[Closed] I woke up from the same dream

[unlucky7]

Who: Ginia and Zhao Yunlan
When: February 2nd
Where: Ebisu's temple
What: That awkward moment you find out your new coworker is also someone whose happy dream you ruined. Oops.



It's been two days, but the strange trip through dreamscapes simultaneously feels like it was weeks ago and only last night. She's committed everything she can remember to notes, read over them all the nights since to remind herself of what she owes and what she now knows, but the feeling she's frogotten something haunts her.

Isn't that how dreams go though? Fragments of images and splashes of moments fuzzy at best and suspended like glitter in oil? Look, but don't you dare touch lest up upend things and create a mess. So life as a shinki goes.

At least there's work to focus on and throw herself into. The never-ending churn of work at Ebisu's temple is a punishing wave to anyone who isn't prepared, but she's learning how to swim (or at least stay afloat).

With a folder in hand and a tablet in the other, Ginia paces in the break room as she waits for her tea to finish steeping. She reads as she walks, reading over her current assignment and familiarizing herself with all the terminology and info. With her head down and attention largely focused on her work, she's starts when she collides solidly with someone.

Comments

[unlucky7]

He won't mind at all.

Especially since she's traveling along. The large amount of shrines is a nice boon, especially for getting to other parts of Japan. However, with so many shrines, landing around the right area is important too.

A quick check later to see which is the closest shrine to the location and they're off to the the Near Shore.

"Oh, hello, Jitsumi." The miko - one of Ebisu's shinki - greets after they teleport in. "Who is your friend?"

"Kasumi, this is Zhao Yunlan, one of the part-timers."

"I see." There's a knowing look indicating Ginia better be ready to spill info later as she looks at Zhao. "Where are you two going?"

[wildguardian]

"Nice to meet you, Kasumi," Zhao says with an easy grin, waving a hand towards the street behind them. "I'm just showing Ginia an izakaya I found the other day, to celebrate finding out we're coworkers."

Spotting that knowing look, he adds, "See, buttering up my superiors is an important part of the corporate lifestyle."

And winks.

[unlucky7]

Despite beings centuries old, Kasumi is young at heart. At Zhao's words and wink, her face flushes pink. She stifles a tiny squeal by clapping her hands to her mouth, looking between the two. "Have fun!" she squeaks out, rushing off to furiously text back to the office.

Ginia rolls her eyes at everything, hiding a tiny smile with a shake of her head. Kasumi is perhaps a tiny bit exasperating, but her enthusiasm is appreciated.

"Good job. You've given away your motives and started up the rumor mill."

[wildguardian]

Zhao laughs, clapping a hand on Ginia's shoulder as he turns to head out of the shrine onto the street. "Aw, come on. The rumor mill would be going no matter what I said."

Besides, why not keep Kasumi (and all their other co-workers, of course) entertained? Without office gossip, the life of a shinki of Ebisu would truly be too difficult to bear.

The shrine is only a few blocks from the spot he'd mentioned, he notes, glancing up at the signs at the intersection. Convenient, that, Ginia must have memorized them all. Zhao is still working on it.

[unlucky7]

He's not wrong about that. Ginia knows her very first appearance at Ebisu's temple set off the rumor mill and the gossip has only intensified ever since she joined the temple. At least from what she's heard, it's all positive and largely everyone is glad for additional help. So if they want to speculate on her possible romantic life, oh well. If it makes them happy, it's fine.

"How's life in the Near and Far treating you?" Small talk is definitely not her forte, but she can walk and type with the best of them as she follows Zhao.

[wildguardian]

"Not so bad, so far," he says, matching her pace; she's got to type, and he doesn't want to go too fast for her. It doesn't seem to be slowing her down too much, though.

"I've been checking out the forums," he adds, "and kicking around the Shores. I don't know too much about this city, so there's a lot to learn."

That, he accompanies with a wave around the Tokyo street.

[unlucky7]

"If you need suggestions, feel free to ask. Part of my job." Between her own exploration and working with the tourism department, she's built up a list of places to visit. A pity she lacks the time to actually check them out these days.

"Everything going okay with your god?"

[wildguardian]

"You know, it really is," Zhao admits, smile broadening with a bit of fondness. "He's a brat, but a brat with a good heart, you know? Once he gets a bit older and calms down, he'll be a good guy."

And in the meantime, while Zhao Yunlan is not exactly the world's expert at dealing with difficult and prickly teenagers, they're managing.

It helps that he's discovered Bakugou actually knows how to cook. Takeout had been threatening to get expensive.

[unlucky7]

Brat with a good heart is a good way to describe a lot of teens around, and Ginia agrees with fondness. There's the vague sense she met him in a dream, but the distant plane of dreams is no way to really meet someone. Maybe they'll cross paths sometime. From what little she can remember, he seemed okay.

"Glad things are working out."

A few steps pass as Ginia types to add on:

"By the way, I'm paying tonight."

[wildguardian]

"Whoa, hey," Zhao objects, laughing. "What kind of freeloader do you think I am? You can get the first round."

Imagine the workplace gossip if he starts asking his senior employees out on dates he makes them pay for. No, sharing the bill is as far as he's willing to bend on that point.

[unlucky7]

Freeloader? None at all consider she offered to treat him to food and drinks in the first place (dream and waking). Sure, he picked the location, but she owes him more than he knows.

"Fine, fine, but if I catch you trying to cover everything, there's going to be trouble."

Ginia gives a playful wink.

[wildguardian]

Chuckling, he says, "Now, that we can agree on. Since you get paid more than me."

Zhao's not planning on letting Ebisu name him, at least not if things go the way they are, but, hey, he can recognize the advantages of the position.

"There it is," he adds, pointing up ahead at a blue awning lettered in bold katakana, OASIS. "Hey, I've been meaning to ask, typing everything out like that must be a pain. Could you teach me some sign language?"

[unlucky7]

There's a slight sidelong glance at the mention of her pay. Secret's out, though it's not like she's really kept it a secret either. He's not wrong though; that million yen a month sure is a nice paycheck. Ginia's honestly not sure what she's going to do with all the money. Spoil Alex, of course, make advantage of the paycheck to do some Valentine's Day shopping, throw offerings to other gods and charities, but it's still a lot to have.

"I don't mind, but sure. I can teach you a few quick basics over food."

[wildguardian]

"Great," he says cheerfully, and pulls the door open, waving her through with a grand sweep of his free arm. The scent of beer and fried food wafts temptingly from inside, prompting the vague hunger that Zhao's discovered never quite fades no matter how much he stuffs himself.

Ghosts aren't ever satisfied. It's a bit unsettling to experience in person.

Rather than wait to be seated -- they're shinki, no one will ever spot them if they wait -- he heads over to commandeer a few of the seats at the bar, right at eye level with the cooks, and flags one down.

[unlucky7]

The endless appetite of a shinki is a blessing and a curse. It's appreciated when the free meals at training sessions roll out, or when she used to enjoy Archer's incredible cooking on a regular basis, but it's also a vague gnawing that sinks in at night when she can't sleep. Ginia's stomach gurgles at the smell of frying food and the sizzle of hot oil, but the reminder as they seat themselves, largely ignored, is a bit sobering.

She glances over the handwritten menu posted above the bar.

"Mind ordering a chuhai for me? How do you feel about splitting a kushiage set to start?"

[wildguardian]

"Sounds good-- two chuhai," he relays to the cook, who nods and turns to procure them a few glasses. Ice clinks and soda water hisses as he prepares the drinks, and Zhao squints at the menu in turn. "Plus the kushiage combo platter, and do you have any peanuts?"

That gets a 'no,' and he scrunches up his nose in thought.

"...Edamame?"

The edamame and drinks arrive in front of them almost immediately, while one of the cooks begins dipping and frying skewers. Zhao picks his own up and toasts Ginia.

"To new friends," he offers.

[unlucky7]

Friends. Ginia remembers a clear conversation with Minako about her lack of friends, but more vaguely, she remembers someone telling her it's her fault for keeping people at arm's length. Who was it? Does it even matter? It's not that she...

...No, she does. She absolutely distances herself from people for a reason she can't understand.

To new friends. Ginia signs the words back to Zhao before raising her glass to him. The drink is cold and refreshing, the bit of lemon balancing out the alcohol and soda water.

"What do you usually get here?"

[wildguardian]

Zhao watches her movements with a keen eye, one hand twitching a little as he commits them to memory before taking a sip of his own drink.

"Honestly?" he says, and laughs. "Beer. I figured I'd give this a try, though -- you know, shake up the routine. Is this your usual drink?"

[unlucky7]

"This or something sweeter, usually. Not the biggest fan of beer, but it's okay."

When you can't feel any affects of alcohol, drinking is more for the social aspect and not looking out of place than for the taste. Tracking cultists has taken her to a fair share of bars and nursing a drink all night. Having company that actually notices her and she's not trying to fleece information out of is nice.

"What do you think?"

[wildguardian]

"Not bad, not bad. Lemony." It's not quite as alcoholic as he prefers, but it'll do, especially considering that getting too drunk on the Near Shore could very well end in becoming a late-night snack for a malicious ghost.

Still, drinking is a valuable social tool, in pairs as much as in parties. It's useful, getting to know people with more power or more experience in this bizarre afterlife.

Also, though Zhao's tolerance seems high, he isn't immune to the effects of alcohol, and a pleasant buzz makes a good damper for existential uncertainty. Being dead, he's found, comes with a lot of that.

[unlucky7]

It doesn't take long for their food to arrive too, a generous tray of meats and vegetable with a fried golden batter. A few things are identifiable by shape - the round lotus root, the triangle of squash or pumpkin, a long pepper, a stack of quail eggs - but others are a bit mysterious.

"You haven't found any food allergies, have you? Can we still die from food allergies?"

[wildguardian]

He laughs. "Nothing yet. Good question, though. How much do we need to breathe?"

Snagging something fried on a stick, and taking a bite -- ah, chicken livers: he approves -- he chews and swallows before going on.

"I mean, we don't have heartbeats. There can't actually be oxygen circulating in here."

That, he illustrates with a vague circular motion of his chicken liver skewer towards his torso.

[unlucky7]

"You could always hold your breath for as long as possible and see what happens."

A teasing smirk follows as she grabs a mystery skewer and chows down. Mm, scallops, delicious. Though the fact they're eating raises a lot of questions about their physiology overall. Where does all the food go if they don't need to expel anything?

"You know what's strangest about the lack of heartbeat? We still bleed. How does that work out?"

[wildguardian]

"How do we eat and not get full?" Zhao takes the last bite of his skewer, leaving the wood stick in his mouth, and shrugs dramatically. "Not to mention the bathroom thing."

That is to say, the fact that shinki don't need the bathroom. That's just bizarre.

"Ghost life is real weird."

[unlucky7]

"I'm not complaining about our weird digestion at all. Comes in handy."

Enjoying every single item at a dessert buffet, not having to go anywhere on a stakeout, it has its major perks. But it doesn't change the fact they're dead and removed from their world and here to serve gods. She can live with that and find some degree of happiness, but it's not for everyone.

Ginia sips her drink and grabs another skewer for her plate. There's no use longing for the past, there's nothing she can say about things without possibly killing Zhao, but after someone bringing her dream to her... well, she owes Zhao a little more honesty.

"Got a confession for you. That dream you had I was in? I had it too, but didn't know how to bring it up without sounding weird."