[open] take it from me

[kokuyoyo]

Who: Chikusa Kakimoto and you
What: Staying at the Li Tieugai temple is becoming too annoying lately. Fortunately, Chikusa has plenty of things to investigate, from the library to the blighted spot.
When: Throughout the latter half of November
Where: Heaven's Library, the blighted area, other places
Warnings: Heavy violence in the Add thread, death (temporary)



A - Heaven's Library (constant)

The price of information, to Chikusa's great misfortune, always seems to be effort.

It explains why anyone visiting the Library throughout the month will seem to always eventually run into Chikusa if they're browsing around between the shelves long enough. On one hand, it's not particularly unusual. For months, now, Chikusa has been a constant presence within the library ever since the goblins which maintained it passed away due to that strange time warping event. Most of the time, however, he's been distant to anyone else that's been there with him, and not always looking for anything in particular. In fact, he seems to always be working in his unofficial capacity as one of the library workers there trying to keep it some idea of organized. (Which isn't always particularly successful...) Anyone who's seen him before in the library has likely seen him at work, staunchly ignoring all other shinki or gods, for the most part.

For the next few weeks, however, he's clearly searching for something. Instead of dully pushing around a cart full of books (or slumping against them in what is apparently extreme exhaustion from such an arduous task), he can be found carefully thumbing through the various titles before he organizes them. He can be found leaning against one bookcase with his eyes roaming the spines of book, taking in every title or lack of wording. Sometimes, he even reaches upwards, searching out what appears to be bits of loose paper or scraps that have somehow slipped on top of or inbetween books. Rarely does there seem to be anything worthwhile on the stray papers, judging by his quiet sighing, but occasionally he pauses to stare intently down on what seem to be random scribbles. Perhaps someone will even get to see him doing so.

....Alternatively, they may see him find what's apparently a blank piece of paper, take a pen out of his usual bag, and scribble something on it that's almost definitely rude before putting part of it underneath the strange door in the back of the library.

Fuck you, mysterious presence.

Other times, he's actually sitting down, a small stack of books around him. One is always open, his hand laid out against it to keep it that way, and he occupies his other hand with writing down what are apparently notes in a simple notebook. While Chikusa can be a little hard to read even on good days, he doesn't particularly seem pleased with what he's finding... or, perhaps, not finding.

While he's otherwise busy, he won't stop anyone from approaching him, and will even pause in the middle of what he's doing to level that dead eyed stare of his onto whoever has come near enough, whether they mean to interrupt him or not.

B - The Near Shore, the Blighted Zone

If the library won't give him the answers that he wants, then that means he really has no other choice but to go investigate himself... Well, by peering in on what exactly Heaven is doing in its own investigations on the area that became so badly blighted during the night of the God Meeting. After all, looking into the forest is clearly going to be a little harder.

For anyone else just passing through or perhaps even trying to look into things themselves, Chikusa's lanky figure is an easy one to spot, and not only because he tends to tower over other people even in a dead slouch. Rather, it's probably the shark finned beanie that he's wearing... It's not particularly subtle, but sometimes Chikusa rarely bothers to be. What has more of his attention is apparently ghosting throughout the neighborhood, pausing to take in a particular spot he can recall, or leaning against a wall to overhear what look like some of Heaven's shinki. With the amount of time he's spent in the Far Shore and his own skills of observation, he's learned to pick up familiar faces, after all.

C - The Near Shore, Asakusa

It's late at night. Why anyone would be out at such a time is a mystery that can only be answered by the individual themselves, but then, that's Asakusa for you. There are a lot of festivals held throughout the year in this place, and the amount of temples and other such things means that it's an enjoyable place for travelers of all sorts. Yet the recent ghost stories have apparently been creeping people out. In the dark streets, where various buildings and apartments have gone dark... The sound of footsteps echoing... going faster... and faster....

And bursting out of the doorway of a nearby building in the form of a frantic pair of shoes moving all by themselves, hastily dodging a borderline suddenly shooting out from inside the building. That sure is Chikusa, eyes sharp and his fingers still borderline ready.

Hopefully no one is in the way. That would be just horrible.

Comments

[kokuyoyo]

....I mean.... Flying was how I was able to learn your vessel name...

[So. It kind of backfired there.]

[kuroi_taiyo]

That wasn't flying. You knocked me back with a borderline.

[ He didn't learn how to fly until later. You shattered his shields while they were all weak and new. ]

[kokuyoyo]

Well, you went flying either way, right...?

[ h e h ]

[kuroi_taiyo]

Don't be so full of yourself for being an asshole to a new arrival. If you tried it now I wouldn't even budge.

[ But if 'asshole' were a spell, you'd be the master of it. ]

[kokuyoyo]

I'm not.... It's just funny.

[What do you mean his sense of humor is messed up-]

[kuroi_taiyo]

About as funny as you with a soggy mop on your head.

[ No, wait. That's also pretty funny.

They're both messed up. ]

[kokuyoyo]

[So, fuck you, basically. Chikusa huffs a little, because his hat are the only precious thing on this motherfucker of an earth.]

....So, in other words... You're just as much of an asshole.

[kuroi_taiyo]

[ At least he was nice to your dog? ]

... Yeah. Pretty much. The only difference is that I didn't know I could do that back then.

[kokuyoyo]

[He doesn't (yet) know about any interactions between his dog and Judar, okay?]

So.... upset because you don't have the crown of king asshole then...?

[kuroi_taiyo]

[ This is probably for the best, all things considered. ]

Nah. You can keep that all to yourself. I'll just stick with being the Heaven's bad decision. A bit of the Near Shore's too.

[kokuyoyo]

And how are you going to do that, exactly...?

[Besides, you know, just existing]

[kuroi_taiyo]

[ ... Oh. Chikusa doesn't know about how his network post went. Well, there goes that joke. How unfortunate. ]

Ah... Maybe if you get to that point with someone you'll understand.

[kokuyoyo]

[...]

You make it sound weird when put like that...

[kuroi_taiyo]

Yeah, well it's something that people normally wouldn't have to explain. You're just stunted when it comes to certain experiences.

[kokuyoyo]

[wow, fuckin rude. Chikusa's shoulders hunch up as he shoves his hands into his pockets.]

Are you really any better...

[kuroi_taiyo]

[ Wow. He didn't realize Chikusa could hunch anymore than he already did. He really is lucky that he won't grow up to deal with those back problems. ]

In that kind of thing? Yeah. Why, you need some advice?

[kokuyoyo]

[He super needs advice for regular people things. Or, like. Just how to be a person in general. Not hunching is probably step one but fight him- ]

I'm pretty sure... any advice of yours... is bullshit.

[kuroi_taiyo]

[ Judar really would be bad for most regular people things. However the thing he was alluding to? Sure, he'll toss that around. ]

Depends on what it's about. I can tell you a bunch about oils, positions and prepping with one area of things.

[kokuyoyo]

[...Oh.]

[Oh.]

[He's talking about that. Chikusa's expression stays aggressively blank, even as he stares at Judar.]

...I'm amazed anyone would want to be around you long enough to use that knowledge...

[kuroi_taiyo]

Some you actually know, even.

[ It seems that he's finally gotten to understanding how he was the near and far shore's bad decision. But hey, at least he has practiced advice. If Chikusa wanted it. ]

[kokuyoyo]

[ . . . ]

I know most people here....

[Please don't be Hakkai, please don't be Hakkai, please don't-]

[kuroi_taiyo]

[ Do you know most people because you make a point to be a dick to most? It's hard to tell. Well, to spare other people, he may as well continue to oust the one the entire public already knows about. ]

... Lavi's one of 'em.

[kokuyoyo]

[To the surprise of many, including Chikusa himself, his reputation is actually not as bad as it could be. This is possibly because no one knows he tried to poison someone to death.]

[And which he is going to try again but listen-]

Oh, right, that was a thing. I guess everyone has bad taste in something...

[kuroi_taiyo]

[ Hey, at least Chikusa's doing something with his afterlife. Who cares if it's poison and murder? As long as he's not the target, Judar's fine with that. ]

Yeah, I've heard that enough times.

[kokuyoyo]

But not enough times to make you stop.... right.