Enthusiasm (n.), orig. the state of having a god within

[erogappa]

Who: Gojyo (erogappa), Kurama (herbalsupplements), and Kuwabara (ivegotasword)
What: Retrieving a missing god
When: Forward-dated to the afternoon of May 11th
Where: Starting in Sapporo, Near Shore
Warnings: Overblown drama, suicide attempt



Sapporo, Japan

It wasn't the right restaurant. He knows his shrine, the special spot, the door to heaven, and it's in a Greek restaurant. He can't read Japanese -- not on his best day, and today is far from that -- but he knows the smell of the place by now. After this last week, he'll never get the smell of Greek food out of his nose ever again.

He shudders, leaning heavily against the chilly cement side of a towering office building. The cold shocks him awake, but it's only a temporary reprieve. Sleep is hard on his heels, sleep and him and his army -- they're lurking in every shadow, behind every corner, ready to spring the instant Gojyo closes his eyes. He can't close his eyes. Not until he's safe.

But it was the wrong restaurant. He tricked him, made him think he was in Japan, in Tokyo, on the right street the right town the right planet the right universe, but he's not. This isn't where he's supposed to be.

His foot slips out from under him, exhausted muscles failing. Without any forethought he punches the side of the building, hard enough to split the skin on his knuckles and leave a brillint red smear on the mottled grey wall. The pain helps, until it doesn't. He stumbles on.

He needs to find the restaurant. He can't go home without the restaurant, but if he heads right for it, then he will know where it is. He will learn Gojyo's secrets. If he gets to heaven, then he'll kill everyone. Gojyo tucks his bleeding hand into his stomach. It hurts. He can't remember why -- he must have been fighting. They keep trying to catch him, drag him back. He won't let that happen.

The wind whispers as it zips through the city streets, airy voices that promise a failed hunt and a swift and brutal recapture. He has to run, but running is impossible. Walking is impossible; he stumbles, catching himself on the edge of a dumpster. He can't keep going.

He'll rest then, okay. Just for a few minutes. In the alleyway behind a Layton Station, Gojyo tucks himself into a ball and tries desperately not to fall asleep.

Comments

[ivegotasword]

In his life, a powerful psychic described his natural spirit awareness as "unparalleled." As a child, he could sense ghosts, detecting their presence as a cold tingle down his spine while he was awake, and even confronting them at night in his dreams. You'd think such a talent would be pretty moot once he was dead himself, but tonight he tossed and turned as he slept, confused images filtering through his consciousness.

A Greek temple.

A crowded bazaar.

The smell of food and the feeling of being trapped.

Exhaustion. Freedom.

Fear.

Anger, resentment, determination. Suddenly, his hand hurts. In his dream, he tucks his hand to stomach, and in his bed he rolls onto his side, curling into a ball, hand tucked beneath him.

He feels as though he's falling.

The images resolve into one solid scene, a man with long red hair, crumpled behind a dumpster behind a restaurant, the busy night life buzzing in the background, and a sense of urgency in the air.

Kuwabara wakes up when he hits the floor, a startled yelp slipping out of his mouth. Automatically, he pushes himself up on to his hands and knees, and for a moment, disorientation sweeps over him. He could have sworn he was someplace else... a restaurant... Or was that just a dream?

No, shit, wait, that was a Dream! He's had them before, even if he can't remember them now, he knows he has! There's someone- there's a person in trouble!

He doesn't bother to put on any clothes, he simply bursts into Kurama's room in his boxers and tank top, slamming the door open as he shouts, "KURAMA."

"Kurama, I had a DREAM, we gotta DO something!"

[May 11, Dionysus' temple]

[reformedsinner]

Gojyo's back. Gojyo's back: Hakkai comes close to fumbling his phone as he stuffs it back into his pants pocket and bolts for the front door of the temple. Two days had him on edge. It's been the better part of a week now, and his nerves have frayed to the point that he'd even snapped at Asshole this morning for cleaning the wrong part of the hallway.

But he's back. He's alive. If Hakkai's reading between the lines of Kurama's brief text correctly, not well, but that can wait until he gets here. Rest, food and healing will help.

And once Gojyo is settled, Hakkai plans to take care of whoever was responsible for his disappearance personally. And permanently. He pushes open the door, already looking for the two gods as he blinks against the bright sun.