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!)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Hm... that's good.

[At least he thinks it is. It sounds like less of a mind scramble than the alternative would have been.]

At least does come with some benefits. Even if those got nullified here, I'm sure you'll get them back once we can all go home. And for what it's worth, I think you look cool.

[Seriously, Hijikata's character design is a dime a dozen in comparison! Zalgadis brings a high degree of brand recognition value to the table.]

[Of course Zel chooses now to take a sip of his coffee. He chokes on it, looking very uncool for a moment, but after a brief coughing fit he's fine.]

Ah, t-thank you. I admit though, I'm a little self conscious about it.

[A Lot self conscious about it, but he's trying not to let it get to him so much these days.]

[Okay, with the caffeine entering his system and him actually being able to offer Zelgadis some reassurance rather than just being held captive until dusk Hijikata is starting to feel a little better overall.]

Honestly, while it was a complete dick move by that priest bastard I think it was a net win. I mean, being a human-demon-goblin chimera is pretty badass. I may not look the part, but back home they call me a demon too.

[That may not be much consolation to Zelgadis, but Hijikata thinks that he doesn't look frightening at all while he himself clearly did leave a scary impression on a good number of people (mostly enemies, and that suits him just fine).]

Golem, not goblin. Though I guess it doesn't matter. If I wasn't stuck with my body being like this, I'd probably think it's badass, too.

[It still sucked even back home, but at least then he'd had all the perks that came with being a chimera. Here he was only just as strong as any other human, but also freaky looking on top of it. He's learning to deal with it, but damn.]

You definitely don't look like much of a demon. How'd you get a nickname like that?

Right! Right. Golems are the rock guys, goblins are the little guys somewhere between imp and orc, right?

[It's a big world and he barely dabbles in RPG stuff back home, but he knows his basics! As for his demon nickname... well, he doesn't want to think back on the first time he was ever called it, because that was really upsetting, but since different people took it up all by themselves later on he can skip over that easily enough.]

They call me that for my behaviour in battle. I'm just kind of violent, in a nutshell.

[He's honestly gotten somewhat more restrained after his time on Prismatica, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't still pull his sword on someone who stole his parking space or such.]

Well, you're supposed to be violent in battle, right? That's kind of the point.

[Doesn't seem too odd to him, but then he comes from a world where that kind of thing is totally normal. Especially when he's traveling with Lina fucking Inverse. Violence is as common as breathing.]

Right?

[Seriously!! What are people expecting, for him to hold back and get himself or his men killed? (Okay, so maybe some people call him a demon over his general behaviour, but details!)]

I guess I'm just especially scary or something. But maybe the people who think so are just pansies. I mean, you held up well against me without any problems.

[That was such a nice duel back at the tournament, it really helped Hijikata find his footing in this strange new world. There's potions and spells and totems and curses, but as long as he's able to swing his sword and find worthy opponents he can still live as a samurai! Well, more or less. He also has to be a part-time fire/death mage now, but that's a work in progress... currently actively in progress thanks to Zelgadis.]

See, I say that if people think you're scary, lean into it. People are less likely to bother you that way, which is honestly the way I prefer it.

[Zelgadis didn't necessarily like that people thought he was scary looking, but if it meant that people fucked off and didn't annoy him, he could deal with it. And he kind of did shit on purpose to make people think he was some heartless asshole for the same reason.]

I was just glad to be able to practice my swordsmanship. It helped me get a feel for how different my body works now that I'm here. Maybe jumping right into a tournament wasn't the best way to do that, but eh.

[He shrugs. The tournament had been enjoyable, at least.]

Oh, it wasn't the worst way, that's for sure.

[Okay, he really can't be upset with Zelgadis. He's a good guy and really relatable in several ways (and a magic type combo buddy to boot). He finishes his coffee and makes a difficult decision... he'll pony up and take the loss of his Mayorins like the samurai he is (and unload any remaining feelings of upset and resentment on Arashi, the true traitor).]

You're right about the benefits of a scary reputation, too. Sometimes my mere presence is already enough to disperse a bunch of terrorists. Can't say that that doesn't come in handy.

[Hijikata doesn't scare people on purpose, his temper is just that shitty by nature. Anyone who's see his angry face with bloodshot eyes and ominous campfire lighting while he holds them at swordpoint has learned to fear the Demon Vice-Commander, especially if they're his subordinates whom he caught screwing around at work.]

I want to take a shower. If you need one too you can go after me... unless you want to go back to your room really quickly.

[... OK, so maybe he hasn't given up completely yet.]

[He's not falling for your dirty tricks, Hijikata!! He gives himself a sniff, and decides that he smells fine, SO.]

I can wait until tonight to grab a shower. Go ahead, I'll still be here.

[Damn it. Ah well, it was worth a shot! If nothing else he'll feel properly alive again after this (not that the coffee didn't already help a lot). Come to think, he's hungry...]

You can order some food in the meantime. I'll pay.

[With that he heads into the bathroom, leaving the choice wide open to Zelgadis. Theoretically he can order some luxury seafood platters or whatnot.]

Thanks, I appreciate it.

[Thankfully, Zelgadis has more self control than his asshole friends from back home, so he orders a reasonably priced, non-ridiculous amount of food for himself and Hijikata. He doesn't know what Hijikata really likes, but hey, he tries.

Unfortunately, while waiting for the food to arrive, Zelgadis loses his battle with sleep and passes out sprawled awkwardly on the bed. Will Hijikata take advantage of Zel being all unconscious and sneak out like a sneaky bastard, or will he be a rad bro and stick around for lunch???]

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

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