007 | Clean Up Your Act

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: Spring cleaning
When: All day April 15
Where: All around the Heavens
Summary: The Heavens don't like things being cluttered, so it's time to clean up a little bit.







Main Hall

While the main hall of the Heavens seems spotlessly clean at all times, that's not the case at all. In fact, it's been at least a decade since the last time they actually cleaned everything out properly. There are a lot of hidden closets and back rooms that have layers of dust and dozens of boxes filled with nothing but junk. Who knows, though! You might find something interesting and useful in there along with all the garbage.

Suprises

Unfortunately, some of the older temples on the Far Shore seem to have some interesting surprises tucked away, ranging from cursed artifacts all the way to magical creatures locked up in long-forgotten rooms. You are free to be creative with this as a way to get your characters into trouble while cleaning.

Complimentary Dinner

After all of your hard work, you deserve to have some tasty food and refreshing beverages. So the Heavens have provided that for you, so that you can wind down after a long day. It's not as fancy as the banquets they often put on, but there is a nice array of food and drinks for everyone to enjoy.

Counselling

As usual, there is a white-robed shinki bearing the gold chrysanthemum of Amaterasu sitting at a table in the Main Hall. There is a small sign that denotes her as the counselling shinki. Anyone is welcome to approach her, and she will smile serenely at anyone passing by as well.



In Summary:

• Clean up your home
• Help clean others' homes
• Get the main hall clean too!
• Hope no hidden magic jumps out
• Seek counselling if you need it
• Enjoy your complimentary dinner
• Have fun~

Comments

[koukai_kirai]

Even if it's not as sweet, it's still sweet, isn't it?

[Who even likes sweets? Kids and girls, that's who!]

[...And Souji.]

[Normal rules do not apply to Souji.]

Don't you have someone else to give them to?

[miraculo]

Er, I suppose so. But-- [ Sheeeeet this guy is hard to please!! Which means she must... what, offer something else? ]

Would you like something else? Tea? Perhaps sake? [ SHE'S GOT YOU, BRO. She'll fly and go get them. ] Even if you haven't been cleaning, it's the perfect spring weather for a cup or so. And raising a glass for those new here wouldn't be improper. [ Or if he's new, having tea/sake would be good to celebrate being in a new place. ]

[koukai_kirai]

[Hijikata gives a pointed look to the empty sake bottles already around him. He's a big guy, he could handle more without too much trouble, but this is the point in the evening where someone with sense has to try and draw a line between could and should have another drink.]

[On the other hand...]

...We've had a few glasses raised to us already tonight, haven't we? But if you're offering it, I wouldn't say no to tea.

[The tea here is probably better than what he's gotten used to having in battlefield rations for the past several months, anyway. And it could help him sober up a little.]

[miraculo]

[ Oh, look at her. She is like a puppy, so excited to be helpful at any chance she gets! ] Ah-- then... one moment, please! [ With a nod, she goes to bring a set of a teapot and a cup for him on a small tray. Within the next few minutes, she's back. Ta-da~! ]

One cup of tea, just for you. [ She prepares with a smile, pulling back her long sleeve to pour the steeped liquid into the painted cup. She hands hands it to him, setting the tray beside him. ] I was going to say, tea is very healthy for you. [ Not like lots and lots of sake. But she just thought she'd be polite and ask if he wanted more, that's all! ]

[koukai_kirai]

[Look, he might have been drinking the edge off his manpain a bit, but that doesn't mean he has to be stupid about it, does it? He's never been the "get as drunk as possible" type, anyway.]

[He takes the cup, and gives her a small nod of thanks before he takes a sip.]

...Not bad.

If you're still trying to give away the mochi, I could take a few off your hands. My shinki's got a sweet tooth, anyway, so I might as well.

[miraculo]

[ Aw, yeah, she did a Good Deed. She can be happy now. And also leave him alone! ] Oh, of course. [ Luckily she still has it on hand in a small box, and she takes a few out to set on the plate of tea beside him. ] They're a few of different flavors to try, mostly traditional kinds. I heard that sweeter ones can be found back on the Near Shore. Like a salted caramel mochi ice cream! [ Which sounds divine. ] Or a--

[ Oh wait she's blabbering to the wrong person about sweets. Sanae straightens up again, smiling apologetically. ] Er, I mean... [ Ahem. ] It's awfully kind of you to think of your shinki. You must be a god, too, then...? [ She nods. ] I am as well, although I'm... very new to this place.

[koukai_kirai]

[There's so much he doesn't know about this world -- about the Far Shore, yes, but also about the future that he's reflexively compelled to try and figure it all out. It's probably a good thing that the girl changed the subject before he could end up asking what the Hell caramel was, because he very much doubts the answer would have interested him at all.]

I just arrived today. Hijikata Toshizou -- or Hachiman now, I suppose.

[This does make introducing himself a little weird. How are the rest of the gods handling it, he wonders?]

1/3

[miraculo]

I'm Sanae Kochiya. [ Have a polite bow. ] It's a pleasure to meet.... you....

[miraculo]

[ ........Wait. ]

[miraculo]

H--- Hijikata Toshizou---? [ !! ] Of the shinsengumi---?! [ Really, she's more impressed with that than of the god he's supposed to be. ]

[koukai_kirai]

[Congratulations, Sanae, you're the first person here to comment on that -- and therefore his first indication that history didn't just forget all about them. He blinks at her, not quite sure why she'd have such a dramatic reaction. Someone from his own time, maybe?]

Yes...?

[Obviously. Which other Hijikata Toshizou would he be, right? It's not as if he has a very common family name, or as if many people of his social class ever manage to get prominent enough for their name to be well-known...]

[miraculo]

[ Dude. Dude. It's like meeting a living legend...! He is a living legend! She may not be the best at history, but she knows the famous ones of it! especially when they have so many dramas based after them She starts out slowly:] It's.... an....


[ And then explodes into an enthusiastic rave. ] HONOR TO MEET YOU, SIR....! Ah, I can't believe it-- the vice captain of the Shinsengumi, to think that he'd also be here in this world, and also now a god in this world, and also right here in front of me, and also a very good drinker, and also part of the Shinsengumi, and also the vice-captain, and also alive and speaking right now and also drinking tea and, and---!

[ Breathe, Sanae. Breathe. ] It's just... to have an opportunity to meet you-- it truly is an honor! [ Have another bow, this time deeper. ] I'm not from your time, but you and your comrades are historical legends in my world. [ Also depending on how they're portrayed, they could be the good guys or the bad guys. ]

[koukai_kirai]

[Congratulations, Sanae, you have achieved what many before you have failed to: you've actually gotten a genuinely happy smile out of him.]

Is that so?

[He's not even in a place to think for a second that that means they won, or even that there was enough left of the faction they sided with to rise from the ashes. So it strikes him as unlikely that all the records left were very flattering. All the same, knowing their fight wasn't just forgotten...]

[It's surprisingly heartening. Not just for himself, but to know that his friends will still be remembered by someone when he's... now that he's gone, too.]

That is news to me... Kochiya, was it?

[miraculo]

Yes! You're the subject of many inspiring stories. [ Especially in dramas and anime, in everything from shonen to shoujo. She nods again.

And... okay. Maybe her excitement had gotten the better of her just then, so she tones it done a little bit. ] Um, ....is anyone else from the Shinsengumi here? I hope you're not without your friends. [ Friends with a capital F.

But as she notices the empty sake bottles once again, maybe that is the case. ]

[koukai_kirai]

[He follows her gaze to the empty bottles... well, they do tell a bit of a story, don't they?]

[Part of one, at least. But the whole story isn't quite something he wants to go into just at this moment, so he shakes his head, keeping his expression carefully neutral.]

Don't worry too much about it. I'm not alone here.

[He rather hopes she'll be able to read enough into the vagueness of the answer to leave off further questioning about it, but he's not about to get openly melancholic enough to ensure that she'll pick up on it -- not in front of a stranger, even as harmless a stranger as Sanae seems to be.]

[miraculo]

[ ....That's reassuring to know.

She smiles, and then picks up the tray of mochi again. Her tone now takes to something lighter. ] That's wonderful to hear. [ Then to reinforce that he's totally not alone anymore-- and that he doesn't need to be alone: ] Plus, you now have one more person here for you--- [ Points to herself. ]

Got it?

[koukai_kirai]

[...Who is she putting him in mind of? Outgoing, impulsive, seemed like a bit of a noisy nuisance at first but is proving surprisingly comforting to be around...]

[Ah. Of course.]

[It takes a little bit of work to get a smile out of him at the best of times, so no luck there at the moment, but at the very least, there's something a little bit warmer and softer in his voice for a moment, maybe even a little trace of amusement.]

I see. I'll try to keep that in mind, then.

[miraculo]

[ Yay, she may a friend today! She giggles to herself, pleased with the outcome. ] Take care, Hijikata-san. And enjoy your tea.

[ And with that, she'll be off to distribute more mochi to more people. ]