Welcome to Chateau Youkai

[stepford_smiler]

Who: A Monkey King, a Kappa, and a Pig ( perceives_sunlight inappropriatelaughter stepford_smiler )
What: Catchall for June! Shenanigans and exasperation~
Where: Around Hadriel and Spire number 4 in room 401
When: All the rest of June
Warnings: Gojyo. Vulgar language, most likely drinking, and suggestive themes. A.k.a Gojyo.

[This is a catchall mainly for the Saiyuki cast since I don't think they've made any substantial CR yet for just anyone to pop over. But if they invite someone over or anything like that, this is a good place to host random threads.]

Comments

[stepford_smiler]

There were no leftovers. Hakkai made enough stew to feed a family reunion and there were absolutely no leftovers. He would have to make sure to wake up early enough to make a massive breakfast and snacks for Goku to have throughout the day. Which meant he would probably need to do more grocery shopping tomorrow at some point. Which also meant trying to find shoes for him as well.

He let out a sigh, rinsing off the last dish then drying it off thoroughly.

"Gojyo, I'll need you to come with me again to get more food. If we don't get any, we'll be out by the end of tomorrow."

[inappropriatelaughter]

Gojyo was slouched in the chair behind him, fiddling with his phone. He was drawing a blank on ways to stave off both boredom and sleep until he was exhausted enough to pass out on the couch.

He gave up, finally, tossing the thing on the table with a clatter. "How can one kid eat so much?" But that was Goku. He gestured over his shoulder toward his closed door. "And this bullshit, too. I need Sanzo to come take care of his monkey."

It was mostly fond—mostly. There might have been a light help-I-don't-know-what-I'm-doing undertone.

[stepford_smiler]

"We'll find a place with more bedrooms. Maybe we should be preemptive and find one with four bedrooms just in case Sanzo finally makes his own appearance. Hopefully we get one within a reasonable time line" Hakkai wouldn't know what to do if the Sanzo that appeared wasn't even a Sanzo yet.

"Goku should settle down, though. Everything is very new to him. I'll have tutoring sessions for him to keep him occupied. But...I also have clinic duty" Whoops. He forgot to mention that to him when he decided to talk to the Doctor that ran it.

[inappropriatelaughter]

"You do?" He looked up, genuinely surprised.

That meant, in the order that it occurred to him: one, he was going to be stuck finding some way to keep Goku occupied; two, Hakkai was pulling a lot of weight; and most soberingly three—Hakkai had good reason to believe they weren't getting out any time soon. Duty implied shifts. Shifts implied a position. Positions were long-term.

If Hakkai believed it, there wasn't a snowball's chance in hell that Gojyo knew better.

He sat up, propping his elbows on the table, and nodded slowly. "Well, I guess I can take him out somewhere. That park, or something."

[stepford_smiler]

Hakkai nodded in response to everything.

"I think he'd enjoy going to the park. Just...try to keep track of him. I don't want him straying into the caves." he said. He walked over to the table and sat down on a chair.

"I'll show you where the clinic is, just in case you need me while I'm there. You can also call me.

Ah! That also reminds me that I have to teach Goku how to use his device so he can call me as well" Yes, Hakkai was taking on a lot of responsibility. Partly because that was a bad habit of his and partly because he didn't believe they were just going to bust out of here like the hellions that they were. There was far too much he didn't understand and far too much he couldn't control. The monsters were varying degrees of too strong, the gods were varying degrees of vague and controlling, and there was no information on how to leave.

He wondered if anyone knew where to even begin when it came to escape or had everyone started to understand the loss of control of the situation they were in. As much as he wanted to spit in the face of gods, they could make him do things that would damage him.

[inappropriatelaughter]

"Come on, I'm not gonna let him go in the caves." He cracked an apologetic grin. He'd fucked up that one time, and he couldn't be called the ideal person to leave a strong-willed (and just strong, and fast, and overly curious) kid with, but he was smart enough to handle not putting Goku in a shitty situation.

Or so he thought, anyway. He'd probably need a lot of evidence to convince anybody else.

[stepford_smiler]

Hakkai smiled. "I know you won't" He'd long forgiven Gojyo for his mistake, but he was worried that Goku would have other ideas and Gojyo wouldn't be able to keep up. Not that Hakkai could say he could easily keep up with a younger Goku, either, but he at least had some kind of instructor-like authority over him.

If that authority would even hold Goku for long until his curiosity overrode everything.

"I suppose we should also address the elephant in the room. His diadem..."

Time for Bros Day Out

[perceives_sunlight]

Goku had eaten his breakfast whole-heartedly, but only thirds, since the breakfast was heavier than dinner had been. He was smaller, so he didn't eat as much as the Goku they were accustomed to... but still, it was a hefty amount. The boy's eyes were wide and bright with excitement for the day. They were going to do some shopping, which sounded boring, but then, after Hakkai was at the clinic, Gojyo promised him to take him somewhere fun. As he sat at the table, kicking his legs, he noticed Gojyo playing on a familiar, weird metal thing...

"Hm?" Goku tilted his head curiously. "Hey, Gojyo...

"That thing yer holdin'... when I woke up I had somethin' like that in my pocket. What is it?"

[inappropriatelaughter]

Gojyo yawned into the back of his hand and poked at his phone for a full five seconds after hearing the question before his brain registered that a question had been asked. At some point he'd fallen asleep without meaning to, and he'd woken up with his back against the headboard, his phone on the floor, and a sore neck. All of that still didn't make it the worst night he'd had here by a mile, so he was dealing.

He looked up, finally, digging his fingertips into the back of his neck. "What, this? It's, um—you use it to talk to people." He paused. "What'd you do with the one you had?"

[stepford_smiler]

Hakkai was washing up as he let the other two digest before they all set off for the day.

He looked over to Goku when they were talking about the phones that were provided for them.

"It's really important, Goku"

[perceives_sunlight]

"It sure was important!" Goku proclaimed, and he nodded his head in agreement.

"I used to it beat up that spider!" He frowned, and he turned on the chair to the side, lifting his bare foot in the air. "I tried t' kick it n' stuff, but nothin' would work! But then I threw that metal thing and it flopped over and BAM! I was able to beat it up!" He was all smiled as he said it.

"Next time you see a big ol' spider, now you'll be able to beat it, too!"

[inappropriatelaughter]

Gojyo squinted at him.

He'd found something like that in his pocket, used it to surprise (?) a very large (??) spider into becoming vulnerable (???), and left it.

Somewhere.

"Couldn't you have just thrown a rock?"

[stepford_smiler]

Hakkai dried his hands off then put them on his hips.

"I guess it can't be helped, then. We have to go find it. Do you remember where you were when you threw it, Goku? Even if it's just an idea" he asked. "You'll need it to contact me or Gojyo in case we're all separated"

I can't believe I already made a dawn of the final day joke

[inappropriatelaughter]

Later it would turn out to be the last siren, but Gojyo's blood froze when he heard it. If it had just been him he might have sprinted back to the temple, but Goku was with him, and getting separated from Goku during this bullshit was a nightmare scenario. There were things out there when the sirens went off that weren't out there during the fog, and if any of them were those unhurtable jumping monsters from the caves—

Gojyo turned in a circle. The siren made it hard to think. Their apartment should have been on the right: they weren't close enough to see it in the darkness, but it had to be there. The stairwell would be four flights of pitch black, not to mention whatever might be hanging around.

On the left, they'd stopped next to some weird spiral structures that he thought might be houses. He reached back for Goku's shoulder with his free hand (he had a box of stuff from the shops under his other arm), heading fast for the closest spiral-thing. "C'mon, change of plans," he said over the noise. "Do me a favor and punch anything that gets close, okay?"

- 24 Hours Remain -

[perceives_sunlight]

Goku was running along beside him. Gojyo's longer legs made him hard to keep up with, but Goku's youth and boundless energy made up for it.

"Yeah!" Was the shout as they sprinted towards the houses. It was only about thirty seconds into their mad dash that they nearly crashed into something that came out of the fog. Goku had no idea what it was. It didn't matter. Gojyo said to punch things that got to close--so punch he did!

The brunet took a few darting steps forward in front of Gojyo while the man kept his pace. Just as the human-like creature lunged out of the wave of fog with a wild look, Goku's fists immediately made contact with it's face. His strong right hook sent it spiralling back into the darkness with thuds and screeches.

"Like that?!"

[inappropriatelaughter]

Just like that. Gojyo squinted after the thing, momentarily stopped. That wasn't a—?

Yes it was. The thing scrambled to its feet, facing them again.

"Oh sh—come on!" Gojyo grabbed Goku's arm and yanked him toward the nearest door. It opened easily, which was great, but it was pitch black inside, and more importantly that bullshit cave-thing was completely capable of following, as he well knew. Gojyo slammed the door shut and leaned against it, listening.

[perceives_sunlight]

Goku was going to go and take a swing at... whatever Gojyo yanked him away from, but he was suddenly flung into the house. He watched as Gojyo slammed the door, leaning into it. Goku blinked from his spot a couple of feet away.

"...What's wr--"

There was a sudden, loud slam against the door, shaking the very frame: the sound of whatever monster Gojyo had pulled him from trying to get in. Goku's eyes widened, and he rushed beside the redhead, slamming his own tiny body against the door to hold it shut.

The wendigo only increased it's efforts, crashing it's whole body into the door again. Goku pushed into the door harder.

"It's gonna break in...!"

[stepford_smiler]

Hakkai, who was not screaming at a wendigo trying to smash its way through a door and eat a monkey and a kappa roll, found that the temple of Hope was lacking a certain couple of people.

He immediately called Gojyo's cell phone to see where the hell they could possibly be without telling him first.

"Gojyo, where are you and Goku?" he asked calmly. And while the overtone was calm, the undertone had heaping amounts of irritation behind it.

[inappropriatelaughter]

"No it's not!"

Yes it was. The cave-thing was invincible (invincible!!!) (probably), and the door was not. "We just gotta hold out till the—"

His phone was buzzing. He paused to process that while the thing outside slammed its weight against the door (and the two of them by extension).

"Hakkai!" He hadn't even looked before answering. "Hey, uh, we're fine, everything's fine!" SLAM.

/slides in with starbucks and regret

[dedikated]

[ Kate's been... preoccupied for the last few days. Disappearing off the non-existent map for the last couple of days of fog, when things got really bad, not even returning to work until a day or two ago. Even though she's back, things haven't exactly seemed right around her. Quieter than normal, withdrawn and almost distracted even when she goes through the schedules and helps make sure the clinic is back in order after the rush to drag as much of their supplies to safety as possible.

When Sorrow returns, bringing a wave of regret and guilt that presses down on her shoulders and makes going anywhere near the lake fucking impossible (that hellscape doesn't seem to want to leave completely and she cannot face it), it only gets worse. Kate - still facing the problem of her powers on the fritz and the twinge of her ribs - can't find it in herself to skim across rooftops as she normally would, takes up normal, human-style jogging around the city instead.

Which is how she finds herself running around the house spirals, completely absorbed in the rhythm of her feet thudding against the ground. There's no guilt in the beat of shoe against dirt, nothing to think about but the movement of her body.

And the twinge of those bruised ribs. Dammit. The wounds had healed - well, mostly -, but the force of that thing's clawing still ached in her bones. Kate slows to a stop outside of a house and presses her fingers to the space that bore the brunt of its strength.

The ache shoots through her and she hisses, leaning against the window. ]

Dammit...

would you like a guilt biscuit with that?

[stepford_smiler]

[Hakkai hadn't felt this way in a long time. This feeling of overwhelming guilt and sorrow and regret hadn't been able to swallow him up in a while. Normally, he had a taste of it when it rained. That was sort of a trigger for him. But it hadn't rained here, so no trigger.

Hakkai is sitting in the laundry room, shoving in one of his shirts into the washing machine with a blank expression on his face when he hears someone's voice from the outside. It isn't unfamiliar, he knows the voice pretty well.

He dries off his hands and goes to open up the front door to the house.]

Miss Kate? Are you all right?

[She looks like she's in pain. Not that he could really do much about it if it's internal.]

Would you like to come inside and sit down?

a guilt biscuit sounds like it should be rich tea tbh. nothing but regret when you dunk 'em, man.

[dedikated]

[ Oh.

WELL.

Hello, coworker? This is awkward. She's been... well, not avoiding Hakkai (avoiding Bruce? Maybe a little), but trying to avoid the awkwardness of anyone asking about the ongoing drama of her bruised ribs. So this is working out excellently. ]

Been better. [ Because can you exactly say 'yeah, I'm 100%' when you're wincing at the pressure of your fingers against your ribs? Not really. ] ... Sure. [ Maybe resting would be a better option than continuing to run like this, and she would at least have company while trying to pretend that all her recent crimes aren't weighing on her. ]

Mmmm...good going down, bad coming out

[stepford_smiler]

[Hakkai lets her in and guides her to the living room to have a seat.]

Would you like a snack or drink of something?

[His voice isn't normally cheerful, but it's got melancholic undertones to it. Nonetheless, he was always hospitable.]

[dedikated]

Er... sure. Anything's fine. [ she has no appetite, but it's important to keep your strength up after driving yourself to exhaustion, she knows this well. So, food it is. Kate just shrugs and leans back, head lolling over the back of the couch and legs stretching out. ] Maybe not alcohol. [ as tempting as a drink sounds, this mood and booze... not the best idea. not after all the bad decisions she's made recently. ]

[inappropriatelaughter]

[ Gojyo's in the pantry stacking bottles on the shelves when they come in. He's been dealing with all the (new) weirdness mostly by projecting everything's fine!! as hard as he can, but he's also stocked up on alcohol, tellingly. His coping methods are not always smart coping methods.

He pokes his head through the kitchen doorway to evaluate the situation—

—and immediately shoots the girl a big smile. Well hello. ]

Who's this?

[ A.k.a. 'introduce us please and make me sound amazing, thanks buddy.' ]