thenearshore | June Training

Oh you don't have to...

[It's a bit odd being still called Sir. He's never been sir a day in his life. Green eyes watch Shin and he's eyeing his raw wrists.] Maybe we should go find some ice or ointment for them. They don't look like any skin is broken but still it would be best to make sure.

[Adrien's expression softened and he touched his shoulder lightly with his hand.] It's nice to meet you, Shinichi.. or do you prefer Shin? I'm Adrien Agreste. You must be a Shinki. Here, why don't you come with me?

[He might flag down one of the white robed Shinki and get a first aid kit so he can tend Shin's wrist. Then he's motioning for them to find somewhere out of the way to sit so Adrien can tend him.]

Let's go there. I'll look at your wrists and answer your questions. Then if you want I'll take you on as mine. [It just seems right. Feels right and he doubts anyone else would be willing to take him on. Sad but true.]

I prefer Shin, [He gives a bit of a smile, that compassion going a long way to keep Shin relaxed. He follows Adrien, listening curiously as he calls for a first aid kit. When Adrien mentions taking on Shin, Shin has to look up at Adrien in surprise and confusion.] Wait, seriously?

[He knew the moment he got in how much he must look like trouble. For all he knows, he is trouble. It seemed crazy that someone would willingly take him on as their shinki, so he'd assumed he would just have to wait.]

Shin it is then. [Taking the kit that was rushed over to him he blinks at Shin.] Well, yeah? I mean you need a god, I need a shinki. Is there a problem? Would you rather some cute girl god or something?

[Oh he knows Shin is likely to be a handful. And he knows it won't be easy but someone needs to give him a chance. Someone should and well isn't that what heroes do? Help people who need helping? He smiled.] Yeah seriously.

I'm pretty sure I'm not that much of a pushover I'd just go for a pretty face. [But he's keenly aware that he doesn't really know if he is or isn't. He has no idea that there's a certain set of features that spells doom for him.

He gives a little laugh and a half shrug,] I guess I might as well agree to go with the god that decided to help rather than some random person those creepy people in white and gold will probably pick out.

[He gets a little more serious,] but I want to know what kind of rules you'll have first.

[No offense to Adrien, but Shin wasn't going to trust him quite that fast. He didn't expect there to be no rules at all, but hoped that they weren't oppressive. Just the thought of being heaved under a long list of rules and protocols had his skin crawling. He wanted to know what he's getting into.]

Wasn't what I was saying just that you might have had a preference is all. I mean sometimes it's easier to have someone you think you'd get along with better is all - and for some people that's people or the same gender; for other the opposite. Adrien wouldn't have had a problem or been offended either way.]

That's my point of view on it too. And you could do worse. I've been where you are. I mean without the belt of doom you had around your waist but I've been new and I was a Shinki. [He's letting his transformation drop as he leads the way to sit down in the grass - reaching for Shin's hand so he can check his wrists.]

Rules? Well, I don't have any too specific? Most of them are kind of common sense anyway? I mean I don't want you to do anything bad because I'm supposed to be a good and lead with a good example. No birds or feathers in the temple or on the grounds - but honestly the cats and snakes will scare them away for the most part. You have to be nice to the kittens and the snakes. All of them.

[He talks as he works cleaning Shin's wrists and lightly applying ointment where the skin was raw and breaking down.] My temple adjoins that of the goddess Fortuna. We're friends with her and her exemplar shinki, Snake. I'd like you to do your best to be kind and get along with them. And if we have guests I'd like you to treat them with kindness and respect - as long as they do the same for you and the temple.

[Shin relaxes as he hears those rules. They were easy enough, right? He was pretty sure that he could handle being nice and being good. Granted, the bird thing was a little odd, but he didn't exactly feel disappointed, so he doubted it would matter.] I think I can handle those rules.

I know a couple of them are really weird. Like the one about birds but I'm allergic. Unless you want me laying in bed for days at a time on allergy pills unable to do anything but sleep? No birds. [He laughed before carefully winding soft cloth gauze around Shin's wrists - it was't tight but he wanted to get it covered so the ointment wouldn't get rubbed off.

[Allergies. That made sense. He's surprised he didn't consider that. He laughs a bit,] No birds.

[He looks down at the bandages, quirking an eyebrow.] Isn't that a bit of overkill? It was the belt that really hurt.

[Adrien smiled, laughing softly himself because it was kind of silly and super ridiculous if he was honest that that was one of the first rules he has.] Yes good.

Well, we want the ointment to stay and give your skin back some of the moisture and recover from the rubbing and friction from the leather chaffing it so better safe than sorry. Your waist was a bit more protected with clothes and things even if there might be some irritation.

Would you like me to name you now as my Shinki or would you like to talk about it a little more?

[Shin pulls up his shirt to check. Mostly Adrien was right, though there are a few spots where the belt at least left some nasty abrasions. The bad part was the bruising that was already forming in red and yellow patches. Even just looking at it had Shin making a soft hissing sound.] I wouldn't know what questions to ask.

Unless you can think of something I might want to know we can do it now.

Well as long as you listened to the lecture and I'll get you one of the booklets to read you know just about everything I can tell you honestly. Becoming my Shinki means you come to live with me and I'll take care of your and you'll help me fight Ayakashi. That's pretty much the long and short of it all.

[Adrien moved and he's reaching out placing a hand against Shin's neck.] Here might be a good placement for your name. Is this okay with you?

[Shin flinches back as Adrien moves towards his neck, but he doesn't pull completely away. He looks to the side a little guilty for not trusting Adrien still, but then smiles up at him,] I like that spot.

[Shin had mostly paid attention to the lecture, even if he zoned out a few times. He's fairly sure he at least caught the important parts. Like how its better by far to have a god than not, and how those unnamed would be assigned a god. He'd much rather this path.]

[Even when Shin flinches Adrien just smiles and waits patiently. He gets it. Well kind of. Coming in as he had Shin obviously didn't know much kindness Adrien is guessing.] Okay good..

[Adrien is shifting a bit closer and those green eyes are losing focus for an instant before closing. Then he's speaking softly his voice firm but gentle.]

"My name is Bast. Grasping thy true name, I bind thee here. With borrowed name, I dub thee my servant. The name answers, the vessel to sound. I call thee as my divine instrument. The name, Okazaki Shinichi. The vessel, Mao. Come, Maoki!"

[His eyes a brighter green than before snap open focusing on Shin even when his form starts to change and shift into that of his vessel.]

[Shin is a bit surprised at just how it is to shift into a vessel form. He still felt like himself, but also somehow felt different. He finds himself to be a rather attractive pale electric blue bass with some punk style decorations in a paler blue. He smiles in his bass form, feeling a rush from the change.

His death, however, isn't nearly as cheerful.

Shin is forced onto his knees in a bathroom sized room by a guard wielding a baton. Shin hisses in pain and chokes back the words he wants to say. The guard behind him tightens the leather belt keeping his hands in front and behind his back, making Shin make a small sound of protest. He carefully controls his tone, speaking with polite language while being careful to not be too polite, "Why are you doing this to me?"

It hadn't been the first time this guard picked Shin out and blamed him for something he definitely had not done. This time it was looking up, and so he makes sure to keep his eyes glued to the ground in front of him. He didn't need to look up to know just the kind of sickly pleased face this asshole guard was making.

The guard pulls another hole tighter, "You wouldn't know, would you?"

Shin gasps, feeling pretty sure that something was threatening to break in his waist. It takes all his will to not look up to glare at the man and instead speak in an even tone, "No, sir, I don't know what it is."

"You know, the problem with being any kind of famous is that people know your face. People will gossip. You had a pretty nice thing going with that band, BlaSt, or whatever. But it wasn't good enough for you, was it?"

The name of his band getting thrown in his face stings right down to his bones. He knew all too well how bad he'd screwed up. How they had lost their chance on tour because of him. They might not even make it through this, and if they did, it would probably be without him. He curls his hands into fists, biting back a rising bile of anger. "I'm not sure what you mean, sir," he says, his cool slowly cracking.

"I mean, you had to have more. You had to also go and screw a married woman, probably more than one," the guard growls, slamming his baton across Shin's shoulder, dragging a strangled shout out of him. Shin looks up at the man, the shock in his eyes only feeding the fury in the man he was trapped in this pitiful cell with. This time he does glare, earning him a backhanded slap across his face as the guard shouts at him, "Did you have permission to look up?"

Something in that moment snapped. It had been only a few weeks of this nightmare and he was done with being abused by this man. His voice was dark and cold, "No, but your wife gave me permission to look up her skirt, and a lot more." Honestly, he didn't know which woman that he'd slept with was the guard's wife. He didn't get involved in their lives, and he wasn't even sure of the marital status of most of them.

Unsurprisingly Shin felt the bat again, this time smashed against his shoulder blade. He bites back another shout of pain, though he's pretty sure that something just cracked. The guard grabs his hair and drags Shin's head back to look at him, "You think your band members care after you ruined their dreams? You're human filth. Criminal garbage. Don't forget that, prisoner. You could die in here and no one would care."

Shin just glares up at the man, an easy smirk on his face, "Ask what your wife thinks," he laughs, "but then you must not care, since she was the one trading with an underaged boy for sex."

The next thing Shin sees is a fist in his face as the guard howls in fury. The guard grabs Shin's left hand, the one he frets with, and bends them all backwards at once. Shin screams as he laughs, "You're not going to be playing music anymore with those."

Shin seethes with fury, holding back tears from the intense pain in his hand. He hisses as he doubles over, but glares back up at the guard. "Jealous you can't make your pervert wife sound as pretty as my bass?" he mocks even as he's trying to not break down in tears. Part of him realized just how much trouble he was in, but he wanted to hurt this man for the weeks of torture he'd suffered under him. Another part just really doesn't believe that any of this was really happening.

The next strike is from that bat, against his back and Shin can tell that was definitely a rib as the bone presses against something else causing a pain he can't stay silent for. Their screams mix into a terrible dirge as the guard takes out his fury on the teen.

Shin crumbles beneath the man, his breathing getting harder and the pain in his head is growing sharper while the room dims. It's not long before Shin is too weak to speak loud enough to be heard, but he lets out a cold laugh, "I guess I deserve this."]

[Adrien gripped the bass, gathering it to his chest even as he feels his stomach lurch. Now he understands. Now he understands why Marinette why crying after she named him. She'd seen... she'd seen him die somehow and it must have been so hard for her, terribly hard.

The blond is cradling the guitar to his chest, his free arm wrapping around the body of it. He can see it and he swears he can feel it. The snap of bones forcibly broken, bruises forming, the sick sticky wet of blood seeping, the tightness and burn of a chest with lungs that can't catch a proper breath. Adrien isn't aware of it at first but he's crying; hot burning tears spilling over his cheeks, an ache in his chest as shaking hands tighten their hold on the guitar to the point his nails would have been leaving marks if Shin were human right now.]

You didn't. You don't.

[Adrien is startling pale and his face is pressing against the neck of the bass. He's going to need a few minutes to accurately process this and actually get good hold on himself so Shin will find himself in the hold of a young god with a grip that is too tight and is shaking unsteady.]

[Shin had not been expecting that kind of reaction. He'd been thrilled and fascinated to find what he turned into, but that was quickly replaced with worry and concern when Adrien said something senseless out of the blue.]

Adrien? What's wrong? [He's surprised at just how worried he was over this relative stranger, even if he did go out of his way to help him. He wants to figure out some way to help Adrien now. It seemed to be his fault that Adrien had suddenly completely changed in demeanor. He had to at least be able to do something to help comfort him. Even if it was just him being able to return the desperate hug that Adrien is giving him.] Are you okay? Let me change back!

[He shook his head inhaling a soft breath.] It's... I'll be fine. I'm fine. I am fine. I just need a minute or two. I'll be fine. Shinichi, Revert

[Adrien had said it in an instant without much thought. Shin wants to be human again? He'll make that happen. He deserves it. He deserves anything he wants as far as Adrien is concerned, given what he's just seen. When even Shin is human his hold on him is still the same. A hand against his neck gripping firmly the other wrapped around his waist holding him tightly, only Adrien is leaning into him, pressed against him; the blond's face hidden against his shoulder.]

[Even if Shin is older, Adrien is taller by no small margin. It makes it a little strange to have him resting his head against his shoulder. It just seemed to emphasize just how vulnerable he seemed in this moment. It would be a lie if Shin denied that he wasn't a little scared to see just how little there was different between shinki and god.

It didn't matter, though. Adrien seriously needed some kind of comfort right now. Shin wraps his arms around Adrien, holding him tight. Somehow he finds himself comforted even as he tries to comfort Adrien.]

[Adrien relaxed once those arms settled around him. His time here with Marinette and Snake and his friends had gotten him used to touch and affection again; even if now he remembered being starved for them before he arrived. His fingers curled into Shin's shirt and he quieted to soft muffled sniffs as he was held.

He can't ever tell Shin what he saw or what happened but he's here now and he's alive. That's all Adrien really can bring himself to care about if he were honest. Once he was calm he's wiping at his eyes and drawing back a little.] I'm fine honest..

[Shin eventually starts petting Adrien's hair, worried he'd managed to mess something up somehow. He tries to not feel any guilt over it, but he can't help but sense it nagging at him. Adrien hadn't really explained any of it to him.

He feels relieved to see Adrien finally step back, calmed down.] Are you sure?

[The hair petting earn soft weak purrs from Adrien but more than that they ground and soothe him. He can feel jolts of stinging sensations here and there but they're pulling him back from his distressed spiral.]

I'm sure.. I'm sure it was just I've never named anyone before and it was kind of a rush I guess. I'm okay. I'll be fine, Shin.

[Even having seen his god as a cat themed superhero, he had not expected the purring. Things couldn't be that bad if Adrien was purring, right?

Hearing some kind of explanation allows the last of the guilt to fade, though he still is a little worried. He keeps stroking Adrien's hair,] I was kind of a rush for me too. It's okay.

[He figures what Adrien felt must have been more intense, though, as the surprise and excitement he had felt was no where near enough to cause tears.]

[Adrien laughed softly.] Yeah, the first transformation is a bit like that for everyone I'm pretty sure. It's this surge of energy and just so much stuff all at once. It's nothing for you to worry about right now.

[Because he won't tell Shin what he saw. He wouldn't have even if he could. He didn't deserve to relive that kind of pain - at least not as far as Adrien was concerned.]

[Shin decides it might be best to shift the topic away from whatever it was that just happened, at least until it wasn't so fresh.] So, I'm your first shinki, then?

You must really know how to pick 'em.

Yep. You are. That makes you my exemplar which means if I were to get any others you'd be kind of my second in command.

[Adrien laughed.] Maybe but I think I've picked perfectly well.

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