[OPEN] did you miss me?

[sunshrouded]

Who: Tenka aka "Dad Extraordinaire" (sunshrouded) & ALL OF Y'ALL TBH
When: Sliiiiightly forward-dated to 2/15, so right after the Nexus Code event!
Where: assorted... Kumounji House & entertainment district mostly!
What: Guess who's back (back again), Tenka's back. Tell a friend. -- also he fulfill his dream of becoming a Sidequest Dispenser.
Rating/Warning: just your usual brand of tenka idiocy, maybe some tears, probably some punching

[a. closed to kumounji house residents ; farts back into existence]

[Tenka doesn't have a calendar in his room.

Why would he?

But what he does have, when he materializes in his futon, wearing the same robe that he went to bed with, is a vague feeling of dread. He went through a weird sequence of dreams, he thinks. Sitting through that powerpoint again and then -- after that there was a weird space where he could walk through entire buildings. Where he started to feel... intangible again. It was remniscent enough of the time that he lost his body that he felt chills.

Yet his preoccupation with himself was short. After all, Shirasu was there.

Shirasu was there and wasn't there all at once -- he was in that space, unresponsive even as Tenka yelled at him and tried to punch him. But there was no returning punch, no weary purple eyes, not even a motion of acknowledgment. He was well and truly there and.... not.

So Tenka is tired as he walks out into the living room then, settling himself at their low table and slumping over it, just as he would've three weeks ago.

His first word upon his return:]

Teeeeaaaaaaaa.

[ . . . . . well?]

[b. semi-open to adoptees & others ; emerges from the void for noogies]

[Most people just knock or ring a doorbell. Maybe knock three times in small bursts if they're feeling antsy. But here's Tenka, banging on the door instead, complete with yelling:]

Heeeeyyyyy!! Is anyone in there?! Hellooooo?

[At least it's a voice you probably haven't heard in a while.

Someone clued him in that he's been gone for 3 weeks. So he's got about 3 weeks of visits to make up for, he thinks.

(Punch him.)]

[c. OPEN ; tell me what you see ]

[If nothing else, you might've seen this guy's face around. Yet he appears to no longer be Missing and is instead sitting on a bench somewhere. He seems to be puzzling over something very, very deeply. Feel free to bug him if you know him when he's still in the middle of his work of art (which consists of nothing more than a few brush strokes).

Because otherwise he's going to sit up suddenly and thrust out the page to you. It's definitely the kanji for 'lake'. But here's time for messing with the language mechanism and/or an impromptu Rorschach test:]

What does this look like to you?

[What a quack.]

[d. OPEN ; quest master tenka, disaster in the making]

Hey, you!!

[Doesn't that sound like a promising start to a conversation....

Alas, escape is futile as Tenka completely messes up the rhythm of the closest person's day as he steps in front of them and offers them the sunniest grin. (Don't trust it.)]

You look like you've got some free time. Think you can help a guy out with something?

[Sidequest: start!]

[e. choose your own adventure, hit me with anything, i can take it! ]

Comments

[sunshrouded]

[Congratulations Kousetsu on setting record time on telling Tenka how long he's been gone in a number of comments instead of blubbering incoherently at him or otherwise being incapable of speech.

Congratulations Kousetsu on setting record time on anything.

But for right now, Tenka is floored. He doesn't mind the touch, though it does get him to look up confused and--]

.... A month?

But I just -- I went to bed last night just like normal. That's not --

A month?

[heiwana]

[ Kousetsu nods solemn and serious as always but there's also something else in his eyes. There is relief and happiness too because he had thought the worse for a few days when it had happened. But now Tenka was back all the bottled up stress seemed to dissipate entirely. ]

...yes. I do not know what Ceres did but you have been gone for quite some time. But...you are back now and that is all that matters. [ He might (gasp) smiles just ever so slightly before his face goes back to its stoic expression. ]

I will...make some tea. Would you care for breakfast as well? [ He'll move to pull away as he goes to fetch the pot to begin boiling water. ]

[sunshrouded]

Yeah, that'd.... be good.

[He blinks, still.... trying to absorb that knowledge. It sets him on edge. A month. He left his family for a month without even knowing it and he--

He gets up, honestly.]

Here, I'll help....

[Which is admittedly rare, considering the fact that Tenka doesn't actually like to lift a finger to do any sort of chores. But he's got questions and suddenly feels like he's been idle for far, far too long.]

[heiwana]

[ It's Kousetsu's turn to blink in surprise as he watches Tenka stand up. This was a rare sight and he hopes it's not because Kousetsu made him feel guilty with his words. ]

...Tenka-san you do not have to do that. [ It was Kousetsu's usual duty among other things after all. ]

It is not hard to prepare. [ So please sit. Tenka is probably tired from where ever they had him. Kousetsu wouldn't want the other to strain himself. ]

[sunshrouded]

[Tenka just laughs at that, even as he shakes his head and keeps meandering over to the kitchen.]

Nah, it's fine....

It already feels like.... I might've been idle for way too long, you know?

[What has he been doing for 3 weeks? It feels odd. He doesn't know.

It's.... scary.]

[heiwana]

[ Kousetsu just watches and nods his head silently as he follows Tenka into the kitchen. He doesn't speak until Tenka finishes as he goes to fill in the packets with dry tea leaves before they're steeped into the teapot. ]

...it is not your fault, Tenka-san. Do you...not remember what happened to you all this time?

[ How was it done and why is what Kousetsu would like to know. ]

[sunshrouded]

[All Tenka does is get some teacups. Not much use, but more than he normally does in the morning. At the question, he admittedly pauses and he has to admit:]

.... Nothing, really.

I just feel like I woke up from a really long sleep. Had two... dreams, I guess. But I guess they weren't really dreams now. But even then, it shouldn't have been enough to last.... almost a month.

[heiwana]

[ Hm. A strange place they were in if they were able to simply grab up people in the middle of the night without anyone knowing. Kousetsu doesn't know what kind of magic or machine they used but there was no point in struggling with the matter. It's clear Tenka feels some guilt over being gone so long and Kousetsu doesn't want to burden him with the constant reminder. ]

...they have strange devices here. There are any number of ways they could have done this to you. [ He's trying to make him feel better at least?! ]

...you did not miss too much. We were able to go inside the research tower. But nothing of value was obtained besides the fact that the books they had inside did not mention Flamines at all.

[sunshrouded]

[Well, his attempt manages to get a wry smile out of Tenka. Yeah. He tried. There was definitely an effort there and he just shakes his head slowly.

He'll opt for the topic change instead. Tenka wants to investigate a bit more about his disappearance but it doesn't look like they'll be getting answers out of this conversation.]

Not at all? How old were the books?

[heiwana]

...they were significantly aged, from how they appeared. [ They weren't any of those fancy new aged books either. ]

There was also a strange shadowed creature that attacked us within the library as well.

[ He is totally saying that nonchalantly, Kousetsu please. ]

[sunshrouded]

[ kousetsu have more concern for yourself please

Especially since Tenka is looking surprised ]

A monster in a library?!

Maybe an old student that hated learning that much....

[ he's mostly kidding ]

[heiwana]

...yes. It was not powerful but it was aggressive. I do not know where it came from or what its purpose was, but it was defeated. [ At the price of burning all the books and whatever information they held, whoops. ]

I have never seen anything like it before here.

[sunshrouded]

[ . . . . and Tenka frowns.]

No? An entirely different kind of monster?

[He doesn't like the sound of that. Can CERES cook that sort of thing up?]

[heiwana]

[ Kousetsu shakes his head. ]

...I do not know. Perhaps it is something Ceres has been hiding from us, just as the books were also hidden.

[ Kousetsu's frown sure is deep there. He'll finally pour out the steaming water into the cups allowing the tea to cool as he takes out some homemade chocolates for the other to eat. ]

There are many things they do not wish us to know. I...do not understand why, but it is obvious they do not trust us.