thenearshore | April Training

April Training

Who: Everyone
What: Information and Training
When: November 6th
Where: Outside the Meeting Hall, the Far Shore
Summary: Training and informational sessions for newly arrived gods and shinki

Gods and shinki arriving at heaven's meeting hall are, should they allow it, guided to the rear of the Meeting Hall, where a traditionally styled dojo and training ground have been made available for the day. The gods and shinki are free to take their time during this day to learn about the details of their new life from Amaterasu's shinki or from the many veteran new god and shinki volunteers.

God Training

Newly arrived gods are escorted into a much nicer room than the warehouse where the last set of new gods got their informational speech. It's a smaller meeting room, with tatami floors and a small dais at the front of the room where the speaker stands. A minor deity is giving the speech, and none of the white-robed shinki enter. They are encouraged to discuss the information with each other and ask questions of more experienced gods, as well as instructed to guide their new shinki appropriately.

Shinki Training

informational pamphlets

borderline

Physical Training

Rest and Refreshments

In Summary:

Get all the information you can handle
Veteran new gods and shinki are welcome to volunteer showing the ropes
Get in some training
Play with the dogs
Spectate if you want
Have fun~

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Wow... Really?

[Goku's impressed. Hakkai's "responsible member of the community" act must be going over really well! He's probably happy about that. Goku's glad.]

Nice to meet ya, Ayumu! Or, uh, Ayu-chan. [It's been a long time since he called anyone by a nickname like that, but if she wants him to, he won't argue.] Are you an' Hakkai really good friends?

[He only sounds a little doubtful. Hakkai is nice and great and wonderful and Goku loves him. Making new friends isn't really like him, but it's good if it's true!]

We are. I used to work for him and we lived together for a time.

[It's clear to her that Goku doesn't seem aware of just how long Hakkai's been here. But she's trying to ease him into this mad situation as gently as she can. Goku had been there for her when she'd needed a friend; she owes him this much.]

We don't anymore but we're still friends.

[Friends in an awkward situation but still friends.]

[Other people might read into "we lived together" and get the wrong idea. A handsome young man and a beautiful young woman, living and working together. It's right there. But Goku knows Hakkai, knows he'd never act indecently around a lady and that he wouldn't just jump into bed with someone for the hell of it. It doesn't even occur to him to consider it and it's only partly because any possible innuendo flies right over his head. There's just no way!]

Are you a teacher too, Ayu-chan?

[One of the puppies sneaks back over to sniff Goku's hand. Then it starts licking it, because it can smell food.]

Well, sort of. Though I don't teach at the school. I guess you could say I'm more of a private tutor. I teach life skills and self-defense.

[What she really means is she teaches ninjutsu, cooking, and homemaking but those are kind of the same thing, right? Ayumu turns her attention to the puppy a briefly, picking up another piece of fish.]

Sit!

[As soon as the puppy obeys, she gives it the fish. Then her gaze shifts back to Goku.]

I only have a couple of pupils. One is very talented. The other... well. Some need to work harder than others, I suppose!

[Goku, meanwhile, just feeds the puppy another piece of fish straight from his hand. It's cute, he can't say no...]

School stuff can be hard! [He speaks from experience.] Fighting is more fun though, that sounds cool.

[That's what self-defense means, right? The only lessons Goku excelled at.]

But, if you don't teach at the school, where'd you work with Hakkai?

I was his shinki. Ah, has anyone explained the situation to you? Or given you a pamphlet?

[She's perfectly happy to step in if she needs to but it'd help to have a sense of what Goku's already learned.]

I'm a decent enough fighter when I need to be but I think I prefer learning myself.

[There's no judgment or chastisement in her tone, though. Different people have different likes, dislikes, strengths, weaknesses... and all of that's okay.]

[Goku starts in surprise.] You're one of those shinki guys?

[But she looks normal! And nice! He's not sure what he expected shinki to be like, after he had them explained to him, but somehow... Maybe it's just because it's sad to think that Ayumu is actually dead. Even though he's talking to her. So maybe she's not dead. Maybe death is meaningless. Huh.]

They explained a bit and I think I get it, it's just all really weird. I've never met someone who could turn into a weapon before. It must suck, if you like fighting yourself.

[Can't punch someone if you're a sword or whatever!]

[Ayumu chuckles a bit at his surprised reaction. Eyepatch aside, she doesn't really look like much of a fighter or weapon, does she? But by presenting herself as a soft target, even if her niceness toward Goku is genuine, she gives herself an edge in combat should someone force her hand.]

Fighting here can get pretty frustrating, especially if you're used to working alone. The enemies we fight can only be defeated by a god and a shinki working together. And yes, it is kind of a pain to have rely on someone else to do the punching for you while you can only spectate.

[Ayumu smiles.]

But I've gotten lucky. Both of my gods have been skilled fighters. I don't know if I could handle being wielded by someone who didn't know what they were doing.

It sounds really frustratin'...

[Being called a god is dumb, but at least he doesn't have to be a shinki. He's much better off doing the fighting, he thinks. Maybe he'll think differently if he ever gets to fight with a shinki himself.]

Fighting with someone else doesn't sound bad though. Hakkai's real strong, so you got lucky with him.

He's a very good fighter. And does well enough with the responsibilities he has to his followers.

[Now if only Hakkai could learn to keep his personal life under control and stop stressing out his exemplar so much. At least, Ken seems to be handling things a little better.]

I'm sure you'll manage just fine, though.

[From what Ayumu's seen of him, Goku's good combat instincts. Those go a long way here in her experience.]

Hakkai's good at bein' responsible and stuff!

[In Goku's experience. Lately their responsibilities have mostly included "punching stuff" and "making sure Sanzo doesn't die" and they've all been doing really well!]

Yeah, I'm not worried about that stuff. [He just has to fight monsters, right? That's easy.] Hey, I'm really strong too, ya know. If you ever wanna fight with someone, we can!

[Goku, that's indecent.]

[Oh. Well, that's surprising. But does Goku knows what he's saying? Probably not.]

Well, we'll see! If you ever get into trouble and need help, I can try. Maybe. I wouldn't want you to get hurt.

[She's clearly a bit flustered by this development but the sentiment's sincere. Ayumu doesn't want Goku to find himself trapped in a situation where he needs a shinki and doesn't have one. Ayumu takes another bite of sweet potato, chewing thoughtfully.]

I'll tell you what. The people in charge here should have given you a phone. I can give you my number and if you're ever in trouble in a fight, you can call me, 'kay?

[Ayumu, you're not helping.]

[Goku's a real smooth talker. You'd think he'd learned from Gojyo, if he weren't so much better at it than him.]

Aw, I'm tough, don't worry about me. [Says the boy currently one big, walking bruise. He's not sure why Ayumu is flustered- maybe she's embarrassed that she needs help to fight?] ... It could just be for fun! Fighting with other people can be a lot more interestin' than fighting on your own.

[You get to make smart ass comments the whole fight. When you do that on your own, you just look like an asshole. Instead of a whole group of assholes. Yeah, Goku has no idea what he's saying. Or maybe he does and Ayumu is the one who doesn't know!]

Ah, yeah, they gave me one... Here, do whatever you want to it!

[Passes the phone over and grins. Score.]

[Ayumu beams as she takes the phone. For all her tech issues, she's had a lot more time to get acquainted with how these devices work, at least, so it doesn't very long for her to put her number in Goku's phone and hand it back to him.]

Fighting for fun doesn't sound bad at all. It's a bit different with gods and shinki though, I think. Well, you'd have to name me for me to able to help you rend anything and the bond's kind of weird. I don't understand it very well but I'm sure Hakkai could explain how it works better.

[She chuckles a bit.]

Magic's not really my area of expertise. But I'd love to spar with you sometime. I don't think I have much experience fighting among allies. I've only ever really done it with my gods and Gojyo.

[Smart phones are a little much for Goku's level of tech understanding, so he watches Ayumu work with an impressed look on his face. He'll figure it out eventually, he's young. It can be one of the many things Hakkai has to walk him through.]

Really? I haven't noticed anythin' weird yet! [Because your shinki is soulless, Goku.] I'll ask Hakkai and make sure.

[Or he'll forget and just start naming people whenever it's convenient and rapidly realise the mistake he's made.]

Yeah, I'm no good at that magic stuff either. But sparring is fun! And fighting with Gojyo is fun too, he's really strong! Dumb and annoyin' but strong!

[It's important to include the "stupid kappa" disclaimer every time he compliments Gojyo. Sanzo would never forgive him if he didn't.]

Gojyo is pretty fun to fight with! And he's definitely strong! Much stronger than me, anyway. I have to rely more on leverage and momentum. Hakkai's really strong. Quick, too.

[Ayumu's pretty fast and can take a lot more than her small, pretty appearance might suggest but in the end, she's hindered by human limitations. Given how many people with special powers are around, it's pretty annoying but she's able to compensate by fostering good will with allies stronger than her.]

What do you think of obstacle courses, Goku? I think they're even more fun than sparring.

[Goku nods happily- yes, his friends are really strong and fast. Ayu-chan is so smart. He doesn't judge her for having human limitations. Sanzo's human and he's one of the toughest people Goku's ever met.]

I don't think I've tried one! You mean like a race or somethin'?

Something like that!

[Ayumu beams.]

You can race someone else or race yourself. They're really good for learning how to think and act quickly in a variety of situations, one after another. They're a very fun way to train.

Huh...

[Goku guesses that sounds interesting, but with Ayumu smiling like that he's distracted and thinking about someone else. It sounds like something Hakkai would say, which instantly puts Goku on guard. It probably is something fun, but. Danger.]

... Hey, Ayu-chan, did you work with Hakkai for a while?

[Danger is fun, Goku. Usually. In moderation. Nothing wrong with getting your heart rate up and your pulse racing to break up the monotony of life.]

I did. Though I wasn't as much of a help to him in his work as I could have been.

[She'd only ever gone on that one mission with him and spent more time working apart than together during their partnership. It is one regret she has about how it turned out.]

You know that saying about 'two cooks in the kitchen', right?

[Or two violent, self-destructive, repressed housewives with passive aggressive streaks living under the same roof. If Heaven didn't have a saying about that before, they might now.]

Two cooks? ... Doesn't that just mean twice the food?

[That sounds good! And Ayu-chan sounds so much like Hakkai, maybe she's a really good cook too! Goku is briefly lost in the image of two Hakkai's in the same kitchen, making dinner. Two Hakkais. Holding sharp knives. Smiling.

He tenses slightly.]

Ah, nah, I think I know what you mean.

Well, I suppose twice the food could be an option but they'd have to work well together first. And I think we're better off living apart.

[Perhaps one day studies will confirm whether or not two alphas of the dangerous housewife species can coexist peacefully in the same habitat but for now, it appears that natural law dictates a struggle for dominance occurs until mating takes place or one is slain or exiled.

Little has been documented or verified about this elusive and deadly creature.]

You're still friends though, right? So it's fine.

[They don't have to live together to get along otherwise. Some people need their space. This is something Goku knows and does his best to understand, even if it's a completely foreign concept.]

We are still friends. Better than we were before, in fact!

[Hakkai's much easier to talk to when she has the option of tuning out the last disaster or terrible life choice. As a shinki, she'd felt obligated to protect him from himself as she felt a shinki should protect her god. He hadn't wanted her protection and she hadn't wanted his protection either so the smartest thing to do had been to remove herself from the situation entirely and leave him to others better suited to handling him in regular, close proximity than she.

Sometimes she feels a little wistful or misses the calmer, more domestic aspects of living with him but she doesn't miss the constant stress, anxiety, and tension. Ayumu doesn't regret leaving him; if she hadn't, she wouldn't have been assigned to Sanzang who's much easier for to live and work with for whatever unknown reason.]

And I think it's easier to not to take someone for granted when circumstances make it so you have to reach out to spend time with them.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

April Training

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