Xīn Nián Kuài Lè

[ridethetiger]

WHO: ridethetiger and hollowish
WHERE: Chinatown
WHEN: early this afternoon, after school
WARNINGS: culture shock and war flashbacks maybe? YEEEAH
SUMMARY: Ggio's growing curiosity about a certain place in the City brings up ghosts from the past. Ichigo gets to witness and wtf at it all.
FORMAT: para to start, then whatever!


It had been easier to ignore the neighborhood before, because he had been preoccupied with other matters, and it was only faint smells and snippets of conversation in a language both alien and familiar that caught his attention in the first place; but never for very long.

The past few days, though, this place that Ggio had been avoiding became impossible to ignore, as some kind of excitement buzzed in the air. Now, the streets and buildings were alive with color; red and gold and the pounding of drums ultimately drawing the bewildered arrancar near.

Now, Ggio stood just beyond the crowds, one hand gripping the backpack slung over a shoulder and the other clenched tightly in his pocket. It wasn't often that he found himself paralyzed with indecision, but there he was - his gaze distant and mind in a place far away and long ago, that seemed to have come to life once again before his very eyes.

Comments

[hollowish.livejournal.com]

Ichigo rarely ever went near this area since it was a little ways off from any of his usual routes, but ever since the shit with Norman Osborn went down, he'd been trying to find a new job that he could work during the day while he wasn't at the bar. He'd just barely skirted past the new child laws thanks to the fact that Zangetsu looked and behaved enough like a legal guardian that they didn't ask questions. Unfortunately, not many people were willing to hire a "fake" Avenger whose former boss was currently in a mental institution.

After being shot down from yet another interview, Ichigo was heading back home when he'd stopped in the Chinatown district for a moment, attracted to all the festivities taking place. However, it wasn't hard to see the arrancar standing on the outskirts, standing there rigidly.

Ichigo watched him for a moment, noticing how Ggio hadn't moved at all from his spot at the edge of the crowd and how his eyes were distant, as if he really wasn't seeing anything at all. He dropped down from a roof, landing a few feet behind the arrancar before he walked over and placed a hand on the smaller boy's shoulder.

"Are you okay?"

[ridethetiger]

When that hand came down on his shoulder, Ggio jumped; he was so distracted he didn't even sense Ichigo and his massive reiatsu right behind him. However, rather than curse or throw a small tantrum, he just glanced back at the shinigami, then looked back to the gathering before him.

"What's going on?" He didn't answer Ichigo's question, and his body was rigid underneath that hand. "I haven't heard about any holiday lately."

[hollowish.livejournal.com]

Ichigo hadn't been too bothered by the other's behavior at first, but now he was positive that something was up. Ggio was so tense. Even though it was noticeable, it was just plain obvious when he touched the other.

"It's the lunar new year. It's a big deal back in Asia." He squeezed Ggio's shoulder reassuringly. "Do you want to check it out?"

[ridethetiger]

"...Yeah."

Ggio didn't have to think twice about it.

But he also didn't bother to wait for Ichigo, darting off into the crowd and not caring if he startled anyone. It wasn't anything Ggio would normally do, not being used to crowds at all and preferring to travel by the air, but he was more concerned with this festival or whatever it was about this that had him so compelled to see it.

At least it wasn't difficult to make his way to the front of the crowd, where again he stood rooted to the spot. There were people doing something under the guise of colorful beasts - he supposed it was dancing of some kind. The arrancar found himself tempted to run out there and join them, but he didn't know if it was out of eagerness or anger out of being confused at what this was doing to him.

His chest felt heavy. His head felt light. The hand at his side was shaking, and he clenched it into a fist to try and make it stop.