[closed]

[chibisu]

Who: Ebisu, Aomi, and various out-temple workers
What: Time for a relaxing trip to Kanagawa, before the next thing blows up.
Where: Kanagawa
When: Sometime after that compound mess

Kanagawa Prefecture has a lot of good points. There's an opening to the ocean, a lake for touring, beautiful views of Mt. Fuji wherever you look, and all sorts of interesting museums or temples. Aomi, the organizer of this little trip, agrees for everyone to meet at Iiyama Kannon an hour or two before noon. An easy famous place that people hopefully won't get lost going to, and all. Until then, well, people are free to go wherever they like. They don't even have to stay in Atsugi, where the meeting area is supposed to be. There are beaches not that far off, zoos to enjoy various animals, parks where carefully cultivated flowers are in gleeful bloom, a bustling Chinatown, and even the little island of Enoshima.

When the time comes to meet up, however, Aomi can be found alongside Ebisu with a bulging backpack and he does a quick headcount to make sure everyone is there before continuing on. The ultimate destination isn't any of the many tourist attractions in Kanagawa, but rather he leads away from the cities and towards the forests of the prefecture. Aomi would have made sure to remind everyone that morning over text to wear hiking boots.... so hopefully they all remember to do that, because the path chosen is one that has no actual path at all. Hopefully no one gets hurt, although it shouldn't be too hard.

What's the destination? That much becomes obvious once they hit some more even land, where a small stone monument has been placed at the base of a fully blossoming Japanese wisteria. Here, Aomi will let everyone know it's fine to take a break, and settle down. It's here that he'll help spread out some various picnic blankets and begin unpacking from his enormous backpack. He's been courteous enough to pack lunch for just about everyone, and a good variety in case any one dish doesn't suit someone. There's delectably spicy yokosuka curry, juicy shirokoro horumon, rare to get shonan pork sausages, and a variety of sushi that takes full advantage of being from a seaside prefecture. Everyone is free to relax beneath the wisteria blossoms and enjoy the view peeking out from the trees.

Comments

B

[dredefulchilde]

Why does everyone look so tired? This hike is positively easy.

Joss, too, is dressed for the mountain. Dark glasses and a wide-brimmed hat shield his face from any possible sunlight, and he wears athletic tights under his cargo shorts to protect his legs. If he's overly warm, he doesn't mention it.

He's a little ways off from Aomi and Ebisu when the man turns to him, and he hops down from a very high and dangerous-looking boulder to better hear him.

"Hmm? What did you say?"

[chibisu]

"We were simply asking if you were alright," Ebisu says, more than fine with raising his voice so that he's heard better. Aomi is a more quiet presence anyway, which is fine. It suits him. With his shinki keeping a good hold on him so that he doesn't tumble out of his grip, Ebisu leans forward a little to better look at Joss.

"You're dressed rather warmly, so I wouldn't want you to get heat stroke or anything while we're going up the mountain."

[dredefulchilde]

"I'm quite comfortable." If he sounds especially stiff it's because he's sweating in places he didn't know he had, but they don't need to know that. Better to be uncomfortably warm and protected than risk burning to a crisp.

Not for the first time, he wonders why the sun seems to hold so much power over him, but dismisses the thought when it presses intrusively against the wall in his mind that keeps all questions about his past life so safely hidden.

"Are you going to walk yourself or will you be carried up the mountain the whole way?"

[chibisu]

Oh, that question. Ebisu tilts his head to the side considerately. "Well, if I had Kunimi with me, then I could try walking-" Which is still a sort of carrying, when one thinks about it, but that's not important. "-but there's still a lot of work to do, and I didn't want to bother him over this sort of matter. In that case, it's better if I don't test anything. At least, on a path like this."

Aomi gently lays a hand on Ebisu's shoulder. "The young master has some difficulty with exercises like this," he adds, which is a nice way of saying it.

[dredefulchilde]

Joscelin cocks his head to the side, considering.

"So why did you decide to go hiking?"

It's a reasonable enough question. If Ebisu is so hopeless at hiking (which doesn't surprise Joss in the least, given their prior interaction), why would he willingly partake in it? He could have just as easily planned a bus tour or a cruise for his little holiday.

[chibisu]

The question seems to make Ebisu pause, blinking blankly over at Joss. Isn't that kind of question obvious? Oh, but this is a child, he supposes. He should keep that in mind. While he may not know a lot, he does know that kids are curious.

Clearly that's what's happening here.

"It's important to Aomi," he says simply. "So if I can make time for it, then I would like to come along."

[dredefulchilde]

"Oh."

Joss fishes around in a cargo pocket and produces an apple. He takes a big bite, still looking down at Ebisu. (He can count on one hand the number of acquaintances he has who are shorter than him, and Ebisu is definitely on that list.)

"I forgot to thank you for inviting me along." Ebisu is so little and fragile-looking that he often forgets that the boy is a God of Fortune, and therefore responsible for his part-time paychecks. The whole temple is so corporate but the tiny god in short pants doesn't appear nearly as powerful as he really is. "And for letting me do work for you these past few weeks. The extra income is very much appreciated, and the work is interesting. So...thank you."

[chibisu]

(He can't help that he's short right now, Joss. He swears he'll grow taller. He's pretty sure he'll grow taller.)

Somehow, thanks is the last thing he's expecting to hear, and Ebisu seems confused again for a split second before he smiles. "Aomi was the one who invited everyone, so there's no need to thank me on that end. Working with us also is beneficial on both ends, isn't it? So we're just as grateful, although it's unusual to employ younger shinki."

Says the tiny god.