avalononline | 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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[Once the Tengu has broken free, she rushes to the window and opens it- after all, if she opened the door there was a risk of the weird mascots escaping!

That done, she turned to Hijikata with her hands on her hips.]

No. We seriously need to talk.

What'd you do that for?! The bastard possessed me!! I know he told you to keep me out of the sun, but he didn't even let me get a word in!

[To be fair, Arashi couldn't have done that even if he wanted to, given that it was him in full control of Hijikata's body. The man is clearly pissed off, exhaling through his nose like an angry bull, but a few mascots come toddling up to him, and their little hands reaching up at him seems to calm him down a bit. He picks one of them up.]

It's okay, Mayorin. She's a friend.

'Cause you've been avoiding staying out the sun since, like, February! You know your magic's gonna go totally haywire right?

[Just side-eyeing the mascots. Nope, for all his anger she wasn't intimidated.]

...More than just making...whatever those are, anyway.

[Honestly, if she had been intimidated he would have felt bad. They're friends, right? Her aggravation shows that she's on eye level with him, even if they're having an argument. Of course he isn't actually thinking about that right now; he's focused of defending his creations.]

I only got crappy magic to begin with! And what's wrong with them?!

[He rubs the Mayorin's back, and it lets out a gurgling giggle.]

Okay, first off- what even are they?

[It was like he was tending to a baby with the way he held it like that- and with their creepy appearance, it was all the more weird.]

Mayorin is the mascot of Edo's best mayonnaise brand, Mayorin mayonnaise.

[He pats the weird creature on the mostly bald head, and it clearly enjoys the attention and keeps giggling.]

Isn't he cute?

Uhh... I mean, I've seen weirder mascots I guess... they have a kinda- weird-cute appeal I guess?

[Would she choose Monokuma over these abominations?

...On second thought don't make her answer that.

She's just trying not to insult them, given how Hijikata seemed very attached to the things. Come to think of it, given how distraught he's gonna be when they disappear... she would probably need to make plans.]

Mind if I grab a pic on my phone of them?

[Speaking of Monokuma, they have a lot to discuss... but maybe they can settle in with these mascots first and ease into that conversation later. Hijikata is visibly happy that she's taking an interest in the Mayorins.]

Go for it! They make for really cute wallpapers.

[He points the camera out to the mascot so it turns the right way.]

Mayorin, smile for Junko, okay?

[It does, and so does he. Even if it's really not very cute, she'll certainly be able to get a few clear snapshots.]

[It was all Junko could do not to wince at how weird this whole image looked- but for now, she'll take a few photos of the mascots. Right. At least that would mean she had a reference point for them.

She wasn't sure exactly what she was going to do with said reference point, but she knew she'd have to do something to help him get over losing those things.]

There we go- all done, thanks.

[Jeeze...this wasn't going to be easy. Her sister was better at talking to people than she was.]

So you've just been touching random stuff and it's been turning into those... Mayonnaise Mascots.

...You know it's gonna cause serious problems if, like, that fire power of yours starts randomly burning your crap, right?

[If he knew how thoughtful she's being about his impending loss he'd be really touched, but at the moment he's honestly still in denial of her being serious about making him stay out of the sunlight. Her question makes him blink in confusion.]

Hm? No, that's not what happened. I didn't turn random stuff into these, I just made them out of nothing. And my fire magic isn't out of control, it's the opposite. I can't summon it at all anymore.

[Whenever he tries the flames don't even manifest but just immediately blow up in a sooty blast that leaves him dirty as hell, so he's mostly given up on it.]

Right...okay so that's kinda different to what happened to Kyrie...but wait, your magic seriously isn't working at all?

[That wasn't helpful either!]

Like, I don't exactly use my magic much but can't you see the problem here??

Honestly? No!

[He's about to go on a rant (while still holding the Mayorin).]

My primary magic was only good for setting stuff on fire from the get-go! It did more harm than good! And for benign purposes I've still got my lighter, so nothing was lost! And my secondary magic is more of a curse! Do you know what I got? I got death magic! I've been seeing horrifying ghosts everywhere! What the hell is that even good for?! Only creepy ghost fanatics would have any use for it!

Meanwhile the magic I got from those messed-up wishes lets me make nice things for myself and others! If you want something, just let me know! I'll make it for you!

[Never mind that he'll need to really concentrate on what he's creating to not end up with some kind of horrible chimera.]

If you try and make stuff now you're just gonna make more of those mascots!

[A heavy sigh.]

Death magic, huh- okay, look, I see your point, but we dunno what's gonna happen if you just avoid staying out the sun forever. Sure it's giving you nice things now but from what I gather it's gonna implode on itself eventually.

And, like, I don't wanna clear up the mess if you do implode. So there.

That's fair, I guess.

[Snarky as he sounds, Mukuro really shouldn't be the one having to deal with this mess. That damn crow, why'd he have to drag her in? Well, because she was concerned and wanted to help Hijikata... ugh, this makes it really hard for him to keep being petulant about the matter. More importantly, what about her? Does anyone else on this island even know what sort of horror movie scenario she's been through back home? She seems so well-adjusted, and maybe she really is just one of those people who can walk away from a demented murder game without any trauma, but he wants to get certainty.]

Look, all this aside there's something I want to talk about with you. We can go sit outside; I want a smoke.

[It's night already, so he won't be catching any sunlight.]

[Junko had no issue with the snark- after all, she was being somewhat snarky herself. Still, when he said that there was something he wanted to talk about, she raised an eyebrow.]

Huh- yeah, sure, I don't mind.

[She did take a glance out the window first, just to make sure it was actually dark by now, and then headed back toward the door.]

Are these...little guys gonna be fine if we just leave them here?

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

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