thenearshore | 008

Yeah. You too, huh?

[Which is a relief. Tsuzuki'd figured his friends would keep an eye on him, and they'd seemed to know how to handle themselves in a fight, but still -- a lot of people had died.]

[ Alive, yeah. Or whatever this current state of being is. He hasn't died again, so there's that?]

More or less...

[ He finally takes the offered tissues and dabs his sleeve with them. ]

You're Tsuzuki, right?

[ The guy introduced himself and then disappeared into the fray. Konzen would like to remember the name of the guy who saved his life is, at least. ]

Yeah, that's right. Tsuzuki Asato. And you're, uh. I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name in all that --

[An awkward little wave of one hand conveys "mayhem and bloodshed," and he rubs the back of his neck with a self-conscious laugh.]

It's Konzen.

[ And yeah, that's quite okay. He knows what the hand-wave means. He's glad for Tsuzuki's sake that he's still alive. It got pretty hairy back there, and that was before the confrontation with Seiten Taisei... ]

Thanks. For uh, your help. [ Gratitude, he has it. Even if his way of expressing it is kind of awkward. ]

Where did you go, after that...?

Back to my temple to get my shinki. I wanted to make sure he didn't get stuck facing any of those dragon ayakashi on his own.

[His smile falters into a faintly guilty expression, and he glances away to hide it.]

You know, I'm not sure what exactly Susano'o did to those ayakashi, but they sure were a lot stronger than the usual.

What about you?

[ Konzen's still got a lot of questions about Susano'o, but he still hasn't figured out anything yet. It's a bit frustrating. It's not like he can really press Goku for answers either ... He wouldn't want to, given what's already happened. ]

I guess so. I'm not exactly sure what to compare them to.

I ... went to look for my shinki, too. Er, my other one. Goku.

[ Which isn't inaccurate. The reason for looking for him is very different from Tsuzuki's, but he's not sure how much he should reveal.. ]

Did you know anything about Susano'o? Had you met him before?

Just a couple times. He mauled my arm once.

[Tsuzuki laughs a little awkwardly. Ha ha, maulings! It's... okay, it's exactly the sort of thing anybody who'd met Susano'o probably expected out of him. He shakes his head, glancing at Konzen a little shamefacedly.]

He was working on this weird design at one of his shrines when he attacked me. I didn't think anything of it at the time, since he did all that weird trash art, but looking back, I bet it was one of the spells he was creating.

[And if he'd done anything about it then, maybe Susano'o wouldn't have been able to cause all that mayhem and kill all those gods and shinki. His lips twist briefly with guilt before he summons an attempt at a smile.]

Mauling?? [ Spells?? Design? What the hell. The more he hears about Susano'o, the better he feels about the fact that he's no longer around, and more importantly, no longer Goku's god. What the hell were they thinking, making Goku work with such a nutjob? As far as Konzen is concerned, this is all their fault. ]

How was that a guy a god??

[ He runs his hand through his hair with annoyance. ]

I guess they don't check our credentials or anything!

[Tsuzuki laughs, rubbing the back of his neck.]

I mean, they let me in.... [And he's the worst failure in the Summons Department. How that says "quick, let's give him some real power," Tsuzuki's not sure.

He's almost certain that the no checking of credentials is really the truth, though. It seems like nobody's deliberately choosing any of them.]

[ Konzen considers Tsuzuki. Actually, he thought he was kind of powerful. Spells and so on, in addition to the whole blood-healing thing. Which was admittedly somewhat messy (and a little creepy) but still very handy. If anything, it's Konzen who's got no credentials. At least, not for the things they seem to expect gods to do here. ]

You seem to know how to handle yourself, [ he says with some surprise. He's not saying it to be nice or comforting or anything. He just thinks this is true. ]

I'm the worst employee in the Summons division. Was.

[There's something really freeing about saying that. He was the worst failure in the Summons division. He doesn't have to do any of that anymore.

At least not as long as he gets to stay here, he doesn't.]

I mean, I'm good with ofuda magic, but you should see my personnel record. Which I guess they didn't!

Hn. Maybe not. But there's not much they do seem to know. Or if they do know it, they're not so eager to share.

[ He's inclined to think it's more the latter. It's easy enough to feign ignorance. Konzen knows this picnic is just another ruse to pretend things are just fine, when they aren't. ]

...what did you do at the 'Summons' division?

Yeah, you've got a point there! [The smile falters and slips away from Tsuzuki's lips, and he glances to the side to avoid Konzen's gaze.]

...I, uh. The Summons Division makes sure that souls show up in the afterlife at the time they're appointed to. So, if someone's hanging on to life when they should have died....

[Yeah, that's what it sounds like. Tsuzuki swallows, and adds in a rush:] Or if souls have gone missing somehow, or someone dies before their time -- usually that's because a demon or something else supernatural got involved -- we investigated those, too.

Oh. That's ... [ kind of a sucky job. Tracking down people who should be dead? Konzen's got his own opinions about this heaven and god/shinki duties, but Tsuzuki's old gig seems even more disturbing.

He suddenly feels a little guilty for asking. Tsuzuki obviously doesn't like to talk about it. He can't bring himself to finish his thought, so he ends lamely: ]

... right.

[ He's curious to know how they decided whether someone was hanging on to life when they shouldn't be, but he can't. ]

What do you think of ... this kind of afterlife? Or whatever you'd call it.

[Tsuzuki rubs the back of his neck and shoots Konzen an awkward little smile. He looks like he's feeling bad for asking, and Tsuzuki might hate what he's done, but... it's not like he can't talk about it. At least Konzen's not backing off or making any of those are-you-going-to-kill-me-then faces that Tsuzuki really hates. So, it's okay. It's fine.]

Hey, it's -- I mean, it's okay to ask. I'm just glad I'm done with that job.

I like this place, but it's not all that safe, if you ask me. Not for us and not for the gods who used to be here, either.

[ I like this place, he says. Maybe it's not so bad compared to the sort of thing he had to do before. Konzen wonders whether he would've felt the same about this place, had he not arrived with so much baggage and overall suspicion of all things divine.

He quirks his brow a little at the 'not all that safe' remark. ]

I'm pretty sure shit's hit the fan a few times since I've arrived, [ he says dryly. ]

Just like home! Only with more disappearances.

[He laughs uncomfortably. It's pretty much... true, actually. Funny how none of the Heavens he's been to so far seem to be all that well run.]

[ It would be uncomfortable, talking about disappearances. It's one of the things that Konzen finds especially creepy about this place. At least in his heaven, when you disappeared, you had a pretty good idea where you'd end up. And Konzen's right with you on that score: he hasn't seen a well-run heaven, either. It's a fucking epidemic.]

Have you seen anything like it before?

You mean, people disappearing the way they do here? No.

Back where I'm from, we didn't have nearly as many people appearing, though, either. I don't know for sure what happens to the people who disappear... but maybe it's just whatever spell brings them here failing?

[Maybe their souls go back home. Maybe -- Tsuzuki has no idea, but he still hasn't found any trace of where Hisoka might have disappeared to. All he can do is hope, desperately, that he did go home. And hope that he's okay.]

Hmph. It's a lot of fuss and bother, [ Konzen mutters, disgruntled. He's not really taking it out on Tsuzuki, but rather stating the facts as he sees it. Not even the gods in charge here seem to know what is happening. Being a god never meant you had much power. He thinks that maybe that's even more the case in this heaven. ]

I suppose this is all nothing knew. [ He sighs. ]

What, the fuss? No, I guess things're like that everywhere.

[Tsuzuki smiles at him, sympathetically -- it's tough realizing things are messed up even in the new place that was supposed to be better than the old one. He gets that. He's felt it himself, every time something here goes really wrong.

Maybe today'll be nice and quiet, and they'll just get to hang out under the trees.]

... Anyway, I think I should go find my shinki. You know, make sure they didn't get too close to the trees or anything. [His smile brightens cheerfully.] Look, it is good seeing you in one piece, Konzen! I'll see you around, okay?

[ Too close to the trees...? Konzen's not quite sure what he means by it, but he doesn't want to delay him any further. He just cocks his head to the side a little quizzically before nodding. ]

Sure. Take care, Tsuzuki.

008 | OVERFLOW

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*new (ugh typos I can't fix...)