The Rogue Shinki

[moonlitknight]

Who: Zero and Open.
What: Random
When: End of April
Where: Around
Warnings: None


i. The Bench

Surprisingly, the rogue shinki can often be seen occupying a bench in the park. He spends a lot of time in the Near Shore, feeling a pull to the world he no longer belongs in. He sits there for quite a while, watching the living go through their day. It relaxes him, allowing him to focus on something else aside from his lost memories.

When someone sits beside him, Zero turns to look at them when a ball unexpectedly hits his foot drawing his attention away from the newcomer and towards the toddler heading his way.  Zero nudges the ball to him and the kid bends down, almost loses his balance, and picks it up before oh so carefully standing back up again. Those small eyes look up at him and Zero stares back wondering if he-- Someone calls the child's name and the toddler obediently turns around heading back to his play area.

"Do you think he saw...?"


ii. Learning Curves

A gust of wind brings the scent of blood in the air stopping him in his tracks. He stills and looks around.

"Who's there?"

Still unaware of his powers, he doesn't realize the source is far off from his location. So he follows the trail, thinking someone's injured nearby. He tracks the scent further until he can feel the pinpricks of pain shooting through the tattoo that mars his neck. He clutches his neck, but keeps moving. It's not so bad yet, and if someone really is---He catches the heartbeat of another close by and quickly veers off toward them before suddenly coming into their peripheral and--

"Are you bleeding?"

Hello stranger. He doesn't wait for a response before he's halfway to you.


iii. The Prayer

"I'm not your scratching post."

He's all glowers and a slanted mouth. Yet, he's carrying the cat with gentle ease, which the feline uses to its advantage in its next prison break but Zero knows her ploy by now and doesn't let go, which is when the cat employs a new tactic and suddenly switches from wiggling in his grasp like a snake to going utterly still and making a long crying noise. The sudden change has Zero immediately loosening his grip thinking he's hurt her which is when the kitty turns traitor and scratches him a third time before kicking out of his grasp and landing on the ground at a running pace. 

Comments

3

[candyconsumption]

Itachi was quick to scoop it up. The cat seemed to almost run into his arms, and he had no problem in taking it into his arms. It almost looked as if the two fit well together. If that was the case, he couldn't be happier.

Instead, he spotted a familiar face. At first, he thought maybe he had dreamed the entire thing, sitting under a tree with the smell of cherry blossoms and soft conversation, but he found that to not be the case. The cat shifted in his arms, mewling. Red eyes glanced down to it, then back up at Zero.

"...Fancy seeing you here," Was the reply.

3

[moonlitknight]

His eyes narrow on the cat, and he's about to chase him down a third time when his feet come to an immediate stop when it suddenly gets scooped up by a pair of hands. His eyes snap up and his brows furrow. He remembered him, from the festival. But no sooner does he recall the memory than he see's the damn cat settle down, not struggling even an inch!

"........."

Was he really---

"Traitor."

[candyconsumption]

The cat mewled again, looking at Zero before rolling onto it's back for Itachi, inviting the other shinki to pet him. The shinobi looked down, gently stratching at the top of the cat's head.

"Is he yours?"

1/2

[moonlitknight]

The moment he rolls onto his back for Itachi, Zero just stares at them both.

"........"

Damn Cat!

2/2

[moonlitknight]

"No."

A rough response, not at all impressed by its sudden allegiance wi--with... he never got his name.

"A prayer. He's the wish." A glower. "For some reason."

[candyconsumption]

"A prayer?" Sorry, he's not 100% filled into much of anything yet. But he walked over a little closer to Zero, looking up at the taller man. His hand still stroked the top of the cat's head.

"Oh." A bit of a look over. He stills in petting the creature. "You were scratched."

[moonlitknight]

"We fulfill prayers left by people. It's our duty."

He explains, as he walks over to him. His eyes fall on the cat who begins to move again the instant it got closer to him. Zero narrows his eyes. It wasn't the first animal that seemed to dislike him.

The question catches him off guard, and he looks up at him. "It's fine. It's not that bad." He pulls down on the sleeve of a white shirt, hiding his wrist from view where the damn thing clawed him. It was fine though. It'd heal... like the last one. The cat had marked his face twice but both marks were all but gone now.

[candyconsumption]

He nods his head. Zero was right, it didn't look that bad, just a scratch, so he didn't question it any further. He looked down at the struggling cat, who wasn't trying to get out of Itachi's arms, but more bury itself into him.

"Was the cat lost?" He inquired. He shifted his arms to better accommodate the now wiggling creature. He could feel the tiny pinpricks of claws that were beginning to bury into his shoulder, but made no comment.

[moonlitknight]

Zero saw what it was doing and backed up two paces. "A few days now."

It settled down.

"The little boy seemed worried." Which is why he took it in the first place.

Bench!

[talkbirdytome]

"Maybe."

Because obviously since she was walking by that question was directed at her and not rhetorical in any way. Which is why she also invites herself to sit on the bench next to him.

"I've heard that little kids and animals can see us."

Bench!

[moonlitknight]

"The animals run away from me." A simple statement, but nonetheless true. Then a frown. "But none of the people." Until today. "They always walk past me, sit by me," while avoiding him, as if they sense he's there on some level.

"... I didn't think they could see me."

Bench!

[talkbirdytome]

"They usually can't."

Except for the little kids, but she mentioned that already. Hiyoko shrugs and smiles.

"If you try really hard, you can get their attention. But only for a couple of minutes. Then they forget about you again."

So it is possible to buy something from a store, or ask for directions, but much more than that is difficult.

Bench!

[moonlitknight]

He turns to the familiar goddess then. "They forget?"

And then it made sense. "Because we don't belong here." This place, the Near Shore, it wasn't their home anymore.

Re: Bench!

[talkbirdytome]

Her smile turns just a bit sad and she nods.

"Bingo. We're not completely invisible or anything, but we can't really be a part of that world anymore."

It is a weird feeling though, and sometimes she gets a little wistful too.

"But we can still help them out. That's why we answer their prayers."

Bench!

[moonlitknight]

"But that's not all we do." He looks at her. "I heard about the Ayakashi that went on a rampage in the Far Shore." He's silent for a moment, his thoughts reaching for a piece of information, something just out of reach.

Level E's.

"He was a Shinki."

[talkbirdytome]

She winces.

"Yeah, I heard about that. It sounded pretty bad."

And it's never good to think that it could happen to other shinki. Any shinki. It's frightening.

"I can't even imagine what that must've been like. For him and his god..."

[moonlitknight]

He's never met his god so he has no idea how it would effect the god-shinki relationship... still.

"You're a god," so she must know, "What happens to us when we die?" Because however little he knew of what happened, he knew that. The Shinki hadn't survived.

2

[subtract]

Add jumps straight up when someone appears out of nowhere, shouting at him from the other end of the street. Sure enough, he is bleeding a little bit—there are a few small scratches up the length of his arm. That's what he gets for trying to pet an unfriendly stray. He seems to be getting less and less popular with the local cats lately...

That doesn't make Zero's question any less strange, though. Add stares in bafflement for a moment longer before giving him an odd look, folding his arms to better hide the scratches.

"Why do you want to know?" he asks suspiciously. Was this guy watching him or something? He can't think of any other reason why this total stranger would know he was bleeding at all. It's not exactly a life-threatening wound.

2

[moonlitknight]

Pinpricks of pain flare out from his tattoo the closer he gets which has him stopping a few feet away. It might not be much blood, but it's more than enough to incite his senses making him a little more than agitated.

"If you're hurt you take care of it instead of walking around like a moron bleeding out."

[subtract]

That answer just annoys him even more. Add sighs loudly, rolling his eyes and making a big show of unveiling his arm instead. He wasn't going to show it, but if this guy is going to try and act like Add is being irresponsible...

"Does this look like bleeding out to you? Actually, I have a better question. Why are you spying on me if all you're going to do is nag about something so pointless?"

Not that Add should be allowed to judge anyone for suspected stalking, but that's such a minor detail.

[moonlitknight]

Surprise flickers across his eyes as Zero catches sight of the scratches, and stills. He had caught the scent of it... He turns his shoulders, looking back from where he'd come from. How far had he tracked the coppery tone in the air before finding him?

"I wasn't spying."

Too long.

[subtract]

That reaction seems odd, to say the least. There's definitely something else going on here... though Add can't even begin guess what that might be. If he wasn't spying then why did he notice at all? It feels like he's missing something.

Add pauses, folding his arms again as he contemplates the situation. Is there some other explanation he could be overlooking...?

"If you weren't spying, then what were you doing?" The question is a little more casual, less accusing. His curiosity is starting to outweigh his annoyance. "That's not something most people would notice from a distance, let alone try to call another out on. How did you know?"

[moonlitknight]

"I was tracking..."

A scent.

"There was a smell in the air, and I thought," he was bleeding out. "Someone was hurt."

He grows quiet after that his words echoing in his mind. No... people didn't notice stuff like that... not from where he'd been. Then how? How had he caught the scent of blood in the air.

[subtract]

"... Humans aren't especially known for their sense of smell."

A stated fact, not a question. Especially for a wound so small, it would be insane for a human to notice something like that by scent. Even saying he caught sight of it from afar would be more reasonable.

Which leads him to a more important question...

"If you're not human, then what are you?" he asks, taking a few cautious steps forward. Ah, perhaps he could also be— "What's your name?"

[moonlitknight]

What are you?

His lips press together as his mind comes up short. "I don't know."

He'd been trying to come up with an answer but he still didn't have enough puzzle pieces to see the whole picture.

"Zero," he answers, as his eyes shift up to meet his. He doesn't recognize him so he assumes he's a stranger.