Semi-open - You are the sun

[rockthemonkey]

Who: Son Goku and friends.
When: December 5th and 6th
Where: Huitzilopochtli's temple and Tokyo.
What: Catch-all log for some things. Training with his shinki, hanging out and wandering around town.




A. December 5th- Morning (closed to kagenonadeshiko)

[It's a chilly morning beneath the treehouse currently posing as the temple of Huitzilopochtli. There's no snow on the ground here yet, thankfully, but there's a bit of frost on the ground this early in the day.

But that's not really their concern at the moment. Goku is doing warm-up stretches, humming to himself happily and thinking about how good the breakfast they just had was. That will entertain him all the way till lunch.]

So, you wanted to practice fighting and stuff, right? [He straightens up to start stretching out his arms.] Do you wanna spar? Uh, I've never really fought a fox before but we can try it if you want!


B. December 5th- Afternoon (Open)

[Eventually, Ayumu has better things to do with her day and Goku still needs to be fed. He could go beg food off Hakkai or Chikusa, but he suspects they have better things to do with their day too. Instead Goku decides to take a trip to the Near Shore, wandering the streets of Tokyo and ending up in Togoshi and trying to haggle with a vendor selling croquettes.]

Hey, if I buy four, can you give me five instead? [Goku, what. The seller at least looks more bemused than offended.] Or, or! If I buy five can I try one of those others ones as well? Please?

[You can get away with a lot with a face like this. He's probably not actually going to get any free food though.]


C. December 6th (closed to erogappa)

[Once again, Goku needs to eat. It's sort of a running theme in his life. He also craves company, another running theme in his life. Ayumu can only spoil her new god so much, Hakkai has a job or something lame like that and Chikusa and Ken are too busy paying attention to each other so-]

This way, this way! [Goku is dragging Gojyo to Inokashira Park one early morning. No, this will totally be worth it, he promises.] Someone told me there's some guys here who sell really yummy yakitori!

[Normally at this hour the park would be full of joggers and people on their way to work, but it's oddly quiet today. Maybe it's too cold for them. Goku is fairly bundled up himself and he's still pretty chilly, after all.]

Gojyo, come on! I'm hungry!


D. Wildcard

[Anything we've plotted elsewhere, we can throw it into this log if you want.]

Comments

[rockthemonkey]

[Ayumu is a very talented woman.]

Yes! [It is very satisfying to punch a monster in the face and have it basically explode. Some bits of blight fly back towards him, but Goku's pretty well covered and Gojyo is safe from that in this form. Goku punches the air]

That was so cool, Gojyo! [And there goes Gojyo's actual name being said out loud. Well, they don't need the chains anymore now.] Gojyo, we kicked that things ass!

[erogappa]

[ Just when he's really starting to enjoy the feeling of being able to punch something without any pain (look, he's a brawler and will forever be a brawler, but split knuckles are a very real thing), he's back in his person form. There's always that moment of feeling... smaller, when coming out of weapon form. Crunched in, maybe. When he's a weapon, he can see in all directions, speak just by thinking, he's stronger... As a person, he mostly just speaks without thinking. ]

Yeah we did! [ He mimed finger lasers again, pew-pewing at Goku. ] What a cool power! Hey, can I keep this name for awhile? [ He hadn't planned to ask that -- he'd planned to demand to be unnamed as soon as the ayakashi was dead -- but he's got such a cool power when he fights with Goku! ] It's a good one!

[rockthemonkey]

[Goku, meanwhile, acts without thinking. Actually seeing Gojyo, not just hearing his voice and feeling his presence, prompts a rush of relief after what he saw before. He ducks under Gojyo's finger lasers and quickly wraps his arms around him.]

Mm, yeah. It was really cool. [Even if he says that while hugging Gojyo still. It's dumb and childish, but he's just glad he's here.] I dunno how to take it off anyway, so you should just keep it.

[This is a good feeling, after all.]

[erogappa]

[ And then he's being hugged. ] Wha...? [ Hugged by somebody who just saw him die, he realizes a second later. His hands, raised in surprise when Goku grabbed him, come down, and he pats the kid awkwardly on the shoulder. (Sorry, but the shrimp's not little enough for him to return that hug. ]

Hey. Uh. ...You know that wasn't me, right? What you saw? It's just somebody messin' with us.

[rockthemonkey]

[And Goku's not little enough to cling for long. He lets go pretty quick and smiles up at Gojyo, determined not to worry him any more.]

Yeah, I know. It's a dumb joke. [One that's really not funny. Oh, shit, Hakkai saw that, didn't he? Goku winces at that thought.] ... Um, you shouldn't talk about that though.

[He doesn't know how Gojyo knows about what he saw but he knows without a doubt that he shouldn't. This is setting every alarm bell in his body off.]

[erogappa]

[ Every now and then he still gets a craving for a cigarette. This, for some reasno, is definitely one of those times. ]

Why, 'cause you think I'm gonna turn into an ayakashi? [ He raises his fists, and shadow-boxes at Goku. C'mon, kid, it's fine! ] Don't worry. I know exactly how far I can think about stuff like that without it gettin' to be too far.

[ Clearly it was a bad death though. First Hakkai, and now Goku -- they both kind of crumpled up when they saw it. It must have been really bad. Had he... had the real Sha Gojyo, had the death been pathetic? Begging and weak, maybe? What else would...?

Ah, nope, and there's that jolt that says he's thinking too much about it. He quickly shakes it off with the ease of long habit, and mimes a jab at Goku's face. ]

Only death here is me whuppin' your sad butt!

[rockthemonkey]

[Maybe, it was really bad, maybe it just directly targeted Goku and Hakkai's insecurities and fears. Maybe they're just especially fragile. Maybe it's all of the above.]

What? No way! [Goku smacks Gojyo's fists away, jumping slightly at the jolt of blight. Hopefully it's covered by his general fidgeting.] You couldn't!

[Right. It was fake. Gojyo's right here and he was right there when Goku woke up. Hakkai would never do that. Someone would have stopped him.]

I'll kick your butt way before you could kick mine!

[erogappa]

Prove it!

[ But before he can grab for Goku -- yes, they are, in fact, going to wrestle here, in the middle of the abandoned park, when it's fucking freezing out -- there's the sounds of life returning to the area. The jingle of a gate opening some distance away, voices calling out, the squawk of a duck getting chastised by a bigger, meaner duck... it's really amazing how fast the world is filling up with people again.

Instead of grabbing Goku, Gojyo steps back, and runs a hand through his stubbly hair. ]

Mission accomplished, I guess.

[rockthemonkey]

[Aw, but he wanted to wrestle. Goku looks in the direction of some kids screaming in the distance- the kind of ecstatic scream only a pair of very happy toddlers can manage- idly massaging one of his wrists.]

That was fast. How'd they know we beat that thing?

[erogappa]

[ Gojyo just shrugs -- how about they continue on their way to find food? ]

Dunno. Sometimes I think they can sense this stuff, like the park didn't feel wrong anymore.

[ It's the best explanation he's got. Humans otherwise don't seem to notice ayakashi at all. They're really unobservant! ...Gojyo, meanwhile, isn't. ]

Did I hurt you?

[rockthemonkey]

Huh? [Looks confused for a second before he realises what Gojyo means.]

Oh, nah, I'm fine! [Rolls up his sleeve to show his wrist- no marks!] I just haven't worn anything that heavy in a while. It was strange.

[The laser guns totally made up for it though.]

[erogappa]

[ That's a relief... although Gojyo knows as well as anyone that something doesn't have to leave a mark to hurt. ]

I dunno if that's something I can ask about, but I'm going to anyway. [ Because seriously, kid. Seriously. Manacles? ] Were you in jail or something?

[rockthemonkey]

[Looks confused again- oh, right, Gojyo doesn't know about that anymore. He probably doesn't remember being told about it by Goku or by Sanzo. Goku shrugs.]

... You can ask, I don't mind. [It's a painful memory, but not one he ever minded talking about. Goku doesn't really have secrets.] I'm not sure if it was really a jail... There was never anyone there but me.

But I guess someone put me there once, and I must have done something bad, so maybe it was jail.

[He doesn't remember it, but there's always been some talk about gods and crimes against heaven and other things Goku doesn't understand and didn't bother thinking about too much.]

[erogappa]

[ He wasn't going to avoid asking because it might upset Goku. He was going to avoid asking in case it had too much to do with their shared past... but if that didn't even occur to Goku, then this must have been some time when "Goku" and "Gojyo" (the real, living versions of them) didn't know each other. That's good. He can talk about it then!

And that's the only good part of this mess. ]

If you don't remember what you did, how do you know you did anything? [ If there's one thing Gojyo knows a lot about these days, it's that memories are untrustworthy, and that good people sometimes get punished for no reason at all. ] You don't seem like the kind of guy who'd do something bad enough to get locked up long enough to forget why you were locked up.

[rockthemonkey]

[Goku hesitates for a second- he doesn't seem like that kind of guy. He doesn't think he is that kind of guy. But he knows that he can do terrible things, if there's no one there to stop him.]

... I dunno. But- well, who'd lock a kid up like that for that long for no reason? They weren't using me for anything. [Goku knows there are terrible people in the world, sick people who take pleasure in hurting others. But he doesn't think that was the case with him.] When I woke up in the cave, I didn't remember anything. Not how I got there, or anyone I'd known before. The only thing I remembered was my name and- [and the horrible feeling that he'd lost something.] ... and that was it.

Until Sanzo found me, I wasn't even sure there was anyone else in the world.

[erogappa]

[ Gojyo feels cold, in a way he can't blame on the winter air around them. Trapped in a cave, chained, with no memories... Does Goku remember being brought here? Is that what happens to spirits of the dead when they're snatched from their home worlds and twisted into the fake gods they are now? Do they forget because their memories are stripped away, or do they forget because they're locked up for so long their minds give way?

It's fucking horrifying to consider. Gojyo shoves his hands deeper into his pockets and trudges on. ]

Sanzo. You don't mean Sharak, do you?

[rockthemonkey]

[Goku shakes his head and- despite the grim subject matter- smiles a little.]

Nah, I mean my Sanzo- um, Genjo. I've always just called him Sanzo though, and he said that was fine. I didn't know there were others back then.

[Goku looks down at his hands, lost in the memory now. It's an even clearer vision in his mind than the ones the magic here has tried to give him. He doesn't think he could forget it even in another five hundred years.]

... When he reached out to me, it was like the sun. I couldn't remember ever seeing anything that bright or warm before. And then... when I went outside... the world seemed so much brighter than the sun.

[So long as he can hold onto that memory, Goku thinks he'll be okay. He knows that one day Sanzo will find him again, or he'll find Sanzo- it doesn't matter which.]

[erogappa]

[ Huh. Gojyo can't help but smile at that. Assuming the memory he had of Genjo was real, then it makes sense that somebody that powerful would be able to break a spirit out of heaven jail. Maybe that's why he didn't stay long? ]

I have a memory about him, chantin' a prayer for somebody who died. [ There's no mistaking the awe in his voice. ] If you told me that guy could fly and raise the dead, I'd believe you. He's really somethin' special, isn't he?

[rockthemonkey]

[Goku snorts from laughter at that, grinning.]

Sanzo can't do anything like that! He's just Sanzo! [And Goku damn near worships him for it. He's grown up a lot, learned to see Sanzo on more equal footing, but nothing will ever make him love Sanzo less than he always has.] Sharak has way more fancy magic stuff than him.

[But that doesn't make her the better Sanzo. It's fine, Sharak would agree with him.]

Sanzo's special, but not because of anything like that. [He's glad Gojyo remembers him though. Which prayer he means exactly, Goku's not sure but- well, he knows the effect Gojyo is talking about.] But I know what you mean.

[erogappa]

[ Sharak was more powerful than Genjo, huh? Ah, and there's the guilt. It's just a little guilt -- or rather, it's a big guilt that gets stifled immediately, with a deep breath, because he's not going to blight Goku over something like that -- but he's never going to forgive himself for telling her to disappear. Never. ]

He was here, with us, for awhile. [ And, both because it's true and so that he doesn't upset Goku... ] Apparently he keeps showin' up and disappearing again. So I'm willin' to bet he'll be one of the ones who comes back.

[rockthemonkey]

[Goku winces a little from the sudden sting of guilt he feels, but it's impossible for him to know who it's coming from. Given how the past week has gone, he kind of suspects Ayumu more than Gojyo. Whatever, he'll just shrug it off.]

Yeah, Hakkai told me. Don't worry, he'll be back before too long.

[The sun will rise, Sanzo will be with them again, all facts of the universe. At least, that's how it sounds the way Goku says it.]

[erogappa]

I hope so. [ It's nothing but the truth. He might have fought with both Hakkai and Sharak the entire time he's been here, and actively tried to kill Doku, but Genjo? Genjo was a cool guy.

After another moment's silence, he figures it's safe to ask: ] You knew Hakkai before, right? [ Pretending to go along with the idea that they're all who they remember being is just easier -- he's getting so tired of being told he's stupid and wrong for being suspicious of the party line. ]

Do you trust him?

[rockthemonkey]

[None of them believe the party line, Gojyo, the rest of them just have a little more basis for their own theories. Sorry.

Goku looks confused so very often these days. And most days, to be fair.] Hakkai? Yeah, of course, I've known him for ages. [That almost has nothing to do with Gojyo- Hakkai's allowed to have friends from his past around- so Goku thinks it's safe to say.] ... Of course I trust him.

[Hakkai might do stupid, reckless, dangerous things on occasion- but they typically only endanger himself. Even if he does lie or do something strange, Goku has never had any reason to doubt that Hakkai cares about him and wants to act in his best interest.]

[erogappa]

Even though he's done some pretty bad stuff?

[ He's not here to drag Hakkai's name through the mud, not this time. His tone isn't pointed, and he's honestly not really enjoying this conversation. They all have different memories, some of them conflicting, so none of those memories can be trusted. But all the gods here rely on their memories as real -- Hakkai really thinks he's the person he remembers being, and it's probably the same for Goku here. tl;dr they aren't real, but they think they are, and it's just easier to treat them like they're real. ]

He told me that he's killed people. A lot of people.

[rockthemonkey]

What? ... Oh, you mean- yeah, I know about that stuff.

[Chikusa had said Gojyo had been pretty upset about it, hadn't he? And that Gojyo had been trying to turn people against Hakkai, saying bad stuff about him behind his back, and telling everyone about his past. Goku shifts uncomfortably.]

All that doesn't have anything to do with me, so it doesn't change how I feel about him. Besides, it's not like I don't understand why he did it.

[It wasn't a good thing to do but... it was an understandable thing to do.]