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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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

You're probably going about it smarter, but so our instincts and skills differ.

[His root is in magic, that much is obvious. In the same vein, she's a sniper. Yet the mind is a tricky thing and even what one can assume about themselves, what others might parse about them, to confirm or push is the dangerous part.]

I didn't mean to dive so deep into shinki spells, but I suppose it became something to focus on. A way to set myself apart. Yet this spell aside, I've let learning new spells fall to the wayside. My focus changed again.

Mmmm... to what, may I ask?

[Waver can tell things about Ginia from what she says and does. How she moves. Soldier of some kind. Operative. Cast in the role of tool. Made to fight - hates to fight. Thought of as disposable and has trauma to match. She mirrors him enough to understand some key things about her psychology and grant him some insight into her workings.

Perhaps the memory loss has been a blessing for her, and perhaps this is a second chance... but he often wonders if what she actually desires is not to be shinki, but purely human itself as she most likely was not allowed in life? Just hearts do rage here, and Ginia has a just and kind heart.]

[Memory loss is a blessing in that Ginia can't remember the full extent of her actions. If the loss of memory is a way for shinki to not envy the living and to find freedom in a second chance, it works for her. But it's still a curse when she can look at the skills she has and the ones she doesn't and do nothing but wonder. It's a slow form of madness for the analytical, a deeper hell when she can't talk about it with those closest to her because they're different kinds of shinki.

She wouldn't find his assessment inaccurate if she knew. A kinder assessment than she'd allow herself.]

Working for Ebisu's temple certainly takes up most of my time.

[Most, not all. They are all responsible for their own schedules. For some, it means testing the limits of how long one can survive on energy drinks and no sleep. With Ginia, her long work day is broken up with naps and carving out a few hours for personal work or time with others. But it's a hell entirely of her own making too.]

Is it strange I like it? The orderliness of office work and how it all fits together if everything is entered right? I suppose the same can be said about a lot of things, but I think I like office work more than I thought I would.

Ebisu is not a god of combat. I suppose my focus is finding skills to suit his temple better.

[... it can work like that. But. Not always, and the reality of the matter is a little more complex. Humanity, not memory, is the source of more of the envy. Waver can watch the Gods here adapt... pick apart what is grief from memory and what are the deeper, more destructive changes wrought by gradual loss of humanity. The sudden moments of longing and loss. Terrifying acceptance of this is how things must be.

Waver Velvet... the mage who managed to keep his humanity in a sea of inhumanity. Who fought back against the system. Who destroyed the Grail with the help of many others. Looks out from the prison of his mind with the near clarity of a God at the madness.

It is hell to See.]

No, absolutely not. Though... I think you already have most of those skills. You could compete with Satya with how efficient you are at cross referencing information, for example.

... don't turn it into a competition, please... Satya gets intense...

[He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a wire flower to look at it. See the positive.]

It's just a trick of expression and refinement. That's how I look at it. Iskandar is a god of war and conquest. Do I have everything needed for that domain? Absolutely not... who could? But I don't have nothing either, and I can improvise and adapt.

Which... given he has an appalling sense of his own health and leaves himself damn open too much because he isn't fighting with an army... I guess I'm working on the fly.

[HUFF PUFF. Waver blows a strand of hair out of his face.]

Damn that man. Love him but I worry sometimes.

Love, huh?

[There's a small raise of her brow at his choice in words, but maybe it's not that unusual either. There's not a single shinki in Ebisu's employ that doesn't love their constantly reincarnating god. It's that they love him so much they'd like him to stop the actions that lead to his repeat death.

Maybe this time he'll have a long life, but if wanting to save protect humans is the most important thing, perhaps it's inevitable he'll fall into the same path of wanting to tame ayakashi.

But there are different meanings and expressions for love too.]

Ebisu and the Mi Clan are my family, I'll do anything for them. That doesn't mean Chris and Luger aren't important to me. In some way, I'm better suited for Chris. We work well together, my skills compliment hers.

[Her hands fold briefly, left hand on top, the name so visible. Perhaps being nora is the secret to keeping her sanity. Chris is familiar and comfortable in ways, a good friend, someone to watch out for, a person she can wade into a fight with. Ebisu and the Mi Clan provide support and stability in the way no new god can while still providing the freedom she needs to be.

But they are of the old generation and there are still rules to follow, or at least keep up the appearance of following.

The screen on her phone shuts off. As Ginia turns it back on so she can type again, there's a brief glimpse of a suited man with glasses grinning and forming a heart with his hands on the lock screen. For as guarded as Ginia is about her feelings, she's remarkably transparent at times too.]

We can't age, but I wonder if we can still go grey over worrying over our gods?

Love.

[It's so very easy to love Iskandar, you know.

But there are different kinds of love. Satya is just as much family.

He nods.

Hello, Kimi. Waver will keep his peace that he knows until Ginia is ready to bring him up.]

Grey on the inside, definitely. Iskandar is certainly putting me through my paces.

I weep for the day you begin losing hair.

[Ginia looks at him, eyes running down his raven black hair, frames him in her fingers as she grins.]

On the other hand, you could definitely pull off silver or white hair.

[What's the saying... silver fox? How everyone would swoon around him, so refined and mystical looking. Terumi and Natsumi would fight off everyone else for the opportunity to put together a look for him.

Her smile fades slightly as she resumes typing, expression contemplative again.]

You're lucky you can use love so easily.

Which do you prefer? I might keep that in mind for the future.

[The fan appears briefly and there's a gust of wind as his hair first goes blue tinted silver and then to snow... and then back to raven.]

But there's many kinds of love and that's never an easy word to use for any of them.

Especially for my situation and especially for the type of relationship I have.

... that's why I'm using it. Because it isn't easy.

[Now that's showing off. Ginia blinks as the shift in hair color, keeping each one in mind as the conversation moves on. She knows that and some forms are easier to parse to loosely admit to, but love overall still feels like a ball of spun glass; delicate and intricate, prone to shattering under the slightest pressure.

Or maybe it's not love but her feelings overall. Ginia can't dismiss her feelings or deny what they are, but it's one thing to keep them inside where no one else has to see, another to voice them.]

You're the stronger of the two of us then.

[Even if she knows her temple, her god, her boyfriend all care, she's been wrong before and it's not a risk she can deal with.]

Relationship. You and...?

[An open statement for him to fill in or deny as he wishes.]

[Deliberately so to try and lighten things. Why do they always have the heavy conversations...

... but it seems they just fall to them, don't they? Like this is something only the two of them can provide each other. Sometimes he feels like he's taking the place of her gods during these talks. Sometimes...

...

There's so much fear. He doesn't want to live bound to it.]

... Iskandar.

[The apparent age of this place skews young and while Ginia appreciates living in the company of adults, there are topics she can't discuss with them. As it turns out, Waver is the closest thing she has to a fellow adult sounding board. But it's perhaps something in their natures too. The lonely, the struggling, the ones doing their best to stay afloat with what lifelines they have to cling to.

So when Waver confirms it's Iskandar, her expression softens into a smile. Her own trepidation and uncertainty is her own. For Waver, there is only gladness. There's a stability there Waver needs (though she also doesn't know about all the questions their being brings too).]

Alas, Terumi will be so heartbroken.

[There, an attempt to lighten the mood.]

Love, live, be happy, Waver. If someone around here is facing their fears and walking on, I'm glad it's you.

And you must tell me what it's like being the man to bring Alexander the Great to his knees.

[If she only knew... everything...

But living with it has brought one unexpected boon.

Waver is careful what he brings to Iskandar. Waver takes care with how he brings it. Waver spreads his emotional baggage across as many people as possible to carry the burden... (some of them mortal bartenders who he can't kill with a word and whom he makes sure forgets their conversations). Waver tries to aggressively attack his problems so he keeps as even a keel as possible - not easy, as he knows he's a mess. Waver tries to keep tabs on his Temple's emotional state. Tries to resolve what he can...

Things are fragile. That is a shinki-God relationship usually, and especially here, even if on one side, the shinki is different. But Waver is proactive about it and understands the fragility more than he lets on. They're both living with secrets.]

Until he sees Iskandar. Then poor Natsumi will have to get the smelling salts. And a couch.

[Sorry buddy... your bara tastes are known.]

... like living in one of Homer's epics. Iskandar is every bit as passionate as his hero.

I look forward to the gossip in the baths that night.

[Everyone sure loves their gossip in the temple. RIP Terumi.

Ginia's face scrunches a little, a tiny huff escaping. So she did open up the conversation for details, but now she's realizing she doesn't want them.]

I'll leave the epic stories between you. Iskandar is a glorious hunk of flesh, but he's also like an uncle so any details would be weird.

[She reaches across the table and gives his hand a small squeeze. Live, be happy, survive this somehow. He's doing better than most, worse in other ways, certainly better equipped to handle things in his own way. Iskandar will watch out for him, but shinki must care for themselves too. They are their own salvation and their own downfall.]

I suppose it's only fair to say I'm dating Kimi, but anyone who spends any amount of time at the temple knows. The betting pool sure was wild when news broke.

Save me the juiciest bits.

[Even the part-timers.

No... he's not going to talk about that - what's happening, if it's happening. Sex is... private right now. Very private, even if Iskandar's alright with acts of exhibitionism that would shock everyone else in the Far Shore. Partly because he's a shinki and the nature of the link has made things such that Waver would only participate in any act with him present.

... any other romantic relationship would have to be platonic. There are situations where boundaries must be drawn.

... and this is a situation where he knows he has to leave the shinki state somehow. Waver squeezes back. He knows he's undergoing both a slow death and a transformation of some kind. His own salvation and his own downfall.]

Homer's not around anymore and I sure as hell couldn't do the telling justice, so my lips are sealed.

[There's a quiet huff of a laugh.]

And that one I know - I was just waiting for you to bring it up. Terumi and Natsumi spilled a few details.

I'm very happy for you. He's a hell of a man.

[Sex, or at least the broader subject of physical intimacy and association emotions, is a subject Ginia broached with Kimi early on. They are shinki, their feelings are never their own, and with two gods apiece and two young, it feels like an impossible situation.

But a shinki shouldn't be denied their emotions either.

If, when, anything happens, they can sort things out in the aftermath. Frankly, it's more embarrassing with Chris even if she's a love goddess.

Ginia inclines her head and huffs. She's not surprised at all he heard from them.]

I suppose it felt like if I brought things up too soon, it'd all go wrong. We've been taking things slow.

He really is. Kimi wasn't the first of Ebisu's shinki I met, but he left the strongest impression.

[Shouldn't... but sometimes there's no choice, as he well knows. Waver knows Chris has her issues... is likely a survivor... but does Ginia know? Maybe, maybe not.

As long as Chris knows there's a relationship... it should be fine, Waver decides. He's long made the decision to treat a God's past as delicately as a shinki's.]

Slow is best when you're feeling uncertain.

Tell me about him? The things that make you laugh, the things that drive you crazy, ... all those little things that make it special...

[Let's dwell on the good things we have, Ginia. Existence is shit but they have good things.]

[Ginia does know about Chris's past, in part at least. She's protective of her tsundere god and will rain fury and hell on anyone from her past who may try to harm her. And Chris is aware of Ginia's relationship. If anything else happens, they'll talk it out.

Slow is best when you're barely held together by a thread, confidence swinging like a pendulum because it's too easy to care about the opinions that matter so much. There shouldn't be accolades for basic human decency, but with the life Ginia's had, the most basic acts of kindness count.]

I met him around New Year's. He needed help with a tour group and was offering 100K yen. I ended up accepting because I wasn't that busy, a hike sounded nice, and it's good pay for an hour of work. I was impressed at how personable he was and how he kept the group entertained. My part was easy; all I had to do was keep ayakashi away and there weren't many.

He knows sign language, so he has that working in his favor. He offered to show me around, was going to give me his number before he got distracted and had to leave.

[But the fact they still ended up meeting a week later, that she ended up joining the temple even sooner after... it sure ended up in his favor, didn't it.]

When I joined the temple, he gave me a jar of konpeito and left origami stars on my desk whenever I wasn't looking. I began leaving origami animals on his desk in return. we've been doing that back and forth since then. I've since filled up the jar with all the stars he's made.

[It's the little things, it always is. The handful of colorful paper stars that made things feel like it'd be okay, a nice bright keepsake for her room.]

He's so confident and grounded, utterly shameless and teasing, it all goes together nicely. I admire how composed he is. I know he's been a shinki for awhile so he's had time to ground himself, but it feels like its who he is too. He's gotten me through some hard times.

[Is it silly there's so much she can say about him? That it comes so easily and that there's even more she could talk about? His smile, his laugh, the way he smells after he's been working in the kitchen, how at ease he is working with people. Does she really deserve him? Ginia still wonders that from time to time even if she knows why he asked her out.]

He gave me a knife for white Day. Want to see it?

Oh I know that type... especially the shameless part...

[There's an exasperated but amused sigh; it's a fond memory that chase on the beach.

Does Waver deserve Iskandar? He doesn't know either, but he'll fight to be with him, and fight out of the shinki state to stand beside him. And then fight through all the pain of his past to stay there.

He's home. ... Waver deserves home.]

May I?

[Ginia pulls the knife out of her pocket and hands it over. It's a beautifully ornate knife and she carries it as a protective or lucky charm as sorts, something she can roll in her hands or fidget with as needed. It's still a knife and maybe Kimi's right; perhaps one day I'll come in handy if someone overlooks it.

But it'd be nice if it stayed as something nice to look at too.]

The chocolates he made were very nice too.

[Waver carries fans to make people used to him with one to downplay the fact that when the feathered fan comes out, it's a weapon and not just a fancy ornament.

The long hair is actually for mana storage and not vanity; all the fussing is for the purposes of maintaining that battery and nothing else. Hair ornaments are not just decorations, they function the same. Clothing is armor, manners are weapons, words are weapons.

Waver uses being overlooked and underestimated. It's hard to accept... but that is one of his best weapons.]

It's beautiful.

... but handmade chocolates? Wow. It's sounds like he put a lot of work into them. How were they?

[... but... it's clear what should have more value here. To her.

And so Waver's going to put the value in the chocolates. In the effort and care of the making.]

[A knife is an usual White Day present. She told Kimi as much when she found the knife hidden under the box of chocolates. It's also the perfect gift for the right person and she's not sure what it says about her that he'd give her a knife. It's either a means of protection for someone who can't stay out of trouble or a pretty piece of art. It's a thoughtful present. All of the presents she received on White Day were.

But the chocolate means a lot too. Kimi is an excellent cook. He could have made her anything and she would have been impressed, but he picked a recipe he hadn't made very much (but still made for her) and with fruity flavors to offset all the chocolate she'd receive.

Ginia flips through the pictures on her phone and pulls up a picture of seven colorful chocolate spheres in a box, one piece obviously missing from the empty slot. She holds it up for Waver to see, her smile soft and sentimental. She gives him enough time to look before reclaiming her phone to type.]

They were delicious. I can't imagine how long it took him to make or when he found the time. Kimi's an incredible cook.

You make me very curious how good. You know how I enjoy food.

[Waver has no shame in this vice. Or drinking.

He is resisting giving into smoking though. Despite the nicotine cravings.]

Kimi helps with meal prep so if you've eaten at the temple, you've probably had his cooking in some way.

[With all the decades, if not centuries, people have in the temple to refine skills, the food that comes out of the kitchen is damn good. One of the pleasures of the afterlife. A truly spoiled experience, if only there was more time to enjoy it.]

It's clear how much he enjoys cooking. I imagine he'd have reservations for months if he ran a restaurant.

[Did he cook when he was alive or was it a skill he picked up as a shinki? Ginia can't help wonder even if she knows voicing anything is dangerous.]

He cooked for us the night of the compound raid. It was nice having a meal with only the two of us. Shrimp tempura and soba.

... I have. It's good food.

Forget months, though. Try years. With people squabbling for spots like concert tickets. I know I'd be in the fray.

[He's a hungry ghost with good taste!

... oh, hungry ghost... I think I've heard of the system this is based on now...

It isn't just Shintoism at play here... I just need to find a book...

But none of that shows as he props up his chin with a wistful smile.]

None of us cook at the Temple well. Well... Iskandar grills well if nothing else, and Satya won't kill you but...

You don't eat my food... my food eats you... do you know what I mean?

[It's not that bad, but Waver needs to stop accidentally trying to do alchemy while cooking.]

Now that sounds something special. Maybe I should take a lesson or two...

...

... uh. Actually I want your boyfriend to survive me. Takeout it is. I at least can choose good wine.

[The hottest new restaurant on the Far Shore. It's a nice thought, but it feels like bad form to daydream about ideas for other people. Working as Ebisu's shinki is a complete lifestyle Kimi seems happy with, even with the current stress caused by an unfortunate staff shortage.

Happier thoughts, happier thoughts.]

If you weaponize your cooking, I'm sure more than a few would be interested in it.

[Send it to a cultist as a special delivery, hah.]

But I'm surprised you have trouble cooking too. It's so logical.

[At the base at least. Following a direction and understanding some basic terminology, that's the easy part. Ginia isn't a great cook, but she can follow along well enough and at least be useful enough in a pinch. Making adjustments on a fly and seasoning to taste? There's the tricky part.

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