thenearshore | an incredible mess

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an incredible mess

Who: Add & OPEN
Where: Various locations around the Far Shore
When: All day on September 1st
What: A search for a lost cat. Also getting into more petty fights with Chikusa, probably.
Warnings: Add being incredibly moody, seriously.

It's been a week since Jakob disappeared, and so far Add has done a fantastic job of avoiding everyone and everything outside his temple. Isolating himself probably isn't the healthiest coping mechanism, but no one ever said he was good at coping. The last thing he wants is for anyone to see him in such a pathetic state.

But when he finally pulls himself away from his dimensional research, he realizes a certain needy cat hasn't been bothering him for a few days now—his food dish hasn't been touched, either. A thorough search of the temple turns up nothing (which is a trial in and of itself), and not even Apocalypse's scanners can detect the missing feline... but it's not like the cat could just vanish. Did he break through the temple's illusions and escape outside? It's the only answer that makes sense...

Is he really such an unlucky person he can't even keep a cat without losing them? The depressing thought only makes Add feel more miserable, but he pushes it aside to focus on the task at hand. He will find his cat, no matter what it takes. Even if it means tearing through every temple in the Far Shore!

And that's exactly what he does, all while shouting "Disaster!" as loudly as possible. Private property is an easily ignored suggestion and any black cats that happen to be roaming are getting chased down on sight. If he's making a disturbance, too bad. This is a dire cat-related emergency, damnit, and like hell he's going to let anything get in his way.

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"Excuse me," Hakkai interjects as Kishi bolts in terror from the running man and ducklings scatter everywhere in a quacking explosion of pastel down. "What is the disaster?"

He crosses his arms, considering Add's expression. "Is something on fire?"

His tone suggests that something had better be.

"Ah, wait! Don't--!"

Gohan is quick to follow after Add and the black cat that happened to be lounging around at his temple continues to flee. Somewhere in the distance, there's a low grumbling sound that Gohan ignores as he tries to catch Add and the black cat before they wander in too far.

From a distance the Kishi almost looks like the cat he's looking for, but once he's close enough for it to bolt off he can see the white accents. Definitely not Disaster. Add slows to a stop amid the chaotic quacking, heaving a defeated sigh.

And of course he runs into someone like Hakkai. He shoots the man a glare before straightening his posture, as if that might make him look less ridiculous somehow.

"Have you seen a solid black cat around here?" he asks, rather than answering the question posed at him.

Hakkai pauses for a moment. "...Is his name Disaster?"

Suddenly, this situation makes more sense. Still, he has to shake his head, glancing after Kishi, who's disappeared into the temple.

"No, I haven't, but I'll keep an eye out."

With how much Add is wandering around... It's only inevitable that he would end up in one of the few temples about the Far Shore that happens to be a farm. And, like any farm, it has more than its fair share of cats.

As they go disappearing into the rather expansive farm with its many buildings and fields, startled by a really loud strange, Chikusa pauses at the ruckus. Being in the main house itself makes him uneasy, most days, too nice and pleasant and not home for him to stand. So he's seated right outside the stables, a book in his lap, when one of the cats goes scurrying by at the sound of yelling.

By the time Add comes around the corner, Chikusa's owl beanie is glaring right at him, and the teen has a yoyo in one hand.

"...Why are you at this place?"

Add isn't the only one who ignores the concept of private property, though this time Obi actually isn't a home invader. He drops down on the rail to the stairs in Baron Samedi's haunted temple, sliding down it and he sits down in a crouch at the bottom of the rail.

"What's the disaster, Mister? Are you here to tell my Master about it?"

There are no felines in Hebe's temple -yet, at least- but a girl was watering the flowers when Add barged into the garden in front of the golden building. She jumps from the surprise and almost drops the hose in her hand.

"D-Disaster? A-Are you okay, can I help you?"

Add scoffs, paying little heed to Gohan's warning. This guy probably just doesn't want him wandering around his temple or whatever—too bad! Once the cat bolts into the forest Add doesn't hesitate to pursue it, riding on top of his assistant drones like a hoverboard to keep up. All he has to do is catch it—

Except he's caught off guard when the cat lets out an agitated yowl and suddenly runs back the other way, escaping under his feet. Confused, he just barely manages to turn around before crashing into the giant creature just on the other side of the trees... which he somehow hasn't noticed yet, because all his attention is still on the damn cat.

"Grab that cat!" he yells at Gohan as it runs back his way.

At least he's polite enough not to stomp all over the flowers, though he's probably still walking through the garden instead of around it. He stops when the girl addresses him all in a panic, sighing loudly and pressing a hand to his temples.

"Disaster is my cat," he corrects, slightly annoyed. Why can't anyone figure that out?? Obviously it's a cool name for a cat. "Have you seen a black cat around here at all? Or maybe a day or two ago?"

Add is poking around under the stairs when Obi slides in, looking for little holes or crawlspaces that a cat might climb into to hide... but so far he hasn't spotted anything, at least not on this side of the building. He nearly bangs his head on the stairs in surprise when Obi starts talking at him, though.

"Why would I? It's none of his business." Though the grouchy response is kinda pointless when he's been asking everyone about the cat anyway. So, yeah, in a way he did come here to tell his master about it.

Add straightens his back, glancing around the rest of the grounds for a moment before turning back to the shinki. "Do you get any animals around here?"

"Obviously." He emphasizes the obviousness of it with an eyeroll. "What else would I be talking about? My cat is missing, so I'm looking for him." ~~Pfft, as if he'd warn anyone of an actual impending disaster.~~

He grumbles out something that might've been a "thanks" before turning away from Hakkai... and continuing towards his temple, because if his cat can get inside so easily then Add's cat could also be in there, maybe. Hakkai offering to keep an eye out is helpful, but Add is still going to do his own searching if he can get away with it.

Chikusa is the absolute last person he wants to deal with right now, so of course he practically runs right into the guy. His already sour mood is immediately worsened. There's an audible hum of static in the air as he shoots the shinki a dirty look, Dynamo poised in an arc behind his back.

"None of your damn business," he growls, refusing to back down. Not after what happened last week. He stands up straight, trying to seem larger and intimidating even though he's actually 2cm shorter. "I'll deal with you later. Get out of my way."

His mocking and sarcastic tone is completely absent for once. Not in the mood for stupid shenanigans.

It is indeed a disaster. Two of the dogs are yapping loudly somewhere outside the temple, someone is screaming bloody murder... sadly it requires intervention. Caster just follows the noise the hounds are making, and finds them trying to climb one of the trees that surround the area of his temple - it is a druid grove, after all, trees are given.

"Shut up, everyone." he whistles at the dogs and forces one of them to leave the tree alone- the other only is a living proof that yes, they need some good old training - because it's still barking like mad. As if something or someone climbed that tree.

"Where is that disaster, huh?" He says, looking around to catch a glimpse of the yelling person.

Typical... Chikusa's other hand quietly forms the gesture required for a borderline. If the other is looking for a fight, then he's not sure his yoyo will be so lucky again, and he's pretty sure his poison needles wouldn't be able to break through the defense he made last time. (Easily shattered with blunt force as it was.) Spell casting will have to be his best defense, although he can't use the good ones on a god.

"This isn't your property..." His head lulls slightly to the side, although his eyes don't leave Add for a second. "So technically it is my business. What are you doing?"

How do you not notice the dinosaur, Add?

But Gohan immediately zooms after the cat, picking it up and lifting it up, keeping his feet off the ground as if it'll be enough to deter the small creature from wanting to fall out of his grip. It works; the cat is now clinging onto Gohan for dear life as he keeps off the ground.

"Is this your cat?"

"My mistake," Hakkai says dryly, and watches for a few seconds as Add strides purposefully towards his temple.

No; it doesn't seem he's going anywhere else, does it?

He is inviting himself in.

Sighing, Hakkai follows him. "Some people," he comments, "ask before walking into another's house...."

About a week had passed since she'd last spoken to Jakob or Add. She'd figured Jakob would be busy tending to his god and based on her limited interactions with Add, she couldn't think of any reason he'd want to contact her. But Add had been her patient even if only for a little while and she can't help but worry. Is he still trying to get away from Jakob? Is he making Jakob worry? She figured she'd give Jakob a call just to check in on him but...

She couldn't find his contact information. It was all gone and though she knows what this means but... maybe he'd come back? It was just a mistake, right?

But his name was still gone this morning and she wonders when it disappeared. The only other person she can think of who would know was Add and...

She jumps when she hears someone yelling near her shrine's entrance. Disaster? She dashes outside, slipping on her slippers as she runs out into the garden to see what the problem is--

"It's you!" Add. What was the saying? Speak of the Devil and he will appear? Did the same apply to thoughts? "W-what's wrong?"

"It won't take long, I'm just looking around." As if the duration of the visit was the problem. He's absolutely going to rifle around Hakkai's things while he's here, too, at least if it's something a cat could reasonably get into. Or if it looks like it could be interesting...

He inevitably ends up in the temple's workshop. As set as he is on his search, he can't help but pause for a moment to prod at some of Hakkai's alchemical tools. It's the kind of distraction he doesn't mind.

"What's this for?"

Add is not stuck up in the tree, thank you very much. In fact, he's not even technically in the tree since he's standing on his dynamos. He can come down whenever he wants.

Just not right now, because this stupid cat ran up here after the dogs (and Add, probably) scared it and he can't get a good look at it when it's clinging to the tree and hissing and swiping at him. It's a small relief when the dogs are finally called off by someone. If he can just get the damn cat to calm down, maybe he can pry it free and figure out if it's Disaster.

... but he's not having a lot of success so far. There's a lot of angry hissing coming from both sides up there.

"Ugh, quit it already! I'm trying to save you!"

"Distilling infusions," Hakkai says helpfully -- it is an odd-looking bit of equipment, with an angled tube jutting from the lid of one pot and running down at an angle to another. "It's called an alembic. Please don't jostle that filter next to it; it's not quite done, you see."

He leans one shoulder against the doorway of his workroom, crossing his arms. "As a matter of fact, since you don't mind a bit of distraction, I meant to ask you something."

"I don't care if it's your property. What are you going to do stop me? Poison me again?"

Add isn't interested in shenanigans, but picking a fight? He has every right to, doesn't he? Chikusa could've killed him with that poison for all he knows, or worse, he could've killed Jakob if Add hadn't gotten to it first. Either way he crossed a line and Add isn't in a forgiving mood. In his current state of mind, everything might as well be Chikusa's fault right now. There's no evidence to prove Chikusa's stupid poison wasn't the reason Jakob was sent away.

He takes a step further into Chikusa's personal space, static radiating off his body and likely causing the other's hair to stick up. He's pissed off, upset, and Chikusa is too easy to blame. A spiteful grin begins to spread across his face as he looms over the shinki.

"Do you really think a worthless piece of trash like yourself can tell me what to do?" he sneers. "You couldn't stop me even if you tried. I can bend time and space to my will, moron, I'm only asking you to move to give you a chance at keeping some of your dignity. But you wouldn't have much of that to begin with, would you?"

By now he's starting to get a bit disheartened in his search. He still hasn't found any sign of Disaster... he doesn't want to dwell on the other possibilities, but the situation is seeming more hopeless by the minute. What if Disaster is gone for good? He refuses to give up, not yet, but it feels like a hopeless endeavour at this point.

He's shaken from his thoughts when a familiar voice answers his call. Add stops, staring blankly for a moment before quickly putting on a tired scowl. This must be Sakura's temple.

"Nothing," he grunts back reflexively, averting his eyes to scowl in another direction. "It's my cat's name. There's no disaster."

He doesn't know how to deal with Sakura right now. She's too kindhearted of a person for him, and the fact that she's Jakob's friend (was Jakob's friend) only makes him feel bitter now. Does she even know that Jakob is gone? It'd be better to just leave now rather than risk a conversation. All he's going to do is end up insulting her or embarrassing himself. He sighs and turns back towards the way he came.

"Tell me if you see a black cat around."

"I know what it's called," he grumbles as he puts another jar back in place. Of course a scientist like himself would know what an alembic is, the word just slipped his mind a little since he doesn't deal with alchemy very often.

He pauses, glancing back at Hakkai for a moment before turning away again. This time he picks up a jar of dried mushrooms, shaking it carefully for a better look at the contents.

"What do you want?"

"A cat...?" That's some name for a cat but she won't comment on it. Instead, she looks around her as if half expecting said cat to appear somewhere in her garden. When she looks back at him, it's almost like he's getting ready to leave and she takes a step forward, "W-wait!" She won't go after him just yet but she has to ask.

"Does Jakob know you're..." She stops. It's a question she would normally ask but another one is on her mind and quietly, she tries again, "No, what I mean is..." And louder, she tries to not sound too worried but it's clear from the pitch that she's anxious, "I-I haven't been able to reach him. Maybe its b-because I'm not very good at using the machines in this world b-but... Do you... Do you know anything about that?"

Her hands are held tightly in front of her, eyes watching Add carefully for any sign that might prepare her for whatever answer he might have.

He stops, though he's too cowardly to face her. He already knows what she's going to ask about. There's nothing else it could be...

Yet even knowing what the question is going to be in advance, he struggles to find the words to answer. Stating the facts out loud makes everything feel too final. He's still not ready to let Jakob go. Hasn't he done enough letting go already?

Add takes a slow breath, trying to keep himself composed. He can't stay silent forever. He manages to keep his voice even, somehow, despite the well of turbulent emotions threatening to overwhelm him.

"He's not my shinki anymore. Figure it out yourself."

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