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Post by mugenginga on Dec 19, 2009 14:58:39 GMT -5
(OOC: I'm not saying it again. EVER. Me and FF so far.
As an added bonus some rudimentary Shinto knowledge in relation to Izanami and Izanagi is rather helpful.)
Mana Tadoru, head shrine maiden of Izanami Shrine despite the controversy a female head could cause, brushed a final bit of dirt off the side of the sandou. The shrine, she was told, had just up and appeared one day on the outskirts of this village. From the beginning it had been a shrine towards the goddess Izanami. Mana looked annoyed. Even the gods were subject to divine humor, it seemed. It was ironic enough, in any case.
It had been the arrival of this shrine that had made her decide to come here. Despite being such an eastern village, the people here were tripping over themselves over the proper way to handle the shrine. And it wasn't the shrine that made her think about coming to this world. It was merely what had finalized a thought she had been having. She still wasn't pleased at whatever intervention had caused the teenager that called himself Seta Souji to come to this world.
She grabbed the broom and looked up. The huts of the place that tried to pass itself off as a traditional Japanese village obscured a clear view. But she didn't need to see to see. It wasn't the one that had caught her interest shortly before vanishing from his world. She expected she'd be seeing him soon enough. No, it was another of the three. And the only other one that had actually managed to harnass his power.
Well this was just wonderful. She scowled for a moment before putting on a more neutral face. She'd need to welcome them to the shrine. That man was still a police officer, even if he was not the one she had expected the office would send. She carefully placed the broom against the side of the Temizuya and headed down the stone steps. This form was identical to the one she had taken in the world she had met Seta, but it was like as not the officer (Adachi, that was his name) would recognize her... after all, she'd masqueraded as a man then.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Dec 19, 2009 15:23:41 GMT -5
A car pulled up in front of the shrine and parked right outside of it. It was a fairly nondescript car, fitting for two men who technically were
police officers but more specifically were detectives. Stepping out of the passenger's side was the "rookie", Adachi Tohru. In truth he wasn't a rookie, and in truth he wasn't as incompetent as he looked, but revealing that to the police risked his arrest for the murders of both Yamano Mayumi and Konishi Saki coming up. Hell, he had showed up on this stupid island still in prison garb. He'd had a lot of fun ditching that and getting a suit. The only person who knew was his boss, Takahashi Kenji, and that Seta kid, who somehow had ended up on this island too. And told all of his little friends. At least Bakura didn't know.
Takahashi climbed out of the driver's side of the car and looked over at Adachi, who had started staring up at the torii. Takahashi was a gruff man, who reminded Adachi a lot of Dojima at some times.
"You have anything like this in that town you were stuck in?" Takahashi asked. Adachi nodded. "Well, come on. We've got work to do." Takahashi walked past Adachi and up the stairs to the shrine.
"Er... oh, right! Coming Takahashi-san!" Adachi said, and rushed after Takahashi. His boss knew his secret, often used that to his advantage. It was how he'd gotten Adachi to be his gofer and Adachi back into his old rookie position at the station. Fun times.
The two of them stopped at the top of the stairs, where the shrine maiden was waiting for them. Adachi's mind just about tripped when he saw her. She looked just like that guy who almost always seemed to be working the gas station back in Inaba!
"Woah!" Adachi said. Takahashi turned to look back at Adachi.
"Somethin' wrong?"
"N-No, Takahashi-san, she just looks like someone I know, that's all," Adachi said.
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Post by mugenginga on Dec 19, 2009 16:14:16 GMT -5
Mana paused, regarding Adachi a bit more than was necessary and having to look past Takahashi to do so. She had granted powers based on concepts, but the concept she had picked out in Adachi seemed to be weaker than before. It was a thought that qualified as almost pleasant. She returned her focus to the man that was closer to her and bowed.
"Thanks for coming. I'm surprised you brought company. You said on the phone you wanted to look over the grounds before the festival, right? I only ask that you treat the shrine with the respect a holy place deserves."
Adachi would not likely miss that she sounded like "that guy" as well. At most her voice was a bit more feminine. She was using the generic pronoun "watashi" whereas the man at the station had used "boku" but the similarities were eerie. Stringy silver hair and red eyes weren't exactly a common combination, either. To top it off, she was speaking a bit less politely than one might think proper for a shrine maiden, but it fit right in with the laid back way of speaking the station attendant had used. Her small chest didn't make a genderbend seem anywhere near out of the question, either.
She stepped to the side to allow Takahashi past. She had introduced herself to the Void City precinct over the phone, so Takahashi would know her name. Adachi, however, probably wouldn't. She looked back down towards Adachi. She gestured for him to go past her as well. She would pick up her broom as she passed.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Dec 19, 2009 20:52:08 GMT -5
Takahashi walked past Mana, but Adachi hung back a bit. Okay, so she was using a different pronoun. But her resemblance to that gas station attendant was uncanny. Maybe they were related? Or maybe it was something else... this was the Island after all.
"Er... do you happen to have a brother or a cousin or some relative that lives in Yasoinaba?" Adachi asked.
For some reason, Adachi was being reminded of the first time he had come to Inaba, after being transferred there. Booted to some small town in the boonies. No wonder he'd been so bored. He remembered pulling into the Moel Gas station, meeting that weird genderbent twin of this woman in front of him, and shaking his hand.
"Adachi! Stop patronizing with the locals! We have a shrine to inspect!" Takahashi yelled.
"Just a moment, Takahashi-san!" Adachi yelled back.
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Post by mugenginga on Dec 19, 2009 23:36:45 GMT -5
Mana gave an amused grin, "I suppose you could say that. However, it seems your boss is calling for you. He doesn't seem the type of man you'd want to upset."
If there had ever been a more loaded statement. In both words and tone of voice. And then a transparent topic change. She'd turned towards Takahashi as she finished up. The double meaning of her statement would be impossible for Adachi to grasp. Even on the unlikely chance he knew it was related as much to "that Seta kid" as it was to herself, he wouldn't know why. Although they did look like they could be siblings. Even Mana agreed it was creepy, with an extra helping of unsettling... and downright annoying.
She couldn't shake that feeling for the immortatal life of her...
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Dec 20, 2009 0:03:03 GMT -5
Adachi gave a nervous laugh. "Ahaha... er... yeah, I better go." He ran after Takahashi just as the man started counting off the seconds on his fingers.
"Come on, Adachi, we have a job to do," Takahashi growled.
"Sorry sir, it's just, she looks just like someone I knew," Adachi said.
"It's a large multiverse. Now go stick your head in that chouzuya to make sure the water's clean."
"S-Sir?!" Adachi glanced between Mana and the small structure meant for purification rituals. Somehow he doubted sticking his head into it would go over well with the maiden over there.
"I'm kidding, we'll get kicked out of here if you do that."
"Oh." Adachi breathed a sigh of relief.
Just outside of the shrine, the person who had represented Hope in Izanami's test approached the shrine. He looked down at the flier and then at the signpost. This was the place. Didn't seem to be too many festival preparations going on, though. Just more proof that this was a trick.
Without much of a thought to the shrine itself, Souji walked through the gate and up the stairs to the shrine. He stopped in his tracks upon reaching the top, and assumed a more battle ready stance. He was looking right at the silver haired, red-eyed miko.
"You," Souji growled. He looked past the miko and at Adachi and his boss for a moment before looking back at Mana. "You're running the shrine dedicated to yourself? Do you need prayer so badly you're having to kiss your own ass?"
Adachi turned around, and paled. Oh shit, it was the Seta kid.
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Post by mugenginga on Dec 20, 2009 0:12:58 GMT -5
Mana had the closest thing to surprise she was probably capable. It was likely more than Seta was expecting. It amounted to a twitch of the shoulders and wide eyes. Why hadn't she sensed him coming!? She looked over to Adachi and scowled. That was probably why. She'd been too focused on Adachi to pay attention to the presences approaching the shrine. Her expression shifted to a dangerous anger as she refocused on Seta.
"If you are looking for a fight, take it off these grounds. Your question doesn't need answering, but if you're that curious I took it over because no one in this poor excuse for a traditional village knew what the hell they were doing here. I haven't broken my word, so kindly drop that glare."
She was spitting venom by this point. The main thought on her mind was why she had bothered keeping an eye on him. It was true, he reminded him of her brother. Which should have been a hint to pretend he didn't exist, but noooo. It was those annoying feelings she still had for Izanagi that caused this, she was sure. The damn fool had been too busy being appalled at the fault of breaking his own word to realize how heartbroken she had been. And here was that look, that damn self righteous glare. The same look Izanagi had given that had implied her death, form, and the entire damn mess had been her fault.
She was giving Souji a rather harsh death glare by this point. Even for the hell of Inaba, it came across as a bit much. Well, it was if your only knowledge of her rage only came from the events of the past year in Inaba. It would seem damn personal to Souji, for sure. She seemed to have momentarily forgotten Adachi and Takahashi.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Dec 20, 2009 0:36:38 GMT -5
This was only responded to by Souji giving Mana an even angrier glare. Why the hell was she reacting so angrily toward him? "I think I'd call this meddling with humanity. You followed me here, didn't you?!"
Adachi was suitably confused. With good reason. After all, Souji wouldn't have had time to write a response to his letter after the battle against Izanami, especially since Souji had left the next day, and at the same time, Adachi and Souji had both disappeared from their dimension. But he suddenly got the feeling that Mana, or whatever her name was, was more than a bit similar to that gas station attendant. In fact, he was thinking they were the same person now.
"Adachi! I thought I told you to control that itchy trigger finger!" Takahashi warned. Adachi suddenly realized he'd been reaching down toward his gun and moved his hand away from it.
"S-sorry, boss..." Adachi said. Takahashi was watching the ensuing scene.
"You know that kid?" Takahashi said. Adachi could tell he was referring to the Seta kid. Adachi nodded. "He that Seta kid you hate so much?" Adachi paused, then nodded again. "He looks an awful lot like our shrine maiden here."
Adachi hadn't seen the resemblance until Takahashi pointed it out, but he realized Takahashi was right. There was an uncanny resemblance...
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Post by mugenginga on Dec 20, 2009 0:43:39 GMT -5
"Don't give yourself more credit than you deserve," she wasn't yelling. She probably would have been less scary had she been yelling, "One or two humans does not humanity make. Maybe I did follow you, but if you think focusing on those select few I've influenced means I'm meddling with humanity, I have to wonder how the hell you managed to fit that head of yours through the torii."
Her eyes flicked towards Takahashi as he made his comments. She didn't need his confirmation. She refocused on Souji, her anger dropping a bit to extreme annoyance. She brushed down the front of her skirt as she spoke in a tone that reflected her shift of emotion.
"I don't know what your paranoid delusions are cooking up for schemes, but there will be a festival tomorrow. Kindly get out of my shrine and let these men do their job," she paused, "I gave my word, and unlike some people I could name, I will be keeping it."
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Dec 20, 2009 0:57:51 GMT -5
Souji narrowed his eyes. "I made no promises to you, Izanami." He practically spat her name out. He was now a lot angrier than he was when he got there. "By the way, I never got the chance to ask you before, but I've gotta ask. If you hate Izanagi so much, why did you make him me and Adachi-san over there's Persona?"
With those latest comments from Souji, Adachi was now sure of three things. Two of those three pretty much had blown his mind. 1) was that Souji had definitely meant "Adachi-san" to be mocking. 2) was that this shrine maiden was NOT a simple shrine maiden and was actually Izanami herself, and 3) she was behind his awakening to his Persona.
Once again Adachi went back to that first day in Inaba. Arrived in town, gotten that handshake from Sir Gas Station Attendant, checked in at the hotel since he didn't have anywhere to stay yet...
...Had a weird dream about a shrine filled with fog...
"Holy fuck." Adachi said.
"Oh, what now?" Takahashi asked. To be honest, he wasn't paying that much attention. He'd seen these kind of things before. It happened a lot on this island.
"The Moel Gas Station Attendant was her," Adachi said incredulously.
"Wow, Adachi, I knew you were slow, but this just proves it," Souji yelled back at Adachi.
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Post by mugenginga on Dec 20, 2009 1:07:52 GMT -5
If Souji and Mana had suddenly been replaced by pissed off cats, no one would have known. At most, the cats would have seemed safer. She lifted a hand and pointed at Souji. Each word was accompanied by a shake of the hand.
"You think I wanted to be reminded of him every time you two summoned your Persona!? I merely awakened the potential, it was your own damn psyche that gave it form! Or didn't your encounter with Nametame make that clear!? You two having aspects of the same man, of that man, is not my idea of a good time! You think Persona are as simple as manifestations of your psyche, but they are manifestations of your soul. You don't pick the Persona, they. pick. you! Mull that over your head for a while, but do it somewhere else. Get the fuck out of my shrine, Izanagi!!"
She didn't seem aware of what she had just said. She looked ready to skin a bear, but no indication that she had said anything odd was shown.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Dec 20, 2009 1:20:49 GMT -5
Souji had been about ready to spit something back at Izanami when she had her slip. And then he paled and took a step back. For some reason, Izanami's little slip up had caused no small amount of shock to him. He didn't know why it had; with all of Izanami's raging about Izanagi, he probably should have expected it, but Souji hadn't expected his own reaction to it.
"What... did you call me?" Souji asked in a much calmer and much more nervous tone.
Adachi blinked. Mana, or Izanami, he guessed, had just called the Seta kid Izanagi. What the hell?
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Post by mugenginga on Dec 20, 2009 1:27:20 GMT -5
Mana paused. What... oh fuck. The split second of confusion was replaced by a split second of "well shit" and then turned back to anger. She shook her head and pointed forcefully to the torii that seperated the sacred from the secular.
"Just get out," she turned towards Adachi and Takahashi, "And you two stop ogling like this is some circus sideshow! If you don't intend on doing the job you can leave right along with Seta!"
She had to ask herself again, and likely not for the last time, why the hell she'd kept tabs on Seta. Okay, more like why she didn't tell the reason to go screw itself. She knew damn well why. That slip was proof to every part of her mind she knew damn well why.
She also didn't look like it was a good time to argue with her.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Dec 20, 2009 1:38:52 GMT -5
Souji didn't question her demand this time. In fact, he turned tail and ran. He didn't know why he had freaked so badly because of that slip-up, but he wasn't staying around to find out. He'd confirmed his suspicions anyway. She was here, and she had followed him. Shit.
First thing he was doing was getting on that bus he came here on and getting the hell out of here.
Takahashi didn't react to Mana's threat the way Adachi likely would have. "We're done here. It's clear the only danger here is you, and that's not enough to stop a festival, especially if this is your shrine. Don't want to turn up dead the day after the festival after all." Takahashi chuckled, and then started heading out of the shrine. Adachi gave one last glance to the miko before running after.
What the hell just happened?! Adachi thought to himself.
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