thenearshore | [closed]

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Who: Tsuzuki and Ukoku (someone rescue Tsuzuki ok)
Where: Mahakala's temple
When: 4/22
What: Ukoku shares Sho's notes with absolutely 100% no ulterior motives.
Warnings: n/a probably

[ Amid dead trees and a barren garden consisting mostly of rocks, Ukoku's temple is faded with artificial age, easily identified by description and the kind of place to make an invited guest feel like a trespasser regardless. This is the main reason he waits for Tsuzuki outside.

Nothing about the place looks comfortable except him. He's leaning against a carved pillar, head bowed in apparent concentration, a tablet on one knee and a pad of paper on the other, exuding a lazy ease that suggests this is probably a good place to find him whether he's waiting for someone or not. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ He gestures to the screen. ]

I was thinking I might be able to use this to get into her, um, good graces, but she didn't even send her own shinki to pick everything up. I guess we'll see.

[ There's a slight pause, maybe a little awkward. He taps his fingers on his beer. ]

Can I ask you—when you say you were a god of death, what does that entail?

Good luck.

[Tsuzuki sits back, wincing a little. Man, just looking at those kind of gives him a headache. It's enough to convince him that he really doesn't want to get too experimental: if he gets it even a little right, he'd be as singed as Susano'o.]

Well, it's a job. A little like being a shinki in this Heaven, if you want an example. We get recruited from the souls of the dead who have enough spiritual power, and we're in charge of -- well, it depends on your division! I was in Summons. We mostly make sure that people show up dead when they're supposed to.

[ He listens with polite curiosity, like Tsuzuki's describing working at a radio station. ]

Wow! [ Another (maybe slightly awkward) pause. ] Did you ever have any cases where people were, um, summoned, or recruited, who weren't supposed to be dead?

[ He bends to reach under the table and shuffles around in a box of Stuff for a second, and comes back up with a dry erase board with a marker clipped to the top, an unfinished sigil scribbled over half of it. ]

You mean, people who die before their time? Yeah, that's one of the things we were in charge of investigating.

[He shrugs, relaxing a little: it's good that Ni's taking it so calmly. Not that gods have the same "are you going to kill me" response that mortals do, but still, casual curiosity is way better. He glances at the sigil curiously.]

Once they're dead, we can't bring them back, though. Their souls have to move on whether it was their time or not.

I wonder if they have anything like that here. [ He pauses to set the dry erase board between them. It's small, about the size of a sheet of paper; there's a half-written letter at the top in black—accidental permanent marker. ] I guess they probably wouldn't want anyone investigating. If they ever had people in charge of that, I'm sure they're just as gone as all the gods.

Anyway, I should tell you that I didn't give them everything. [ He taps the board below the sigil. ] He was trying to open a gateway to another dimension with this one. A finite dimension, I mean. For keeping something. Well, this one and some others. [ A vague wave. ] I don't think they need to know about that.

[ The whole sigil is complete elsewhere, along with the others, not in the thumbnails, nowhere that Tsuzuki might find by tapping at the screen Ukoku's set up. ]

So, like, a... what do you call those things?

[He knows Watari went off about something like that once. Tsuzuki doesn't often pay close attention to his rambling, but that one had reminded him of the Illusionary World.]

... Pocket dimension?

Huh.

[This sigil he's examining much more closely. The Illusionary World is as close as he's gotten to seeing the process for opening something like that, and that spell is encoded in its guardians. What he's seeing here is unfamiliar.]

You think he might've completed it? And be keeping something there? If he really wanted to fake his death, that'd be the way to do it for sure.

[ Ukoku replies with a noncommittal noise, uncapping the marker. He pulls up a different picture on the screen and starts to fill in the empty side of the board. The finished side has been done carefully, with precision; now he's scribbling. ]

It's possible, but according to the notes I have, the gate can only be opened from one side, so he would have had to trap himself. I think it's more likely that he wanted it for some other purpose. Throwing some of the old gods in it would have helped him do— [ he gestures helplessly with the marker— ] whatever he was trying to do.

How close to complete were those notes?

[And could he have gotten them from somewhere else? Tsuzuki's expression is darkening with sudden conjecture. Joshua and Susano'o had an obvious rivalry. Joshua'd disappeared, and forgotten that period of time....

And Susano'o had accused Tsuzuki of working with him when he attacked, hadn't he? As though he expected Joshua's allies to be trying to figure out his work. Maybe his work had something to do with that disappearance, after all.

Maybe Hisoka -- Tsuzuki bites his lip, and leans forward, focusing intently on the sigil.]

Not enough to attempt what he was trying to do.

[ He pauses, studying Tsuzuki, tapping meaningless dots on the surface of the board. ]

At least, not without some trial and error. Why do you ask?

Because, if they were that complete, we've seen kind of a lot of gods disappearing. And the only one who's popped back up had a personal beef going with Susano'o.

So, if he did have something like that working, it might be that these disappearances aren't just about the spell that brought us in.

[He could've been involved. They could all be tucked away in pocket dimensions with the key missing. If they figured out the key to opening it, they could get them back.]

[ He chews the end of his cigarette for a moment, expressionless. ]

I think you're making a lot of assumptions, but it's true that we can't not try it. I'll see what I can do to make those notes more readable for you, and then maybe we can come up with a way to fill in the blanks.

Yeah, it's just a thought. It's just the most believable thought I've had so far about people disappearing overnight by magic.

[That's not exactly true. But it's the most believable thought that includes the possibility of getting them back in one piece. And Joshua did come back in one piece, and Tsuzuki'd seen Susano'o's spell work, so it's possible Susano'o would have gone for a hostage against him... maybe?

Maybe. Bo disappeared before Susano'o even got here, Tsuzuki thinks, and slumps a little.]

I mean, if he's got any of those pocket dimensions working, they probably don't really have missing people in them. But they might have something else interesting.

If you can figure that magic out, I can try to make it work.

[It's probably going to hurt... but he'll take it, even for the slightest chance that there are people in there hoping to be rescued.]

[ If he notices the change in Tsuzuki's demeanor, it doesn't show: he caps the marker and drops it on the board, cheerful again. ]

Good! I'll let you know as soon as it looks worth trying. Maybe we'll get lucky. It'd be nice to be able to restore some faith in the Heavens.

[ Faith has an audible slant to it, a strange inflection, like he's never said it before. He gets up to stub out his cigarette. ]

[Was that sarcasm? It sounded weird, but Tsuzuki can't quite tell. He nods slowly, and scoots his chair back, taking another long, thoughtful look at Ni's whiteboard sketch.]

Okay. This stuff is pretty far outside the kind of magic I'm used to, so I'm not sure I'm gonna be much use for you in interpreting it, but I can try to cast it anyway.

[ Ukoku hums thoughtfully, leaning against the counter with his beer. ]

Yeah, I have the same problem. Hey, would you show me something you normally do? Like an easy spell, whatever you want. I think it might help if I had an idea of your usual process.

Oh -- yeah. Sure.

[It's a good thing Ni's the logical type, because Tsuzuki hadn't even thought of that. He produces two matching ofuda, getting out of the chair to hand one over to Ni to take a look at.]

I keep some of these around just to be safe -- this one's a summoning spell, if it's not a style you know.

[He holds the one in his hand up, reciting a brief mantra, and it twists, spreading misty white wings and perching as a ghostly dove on his fingertip.]

[ He watches with raised eyebrows, politely impressed. ]

Wow! You make it look so easy[ . He leans over to hand the ofuda back. ] What does it do?

Well, that spell isn't hard...

[It's not about looking easy. It actually is just a minor summon. Tsuzuki laughs easily, reaching up to pet his ghost bird with one finger.]

This guy will last for an hour or two, and I can ask him to find people or deliver messages for me. Or attack ayakashi, but summon spirits really don't last long fighting ayakashi. They're just a distraction.

[And he feels a little bad about it every time. The dove coos, tucking its wings in as he pets it.]

[ Which is perfectly fine, since fighting ayakashi is a waste of time and a distraction in itself. Ukoku smiles at the bird. ]

It's something, how impervious they are. It's almost like this world knows we don't belong here. We have to play by its rules. I'm guessing you've tried more substantial spirits, too, yeah?

Yeah, as strong as I can create. My summoning contracts broke when I got here, as far as I can tell -- or at least, Byakko and Suzaku aren't answering. I haven't tried everybody.

[Like this world knows we don't belong here. Tsuzuki's smile slips a little at that comment. It's true, they can't do much with ayakashi on their own, whatever their powers are (and exorcism, at least, is something Tsuzuki's more than capable of.) Maybe it's simply the way godhood works. Maybe Ni's right, and it's a sign of their transience here, after all.

He... likes it here. But it's true this isn't his position. If he can get the real Tajimamori back somehow, that's who his followers deserve.]

[ He seems not to notice the minor shift, again, and his face is blank at the names, though he nods when Tsuzuki's finished. ]

Well, I can definitely work with this. I don't think it'll take me more than a week. [ Mostly because Susano'o graciously finished the hard part already, thanks friend. ] I should say we'll need to come up with a safe way to see what's on the other side, but I kind of want to see it myself.

Same.

[Tsuzuki hesitates.]

... It sounds like you don't trust your shinki, but I think we should have at least one of ours there in case something like one of his modified ayakashi jumps out at us. I can bring mine?

[Battler's not really a weapon, but he can protect, and ... actually, Tsuzuki thinks, that ability of his might come in handy for a test like this.

"This will open the pocket dimension," for example. If Ukoku's work looks good, and Tsuzuki can believe it.... And if Battler doesn't mind getting dragged into something as potentially dangerous as this is. Tsuzuki's willing to risk himself, but he absolutely can't risk his shinki. Not again.]

[ Perhaps fortunately for Battler, Ukoku adopts a doubtful look, scratching his chin. ]

Ah, yeah—can we keep this between us, for now? We should be fine. The power I got when I came in can stun ayakashi for a little while, so if anything happens, we'll have time to call somebody.

[ Not true, but also not untrue! ]

Okay, if you're sure.

[Tsuzuki frowns a little -- he does think it'd be easier to have backup, just in case -- but Ukoku's probably right that the closer to the vest they play it the less likely it is that somebody'll say something wrong. If things work out, maybe then they can be up front about it. If things don't, they'll probably make it out... and Tsuzuki'll be the only one at ground zero.

He's okay with that.]

Yeah, thanks. It'll be fine.

[ He's silent, then, except for a clink of his nearly empty beer on the side of the counter, which is about 80% well, that's that and 20% are you sure you don't want one. (He'd probably have all kinds of interesting things to say if he drowned his inhibitions.) ]

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