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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.

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Modest as always. Ginia begins to tuck into her food, eating with the casual speed of someone used to eating on the go. The heat doesn't deter her, though it does seep in a little more painfully as she stops eating at Aomi's and Ebisu's words.

In her months in the temple, she's gathered through conversation Aomi is far older than he appears. Ginia glances at the monument again. They're all nora, aren't they, all of them finding their way to Ebisu's temple in their own way. That he makes an annual trip out here, they must have been important.

"Do you mind telling me about them?"

"I don't mind." Aomi pauses just long enough to help adjust Ebisu's grip on his chopsticks. It's a regular thing that he manages to do well enough on most days, but there are slip ups every now and then. "She was a minor land god, the kind you wouldn't read about anywhere. I'm not sure what else you would like to know."

"That's one of the things I didn't write about," Ebisu murmurs, inspecting his changed grip before going back to eating.

"What was she like? How long ago did you serve her?"

Minor gods come and go all the time. It's like the new generation in a way, though when a god of her generation disappears, their shinki aren't left as nora. It's one slight act of kindness. And a first god is always meaningful in some way, but for old shinki, the first is the one to give them form.

"Whatever you want to say about her. I admit I'm curious what things were like before you joined Ebisu's temple. I want to know you better."

"Because Aomi is very reserved," Ebisu adds on bluntly with a smile, which is enough to make Aomi laugh into his hand. Well, it's not wrong either way.

Thinking over the questions, he takes another piece of sushi in his hands. "Well, Since she was my first, it was many centuries ago. I stayed under her for a decade, which isn't that long, I suppose..." Relatively speaking. Once a shinki lives long enough, time becomes a very strange thing that they have to work on keeping an eye on. It's likely the same for gods as well. "She was reserved herself, although in a much more elegant way. The kind of person that you would expect to rule so far away from other people."

With the latest piece eaten, he points down the way they'd traveled up. "When I was named, there was a small settlement further down the mountain, as a matter of fact. They prayed to her regularly."

Yes, he is very reserved, though it's what she likes about him.

"And here I thought I was doing well for finally staying with a god for more than three months." Creeping up on fourth months now, assuming nothing explodes. The timeframe of the new and old generations are different. If she makes it for more than a year, it'll feel like a miracle, but she's not sure she wants to lose track of time either.

It sounds like they were a good match in terms of personality, unless Aomi was wildly different in his early years. Ginia looks toward the route they'd come up, all scenic wilderness.

"It's beautiful up here, but I can't imagine it was easy for humans living here."

"No, it wasn't. But then I suppose that's why it wasn't particularly big." From a small canister, he makes sure to pour out some green tea for Ebisu and makes sure it doesn't fall from the small god's hands. "There are some people who prefer that thing, even if it makes their life difficult. I suppose that was why she did her best." Leaning back, he smiles to her again.

"I stayed with her for as long as I could, and I'm glad for that." And because he can tell that it's likely on her mind, even if she might not ask- "She disappeared after there was a landslide around here. It swallowed up even her small shrine."

Humans all have their reasons for where they settle. If this was their home, then who was anyone else to argue that? She sounded like a good, caring god and it makes her sudden end all the more tragic. But isn't that how it is at times? Gods are powerful, resilient, but their life is as tied to the humans that worship them.

Ginia picks at her food, trying not to dwell on the underlying implication. The loss of life is always a tragedy, but there's also not much mourning to do on something that happened centuries ago. It's a lighter kind of day.

"Did you set up the monument?"

"That's right. Ah-" He taps his cheek, a little embarrassed. "Although I wasn't very good at the time. I still might not be when it comes to carving things into stone... I'm surprised it's lasted as long as it has."

Humming from around his own food, Ebisu looks out into the view the mountain affords them. "People and gods fade, but stone lasts for so much longer... How lonely."

With a soft expression, Aomi reaches over to lightly pat the small god's head. "Quite." As he looks back to Ginia, he continues. "Although it was some time after she disappeared that I remembered to do so, and even later than that when I planted this tree. A lot of things happened, after all." He huffs out a laugh, bowing his head slightly. "Including a lot of time wasted. I quite admire the efforts the latest generation of shiki have put in when it comes to making space for one another for that."

The monument and tree may well outlast all of them. Ginia looks upward at the expanse of purple-pink petals above them. Monuments are a strange thing, aren't they. Is there anyone that'd rather be remembered when they could still be alive? But it's certainly better than being completely forgotten.

"That you still came back to honor her speaks volume to your character, even if took time to do so."

Time is a strange scale between the old and new, days so precious when years are still unimaginable. Yet gods of both generations can disappear so suddenly. There was no landslide, but Nona disappeared and left nothing behind but a white flower for her.

"I suppose it's because my generation is both so close to humanity and because our time is fleeting. We're not of this world, so we cling to what time we have and to each other too."

"It's still my own selfish desire in the end, I think," Aomi muses, not sounding particularly self-deprecating despite his words. Slowly, with a feather light touch, one finger tip traces along the edges of the bento. "My own belief and memories won't bring her back, after all. Still." Looking up again, he smiles gently. "Someone should remember her."

What else can he do?

Putting down his chopsticks, Ebisu reaches over to clumsily pat Aomi's leg, and then Ginia's. "That sort of thing is valuable as well," he says, only to pause with a frown. "I mean... It's important." That seems to be more satisfactory to him, as he gives a nod before continuing on. "It's more human. Things like that can be forgotten very easily, especially by gods."

"I think everyone needs to be selfish at times." Not that Aomi needs any assurance in a tradition he's been doing for centuries. From her mildly contemplative expression as she looks off at the monument, it's more a reminder she's working out for herself. Her earlier conversation with Waver - a long continuation of all their previous talks - sinks in more, filling some cracks in her sense of self, fracturing others wider.

Their generation is a strange one, fit into roles but blurring the lines so much maybe it wouldn't take much to break them. Ginia looks over at Luger, sitting silently at Chris's side. She can rend as well as any god with him. Better even with her arsenal of spells and abilities, but how many of those does she have because of a god-given name? How well would she do without a name?

How well would she do as a god?

She could be a god as easily as a shinki. As Waver said, as Tsubasa theorized before, there is no difference between a god and a shinki with their generation. An arbitrary sorting with loose boundaries.

Ginia wonders what it says about herself she'd do whatever it takes to cling to her current life. That's her selfish desire. Second to that, it's a fear of being forgotten.

"I did something rash earlier. I asked Susanoo to name me." It's an abrupt topic change and Ginia types and plays the message without really thinking about it. But it's not entirely unrelated, selfish desires and not wanting to lose people and all.

As can be expected with the oddball group that is the Ebisu temple, the god in question perks up a little bit. "Oh, my brother!"

A beat.

"Sister."

...

"My sibling," he concludes, while Aomi does an admirable job of choking out his laughter by eating more sushi. "Was it an emergency, or did the two of you end up getting along quite well?"

The new generation, keeping mythology new and exciting. Ginia laughs softly as she shakes her head.

"She told me she lost both of her shinki"--rather, one disappeared and the other became a god, but that's splitting hairs--"and I offered to be hers. She said she would keep it under consideration, not wanting to impede Ishtar or you."

It was a rash and forward offer and Tsubasa was right; it's something they should discuss before making decisions. Now that she thinks about it, she didn't ask permission before accepting a name from Chris either.

"I suppose I have a long history of spontaneously asking gods to name me."

Ebisu bats his food around on his plate, struggling for a moment to pick up a piece. Only when he finally manages to be victorious does he look back up at her again. "Does it bother you?" he asks simply before taking a bite. That's what's ultimately the most important thing, after all... At least to him.

There's an inclination to help him, but he'll never master eating on his own otherwise. Does it bother her? Ginia mulls on the question as she eats. Before in Caster's service, she felt restricted, wanting to protect and help others but unable to. Now she has the freedom to choose but has found herself restricted by a schedule of her own making and out of a desire to help her temple stay afloat.

She can't not stand aside and not help. That much Ginia recognizes about herself. There's no sacrifice too great when it comes to keeping the ones she cares about safe.

"Before I left his temple, Caster asked how could I protect one god if I was busy serving another. I know the answer to that is I can't. There are times I'll have to choose one god over the other. What I have to is trust everyone else will keep them safe."

Ginia looks at Chris's name on the back of her left hand. It's the most visible name she's had through all of her gods. Chris is also the god she introduces herself by in public. It's been a decision to keep her affiliation with Ebisu discreet, though that isn't fair too. Not with how much he and the Mi clan mean to her.

"I still wonder if I could be doing better by Chris though. I know she understands how busy I am. I know she doesn't hold it against me. But if I'm barely there for her, isn't asking Tsubasa for a name irresponsible?"

As the last of her message plays, Ginia turns to Aomi and bows to him, hammering out another message.

"Sorry for making this about me."

Almost immediately, Aomi is gently waving away the concerns and shaking his head. "It's perfectly fine. If there's any better place to think about this sort of thing, then it's certainly here." Very briefly, he smiles to the monument. "This is where I questioned myself a lot on where I wanted to go after she disappeared, and what it meant to be loyal. The incarnation of the young master also spoke with me here, along with Iwami-san. I'm not sure how much it would help, but..."

A pause as he takes in Ebisu's expectant stare, and he huffs out a slight huff of a laugh.

"I could tell you more about that, if you think it might help you figure out your own problems. The situations are different, of course, but..."

"I'd love to hear more."

The wisdom and experiences of other shinki are always welcome, even if not entirely applicable. Loyalty balanced with her own happiness has always been a struggle. The easiest answer is to ask for Chris to release her and focus entirely on serving Ebisu, but it's not the answer that feels right. She is Chris's exemplar (though she barely feels like it), but more importantly she is Chris's friend.

With all the times she's asked a god to release her, it's wearing on her too.

"I also want to hear," Ebisu says encouragingly, with no attempt to hide his own curiosity and in fact even more bolder than he was before.

Aomi chuckles. "Yes, yes, young master. Well then..." Making himself a little more comfortable, he takes a drink of some green tea out of a canteen to prepare his throat for a lot of talking. "When my god first vanished... I stayed in this area for a long time. I wasn't particularly counting the days, so I'm not sure how long it was. I didn't have to eat as much, and I could get away without sleeping a lot either, which helped to some degree." Not ideal, but it did help. "As far as I knew, I had nowhere else to go. A god disappearing doesn't mean that the name they bestowed would as well, at least in my time. No matter what I could say to other temples, they would still be helping to create and keep a nora. That would be unacceptable to their ideas and reputation. And I suppose..." He trails off for a moment, glancing over to the monument.

"I didn't want to leave. It wasn't only other temples that would have seen me as disloyal."

Shaking his head, he takes a break for another bite of sushi. "Still, that did leave a lot of ayakashi around that I couldn't rend, and vents that would occasionally open. It was quite a problem as things built up. Yet one day, as I was moving throughout the area, I saw a merchant caravan traveling." This time, his smile is directed down to his god. "And they had prayed to the venerable Ebisu-sama to keep them safe on their journeys."

Ginia's food is mostly forgotten as she listens patient and attentive, but with barely restrained curiosity too. All the gods she has lost have all been her own doing, though a day more, would she have woken up in an empty lot with nothing but the clothes on her back, her phone, and a single white flower? Would she have still gone to Caster's or would she have sheltered at the shinki sanctuary? It's an untold possibility.

The shinki of the new generation don't realize how lucky they are to lose the name when their god disappears. Or is it really luck? No doubt their generation would be more forgiving on the matter of nora and a few shinki would probably prefer keeping the name. With how quickly gods come and go, is there anyone that wouldn't be a nora? The ones that have had the same god from the start are far and few in between.

Her fingers run over Chris's name on her skin. It feels inevitable Chris will one day leave. She has her life back home, her friends there too. Perhaps it'll be soon, perhaps it'll be in a century. Perhaps she'll be able to visit, but if not, her name (and any other new god who has named her by then) will disappear.

She'd miss Chris. That much is certain. It's a very slight fraction of what Aomi felt, but Ginia understands why he stayed in the area despite the danger. Again, it speaks to his character.

"How old was he then?" Ginia glances at Ebisu. Given Aomi's vessel form is meant to fit someone much taller, she has a hunch he wasn't so freshly reincarnated then.

"Oh, he was properly grown at the time." Aomi smiles a little, putting down his drink so that he can roughly make a gesture at his own approximate height. It doesn't mean much when they're all sitting down, but it should get the point across. "Perhaps around Kiwami's 'age', as much as it can be called that?" In other words, somewhere in his thirties, possibly, or at least on a shallow surface level. Even by that point, he was a well established god as far as Aomi could tell.

"Even if I couldn't get rid of the ayakashi in the area on my own, I thought the very least I could do was warn others of the problem so that they wouldn't have to deal with a surprise attack. Even if a god of merchants didn't rend them, then certainly he'd tell other temples of the problem, and at least not get too badly hurt. That was my logic at the time. Of course, after he'd taken the proper precautions and prepared himself, then Ebisu-sama insisted on meeting my god to thank us properly." A soft laughter rustles out of him. "Even though he's always been very different from other gods, the master has always been very proper just as much. Well, I couldn't do much else- I brought him up here." He nods slightly to the monument.

"The remains were visible back then, instead of buried under all the mud. I'm not sure what I was really expecting, besides perhaps some sympathy from him or Iwami-san... But, in what I was to learn was to be a long trend, he ended up offering me work right here and then."

Ebisu beams. He remembers and regrets nothing.

A core of a god is unchanging. Ebisu's actions centuries ago are completely unsurprising. He will always be good and principled in that regard. Though their circumstances were quite different, Ebisu was very quick to name her on the volcano. Had she not brought it up herself, would he have offered a place?

Ginia pats Ebisu fondly on the head as she types her message. It's not only Ebisu, but Aomi too. Not everyone would have considered warning others in the area. It's entirely unsurprising Aomi did. Everyone in the Mi Clan is a good person.

"I suspect you didn't immediately accept."

"Well, back then, I was as narrow minded as anyone else was." Aomi's smile is a little wry, if only for a brief second. "I thought it would be an insult, both to myself and to my god, even if she was no longer there. Besides, back then, before I came to know him properly, I thought that Ebisu-sama simply wanted to use me for something uncouth, because why else would anyone want to use a nora if not to do something that they wouldn't dirty their own shinki with?" He laughs a little into his thermos. "Well, I guess that only counts if the god in question doesn't have the majority of his shinki as nora to start with."

Established common sense starts to fall apart around Ebisu, as it turns out.

With his throat cleared again, he shifts a little bit before continuing. "Well, I did say all of that, although as politely as I could manage at the time. He was a God of Fortune, after all, and I was a shinki without a god myself. He didn't take any offense, however. Instead, he just asked me two questions.

"The first was if I was really happy where I was, all alone. The second was if she would have been happy to see me in the state that I was in, struggling and in danger." His shoulders rise up in a faint shrug as he chuckles. "And then he said that they'd be leaving the next morning if I changed my mind before leaving it at that."

Ginia has heard of some of the stigmas surrounding nora from her coworkers. That nora are for gods to use to avoid dirtying their shinki is the most frustrating example. Heaven's system ultimately favors gods. But she can still understand why Aomi once had the views he had with no other views to challenge it. Change comes slowly in Heaven and Ebisu is one of the few outliers.

Their circumstances are different, but Ebisu's question is still pertinent. Ginia is happy where she is, she knows Chris wouldn't want her unhappy, but there's the feeling she needs to think on it some more. Forcing things to work is not the same as things actually working.

"Did you change your mind by the morning or did it take more time?"

"Well, it's not as if I had many other things to do." His mouth is curled into a smile around his maki roll as he takes another bite. His eyes go drawn out to down the cliff, and all the nature that still remains in this area. "Back then, it was only myself and the ruins of her shrine. All I could really do was sit here and think on what he had said." For a moment, Aomi falls silent, lost in the memory. It was a long time ago, but not all memories fade so easily even after so many years.

"...In the end, for her memory, I decided to keep on living as well as I could. If I died, then who would remember at all? That was the most important thing to me back then. If I didn't take this chance, then I might not get another one. So, that morning, I left. That was the last time I wore the outfit of a miko, but I can't say that I regret anything since then."

Move forward. It's sometimes all you can do, hard as it is. Don't get mired in regrets and failure, keep moving forward because things will improve. It's the lesson all shinki need, will probably face in some way or another. Ginia looks up at the tree blooming above them, to the worn stone monument, and back to Aomi with a light smile.

"I'm happy you have no regrets. Thank you for telling me. What was her name?"

Shinki cannot bring back dead gods, but one more person remembering the past to carry into the future never hurt.

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