Happy Halloween!
Okay, so I let 31_days sort of fall by the wayside this month, despite what I said. RELAXING IS HARD, YOU GUYS.
Still, this one I just couldn't pass up. I've been wanting to write this one forever, and it was the perfect opportunity. I think the title speaks for itself.
Title: Ghost Sharks
Day/Theme: October 31st/conversations with dead people
Series: Sailor Moon Flash and Silvermoon (crossover)
Characters: NEPHRITE AND NEPHRITE (Binshou and Djahne)
Notes: So yeah, those pointy triangle hats that Japanese ghosts wear? They're called hitaikakushi, meaning "forehead covering". EXTRA PUN TRIVIA: kakushi means not only "covering", but also "dying in a foreign land".
One of the great things about death, Djahne thought, is that everything dies. Better than that, even, is that everything all ends up in much the same place. The BEST thing about being dead, though, is that there are no language barriers.
At all.
Djahne had discovered this one afternoon (or was it evening? not that it made much difference anymore) when a dead badger had struck up a conversation with him out of the blue. He never would've known it when he was living, but badgers had plenty of interesting ideas about the state of the world, and made fine conversationalists. Spiders were also great talkers. Sloths tended to be a bit repetitive.
Sharks, as it turned out, were just about the friendliest brutes you could run into in the afterlife, which is why he flagged one down on his descent to Earth.
"Hey there, brother. That's a fine hat you're sporting there. Why is it that all you folk floating up from those islands there are wearing 'em?"
"This?" asked the shark, rolling his eyes up towards his hitaikakushi. "No particular reason, really. It's just a cultural thing peculiar to the area."
"Huh. Is there some place I could pick one up for myself?" asked Djahne.
"Here, why don't you take mine?" offered the shark.
"You sure?"
"Of course! It's a forehead covering, after all, and I don't really have much of a forehead in the first place. It's wasted on me."
"Well that is mighty kind of you." Djahne took the hitaikakushi from the shark and, after considering the accessory for a moment or two, set it on top of the hat he was already wearing. He tilted his head at the shark questioningly. The shark laughed.
"It suits you! Well then, who'll you be visiting down there?"
Djahne told him.
"Get out! I know him! Practically lived at the aquarium, that one. Smart kid, and quite likable as far as humans go. No offense."
"Of course not."
"Well, when you see him, tell him that Aki says hello!"
"I certainly will!" Djahne tipped his hats. "Nice chattin' with ya."
"Same here!"
And with that they parted ways, gliding swiftly through the ether in opposite directions.
* * * * *
Binshou glanced at the clock: midnight already, and he was still doing homework. It would have been done hours ago if he hadn't been called on to lay the celestial smackdown in the name of world peace. Monsters were inherently without a sense of decency.
He was nearly done with his English homework, but his brain insisted on blocking out chunks of vocabulary. He tapped his pencil against the paper and furrowed his brows.
"I think the word you're looking for is 'charge'."
"Thanks," he said absently as he wrote the word down. Then he froze.
He turned around.
A semi-transparent cowboy was floating in the middle of his room.
"EEARRRGGGGGGG!"
Binshou tumbled out of his seat and stared at the ghost from the floor, mouth agape. Djahne nodded and gave him a tip of his hats.
Just then, Binshou's father came in. "What's all this screaming about?" he asked in a flat and dreamy voice. Binshou sat frozen on the floor, and as far as Kotatsu could see there was no cowboy of any sort floating in the room. He followed Binshou's gaze through Djahne to the Endymion clock on the wall. "Oh, your clock is five minutes slow. No worries."
He walked over to the timepiece and took it down from the wall, adjusting the knobs on the back before hanging it up again. "There. All better." He patted Binshou on the head and strode out of the room, sliding the door shut behind him. Binshou and Djahne watched him leave.
"Well. That was weird," noted Djahne.
"Tell me about it. So, um, you're a ghost?"
"Sure enough. Have been for quite some time now."
"Uh, why are you here? I haven't offended your spirit in some way, have I? Desecrated a former possession? I- I certainly didn't mean to! I'm more than willing to make it up to you!"
"What? Noooooooooooooo." Djahne waved his hand dismissively and leaned back, putting his hands behind his head. "I just wanted to meet my successor is all."
"Successor?"
"Yep." He pointed at Binshou. "That golden starseed you're wrapped around used to be mine, y'know."
Binshou clutched at his chest, his eyes still fixed on Djahne. "Starseed? You- you're Nephrite?"
"WAS Nephrite. Like I said, that was a long time ago. I died, as tends to happen, and the starseed was passed down through time 'til it landed with you. And so it's nice to finally meet you. When folks weren't calling me by my title, they knew me as Djahne."
Binshou scrambled to his feet and bowed deeply. "Susuki Binshou. It is an honor to meet you."
Djahne grinned. "There's no need for all that. Besides, I already know your name. An' your age an' where you go to school and plenty more than that. Comes of being dead for so long."
Binshou blushed and looked decidedly uncomfortable with the fact that the dead had such extensive records on him.
"No need to be embarrassed," Djahne reassured him. "It's all good talk I've heard. That's why I wanted to meet you. Stopped in to check on your comrades, too, though I didn't say hello. Don't feel it was my place. I think the Jadeite and Zoisite starseeds must have got mixed up somewhere along the way..." he trailed off.
As Djahne muttered such thoughts to himself, Binshou kneeled down on his bedroll and put his hands on his knees, ready to do some intensive listening. Surely there was plenty to learn from one so wise as a ghost. "So, uh, you've heard people talk about me? What do the dead usually talk about? Besides the living?"
"Oh, it's not just people talking. Animals, too, and some of the smarter plants and rocks. There's nothin' getting in the way of decent conversation once you're dead. Why, just on my way here I had a nice chat with a shark."
"You... you talked to a shark?" Binshou's eyes lit up 'til they were positively gleaming.
"Oh yeah. He's the fellow what gave me this fine hat! The white one, not the leather one. Says he knew you, too, and to say hello. Called himself Aki."
"Aki?" Binshou's face fell. Aki... that was the name of the shark in Chuo's aquarium that had died just last week. He'd seen that scarred old beast prowling the tanks ever since he was just a child, and he may have shed a tear or two far from the prying eyes of classmates and certain masculinity-obsessed friends when he'd heard the news of his passing. "How was he? Was he okay?"
"More than okay by the looks of it. He was all smiles. And you know sharks, they have smiles to spare. Said you were a good kid."
"He did?" Binshou was grinning from ear to ear. It was the first time he'd ever received a compliment from a shark. "Well, I'm glad he's okay. Thank you for telling me."
Djahne smiled.
"So, what's the strangest animal you've ever talked to? Have you ever talked to a creature from another planet?"
"Brother," said Djahne, "I could tell you stories."
He floated to the floor across from Binshou and leaned forward, as the Endymion clock on the wall ticked off each passing moment of the early Halloween morning.
"In fact, I intend to do just that."
Yes, Binshou has an Endymion clock. Of COURSE he fanboys his own prince (but he takes it down when Daichi comes over).
Still, this one I just couldn't pass up. I've been wanting to write this one forever, and it was the perfect opportunity. I think the title speaks for itself.
Title: Ghost Sharks
Day/Theme: October 31st/conversations with dead people
Series: Sailor Moon Flash and Silvermoon (crossover)
Characters: NEPHRITE AND NEPHRITE (Binshou and Djahne)
Notes: So yeah, those pointy triangle hats that Japanese ghosts wear? They're called hitaikakushi, meaning "forehead covering". EXTRA PUN TRIVIA: kakushi means not only "covering", but also "dying in a foreign land".
One of the great things about death, Djahne thought, is that everything dies. Better than that, even, is that everything all ends up in much the same place. The BEST thing about being dead, though, is that there are no language barriers.
At all.
Djahne had discovered this one afternoon (or was it evening? not that it made much difference anymore) when a dead badger had struck up a conversation with him out of the blue. He never would've known it when he was living, but badgers had plenty of interesting ideas about the state of the world, and made fine conversationalists. Spiders were also great talkers. Sloths tended to be a bit repetitive.
Sharks, as it turned out, were just about the friendliest brutes you could run into in the afterlife, which is why he flagged one down on his descent to Earth.
"Hey there, brother. That's a fine hat you're sporting there. Why is it that all you folk floating up from those islands there are wearing 'em?"
"This?" asked the shark, rolling his eyes up towards his hitaikakushi. "No particular reason, really. It's just a cultural thing peculiar to the area."
"Huh. Is there some place I could pick one up for myself?" asked Djahne.
"Here, why don't you take mine?" offered the shark.
"You sure?"
"Of course! It's a forehead covering, after all, and I don't really have much of a forehead in the first place. It's wasted on me."
"Well that is mighty kind of you." Djahne took the hitaikakushi from the shark and, after considering the accessory for a moment or two, set it on top of the hat he was already wearing. He tilted his head at the shark questioningly. The shark laughed.
"It suits you! Well then, who'll you be visiting down there?"
Djahne told him.
"Get out! I know him! Practically lived at the aquarium, that one. Smart kid, and quite likable as far as humans go. No offense."
"Of course not."
"Well, when you see him, tell him that Aki says hello!"
"I certainly will!" Djahne tipped his hats. "Nice chattin' with ya."
"Same here!"
And with that they parted ways, gliding swiftly through the ether in opposite directions.
* * * * *
Binshou glanced at the clock: midnight already, and he was still doing homework. It would have been done hours ago if he hadn't been called on to lay the celestial smackdown in the name of world peace. Monsters were inherently without a sense of decency.
He was nearly done with his English homework, but his brain insisted on blocking out chunks of vocabulary. He tapped his pencil against the paper and furrowed his brows.
"I think the word you're looking for is 'charge'."
"Thanks," he said absently as he wrote the word down. Then he froze.
He turned around.
A semi-transparent cowboy was floating in the middle of his room.
"EEARRRGGGGGGG!"
Binshou tumbled out of his seat and stared at the ghost from the floor, mouth agape. Djahne nodded and gave him a tip of his hats.
Just then, Binshou's father came in. "What's all this screaming about?" he asked in a flat and dreamy voice. Binshou sat frozen on the floor, and as far as Kotatsu could see there was no cowboy of any sort floating in the room. He followed Binshou's gaze through Djahne to the Endymion clock on the wall. "Oh, your clock is five minutes slow. No worries."
He walked over to the timepiece and took it down from the wall, adjusting the knobs on the back before hanging it up again. "There. All better." He patted Binshou on the head and strode out of the room, sliding the door shut behind him. Binshou and Djahne watched him leave.
"Well. That was weird," noted Djahne.
"Tell me about it. So, um, you're a ghost?"
"Sure enough. Have been for quite some time now."
"Uh, why are you here? I haven't offended your spirit in some way, have I? Desecrated a former possession? I- I certainly didn't mean to! I'm more than willing to make it up to you!"
"What? Noooooooooooooo." Djahne waved his hand dismissively and leaned back, putting his hands behind his head. "I just wanted to meet my successor is all."
"Successor?"
"Yep." He pointed at Binshou. "That golden starseed you're wrapped around used to be mine, y'know."
Binshou clutched at his chest, his eyes still fixed on Djahne. "Starseed? You- you're Nephrite?"
"WAS Nephrite. Like I said, that was a long time ago. I died, as tends to happen, and the starseed was passed down through time 'til it landed with you. And so it's nice to finally meet you. When folks weren't calling me by my title, they knew me as Djahne."
Binshou scrambled to his feet and bowed deeply. "Susuki Binshou. It is an honor to meet you."
Djahne grinned. "There's no need for all that. Besides, I already know your name. An' your age an' where you go to school and plenty more than that. Comes of being dead for so long."
Binshou blushed and looked decidedly uncomfortable with the fact that the dead had such extensive records on him.
"No need to be embarrassed," Djahne reassured him. "It's all good talk I've heard. That's why I wanted to meet you. Stopped in to check on your comrades, too, though I didn't say hello. Don't feel it was my place. I think the Jadeite and Zoisite starseeds must have got mixed up somewhere along the way..." he trailed off.
As Djahne muttered such thoughts to himself, Binshou kneeled down on his bedroll and put his hands on his knees, ready to do some intensive listening. Surely there was plenty to learn from one so wise as a ghost. "So, uh, you've heard people talk about me? What do the dead usually talk about? Besides the living?"
"Oh, it's not just people talking. Animals, too, and some of the smarter plants and rocks. There's nothin' getting in the way of decent conversation once you're dead. Why, just on my way here I had a nice chat with a shark."
"You... you talked to a shark?" Binshou's eyes lit up 'til they were positively gleaming.
"Oh yeah. He's the fellow what gave me this fine hat! The white one, not the leather one. Says he knew you, too, and to say hello. Called himself Aki."
"Aki?" Binshou's face fell. Aki... that was the name of the shark in Chuo's aquarium that had died just last week. He'd seen that scarred old beast prowling the tanks ever since he was just a child, and he may have shed a tear or two far from the prying eyes of classmates and certain masculinity-obsessed friends when he'd heard the news of his passing. "How was he? Was he okay?"
"More than okay by the looks of it. He was all smiles. And you know sharks, they have smiles to spare. Said you were a good kid."
"He did?" Binshou was grinning from ear to ear. It was the first time he'd ever received a compliment from a shark. "Well, I'm glad he's okay. Thank you for telling me."
Djahne smiled.
"So, what's the strangest animal you've ever talked to? Have you ever talked to a creature from another planet?"
"Brother," said Djahne, "I could tell you stories."
He floated to the floor across from Binshou and leaned forward, as the Endymion clock on the wall ticked off each passing moment of the early Halloween morning.
"In fact, I intend to do just that."
Yes, Binshou has an Endymion clock. Of COURSE he fanboys his own prince (but he takes it down when Daichi comes over).