EVENT: The Great BREW Malfunction Pt II [OPEN]

[soul_mods]

Characters: Everyone and anyone
Location: Anywhere in Death City!
Rating: PG-13
Time: July 16 to July 18th
Description: And then it gets worse.



By now, no one is popping in and out of existence, but that's hardly any consolation when odd things keep happening.

At first it's not that bad. An innocuous item or two shows up. Something harmless wanders around that you're sure has never been in Death City before.

By the second day, bigger and more dangerous things start showing up and by the third...

Well.

As long as you don't mind the giant pieces of debris or creatures blocking the road or the sky, it's not that bad, right?

((OOC: List of canon items and creatures arriving can be found here. Remember, the list only tells you where they initially show up. They'll probably move on soon enough to a new location.

Remember to put Character | Location | OPEN/CLOSED in your subject!))


Open Threads
Sephiroth and Cloud
Amaterasu
Keroro
Edgeworth
Trucy
Aqua
Hyoubu
Eve
Hiro
Morgan
Clopin
L
Alucard
Light
Neji
Lily
Psii
Raidou
Takuto

Comments

Neji | Shibusen Staircase- Memorial Stone | 17th- OPEN

[heavenly_earth]

[The city is suffering from a strange onslaught of chaos that doesn't seem like something they can fight against or really contain. He's heard rumors about Excalibur being involved, and he believes it, because he's not sure who else is capable of such widespread discord.

But the stone set into the landing above Shibusen's staircase is familiar. Too familiar. An obelisk that's too robust at the bottom, cut into smooth slats of stone that taper upward, numerous tiny characters carved into its dark surface.

Neji's fingers reach out involuntarily, tips brushing over the fine grooves of those names, then slip down until he finds one in particular. Hyuuga Hizashi. It's there, carved underneath his nails and he straightens, glancing around suddenly.

But he's not back in Konoha, the desert air and heat of Death City still surrounds him, and the glassy mirage is cool against his palm.]

[awokentospring]

[Lee often used the stairs as a quick exercise. It was typical for him to rush up and down the stairs as quickly as possible, but this time he was not running up them for exercise purposes. Lee had chosen to meet with Neji to work further on their new Meister and Weapon arrangement. As a Meister, Lee had to still figure out his skill, but he had hope that he would find it soon. Then he could wield Neji with ease.

But Lee's smile faded and he slowed to a stop as he reached the pinnacle of the staircase. Neji was there, as he had expected. But something else was there, too. Something very familiar that should not be there.]

Neji... Is that...?

[heavenly_earth]

[Neji stepped back as Lee approached, almost wondering if somehow, he was suffering from a very clever genjutsu, but things from people's worlds had begun showing up yesterday. He nodded, circling the stone to be sure.]

There's no mistake. The same names are there.

[awokentospring]

[Lee approached slowly, with the reverence such a stone deserved. As he got closer, he could indeed make out names he remembered being there. Even the old smudges and worn letters were the same.]

How curious... [Lee's voice came out as a whisper.]

Neji... What purpose would BREW have to bring such a thing here?

[heavenly_earth]

[Neji glanced over to Lee with a frown, then stepped back and attempted to piece together an answer. In the end however, he couldn't come up with much]

It's certainly out of tune with the other items BREW has said to bring in. It's not living, obstructive, or exclusively personal. I can't say.

[awokentospring]

[Lee frowned as well, obviously perplexed.]

It serves no real purpose beyond being a reminder and memorial. We cannot move it from here, nor will it grant us any boost of power or boon in this world.

[Lee scratched at the fine hairs at the back of his neck.]

Perhaps... it is just here to remind us that we have a home to return to after all of this.

[heavenly_earth]

[Neji hummed in answer, coming back around the stone. Crouching down, his fingers scaled to the bottom few lines, searching for any new names that might be there. None he recognized if there were however, and that was a relief]

And remind us there is a war being fought, that many more shinobi have lost their lives in that struggle.

[He still hadn't actually seen that war for himself yet]

[awokentospring]

[Lee nodded, the look on his face grim.]

Indeed. I do not care much for war, I find. It is fine enough doing our jobs, or even sparring against others to test strength, but a battlefield is a terrible place with little rest and only sadness in store...

[heavenly_earth]

[Neji glanced back toward Lee, frown deepening. He sometimes forgot his teammate had fought in part of it already. With a sigh, he stood]

No one enjoys war. There's too much loss.

[awokentospring]

True. I am not fearful for my squad. We are being led by Kakashi-sensei, and I have Sakura-san and Gai-sensei on my team. But everyone else is so far away...

[heavenly_earth]

[Neji took a step toward Lee, hand reaching out for his teammate's shoulder- all the open comfort he could offer in a public setting]

We'll make it through, Lee.

[awokentospring]

[Lee reached up his hand and squeeze his fingers against Neji's. He might have offered a hug out in the open, but he knew Neji was not that kind of a person.]

Yes, I believe we shall! And as it is, it is not something we should worry about while we are stuck here.

[Then Lee reached out to the stone, giving it a light tap on the top.]

But we will not forget.

[heavenly_earth]

[Neji nodded, glad to see his teammate perk up from his deep-rooted worry]

Of course we won't. And we have this war to fight while we're here.

[awokentospring]

Yes, very true. And speaking of which, we were going to train, correct?

[heavenly_earth]

[Neji huffed an amused note, dropping his hand from Lee's shoulder to his teammate's wrist, transforming without a word further]

Let's see about sorting out our abilities, so we can learn how best to fight with one another.

[awokentospring]

Excellent!

[Lee moves to one side of the landing. It's fairly large so he won't be obstructing anyone trying to enter the school.

Lee started with some simple kata, getting warmed up as he got used to the feeling of Neji's weapon form in his hands. The chain was almost silent behind him as he moved, complimenting his shinobi stealth.]

[heavenly_earth]

[Neji feels every movement as he's carried along with them, though each one if a bit more jarring than his own natural movements]

My form will likely work best with an open palm style. I may need to teach you Hyuuga forms.

[There's no mistaking the amusement humming through him]

[awokentospring]

Yes... I suppose it is natural, given Weapon forms or Meister abilities are often somewhat linked to a person's natural strengths...

[Lee had never practiced Neji's style before. It wasn't something his sensei encouraged because Lee's strengths did not lie in subtlety and precision so much as brute strength and speed.

Lee hummed, trying to switch over to an open-palm style. The fasteners on his wrists held Neji's form to him, so he could open his palms for the movements, but it was an odd feeling that left his fingers tingling, wishing to curl back into fists.]

I am not sure if I will be good at this or not...

[heavenly_earth]

[He could feel Lee's uncertainty and did what he could to encourage and help guide his Meister's movements as Lee sometimes did with him when they first started practicing together]

It may not be something you'll master, but you only need to incorporate the principles into your own style, as I had with your form- the most important of which of course, is to keep your hands open.

[awokentospring]

That will probably be the most difficult part for me.

[As it was, shuko were not typically used as weapons except when necessarily. For ninja still attempting to gain a sense of their chakra, it was a good way to help them scale trees and buildings though not nearly as quiet and effective. But Lee had a feeling Neji's shuko form would be a lot more helpful as a weapon than normal shuko. At least, he would be against the Kishin Eggs they may encounter in the future.]

This feels awkward. Are you certain I am doing this... alright?

[this_is_keron]

[Giroro goes to Shibusen everyday. Today it proved to be more difficult than it usually is since there are obstacles to overcome on his way up.

He stops when he spots Neji standing in front of some kind of...stone?

Either way, he walks up and salutes.]

Commander.

[heavenly_earth]

[Neji's hand drops from the stone and he turns to find Giroro behind him. He returns the salute with a mild gesture, and nods]

Giroro. I hope you haven't had too much trouble on your shift these past few days.

[this_is_keron]

If you mean the monsters, it's nothing I can't handle.

[He relaxes from his salute then stares at the stone.]

This wasn't here yesterday.

[heavenly_earth]

[Neji nods]

Good to know.

[And he turns back toward the stone, looking it over in its strange beauty, not looking particularly out of place save for the fact that it was never there before]

No, it isn't supposed to be here. ..It's a memorial stone, but none of the names engraved into it are people that were ever here.

[this_is_keron]

[Ah.]

I take it they were people from your home?