Umano Underground Slums

Haruka trudged with the discomfort of sand in his shoes and on his neck, the salty sea air in his hair and on body made him smell like the beach. Surprise surprise. He carried his blazer of his shoulder with one hand, leaving the other one in his pocket, holstering his thumb in a belt loop.

It'd been a long, long time since he showed up to HQ. To be honest, he was a bit timid walking in here not really recognizing any of the faces at first glance. In all honesty, it probably wasn't the brightest idea showing up here but he wasn't entirely phased yet.

"Ohayo, minna."

He was chipper enough, looking as bedraggled as he did.

"Y-Yeah... I'm Bashiro's little brother, Jessie... Sorry again... I just didn't think what I was looking at was real. I probably shouldn't have freaked out and woke you up..." Jessie responded to Okuri, sweating bullets. Sure, the spirit relaxed, but that didn't make the boy think he wouldn't attack him eventually anyway the way he was growling. He was just bad with animals, so he was gonna be bad with a big spirit animal too. After a few moments of inspecting it, the injured leg was noticed. His eyes went from frightened shock to surprised concern, realizing this... entity. He saw this being with his brother on the battlefield for a minute, didn't he? But he thought it was a man... Still, he's hurt. "Hey, we should get that patched up." Was suggested.

Bashiro and a couple of other deadbeats with sleazebags all waltzed into the district of Headquarters. Half-finished mugs of beer in one hand for each man, most of them drunk, Bashiro just now recovering from being intoxicated while nursing a hangover, and all of his drinking buddies were very loud. They were enjoying themselves, celebrating a victory, and getting their minds off of what everyone felt was a loss. Positive mindsets win wars, they said! Don't look at the downsides, that's the commander's job! These people were horrible, and the thug was one of them a few hours ago. Trying to slip away from these obnoxious people, the brawler noticed Haruka walking in, looking as if he wasn't supposed to be here. He had a Reality Bangle, so wasn't he part of them?

Wait, this might be the Aqua Force player Aoi never shut up about.

"Hey man, you uh... look like Hell." Bashiro greeted, still holding his own head looking just as he described Haruka. The two of them kept up a good mood front at least.

Sakuya simply stared at Okuri, his illusion now gone and his animal form plain to see. She had come to investigate a loud noise she heard (no doubt the loud barking) and had stumbled across this bizarre scene. But, instead of being freaked out or shocked, a wide smile crossed Sakuya's face as she approached the canine.

"Goodness, you're... so cute!"

Sakuya brought herself to eye-level with Okuri (not that there was too much difference, Sakuya being as short as she was) looking him over. "You look like one of the animal gods at the Shibuya shrines... That's so cute!"

Then Sakuya realized just who she was talking to. Rather, she realized she was talking to one of her comrades, just under a different form. She immediately took a step back, giving a quick bow. "O-Oh, my sincerest apologies! I was so overtaken by your appearance, I forgot my manners... I truly am sorry." She continued to bow a few more times for good measure, conveying just how sorry she really was, before straightening herself upright again.

"Er... My name is Sakuya, I don't believe I ever heard your name...?"

"His brother?" Okuri questioned curiously. He really needed to figure out how to determine what humans were related to other humans already. He'd had plenty of time to do it by now but he just never got the hang of it. Jessie seemed tense, a pretty typical response. Okuri was surprised to hear Jessie take note of his leg and suggest getting it looked at.

"What this? I've had worse and resting was usually enough." he started as he tried to put it down and put some weight on it to convince himself that was the truth. Definitely wasn't. Bad idea. The leg got pulled back up off the ground in an instant. Perhaps Jessie was on to something after all. Was the leg broken perhaps? He couldn't remember ever having broken a limb. "Maybe you're right, but I don't want to startle anyone else."

Then as if on cue Sakuya happened upon them. She spoke something of a shrine and how he resembled an animal god there and introduced herself. Okuri questioned to himself how he could possibly have lived among humans for hundreds of years without detection given the past day or so.

"And there's the someone else I didn't want to startle. I am Okuri and am no god so you can relax. I recently joined the resistance here you may both have seen me like this however." he said as he put the illusion back in place, the taller long white haired man appearing again, his left arm still being held correlating to Okuri's injured leg. His canine form vanished from both of their views as it came into focus.

"How might I go about getting my leg tended to Jessie?" he said turning back to the boy.

Jessie felt like he was watching his older brother try to be tough for a minute when he was injured, seeing the same act of trying to put a wounded limb down just to immediately retract it. The thug's excuse was something along the lines of every man in their time has to feign ignorance to injuries for his woman, but there was no woman- never mind, Sakuya spotted them. Before getting the chance to speak, she compared him to an animal god at the shrines. ... And called him cute? Gods were cute? Is that how religion works? Ugh, whatever. Okuri didn't want to startle people by telling anyone about his leg, and it seems being a canine spirit was an illusion after all. Or maybe the white haired man that appeared before them is the illusion?

Forget it, this is weird. Time to stop thinking about it.

"I'll go grab a first aid kit to do something about the pain and bandage it up." Jessie stated his plan with a thumbs up, wanting to do this in a way where nobody would be alarmed. It meant leaving him with Sakuya for a minute, but... he could manage, hopefully. The boy dashed off.

Haruka tossed his coat on the ground, looking at the sleezeballs who just rolled up into HQ. Haruka recognized a couple of them, especially Bashiro. One of the prominent fighters at Reaper defenses. He stretched, yawned and looked at them with a half-annoyed, half-reallyneedsanap look.

"I feel like it too. If you're a true brother in arms, never let Yukino know I was here. She tends to shoot the messenger."

He put up a sly finger to his lips, a wink, as if to tell Bashiro that Haruka's presence here is supposed to be a bit of a secret for now. Haruka himself took a seat on a box, pulling his hair back and tying it up. There wasn't any business really to take care of but he felt it was nice to keep a good front up.

"I'm Haruka, Haruka Nakahara by the way. You are?"

Hand outstretched. You know the drill. Shake it, boy.

Bashiro gave a "wat" expression, far too distracted by his pounding head to even begin to question why Haruka was avoiding the boss lady. Uh oh, he isn't an ex-reaper or anything, is he? The woman catches word of that and they're all going to be at risk of an angry rampage from the Chosen Flipout. The brawler gave him a smirk of safety, assuring he wouldn't speak a word of it, because the last thing he wanted was the commander coming back and screaming for any reason. He'll be a brother in arms just to keep someone quiet.

"I'm Bashiro Hakaisha, one of the sleazebag residents of this shithole. Good to meet you man", Bashiro placed down his cup of booze to give his new acquaintance a firm handshake. "Hope you don't mind us buncha assholes coming back from... too many rounds of drinks. Christ my head hurts..."

Okuri thanked Jessie as he departed to go get something for his leg. How had he gotten hurt exactly? It must have been something in the battle with scorpion because he'd been running on the leg fine to get that point. Before he continued on that train of thought he looked back to see Sakuya still nearby, no doubt a little confused due to his illusion's return. He was admittedly intrigued by her earlier statements and had a bit of time before Jessie returned.

"Sakuya was it? I wonder if you could tell me more of your shrine and the animal gods you said I looked like. The stories of the gods always fascinated me." he said.

Haruka was gracious that this man was kind enough in such a way to safe his life. Maybe these were the kind of people Haruka should spend more time getting to know. Then he realized they went out and got wasted and his perspective on them took a slight turn. He tilted his head after the hand shake, taking a look at the group of people with him. Rough-housers, for sure.

"I... see. No worries, I was out all night at the beach with a few friends so I'd be lying if I said I was in a good state either."

He scratched the back of his head, scooting back against a wall on top of his box.

"What brought you to the Resistance? Its been awhile since I came around here and haven't been meeting with the new recruits."

More stretching. Haruka kicked off his shoes at left them on the concrete, not really feeling the extra layers right now. He would go to sleep right now if he knew how to sleep sitting up.

Sakuya looked up at the now very tall illusion of a man. What a wonder this man-dog-person must be if he can change his shape at will! "Of course, I'd be more than happy to share the tales and wonders of the gods."

Sitting down next to him, she pulled out a couple of her Tarot cards from her box. Namely, the Sun and Moon cards. "Well, the two most prominent gods are Amaterasu, who embodies the sun, and Tsukuyomi, her sister, who embodies the moon. Together they spin the heavens round and round, and they're the reason why day and night happen. Without them, the world would be completely different." Sakuya began recounting some of the more basic details of the mythos. "The two sisters were given to us by their parents, Izanagi, a strong and powerful god, and Izanami, a beautiful mother-goddess. They've protected us since the beginning, and they're always watching out for us. They're the ones who built the foundations for the world."

Sakuya pulled out the Empress and Emperor tarot cards, comparing them with the Sun and Moon cards. She laid them out, the Empress and Emperor on top, with the Sun and Moon beneath them. Pulling out a fifth card, titled Strength, she placed it below the Emperor and Empress, next to the Sun and Moon. "Izanagi and Izanami also had a third child, Susano'o, who is a mighty war god. While his sisters Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu keep the heavens under control Susano'o helps us fight against our foes down here in the mortal plane."

Picking up the various tarot cards, she stashed them away again, turning to face Okuri. "I think that's a good lesson for today. I'll gladly teach you more another time, if you'd like. There's so much more to learn about them... Maybe one day we can go visit the shrines together."

After the events at the beach, Aedan didn't really know what to think... Though, maybe it was a good thing to get introduced to the really weird things early on (he's not ready for any of this). Walking up into the resistance HQ, the Irishman with hands in the pockets of his hoodie glanced around, walking with Haruto. He'd take the other up on his offer for a place to crash for the time being but now he had more people to meet... And he'd pretty much just followed Haruka here... To... a slums? Were they some kind of gang? Maybe... Glancing around he noticed a few people and a wolf.... Dog... Wait person? What? Was he just seeing things? Rubbing his eyes the red head shook his head for a moment. "Maybe I'm just a wee bit tired..." he mumbled walking further in. Where should he start introducing himself?

"Let's see... Shit... where were the beds at again...?" Bashiro questioned, far too out of mind to make heads or tails of where he wanted to just go and sleep this off. The man needed some water too, he's getting real thirsty, and doesn't want to have another sip of sake until the world stops spinning like a mad top. He let go of Haruka's hand to grasp his own head. As usual, he was internally swearing off drinks forever, a good eight hours before he goes right back to a bar for some. "Wanna... stop watching... people get hurt when I can do something... That's it. You'd be surprised at how simple some motives are here", he replied to Haruka's question, trying to hang onto his balance. At the very least, he wasn't going to throw up whatever he ate with the beverages.

"Here... tell me about yourself Haruka... While you help me find the barracks or whatever bullshit military term they use for the beds."

They need some sleep.

Jessie finally returned with a white box, popping it open while Okuri and Sakuya went about their conversation. "Lemme see your arm", he requested.

"Ah yes, the tale of Amaterasu and her siblings. One I've heard before. But tell me, do you honestly believe in them?" Okuri said questioning the girl. He'd often had Amaterasu's benevolence and beauty described to him in the past. Less so in recent years as people seemed to be moving away from their notions of gods and such.

"Is it not also true that Amaterasu once hid herself from humanity after Susano'o destroyed her rice fields in a fit of jealousy? Abandoning them to darkness for a time? I have lived since ancient times and have neither seen the gods themselves nor any evidence that cared for me or my kind as man hunted them. And in light of our fight where is Susano'o now to lead the charge against the Reapers? If the gods do exist surely they've turned their backs on us once more as Amaterasu once did." he stated. There was a certain bitterness present to him as memories of his kind from long ago returned to him.

"Or is it perhaps the will of the gods that humans trample all else beneath them?" he said continuing the train of thought. This was perhaps unkind to Sakuya to speak to her on these subjects he had long debated in his mind. He had long debated the meaning of his long existence and pondered as to what it was he really was. The gods if they were real must be laughing at him he thought for humans led much more fulfilling lives in such shorter times.

About that time Jessie returned with a first aid kit and asked to see Okuri's arm. Focusing a little now Okuri dropped the illusion for Jessie only, his canine form returning to his view as that of the man remained in sight of Sakuya and other onlookers. Hesitantly okuri extended his leg toward Jessie. There were some cuts and such and blood had since dried and crusted over the cuts themselves and any nearby fur. However it was apparent that his elbow, or whatever equivalent name you could give it, didn't look quite right, at least not compared to the others. As Okuri had long been away from fights or injuries he was largely clueless that his joint was dislocated which was why any amount of weight on the leg hurt.

Haruto and Aeden had just stepped into HQ otherwise known as the slums, it had been a while really since Haruto took some time here the last time he was here was after the Reaper event but he had to leave right after waking up. Though the place definitely gave a strange impression to Aeden, all things considered at least it was somewhat inconspicuous.

"Welcome to Resistance HQ Aeden, I know the place looks rather strange to be a base of operations but hey it's secretive." he said, trying to sound upbeat about the situation.

"Let's go meet the others." he said, as he motioned for him to lead the way.

"Resistance HQ? What are ye guys in a civil war or somethin'? Seems far to peaceful for that..." good job Haruto, you made Aedan even more cautious. That being said, this time he was glad he had someone leading him instead of trying to be direct. Who knows what these people were capable of. Also yay meeting new people! And that... dog person thing. Seriously, what was that that Aedan saw?

Sakuya was shocked by this sudden questioning of her beliefs. She had never actually heard someone challenge the existence of the gods this way, nor had she ever had the question posed to her. Her signature smile vanished, replaced by a look of sadness, almost depression, with a hint of anger. "...I... Don't know..."

It was a fair question. Susano'o was their war god, but was there any indication he had helped against the Reaper invasions? Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi were easily confirmed, to Sakuya at least, by simply looking up at the sky and seeing their celestial bodies float high above them. But direct intervention, or even indirect assistance from the gods? No such indication existed, not as far as Sakuya was aware.

"I... I still believe in them."

Sakuya looked out at the rest of Umano's slums. She had rarely been here, and yet, it seemed almost familiar. As if something important once happened here, something Sakuya would never forget. No such memory existed in Sakuya's mind, though the familiar feeling still lingered. "If I'm honest, I suppose... Maybe the gods don't help us because we lost faith in them."

Sakuya stood back up.

"I believe, with all my heart, that if someone is truly faithful to the gods, and believes in them, then they will lend us their strength when we need it the most, just as they did in times of old. One day, eventually... I'm sure we'll see the fruits of their work again."

It took Jessie only one good look at the leg to see he had no idea what he was doing. "Uh..." He stammered, having no clue how to go about fixing this. All he knew about first aid was some antibiotic spray, gel, and bandages. This looked far worse than he expected, and his experience from watching a bunch of TV shows doing it wasn't going to cut it. "Maybe I should uh... Get one of the actual medics to help you out", Jessie sweated, telling Okuri indirectly that he couldn't do it without the risk of causing even more pain.

Haruka shrugged, slowly hopping off of the box and walking with Bashiro, leaving his shoes near the box. Maybe someone would toss them away or something, Haruka could always buy new ones.

"Well, I'm Haruka. I command some of the Aqua Force. I work in the Espoir Manor as a barista and butler. I date the household jewel, Yukino Espoir, who is the Commander of the Resistance. I like sea salt ice cream, drink coffee like my life depends on it and..."

He scratched his chin.

"Get in really bad women troubles. Take that as you will."

He chuckled a bit, entering a large building with beds inside, somewhat dirty. Not dirty enough that you couldn't sleep on them, but dirty enough you might want a sheet over them. Haruka was way too tired to go find one and so he plopped down on the edge of one, pocketing his hands.

"What about you, er, Bashiro? I like your motives. Noble, but not complex. Tell me about yourself? You like to drink I see."

Okuri smiled as Sakuya gave her reply. She didn't have the answers he wanted, no one did. But she held up well despite it all. She believed. She had no evidence, no years of observing to confirm or deny what she felt, merely a belief. Some would call it foolish but to Okuri it was admirable, something he wanted to be able to do.

"Perhaps I'm the fool here. Living as long as I have isn't good for one's ability to maintain a positive outlook on things. I hope you find your gods one day and since you mentioned it earlier I would gladly visit one of your shrines with you." he said as he playfully displayed a copy of CEO Amaterasu from one of his decks. "My questions aside I always did find human portrayals of them amusing." he said as he put it away.

Jessie had tried to begin helping him but quickly seemed perplexed. He stated he should seek help from an actual medic indicating to Okuri his leg was in worse shape than he thought, or at least something about it was very much worrying Jessie. Jessie had already put up with his rather unfriendly awakening and Okuri didn't wish to put unneeded stress on him.

"Very well, may as well add another to the list of people who've seen me." he said reluctantly. "But I'm not going to talk to them like this if I can help it, I'll leave that to you Jessie. I'm sure you'll think of something clever to tell them." He finished. What was that about not wanting to put unneeded stress on him again? The idea sounded like too much fun to pass up. Poor kid.

Aedan made a face for a moment, before turning to Haruto giving a slight wave. "I appreciate you tryin' to 'elp me out 'Aruto but I think I'm gonna head around the town for a while. Clear my head, maybe find a hotel to bed down in and nap." he spoke to the boy next to him giving an apologetic wave, and handing him a slip of paper with his number on it before turning around and walking right out of the slums to go... somewhere. He'd figure it out.

Dating the commander?! You know, the thug's mind went to the thought of kissing up to the boss lady's boytoy to get some lenience from work. Good pals with her boyfriend, she'll like him too and give him better pay and more days off. That's like Heaven and a half. Well, Haruka was a good person, and Bashiro didn't mind new drinking buddies if he was into it. But that ulterior motive could not be denied. Not only that, but as a barista, that could possibly mean free booze.

It's like he hit the jackpot.

"I feel sorry you're dating a bit of a lunatic", came out of his mouth, which was the complete opposite of the plan. Then he realized what he said, "Oh, shit. I didn't mean that!" He tried to recover, trying to quickly dart away from those words. "U-Uh... S-So, Aqua Force, yeah? I play Narukami..." Bashiro sweat nervously as they entered what he'd translate to a lodge given how badly he wanted to lie down. The brute took a spot at the edge of a bed across from Haruka's choice. He gave a content sigh, already feeling comfortable for such a low-class mattress.

"... I'm a bit of an asshole who just wants some drinks, a pretty girl to settle down with, and a quiet life. Natural for someone raised in this garbage dump..." He responded honestly, not afraid to admit he's not the most exemplary of human beings. Then again, thinking on the part about a pretty girl, this guy is dating one that just happens to be his boss. Part of him was jealous of such a revelation, while the rest of him... thought of Yukino as a bit of a stick.

He silently wished Aoi was over twenty after seeing so many women in this crazy war.

--------------------

"Me?! Look man, you already look weird for a dog-fox-whatever! Why do I have to talk for you when you're already-" Jessie ranted before sighing, resigning to his fate. He awaited the end of the conversation between Okuri and Sakuya, trying to figure out how to explain such a ridiculous sight. He couldn't blame it on Okuri just being a "big dog", because these soldiers were trained to deal with the supernatural.

"I get that a lot," he responded about being in a relationship with Yukino.

He shrugged, not really taking offense. He knew when he confessed that it was going to be a handful and then some to be with her, but he felt it was worth it. If you asked him again in 20 years, he'd say the same thing. He was religiously attached to the girl, despite what his actions say.

"Narukami, eh? I've seen your dragons about in the last battle. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't impressed. We should share a drink some time, share tales of war when we have a chance."

Haruka laid on the bed, using his hands as a makeshift pillow as he kicked up an arched knee and stared at the decrepit ceiling of the building they were staying in.

"Even if you say you're an asshole, you seem good enough. Good enough to fight. And in these desperate times, every able body is worth it. On a personal note, however..."

He turned his head to face Bashiro, the face of exhaustion showing through.

"I think you're a pretty cool guy. Don't bring yourself down."

Back to the ceiling. Haruka was bad with eye contact for too long. He contemplated what Bashiro said as far as he wanted in life. Despite the way he worded it, Haruka deciphered it as this: a home, a few drinks, and a family. Even if that family was just a pretty girl, it was a family.

"Do me a favor and be careful. You're one of the few goons around here I like. It'd be a shame to see you go. I almost did a few weeks ago. Took a tentacle to the everywhere and now there's a Haruka-shaped impression in the side of FarFax Inc.'s office building."

He started laughing a little, trying to comfort himself and reassure his living was worth it.

"Yukino would say the same thing. Stay alive, live for the next day. Y'know?"

Her smiled returned to her face, and Sakuya let out a small sigh of relief at the sight of Okuri's own copy of Amaterasu. "I see... Thank you. I'm glad you still have some faith, too. I'm sure we'll need it."

Straightening herself out and giving herself a quick stretch, Sakuya turned to face both Jessie and Okuri. "I suppose I'll go check on mister Bashiro. Thank you for the talk, Okuri. It was a good chance for me to reaffirm my faith."

Bowing respectfully to the two of them, she proceeded to leave them to Okuri's injury, heading back into the main building of the HQ.

"Ok guys, I went to the hospital and turns out that the headache I had was just a contusion caused by some fallen rubble or something. I was knocked out cold before I could put a finger on that Hydra monster thing. Pretty anticlimactic, huh? And I couldn't even try my new... Oh" Carlos stopped once he saw there was a lot of people he hasn't met before talking with a lot of people he hasn't met before. It as like an army of unknown people! (Individual perceptions may vary).

"... Hi, everyone" He said. "Oh, where's my bread when I need it?" He thought, desperate as he had no credible mean to start a conversation with the strangers. Everything starts and ends with bread.

"Because reaffirming your faith is exactly what I was trying to do." Okuri muttered while laughing somewhat to himself as Sakuya departed. He hadn't hurt her but for a moment there he'd almost hoped she'd get mad at him for what he'd said. People of the past used to get really upset when he'd play this game with them. He'd have to chat with Sakuya more some other time and see how it was she could be so kind about the whole affair.

Now it was back to Jessie who had so graciously determined to help him with his leg. Stepping out of anyone else's sight for a moment he dropped his illusion in its entirety so all who would then see him would see his real form. Best if the medic never saw his little trick if he was going to just play it dumb.

"Well Jessie everyone can see me now. I'll follow your lead whatever the plan you've no doubt concocted is." and with that he dramatically shut his mouth letting Jessie know he was following through on the not talking idea.