#temperateskies

"Ichi...mokuren...?" How long has it been since he's been gone? When did he arrive? Romanus hadn't actually expected to see the pink haired former deity. There's this exciting feeling bubbling in his chest and that surprised look on Romanus' face shifts into that of a wide and welcoming grin.

Welcome back to dreamlike Isola Radiale, Ichimokuren!

You’ll be staying in HOUSE 103.

You’ll retain everything you had during your previous stay.

Enjoy your stay!

Ren's pleading and puppy-dog eyes hadn't moved War yet, but he was starting to budge a little. After another moment of keeping his gaze away from the wind deity, he gave in with an exhale of his breath. "If you desire company that badly...I shall accompany you to the hotspring. However, I will not be participating."

"Ding ding ding~"

"Okay, mister! For the lucky prize of being my 1,000th fan, you win a FREE DATE with yours truly!"

"Remember to bring me a gift, hehe!"

One hundred years, and there was one lesson his daily companion never seemed to learn.

"Trust is earned." Asura's mouth twitched as Taishakuten yelped as a goose tugged at his long flowing robes with its beak. Their small house just the right size for two people to be cozy in looked like a piece of paradise, because it was. In this pocket of a realm, a glimpse of Trayasmitra, everything was idyllic and peaceful- outside of their backyard. "Did you try cheating again?"

"Asura!" It was difficult to tell who was making more of a racket, the yard of geese or Taishakuten. Asura didn't rush to his aid. Actions had consequences, and his dear friend must learn them somehow, even if it was through a century of geese bites. In reality, he'd witnessed Taishakuten be able to mentally communicate with animals, enough to dissuade a viper from biting or other such basic expressions.

Geese were beyond him, apparently.

"Don't play with their minds. People don't like that." Asura allowed himself a laugh as another goose caught sight of Taishakuten and honked at him. "Hey, hey! It's me!" Asura made plenty of noise as he greeted the geese and reached into his pockets, tossing a handful of peas into their yard that never truly needed tending, but was still carefully kept tidy by Asura himself. With work came satisfaction, a sense of a life lived.

He had no love for things that were too easy- without a little effort, nothing was real.

Taishakuten brushed himself off, gentle features stuck in a comically concerned expression as the geese rushed for the peas. "It's different for you. Geese eat plants- they're practically my natural predators!"

"But you are a person, not a flower." You are a person, you fool, and people are not islands... Asura caved for a moment, giving in. "Come here, let me show you something. I'll do my best to teach someone as stubborn as you a thing or two in our time together."

Taishakuten followed him to another section of their grassy yard. Asura had insisted on raising geese and getting to enjoy their full lifespans. A couple geese had been laying recently, and he genuinely smiled as he spotted a few goslings waddling about by the pond. "Look, the hatchlings are friendly. How can you be in mortal peril from something so small?" Asura knelt down and carefully scooped up a fluffy baby goose in his hands, holding it out to Taishakuten. "Go on, pet."

"You're calling me pet, now?"

"In your dreams." The shared, charged look they had lingered, but dissipated in moments. Taishakuten turned his eyes back towards the tiny bird in Asura's hands.

Taishakuten hesitantly reached out to the gosling, and the moment before his hand made contact an adult goose from behind him honked. "Ah!"

"Don't be shy." Asura looked at the goose that was near them, its neck extended and wings slightly fluffed. "You have to be vocal with them, not just using your mind. It'll take time, but they'll come around. If you make noise, they won't think you're a predator. Predators are quiet."

"I see. Alright... I mean no harm," said Taishakuten to the goose, giving Asura a sidelong glance as if to ask, 'really?'. "I humbly request you acquiesce to my presence."

"What are they, noble geese?"

"I'm being careful is all!" Taishakuten reached into Asura's pocket, tossing the goose some peas. "There... maybe it won't try to eat me." He looked to Asura and raished his eyebrows. "What's that smile for?"

"You're trying so hard. Here, this liitte one is getting impatient."

Taishakuten leaned close to Asura and again reached out for the gosling. He finally pet it with a cautious touch, mouth falling open as he did so. "Oh... it's very soft."

"Geese are loving creatures when you understand them." Asura handed Taishakuten the gosling. "You see, you don't have to get rid of your differences- just be patient and work with them. Understand them. Make peace with each other. Let someone understand you, and that little bit will go a long way."

Let me understand you, he was saying. Begging, even. Desperate, to find some way in.

Taishakuten gave Asura one of his serene smiles that usually meant he'd heard every word Asura had said, and was about to disregard it. "Let's go have some soup you made."

A change of subject and another heavenly day, and another missed chance to get inside the mind that understood everything but himself.

Their faces were the same, but the horns that curled at the top of his head like a crown were a clear giveaway that it was not him. The being that curled around him - no, this was one from that other world. The world where he, himself, became a being with a fiery haired flying being that had shattered his office window.

Thus, he had to ask: “I do hope you do not intend to shatter my home windows in your attack. We do have enough going on.” His family sword at his side, the CEO and boss looked at the other warily, hand on the hilt.

“If you’ve any trace of Ichimoku in you, then know that we have children, and I will do what it takes to protect them. I care not what sort of being you proclaim to be.”

As an onmyoji, Seimei had a natural affinity for detecting the spirit energy around him. This energy could be found in all living things; but Seimei was rather talented at parsing the slight differences between individual energy signatures. 

So with that in mind, it was no wonder how he was able to track down Ichimokuren so easily. He hadn’t been purposefully seeking out familiar faces, but nevertheless, Ren was a welcomed sight for Seimei. 

“And here I thought I was going to be alone for this venture--” He approached slowly; as to not startle the Wind God. “I felt a familiar spirit energy, but I didn’t think it was you...Ichimokuren...”