1964/Coming Soon: Charming Jellyfish Roses
From MahouMUSH
Coming Soon: Charming Jellyfish Roses | |
---|---|
Date of Scene: | 26 September 2016 |
Location: | Sakura Territory |
Synopsis: | In which Kyouko, Momo, and Jiaying confront the mangaka ghost in the sisters' apartment and Jiaying comes away with a new headache^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H friend. |
Cast of Characters: | Mamoru Chiba, Kyouko Sakura, Momo Sakura, Jiaying Maki |
- Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Well, this morning, there was not only an overflow of frankly putrid water welling up from the tub drain and 'sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry' written over and over on the bathroom mirror in what honestly looks like deodorant, there was also a little omake to the ongoing shoujo manga epic that's been going on in the bathroom mirror since the sisters moved in.
It wasn't on the mirror because no steam. No, no. It's painted on the tile above the tub faucet. In caked, drying, tacky blood. It depicts the main character of the story, an inveterate klutz, tripping and falling off a cliff into the ocean and then her friends looking over the edge of it and laughing at her. It ends with a very sad chibi face crying rivers of tears, with angel wings fluttering behind her.
All that could really be gathered about the first owner of the apartment is that she was 36 when she died in 2012, and had only had her apartment since 2010. Her name was Chiruka Shimizu, and she was unmarried and lived alone, and didn't have many friends at all. She did, however, get buckets and buckets of mail from all over the world.
When Jiaying arrives, the writing in deodorant on the mirror is being smeared by nothing at all--
--and characters begin to appear in it. They read as follows:
VITAL STATISTICS:
Name: Shimizu Chiruka
Birthday: 3/4/76
Sign: Pisces
Blood Type: AB
Height: 150cm
Food Likes: Strawberries, Anpan
Food Dislikes: Takoyaki
Favori--
Busy (and desperate) little ghost, this one.
- Kyouko Sakura has posed:
At first, Kyouko had not been terrible put out to have a ghost in the apartment. After all, at least it wasn't a Youma. I mean, let's be honest, when you deal with Witches all the time, a little thing like a ghost is not terribly frightening in comparison.
But this crap has got to stop. She needs to shower before work, for one thing, and the tub being full of yucky swamp-water and crap being written all over the walls does not help with getting her out the door on time.
Mamoru had given her Jiaying's number at the barbecue, so this morning she had finally called. After briefly describing the events, she had gone back to trying to contain damage until the expert (or more expert than her, at the very least) could arrive.
She's standing in the bathroom, watching the mirror being written on with a bemused look on her face, at the moment. "Dislikes takoyaki? Ok, I changed my mind, this ghost is evil."
- Mamoru Chiba has posed:
In the mirror, the 'Favori' gets smudged out rapidly and big messy hiragana get scrawled in indignantly, 'OCTOPI ARE INTELLIGENT!'
- Momo Sakura has posed:
Momo's happy she was able to get a snapshot of the omake, and all the other manga pages, on her phone before they were washed away by either ghost of sister.
She's got them all in a folder! And its labeled Ghost!Manga!
"But Kyou-nee, it's okay if she doesn't like some thi---they are?!" She looks up at Kyouko with a horrified expression.
She's been eating intelligent lifeforms?!
- Jiaying Maki has posed:
Jiaying Maki would be happy to prove Kyouko wrong some day, but that's not an issue right now. At the moment though, she's arrived at the request of the others, knocking on the door and waiting patiently outside, really hoping she's got the correct address, because otherwise a girl carrying a pocketfull of seals, a wrapped branch of peachwood, some prayer beads, well it may raise some strange questions she doesn't feel like answering. Maybe she should get some pocket sand too.
When she steps in, she tilts her head and asks, "So beyond writing in your bathroom, what has-" she pauses, then just shakes her head since that's a smell that won't be going away from her memory. "What has she been doing?" There's a beat, then she asks, "She speaks Japanese or Chinese right?" What, it's a good quesiton
- Kyouko Sakura has posed:
"Japanese." Kyouko says, emerging from the bathroom as Jiaying comes in the door, sighing. "And what she's been doing is stinking up my bathroom with rotten water and writin' crap all over the walls. Honestly, I know she can hear me cuz she just responded to something I said but she ain't respondnin' when I tell her to cut it out."
"Thanks for comin', by the way." She offers a slight smile and gestures to the bathroom. "This is uh.. the source. Actually pretty much everything that's happened has happened in the bathroom.."
As an aside to Momo, she rolls her eyes. "They're smart for like, squirmy seamonsters. They're not as smart as people or moon-cats."
- Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Momo's angle affords her a look at the bathroom mirror where the angry octopus statement's being smudged out and 'sorrysorrysorrysorrysorry' is now being written very, very small.
- Jiaying Maki has posed:
Jiaying Maki nods to Kyouko as she starts to pick her way towards the bathroom. She pulls a bandana out from her pocket and wraps it around her nose while whining in Chinese, which is getting mocking laughter somewhere behind her. She swats around behind her as she thinks, "Bad water, in the bathroom? It's not the singer is it?" Beat, "You said she, nevermind." A quiet shake of her head, she hands Kyouko the wrapped peachwood and says, "If I need you to use that to banish her, you get to do it. It makes my hands itch."
Poking her head into the bathroom, disguise dropped, face masked and a curious look on her features. "Chiruka, are you able to speak at all? I should be able to hear you where those two haven't." She'll start easy. Ask questions, find out if it's friendly or not. There's also trying to read the written Japanese, which she seems to struggle with somewhat.
- Momo Sakura has posed:
Momo wails and flaps her arms after seeing the 'sorrysorrysorry' and she follows after Kyouko. "She's not meanin' to be a pest!"
Wait! What!
"No, no, you can't, not if it will hurt! She's very nice! She doesn't mean to do the water stuff! And I like the manga she draws! I took pictures of all of them!"
- Kyouko Sakura has posed:
"I ain't heard no singin'. 'Cept for Momo when she's takin' a shower and thinks I can't hear." Kyouko comments offhandedly, as she takes the peachwood, and eyes it. "Um, sure." She says, pretending she knows what the heck that means.
She gives Jiaying a brief rundown of what's written in Japanese on the mirror when it appears the girl is having a bit of trouble making it out, summarizing the personal data and the 'sorries'. "It's apparently the previous owner of the apartment, accordin' to Momo's research. Either that or has somethin' to do with her, I mean this 'Chiruka' here, that's the one who had this place before us."
Then then turns to Momo, poking her lightly in the arm. "We're not gonna like.. blow her up or anything. But we need a working bathroom. Some of us like to be able to bathe without worrying about suddenly smelling like a wastewater plant."
- Mamoru Chiba has posed:
("Hello? Really? Hi! I HAVEN'T HAD ANYONE TO REALLY TALK TO IN AGES HI! Do you like manga? You should read mine, I was getting really popular!") the ghost's voice comes to Jiaying, sounding somewhat muffled, like a speaker playing underwater. ("Who are you? Who are those other people with you? Do you know the Sakuras, are you friends with them? They're really nice! Well the younger one is, SHE LIKES MY DRAWINGS maybe she can get me posthumously published--!!")
Momo wails, and the ghost gets really excited, and also really nervous; she manifests with her little fists in the air, trembling; she's wearing a nightgown and she's floating, her hair spread out and her nightgown flowing, weightless. She's rather plain-looking and a little bit pudgy, and her eyes are very wide. ("Don't banish meeeee! It's not my fault the drain thing just HAPPENS, it was really really bad when I died, nobody found me for weeks and it's really embarrassing...")
She flutters over to the bathroom mirror and smudges away the sorries and draws a little face going >.<;; and then turns to Jiaying again and wails, ("MOMO LIKES ME, DON'T KILL ME! I'M SORRY VERY MUCH!!") and then her hands are together and she's bowing deeply, repeatedly, and the tub starts filling up again.
- Jiaying Maki has posed:
Jiaying Maki listens to the ghost quietly for a moment, then reaches up and rubs at her ears and continues listening. Then there's a soft sigh and she points at the ghost and tries to infuse her with that pale green energy that she uses with her own ghosts to give her enough ability to speak to everyone else. "Try again and we'll see if they can hear you now." Then she steps into the bathroom proper before answering the questions. "I am Jiaying, I'm here to see if I can help you and help them. I'm not sure if bathroom blood drawings are printable" she hesitates, then says, "I may be able to help you with that. Would you like to leave this place?"
Looking over her shoulder, she says to Momo, "I had no intentions of doing anything harmful unless necessary. Ask Norie about the library ghost some day, if you'd like to know why." Then she frowns, making a gesture to conjure up Meifeng, who looks at the other ghost curiously. She leans over and asks Jia something, which is replied to in Chinese. Meifeng then nods.
- Kyouko Sakura has posed:
Kyouko just hangs back by the door, as Jiaying talks to the ghost. She missed that entire first speech, of course, since even if the green energy works, it comes after the ghost is done talking, though she catches the new drawing on the mirror. This makes her roll her eyes slightly.
She then follows-up Jiaying's words by adding to Momo, "Look, kid, I promise we won't hurt the ghost unless there's no other option, okay? You got your nee-chan's promise on it. But that," She points to the re-filling tub. "I am done with. I spent three years homeless and smelling like dirty water half the time, I'm tryin' to improve myself here."
She points to the rack of shower items hanging perilously above the putrid water. "I even bought apple-scented shampoo!"
- Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Well-- now they can see her, and she looks like someone's big sister or young mother, except floaty and in a nightgown (which has kitten faces printed on it so probably not mother?? maybe?? not stereotypically anyway). And she looks dreadfully embarrassed. ("Hi? Kyouko and Momo, I'm sorry about the bathroom I really am! Maybe you wouldn't have called the ghostbusters--") here she starts crying ("--if the bathroom didn't smell like death but it's not my fault I swear! Please please please I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry-- I drowned in it after I hit my head and nobody found me and when I get worried it happens and I can't do anything about it if I could I would stop but I'm scared of everything even if I try not to be and MY NAME IS CHIRUKA I AM NOT THE GHOST--!")
The bathtub blorps from the drain and wow that's not a nice color for water to be, either. Except then Chiruka covers her face with her hands, face turning a bright enough red it even shows up when she's pale and translucent. ("Sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry...")
Then Jiaying's other words register and Chiruka-ghost wheels on her. ("Wait you can help with that?") Okay now 'desperately eager' is something of an understatement. Chiruka reaches to try and grip Jiaying's shirt and gets in her personal space either way, and if she can actually touch her then she practically hangs off her shirtfront; either way she's more or less dropping to her knees. ("I DON'T WANT TO BUT IF I WILL BE OKAY AND ABLE TO FINISH MY EPIC MANGA WITHOUT THESE BEAUTIFUL SISTERS GETTING MAD AT ME AND CALLING THE GHOSTBUSTERS I WILL GO ANYWHERE WITH YOU!")
- Momo Sakura has posed:
Momo gasps and tries to cover Kyouko's mouth! "Hush! You didn't hear nuthin'! And I like showerin' just fine, but if I ask her nicely or just chat, I ain't never had poowater come up on me! And she leaves me drawings after!"
She gets it, though. It's important to have clean, running water. Especially in a posh place like this.
She sighs, long and woefully.
And then her nose gets wrinkly as she covers it with her sleeve.
But wait! Hearing! What really!!
"Really? Honest? HI CI-CHAN HOW ARE YOU I LOVE YOUR DRAWINGS I GET TO TALK TO YOU NOW FOR REALSIES?! YAY! I AM HUGGING YOU IN MY BRAIN!!!!"
She eagerly boops a little closer to Chiruka, all happy faces and smiles!
- Kyouko Sakura has posed:
Kyouko looks mildly taken-aback as the ghost appears and looks so.. innocuous. It's unclear what she was exepcting- maybe something with more tentacles, or a horrible gaping maw. The most horrible thing about this ghost is her taste in nightgowns. Well, and the sewage in the bathtub, anyway.
"Well, Chiruka-chan," She says, sounding mildly bemused again. "No offense or nothin', what happened to you sucks and is horrible and stuff, but.. what the hell do you have to be nervous about?" She quirks a brow, gesturing to the tub. "I mean, that happens when you get nervous? Listen, girl, you're already dead. Seems to me your major source of stress should be over and done with."
Then the ghost is hanging off of Jiaying, and Kyouko just sighs. "I think we'll all be thrilled if you can get her out of here.. without like, exploding her or whatever it is you do to bad ghosts."
Then Momo is exploding in a different manner next to her, and Kyouko pinches the bridge of her nose. "Please keep the volume down, Momo-chan, you don't need to wake the dead, she's already paying attention."
- Jiaying Maki has posed:
Jiaying Maki reaches up and quietly ties the bandana tighter around her head. There's a ghost hanging off of her and she doesn't seem too particularly phased with the contact, though the ghost may be surprised when she pats the ghost on the head, then gently tries to pry her fingers away, her fingers glowing with the same energy as always. "You have to do a couple of things for... well all of us and I'll help you out with the manga. The big one is, you can't keep smelling the place up. Do you know what's causing it? Is it just part of the haunting?" Well, she can kind of control that, but that's part of setting up an anchor tag for the ghost. She may be able to help with the whole floral print night gown too. Which gets a curious look from her, "You slipped and drowned wearing that?" She looks over her shoulder and asks Meifeng something, who nods before darting off to look through the apartment and any surrounding apartments for anything else. The silent ghost is sent as well, but it just looks bored with it all.
"Uh- right, either way I can help you out and take you from the place, but you have to deal with those two, myself and a sulking friend occasionally." There's a beat then she asks, "And maybe doing more, but that's later and only if you want."
At the exploding comment she says flatly, "If they won't willingly move on, come with me or at least work with the inhabitants and are a threat to those around- there are two other options. You've seen one with the Librarian's ghost. The other is more permanent and less pleasant."
- Mamoru Chiba has posed:
("EeeeeeeEE! HI!!!") Actually the revelation of contact -- prying Chiruka's hands off her isn't hard for Jiaying; seconds later the ghost is glomming on to Momo to give her a hug. This may or may not work. Either way she's enthusing a lot too. ("You are my favorite fan of all time! You even loved my blood omake! I was feeling sorry for myself, hehehe. THANK YOU I LOVE YOU TOO!")
She straightens up and flutters her hands at Kyouko, biting her lip. ("Everything I'm just nervous about everything... I didn't leave much, this was such a nice place and I could have groceries delivered and do all my shopping online, I didn't really know anybody here and it's so hard to make friends and friends are so high maintenance anyway, just the idea of going out to a signing I had to get tipsy first, you know?")
Then she's scrubbing at her eyes, she shifts uncomfortably and her hair flows around her head; she looks down and away. ("It just happens. That's... that's what the... it was me that clogged the drain. I don't-- I don't really want to talk about that, it's too embarrassing. I am so ashamed. I just got up in the morning and turned on the shower and then I slipped on the tile and hit my head and my hair clogged the drain and the floors are reinforced so downstairs didn't get any leaks and-- it was bad, it was very bad.")
She looks up, eyes wide. ("If we're going please can you open up the floor in Momo's bedroom between the window and the balcony? She can read it first but the rest of the manga I've been drawing in the mirror is in a box in there. It was a SECRET PROJECT. I don't mind dealing with them if they leave me alone when I don't want to talk, is that okay?") At the last her eyes go even wider, and her hands come up to her mouth, and she makes like she's chewing her nails but doesn't chew them. ("I CAN DEAL WITH DEALING WITH THEM I AM COOPERATING I'M A COOPERATIVE GHOST.")
- Momo Sakura has posed:
A raspberry for Kyouko! She's been talking with Chiruka for ages! It's nice to have replies in the verbal form!
"We don't know too many people here. We know the guys in the top floor, though! It was Mamo-nii who told us about the place! Did you ever meet him? He's nice, even if he's too grumpy sometimes. (I'm not sorry I called him a buttmunch. He yelled at Dog.)"
She listens with woe at the tale! "Ohhhh you must have been so sad and lonely! But it's okay, whatever happens you won't be!"
Then she GASPS and runs from the bathroom! She looks around until finally she comes back, a couple nails now chipped, holding the manuscript delicately with large, in awe eyes!
- Kyouko Sakura has posed:
Kyouko maybe feels just a little bit bad, seeing how, well.. pathetic this ghost is. She sighs a little bit, glancing away and to the side. "Look, I'm sorry, alright? Like, if it was't for the whole.. y'know," She gestures to the tub, "I'd be happy to co-habitate, but a y'know we're kinda payin' a lot of money for this place and it ain't even all my money and I'd feel pretty bad if I couldn't make proper use of the place after all that.."
She quirks a brow at the mention of opening the floor in Momo's room. "Uh.. sure, we can do that. What do you want us to do with it after Momo reads it?"
She glances to Jiaying. "Sounds like she's cooperative.. I don't think there'll be any need for drastic actions here. All for the better, honestly."
Momo goes to grab the manga in a flurry, and Kyouko grins slightly and ruffles her sister's hair. "We could gotten a screwdriver or something if you'd hang on for two minutes.." She chides, then glances back to the ghost for her answer.
- Mamoru Chiba has posed:
("Umm-- well-- it would be nice if it could get published...") Chiruka says shyly, wringing her hands a little and blushing. ("I'm trying to finish it. And Ghostbuster-san said she could maybe help with it, right?") Here, the nightgown-decked ghost girl looks wide-shiny-eyes wibbly-lipped at Jiaying.
- Jiaying Maki has posed:
Jiaying Maki really doesn't seem all too surprised by any of this, though there is a minor bit of surprise at just how easy it's going. When she was asked to come, she was expecting pea soup, throwing objects, haunted masks and weird books. Tilting her head to the side, watching Momo run off, she asks, "If you have a dog here, please don't bring it over here." For the first time starting to look on edge.
Not that her voice fully carries it, but lately she's had a lot of practice in masking her tone at the very least. "I'm going to create a tag that you're going to use as your anchor. You're welcome to move on at any time." She pulls the paper free and contemplates just what she needs to imbue it with. her tail frazzles out and she coughs in what looks like a magical backfire while muttering, "I'm going to have to work out something for the water though." Maybe if they freeze it? Either way, she pulls the tag free fully and holds it out before her where it unfurls and snaps flat, hovering there in the air. She pulls a small inkwell from her pocket and dips a rather nice looking brush in it and begins to draw intricate designs into the tag. If anyone had seen the other two she uses, they look similar. Chewing her lip she mutters, "What kanji do you use for your name Chiruka?". The bit about publishing gets a shrug from her. "I can try. Though if all else, we can post it online. Wider fanbase there right?" She sounds distracted as she works. The ink she's using is red and smokes on the paper before turning black, then a dark green.
"Would you be upset if I made a few changes? Something more um... dignified?"
- Mamoru Chiba has posed:
The ghost floats closer to watch the creation of the tag with fascination. ("Oh online is fine! It's okay if you make money off it if you figure out a way, Momo-chan, but I just want people to read it... you can start putting it up as you read it, and, heh heh, 'find' pages as we figure out how to finish them...") she says over her shoulder.
Then to Jia, ("Won't the water stop being here once I leave? Oh-- oh no-- unless you mean it will follow me!") she looks SO dismayed.
Then she looks MORE dismayed, and this time the tub blorps twice. ("Ch-change my manga?? Nuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!!")
- Momo Sakura has posed:
Momo flails! "It's okay Chi-chan! I won't let people change things in the manga honest! You don't gotta be nervous about that, honest!"
She looks at Jia. "We have Dog. But he seemed spooked by you at the barbequeue, so odds are he's hiding under my covers."
- Kyouko Sakura has posed:
"I don't think she was talkin' about the manga.." Kyouko asides to the ghost, as she protests Jiaying's words. She watches the girl making the seal or whathaveyou, but mostly stays out of it at this point.
She does say, "Thanks though, Jiaying, for coming over and helping with this. I hope we'll all be happier for it, in the end." Her gesture includes herself, Momo, and the ghost.
- Jiaying Maki has posed:
Jiaying Maki shakes her head and says, "I didn't mean the manga, though you've worked with editors, if it's submitted to anything, other than online they may ask for it." SHe's being practical there. The brush is pocketed after she traces her fingers over the bristles, removing whatever it is she's using as ink with magic.
Pointing to it, she says, "I can do it, or you can try to move into it on your own. I recommend the latter, but let me know if there's a problem."
- Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Hesitantly, with relieved looks at Kyouko and Momo, Chiruka reaches forward for the tag. She's very trusting. She's very uncertain, but very very trusting.
("Ooh, it tastes like anpan!") she squeaks in delight, and then coils briefly into a column of water and vanishes into the piece of paper Jiaying holds.
Two cherry blossom petals fall from the paper and splash on the floor, little drips of clean water.
- Kyouko Sakura has posed:
Kyouko smiles. "Look, I gotta get to work, so I'll leave you to um.." She pauses as she sees the ghost zap into the piece of paper. "Or is that it?" She quirks a brow. "Well, either way.. thanks again. It's a big help. I owe ya one, so if I can do anything for ya in the future don't hesitate to ask."
She turns to leave the room. "Momo, if she needs anything else, help her out, okay?" She says, ruffling her sister again before heading out to get dressed and head off to her shift.