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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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Exactly! Ginia confirms Ebisu's statement with a firm nod. There's the feeling if he'd been treated poorly by a god and couldn't resolve things peacefully he would have walked out. At least he's not one of the ones Ginia would not be surprised to hear punched his god on the way out? That distinction goes to Kiwami or Takami.

"I like and respect you and also suspect you could ruin my day in the most polite way possible were you given reason to." So yes, Aomi, you do. Ginia pouts a little when Aomi mentions Kimi told him. All she can really hope is he didn't make it sound like too much of a disaster, but there's no avoiding what it was too.

"You two seem close. Have you always been friends?"

"That... makes me sound so intimidating..." His face sinks into his hands, the burning red of his skin still visible where his fingers can't hide. Ebisu is just smiling, casually amused even as he gently pats his shinki's arm. There, there. It takes a moment for Aomi to peek out again, still a little warm but trying to regain his composure.

"Anyway... I was the one Ebisu-sama asked to show him around and to his room when he first joined the temple, so he always went looking for me at the start. He's still a lot younger than me, but we've been close since then."

The quiet, calm ones are always the most intimidating, but it's out of respect. Ginia eats as he composes himself and answers, a hundred questions about Kimi coming to mind. But it's a little unfair asking someone else about him when she should ask him directly. It's not like Kimi wouldn't answer truthfully and she'd accept if there was anything he didn't want to talk about.

There is a question she's been wondering about for a real long time and studying Aomi, there's a lot that makes sense in hindsight.

"How long did it take for him to ask you out?"

If her guess is wrong, they can laugh it off. If she's right, she has her answer.

There's something almost cruel in letting him ease up, only to shoot at him with that question. This time, the blush hits even harder than before with a burning red that could put hot coals to shame. For a second, it even seems as if he might get up and just leave, even if it's only to hide behind a tree... Before he takes in that there are in fact a group of people up here, and he forces himself to just stay where he is. That doesn't stop Aomi from practically curling up, hiding his face in his hands again. There's a muffled "Oh my god."

"I'm here," Ebisu pipes up.

"Not you, young master."

That sure answers that. Ginia solemnly swears to herself to never let Aomi know she heard about the time Ebisu walked in him on and Kimi as she watches Aomi curl in on himself. The fact him and Kimi still seem close is a sign things didn't end disastrously (or if it did, they've nicely patched things up). She still can't help but wonder how or why things ended.

"Sorry, is that a sore subject?"

"No, it's just..." Fruitlessly, he rubs at his own face, trying to get his words together. Ebisu at least doesn't seem bothered, so nothing negative must be reaching through the bond. If anything, he just smiles some more.

"He's embarrassed."

"Young master..." Straightening up a little bit, Aomi peers over where his hands are still pressed up against his mouth and nose. "It's not a sore subject. Merely... Well. It's somewhat awkward to have the current paramour of my ex ask me that out of the blue. I certainly wasn't expecting it." He sighs a little bit, still red. "I didn't think anyone actually talked about that time, after this many years..."

There's a very slight nose wrinkle at the choice of 'paramour.' Really, it makes it sound so clandestine and illicit, as if they're skipping work to have a debaucherous rendezvous somewhere. Between that and Chris immediately asking if she was a femme fatale after fake-dating one person, Ginia wonders if that's the kind of impression she gives.

"Blame Kimi, he brought up he dated someone in the temple, but didn't say who." Given Kimi's personality, the way the two act around each other, and the fact Aomi had been Kimi's go-to, it all makes sense. That Kimi was her go-to after joining the temple makes it an interesting sort of parallel.

"Does it bother you I'm dating him?"

"Not at all. I mean, we did break up-" But then Aomi cuts himself off, realizing something, and straightens up a little bit. "Actually before we go further into that, how did he bring up dating me?" It's not really a question which hints at tentative concern or interest. Rather, it's almost one of wary dread.

He has his suspicions, worst case scenario as they are.

Its not as if Ginia would have broken up with Kimi if Aomi wasn't okay with their relationship, but she wants to be mindful of others. They're all busy enough it's easy avoiding people if needed. She'd also rather not have to. It's a slight relief Aomi doesn't mind.

Ginia buys a second to think as she eats, searching for the most honest and innocent answer of what she knows. Even if she was willing to tell him she knows about Kimi's affinity for being pinned, she's not saying in front of Ebisu.

"I was overthinking, he was helping me relax and mentioned he dated someone prior."

True enough. Hopefully it'll do.

"So it was just that..." There's something about the tone of his voice that says he isn't entirely certain if that's reassuring or not... most likely because he does know Kimi and can suspect what he said to help make someone relax. Still, like her, he can't exactly say anything in front of...

"See, isn't that nice?" Ebisu pats his arm. "It's good that you're all getting along with one another."

Aomi rubs at his face, which does positively nothing in getting rid of the still vivid blush there. "Well, if you have anything else you want to know about him from then, let me know... I really don't mind. Besides..." He sighs. "Our temple is full of more gossip on that end anyway..."

There's so much she wants to know, but it feels better to ask Kimi one day. She loves gossip as much as anyone else but a few stories are best from the original source. Other stories, Aomi is a good a source and he is offering.

"I won't lie I'm curious how long you two dated and why you broke up, but is there anything you think I should know about Kimi?"

"Well, I can't... particularly think of anything you need to know." Aomi sweeps aside some of his bangs. "He's an open book in a lot of ways, so at least you won't have to worry about that. In my experience, we talked a lot about anything, so..." That makes things easy enough.

"...Did you want to know about how long we dated, and all that?" She hadn't sounded entirely sure, as much as electronic words can.

Does she want to know? Yes, Ginia does. Does she need to know or would it do her any good? Knowing would sate her curiosity, but just as likely feed into her sense of inadequacy. It's pointless comparing herself to Aomi or anyone else, though not doing that is easier said than done.

Ultimately Ginia shakes her head before she types a response.

"I'd probably dwell on it, overthink things, probably make a mess of everything. It's not my business to know anyway."

Aomi nods understandingly, not losing the gentle expression from his face. "Of course. Then I'll keep it to myself. If there's one thing you don't have to worry about, at least, it's that we've been broken up for some years now." He waves a hand through the air with a soft laugh. "So there's absolutely nothing between us now. Just focus on being with him in the present."

All of this is going right over Ebisu's head, but he can at least offer reassurance. "Mm. Jitsumi, you have a lot of good points, don't you? I'm sure he's told you that much. So just trust in other people's belief of you."

"He mentioned the breakup was a few years ago. I suppose if I had to have a love rival, I'd be okay with it being you." Her smile is a little more than teasing. Of the things she worries about, Kimi cheating on her isn't one of them. Even breaking up with her to try again with his formerly-mysterious-now-known-ex wasn't quite a concern She could live with heartbreak again if Kimi is happier that way.

(And she really can't be mad if it's Aomi.)

Don't get bogged down by the past. Don't dwell much on an undecided future. Focus on the present. Difficult, but she'll try to do so.

At Ebisu's words, she nods, a bit of blush touching her cheeks. She knows some of her selling points, she knows why Kimi is attracted to her, and she knows she doesn't give herself enough credit on some points too. It's hard shaking the idea people are lying to her, but lately she's remembering most people don't have a reason to lie.

"Kimi did. I'm working on believing him, other people too. I guess I never really had a reason to believe people were telling the truth until I joined your temple."

Hearing that kind of news has both god and shinki alike smiling brightly, Aomi's more a quiet light in contrast to the full grin overtaking Ebisu's face. "We're very good at that," the latter says with quite some pride. "You'll get to see a lot more about yourself the longer you stay with us, too. So please look forward to it."

Indeed they are good at that. Ginia's hands lace together as she wonders if she'll be able to see a better version of herself. Perhaps it's the version of herself she was always meant to be. Without memories, a shinki can only follow their instincts of who they are and what's the right thing to do. The guidance and support of others helps, but she can only be herself.

Survive the year, make it to the next. Make the most of her time with Kimi. Come back and see the wisteria bloom. Ginia grins and bows her head. She'll forward to that and so much more.

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