Banzai R. Bungu

"I bet most the town got annihilated. Half the people around here don't seem much like fighters." He laughed a little too himself - sarcastically of course. "In a dream kinda way."

"Oh you know like the shitty toxic boyfriend." Banzai looked over to John with a blank stare. "Cheats on his girlfriend they fight and then get back together type vibe. That was my energy in the one last summer or whatever. It was wack as hell but I am always the villian." He shrugged. "In and out of the dream world. Its sorta just who I am."

"Didn't know that was a role that needed to be filled in the town dreams." John let out a snort as he folded the towel he'd been using in front of him on the bar. "Is that a self fulfilling prophecy sort of thing? I'm always the villain so why try being something else is a bit how that last statement sounded. Not to sound like a therapist, I'm not qualified for emotional advice usually." That was a bit more Phil and Tom in their own ways.

He had his odd moments where he knew what to do, mostly, he'd just found people who understood his means of communicating his feelings and made up an entirely new language with someone (one that would have most concerned that they absolutely hated each other).

My dad is an evil mastermind psychopath who wants magick domination at all cost. How does he plan to do that you say? Well with dark magick that he has forced me to use since I was six years old.

So now? I’m addicted to the darkness and I have murdered over a dozen people for the cause and to build my tomb of souls.

So instead Banzai jsut shrugged.

“Who am I to change my story and for what ya know.” He shrugged. “I like a good party and enjoy my shit over at the school so it’s not like I’m sulking in the corner.”

Banzai had noticed the glasses first. A statement piece sure but he had also heard the buzz around. Yet again a potential C list celebrity had made their way to Swynlake. It had even gotten his cousins attention...since she was the one to texted him about it first.

A pop start was in his area. Big fucking whoop honestly.

Yeah that was easy to say until he was out to grab himself a coffee and he spotted her. The glasses gave it away. Only the girls who thought they were something around town dressed like that. Georgette...Isabella...or whatever the broads names who ran that boutique.

Banzai misses prep school and Trimount - less trash around.

Unable to keep his mouth shut he stopped just as he past her and shook his head. "Well depends on what you're lookin for sweet heart..."

"Anything that would be worth my time, darling." Angel retorted with a scoff as though it should have been obvious. "Clothes, jewelry, I might even make time for knickknacks if they're interesting enough. Any suggestions?"

“Well this is a tourist town. So business for all that is boomin.” Banzai couldn’t help but roll his eyes again. “You’ve got antiques…then the rock shop which is a bit more magick friendly.” Might as well talk up his friend Mims family shop. “In a mess that tourist way.”

Pointing lazily down the other way past the fire station. “Then there’s the boutique where practically all the birds round here buy their clothes so everyone looks the same.” Luckily there was NTO. “The salon was that way too but some drunk prick took it out with his truck so lucky for you…you’re already cute.”

Banzai figured throw in a flirt.

That was what Banzai knew he needed to say but this doctor wasn't going to know a damn thing about dark magic or what it had been doing to him. Even if she did...Banzai was honestly unsure what was even able to be done here. Howl had taken him on and well he wasn't exactly following all his rules. Jack was filling him with sand for a lack of a better term once a week for about a month now...which well...that was when things started to get weird.

The sand took him to a dream world. A carnival maze where he met...friends who were gone. Banzai didn't know if it was divine intervention or if it was them really seeking him out. Yet normal sleep did nothing but dive him into the nightmare of souls. So the anxiety of both ideas swimming together just had him perpetually in a state of unwell.

Lock the fuck in.

"I uh." Banzai furrowed his brow. "Well I think thats a loaded question."

Maybe if he just talked about the recent shit that could help.

"I uh think the worst of it only a few weeks." That could be the dark magic fighting Howls progress. "I manage to get about three hours I'd say. Unless I am drinking." Shit - now she was probably going to label him a drinker. Back track..back track..."I only have like two drinks though...if I decide to have any..."

Not that Gretchen blamed or judged them. If their brain's were telling them it was real, well, it was.

She stayed quiet as he spoke, not moving a muscle. Mostly because she didn't want to give away anything that might taint his symptom reporting. No judgement, she reminded herself.

That was some good advice that Dr. Mitchell had given her. Though...harder to follow in practice.

"Do you get more sleep when you drink or less? Do you have any family history of insomnia or other medical/psychological conditions?"

At first his mouth opened like he was going to speak and nothing came out at first. The questions were so mundus and would send even the most normal person in a spiral. Who wants to think about their families and their issues.

"I uh..." Banzai shook his head. "I mean drinking is a different kinda sleep but I am not drinkin to fall asleep." Banzai wanted to make that clear. "My uh brother has some issues but thats not what i've got going on." Ed was just well...Ed. "My anxiety is just really bad I think that is already in my record" It should be at least. "I was rush to the ER for it like a year ago..."

Having put on the largest pair of sunglasses in her collection, Angel had decided that she would take a walk around town in order to familiarize herself with the new surroundings and maybe even a neighbor or two; she was bored and shopping with others was the best way to cure her boredom.

“Are any of these shops even worth visiting?” She said aloud to no one in particular.

Banzai had noticed the glasses first. A statement piece sure but he had also heard the buzz around. Yet again a potential C list celebrity had made their way to Swynlake. It had even gotten his cousins attention...since she was the one to texted him about it first.

A pop start was in his area. Big fucking whoop honestly.

Yeah that was easy to say until he was out to grab himself a coffee and he spotted her. The glasses gave it away. Only the girls who thought they were something around town dressed like that. Georgette...Isabella...or whatever the broads names who ran that boutique.

Banzai misses prep school and Trimount - less trash around.

Unable to keep his mouth shut he stopped just as he past her and shook his head. "Well depends on what you're lookin for sweet heart..."

Ugh. A psych case. She took a breath and then breathed out.

There was no proving that now. Medicine was a jigsaw puzzle. You needed all the pieces before you could figure out what exactly what was going on. So, she was going to keep an open mind. There was no reason that this couldn't be something neurological, not yet.

"When did your symptoms begin?" Gretchen asked, poised to take notes. "And how much sleep have you been able to get a night, would you say?"

That was what Banzai knew he needed to say but this doctor wasn't going to know a damn thing about dark magic or what it had been doing to him. Even if she did...Banzai was honestly unsure what was even able to be done here. Howl had taken him on and well he wasn't exactly following all his rules. Jack was filling him with sand for a lack of a better term once a week for about a month now...which well...that was when things started to get weird.

The sand took him to a dream world. A carnival maze where he met...friends who were gone. Banzai didn't know if it was divine intervention or if it was them really seeking him out. Yet normal sleep did nothing but dive him into the nightmare of souls. So the anxiety of both ideas swimming together just had him perpetually in a state of unwell.

Lock the fuck in.

"I uh." Banzai furrowed his brow. "Well I think thats a loaded question."

Maybe if he just talked about the recent shit that could help.

"I uh think the worst of it only a few weeks." That could be the dark magic fighting Howls progress. "I manage to get about three hours I'd say. Unless I am drinking." Shit - now she was probably going to label him a drinker. Back track..back track..."I only have like two drinks though...if I decide to have any..."

New card back design for the 3rd Sefirot Tarot edition

What would happen to him if he actually did this. Tethered himself from this darkness. Who would he become. The door was right there. All he needed to do was run. Never turn back and hope that the powerful Howl would keep his lips shut about him being a necromancer.

Fuck. Banzai had no clue what he was thinking.

As the last bit of the question hung on the edge of his ear Banzai rattled his eyes. “Huh…” he looked over to Howl. What the fuck did he even say.

“Uh yeah. The plan.”

The shadows stored in the enchanted vial hung amongst his gold bracelet started to leak tendrils. The cover he clung to all his life to mask as anything but a necromancer.

“What’s the first step…”

He paced around, lips pursed.

“My more traditional colleagues might use a sort of cursebreaking solution to this — some sort of aggressive protection spell. But I don’t know if I would… hmm…” He caught sight of Calcifer’s flickering flame as the fire demon poked his head up, clearly curious. “I wonder … this might be something where we fight dark magic with dark magic. If you’re open to a little experimentation…”

Howl raised both eyebrows, whirlign around, his cape snapping at his heels.

“I have access to some demonic power — long story, I’ll save it for another time — I think we might be able to create a sort of seal, not out of protective magic, but demonic instead. It’s unorthodox, but … it could work if you’re open to it.”

None of them were going to work. None of them could work right? How could he isolate while still being who he was. Fuck Mantu had already trashed the protective item he already made him.

The demon story though he was suspicious of...in a good way.

Banzai felt a pit in his stomach drop again though. What he needed to do was be even more honest here - but that was risky.

"Well I can't isolate." He said flatly. "I am putting myself in danger if I do that. Like I've said..." Banzai couldn't remember if he even shared any of this but he was going to act like he had. "My father has me doing shit and he will literally kill me or worse if I don't. I can't just isolate. I've tried to do something like that before." No he hadn't but Banzai had tried to resist using it.

"As long as this demon doesn't come for my souls we could do that." Banzai was not going to give that up. "Or experimentation..."

Her empathy could be great, but her sympathy rarely matched such heights. So, maybe this would be good practice.

She briefly reviewed the patient's chart and the complaints that the nurse had put in.

Nightmares? Disturbed sleep? It was entirely possible that that was due to psychological symptoms. However, there was a small, small possibility that they were actually neurological.

Gretchen was going to cling to that.

"Hello, Mr. Bungu. What has brought you in today?"

There was no way that they could really stay unbiased right. That was against human nature. Which was why...this all felt like a waste of time.

Yet he was still here.

"Uh hello." Banzai said quickly. The mannerisms would give off anxious and nervous but Banzai felt uncomfortable and vulnerable. Fuck that was not fun. "Well my family is worried about my sleep and my anxiety." Yeah that was good put it all on them. "I can't turn my mind off and get rest basically. Not sure that is fixable but I am here anyways."

First, Jack needed the actual payment. Banzai fished out a wad of bills, and Jack pocketed them. Then he opened the baggie, and pulled out just a pinch.

"This is all it takes. You ready?"

He didn't wait any longer though-- he blew the dust right into Banzai's face, like making a wish on a dandelion. The gold specks clung briefly to Banzai's skin, to the tips of his eyelashes, before getting absorbed.

The effect would be nearly instantaneous. He'd feel a rush of euphoria, that delicious feeling of inspiration filling him from head to toes...

The mind spun like a kaleidoscope as his physical body was no longer his minds home. Wherever his conscious was going was where he lived now.

Banzai felt like himself as he spun through a black and crystal world. Crisp Jordans hit the ground of a red and black set of stairs. Looking from the tip of his toes up he laid his eyes upon large gold doors with spinning accents covering it from top to bottom. The hooked handles glistened in a florescent pink calling his name. Each step Banzai took up the stairs felt like he was walking on water. Not like a man named Jesus...no but like he was on the open waves and each stair was rolling as a wave fell on another.

The steps were easy to take yet he felt like he was moving and could lose his balance yet it never happened. As he reached the top step an old fashion tune started to pierce his ears now. A ring ding on a xylophone or an accordion - Banzai couldn't place the sound but with each step the sound grew louder and louder.

It was a blissful childlike feeling. The glistening colors. The carnival like sounds. The pink hook door handles calling his name. Banzai reached for them and with a drum roll and the sparkling pop of fireworks and sparklers a banner dropped in front of him.

The words: The Banzai Fun House of Mystical Glee painted in neon hung before him.

With a deep breath Banzai reached for the door handle and swung the doors open - being sucked in by a sweet scent of caramel he practically floated like an old cartoon character to a pie in the window. The doors snapping shut behind him.

Into the darkness he floated only to be met by a voice he hadn't heard in months.

Was that Karen?

Laughing with excitement Banzai spun around in the darkness to see where the voice came from. "Karen what are you doing here?! Stop playing! Come out here!"

"Looking a bit off is a perfect way to describe it," Shere says, nodding, a little grin lifting the edge of his mouth. "Easiest way to tell if they're not right is to get to know them. Normally, she's friendly, one of the first to see the volunteers, show off her baby if she knows you."

But she hadn't been. Listless, a bit solitary. Those were red flags to Shere, but he'd not noticed complications after her birth.

"Postpartum in gryphons is, I've noticed, rsther similar to human women. They can become depressed, have an adverse reaction to the calf. At first," he continues, gesturing for Banzai to lean on the railing beside him, "that's what I believed it to be, but her calf is healthy still and she's not rejected him. So - a bug."

"I should have noticed that." Banzai leaned against the railing and squinted his eyes as if trying to get a better look. "My shit has been slipping. Poor girl." The words failed her didn't come out of his mouth but he sure as hell felt it.

Nodding along with the human connection he let out a sigh. "I suppose its better than Pegasus." Banzai truly studied them the most. "They reject their young from time to time and there isn't always a surrogate available."

Licking at his bottom lip he watched as she paced more. "What do we want to do then...we can't leave her like this."

He didn't know the ins and outs of his sand, even after all these years. He knew that his sand worked differently for him than it did for anyone else. His sand did not put him to sleep. He could not use it for that sweet, sweet escape. But he could use it to stave off the hunger, for just a tiny bit. These days, it was barely a snack, though. He might smear it all over his lips and grind the granules between his teeth, and feel even hungrier than he had before-- like being in a bakery, surrounded by the smell of freshly baking bread you couldn't eat.

He had done a few experiments with it years ago, but he was no expert sorcerer-- and flunked outta the eighth grade to boot. Didn't have the tools, he supposed. Needed to procure a goddamn cauldron, probably, and learn the basics of the scientific method-- that if, then stuff.

Soooooo how to answer Banzai...

Lie.

Always, lie.

"Everyone's experience is different, but I guess-- unlike some trips, these are usually pleasant, if we dose it correctly," said Jack then smiled. "I specialize in sweet dreams. Though-- everyone's different. There's always a bit of risk, like any substance. You good with that?"

He shook the baggie again, like a rattle in front of a baby.

This was uncharted waters for Banzai but he felt like a kid in the candy store and his red jelly bellys were right there for the taking.

The darknes started to peak in from the inner corners of his eyes as his breath started to pick up.

"Alright then." He said quickly. "I'm sold."

The idea of sweet dreams sounded like a used car salesman. Jack didn't need to pull out all the stops here.

"Whatever dose works. Can I take it here..."

"Oh yeah, demons. We had Hunger Games which ended in tons of the town getting annihilated." He fondly remembered Hunger Games though, even if it had made him a very unapologetically flamboyant version of himself who once again fell for Jane.

"Toxic male love interest?" John raised a brow, unsure what that meant. "I mean, I've been somewhat a villain in some of the dreams but I can't say that's happened to me."

"I bet most the town got annihilated. Half the people around here don't seem much like fighters." He laughed a little too himself - sarcastically of course. "In a dream kinda way."

"Oh you know like the shitty toxic boyfriend." Banzai looked over to John with a blank stare. "Cheats on his girlfriend they fight and then get back together type vibe. That was my energy in the one last summer or whatever. It was wack as hell but I am always the villian." He shrugged. "In and out of the dream world. Its sorta just who I am."

You need therapy. NOW.

The last few weeks shit started to hit him pretty hard. Howl had him working on some tricks to subdue the dark magic. The tasks for his father were stacking up and he ignored them. Then the winger Al thoughts were swirling. So of course after a few beers he was sending some not so cool texts to the group chat.

Another night waking up with a scream now made four in a row. It wasn’t even the nightmares either it was just clouded dreams of faces. The faces he tortured. The faces of friends he lost.

So before he could get another worried text from his sister and cousin Banzai called and made an appointment. Was it for therapy? No it was just an appointment to speak with someone…a doctor. Plus after his broken arm last year and his anxiety attack that landed him in the ER - they already had his record.

Arriving early he checked in and sat in the waiting room. Only looking up when he heard his name. Following the nurse to his own private room he waited for his appointment.

|outfit|

That shit wasn’t kismet. Hell it was just a make believe world created in the magic buzzing of the town. Probably to play a joke on all of us.

“Honestly that’s cool that you find her in every dream and get married. I think I have been in prison in a dream which honestly checks out.” Banzai shook his head and smiled before taking another drink. “Or just been a toxic piece of shit which also checks out.” Damn.

“Think I only had one good dream where I was actually living the life.”

"Yeah, guess it is." John said as he took stock of his bottles once again, keeping himself busy.

John gave a snort, "The dreams are kind of fucked sometimes. One of my mates got squashed by a boulder. Had his mind fucked up for a while and it wasn't a great memory." But all dream memories tended to fade once you tossed them aside.

"Oh yeah? What's living the life for you?"

"I have heard some horror stories like that. My buddy Karen really had some doozie stories about some before I got to town." Banzai racked his memory a bit and shook his head. "I also heard once about demons or some shit. Wild."

It made for some good stories but shit.

"Oh well there was one that happened maybe 3 days after I got to town. It was full of greek gods and it was just rad. Plus that was where I met Stella." Not like that mattered now. "Then we had another one where I was in prison...then another were I was some chick flicks version of the toxic male love interest and that shit was wack as hell."

His might went straight to what will happen if? What happens when?

"I don't think I've got the option to go cold turkey either." Banzai laughed to himself. It wasn't funny honestly it was at his own expense. Most of the time he was held and magick gun point to do dark magick most of the time now.

Yes he enjoyed it - who wouldn't but with what Mantu wanted and where he saw his story going he knew that it was going to be death or darkness. Just admitting that all right here didn't seem smart and who knows how Howl would even respond to him opening about what he has done and who he has been under the many masks.

"I only say that because I have my self in a less than favorable situation where I am required to dive deep." His eyes shifted back to Howl before he made decided to be honest "I am a true necromancer. This is who I am."

Why was he being so damn awkward. This was like swallowing a big pill and Banzai felt out of his element. Where he normally would control a conversation he felt like he was on egg shells.

There were a few paths that led to dark magic such as this. Sometimes it was clear (a demon, for instance). Sometimes it was a mix of things — a pinch of blood, a dash of necromancy, a splash of mind control. 

That being said, he’d actually been hoping it was something clear-cut. That was an easier fix. Not that any of this would be easy, but, well, comparatively — 

“Honestly, the fact that necromancy is the sole cause is promising,” said Howl. “I mean, the situation isn’t good, of course. But at least you’ve got a clear root cause. Sometimes people dabble in so much that it all get tangled up and there’s no way to unravel it without unraveling all of a person’s magic…”

He shrugged.

“It won’t be easy. But at least there’s a specific root cause. That way we know what to look at.”

Howl wasn’t sure if they were being reassuring at all. Not that they were trying to. Howl was approaching this like any sort of puzzle and in his mind, logic and reason were comforting. Eliminate factors, narrow down causes, and the solution should present itself. 

Sometimes the thought crossed his mind that if he practiced more or got a mentor not on his father’s payroll he could come say out power Mantu himself.

“I will not unravel any of my magic.” Banzai said quickly unsure if that was the plan.

That was a hill he was willing to die on - suffocating on the darkness itself.

“I am this good because of the rules I break.”

He was amused that Banzai even thought for a moment that Howl would suggest that. But then again, maybe Howl’s reputation as Ingary’s very special rulebreaker had more or less died down in favor of his growing reputation as a Magick influencer and fashion icon. After all, while Ingary liked to think of itself as the center of the sorcerer world, there was a whole vast online world much bigger and influential.

Better this way. There was more he could do.

“I’m not one to stick to any sort of rules, darling,” Howl continued. “Which means my approach to this whole process will be rather unconventional — but that just means we’ll have a better chance of stopping this and putting you in control of your magic again instead of eliminating it entirely.”

They raised both eyebrows.

“Now — shall we talk first steps?” 

What would happen to him if he actually did this. Tethered himself from this darkness. Who would he become. The door was right there. All he needed to do was run. Never turn back and hope that the powerful Howl would keep his lips shut about him being a necromancer.

Fuck. Banzai had no clue what he was thinking.

As the last bit of the question hung on the edge of his ear Banzai rattled his eyes. “Huh…” he looked over to Howl. What the fuck did he even say.

“Uh yeah. The plan.”

The shadows stored in the enchanted vial hung amongst his gold bracelet started to leak tendrils. The cover he clung to all his life to mask as anything but a necromancer.

“What’s the first step…”