come_sailaway | When the guidepost is away...

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When the guidepost is away...

WHO: Yatogami and you!
WHAT: Exploring the ship, meeting new people
WHEN: Rest of November
WHERE: All over the place

[Note: Yato has some passive powers at play because he’s a god. Unless he draws attention to himself he cannot be noticed by humans who don’t have some sort of connection with him. They will also not remember his name nor the fact he was part of an interaction until they have a connection. Other creatures though, are fair game. If you have questions don’t hesitate to ask.]

To say he was disoriented when he opened his eyes was a bit an understatement. Yato opened his eyes and found himself resting comfortably on a couch of some kind. He couldn’t remember. He was fighting and then... did he die?

He drew in a deep breath and let out a low, pained groan. It didn’t feel like he was dead. Yato sat up slowly, he could already tell under his clothes he was bandaged in a few places. That didn’t stop him from unzipping his track shirt and pulling his t-shirt away to look down. He could feel another up under the fringe of his hair. Bandages, no blight. Okay, he could work with that.

“Rekki!” He called, holding out his hand, presumably to catch something and...nothing.

I. Deck

Catching Yato early in his voyage around the vessel would have him looking around and calling out for someone. “Kazuma?”

At both ends of the deck he’d hold out his hand and call again. “Rekki!”

Nothing. Absolutely disappointing. “Bishamon is going to kill me.” He muttered under his breath.

Presumably, those he would run into would be humans he had yet to draw their attention and he would offer a smile. “Hello!” He greeted, literally out of nowhere. “Don’t suppose you’ve seen a guy, about twenty, glasses?” Hopefully he wouldn’t startle them too much.

II. Fate’s Design

“How can you be so stupid and eat all my chips!” Yato lamented, using his fist to pound lightly on the slot machine, like it’s the slot machine’s fault he’s just unlucky. It was a good thing there were many chips in abundance really.

“I swear, if she’s thinking of me right now-” He banged on the slot machine again as he lost, again. It was somewhat noisy and easy to attract people’s attention like that at he rate he was going.

III. Atrium

It was there that Yato was melting into the background, collecting his thoughts while perched on a banister. How it was he got in that exact position might be a mystery.

Humans wouldn’t catch sight of him sitting there, drooped with exhaustion and his brow furrowed in worry.

IV. Everywhere Else

This was a less than ideal situation really, he appeared to be trapped on a ship disconnected from everything the best he could tell and completely unarmed. Again.

Yato had on his biggest smile in that moment. He didn’t have a pen or paper in hand, nor did he have a phone number that he knew of so it was going to have to be old school.

He would approach everyone and anyone, no matter what they were doing. “Hi!” He chirped brightly. “I’m Yato, local god of fortune, let me know if there’s anything I can do for you.”

Yato was very much not in the mood for this. He was tired, his body ached and this was not the best day. All the same, he would do his best to smile and engage the public, seeking out human connections.

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Skill or not, that's all she needs to confirm that she's not getting sloppy and distracted. "Hm," Ava responds. "Maybe gods from your world, then. There's others here," and she's noticed them, at least the ones that have announced themselves as such. But she's not close to any to claim to be an expert in the subject.

But she prefers to blend into the background herself, and frowns at her book that has fluttered shut. "Ava. I'm nobody."

"That's really different." Yato said as he considered that. Did gods of other worlds have different rules? That could be very interesting, he'll have to look into that.

"You're not nobody, you're Ava." Yato corrected. "Is there a wish I can help you with?"

"Most things are different from what we know and expect, once you get past that initial shock..." it's easier to accept things for what they are.

"Ah. Nobody important, then. Not a god. Or," wave of her hand. No special titles here. "... A wish?"

She was probably important to somebody, Yato couldn't help but think because that was how humans were, but he wouldn't offer his insight on that. He hopped up on the railing which was probably a dangerous looking thing to do and he let out a little huff of discomfort as his butt found its seating.

"Yeah, a wish. Like a problem you want guidance on or something I can do for you?" He paused. "I can't produce things out of thin air. Most people who find me are desperate teenagers who want help dealing with bullying, stuff like that. But I've done all kinds of odd jobs for people." He smiled at her again.

It's hardly the most reckless thing she's witnessed this week alone, she'd been climbing up on the railings herself during her attempts to fly. And she's sure a god is no actual danger, falling overboard.

"And how's such a wish manifest, dealing with bullying?" Ava asks curiously. She's a skeptic, wants to know how these sorts of things actually work before walking herself into a trap or a debt or a situation that's surely going to backfire on her.

"There's almost always malevolent spirits around and things like that attract them." Yato explained. "Part of my job is dispensing with those but that doesn't solve the problem. It really depends on the person. Some of them just need the courage to stand up for themselves."

He had a very unorthodox alarming way of dealing with such things. "One girl, I severed her ties to her classmates so she needed to start over."

"So... like exorcism therapy?" Ava asks, uncertainly.

It doesn't sound all that alarming. Just not what she expected, when it came to wishes. But she still has no idea, what she'd even wish for at this point. "Maybe that's what I need... severing ties..." she wonders quietly to herself.

"Not an exorcism at all." Yato said, thinking about it. "In that case, severing her ties was cutting all of her relationships. So she was a classmate, it wouldn't change how she felt or anyone's memories, but she was an outsider. Someone they didn't remember being connecting to. She had to put all of the work in from there."

He frowned. "Cutting ties is an incredibly drastic step and not one I would take lightly, nor is it something to be done on a whim. I've been asked many times to do that and rejected it when I didn't think it was necessary."

Yato exhaled. "I couldn't do that right now anyway, I'm unarmed and I need a divine weapon to perform that skill."

"Ah, I meant about the spirits," Ava replies.

She does seem a little confused, though, how such a process would work, if the memories remain but the connections were gone. It does sound rather drastic, as she properly thinks the implications through beyond her initial temptation toward slipping away and hiding from all the negative impressions she's made, to be forgotten. A far more familiar way of existing. Ultimately that's not really what she wants. She's rather attached to her friends, wouldn't give them up.

"Then what can you do?" she asks curiously. "And what does it cost in return?"

"Oh, yeah destroying the spirit removes their influence over people. They feed on negative emotions and ultimately the souls if they can get them." Yato explained. "It's important not to let the Far Shore have too much influence over the Near Shore."

Yato hummed lightly. "Anything that doesn't require a shinki." He said. "So you know, if someone needed something cleaned up or advice..." He trailed off and offered a shrug.

He smiled slightly. "All I ask is that you remember my name."

"There's trapped spirits here, but..." she's not sure it's like that. The feeding on negative emotions seems to come from the ship itself, or whatever method the Captain is using to keep everything going. "Last month. They took over the bodies of the other passengers."

She's quiet, thoughtful. Not sure she really trusts that deal for what it is. But she's curious enough to see where this is going. "I've been told I need to work on my confidence. But. Having it granted to me through a wish, I think reinforces the idea that I don't actually deserve..." to feel good about herself.

"I've heard about that." The possession sounded troubling and he didn't think it was something he could fix if it happened again.

Yato smiled at Ava though. "Confidence, huh."

That was something that was actually a fairly common request, and it wasn't some instant miracle that people might think. It wouldn't take any magic at all if it worked. Nothing requested of him was ever instant.

"Tell me what you're good at."

"Killing people." Automatically, not with much pride.

It was her primary purpose for most of her life, so she's quite skilled at it. At the expense of much everything else.

"Stealing things." A bit more pride in that one. There's at least a bit of a thrill in it. And sometimes those things are neat.

"Um. Puzzles," she points at her book.

Yato wasn't expecting her answer, it was safe to say that and his hand gripped the railing tightly.

"Puzzles are a good skill." Yato said. "You're probably very clever in that case. You should take pride in your skills, although the other two are sins for humans." She might already know that.

"But...that doesn't mean they don't transfer over to something a little more palatable for others. If you're good at stealing then...you might be quick and stealthy, both things that could be applied to other uses." He offered as an example, a guess really.

Only good for killing people. His mind repeated that on a small loop. Focus on the task at hand.

For humans, she notes the choice in words. Gods must have their own sets of rules, of course. By whatever system of belief, she's well aware she's already damned and the extra confirmation is met with her gaze flickering away. None of that even matters here, though. There's no afterlife, because the Captain doesn't believe in such a thing. And all gods will fall to the same fate as the rest of them.

"I guess. Thanks, Yato. I feel much more confident." She doesn't. But. It feels polite.

"You really don't need to lie to me." Yato huffed lightly, mildly affronted by that. There was no way she meant that, not with the expression she was making.

"Everyone deserves confidence in their skills it's just that other people aren't necessarily going to value those particular ones. Confidence comes from within but you want to be confident around others right?"

Was he even really helping?

"Sorry," Ava admits, because it was a rather weak attempt at a lie that was more of an attempt at offering him an out than continuing with her issues.

"I'm not really sure what I want. I want the people that care about me not to have to worry so much. And that tends to be the thing that... they express concern about. But I just like to be realistic in my limitations, you know?"

Fortunately or unfortunately for Ava, it wasn't like he had other plans and he could sit and talk to her as long as she wanted to.

"People caring about you is a nice thing." Yato said honestly, a gentler tone. "And they will worry about you no matter what you do because they care."

It wasn't going to solve that problem but he considered instead something else. "The real secret is that biggest limitation people have is themselves. If you want to do something, then do it. It's that step that people find hard."

He hummed. "If you aren't confident in your skills maybe you can be confident in being someone they care about so dearly."

"It is," Ava agrees. "So I don't want to mess it up and lose them. And here, it's easy to lose people. They just," she frowns. "Vanish. And so the limitation in doing something about that... It doesn't really matter how clever I am, does it? It doesn't matter how many people I can kill or what I can steal." Ava's shoulders droop. It's hard to be confident.

He thought about that, how that sentiment was for him- well for people and he nodded. "I understand not wanting to let go of those you care about."

Yato really really did. "If you can't stop them from leaving, all you can do is cherish the time you have together. They'll care for the quality of the time they have with you over the quantity. And if you don't have control over it, it isn't your fault that they vanish. It's hard."

"I do... cherish what time we have, and I'm grateful for it. But." Ava looks at him, knows he mentioned hearing about the possessions already, wonders how much this newcomer really knows about how things work on the ship and their looming fate.

"What happens after, to our souls. It's beyond my control, you're right. But I can't give up and accept that everyone I love is going to suffer, alone, forever in the Nothing. I'm just me, and I don't have all... the powers and knowledge of magic and..." she looks frustrated. Confidence really solves none of this either.

He didn't really know enough to confirm or deny this belief. If he were back where he came from he would have better answers for her, but he isn't. Yato thought for a moment, being quiet.

"I don't know what's facing them after this place." He said softly. "But I do know humans have incredible power they're not aware of. You might not have knowledge now but maybe what you can do is wish for something better. After all, Heaven and Hell and the gods themselves are creations of humans. People don't know the kind of power they have just by existing...so...maybe hope they find peace instead."

Would it work? He had no idea. He didn't know if he could even find out. It wasn't like he had access to the Far Shore from this ship, or whatever passed for it in this place. Not yet anyway. Perhaps not ever. That didn't mean he wouldn't try.

"Nothing, that's what we all face. However long we last here. A month, or... I've made it nine. And most everyone I know in that time is gone. Replaced, like they never existed at all," Ava buries her head in her hands.

"That's what I asked for. Peace. But he doesn't believe in anything after. And I..." she doesn't want to give up, but she's at a loss.

He wanted to reach out and offer her comfort, but he was not terribly good at that.

"They existed and you remember them. It's important." Yato told her gently. "It's a connection that people need and I'm sure they appreciated that."

He breathed. "As for what happens after...I..." He placed a hand to his chest a moment. It was too cruel, and it wasn't meant for humans at all. The Captain sounded more and more like a malevolent spirit of some kind. He couldn't do anything about it at the moment.

"Maybe he could be convinced of something better if he's truly in control..." Some things could be incredibly sinister and he dropped his head a bit to hide his face with his fringe, a tear sliding down his cheek.

"I do my best to remember," Ava responds sadly. "I... made a memorial. Of all the names of the passengers we lost." The ones she could get, at least. It was incomplete, but she was able to get some from others who were willing to help. And found out it really didn't matter much, that the ghosts were completely unaware. Couldn't even feel comfort in being remembered by their friends.

"But I don't know how to help somebody believe in something better, when I've never believed myself..."

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