estoria | [closed] every path is nothing but pain and suffering

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[closed] every path is nothing but pain and suffering

Who: Harada Sanosuke

ohspearme & various other people (starters below)
When: Up to about a week after the event? So ICly end of October, beginning of November
Where: All over the place
What: Sano gets to play damage control after the disaster that was his body-snatching. And also go drinking. A lot.
Rating/Warning: ANGST, booze, probably language, possibly violence???

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[Those days when Sano had no control over his own body – when he had no body at all – were some of the worst he’s ever experienced. Terrible, because there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about basically anything. All he was capable of had been to talk to Shinpachi and keep him from falling down stairs or running into too many walls. But while he managed as well as he could, there had been one area in his life he had been utterly helpless in fixing in a timely manner.

When he eventually saw what “he” had been saying to Heisuke, Sano felt at a complete loss. And felt scared, though he wouldn’t say as much out loud. Heisuke is one of his best friends and the idea of something like this screwing up that friendship is a wound that cuts even more deeply than his own blade had when he plunged it into his stomach all those years ago.

There’s no time to waste now. Sano doesn’t know how he’ll do it, but he has to fix this. He can’t lose Heisuke, not over something that was out of his hands. Surely Heisuke will understand that, right?

So before Heisuke wakes up, Sano leaves the apartment to get some tea from a nearby coffee shop. It won’t be as good as what Chizuru makes, but…well, maybe it’s better that nothing connected to Chizuru be involved in this. When he comes back, Sano sneaks in to sit next to Heisuke’s bedsides, both cups of tea well out of the younger man’s flailing reach – he knows what kind of sleeper you are, kid – and waits.]

[That event had been terrible and Sano is going to be paying for his body snatcher’s actions for some time, he’s sure. Which is a depressing thought, but one that he can’t avoid. Not forever, anyway, but he can at least take a breather. Because while he’s certain a lot of people are upset with him – with good reason – there’s always one he can count on to still be there for him.

Which is why he finds himself and Shinpachi at a bar. And Sano has long ago lost count of how many cups he’s had. That’s a good sign, right? It means he’s forgetting and that was the point to this outing to begin with. Forget for a while and go on as if nothing stupid had happened. Just drink, drink, and drink some more with some of the best company a guy could ever ask for.

Except his glass is empty. And that’s a crying shame.]

Oiiiii, ‘Pachi.

[He leans heavily against the other man and waves his glass in front of Shinpachi.]

‘S wrong with this picture, huh? Huh?!

[He might be a little louder than is necessary. And by might we mean he absolutely is.]

[When in the Shinsengumi, do as the Shinsengumi do. Or something. At least when it comes to less-than-productive ways to spend money or have a good time or bond with other captains. And what a happy coincidence it is that going out to the bar happens to qualify for all of the above.

The ghosts wreaking havoc had treated Sano badly, so one of the obvious ways to cope is to drink. But he also hasn’t spent very much time with Souji ever since they all showed up in this technological hell. Two birds with one stone.

Souji isn’t his usual drinking buddy, but sometimes Sano wants a more relaxing time out than what tends to transpire when Shinpachi is in tow. And in Sano’s recent memory, at least, Souji has known his own limits and kept himself under control. An excellent candidate for this sort of outing, to be honest.

Besides, Sano just wants to keep a closer eye on him. After what Shinpachi had told him a while back concerning Kaoru and how he had given Souji the ochimizu, he’s admittedly curious to see how Souji’s dealing. Not that he’ll bring it up, of course, not unless it becomes necessary, though he sincerely hopes it doesn’t. Just one time he wants a good time out with a friend with no surprises.

As he throws back a cup of sake, accentuated by a satisfied sigh, he turns to Souji.]

Tell me again why we don’t this more often?

[Sometimes a guy just needs to get out and go do something. By himself.

And sometimes that guy is Harada Sanosuke.

Yes, contrary to popular belief, he is his own person and not actually attached to Shinpachi’s hip. Though it is strange to see him go drinking by himself, considering how social he usually is. But after the events of the previous week, he just needs a breather and some relative peace and quiet. Perhaps it just helps with his thinking. (Should Sano really think really hard about some things, though?) Or maybe he doesn’t have the energy to deal with other rambunctious friends (sorry, Shinpachi), especially after having to try and make amends for all the crap that happened when he didn’t have any control over any of it.

Of course, that doesn’t mean he’ll go to just any bar. No, even though he doesn’t necessarily want to be bothered, he figures there’s one guy he can trust to let him relax. At least, in their previous conversations, Tenka has struck Sano as a decent guy. And they get along, so that’s a plus.

When Sano enters the now-familiar bar, Tenka may notice that Sano isn’t quite as exuberant as he usually is. He’s also showing up a little earlier than is usual for a night out. But when he sits down at the bar, he still offers the other man a smile.]

Still got my usual? Though I guess I should say I’m takin’ it easy tonight.

[At least Sano can still fall into old routines after everything that happened. This particular routine being his job in the city. It’s been a normal day with the normal flow of customers and their normal amount of purchases, so nothing too taxing, but still busy enough that Sano doesn’t have too much time to dwell on things he can do nothing about for the time being.

And then, his shift comes to an end and he’s about to head into the back to clock out when –

The bell rings as another customer comes through the door. And Sano isn’t in any rush to go back to the apartment, so he turns to see if he can help. But his pleasant expression falls immediately upon seeing who the hell just walked in.

Of all the ~~gin~~ thong joints, in all the towns, in all the world, he walks into mine.

But Sano isn’t going to leave Nagumo Kaoru to the nice ladies who also work with him, so he makes his way to the other man and puts on a pleasant, although very fake, smile.]

Is there anything I can help you with, ma’am?

[Okay, so in hindsight, broadcasting that little adventure with the lingerie shop might not have been the best idea for this ghosty's well-being in the long run. Because there sure were a lot of people who seemed pretty unhappy with how the situation unfolded.

But was it worth it in the meantime? Totally worth it.

Which is why said ghost is back in town - though wise enough not to haunt the same area twice; he wants to keep this awesome body as long as possible, you know - not long after and looking for more trouble to get in. YOLO and all that. Only not exactly, in his case. It's good being undead.

However, as he goes along looking for something to get his hands into, he passes a food stall (dango!) and his pilfered body's stomach growls. Ah. Yeah, that's one downside to being a bodysnatcher. Physical limitations. But, since he's here and in apparent need of sustenance, he'll just go ahead and buy some.

He can be a nice, law-abiding ghost sometimes, don't get him completely wrong. But boy, what a shame it would be if someone came along to ruin his night.]

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Heisuke

Shinpachi

Souji

Tenka

Kaoru

Kazama free-for-all