lucetilogs | Mission: Burying the Past in Zompania

Hijikata had known from what Souji had told him that it was going to be bad. Worse than they'd ever seen Kyoto, certainly. But he'd been prepared, at least, for the scale of destruction, for the number of dead lining the streets. It still turns his stomach, a little, but not enough for him to embarrass himself. Some of the others here - it was possible they had fought, had died in this place. He wasn't going to ask.

It seemed almost too many bodies to find space to bury - cremation would be simpler, but he had no authority to suggest such things. Just to dig, and perhaps try to organize their efforts a little more efficiently.

A

[Wan is not going to bury the bodies, it's a foreign custom to him. There simply wasn't any space to bury the dead in the city he grew up in.

Instead he will cremate the bodies as he comes across them. He lingers at times. Feeling as though he should say or do something. All of these people had nobody to mourn them. And truthfully, Wan still felt a deep sense of guilt about their deaths and how powerless he was to stop them.]

B

[Part of the mission called for destroying buildings. If there was one thing firebending was good for it was destroying stuff. Unlike his subdued treatment of the bodies Wan takes this opportunity to practice his firebending forms. He is already a powerful firebender, but the flames he produces with every punch and kick have intensified from his own anger. Anger that he buried at the time of the draft to survive and after the draft so he didn't have to deal with it once he was "safe". Anger at the situation himself, how so many innocent people- including kids like Ash were dragged into it, anger at how tenacious and bloodthirsty their enemies are, how angry he is at himself for how little he could actually do.

It served him well when it came to burning down large structures. He'll wear himself out eventually, but it's all a part of working through the emotional aftermath of the draft.]

C

[If you don't want to watch him burn things, it's possible to catch him in one of the tents. He's not going to get a lot of rest over the next few days anyways. He will act positive around others who are having a rough time despite his own feelings.]

[First day or so.]

[Within...at least a half hour of getting there, it's obvious that Rikku picked the wrong place to be. This is one sight that makes her think of over two years ago...all the people who were killed, and all of the destruction.

And burying people? That thought alone made her wanna throw up. She almost wished that Yuna was here, to do what she could. Of course, she knew this wasn't like home, souls probably did something completely different here.

So she can dig. But if she's out of sight for a little bit, she's ~~hitting her head against a tree.~~ trying to get some of her sanity back.]

[The rest of the time.]

[Well she's not getting much sleep. Instead she's having more 'fun' with the tear down with a new sword and all, and probably looking a whole lot stronger than she should.

She's not her normal self. Her normal childishness self is absent. 96% of the time, there's not even a smile from her...and someone might want to remind her that food is something that exists.]

Edited 2014-07-23 06:41 (UTC)

[Iroh watches his forms carefully. There was certainly power, but he had not perfected his forms yet. The technique was far more important than the power. Power could be grown over time, control was essential before that]

You need to try that last form again. You are using up more momentum than you need.

[Zuko is with Wan and is doing his part with the destruction. He had already burned and buried many of the bodies when they were here before. He'd rather leave it to other this time unless he's really needed.

However, his bending is a great deal more controlled but not at all lacking in power. At least here, he can use his bending at full strength unlike back in the Luceti enclosure.

However, he's noticing a disturbing trend in Wan's bending. He's using his anger to fuel it, and Zuko is all too aware of how dangerous that can be.

When Wan starts wearing himself out, Zuko will approach and place a hand on his shoulder.]

Let's take a break.

[He looks a bit worn out too so they could both benefit from it.]

[Under normal circumstances Wan would correct himself and move on. But right now he is angry at the world and snaps at Iroh instead.]

It worked, didn't it?

[The building is on fire. Mission accomplished as far as he's concerned.]

I can keep going.

[This is deja vu for the draft all over again. Only this time he's not dealing with keeping himself alive as well as the urgency of finding a way into the city. Just his physical, mental, and emotional energy depleting from him.

He's literally burning himself out.]

[Zuko folds his arms and frowns.]

Yeah, and then burn yourself out. This isn't a competition you know.

[He remembers how much of a disaster it was the last time Zuko tried to force Wan into calming down. So he's trying to be a little more diplomatic about it. Thus his voice is stern but not raised.]

I know it's not like that.

[It's just... something. Dealing with emotions he isn't very good at articulating at the moment.]

I'm just not tired right now.

[of course, this is a load of bullhorse crap unless you only count "falling over from exhaustion" as tired.]

[Yeah he knows that's not true, and its written all over his face.]

I'm telling you this as your firebending teacher. You need to take a break.

[Wan's first instinct on being told what to do is to not do it. He marches to the beat of his own drum. As much as he'd like to argue the point that no, really, he will be okay... he is tired. They both know it. He mulls it over for a minute before letting it go.]

Fine. Let's head back.

[it was getting late anyways. He could use a place to rest and some food after a long hard day of burning things. Preferably not in the middle of all the gore either. He had enough of that the first time around.]

[Zuko lets out a sigh of relief when Wan isn't looking. He was starting to worry that Wan would lose control again and burn something down he shouldn't. Like one of the other volunteers.

As they start to head back, Zuko allows a few moments of silence before he speaks up again.]

I know how you feel about being here. I feel it too. But putting that much anger into your bending is dangerous.

[Jade saw fit to come on this mission largely because he thought that few others would. Perhaps there's a few other reasons. To try to examine the area for anything he might have overlooked. To bring peace to a former battlefield where he had helped to spread so much destruction. Maybe, even after all this time, burying the past was still the part that came the most naturally to him.

He can be found in a number of areas in full military regalia, and he makes efforts to coordinate others. He will interview those whom he's unfamiliar with regarding their abilities and if they are destructive, he will assign them specific areas to demolish. Otherwise, people may be assigned to assist in burying the dead. This work will be done much more efficiently this way.

Jade can be seen acting as a one-man wrecking crew himself. He can unleash any of a series of devastating fonic artes to take individual buildings down. If If you're lucky, you may even catch him performing a Mystic Arte. But he won't hog all of the fun: at several points over the days, he will also assist and/or oversee the burying of the dead.]

[Memorial]

[On one of the last days, there comes one last quandary to deal with: the war memorial. He will assemble any number of volunteers near one of the tents for the purpose of planning this. After all, this is one aspect of war he's not exactly used to having a part in.]

Well... Does anyone have any suggestions about how to go about this? [ooc: This thread can be threadjack central if anyone wants!]

[Anybody would be reluctant to return to the scene of so much bloodshed. Jean is here because he feels like he has to be, armed with a sense of duty that is forged from the guilt of killing in order to prolong his own survival, and from the loathing for the fear curled inside him.

He spends most of his time digging holes. Six feet deep, packed into an attempt at neat rows. Maybe it would save time to dig a series of mass graves, but all the dead have left is a chance for some dignity. With no one left to remember quite who they were, many of them have already lost their names - he's not going to take that from them too.

When he needs a break, arms and back aching, he'll rotate duties to recover the bodies from the ruins of the city. Even though the issued protective suit seals him from the cloying odor of death, he still thinks he can smell the decayed flesh. There are some things that won't be forgotten.]

[Iroh just gives him a look for a moment as if to say really, that tone? ]

One can get quite good at doing the wrong thing. Eventually it will become habitually, and much more difficult to fix and correct.

[There is a right way to do things, and a wrong way]

[A - First Day]

[Crystal spends the majority of their first few hours by herself. Zompania isn't someplace she wanted to return to by far, but there are some things one just has to do. Facing the wound and suturing it closed, figuratively, is what she feels the best course of action to do is.

Of course, that's easier said than done.

So Crystal, suited as anyone else, makes her way into the city. She's not quite going to start on their mission yet; she needs some time to collect her thoughts and stop imagining every crack in the walls around her is the same one Archy's pokéball caused. She can be found wandering, more than a little distracted -- nearly the way she'd been on their return trip from Zompania in the first place.]

[B - Nights/Early Mornings in general]

[The nights aren't so bad; it's not as if she planned on sleeping anyway, so she sits outside of her tent and watches the black sky. She hadn't been sleeping well in Luceti - she wouldn't be sleeping here - it's just better to stare at the sky and pretend there's constellations as consolation.

After some hours - probably peaking into when anyone with some sense would be going to bed - she'll try to be quiet about making her way back to the city for a little demolition work. As it turns out, Faeren's magic is as useful for shaking the fountains of buildings as it is for protecting, and there are small, controlled rumbles sounding throughout the wee hours of the morning. One or two isn't quite enough to shake down a building, especially with how small her area of control is at the moment - it's not something she's practiced over and over yet - so expect them to come in groups.]

[C - Third Day]

[Work.

She should work.

But the nights of not sleeping and eating just enough to keep her energy up - because her appetite's more or less flown the coop, and she definitely hadn't slept the night before the mission took off - are wearing on her, as is the strain of using Faeren's magic repeatedly to topple buildings. She takes more breaks, waving off anyone who might give her a cursory glance, and ends up collapsing on her way back to the tents proper. She's okay - she can still push herself up to sitting - but her legs feel like they've turned to jelly; she can't stand, she can't walk, she's just so tired.

And that's probably more frightening than it should be.]

[D - Fourth Day]

[If demolition isn't your cup of tea, and neither is digging shallow graves, Crystal can be found on the last day keeping out of the way of memorial business and talking quietly to her pokémon. She's been hesitant about letting them out prior - Zompania's not as safe as Luceti is after all - but it's their last day; they'll be fine, for a few hours.

A sweet, calming scent'll start floating around the area not long after her Meganium comes out, as he's pretty distressed at her state. Her Hitmonchan gives careful looks to anyone wanting to come near, but that's all; he's protective but not rash, and he won't go hitting anyone who wants to investigate the fairly strong scent or wants talk to his trainer.]

[Crystal is not the only person who'd been working themselves hard demolishing buildings. Krillin had been doing just that, using his fists to simply shatter support beams and crumbling the wartorn structures into dust. He's careful to keep away from the vast majority of people, but eventually he'll just run out of stuff to break and have to wander nearer to people. It's relieving in a way, and a lot of his own anxiety leaves him as the days wear on.

And he just happens across Crystal as he moves inward, seeing her slumped down in weary exhaustion.]

Hey, you okay there kiddo?

Krillin does his part the same as the rest, immediately flying off towards the outskirts of town and starting to smash buildings. He's not using ki blasts, though, preferring instead to perform more controlled demolitions with his fists. The supports of most buildings are a great speedbag, after all.

Day in and day out, he'll work his way around, breaking down walls and kicking up huge clouds of dust. He tries to stay clear of other people, but contact is eventually inevitable. The bodies he tries to avoid, and he spends his nights resting silently. Not unapproachable, but not really going out of his way to talk. This place gave him the creeps, after all.

[She raises her hand to wave dismissively again - she just needs to catch her breath, just needs five minutes - but hesitates halfway through.]

Yeah. [Relatively. She presses her hands into her legs - come on, work, work.] Just a little tired. A lot of tired. I guess I didn't realize how much work it'd be.

[The bald guy plunks down beside her, leaning against the wall and sighing as he looks up at the darkened sky. Man, you and him both, sister!]

Yeah, it really is. But you gotta take a break sometime, y'know? You can't do all the work on your own.

[She thinks about her Hitmonchan, then shrugs.]

Everyone's doing their part. I don't really have anything special, except for being able to use Faeren's magic, so I feel like I've gotta do extra.

It was just one mistake! I know how to firebend.

[Yes, he is going to get into the stupidest, pettiest argument ever.]

[ A: "Well these poor bastards have seen better days." ]

[ He's glad for this suit. Well, okay, so the obvious reason he's glad for the suit is because it means he isn't exploding from the inside out or whatever a wild shift without a barrier will actually do, but also because it means that his sense of smell is cut off and his sense of hearing and touch are limited as well. Masaomi, especially on the first day, makes to have a long stroll of the city, to identify landmarks which he'd seen when he was fighting, and to see the corpses - especially those of the Third Party. Shouldn't they have vanished by now? Not sure what to do with that, he ends up kicking some of them, nudging them a little so as to see all the wounds on them.

Eaten. Some of them have some signs of being eaten by animals. What an ironic conclusion for some unknowable evil. And so, when he runs into some of those animals he throws rocks at them. If he can get a gun from one of the MSF, he might even shoot them. By the second day, though, he just resolves to get to work on digging graves. Why not? Let's return the innocent (the skeletons) to the Earth, and maybe the eerily bleached ones will decompose eventually, maybe. Hopefully the Third Party guys will, and not just vanish on them to come back swinging

He wonders if Davis was recovered. ]

[ B: "My kingdom for a flamethrower" ]

[ But when it comes to actually demolishing the city, he can't do much - at least not without equipment. If he can get bombs, a flamethrower, or any collected items like that from the MSF he'll be more directly involved. Otherwise, he'll be that guy who is mostly watching the actually powerful people get the city to the ground while he personally is just going in to see if there's any supplies worth taking to supplement their rations. It's a break up from digging all the damn time, or collecting corpses.

Once he confirms Linda is okay and/or has a suit for her, she can assist with some well placed Iron Tails or Aqua Tails though. A bit.

"Break" - Speaking of, on the second day in particular he'll be turning in early to the tents on the outer part of town. He considers letting himself wander off to meet with Davis, but... nah. Him and Linda will just be discussing things in here, or he'll be hanging with his friends. ]

[ C: "I'll see them into the dark. ]

[ Memorial. You know it's a little neat that the Malnosso have this level of sentimentality. In light of that, he gets involved with clearing out the debris and flattening out the actual land related to the sight where they're going to erect it. It's (comparatively) relaxing work, and he's glad to have it. Despite what it's actually for. ]

[The moment the dual missions were announced, Shikamaru knew one would be getting more volunteers than the other. They'd need every one of those extra hands too, and more still after the mission is over for them. But for all its difficulty, Pagoda would be the cleaner of the two options. For everything grim that enclosure was put through, there's always something positive to be found in recovery.

(that's the feeling he remembers most about rebuilding Konoha, at least - everyone moving forward)

There's no drudging up that kind of optimism for Zompania, and it's the more uncomfortable mission to start. So it's where Shikamaru knows he needs to be. After this, though... Maybe I should spend more time in Luceti again.]

[Days 1-3]

These suits are too damn itchy. Anyone got a backscratcher I can fit under here, or something?

[Being back here out of the thick of it somehow makes it weirder, Shikamaru thinks. Also the hazmat suits are itchy, if you hadn't heard yet. It's something he makes sure to loudly and repeatedly complain about to anyone within earshot in between the work they do, so don't worry if you haven't yet. He won't let you miss it.

As for said work, he doesn't slack on the job. With a wide array of explosives, plus Asuma's jutsu, he has a lot to lend the demolitions part of the project, and he can be found among loud blasts and thick clouds of ash. When he gets weary of that, in a need of a break to recover chakra, he pitches in collecting the bodies, or the bleached white skeletons that refuse to burn. A storage scroll makes it easy carrying many of them at once and transporting them to the graves. That's less gruesome work for everyone.]

[Night 3/Morning 4]

[They'll be putting together the memorial sometime tomorrow. Between that, and just the memories of what happened here, there's this whole atmosphere of paying one's respects. Since it's rough sleeping anyways (maybe if these hazmat suits weren't so itchy guys), Shikamaru excuses himself from his tent for a late night stroll away from camp. He doesn't leave without informing an MSF soldier and leaving some collateral to guarantee his return; he has a good enough reputation with them by now that they trust him and permit it.

Catch him on the way out, or go with? It's nearly dawn by the time he returns, so he'll again be available then if anyone sees him coming back in.]

Edited 2014-07-23 05:35 (UTC)

[There's only, unfortunately, so much of that bodies that will burn. Shikamaru remembers witnessing it back then, when Rin attempted to cremate some of the bodies. After flesh and muscle had been stripped away, the bones had somehow always remained, bleached white and carved up with eerie symbols. It's these bones Shikamaru comes for, a scroll slung over his back.]

Yo. [He waves as he approaches, composed but easy-going about it.] 'bout done with these ones?

Mission: Burying the Past in Zompania

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