it's just textbook stuff [open]

[reformedsinner]

Who: Cho Hakkai & you
When: Oct 27 - 29
Where: Abandoned temple school, temple of Li Tieguai, near the "Friday" dive bar
What: Teaching & negotiating with the school lake monster, dealing with his sudden talking cat infestation, keeping an eye on gang activity (+ anything else your character might want to do with him!)

School Day

[Hakkai is spending most of the afternoon of the 28th at school; he shows up for math and kanji tutoring lessons at first, circling the room to help anyone who's confused. Lectures don't work as well with every student at a different age and level, after all; he's posing them individual questions. Any new students are promptly greeted and settled into one of the classroom desks so that Hakkai can grill them about what they want to learn and how much they already know.

Once the students have left for the day, Hakkai heads out to the back of the school. The yard, once a tangle of impassable weeds and overgrown trees, is now all cleaned out; some grass is beginning to grow across it, but some areas are still plain dirt, tamped down for people who want to practice sports or sparring. There's still a deep, murky pond at the back of the lot, though, and the weeds are still thick within several paces of the pond.

He's going straight to the pond and tossing several cucumbers into it from a bag he's carrying with him before he begins to weed at the edge. Mysteriously, as he works on the weeds, the cucumbers disappear one by one from the surface of the pond, leaving little ripples on the greenish water.]

Herding Cats

[On the morning of the 27th, Hakkai can be found at home, working industriously in his temple's compounding room. Apart from the occasional clink of glass, rustle of paper and hiss of flame, it's quiet in the room.

Outside the room is a different story. Passersby beware: the quiet peace of the temple is abruptly broken by the sound of a very large, galloping dog. Bon, the resident Tibetan mastiff, bursts out through the gate and begins running in circles in the lane. On his back, several two-tailed cats cling to his thick fur, hair standing on end and yowling in tones reminiscent of kids on a roller coaster. After a few more circles, Bon barges back through the gate, and through the front door, crashing noises resounding in his wake.

Distantly audible from the lane, a human voice starts to shout as well.]

Lunchtime Spy

[Part of Hakkai's mornings and afternoons is usually spent on the Near Shore, delivering medicines to his followers. Around noon to one p.m., though, he can reliably be found in a particularly run-down old factory district, seated on the edge of a raised planter box containing a scrawny, half-dead cherry tree, eating rice balls across the street from a particular dive bar with a CLOSED sign up and some police tape visible in the dimness inside.

He doesn't seem to be drawing the attention of most of the passersby, but despite his apparent attention to his packed lunch, his gaze flicks up to scan the faces -- and look for the tattoos -- of anyone passing by.]

Wildcard

[If there's anything else you'd like to plot with Hakkai, hit me up at tinwateringcan!]

Comments

Sharak Sanzo - Oct 27, evening

[reformedsinner]

[He hasn't actually texted her to check on her availability. This may perhaps have been an oversight, but Hakkai doesn't think about that until he's already partway up the set of stairs stretching up to Sharak's temple.

Oh, well: better late than never. He pulls his phone out, and texts as he climbs.]

Are you busy tonight?

[bussounoshima]

[As Hakkai makes his way up the hill, Aditi's rooster makes a beeline for him while it crows madly. Just before it reaches him, it abruptly changes course to veer to the right. Then it starts to circle Hakkai, crowing and making threatening gestures as Hakkai continues his climb. All from a safe distance, of course. But he's watching you, Hakkai. Don't think you can get away with just showing up like this.]

I'm washing my hair.

[You can practically hear the dry tone emanating from the text. Sharak pushes aside one of the curtains to look down the hill at Hakkai with an unimpressed look. To be fair, her hair is a bit of a mess. Just a bit. She also isn't wearing her robe, instead just garbed in her leotard, leggings and many weapon holsters. It's late, she was getting ready to settle in for the evening.]

You know you can't actually get in here unnoticed, right? Just shout if you have something to say.

[reformedsinner]

If I was trying to sneak up on you, this isn't the way I'd do it. [He directs a severe glance at the rooster.]

-- Sit.

[It doesn't look quite willing to obey. It doesn't attack, either, though, which Hakkai decides he'll take as a win. He turns his attention back to Sharak, and blinks. That's not actually a bodysuit with stripes, is it? Those are thigh-high socks and a leotard. That's a fairly large amount of scarred, wiry thigh that Sharak is flashing.

He is, for a few seconds, completely speechless.]

Ah...

... in fact, I was wondering if you wanted to go out for a drink tonight! It's been too long since we had a chance to chat.

herding cats

[priforprince]

Hh--!!

[ Hibiki is lucky Bon makes so much noise, and that today her hands are only full of a small wrapped box. Spotting him coming, she waits until a collision is nearly imminent, then jumps up into the air.

On the way back down, she tucks into a somersault and sticks the landing with a flash of brilliant light. Dodging is for people who can't do that.

A hand goes to her bangs, and she smirks a private smirk. That dog won't get her again.... ]

[reformedsinner]

[The dog skids into a hairpin turn, yelping as the several cats on his back dig their claws in to stay secure, and comes pelting back towards Hibiki from behind.

Hakkai, wearing an apron splashed with something greenish-brown and smelling of nut oils and neat alcohol, steps outside with a scowl and pauses.

-- He'll say something, really.

In a few more seconds.]

[priforprince]

[ No, no, that's all right. Silent awe is its own form of amore.

Hibiki keeps her hand in her bangs even after she notices her audience. ] Hey. I've come to inform you of my complete recovery.

[ Since nothing in the world could possibly be more important than the fact that when last you saw Shikyoin Hibiki, she had the plu. ]

School Day

[smilingbullet]

[ D2 had to go to see what Hakkai was up to, once he spotted him. And then he saw the cucumbers disappearing and he knows that kappa are supposed to like cucumber. Though maybe that's just fiction. ]

You got kappa in your pond?

[ He puts aside his bag on the ground as he asks, and crouches down by the pond. He runs a hand through the plant life weed that sticks up, to see if any of the plants are anything that's anything that should stay or if everything is weed that needs to go. ]

[reformedsinner]

So far as I can tell! They don't like to come out of the water, and they'll break fishing poles, but they like cucumbers.

[So he's guessing kappa. In a place where the youkai that do exist seem to reflect their mythological depictions, it suits.

It amuses him, too, in a way. If only other kappa were so easy to appease with cucumbers and benign neglect.]

I haven't managed to get a good look at any of them yet. All that duckweed...

[The plants around the pond are a mix; there are irises and reeds intermixed, starting to brown with the cooler fall weather, and a few big lotus leaves swaying above the water further from the bank. More obvious weeds mix with the other plants: milky-sapped runners, dandelions, clover and crabgrass.]

[smilingbullet]

So they're shy, huh. Hakkai's nice, no need to be worried about him.

[ The last bit is directed at the pond itself, but he's not exactly expecting a reply.

He chuckles, rolls up his sleeves (not that it helps much), and dips a hand into the water searching for as close to the base as he can to a weed plant so he can pull it up by the roots. ]

At least it's not actual ducks. Troublesome, those things.

[ They cling pretty tightly to the bottom, but he does get it up. He won't lose to some reeds or other tough weeds. ]

Some of these will be pretty hard to reach from here.

School

[clothes_make_the_man]

[After classes, Forrest comes out to join Hakkai at the water's edge.]

Do you need some help getting the last of it cleaned up?

[reformedsinner]

I certainly wouldn't mind! Do you do much gardening, Forrest?

[Hakkai stops weeding as he speaks, sitting back on his heels and tossing a handful of overgrown crabgrass and leggy clover onto the weed pile he's accumulated.]

With help, I think we could clear the rest of this out today.

[clothes_make_the_man]

Well, yes... my temple does have quite a few flowers. But I also have Lakshmi's power at my disposal.

Midafternoon, 28 October

[iron59]

[Quietly, the kid who has spent the last few days bothering Hakkai a lot slips into the school, waiting until it looks like Hakkai is busy with someone else. He's only here in case he needs the help, not because he needs help.

He finds a place near the back of the room and digs some stained papers from his pocket, unfolding them carefully. The packet isn't terribly thick, but looks well worn, with a little hole visible in the center from repeated folding and unfolding.

Felix pins the papers down with his left hand, which also shows off the bandages wrapped around his left arm, new since he spoke with Hakkai the previous morning. He spends a moment digging through his pockets before sighing and putting his head down beside his arm.]

Backpack. Right.

[He digs out his phone and takes a minute, pulling up a notepad app that he can at least kind of use, since he doesn't have a pencil.]

Okay. Volume is...um...something π. πr something...? Something πr³...

[reformedsinner]

Would you like a pen?

[He's left his last student working through a problem -- she's past the part that was stumping her now, and should be able to handle the rest of it -- and is moving towards Lucky's desk, producing a battered ballpoint from his shirt pocket.]

[iron59]

[Felix shifts, tucking his right leg under his chair a little more, leaning over his left arm just a little more...he can't help it, he doesn't even think about doing it. But he doesn't want to disappoint Hakkai, and so he tries to act like there's no reason for him to be disappointed.]

Um...thank you.

[He glances up, then down at the paper.]

That's better than a phone. It's hard to write "π" on a phone.

cat wrangling

[heptagram]

Woah--!

[Guess who almost got knocked over by a dog. Maybe multiple times.

Anyway. That's. Not something you see every day. She's just going to stand back as the dog crashes back in through the front door. She's not sure she wants much to do with this, but also, here she is.]

[reformedsinner]

[There's a series of crashing noises inside, and a few thuds, before the dog reappears with two fewer cats clinging to his back and a young man in hot pursuit.]

Bon, stop! Bon! Sit!

[The dog is clearly too worked up, right at the moment, to respond to commands. The cats with their claws buried in his ruff probably have something to do with that.]

[heptagram]

[Oh. That's... a lot of noise. Anyway, it sounds like that guy is having difficulty with his dog. Patchouli finally sticks her head in.]

Is this... this isn't a regular occurrence, right?

Spying at Lunchtime

[shadowrevenger]

[Hakkai looks right at home sitting there--or that's what Ren thinks, anyway. Maybe someone who didn't know him very well would wonder why he's eating his lunch in a place like this.

He also looks like he might be eating alone for a reason and shouldn't be interrupted. So of course, Ren is going to pop up over his shoulder and interrupt whatever he's doing.]

Is that the only thing you brought for lunch? They do look pretty good, though...

[reformedsinner]

[Hakkai startles, half-swinging around to look up at Ren before he relaxes with a self-deprecating smile.]

Ah... hello! I didn't expect to see you here.

They're conveniently portable, ha ha.

[shadowrevenger]

[Don't mind him, he's just going to be secretly delighted over here that he startled Hakkai.]

I had a request around here. [Ta-da, here's a prayer tablet for him to wave around.]

This does seem like the kind of place where you'd need something portable.

lunchtime

[kokuyoyo]

[One of the next faces that Hakkai will spy coming by will be resting under a pink and white striped beanie, a colorful pom resting on top.... but he's probably not going to be surprised by that. It is one of his shinki, after all.]

[Chikusa doesn't say anything immediately either. All he does is shuffle to go next to Hakkai, leaning against a pole and staring at the bar himself.]

...The first prayer Axel-sama used me for... involved chasing yakuza out of a neighborhood. Ah... [He tilts his head to the side.] But then.... they weren't real. I still knew how to handle them, however....

[reformedsinner]

[For pink and white stripes, that beanie is surprisingly tasteful. It only has the most distant of resemblances to a petit four.

Hakkai raises his eyebrows thoughtfully.]

Are you offering me a hand?

[--and takes a bite of his onigiri, chewing and swallowing with an equally thoughtful air before he continues.]

I'm not sure we want to remind them who their real enemy is.

School Day

[boneofsword]

[This isn't his day to be at school, but Archer has been meaning to talk to Cho Hakkai for quite some time. After Add's post he's been wondering about possible theories, but first he needs more data.

Archer arrives at school around the time he knows the lessons will finish, and noticing Hakkai heading to the back of the school he follows, not in the slightest trying to be stealthy.]

I wonder if it's the same kappa. [he muses aloud as he approaches.] Need a hand?

[reformedsinner]

The same kappa as...? [Hakkai trails off curiously, raising his eyebrows, and waves a hand at the other side of the weed-choked pond.]

Yes, I'd certainly appreciate a hand. Thank you.