#caactivity

The next time Sanzo sees Badou after all the shit that happened with Kachina, Lunacy, and Ukoku, he doesn’t even acknowledge the punk kid. 

He used a shit ton of bullets during that fiasco and has never been one for idle chit chat.

(Especially with a useless brat like Badou.)

As far as Sanzo’s concerned, there’s nothing to address anyway. The idiot still has to improve his aim, but beyond that what’s passed has passed. Talking over such things is a waste of time and something Sanzo does not plan on doing.

In what way is that a good question? Kratos muses, watching the proceedings. As far as he’s concerned, that’s more of asking for trouble than for sweets. It seems careless of adult figures to send their children out letting them ask such a potentially harmful question.

Putting that aside though, was this a thing on Sylvarant or Tethe’alla too? And he just had never noticed? If so, when, exactly had it begun? (And would Anna and him have—)  Was it a yearly thing? Tri-yearly?

Lloyd would like this.

Kratos is trying to understand this event like any general surveying a potential war strategy, and as such is . . . a little bit intimidating as he stares down small children in bright clothing clutching bags and small pumpkin buckets of candy.

He’s standing in water, which swirls around his legs in a lazy spiral before moving past in gentle undulations. Lotus flowers drift past, pushed and pulled by the river. Lake. Whatever this was. There’s water and lotus flowers as far as he can see, lit by a hazy light with no visible source.

Sanzo chooses a direction at random and begins to walk, splashing through water not quite knee height. A spot of pink wafts past, drawing him to a pause as his eyes follow it to its landing. A sakura petal? He turns into the direction it came from in time to see another petal swaying through the air. Without having a clear direction anyway, he moves toward the petals’ apparent origin. 

There’s no clear sense of time here, which is irritating. Sanzo’s jaw tightens.

A sakura tree appears in the distance. He’s maybe twenty yards away from the tree when pink stains perfuse the water. Sanzo stops and watches as the pink darkens to red, scattered particles of color becoming a solid, an all-encompassing hue. His eyes track the flow of blood backwards, but no body appears. Only the roots of the tree.

A flash of knowledge and images darts past, too quick to capture, and powerful enough to make him stagger a step back. 

Sanzo hasn’t seen Joey since. . . .

Yeah those were things he’d rather not remember, thanks. He’s a master at working past or despite things at this point in his life (has been since he was about 13, actually)/

They still have a curse to work on anyway.  He hasn’t given up on that yet. It’s one of the few things within Hive City that really even seems to have a point (and as much as he hates to admit it, he needs that).

“Hey.”

The good thing about snow and ice is there’s less people. It’s quieter. 

But fuck if he isn’t tired of trudging through it. Doesn’t anyone bother with a fucking plow truck or some shit?

Sanzo is in the culture district of Hive City, having found he finds better quality, more reasonably priced, loose leaf genmaicha. 

He’s already sick of the people, sick of the noise, and what the hell even are all these lights and shit for?

(It better not be yet another festival where someone tries to kill him.)

And then he notices her, and the miniature dragon on her shoulder. The second person he’s met here with something like Hakuryuu, though this time it seems to be another dragon, instead of a wyvren like last time.

Sanzo’s shooting at some bugs that are much larger than they have any right to be when there is a burst of fire.

And well, not one to turn down an opportunity, Sanzo tosses a bottle of alcohol at the edge of the fire, leading it in a new direction. Those fuckers can experience the pyrolysis they deserve. 

It’s only a matter of time. Before Ukoku shows up. Judging from what he knows of what’s happening so far, and what he knows of the scientists.

So Sanzo prepares. The pistol is newly cleaned and loaded. His ammo is refreshed. All that left is the wait. So he finds a place to sit, a park, it’s been a long time since he last meditated, so he takes this opportunity.

He senses her the moment she’s in range. . . .He knows she’s not Kachina. Not that Kachina he knows. So like her. Oh so like her. Convincing except for her nen and the thing lurking in her eyes. So like the Seitan Tensei. 

And isn’t it ironic that it’s the park that he first met Kachina in? Isn’t it ironic that she’s once more so very similar to Goku? Another jarring instinct, unsettling. 

The gun is already within easy reach. Sanzo’s already prepared. If it comes to it, he’ll shoot her without hesitation.

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