Closed

[bussounoshima]

Who: Sharak and Konzen, Sharak and the other hot blond too many Sanzos just too many
What: Two grown ass adults at Capyper Land, both swear they have a good reason for being there. Also: Sanzo party without the party and with extra Sanzo flavouring
When: May 9th, May 8th late afternoon, May 10th evening
Where: Capyper Land, Kanzeon's temple, does Tokyo even have dive bars
Warnings: Because they're at an amusement park for children and the happiest place on Earth, we must include warnings for gun violence, swearing, mention of child death and reckless child endangerment. But like, in a fun way.


[It's a courtesy call, really. Genjo had been pretty worn out after their chat the other night and Sharak wants to see how he's doing. After their discussion, she's pretty sure she knows where to find him too... And so she walks up to Kanzeon's temple and lets herself into the front yard.

Even if she can't find the Genjo she's thinking of, she wouldn't mind speaking to the other one. It really depends on which one she finds first.]



[She'd been asked to look into a childish spirit wandering around a theme park looking miserable so... Here she is. Sharak still isn't keen on this "God" business, but the best way to learn what's going on is occasionally to play along. For now, anyway. "Aditi" is everyone's mother and so of course she cares for lost children in need of protection. Sharak, on the other hand, is certainly no mother... But she's not opposed to protecting children anyway.

For now Sharak is stood by the wall outside a restaurant opposite a particularly large rollercoaster, watching the children run around screaming with an indulgent look in her eye. Maybe this isn't so bad.]

Comments

[killsthebuddha]

[ Looking remarkably like a half-drowned cat or no, Sanzo's shaking the water out of his gun and pulling himself out of the spring as Sharak fires and-

The way the bullet disappears makes his blood run cold, and he doesn't know why. Ukoku is looking at him slyly, like there's some sort of shared joke. It takes him a moment before he interjects, voice steadier than he thought it would be. ] Seems like you've been making bad impressions, old man.

[ Fuck, he doesn't know who to aim at. He keeps his gun at his side. ]

[existentialcrisis]

I know it! I don't even know what I did; I've been retired. [ He's looking at Sharak, not Genjo, even with the appearance of the second gun. ]

We can talk it now, if you want. Genjo can cover his ears.

[bussounoshima]

[Keeping her position standing protectively between Genjo and Ukoku probably isn't very effective. Fucker can teleport. But Sharak keeps it up anyway, meeting Ukoku's gaze steadily.]

Retired, huh... Well, I'm still in active service and can't say I like people messing up my turf. [The west is her area. But she's not having this conversation here. Not with Genjo right there. Not with that horribly veiled threat.]

But that can wait. You're here because of the blight? Remove the name and it's not your concern anymore.

[killsthebuddha]

[ She's covering for him, a fact that doesn't escape his notice nor does it entirely surprise him. What he didn't expect and, in hindsight, should have is her demand. ]

Sharak...? [ Her name comes out as a murmur. Sanzo doesn't know what her play is going to be, he sure as hell can't predict Ukoku, and he doesn't like it in the least. After a moment, he thumbs back the hammer of his revolver, the sound familiar and calming in the face of uncertainty. ]

[existentialcrisis]

Is that really what you want? [ He pauses, still looking only at her. ]

You just got here, yeah? Did you know that if you try to tell your shinki about their past, you'll automatically stop yourself? It feels like the strongest revulsion you can imagine. He's safer this way than he would be if I released him. He has more leverage, too.

[bussounoshima]

[It hadn't stopped Roxas from telling Axel enough to destroy him. Thank you, Add, for being so considerate in sharing your information. Ukoku would be endangering himself, but none of the gods connected to Axel had died from their blight.]

It doesn't seem that way to me. But like you say, I just got here.

[killsthebuddha]

[ Now would be a good time for Ukoku to not know how he felt, Sanzo thinks. Keyed up and uncertain, he has to exert conscious effort to keep himself steady and his face blank.

And a good poker face is damn useless in a situation like this. ] Now you're both starting to piss me off. Don't talk about me like I'm not here.

[ That isn't anger that he's feeling, but he can't stay quiet. ]

[existentialcrisis]

[ Ukoku starts around Sharak toward the edge of the water, finally lowering his hands, all his attention on Sanzo. ]

Well, what do you think?

[bussounoshima]

[Shifts slightly when Ukoku moves, but she doesn't move to stand between them again. She's close enough to Sanzo to raise a barrier if she needs to anyway.]

The incident that made him name you is over, isn't it? You don't need it now.

[killsthebuddha]

[ Ukoku arrests his attention, but he always did. It's the edge of a cliff all over again, only maybe it's more like a tight rope with Sharak there, too.

The other night comes to mind suddenly, with Ukoku drunk and laughing and strangely lost. He was missing something profound. Sanzo doesn't know what it is, but it gives him a measure of clarity. ]

I've got a problem. [ That much seems to be true. ] The only way I don't lose is if you're wrong, Sharak. [ Pressed to make a call, he decides to go all in. ] So maybe we should make it a bet.

[existentialcrisis]

[ Ukoku laughs, clasping his hands together. ]

I like it! Are you good with bets, Genjo? Well, I guess it doesn't matter. [ He turns to Sharak as if he might touch her arm, though he's not close enough and doesn't reach out. ] See? I almost said something I shouldn't, and it reminded me not to before I thought of it myself.

[bussounoshima]

[What the fuck. She actually stops glaring at Ukoku long enough to look over at Sanzo and glare at him instead. She doesn't want to make any bets. She wants to get Ukoku out of his head and maybe shoot the guy again.]

Cut the crap, Ukoku. [Back to glaring at him. Don't you even think about fucking touching her.] And just what are we betting on?

[killsthebuddha]

[ The worst part is knowing that Ukoku is playing him, and he can't stop himself from going with it. The crow priest is in his head in ways worse than the shinki seal. ]

It doesn't even matter. [ Which, in hindsight, is a crazy thing to say. But that's how this works. ] If I lose, you'll get a clear shot to take him out.

[ Would it even make a difference? Probably not. ]

[existentialcrisis]

[ He wasn't going to release him anyway, ha ha, so mostly Genjo's sparing them a pointless argument. ]

I feel kind of awkward being the subject of a bet. [ He looks between the two of them. Is it okay to joke now? No, we're talking about killing him? Okay. To Sharak: ]

We should compare notes sometime. Neutral territory, maybe? [ This is almost hopeful, like he said, A bar, maybe? Give up on everything, get drinks with Ukoku. ] Wherever you want.

[bussounoshima]

[To Ukoku:]

Shut up. [Not in front of the kid Genjo, damn it. But yeah, she'll call him later. Leave her his card.] We don't need a goddamn bet.

[She's starting to think there's reason other than the obvious why Sanzos tend to avoid each other.]

[killsthebuddha]

Do what you want. [ Welcome to the legacy of Koumyou's generation.

Meanwhile, Sanzo is going to do what he wants. There isn't much change to the turmoil of his emotional landscape when he smoothly takes aim in an instant between heartbeats, and fires at Ukoku's head. If anything, there's an underlying need to know there.

Maybe it'd end it all early. (Not that he thinks he'll actually hit his mark.) This, too, probably doesn't matter. ]

[existentialcrisis]

[ He's about to say something cheerful to Sharak when the gun goes off. The frozen smile he turns on Genjo is less amused, and the pause afterward more indicative of genuine surprise than he'd probably like it to be. ]

That wasn't nice.

[ He turns back to Sharak brightly. ]

Well, I should go get rid of this blight. Nice meeting you. Don't be a stranger!

[ Then he's gone.

(Half an hour later he'll send Genjo another text: Whatever she told you, you should come and see me if you remember anything else. ) ]

[bussounoshima]

[She probably should have anticipated that. It is quite literally, exactly what she would have and did do. Sharak doesn't flinch when the gunshot echoes through the garden, instead keeping Ukoku clear within her sights. So, it was possible to phase him... Still, a bullet clearly wasn't going to be enough to kill him yet.]

... Fucking asshole.

[Eloquent. Maybe it is good that Ukoku got the last word. Sharak immediately turns towards Genjo to make sure he's okay.]

So did I win?

[killsthebuddha]

[ Sanzo holds steady, lips pressed on a thin line as Ukoku regards him in an inscrutable way. The straight line of his arm bends only when Sharak asks a question that requires an answer.

He isn't entirely sure why, but it's after he lowers his weapon that his hands start to shake. There's only so much he can do to hide it, but he's almost too preoccupied to be concerned that he might get called out on it. ]

I have no idea. [ Shrugging his soaked robe off his shoulders to let it hang heavy around his waist, he reveals a nasty patchwork of burn scars covering the brief expanse of visible skin. It's too bad, he reflects, that he can't convince himself that he'd blown the shot because of the weight of the fabric, and he tucks his revolver in his waistband. ] Shit.

[ He'd surprised Ukoku, hadn't he? What did that mean?

And who the hell had he just shot at? ]

[bussounoshima]

[The burns don't surprise her and she barely notes them- she was expecting to see them. Hadn't she been there when they'd been bandaged? Sharak finally holsters her own weapon and moves to wash her hands in the spring.]

... I know you're capable of handling him on your own. [But seeing the effect he'd had on Genjo, and with him in such a vulnerable position, she worries all the same.] But I've never liked staying out of things.

[Almost an apology there. But not really.]

[killsthebuddha]

[ Well, at least someone will say he's capable.

He isn't sold on the idea just now. ] Minding your own damn business isn't a Sanzo priest trait, is it?

[bussounoshima]

Who knows? [Straightens up and shakes the water off her hands.] Maybe it's just that making things your business is.

[killsthebuddha]

You've got the most experience there. [ The dry, mild banter is going a long way to settle his nerves, though there's going to be a great deal to work through later.He cards his wet hair out of his face as he speaks. ] Anyone could see that.

[bussounoshima]

Maybe.

[Technically, she's probably only been Sanzo for a year or two longer than Genjo but she also wasn't thirteen when she started.]

But because all three of us are "Sanzo", this is my business too.

[killsthebuddha]

[ He wouldn't know. He can't remember a day before the one when, at eighteen, he'd hiked a mountain to bitch out a voice inside his head, and had instead ended up with a noisy, parasitic monkey. ]

I'm not disagreeing, but I'll still have to take responsibility for the choices I've made on my own. Though, if he is the what your sources say he is, I don't know if it matters what I do.