When the world around her got to be a little too much for her, Mara would often frequent cemeteries in order to keep the company of the DEARLY DEPARTED. This time though, she found herself within a cemetery, surrounded by people that ranged from VERY MUCH LIVING, to LONG-SINCE PASSED.
No matter the apprehension that she had with people generally, Mara couldn't help but have an interest in the cultures that populated the planet. When those cultures happened to find time to INCORPORATE SPIRITS into their festivities, it meant that she was able to get the information on the celebrations right from those that might have been there when the tradition begun in that space.
Bon was known to be a JOYOUS celebration of departed ancestors, a Japanese Buddhist festival that had been observed for more than five centuries with a traditional folk dance known as BON-ODORI.
The OBON tradition arose from the story of Mahamaudgalyayana and his mother in the Ullambana Sutra. The mother had fallen into a terrible state in the afterlife, and the Buddha advised Mogallana that the only way to assist her was to make offerings to the monks at the end of their rainy season retreat. When Mogallana did so, his motherās suffering was relieved, causing him to clap his hands and DANCE FOR JOY.
Buddhist minister Yoshio Iwanaga had introduced BON-ODORI to communities along the North American West Coast in the 1930s. As Obon dances attracted large crowds from the surrounding neighborhoods, they evolved into larger festivals with culinary bazaars and CULTURAL DEMONSTRATIONS.
Nowadays, a festival could be found nearly EVERY weekend between June and August, in many parts of the United States. Obon Festivals were typically templesā LARGEST EVENT of the year and most visible presence in their local communities.
Some Obon dances had been passed from parents to their children and grandchildren, while NEW DANCES also continued to be developed and introduced each summer. It was a special time for temple communities to come together and orchestrate their own event, while visiting others out of support and friendship.
Taiko drums heralded the centerpiece of the Gathering of Joy, when everyone was expected to make a circle around the YAGURA (tower) for BON-ODORI.
Whether people dressed in traditional Japanese attire or their best beachwear, everyone was encouraged to JUST DANCE. Setting their egos aside, people were able to find kindness in everyoneās care toward each other. Whether through a friendly wave, or a knowing laugh on the dance line, it was just a fantastic way to experience just...BEING ALIVE.
All while honoring those that had passed on.
When the sun finished setting, the festivities would mellow to a pleasant simmer, but for the moment...Mara was allowing herself to emerge from her shell a bit more. The feeling of knowing that there were many people there that couldn't see the spirits of those gone but BELIEVED they were there was uplifting when she could see that they were, in fact, correct. Her hands rose in the air as she continued to dance along with those that surrounded the general area.
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"Ā ThereĀ isĀ no god aboveĀ me. And below me are onlyĀ corpses......andĀ converts"
-Daken Akihiro
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The darker days of Akihiro had him as a child soldier, mercenary and assassin, used to do whatever his client wanted, as the bidding of the Mastermind Romulus.
It had taken HYDRA a LONG TIME before they thought that their ASSET had been broken down enough to be trusted to go out on a mission without the assassin's equivalent to a HELICOPTER PARENT. It had taken HYDRA nearly two decades to tear Bucky's psyche apart to the extent that was required to rebuild a new man in his place.
Before then, though...the SUPPOSED DEATH of Steve Rogers had been enough to send him into the depths of his own personal hell. With him in that state, HYDRA had seized the opportunity they had and forced him into a few SUPERVISED MISSIONS.
He wasn't given a picture of the target, only names. One by one.
One of those missions had been simply ITSU.
It had only been when he'd looked through his SCOPE that he even knew that it was a woman. He knew that he didn't have a choice. He knew that HYDRA knew about BECCA, and he wasn't going to be the reason she died too.
Now, with his memories once more restored to him completely, Itsu's name, along with a handful of others, had been added to his list of those he wanted to MAKE AMENDS WITH. He couldn't apologize to the victims obviously, but he could attempt to find any family that might still be around.
This one had been more difficult, and had required someone much more skilled at gathering intel than even he was...he'd had to get NATASHA'S HELP.
What she had discovered, was that Bucky happened to have more than one connection to Itsu. She had also been LOGAN'S WIFE. Which meant that the man that he was going to be meeting with that day was going to be LOGAN'S SON.
Admittedly, part of him wondered if this was going to be the day he died, but he kept those concerns to himself. His arm was Vibranium...he would be FINE.
Bucky had been waiting at the table within a small bar for about a half hour. He'd arrived earlier than what the two men had agreed upon, mostly so he could mentally prepare. In that time, he had wound up mostly DISASSOCIATING and rolling the small cocktail napkin in front of him into what would have been a cigarette if it had different paper and tobacco in the mix.
His eyes kept moving to the door when it opened, and finally when he looked, he saw someone that resembled the picture that he'd seen. His throat felt dry, as it always did during this process, so he took a drink of the whiskey he'd ordered before holding up his hand to get Akihiro's attention. When he had it, he offered a small smile, awkward as it was as well. He was TRYING.
