thenearshore | [OPEN + 1 closed]

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[OPEN + 1 closed]

Who: Ren & YOU
What: Shopping for things and experimenting with warding off ayakashi
When: May 1-4
Where: various places on the Near Shore
Warnings: n/a to start

A [ Shopping ]

i. May 1st, OTA

[After the disaster that was Amaterasu's pincic and the very tense days that have followed it, Ren has been in desperate need of getting out of the house and doing something for himself. Or mostly for himself. Besides, taking a break from work to have fun is what Golden Week is all about, isn't it?

So today he can be found flitting in and out of at least one dimly-lit shop full of mostly black clothing, spending far too long in a small shop contemplating coffee and tea choices, and standing outside a paper shop like he hasn't decided if he wants to go in or not.

Late in the afternoon, he can also be found rolling a plastic kiddie pool almost as tall as he in down the street. At least he's being careful not to run into anyone who doesn't seem to see him.]

ii. May 2nd, closed to Shun

[So around midday on the 2nd, Ren sends Shun this text:]

kurosak-ki~ ( ﾟ▽ﾟ)/ i want your advice on something~ could you meet me at [location]? i'm in the back (*＾-‘) 乃

[The location given turns out to be a small thrift shop, and Ren's distinctively mess red hair can just barely be seen over the top of some of the racks near the back of the store, just like he said.]

iii. May 3rd until mid-afternoon, OTA

[Today has a very specific goal and that is to find The Perfect Water Gun. In this noble pursuit, he's already bought several small-but-larger-than-pistol-sized water guns as well as another much larger one, which all all weighing down the bag in his hands.

In his preoccupation with find another place to look for more, he's stopped paying much attention to where he's going and suddenly--BAM. Hope he didn't run into you too hard!]

B [ Experimenting with Ayakashi - OTA ]

i. May 3rd around sunset

[All those water guns he bought earlier were for one purpose--to see what spraying shrine water at ayakashi will do (thanks for that idea, Shun). After all, he's on his own in the Near Shore more often than not, and anything he can do to ward off ayakashi would be a huge help.

So he's wandering around a park, taking aim at any small ayakashi he comes across. In fact, he had to start seeking them out in the first place because it seems to be working! But it's really only working to keep them away from him...]

ii. May 4th around sunset

[Warding off smaller ayakashi went so well yesterday that Ren decided to seek out a bigger one today to see just how big one could get before the water stopped being effective.

This was (obviously) a bad idea.

He can either be found running from the bear-like creature he pissed off, or slumped behind something to hide from it, but either way, he's covered in blight and has zero water left to deal with it. Help?]

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I see. We've had to keep him away from Gojyo's first shinki, too. A little distraction really might be just the thing.

[He shakes his head, expression mildly gloomy.]

At least it'll give him something to do other than look for a fight!

[He winces a little at that--of course Hibari's making trouble over there too.]

I'm sorry, I didn't even consider you might have someone else he could pick on. I just needed to make sure we all left the party in one piece...

[But he's not going to offer to take Hibari back right this minute either. Unfortunately, Gojyo's shinki don't take precedence over his own, especially when one of them is capable of giving Hibari a taste of his own medicine.]

I'm afraid he's one of the sort who seem to be ... lacking something.

[It's a shame. It's especially a shame that Hibari finds that lack offensive, as Gojyo's other shinki isn't really equipped to defend himself.

Hakkai frowns. He doesn't really expect Ren to offer to take Hibari back -- not when he's been attacking Ren's other shinki, too -- but they really do have to deal with him somehow. Perhaps giving him a school to focus on will do the trick.]

In any case, I'll take him with me to look around. Perhaps it'll tire him out.

[As soon as he hears that, Ren goes still and closes off completely, and he very nearly does offer to take Hibari back on the spot. He knows exactly how defenseless that shinki must be; bullying him is not acceptable.]

I see. He'll have to be redirected sooner than I thought, then.

[But, anything further will have to wait, because at that moment, a bat-like ayakashi swoops down to alight in his hair. Ren swats it away, only to look back and see that a whole lot more than he's prepared to deal with are congregating in a nearby tree.]

...Maybe we should continue this somewhere else. Were you going anywhere in particular? Do you mind coming by my place first? I have something to give you.

I was going to pick up a few things for dinner, but that can wait.

[Hakkai follows Ren's gaze to the tree full of shifting purple wings, and frowns just a little. Oh, dear. That's not something he'd like to deal with at all.]

If you don't mind me accompanying you, it seems like a good time to move on, doesn't it?

Oh, I'll try not to keep you too long, then.

[It definitely seems like a good time to be moving on though, and he pretty much accomplished what he set out to do tonight. So Ren turns to leave...and then pauses to hold his free hand out to Hakkai.]

Do you mind if we just go straight there?

Not at all.

[Hakkai reaches out to take Ren's hand. His fingers are cool and his grip carefully judged not to be strong enough to actually hurt. He's not about to find out first-hand what happens if he loses his grip on a god who's teleporting him. The leaf and vine patterns marked across his hands are as smooth as if they were tattoos, although, if Ren's looking, he may notice them shift slightly across Hakkai's skin.]

[Ren seems to have a similar feeling about it, because he curls his fingers around Hakkai's so he's holding on just as firmly. Then he waves at the bats with his squirt gun and teleports both of them back to his shrine.

And then quickly shakes free of Hakkai's hand so he can dash over to the water basin to stash the squirt gun behind it. As he walks back over to Hakkai, he jerks his hand in a sharp slice through the air and sends them both the last step to his temple.

He doesn't even break step as he then heads for the front door.]

I left it in the courtyard so we won't have to go far.

[Hakkai didn't see the second teleportation coming; he catches his balance with barely a waver, though, and picks up the pace to follow Ren to the front door.]

Ah -- you're being mysterious, Ren! May I ask what it is?

[Ren smiles back at him as he pushes open the front door.]

It's a present! [Because that answer isn't also vague and mysterious as heck.] And one for Hibari, although I'm rethinking that...

[There definitely a dark edge to his expression as he steps through into the house and the hall leading to the courtyard. He might be smiling and acting cheerful as usual, but oooh boy is he unhappy with Hibari right now.]

Well. You can always hold Hibari's until he's earned it, unless you think it might improve his behavior.

[Well, all right! He'll be patient, following along at Ren's shoulder with his eyebrows arched in interest.]

That was the idea when I bought it, but I thought he was just sulking somewhere too.

[Granted, as long as they're keeping him away from Gojyo's defenseless shinki, that probably is all Hibari has been doing.

The courtyard has a few additions today: a five-foot kiddie pool that a few of the ducks are currently enjoying, and a bunch of shopping bags strewn around the one table and low couch that actually seems to see a lot of use. Of course, Ren heads right over to that mess and squats down to start digging through bags.]

Maybe I'll just write him a note to go along with it.

Would you like me to bring it to him, then?

[Hakkai'd assumed he'd do it himself... but it's also possible that seeing him will annoy Hibari again. It's hard to judge sometimes where the boy will draw his lines. He makes a softly thoughtful noise, and turns his attention to the duck pond.]

Your ducks seem happy.

Would you mind? I think what I have to say might be more effective if I'm not there for him to yell at. Ah, found it--

[And there are the bags he was looking for. He carefully pulls out a very box-shaped bag and, after a moment of hesitation, only one of the three owl-themed mug he's bought the other day and sets both on the table.]

Anyway, he might feel less like I'm pressuring him if he has to consider it by himself. You know how he feels about me having power over him. He needs to decide to go along with it himself.

[And then he slides over into the seat and extracts a pen and paper from the mess on the table to start writing.]

They do, don't they? I think I might get another of those, if I can find a bigger one that's still cheap.

Or have someone dig you a pond.

[Thoughtfully, he adds:] A bit of hard work that isn't violent might do Hibari good, in fact. And if it's for his pets....

[He could wear himself out excavating a pond! It really could be useful. That will have to wait, of course; he glances over at Ren's letter.]

Hmm. How angry do you think he'll be at that letter? I don't mind, of course, but I do like knowing in advance that I'll need to duck.

[Ren nods a little while Hakkai is talking to show he's listening, and when he mentions that Hibari should do it, he pauses in his writing, looks thoughtful himself, and then nods and jots down something near the bottom of the paper. Because he absolutely agrees, that's a fantastic idea.

And then he goes back to the real note with a somewhat apologetic smile.]

Hopefully not so angry that he disregards it, but...I wouldn't be surprised if you'll want to be in another room.

He said he's the only shinki I need. [Ren just manages to go on sounding conversational as he says that, rather than cynical and amazed that he actually thinks he's shown that that the last couple months.] If he wants me to think that, he's going to have to prove it.

Ah. Then you're not interested in keeping your new shinki?

[Because Hibari is going to kill him if Ren makes that offer. Hakkai's tone is cool.

It's an interesting strategy, trying to call Hibari's jealous bluff, but Hakkai is fairly certain there's no way it won't end in bloodshed.]

[Given the way Ren's expression tightens, he has at least considered that. This isn't like pitting Kyou against himself and Asaka, or Asaka against Kai or Suiko. Hibari is horribly volatile and he's very likely to take anything Ren might say as an invitation to make everything even worse.

But the situation they're back in now is one he hates and he doesn't see a whole lot of other ways out of it.]

I'm not phrasing it quite like that. [he sighs and pulls a knee up against his chest and fiddles with his pen.] I'm just not sure what else to do. I don't like us living apart like this again. I didn't like it the first time. And he really needs to learn that he can't just punch everything he doesn't like...

He does need to learn better, but I don't think encouraging him to fight will help.

[Hakkai's honestly not sure what the right way to do it is. Hibari does need a good, solid kick in the pants, but it's so easy to push him into violence and paranoia....

If Ren or Eric could fight him openly, that would be a different story. They can't, though. Hibari's strong enough to take that option off the table for most.]

I think what he needs is to feel safe. Of course, it would be best if he didn't threaten everyone else's safety in the process.

[Ren would like to argue that he's deliberately not encouraging Hibari to fight anything but ayakashi in here...but that's a pretty weak argument and he knows it. Hibari would find a way to fight whatever and whoever he wanted if it upset him enough.

And one thing is for sure, it's also meant to do the exact opposite of making him feel safe or secure in his position, and he can't actually deny that Hibari could use that more right now. He sets the pen down.]

This isn't going to do that.

[Frankly, the only things he can think of that would are 1) something he's not going to do and 2) what they were talking about a few minutes ago. He spends a moment rolling the pen under his finger as he considers that second one.]

...If you're think of having him help find a place for a new school...would you mind if I helped with that too? I used to have my own school--well, sort of--[that's putting it very generously]--and if he thinks I'm also trying to give him back what he lost...

Not at all. That's a good idea, Ren.

[Much better than provoking him into battling it out with Ren's other shinki, which Hakkai is willing to bet will end in a death. He taps a finger thoughtfully against his chin.]

I'll text you when I'm planning to head out, then. Perhaps the two of you could go together.

[Thank you, Hakkai, for being a voice of reason here in the face of Ren actually losing his patience for once. Not that anyone but Ren will know that's what prompted this.]

I don't think he'd be very happy if it was just the two of us. [He pauses in rolling the pen and smiles against his knee.] Then again, he wasn't very happy the last time it was all three of us either.

[And he'll just be carefully tearing off the bottom of the paper and writing a much short note at the top of it now.]

I'd like that. I don't like seeing him like this. I really want to do something to pull him out of it.

Edited 2016-10-16 11:11 (UTC)

It's good of you to try.

[Hakkai smiles wryly, and holds a hand out for Ren's note.]

I'm afraid the biggest effort is going to have to be Hibari's, though. All we can do is motivate him to make it.

I know, and he's so stubborn about not even trying to make it.

[Ren lets out a noisy sigh that ruffles the hair in his face. If only he could be that stubborn about actually making an effort to improve his life. In some way that didn't involve just punching his problems.

He sees the hand...but the note isn't going in it. Instead, he rolls it up and sticks it in the mug, and then sticks the mug in the bag with the box. And then gets up so he can place the handles of the bag in Hakkai's hand instead.]

I really do appreciate you looking after him and trying to help him too, though. The mug is for Hibari. The box has a selection of teas, and that's for you. Hopefully there's something in there that's new and that you'll like.

[Hakkai pauses, briefly, startled, and then relaxes into his usual smile again. His gaze, though, is thoughtful.]

Thank you, Ren. It's very thoughtful of you. I'm sure I'll enjoy them very much.

[The corners of his eyes crinkle slightly with affection: it is thoughtful of Ren. He's stubborn himself, and very dedicated to doing what's best for Hibari. Some gods are better than others. Hibari's been lucky.

Now, the trick is just to prod him into seeing that for himself.]

I do hope he'll enjoy his gift as well.

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