tiger fun! (closed)

[moonlightbeast]

[The funny thing about Yokohama is that there are so, so many nooks and crannies that contain evidence of its wild past. It's not uncommon to see a small patch of earth full of trees and nature, but for it to be framed on all sides by apartment buildings or shops. It's a strange amalgamation of 'nature' and 'infrastructure' that is only possible in cities like this, which have existed for centuries and have gradually encroached on the surrounding forests.

Deep within Yokohama exists one such patch of nature, a 'park' about the size of three city blocks. To the north, a train station. The east contains some shops. To the south is a river. And finally, to the west, a school. But interestingly enough, this 'park' has remained undeveloped. No paths run through it, other than the dirt paths made by teenagers cutting through it to get to the stores on the other side. The road that had once existed there had been paved over some time ago, and the stone path from the road to the shrine remains half-hidden under plant growth and dirt.

But should anyone try to follow that stone path, eventually they will reach a small shrine. It's probably about 40 square meters at most, and with much of the interior taken up by the necessities for running a shrine, it's obviously not meant to be a home. But something has made its home there. Something has managed to crawl through the broken rice paper and nestle in to what little space inside is available.

The shrine's exterior is in really bad shape, too. It looks like nobody has tended to it in a hundred years, if not longer. The roof tiles are in dire need of repair, much of the exterior is covered in vines and fallen leaves, and the wood is showing signs of weathering and rot. Even the collection box out front has a busted top, revealing the small cache of coins still located inside.

Yes, this shrine is in a terrible state. Hopefully someone can find it and notice this.]

Comments

[dereban]

[ Yeah, she'll keep going back and forth to get some of the basic cleaning and stuff but eventually when she finds the person she's just looking exhausted and is laying on the floor, looking almost dead even as he admires everything. ] I'm not imagining things, right. . .?

[moonlightbeast]

You look tired enough, it could be delirium.

[He says that with a joking tone, and the smile he gives is another sign that he's teasing. But when he looks at her, she'll be able to see that his eyes look quite familiar...]

It's been ages since anyone has cleaned up my home this much. I suppose I should say 'thank you', but even that wouldn't be enough to express my gratitude.

[dereban]

Pinch me to wake me up, then. [ She wouldn't be surprised if she was tired in general, to be honest. ] Well, I'm surprised how you could even live in this place when it was like that. I just did this on a whim; I'm not the type of person who'd help like this. . .

[moonlightbeast]

Maybe you're charmed by cats?

[His cat form is quite cute, after all.

And he's not going to pinch her, but he will go over to where she is and crouch down near her. Close enough that he can poke at her forehead a few times.]

You can't sleep here, it's going to be night soon.

[dereban]

Are you making fun of me? [ It's true that cats are cute, but that doesn't mean that she would completely go out of her way for one!! Although she does pout a little when he pokes her on the forehead. ] And I know that, just- [ Let her get up first. ] Who are you, anyway?

[moonlightbeast]

Maybe, maybe not.

[Yes, he is. But he'll lighten up after that, and ultimately offer out a hand to help her up.]

I have a few names, but 'Atsushi' will be fine, I think.

[dereban]

[ She knows he's messing with her, but she isn't going to say anything, instead just easily taking that hand to pull herself up. ] Atsushi, then. Thanks. You said this was 'your home', right? I can't believe I have to ask this but does that mean you're the deity here?

[moonlightbeast]

That's right! You're a clever one, much smarter than the last human who found me.

[That's going to be a story and a half to share at some point.]

It's so refreshing to be able to use this form again too. You don't want to know how long I was stuck in my small form.

[dereban]

. . . [ To be honest, she actually had to ask because she didn't want to sound crazy. She usually isn't the type of person that would believe in this sort of thing, anyway. ] I won't ask, so I'll go straight to my next question. What kind of deity?

[moonlightbeast]

[moonlightbeast]

[To answer her question, he just. Points to the shrine.]

What do you think lives in a place like that?

[dereban]

[ ... ] Don't fuck with me. Based off the stuff I saw, it's a tiger deity, but that doesn't really answer my question.

[moonlightbeast]

[Okay, now he's doing the Nyah face.]

[dereban]

[ . . . ] [ There's no words, she's just going to attempt to karate chop him on the head. ]

[moonlightbeast]

[Unfortunately, he is still very much lacking in power, so he gets chopped.]

[dereban]

C'mon, be serious, Atsushi. [ She wouldn't have to whack him if he didn't shitpost like that. ]

[moonlightbeast]

I am being serious! What's so hard to believe about that?

[dereban]

Because you did the face that's spread all over the internet and explains nothing!

[moonlightbeast]

[He's just.

going to attempt to reach in, place his hands on the sides of Inaba's face, and then mush her cheeks together.]

Come on, I know you're not that stupid.

[dereban]

Hey, stop that! [ She gives a rather obvious frown when he squishes her cheeks, swatting him a bit. ] I'm not dumb but supernatural crap like this is also not my specialty, so cut me some slack!

[moonlightbeast]

I guess 'basic observational skills' count as 'supernatural crap' now, huh?

[Atsushi more like Sassushi mirite?

But he does let go of her, and he walks over to sit down on the donations box.]

I have to know though: if you're not into supernatural crap, then why did you fix up my shrine?

[dereban]

[ RUDE Actually, let her say that out loud. ] Rude. And the reason why I decided to fix it is because I thought it would look good for the paper. [ Which is the truth. ] But if you're saying 'basic observational skills', then I could answer you with this: there's only one deity off the top of my head that's based off a white tiger.

[moonlightbeast]

[he seems to perk up a bit at that last part. Atsushi's interests: smart people.]

You're right, there is. But do you really think that white tiger would have a shrine this small? And have it become neglected like this?

[dereban]

Popular deities tend to have more than one shrine. But since that's not the case, let's go with option two: you're a deity that pretty much faded into obscurity due to a few things. Either an incident that caused this place to be forgotten or people wound up going to a bigger, more popular shrine instead. Am I getting close? [ She might not like supernatural stuff, but she sure knows quite a bit. ]

[moonlightbeast]

That's closer, yes. When the city got built up around this place, people stopped visiting the shrine. I don't actually know what's going on out there nowadays, besides the fact that it's noisier and I see airplanes in the sky sometimes.

[He's smiling as he says all of this, though, as if he's not actually bothered by the story.]

Dazai explained the airplanes to me. They were a lot rarer, back in his time, but I still saw them occasionally. I thought they were dragons, until he explained them to me.