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Video | UN: hijikata | Irregular Quest: Keep a Man out of the Sun for a Day

[It's after dinnertime on another rainy evening when a new video pops up on AOL. Hijikata has never posted anything on the network before (beyond responses to other people), so he's not exactly a familiar face... but those who do know him may be surprised by the changes to his outfit and the large black wings on his back. He looks a lot more composed than usual and gives the camera a slow blink before starting to speak.]

My name is Arashi. I am the familiar of Hijikata-san, whose body I am inhabiting by means of familiar fusion to bring you this message. I am afraid that I find myself in need of some assistance.

[He seems to be in a hotel room, and attentive listeners may be able to catch the occasional high-pitched little noise in the background, as if there were guinea pigs or other small pets running around. Arashi keeps a straight face.]

It has come to my attention that Hijikata-san has been struggling to reverse the impact of the wishes that were made about two months ago. I cannot maintain the familiar fusion state for very long, so I seek the support of anyone willing and able to keep him away from the sunlight for a day.

[What the reclusive crow tengu isn't telling the viewers: due to the heavy rains he decided to check on his bond partner, only to find his hotel room full of mayonnaise mascots. When the flooding began Hijikata had fetched them in a panic from the smallholding farm the owners of which had been letting him keep them in an enclosure, and their presence immediately made it clear to Arashi that he never fixed his messed-up magic. Hijikata had just finished preparing a familiar fusion essence in his room for later use in an emergency, and ultimately it was used much sooner as a result of the ensuing fight.]

Please come to Room 306 at the main inn if you are interested. I cannot offer gold, but I am able to train users of wind magic and help awaken it for novice users of elemental magic, or otherwise I can offer some rare items.

Just as a warning, there are some... creatures here.

[The mayonnaise mascots are harmless, but kind of creepy looking in his opinion. They are unnatural, wholly unnatural. The sooner they disappear the better.]

(OOC: This is open for anyone, no dibs (after all we've got time loops happening around here!). Villains and pranksters are also welcome (after all Arashi is such an absent familiar that he wouldn't be able to tell who Hijikata's friends are, or if he has any at all). If you'd like to plot anything specific out I have my CR meme post here!)

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Please do.

[Oh, there's plenty of mayonnaise (and only that, but it's enough to effortlessly tide Hijikata over for a day), and he can drink water from the faucet in the bathroom, it's not like he has a delicate stomach and can only handle bottled water. When Klaudia arrives Arashi lets her in quickly so the mascots don't run away. At least the ugly little things seem to be intimidated by her for whatever reason and go hiding behind and under furniture.]

Might you be the kind person who offered assistance regarding the door and windows?

[She's decidedly not human, but Arashi has more tact than his bond partner and won't ask her if she's a demon or anything like that.]

[Klaudia is a little overwhelmed at first. There's a lot to look at here--a lot to ask about. Part of her intrigue in helping out was to get a closer look at this familiar fusion spell. It was one thing to observe it over the network, but to actually see it in person... She can't help but stare a little.]

[And then there's the other... things. She can't hide her look of disgust as she catches sight of the mascot creatures when they go scurrying away from her. She almost voices her dismay aloud, the question sitting poised on her lips.]

[...Actually, on second thought, she doesn't want to know anything about those things.]

That's me~ Here to be a helpful member of society. [She is not.] But before we get started... How did you manage this, exactly?

[She gestures to all of him, doing a small half circle as she walks around him.]

Is it not possible to just keep him like this for a whole day and stay out of the sun yourself?

[It's definitely got to be weird for Klaudia to see the short-tempered cop she knows so composed and prim. The black wings are enormous, and Arashi's gaze is somehow more piercing that Hijikata's often dull look, despite coming from the same eyes. He seems to brace for her questions about the little creatures and almost visibly relaxes when she instead asks about his and Hijikata's fusion state.]

Sadly that is not possible, else I would not have needed to ask for assistance. Since the fusion consumes enormous amounts of magical energy it can only be upheld for about one hour, depending on the mental and physical state of both fusion partners. As for how it came about, Hijikata-san purchased a recipe and followed it to create an elixir. Ingesting it activated the fusion magic.

[There are probably different recipes for different methods to accomplish a familiar fusion, but the one thing Arashi knows for sure is that it requires rare and expensive ingredients... so Hijikata will have one more reason to be furious once he gets unfused from him.]

[It is weird, yes. It's almost like he's a respectable person that she can take seriously. Then again, it's just his familiar, so all the credit should be going there.]

Interesting. Why did he buy it in the first place? Obviously not for this purpose, if it's being used against him...

[Even as she's asking the question, she's also looking particularly interested in those wings. She reaches out and pokes one without asking, just to make sure it's real.]

[Arashi flinches a little, folding his wings more tightly on his back. They're very real ~~though it's anyone's guess how his body accommodates the muscles, given that he also has arms.~~. He avoids Klaudia's gaze at her mention of him having fused with Hijikata against his will. ]

I believe Hijikata-san wanted to prepare for any desperate situation in which he would have to call upon my support. Unfortunately I have reason to believe that neither he nor I will be able to extend our stay here for much longer if his affliction does not get resolved.

[Klaudia still looks particularly intrigued by the manifestation of those wings, but she does blink in surprise at the mention that Hijikata might not be able to stay here if this isn't fixed.]

What do you mean? I thought our being here was already a done deal. Are you going to evict him for not using magic properly, or something?

It would not be my decision for that to happen. Rather it is my understanding that those pairs whose bond breaks are unable to sustain their presence here, and are consequently sent back to their word and, presumably, frozen in time there.

[Much of a recluse as Arashi is, he still does speak to other familiars, and there's no doubt among them that some of their peers have disappeared from the island without a trace, along with their bonded mortals. Those familiars able to track individuals down by means of magic or simply enhanced senses confirmed that didn't end up dead in a ditch or such, so the general consensus is what he just shared with Klaudia.]

I cannot say for sure if the degradation of Hijikata-san's magic will indeed corrode our bond, but his condition does concern me.

[She sighs heavily, rolling her eyes--though it's difficult to see it without any color to her iris or pupil. It would figure that this idiot would get himself into some kind of trouble like this. Thinking back, it was kinda weird that he hadn't used any magic when they were dealing with that thief. And he definitely wasn't using his death magic correctly, though she had figured that was just because he was a coward.]

[She's half tempted to rescind her offer to help and just let him phase out of Avalon all-together. But as stupid as he is, he's also kinda amusing. Like a particularly dumb pet.]

Well, I guess we'd better make sure he doesn't keep messing up his magic, then. Let's get to locking this place down, so he doesn't have anywhere to run when you let him go.

[With that, she'll pull some chalk from her backpack and start going around to the windows and sealing them up--much like she did back in the stables, save for blocking them completely rather than just putting bars up. The glass panes get removed into square cubes that she'll store in her backpack for the time being. She doesn't want to get kicked out of the inn for messing it up too badly, so she has to make sure she can put it all back when she's done.]

Are you planning on staying in here with him?

[Arashi would be kind of pained to learn of her reason for still aiding him, but at the same time he can't really blame her. He attentively observes how she removes the windows, then shakes his head in response to her question.]

Absolutely not.

[It's a pretty strong response for his standards, which shows just how much he doesn't want to end up trapped with Hijikata.]

Let me know when you are ready to remove the door, then I will dissolve the fusion.

[The strength of his response gets a smirk out of Klaudia. Imagine having your familiar be so passionate about not being around you. It almost makes her want to tease him about it later. Maybe she'll hold onto that little nugget of information.]

How fast is he going to respond when it dissolves? Should I have the door ready for you? We can shut him in for a while until he tuckers himself out and go get something to eat?

[She makes the suggestion while she's wrapping up her preparations. It's already looking pretty gloomy in the room with no sunlight pouring in. She has to actually use a small light spell to see the sigils she's making. It's not much brighter than a candle, but it's enough.]

[Oh, Hijikata knows that Arashi would rather not be bonded with him. The way he ghosts him all the time, except when Hijikata summons him (for good reason only) or manages to chase him down in the city by chance, gave that away early on. It'll still sting to have that rubbed in again, though.]

Hijikata-san will presumably respond immediately. Therefore it would be of help if you were able to restrain him somehow. Once I dissolve the fusion I will be back in my own body, and only he will still inhabit his.

[Arashi is fully aware that this entire ploy is somewhat... well, mean. But Hijikata is being unreasonable and stubborn, and he already told him in no uncertain terms to sort himself out two months ago! This man needs to get his priorities straight. He's unsure of how to respond to Klaudia's suggestion of having a meal together, but he hasn't seen anyone who looks like her before, so he can't deny that he's curious about her background. The mayonnaise mascots, meanwhile, are looking at them from the dark corners of the room. Arashi doesn't like this at all, and only his self-discipline helps him prevent himself from shuddering.]

Edited 2021-05-12 22:55 (UTC)

[Klaudia likewise notices the mascots huddling in a dark corner, but she doesn't seem spooked by them. Creepy little shits... Just let them come within kicking range, she mentally dares them.]

Alright...

[She refocuses on the matter at hand, giving another look around the room. If Hijikata is going to react immediately and potentially aggressively, then she'll need something to trip him up... Her gaze lands on the floor in front of the door.]

[Hmm. Maybe literally.]

[She kneels down just in front of the door and draws a much larger alchemy circle than any of the other ones. It's close enough that she can reach it from the door, but it's range expands halfway across the room, with the center lying a good few feet from the door. After that, she retreats to the only open exit left in the room, crouching down just past the threshold. One hand is placed on the edge of that circle, while the other rests above her on the open door's knob.]

Okay, that should do it. I'll hold the door for you. Once you've let him go, fly straight towards me as fast as you can, okay?

Understood.

[He releases the fusion, which causes him to be enveloped in dark fog or smoke - it's hard to tell what it is, and before Klaudia can spend much time evaluating it a crow speeds out of the magical cloud and through the open door. Maybe Arashi overshot the aim a little... but it's no wonder, because Hijikata, now back in control of his body, is pissed.]

You assholes, you're really going to fucking entomb me here?!

[His mind is screaming at him to not make a mad dash for the door - he's seen Klaudia's alchemy in action before, and there's a very good chance that she'll mess him up - but he's seeing red. He really wants to grab Arashi by his bird throat and pluck out all his feathers for this outrageous betrayal! So he does dart forward, drawing his sword to slice through whatever obstacle Klaudia will throw at him, even if it's the floor itself (the hotel won't be very happy with him, but that's not on his mind right now).]

[The moment that Klaudia sees a crow fly out of the smoke cloud, she activates the alchemy circle in the middle of the room. The floor almost seems to heave as numerous ankle-high pegs rise up, just far apart enough to be unbalancing to stand on, but too close together to step between them. She's hoping to trip him--though she won't feel too guilty if he twists his ankle or bruises his face in a fall. It's his own fault for charging at her, after all.]

Don't think of it as a tomb-- Think of it as a time-out~

[Regardless of how he handles that, she's slamming the door shut as soon as Arashi is though--hopefully before Hijikata can reach it. But if they manage to pull this off, and she gets the few seconds that she needs to activate the circle around the door, then she'll fuse the door into the wall around it.]

[Hijikata does get tripped up immediately once the pegs shoot up from the floor. To his credit he doesn't land on his face straight away but manages to windmill his arms for balance while staggering around trying to find stable ground, but that delay is enough for the door to disappear on him. Klaudia and Arashi can hear his angry yelling from inside the room.]

You absolute bastards!! You realise that this is villain behaviour, right?! You're the bad guys-- ow!!

[There's further cursing and bitching, and Arashi uses the relative safety of the hotel hallway to revert from the diminutive crow form to his true appearance - a tall, humanoid, black-feathered birdman with a stern, beaked face. He sighs.]

If believe it would be charitable to revert the floor back to its original state now.

[If she hasn't already done so and Hijikata is just yelling because he's frustrated, that is.]

[Klaudia rolls her eyes as she's accused of "villain behavior". Like she hasn't heard that one before... She's very well prepared to just walk away and bring up the subject of lunch again, when Arashi mentions retracting the modification that she made to the floor. There's a very notable pause between his suggestion and her reaction--which is to press her lips together sheepishly.]

Well... See. I don't have physical access to the alchemy sigil anymore. So I... can't revert it.

[What a grievous lack of foresight... She turns back to the wall where the door used to be, and knocks on the wood to get Hijikata's attention.]

You're okay in there, right? You didn't hurt yourself? I can't change the floor back, so try to avoid that section for now. You have the rest of the room to walk around normally.

[Arashi slowly closes his eyes. His face isn't as expressive as Hijikata's, having no eyebrows to furrow or mouth to emote with, but his quiet exasperation may still get across. ~~Also icons will now roughly reflect his mood since Hijikata is out of sight~~.]

I see.

[Hijikata's reaction through the wall is naturally louder.]

Are you shitting me?! You turned my room into a catacomb complete with death traps! What is this, Tomb Ra*der?! Let me out, you demon bitch!

Hijikata-san, please moderate yourself. Do keep in mind that she is the one who will release you once your affliction is removed. Again, this is for your own good.

My own good, my ass!! I'll kill you!

[Despite the severity of the statement this rough behaviour is pretty standard for the Shinsengumi, and Hijikata has thrown countless death threats around as well as received them, but Arashi doesn't take kindly to it and steps away from the room, fully focusing on Klaudia now.]

I must apologise - for Hijikata-san, but also for myself, since I realise that I neglected to ask for your name.

[While the death threats don't seem to faze her, Klaudia's expression darkens at his name calling. She presses her lips together, and when Arashi addresses her again, she turns to him with an air of forced cheer.]

My name is Klaudia. [She raises her voice, cheerfully making sure that Hijikata can hear her.] And if he calls me that again, I really will make that his tomb~ He should keep in mind that I'm out here, and he's in there; and I don't have to come back and let him out.

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Video | UN: hijikata | Irregular Quest: Keep a Man out of the Sun for a Day

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apologies for the delay!

It's all good!!

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