[open] we're closed to the earth until further notice

[reformedsinner]

Who: Cho Hakkai and you
When: Oct 15-17
Where: Around the Near and Far Shores
What: The best way to deal with stress is to stay so busy that there's no time to think about it, right? No flaws in this plan.
Warnings: Ayakashi-fighting violence in the Oct. 16 PM prompt, probable mention of illness/death in the Oct. 16 AM prompt, mention of suicide in Gojyo thread

Oct. 15 - Gardening, Temple of Li Tieguai

[Mid-morning finds Hakkai in old clothes and rubber gardening clogs at the front of his temple, where bright yellow chrysanthemums have bloomed all around the outside wall. He has a stack of cheap plastic pots, a trowel, and a wheelbarrow half full of pots filled with freshly uprooted flowers, and he's leaving a long series of sad little pits in the turf behind him.

It's not that he minds flowers, of course. Flowers are fine.

It's just that he's noticed the way these particular flowers seem to be influencing his mood, and he doesn't like it at all.

He sits back on his heels as someone approaches, and wipes sweat off his forehead with the back of one hand, leaving a long streak of mud there instead.]

Good morning! Would you like a potted plant?

Oct. 16 (AM) - Prayers, around Tokyo

[Tokyo's crowded on Sunday mornings, even on a gray and rainy day like this one, where the first gold and orange leaves of fall have been beaten down from the trees and are fading to soggy brown in the gutters and the canals. Hakkai slips through the crowds like a shadow, messenger bag over one shoulder as he scrolls through his phone calendar and snuggles his transparent umbrella closer down over his head. It's not doing much to keep the water off; he keeps having to dry his phone screen on his sleeve, to the annoyance of the small white dragon snuggled down on his scarf.

Chirps of complaint trail in his wake, and he looks up from his phone to murmur to the dragon quietly.

Unfortunately, that means he's not looking where he's going anymore, and in a crowd like this, if anyone's standing still--

-- well, they've just been run into by a man, a dragon, an umbrella, and a very heavy bag.]

Oct. 16 (PM) - Leech Treatment, Ikebukuro

[Hakkai hadn't really planned to wind up doing any fighting today. He has a long list of followers he needs to visit. He's busy, damn it, but a bloated purple leech-thing had detached itself from the neck of a glazed-over pachinko player as he brushed past and lunged for his face.

He hadn't had a choice, which he plans to point out to Chikusa if this gets him in trouble, considering that he also hadn't brought any of his shinki.

The leech is determinedly crawling towards him across the concrete. He aims a kick at it, and it dodges with surprising speed and bites at his toe, leaving an ugly, deep scar across the leather of his shoe. Jeep, reluctantly, lifts off his shoulder and circles up above the umbrella as Hakkai considers the stubborn ayakashi.

This is not the afternoon he'd planned on.]

Oct. 17 - Morning Classes, Abandoned Temple School - Mingle

[Hakkai doesn't always show up for the morning shinki spell practice sessions, but he's here today, sitting towards the side of the courtyard and taking notes in a battered memo book in between circulating to help with borderline or Bind spells. He'll occasionally stop, too, to listen in if anyone's talking about other spells. He'd only bothered to learn Bind himself, after all. It might help to learn a few extra....]

Comments

Leeches in Ikebukuro

[bartenderizing]

[ If one was wondering why Shizuo, shinki to an Irish goddess, was wandering through Ikebukuro... Which no one probably was, but if there were, it's because it's one of the easiest places to troll through and make sure things aren't going completely to hell. Not that he could exactly do more than throw stuff and borderlines at the problems, with Yona asleep, but it's something.

He saw the dragon flying overhead before he realized what was going on. Closing in, he lays down a borderline a couple of feet behind Hakkai, meant to just keep the ayakashi out. The borderline is also stronger than one would expect if they knew Shizuo's confidence, but then again, it had to be strong to stay steady through Chikusa and Ken's ablutions, and that strength has just gotten more concrete at this point. ]

C'mon, get behind the line before it gets you.

[ Weren't you already in trouble recently? ]

[reformedsinner]

[It's a perfectly nice city, really, and crowded enough that it's no surprise that Hakkai's not the only Far Shore resident here. He raises his eyebrows, stepping back to see if he can slip through Shizuo's line, or if it's been cast against more than just ayakashi.]

Ah, Shizuo. Hello. Much obliged.

[He raises an eyebrow, glancing back over his shoulder.]

By the way, how is your gut healing?

[The leech lunges again, and Hakkai waits until it's mid-air this time before placing another kick. This one hits it squarely and sends it on a short arc into the wall on the other side of the narrow street.

Unfortunately, it bounces off and starts wriggling back towards them, but at least it gives him a few seconds' peace.]

[bartenderizing]

Healing?

[ Hakuryuu can even fly through both sides of the line, as he's managed to set it rather well. It took a while to get the hang of deciding what could and couldn't go through, and having that work, but he's managed to get it down lately. Which is why Hakkai had no problem crossing as if it weren't there. That leech will be stopped if it tried to lunge again. ]

It's just a scar, remember? Not like there's much to heal at this point.

[ He's not the slyest or most devious of people around. Quite the opposite most of the time, in fact. Yet he thinks all he said was that Hakkai helped out with healing it a while ago- He didn't realize it stuck so much with the guy to ask about it some time later.

Which is probably why he's fine with acting as if he hadn't been run completely through, and that there was more than just one side of a scar and plenty of internal healing that had to be done. Was probably still doing, but it's not as if he'd know or notice any discomfort. ]

None of the others are nearby?

[ Others being the other shinki. ]

[reformedsinner]

[Hakkai takes one more step back through the borderline, watching as the leech slams against it, and makes a mild noise of approval.]

Others -- oh, you mean my shinki? No, I'm afraid I didn't think I'd need company for a delivery or two.

[Another man walks by, and the purple leech draped down his back -- almost twice the size of the first -- raises its head, teeth working visibly in the round mouth, and lunges at the borderline.]

My mistake. And that injury may take some internal healing, too, as I recall....

15th!

[kagenonadeshiko]

[Ayumu's noticed the flowers, too, along with their mood influencing effects but rather than uproot them, she's embraced them. At this moment, she's wearing a crown of them; after the past few days she's had, she needed the pick me up. She's also carrying a wicker basket filled with artfully arranged autumn fruits and vegetables, a bit of a housewarming gift for her former god since she hadn't been able to much as she would have liked when she'd dropped by for dinner.

She isn't nearly as surprised to see Hakkai's getting rid of the flowers as she probably should be. It's just another one of his quirks at this point.]

Sure. Don't like the color yellow?

[Her tone's faintly teasing as she kneels down beside him, setting her gift basket on the ground.]

[reformedsinner]

It doesn't go with my eyes.

[That's delivered in a perfect deadpan, although he glances in surprise at the basket -- but she hasn't said anything, so he won't ask, yet. Instead, he picks up the nearest pot, with its freshly transplanted and quite large bush of flowers, and offers it to her.]

But it suits you very well.

[kagenonadeshiko]

Thank you.

[Ayumu takes the pot, nodding toward the basket.]

This is for you. Think of it as a housewarming gift. Or congratulations for your promotion.

[Whichever works. She'd mostly just wanted to do something nice for Hakkai so she did.]

How have you been? I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to talk to you at dinner the other night.

[She'd been in lurking mode most of the time and a bit preoccupied with kitty therapy after all the violence and murder the day before. There'd been numerous other guests, too, so it'd been easy to fade into the background.]

[reformedsinner]

Oh -- you didn't have to... [He picks up the basket, glancing over all of the fruits and vegetables she'd stocked it with, and smiles ruefully.]

But thank you. I've been all right -- although I've been busy trying to take a bit better care of my followers, after [he lifts one shoulder in a sketched shrug] all of that disaster.

I'm sorry I didn't have a chance to talk with you, either. It was really Ken's night, of course.

Gardening

[kuroi_taiyo]

[ Sometimes Judar would do his own work, something that could be considered close to studying, while floating around. This also meant that, as his mind got lost, he'd start to drift. He wasn't expecting to have drifted past the walls of Izumo's temple to a neighbor's, but it's not the first time that wandering had happened.

Looking up from the notepad, the red eyes blink at the god before going down at the yellow flowers. Oh- Oh yeah, it's the one with dark energy. Right. The genocidal one, instead of the gruff, cool one that talked about wars and stuff. Actually, he was a bit of a tool- never mind on that thought. ]

... Why?

[ Why would he want a potted plant? Why are you trying to spread flowers? This seemed like some odd self-punishment for sins that had no point in being repented. ]

[reformedsinner]

[Ah. Him. Hakkai wonders if he'll wind up taking the opportunity to see Hakkai take his limiters off; he wouldn't mind, as such, but they'll wind up with dirt on them at this rate.]

Why not? They're perfectly nice flowers, but they don't go with my decor.

[Nor does he appreciate the false sense of safety and confidence that they convey.]

[kuroi_taiyo]

They're so... happy looking. [ So very yellow ] I think they'll clash at our temple, too.

[ Judar. Izumo's a sun goddess. From the same pantheon that Hakkai's serving. Yellow and the sun kind of fit. At least a few people know that, instead of the lie about saying Hades is your god. ]

If they're growing on your temple already, aren't they meant to be there?

[reformedsinner]

You could always make chrysanthemum tea out of them, in that case. It's very nice with honey, and good for colds, besides.

[He beams cheerfully. He has no idea if whatever magic gives them their soothing atmosphere is safe to drink, but it would be interesting to find out.

By giving them to someone else, ideally.]

I have quite a large garden already, and I do prefer it without these.

Prayers

[bussounoshima]

[People tend to get out of Sharak's way. She doesn't think about it much, not really, but even on the Near Shore, people tend to step to the side as she strides down the street without much thought. Like they've been gently nudged aside by a larger wave. By now, Sharak is used to it and is accustomed to walking at a steady, confident pace, walking straight ahead without hesitation or regard to what might be in her way-

A man, a dragon, an umbrella, and a very heavy bag aren't swept away by invisible waves so easily. There's a solid thud when Sharak makes contact and she's knocked backwards onto the pavement. She stays sat there in silence, wet hair clinging to her face, still processing what just happened. This doesn't happen often.]

... What the hell?

[reformedsinner]

Ah...

[Hakkai reels back from the impact, fumbling to avoid dropping his phone and dropping his umbrella instead. Jeep scolds loudly, scrambling under his scarf away from the rain, and Hakkai -- after a few moments of open-mouthed surprise -- begins to laugh, tucks his phone away, and crouches to scoop up his umbrella and offer Sharak a hand back up.]

I suppose I should look where I'm going, shouldn't I?

[bussounoshima]

[Sharak glares up at him, remarkably disheveled even by her standards. She probably landed in a puddle. It's fine, she was damp from the rain anyway.]

Yes, you should.

[Like she was being so much more careful. She shakes her head and takes his hand, pulling herself back up to her feet.]

Young people these days are so careless. [Knocking over an old woman!!]

[reformedsinner]

It's true, I'm not the only one who should be more careful. [He laughs lightly, and shakes a bit of mud from his umbrella before lifting it again. She's gotten worse than the umbrella, what with the puddle, unfortunately, but he holds it out to help shelter her as well.

Jeep mutters, and crawls more deeply into Hakkai's scarf, claws pricking the side of his neck.]

Are you all right?

Losers and leeches

[erogappa]

[ To nobody's surprise, there's a healthy (for a given definition of the word) yakuza presence at the neighborhood pachinko parlor. Anywhere there's money to be made, Gojyo's discovering, especially gambling money, will attract a certain type of criminal.

It's making his mission both easier, and a hell of a lot more complicated.

He's not really interested in the asshole manager of the parlor. He's more interested in who the asshole manager reports to, and who that guy reports to. He's got a name, but now he needs either a face or a location, and he's pretty sure that, with a little more judiciously applied pressure, the pachinko rat will squeal.

...It's not a mixed metaphor. Rats squeal too. Shut up.

After Buddy's loss he's pretty much always expecting to be confronted with a couple angry gangsters, any time, any place. He's not, however, expecting to turn the corner and nearly run into a dead man. A dead man fighting a giant purple slug. ]

Line!

[ It's instinctive. He's not here to help Hakkai -- fuck Hakkai. He just wants to stare in shock at the man without having a glistening purple turd interrupting them. ]

[reformedsinner]

[Hakkai starts back from the borderline hanging between him and the wriggling leech. He'd know that voice anywhere, and it freezes ice through his gut: Gojyo. A city this big, and he runs into Gojyo, the day after Ayumu had been explaining how he'd run off to embark on some kind of one-man vigilante spree to avenge his dog--

The leech throwing itself, with a wet splat, against the borderline is enough to shake him out of the frozen moment. Jeep circles above the two of them. The judgmental edge to the dragon's chirping, Hakkai suspects, is all in his own head.]

Gojyo.

Ah... [He glances aside, at the borderline, the corner of his mouth twisting with a wry edge. So he has a new god.

There's someone else he's going to have to find, and talk to.] Thank you.

[erogappa]

[ A new god with a very familiar naming convention, if the gleaming 5 on the back of Gojyo's (original, left) hand is anything to go by. His (new, slightly smaller and lighter) right hand hangs at his side, a testament to Mikan's amazing surgical skills.

His poker face, meanwhile, still sucks. Every thought that runs through his head is blasted across his face in a matter of seconds.

Hakkai's alive, thank god. And he looks well!

He knows Gojyo, so he's a god.

...He knows borderlines and ayakashi, so he's an experienced god.

God damn him, he died and came back with all his memories intact again, didn't he? Fucking unfair! ]

How many times is that now? [ He keeps the borderline in place, although the effort is starting to show -- the leech throws itself against the barrier again, and the wall flickers, ever so slightly. But that's understandable, as Gojyo's concentration is clearly directed elsewhere. ] Two? Three? More?

Gardening

[bylight]

[Lightning has been wandering around a lot, so it's no surprise she winds up at a temple she's not familiar with. Being asked about a plant? That's not out of the ordinary for her.]

I don't have much of a green thumb. Better to give it to someone who won't kill it within a day.

[reformedsinner]

Are you sure?

[He picks the nearest pot up, holding it out to her. The flower is particularly bright and sunny. It lifts his spirits, unwillingly, even with this proximity.

As curses go, it could be worse, but he's still not fond of it.]

If you plant it outside and water it well, you'll never have to worry about it again. -- Ah, and I don't believe we've met. Cho Hakkai.

[bylight]

My temple mimics coastal weather, I wouldn't have any dirt to plant it in.

[Just sand, sand, and white marble. But that's what planters are for, aren't they...] ... my sister might like it...

[Serah would love it!!!]

Lightning Farron. Or Selene if you prefer god names.

16th, am

[smilingbullet]

[ One never expects running into people from the Far Shore just like that, in the Near Shore. Or getting run into by them, as it were. Not that it's strange or rare, it's just unexpected.

Reflexively, as he steadies his footing, D2 loops one arm around a waist, one hand on his back, and his other hand goes to grasp an upper arm to steady the person who is in such a hurry; which also results in Hakkai pressed a bit close. He blinks some some rain out of his eyes in surprise when he sees who it is. ]

Hey. You guys seem to be in a rush.

[ D2 might be a bit warmer than he usually is, and what people might be in this weather, but he just stepped outside after a long workout so he's still warm from that and damp from the shower. He doesn't have an umbrella, it disappeared, and it was when he had stopped to button up his coat and tried to decide if he should just buy a new one or not when Hakkai had walked into him. ]

[reformedsinner]

Ah--

[Hakkai startles as D2 grabs his waist and arm, going awkwardly rigid and blinking at the other man. His hair is dripping in his eyes, and he seems overheated; Hakkai blinks, again, and takes just one step back to restore a slightly more comfortable distance.]

-- good morning, D2.

[Jeep's head pops up from the scarf where he's taken refuge against the rain, and he chirps a greeting. Hakkai glances around-- he'd dropped his own umbrella in the collision, and it's rolling upside down in a puddle. Well, it's not raining too hard.]

[smilingbullet]

G'morning, Hakkai, Jeep.

[ D2 wanders over to pick up the umbrella, turning it right-way up, shaking it a little to get rid of at least some of the rain inside the little cupola made of plastic. Then he steps back up to Hakkai and covers man and dragon with the umbrella. Himself, not as much. He curiously peers at the bag, then back up. ]

Are you going somewhere?