Open

[rockthemonkey]

WHO: Son Goku and others. Goku and Ukoku.
WHERE: Anywhere you want around the starship and then at the food court.
WHEN: January 6th
WHAT: Goku is a curious monkey trying to figure things out and make friends. Come make friends with him. Then he tries to have a nice meal and gets mercilessly bullied.
WARNINGS: Possibly violence at some point.


A.
[Goku tried to follow along with orientation, really he did. But he'd been worried and confused and they'd used a lot of long words that he'd never heard before. And some words he had heard before that apparently meant things he didn't know they'd meant. Also they spoke really fast and didn't answer his questions properly, even when he raised his hand. But, after a day or two to get his head around it and to talk to other people, Goku thinks he's gotten the important bits down.

a) He's in space, far away from Earth, floating in the middle of nowhere.

b) Sanzo, Gojyo, Hakkai and Jeep aren't nearby.

He's more concerned about the latter than the former, funnily enough. Who knows what kind of trouble the guys could get into without him there? He can't leave everything to Jeep, as sensible as the dragon is. He's gotta get back!

For now, the only thing he can think to do is explore the starship and look for answers. Maybe make some friends who can help him out- he's sure he's not the only one who wants to get back fast. People are likely to spot a curious monkey running around just about anywhere. From the medbay, to the shopping center, to the hangar, to getting lost in the black market... Goku is running down halls, peeking around corners and maybe accidentally breaking something he shouldn't have been touching and trying to hide it quickly before anyone notices.]

Hey! What are you doing? [Working on something? Trying to mind your own business? Don't mind Goku hovering by your shoulder.] Can I help?



B.

[After a day of running around and getting underfoot, Goku is understandably starving. The food court in the shopping center looks like paradise to him- so many restaurants! All so reasonably priced! Selling bananas is a dumb job but Goku's gathered enough change to buy himself a decent meal. He gets as much food as he can and spreads it out on a table, just for him!

One table.

Just for him.

On his own.

With all this food that he doesn't have to fight anyone for. With no one to scold him for spending too much or for his terrible manners. A nice, quiet meal... On his own.

Despite the crowds filling up the shopping center, Goku feels like it really is very quiet at the table. Slowly, he starts to eat some spring rolls, all the energy he'd been brimming with before suddenly fading.]

Comments

A

[remainingtwin]

[It wasn't like she was actually doing anything important; she had a job, but it wasn't like she had to do much for it on the ship at the moment. She's got the camera obscura on her as usual, though she's also reasonably sure there are no spirits on this ship about to jump out and attack her and as much as she dislikes the thing, it's comforting to have with her. Just in case.

You know, cases like sudden attack monkeys. Okay not really attack, but she'd bee lost in her own thoughts and hardly noticed him until he spoke up, so it amounts to the same thing. Mio jumps and yelps, quickly backing away as her hand reaches automatically for the camera; a heartbeat later she recognizes him and the panic subsides into aggravation]

Don't scare people like that! [It's not like he did it on purpose mio chill. She takes a deep breath and tries to calm down. Nevermind what she's doing] What are you doing?

[rockthemonkey]

Ah, sorry! [Holds up his hands apologetically.] I didn't mean to!

[Anyway, now that the apology is done, Goku's back to smiling brightly at Mio like he didn't just nearly give her a heart attack. Also.. Ignoring... Her asking him a question... ]

Hey, is that a camera?

[remainingtwin]

[Mio huffs a little in response to the apology, but hey, at least there was one. His question makes her grab the bag to her though, automatically defensive. She almost says something like 'camera? what camera?' but realizes her defensiveness over what might seem like a typical normal (albeit antique) camera already looks crazy.

She hesitates a moment, before letting her grip relax.] Ah--Yeah. [She trails off and after debating for a few seconds she pulls the camera out of the bag. It has a decidedly not natural feeling to it, if Goku's able to pick up on that sort of thing.]

It's a bit more than that though. It's... sort of a weapon, too. [Which might sound crazy given that it's a camera, but Mio shrugs] But it works like a camera still. [Unless you're not a normal human in which case it might actually hurt you but hey he doesn't need to know that yet.]

[rockthemonkey]

[That was a weird reaction. Goku leans forward to get a closer look at the camera.] Is it real expensive or something?

[Oh, no, wait, explanations. A weapon? That's weird. Goku does pick up a strange kind of feeling from it, but he doesn't really know how to interpret it so he ignores it. He will likely regret that if she takes a photo of him, since he is not a normal human. Or a normal anything, for that matter.]

How do you use it to fight? It'd just break if you hit someone with it, wouldn't it?

[remainingtwin]

[Mio makes a sort of 'bwuh' spluttering noise and laughs despite her nervousness at him inspecting it.

(She can't even explain why she's nervous other than it's such a weird thing and the horror of it all is still fresh in her mind)]

I don't go whacking people with it. I guess it would be pretty expensive though-- it's one of only a handful in the world and most of those others are broken. [How does she explain this without sounding insane? She looks uncomfortable and shifts uneasily]

It's... The pictures... Well, the pictures it takes has a sort of...exorcising effect? [Mio winces as she says it. Look, it sounds crazy.]

[rockthemonkey]

[That does sound totally crazy, Mio. Exorcisms? Who would believe something like that?]

Oh! [Goku nods, like that's a perfectly reasonable thing to say, and straightens up.] That's really cool! Is it for ghosts and stuff like that or somethin' else?

[Look, he's seen some weird shit over the past two years and even before that he was living with a Sanzo priest.]

[remainingtwin]

[Mio looks surprised, nodding dumbly before she finds her voice again] I-- Yeah. I mean--

[She shakes her head to clear it] Spirits and things like that; I've only ever used it against ghosts. I don't really know the ins and outs of it... One my ancestors invented it. [Which is pretty cool, she supposes, but more importantly:]

You believe me?

B is for... buddies? sure. buddies

[herbalsupplements]

[There are a decent number of empty tables, sure. There's also a dejected-looking boy who feels like a demon and smells like something weird, though, and Kurama's a little bit determined to get on familiar terms with every unusual specimen he can sniff out in this place, so he walks up to the boy's table, sets his tray down, and lies through his teeth.]

Do you mind if I sit here? I get lonely if I eat by myself.

[He also has a hint of demonic energy about him and smells like a fox, if Goku's paying enough attention to notice either of these things.]

[rockthemonkey]

[When Goku looks up with a start, he's blinking a lot. He's not gonna start crying into a container of fried rice just because he's lonely, that would be totally lame!]

Um, sure! I don't mind!

[Actually, he'd prefer it. Company! Goku notices the strange smell before the energy, that sense always more finely tuned than the other. Weird. But once he's looking for it, he notices the demonic energy as well. Goku looks Kurama up and down as best he can with the table between them, looking for a limiter but... Well, maybe it's under his clothes.]

Hi!

[herbalsupplements]

Thank you. My name's Kurama.

[He sits down with a harmless smile, noting the odd metal headband as something to figure out later, and starts applying condiments to a massive cheeseburger.]

I must admit, it's a pleasant surprise to find another of our kind here.

[That part, unlike the bit about getting lonely, is actually true: even if Goku's not a proper demon, he seems close enough to count, and after years with solely either humans or demons for company at any one time, Kurama finds he rather likes the idea of having both around.]

[rockthemonkey]

I'm Goku.

[Goku stares intently at Kurama applying condiments, trying to figure out how to raise the topic when Kurama does it for him. He visibly relaxes and smiles at him.]

Yeah? I haven't noticed any other youkai. [Now that awkwardness is done, he's gonna start eating these spring rolls.] But it'd be weird if it was just humans, right?

["Close enough to count" just about sums up Goku's youkai status. He's slowly starting to accept that he isn't really a proper youkai himself, that's he's something else entirely, but it's easier to identify with that group than with "heretical elemental energy being embodying chaos".]

[herbalsupplements]

[Kurama nods in greeting at Goku's name, the closest he's getting to a polite bow or handshake when there's eating to do.]

It would be weird, but perhaps in a way that helps us find our way home. [He starts in on his burger, and for all that he looks sort of prim and dainty, he sure knows how to put it away. When he's mostly done, he pauses to take a drink and say something else.] Have you met any aliens yet?

[rockthemonkey]

[Meanwhile, Goku shovels food into his mouth with the determination and gusto he's so well known for. There's nothing prim and dainty about it, but he manages to (mostly) finish swallowing before speaking, at least.]

I dunno how it'd do that. [Munch chew munch bye bye spring rolls. Time for dumplings!] I don't think I've seen any aliens, but I- [Mouth full of dumpling, give him a moment-] ... But I met a robot! A real talkin' robot!

A

[straycloud]

[ Koumyou has been keeping himself busy. The couch that he's colonized in one of the residential lounge areas has become a riot of color. Squares of bright paper and a tangled rainbow of yarn litter his immediate surroundings. He's either slowly working his way through organizing his supplies, or he's making it infinitely worse, but he seems overall content with it.

As it is, he brightens appreciably when Goku approaches. ] If you'd like. There's plenty to do.

[rockthemonkey]

[Bright colours! Talking to Koumyou is still weird, but this looks like fun. Goku picks up a handful of yarn and starts trying to untangle it. This is likely a futile effort that will end in tragedy.]

Are you making something?

[straycloud]

A mess, I think. [ Because, well, it's entirely true. ] A woman asked me if I could knit, so I thought I'd find out.

[ There are no knitting needles in sight. ]

[rockthemonkey]

[Goku pauses making what looks like an extremely chaotic cat's cradle to look around.]

... Don'tcha need those sticks for that?

[straycloud]

Do you think? That might be where I went wrong. [ There's no telling how serious he is right now.

Nothing explains all this paper, though, even if it excuses the yarn. He leans over and squints curiously at the way the yarn is run through Goku's fingers. ] That's very nice work.

[rockthemonkey]

I'm pretty sure! I think I've seen other people doing it, but I dunno how either. [So don't feel bad, Koumyou!

Goku tries to untangle one section of the yarn and just ends up tying two of his fingers together.] Uh, thanks...

[existentialcrisis]

[ Ukoku has been watching, naturally—well, first he was wandering, but now he's watching. This isn't likely to present a major problem (for him, at least), but there are other fascinating possibilities. Nothing's for sure, with Koumyou, but the odds are good that he's the only one here who knows what the boy really is. Time to see if he remembers him.

He shuffles over to the table, harmless in his crew uniform and a childish, silly backpack (modeled after some sloth-like animal; he hasn't found a bunny, yet), and flops down across from Goku, smiling. ]

Are you here all by yourself? You look lonely.

[rockthemonkey]

[Goku isn't really paying attention to any of the passers-by. None of them are the people he really wants to see, so who cares? Spring rolls are the only friends he needs. Maybe if Ukoku were dressed in his robes, he'd stand out more, but as it is, he makes it all the way to his seat until his voice startles Goku.]

No, I'm fi- [Wait. Goku freezes. He knows that face.] ... Aaah!

[It's the shitty crow. Goku throws himself backwards, toppling his chair over and falling back with it. Before his head hits the floor, his hands break the fall and he backflips away from the table to land on his feet and point frantically at Ukoku.]

What the hell are you doing here?!

[Ukoku's question has probably been answered.]

[existentialcrisis]

[ The frantic pointing is important and helpful; Ukoku would never have known who he was talking to otherwise. He stays seated, amused, chin propped in his hand. ]

I don't know! They told me it was an accident. Do you always eat this much?

[ He's reaching for one of those spring rolls. Thanks friend! ]

[rockthemonkey]

[Goku immediately throws himself across the table to guard his spring rolls.] Those are mine!

[Except now he's a little too close to Ukoku so he straightens up and takes a defensive position. What the fuck.]

Why are you here? [He already said, Goku.] What do you want?

[This is weird. What's he supposed to do now? Ukoku's the enemy but he's just sitting there? Goku was not prepared for this.]

[existentialcrisis]

[ Ukoku pulls his hands back—gosh, sorry!—and shrugs. ]

I just wanted to say hello! [ Like he wasn't just in a fight with them that involved one really gory death, it's fine. At least one really gory death. He'll have to get Goku to fill in the blanks. ]

Actually, I want one of these. [ a spring roll… ] I'll trade you this one for ten of anything else you want. [ He makes a circular gesture toward the food court around them. All the cool kids are accepting bribes these days, come on. ]

[rockthemonkey]

[The gory death of someone Goku really liked too. All right, he can deal with this. Ukoku being weird isn't any different than last time. He's just gonna stay in his defensive position, ready to fight at a moments notice, thanks.]

I don't want anything from you. [No, Ukoku, you can't sit at the cool kid table.] Go get your own, if you're hungry.