thenearshore | Where did you come from, where did you go? [CLOSED]

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Where did you come from, where did you go? [CLOSED]

Who: Hijikata and Souji
Where: Around a suburban neighborhood on the Near Shore
What: Souji's a little down, so Hijikata's found a prayer that seems likely to cheer him up. It's what you do when you love each other, ok?
When: April 24th
Warnings: Probable smoking, mild salty language about a dog if it makes Hijikata grumpy enough, indirect references to death by tuberculosis. Not too much else, I should think!

He feels it the moment Souji does -- a sudden rush of panic, sharp enough to have him instantly appearing on the veranda outside of Souji's room just to make sure he's not in actual danger. It's a relief to look in the door and see that he's just sitting around with his computer, but a blow to the heart to see the heaviness of his breaths, the way his hand goes to his chest instinctively without him being able to know why.

Protecting him from his demons -- drawing his attention away from them until they give up and slink off to leave him in peace for a moment or two -- has always been Souji's job. It's about time he returned that favor, isn't it? And luckily, he's heard something today that didn't sound too interesting at first, but could be just the thing to cheer Souji up.

My dog ran away from home last week. He's never been outside this long! I'm so worried, please help me find him.

"Souji. Are you busy?"

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He doesn't understand it at all. Maybe- Maybe it's just normal to feel like this about getting sick? It's not something anyone wants, after all. But when he clenches his hand into a fist it's gone cold with sweat, and he doesn't really think everyone feels like this about it.

Maybe it's just this strange and irrational fear... That has to be it.

(It has to be because the other obvious answer is one he cannot think, must not think, should never allow space for in his mind.)

He starts at the sound of Hijikata's voice, and his immediate instinct is to hide it from him, not let him see. Which is stupid, because it's his God. Of course he already knows; that's probably why he's there.

"I- I'm not. I'm sorry, did I cause you any discomfort? It was... nothing, really." Still he tries to downplay it, because that's not exactly the same as hiding, right?

It does sting just a little, when Souji starts to feel like he's got something to hide. Hijikata just shakes his head, though, waving a dismissive hand.

"It's not bad. Don't concern yourself with it."

Best not to dwell on it -- at least, that's how Souji always handled these things, isn't it?

"I was on my way here anyway, actually. Need your help with something, if you're free."

He breathes out slightly, not really reflecting much on his relief, because of course he doesn't want to cause his God distress. That only makes sense, doesn't it? It's easy for him to leave it at that, to not consider the matter further, and in the end that is just as well.

He manages a slightly brittle but nonetheless affectionate smile, quickly gathering his legs under him and getting to his feet. "I'm always free to help you out if you need me, silly," he chides, even managing a small note of teasing even though his heart is still beating far too hard.

Hijikata just hums out a little sound of something like agreement, and holds his hand out to Souji.

"Come on, then. We've got work on the Near Shore today."

Edited 2016-09-16 09:10 (UTC)

He moves a bit faster than he normally would, and grabs Hijikata's hand a bit harder too. Bigger than his, warm and broad and callused, steady as an anchor. In a very real sense, considering his vessel form, it's where he belongs.

"Ah, is that so? Another prayer, then?"

Even with all the strange distances between them lately, that hand in his feels as close as it ever has. He moves them to the Near Shore -- to a quiet part of some town or other, with nearly as many rice paddies around as houses.

"We're looking for something today. Someone's lost -- ah. There."

Across the street, a boy of about ten is standing near a telephone pole. He takes out a small hammer and a nail from his school bag and affixes a sheet of paper to the wooden pole, then stands back, scrubbing at his face for a moment before he walks off. As he walks past them, not seeming to notice their presence at all, it looks like his eyes are a little red from crying...

Hijikata approaches the telephone pole, expecting Souji to follow. The sign is simple -- a picture of a small, fluffy-looking dog, and a few lines of hand-written text in a hand that's rather tidy, even though he doesn't know all the kanji an adult would.

Missing dog!
Please call Yoshiyuki Hamada right away if you find him.
I don't have very much money, but it's really important that I find him. I can do some kind of work to repay you if you want!
(080) xxxx - xxxx

It's a little bit disorienting still to go from one place to the next so quickly, but Souji is starting to find it thrilling as well. He looks around curiously, still attached to Hijikata's side, and spots the boy quickly. He looks... well, sad. Which is not such a strange thing, considering they're here for a prayer, but even so it makes Souji want to go up and talk to him, ask him what's wrong. Maybe it's because children have an easier time spotting them, or maybe it just makes sense to be especially fond of children? He doesn't know.

Instead he follows Hijikata up to the poster, carefully reading the message there, before shooting his God a surprised look. "This is... a bit different. But I suppose that a child would ask anyone they possibly can for help if they've lost a beloved pet, huh?"

"He must have asked at a shrine, too, if I heard it." Maybe filled out one of those wooden plaques. You couldn't fault the kid for not being thorough in his approach, at least.

"...I'm not much use with animals, besides horses. The ducks like you, though, so I'm sure I'll need your help with this one."

Thank goodness for the ducklings Souji adopted and brought to live at his shrine, or he doesn't even know what his excuse would be for knowing how good he is with animals.

At first it had seemed so strange, to ask Hachiman to help find a lost dog, but for a child it's kind of logical. It was probably a shrine he'd been at before, one where he'd felt safe and happy, and he'd gone there for comfort as much as to ask anyone who might be listening. Something like that.

Souji nods very solemnly, looking around. "Well, I helped look for Sanae-sama's kitten not long ago, and this shouldn't be much different. Mm, but a dog is different than a cat, and this is not a calm garden either, but-" But where do you take dogs? "Are there any parks around here?"

Of course Sanae has a cat and can't keep track of it. She really does remind him of Souji -- a strange blend of incredible skill and power, and childish absurdities that's nearly impossible for the casual observer to predict, much less influence.

"Parks?"

Hijikata takes out his phone, still having to consciously remind himself how to do the things that make it work. Push the button to make it respond, touch the numbers of the code, touch the stylized picture of the map...

He looks at the screen for a moment, then puts a hand on Souji's arm to teleport him along with him to a nearby public park.

"There's a few more in the area, it looks like, but this is the biggest one around here."

He waits patiently for Hijikata to look up the park, bouncing up on his tiptoes so he can peer at the phone from over his shoulder. They're still so very strange to him, and he can tell that it's fairly new to Hijikata as well, which is a strangely warm little thought. It's something they share, right?

Looking around once they arrive in the park, he nods. "I don't think a little dog like that would run off somewhere it doesn't know if it doesn't have to. But it's probably hard for a kid and maybe his family to go everywhere, too." He looks around. "If the dog is scared, it might have found somewhere to hide. Oooor... we should probably look for place where it might find food too."

Hijikata slips the phone into his pocket, looking around.

"Somewhere around there might make for a hiding place," he suggests, nodding towards a jungle gym where a few kids are playing together. Might as well start by checking there, right?]

Souji nods and then, only hesitating slightly, he disentangles himself from Hijikata and darts ahead of him, gaze seeking out every small movement.

The playground doesn't yield much, and neither does a nearby food stand, a hollow tree or the banks of the small lake at the center of the park. It feels a bit aimless, wandering around like this, but even so... well, somehow Souji feels that they just have to find the dog sooner or later. Gods don't just fail and go home, right?

He almost passes by the small shrine by the lake without a glance, when there's a strangled little sound from inside that causes him to halt hesitantly by it. Despite the small size, the shadows at the back are pretty deep, and maybe... "Did you hear that too?"

Hijikata trails a few steps behind, his pace slow but still purposeful his gaze sweeping slowly and methodically over everything. A dog, a dog, where would a dog, go...

He's starting to get a little frustrated, when Souji stops moving. He pauses, too, listening carefully.

"...Over there?" He hadn't even noticed that little shrine there before. Most people probably wouldn't bother to check there...

"It sounded a bit like whining..."

He takes a few steps closer, and then wrinkles his nose a bit. "And something smells bad. Hold on..." Stepping unceremoniously over a stand holding a few sticks of burned-out incense and edging around a small offering box, he actually has to duck his head to get further inside the shrine. Almost immediately, there's a startled and miserable little yelp, followed by half-hearted growling.

"Ah... do you have something like a knife, Hijikata-sama?"

Something like a knife? Hijikata frowns, but... if Souji were planning on hurting whatever creature's in there to free it, or even putting it out of its misery, Hijikata's sure he'd feel worse.

"I have you," he points out, scratching the back of his head in faint embarrassment. Maybe it would be a good idea to carry some kind of utility knife, but...

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Where did you come from, where did you go? [CLOSED]

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approximately 1000 years later

I love you and you are perfect

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