniles]

...I'm wondering how stupid you think I am. Something's wrong.

[And he'll pull it out of you if he has to, asshole.]

A

[revolutionfalcon]

[Considering the extent to which Shun covers the Far Shore in his patrols, it's not uncommon for him to stumble on people practicing in abandoned temples. And this isn't even the first time he's stumbled upon someone practicing with powers of Bandou's variety. Shun considers him for a moment - he knows quite a few of the fire users here are linked to Mikoto, and that aura definitely looks right for it, but it's not exactly the kind of thing he can bring up that way considering most of them are shinki.

Still, he observes the scene at length before letting out a slight sigh.] Let me guess. More fire powers.

[He says that in the tone of someone offering a dry complaint about something entirely mundane, but also tiring.]

[chickshades]

[ Bandou doesn't notice Shun until he frustratedly gives up, letting his small aura dissipate. Shun can probably here him hiss under his breath before he looks up and sees his observer. ]

Eh? How long have you been there?!

[revolutionfalcon]

[Less observant than Izumo, then. Though Izumo kind of needs to be considering who he has to deal with. Shun gives half a shrug, seemingly calm himself despite hearing Bandou's hiss of frustration.]

About a minute. You should probably pay more attention if you're working with abilities like that. [At least it was only small this time, but fire powers and lacking attention aren't exactly a good mix.] Looks like you were having trouble.

[chickshades]

I can't get this damn flame to last more than a few seconds. And it hardly burns anything! That idiot was able to use his almost immediately!

[ Yay being vague as he kicks at the ground again. ]

[revolutionfalcon]

You're going to have to be more specific about which idiot. [Shun's tone in saying that is extremely dry. There are a more than sufficient amount of idiots with fire powers here already, and there's been even more in the past he could be talking about.]