thenearshore | 32 - Blow Your Top

It's not as fancy as a full gas mask, but safety glasses, a respirator mask, and damp bandana do the job well enough for Ginia as she hikes up the mountain. But even with caution, it hasn't stopped the volcanic gases from taking an effect. Fake ayakashi flicker in and out of her vision as she hikes up the mountain, other visions of people and words she can't quite make out haunting her.

But even if the people aren't real, the possibility of ayakashi are always a risk. Ginia strikes a borderline through nothing, hissing as the hallucination fades. Hearing something approaching, she turns, blinking as a child bounds up toward her.

...Is that a kitchen knife?

That is indeed a kitchen knife. A kitchen knife being wielded by an apparently very athletic small child, who comes to a stop before her with one final bounce. "Ginia!" Even if his voice isn't familiar, the pair of wide green eyes behind the mask should hopefully serve as a reminder to who's here.

"Is that mask enough? You're really high up, now."

There are only a handful of children shinki or gods around, and though the voice doesn't quite click into place, the general appearance helps. She glances at the knife again, assuming it's one of his shinki. It seems unlikely they'd let him go off on a volcano alone. Probably more than one as well given she doesn't see anyone following behind him.

She takes off her gloves and trades them for her phone.

"It's doing its job. I'm okay. How are you, Ebisu and presumably some of your shinki?"

"We're doing fine." Ebisu gives a nod. "Kunimi is making sure that nothing would hurt me, and Kimi is here in case anyone gets hurt." There's lava, flying rocks, and all manner of gas. Not to mention they have no idea what else might be up on this mountain, besides minor fire spirits. Still, he peers up at her in concern.

"...Are you sure that you're alright? Kimi said that you looked like you were fighting something."

Oh, hello Kimi. That's slightly embarrassing. Ginia glances at where the non-existent ayakashi was a few seconds ago and exhales heavily through her mask. It'd be easy enough lying, but if he already saw... well, no point hiding it.

"I thought I saw an ayakashi. Better safe than sorry though, right?"

It doesn't help all the ayakashi she's seen have been fake. It doesn't help only a handful of people have been real too.

"Want company on the way up?"

Carefully, Ebisu looks around. There's vents, both of steam and gas, so maybe something shifting in her peripheral... Or perhaps a fire spirit? There's certainly no shortage of them around. Yet...

Ignoring her question, he reaches over to take a hold of her hand, and the way his brow crinkles together is just barely visible behind his gas mask as he looks up at her. "Are you sure you're alright?" he asks earnestly.

The gentle hand hold surprises her. For a second or two her hand is limp in his before she gently squeezes it, trying to reassure him while realizing she's the one that needs assurance. Honestly? No, she's not alright. A volcano erupting and putting a district in danger - the one where most of her friends and new gods reside in - is a bad start to any day. Trying to find her friends and help out while realizing she's so limited in what she can do hasn't made things better.

That's not even getting into the hallucinations, the impulsive behavior, the dawning realization there are things she can't go back to.

"I've been better." She finally admits through her phone. Ginia looks away and exhales heavily through her mask, checking the area around them before typing again. "I've said things I'm not proud of, but I don't regret them either. Maybe that's part of the problem."

"I can understand that. My shinki are here to make sure I know what to regret or not regret." It won't kill him in the way that it will a shinki, of course. A god is fortunate to never have to worry about his emotions causing harm to others, unless he acts on them. Yet that moment of 'action', of discerning what's important or not... Figuring all of that out is why his shinki are here for him. He knows what the rest of Heaven would say, thinking that nora could never do such a duty adequately for their god, but Ebisu would disagree.

Even if they're nora, they've done more than a good enough job.

Well, perhaps if nora can do the job of a regular shinki, he can reverse the rules here, as well. He squeezes her hand back a little bit. "Do you want to talk about it? We can do it while we search the mountain. I understand if you would not want to talk about it with someone who isn't your god, but I am a God of Fortune. Perhaps I could help." Not to mention it would help him ascertain if she's really okay in more than just the emotional sense.

Shinki are the moral compasses of their gods. It was never a duty Ginia felt like she could carry out because of her own skewed sense of self, but also because the new gods were so different than the old. Pulled from their worlds here, the majority were human or otherwise mortal and remembered their lives. They weren't like the old gods, ageless and always immortal, never human. She looks over Ebisu, aware his shinki are listening in. Are they advising him or is he making the choice on his own? No, it's more likely he's offering on his own, there's an earnestness to him that's genuine.

Ginia considers his offer a little longer, carefully choosing her words. "What's your stance on nora?" If he's against them, there's no point having the conversation.

The question is certainly an unexpected one, and Ebisu visibly pauses, blinking up at her. "You don't know...? Ah." Briefly sidetracked, his head ducks down to look at the knife on his hip. "Oh... Kimi wants to apologize. Yeah, that makes sense..." He's definitely speaking to someone else with that last sentence, partially distracted. It only last for a moment before he's looking up at Ginia again.

"For me... the vast majority of my shinki are nora, if not all of them." If he had more that were dedicated solely to him, well... That was in the past. "My exemplar Kunimi, Kimi, Unmi... They all have other names attached to them, for one reason or another." With the hand still holding onto the mask, he gestures to the knife at his hip. "Kimi had a feeling that your newer generation wouldn't know about the situation of my temple... So he went to those for assistance during New Years, since he knew he had a lesser chance of being denied. He hadn't wanted to say anything to you at the time, in case you didn't know."

One-sided conversations between a god and shinki are nothing unusual; she's been the outsider and the one talking with her god before. Ginia waits patiently until the conversation between Ebisu and Kimi finish. The news is a bit of a surprise and it's also hard not thinking of the empty chairs and desks.

Everyone knows of the greater opinion of nora by the Heavens. Bit by bit, more implications sink in and they're horrifying to consider. Angering too, but now isn't the time.

"I want to be nora in order to better protect those close to me. My god does not approve of nora. This caused a small conflict when a mutual friend named me in order to save my life. I thought it was behind us, but I've realized over the last few days what I want is at odds with his wishes. I care deeply about him, but I do not want to put him in a position where he has to bend his rules again."

If there are tears in her eyes, it's from all the smoke and ash around. Clearly they got past her safety glasses.

Patiently, Ebisu listens to her go on about her problem, holding onto her hand tightly as if he can help her navigate through the rocky terrain. It's a rather noble view- the kind of view that he can't think of most shinki taking towards nora.

"Has you told you what his problem with nora is?" Ebisu asks. If this were a god like Yato, or Bishamon, or his sister, he could possibly guess. They're all of the same generation, after all. But with these new gods... It feels better to ask.

Ginia keeps an eye on her surroundings as she taps away on her phone, but the extra pair of eyes on the field helps. Is this an inconvenience to him, having to wait for her to type things out? Is it an inconvenience to everyone? Normally, it doesn't bother her, but volcanoes and dangerous terrain and mind-altering gases aren't a part of her normal life.

"He didn't, but my exemplar did. Cu sees it as an oath between shinki and god, a warrior and king. One cannot serve two kings without breaking an oath to one."

An old man from old customs. She can't begrudge that view considering she knows the stories of his life.

"Did you know he is who he is? Cú Chulainn himself?"

"We've spoken with one another before," Ebisu confirms, avoiding a particularly jagged crack in the ground. Or, at least, Kunimi avoids it for him. It makes it easier to focus on the conversation at hand. "Honestly, that represents a good portion of how my generation views nora as well. They call them dirty, disloyal... Something troublesome, since using spells on them isn't as easy." These are all things he's more than aware of, after all. They're things his shinki worry about, and that he knows are spoken of behind his back when the subject of the conversation isn't his own treason to the Heavens.

Still, he's almost impressed... to think that a new god would latch onto a view of the traditional pantheon so easily. "When it's put like that, I can understand why he wouldn't be comfortable with it... It's a point of view that doesn't allow things to be flexible."

"I don't think he looks down at nora themselves. He also wouldn't stand for a god naming a shinki against their will." But he wouldn't want his shinki to nora. Part of the problem is two of them already did for reasons even Caster can understand, but the situation didn't sit well with him. Or Archer, given his caginess when explaining his own situation.

Caster is not unreasonable, but there's only so far he can bend. He's a god, is is himself. Ginia doesn't want to force him to choose between his morals or the ones he cares about.

"While helping out over the last few days, I told a few other gods, all friends of mine, they could name me if we ran into trouble."

Ginia pauses as someone flickers in the periphery of her vision, looks up as a woman with short brown hair smiles and disappears into the air. She exhales and shakes her head, resuming walking and typing.

"I don't feel bad for offering to help, but I know it goes against Cú's will. I don't want to leave him, but maybe I should."

"Then do so."

It's a startlingly simple answer, and it's one that Ebisu says with a quiet ease. After all... "It sounds like you already know what you want to do... It's just a matter of readying yourself to do so. At least, to me, that's what it sounds like." His eyes crinkle in a smile from behind the gas mask's lens.

"It's not a bad thing, for a shinki to request being unnamed by a god so that they can go to another temple. Actually, it's very common. It doesn't mean that you don't care for that god, or can't help him in the future... It just means that something between you is holding you both back from reaching your full potential, through no fault of your own. He has his morals, and you have yours. That's okay." Another squeeze of his small hand.

"Kimi- and Kunimi too- they both say it's a good thing that you can recognize this is happening. That way, you can help organize your departure neatly, and before anyone possibly gets seriously hurt." His hand raises upwards, to his chest, mask bumping against it clumsily. "It still might sting... But that doesn't mean it won't be for the better."

It's a startlingly simple answer and one Ginia's faced before. She already left one god to go to Cú's temple. He'd release her without question if that was what she wanted. So she should go, for both their sake.

Loyalty or her own happiness. Her words from months ago roll around in her mind and she hufs behind her mask, head hanging a little as she realizes she's wrapped round to the same problem. The will of her god or her own will. Shinki are the tools of their god, but they are their own people too. If a shinki's needs aren't met by a god, they should find one that will meet them. It's what everyone told her.

She raises her head and stops walking, looking down at Ebisu.

"If I asked you for a name, would you give me one?"

Out of all the responses he was expecting, this one is the very last thing he could have expected. Ebisu's eyes grow wide, and he comes to a complete stop. For a second, he can't even piece together the proper words to ask a single question.

...It doesn't last long, of course. Soon enough, he's leaning forward, almost hopeful and not sure if he should be. "Do you really want to be one of my shinki? And- do you want to stay at the temple all the time, or do you have other gods you'd prefer to stay with? I'll understand whatever choice you go with. I'm a god who Heaven still watches cautiously, after all, in case I turn out like my previous incarnation, so I won't judge you for whatever choice you want to make!"

With the differences between new and old shinki - places of origin, the possibility of remembering things - and the attention the Heavens already have on Ebisu, becoming a shinki of an old god is not without its risks. She's also fully aware of how busy her life will become in the service of a God of Fortune. It's not without its advantages, though Ginia is thinking less of the political connections and possible prestige and more having a direction to work in.

His hopefulness is interesting. Ginia wonders what his shinki think about the offer, if they're discouraging him, encouraging him, or resigned to the fact he'll likely do as he wishes.

"Your conviction has left an impression, as has the work of your shinki. I would be honored to serve in such a temple, if you would have me." The matter of living arrangements can be sorted later.

Beats of silence can be hard to interpret when it's not so easy to see someone's face. Ebisu can't fight the smile that's stretched out beneath it, however. "I would be glad to name you," he says, quiet in a way where his excitement is stretching at its seams. "You would be the first shinki that I would be naming in this incarnation."

His head jerks up as he looks to her face once more. "Do you want to be named now? Or- is there a time that would be good for you?"

The first? Ginia's eyes widen behind her goggles, a smile hidden behind her mask. It's an honor, truly, to be the first named by his current incantation, his current youth making his excitement endearing. May there be more to name, he hopes, for his sake and his overworked shinki.

"Now is fine." No time for hesitation, no time to change his mind. It makes it easier, in a way, another transgression against Caster she can't take back. "Unless your shinki have any objections?"

"They have none, don't worry." In fact, it's with Kunimi's skill that he can position himself a little ways away on top of a more solid looking rock, just in case. It's always hard to tell what a shinki will turn into, after all, so it's a good plan to give her a little space. Takami, after all, had turned into a horse, and Ebisu can only imagine how that worked out for whichever of his past incarnations named him. Taking a breath, he extends his hand.

This might be his first time, but he knows the words. He always has.

"My name is Ebisu. Grasping thy true name, I bind thee here. With borrowed name, I dub thee my servant. The name answers, the vessel to sound. I call thee as my divine instrument. The name, Ginia. The vessel, Ritsu. Come, Ritsuki!"

The name burns in the air, brilliant and just, before the light aligned with it forms over Ginia's body as well to transform her. Ebisu closes his eyes, taking in the information that flows into his mind even as he reaches up a hand to rest on the clothing that's coming to flow into being around his neck.

Meanwhile, for Ginia, she'll find herself not only in her vessel form, but in the unique space shared amongst all transformed shinki to the same god. It's like being in two places at once, somehow, and even as she can feel Ebisu's hand lightly touching upon a scarf, she'll be able to feel Kunimi's large hand settle onto a shoulder.

"I look forward to working alongside you."

Kimi isn't so gentle, laughing exuberantly even as he smacks a hand to her back. "I had a feeling things would turn out this way ever since you visited!"

She's heard the words before, even signed them herself to name a shinki, and even with her casual attitude she recognizes the seriousness of the ceremony. It's a sign of trust naming a shinki just as it's a sign of trust asking a god to name them. An oath, a promise, and Ginia recognizes the irony of recognizing the sanctity of the situation as she breaks her promise to Caster.

Her head bows to Ebisu as he finishes speaking and she looks at him through though the light flooding out her vision, unware of what Ebisu is seeing in the second that passes.

Her life flits through his mind on fast forward, visions of a world not unlike the present one and yet so far in the future. Nanotechnology is commonplace, integrated in so many people to improve quality of life or assist with day to day tasks. Ginia is no exception, though she's a child when she's taken in by the government, identity reduced down to letters and name, a subject in training as day after day there are injections and blood sampling, crying, pain, sickness as they test again and again.

And when she survives, she's tempered and molded with rigorous training and cruelty, minor infractions punished with punches and kicks. She leans to lie, to steal, to kill all in the name of the greater good. She is a sniper, she's a murderer, and she's barely a teen named Ginia.

But even the most conditioned can break and in the face of cruealty and injustice thrown on her and her team again and again, it's a matter of time before she rebels, escaping with half her team with a wake of bodies behind them. Alone, lost in a city unfamiliar to her, she uses her skills to survive, first on her own, than on the kindness of strangers. And in turn, she pays their kindness back by protecting, defending them from the the injustices present in their life the only way how - with violence. She's a protector, a vengeful guardian, and eventually it catches up to her as her old team find her, gunning her down in a warehouse.

Thank you, Ginia says as she bleeds out from three bullet wounds.

Ginia lowers the mask and gives an embarrassed smile, bowing to her new compatriots as she processes her new form. A scarf? Ebisu's hand is small and warm and her emotions are shyly fond, focusing as Kunimi touches her shoulder and Kimi slaps her back.

"I look forward to working alongside you too." In the strange shared vessel space, she has a voice, mental more than anything else. It's not too dissimilar to the voice from her phone though smoother, without the stilted inflection of the digitized voice.

She looks at Kimi and raises a brow. "Please don't tell me there was a betting pool."

"No, but I should have started one. I would have made a lot of money that I don't need." Another laugh, even as Kunimi rolls his eyes fondly. "But it was pretty obvious to see when you reacted to the young master so strongly. Right, young master?"

There's no immediate answer. Ebisu's eyes are still closed, face quietly somber beneath his gas mask. After a moment, his breath slips through his mask and he opens his eyes. "Mm," is all he says before smiling again. There's still something quietly serious about it. "We'll look after you whenever you need us, okay?"

Ginia rolls her eyes at Kimi's words, but it's also hard to deny. She can't even pretend she didn't consider what it would like to serve Ebisu in that moment after the god's impassioned speech, but it was easy to dismiss as a flickering thought. Now, here, in this shared space and so welcomed, it feels right, much in the same way it felt the first time she went on a hunt with Archer and Caster.

Ah. Her hand comes up to her right shoulder, covering the name hidden under her clothes. Her happiness fades into sadness for a moment, the realization that she has closed one door in opening another. And at Ebisu's somberness, it's hard not to think it's her doing.

"Ah, I'm sorry. I'll be okay." Ginia swallows, trying to temper her emotions to not bother her gods. "You asked about living arrangements earlier. I would not mind staying at the temple, if you'll have me. I offered to help anyway so I'll do my best to pull my weight."

32 - Blow Your Top

Mountain Climbing

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

CW: mentions of human experimentation, abuse, violence

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)