Hatsumode or Bust [Open]

[Tanuki Rinko]

Rinko's geta clacked against the small stone path as she made her way to the forest shrine. Behind her, a rambunctious child tugged at his parents' hands to urge them to move faster. Normally the young teen would have been annoyed by the shrill interjections coming from the little boy, but it was the new year. Now was the time to leave the negative behind and look to a bright future. With that thought in mind, Rinko began sweeping away the snow packed on the sando using her tail. It was cold, but a good deed now might give her the positive karma she needed to overcome a future obstacle.

After cleansing herself at the temizuya, the trees opened to a large clearing where the shrine stood. The normally empty space was filled with people. To the left of the shrine were a few specialty vendors selling ema, lucky charms, and premade nengajo. To the far right were the tools needed to make traditional mochi. Due to Rinko's unfortunate curse, she was ordered by her father to help with the mochi instead of selling wares. The girl exhaled, pushing the frustration out with her breath. Be positive.

Soon Rinko was standing before the shrine. She gave the large rope a tug, causing the bell connected to it to jangle. When she approached the offering box, she pulled the lone five yen piece from her sleeve that she'd been careful not to lose. As she placed the coin gently into the box, she looked up to see the silhouette of the shrine's kami seated behind the screen door. The common folk beside her were unaware of the spirit's presence, and she wondered how they could pray to a being they couldn't see. She followed the proper protocol, making sure to bow twice, clap twice, and bow once more. She gave her quick introduction and offered the prayer she'd been trained to give since childhood. "Please bring fortune to the village." Rinko could sense the eye-roll coming from the kami, but it was to be expected. It wouldn't be surprising if a good chunk of prayers were the exact same.

With her wish finished, Rinko moved on to get an omikuji. Her father had already paid for her fortune so the tanuki girl wouldn't have to worry about losing the money. She shook the small box and pulled the paper from the bottom. She moved away to give others their turn as she looked over her fortune.

小凶 - Syokyou - A little misfortune

Rinko frowned at the slip of paper and sighed. "Yeah, I was expecting that." She walked over to the rows of chicken wire and tied her fortune there. Her next stop was back near the shrine. A wooden structure was to the left of the shrine which was filled with the ema that people had written their prayers and wishes on. While Rinko had to ask for the village's well-being to the kami directly, she was allowed to write what she really wanted on her ema. She produced a blank one from her sleeve, as well as a thick ink pen. She hadn't written out her desire as she had no idea what she wanted. She had made some new friends in the Magdalene Order that she wanted to wish well. Looking to her personal problems, Rinko had just the other day learned of a curse she'd inherited from her mother. Selfishly, she wanted to wish to get it removed, or maybe just weakened. She eyed the kami's shadow and wondered if it could even help her with such a problem. Rinko returned her contemplative gaze to the bare ema and remained unsure of what to do. Perhaps someone could give her some friendly advice.

If you'd like to join the omikuji fun, roll a 12-sided die and see what your luck is in the new year for your character! Remember, if you get bad luck, tie it up in order to exorcise the bad luck. If you pull a good fortune, there's no need to tie it. Also, if you tie it to a tree on the grounds, it hurts the tree, so please refrain from doing that. There are usually places specifically to tie them, so only use that for your fortunes.

Spoiler: List of Fortunes

12) 大吉 - Daikichi - Excellent luck (Immediately go gamble and buy lottery tickets)
11) 吉 - Kichi - Good luck
10) 中吉 - Cyukichi - Fair luck
9) 小吉 - Syokichi - A little luck
8) 半吉 - Hankichi - Semi-good luck
7) 末吉 - Suekichi - Uncertain luck
6) 末小吉 - Suekokichi - Uncertain but a little luck
5) 凶 - Kyou - Bad luck (Misfortune)
4) 小凶 - Syokyou - A little misfortune
3) 半凶 - Hankyou - semi-misfortunate
2) 末凶 - Suekyou - Uncertain misfortune
1) 大凶 - Daikyou - Certain disaster (consider buying a karmic life insurance policy)

 

[Shieo]

You, of all people are going to entertain this tomfoolery? Rumbling within' the stills of my mind, in conjunction with the sharp yet hushed clack of geta upon the stonework beneath me. "Day off, not like it's going to do anything drastic. Cheap entertainment, perhaps." my muted voice spoke in quieted dial to the psyche that filled my head.
Day was quiet, there weren't many people around the far off shrine that inhabited one of the forests that spanned in Kumogakure's influence. My dour eyes peered around the surroundings, witnessing the gentle lofting of the occasional snowflake that drifted from the skies, or fell in tandem from the sloped roofs of the quaint buildings that poked about in silence.

Inevitably, I reached the entryway to the shrine-grounds. Taking the time to stop at the chōzuya and perform the relatively monotonous cleansing process; from my left hand, to the right, cleansing my mouth and with some short-effort the handle and returning the ladle back to it's home position. Turning my attention further inwards towards the shrine itself, I inhaled a deep breath and began the final steps. Taking note of a younger pair finishing up their own rite. I couldn't help but crack a hidden smirk, afore heading there myself.

Reaching the steps I took a moment to watch the formation of the wood, structured with a rather fine; but aged craftsmanship. With the approach, my steps were sloppy and weighted; notably by the gentle wheezing creaks of the wood below. Getting fat are we? Anyone would, with an overgrown brooding beast within' them.
Bahamut, gracefully returned to silence.

Where I stood a moment, taking the time to align myself mentally with the spiritualism of the grounds. While my beliefs were far from pure, or even of a semblance of conviction; I felt, despite all this- I should honor the traditions seeings how I was here. Closing my eyes I lowered my form twice in a low bow each time, followed with two claps; and a final low bow. And there I stayed for a moment, While I can't say I fully entrust any sort of belief beyond the typical skepticism, if there is any sort of being of higher power. Grant me some peace of mind, maybe a nice long holiday. And a nice cup of coffee every morning, noon and night. As such my mind silenced, if only for a brief lapse of my sad time Really? Can it..

Lifting myself to a stand, I reached into my pocket withdrawing a go-en; flicking it to the sky and watched it clink about the saisen afore slipping into the folds. Clattering against the other coins within'. Turning on my heel, I gently returned to the stone pathway and directed towards the omikuji.
The process being overall rather simple. I had acquired the fortune paper, and stared at the roll for a moment, mantled between my index and thumb fingers on either side. Unfurling the roll to scan the contents, with a rather deliberate frown on my face. "Figures, Kyou." Sucks to be you. "I figure you'd be the most familiar with that, given we're two the same."
He returned with a guttural huff in my mind.

With a swift roll of my eyes, I meandered towards the barb and tied my fortune among a few others. "Hm, think that's about as much as I'll tempt the deities this day." At that moment, my attention was caught by the same girl from earlier; a rather. . . Uniquely identifiable one, if not for her physical appearance; but that too which dwells underneath the surface. I arched a brow, figuring; while I were here. Maybe some attempt at being social could garner some favor from the... Potentiality of the deity.

Making my way next to her left, I stopped; the clack of my footwear still wearing to the stonework pathway. With both hands tucked away in my coat pockets; the fur, leather and rather... Outlandish appearances were nothing short of barbaric, too which I often forget. "Quiet day, huh." turning my eyes to her; "For someone so young, yer' lookin' rather contemplative. What's got someone so young, to build such pent up concern. I wonder?"

---

[MFT]
Thought
"Speech."
Bahamut Thought.

 

[Tanuki Rinko]

The sudden voice caused Rinko to jump. She fumbled with the materials in her hands, almost dropping them at the stranger's feet. She caught the items with her tail and hid them behind her back. She fully faced the newcomer, prepared to let out a snide response, but paused when her gaze honed in on his appearance. He was grizzled and towered over her, and she had to step back just to not strain her neck to make eye contact. What was surprising to her was his age. Rinko was used to being approached by giant academy students, while adults were a rare occurrence. She cleared her throat to give her time to come up with a more appropriate answer to his question. "Well...ya know. Mo' moe, mo' problems?" She let out a nervous chuckle before attempting to divert the conversation so she could compose herself. "What about you? Why is someone so old trudging around a hip festival? Shouldn't you be home warming your rickety bones while complaining about the youth of today?" Rinko tilted her head with a simple smile to prove that there was no hostility to the jest. She grabbed her ema from her tail and pulled it forward. "Seriously though, I'm just not sure what to wish for. It was a weird ending to my year, and it's hard to choose what's more important." She sheepishly looked at the structure filled with ema. "You look pretty rough and tumble. You're probably a shinobi, or a mercenary at least. If you could go back to when you were a kid...what would you have wished for?"

 

[Suzuki Setsu]

Setsu arrived at the forest shrine dressed for the occasion, though he didn’t intend to be. He had tried to rent a simple yukata for his hatsumode, but the women running the store had insisted he go out in nothing less than kimono, hakama, and haori. The young empath had tried to say that the outfit seemed a little too extravagant for him, but his protests seemed only to embolden shopkeepers’ efforts. In the end, Setsu capitulated and now found himself drawing far too much attention to himself than he was comfortable with.

His only saving grace was that he wasn’t the only one dressed to the nines on this night. Hatsumode was an occasion on which many liked to dress up, and the people of Kumogakure were no exception. The atmosphere was charged with excitement for the coming year, and Setsu couldn’t help but join in the cheery mood. Which in turn only intensified the feelings of excitement and anticipation of those around him.

Since many people were still making their way to the shrine to offer their prayers and wishes to the god of the land, Setsu spent some time browsing the shops after cleansing himself. The young empath pulled out the money he had saved all year from his meager stipend as a shinobi-in-training, some was already set aside for his offering to the kami, but he had enough to splurge on a few things. He bought a simple nengajo to send home, Mom and Dad are probably visiting the local shrine right now. It would be nice to send them something. He next paid a visit to the vendor selling omamori. He seemed to bear a resemblance to Rinko, but Setsu couldn’t be sure. Regardless, the boy was easily convinced into buying the protective charms for himself, and several to give to his friends and acquaintances. In gratitude for the bulk purchase, the vendor tossed in an ema for free and directed Setsu to where he could hang it after he wrote down his wish.

He first got in line to give his new year’s offering. Tossing the money into the offering box, he enthusiastically bowed twice, clapped twice, and bowed once again. “Please keep my friends and family and the rest of the village in good health this year.” As he left in the direction where the vendor had indicated to hang up his ema, Setsu remarked quietly to himself, “But that’s probably an impossible prayer even for a kami to fulfill, shinobi are constantly in dangerous situations.”

He noticed a familiar face standing by the ema, Rinko was there dressued in a yukata and seemingly pondering over something. But before Setsu could approach, another individual had already started trying to address the concerns of the Tanuki girl. Not wanting to interrupt, Setsu decided to pass the time by drawing an omikuji.

末凶 - Suekyou - Uncertain misfortune

Oh no. Better tie this up right away! Setsu thought as he quickly looked for the chicken wire structure on which to fasten the slip of paper. However, instead of safely tying the fortune to have his bad luck wait at the shrine instead of following him around, a sudden gust of wind blew it out of his grasp and into the sky. Omikuji are just for fun right? Right? This isn’t an actual representation of my luck for the next year. The young empath tried unsuccessfully to convince himself that not tying up his ill-fated fortune was not going to come back and bite him. Oh the ema! I can just wish for better luck and it should cancel out right? Clinging to this false hope he headed over to where Rinko and the mysterious stranger were conversing.

Once within earshot Setsu heard Rinko ask a question of the man in a very serious, un-Rinko-like manner. “If you could go back to when you were a kid...what would you have wished for?”

Wow she hasn’t even tried to get him to buy something yet! What happened to her? Setsu wondered. Before he realized it, the young boy was awkwardly eavesdropping on the conversation from behind a small clump of bushes. His burning curiosity was the emotion that ruled at the moment, he wanted to know so much about this situation: who the man was, how would he respond, why was Rinko acting so genuine, what would she end up wishing for, etc. Though how long could an academy student dressed in such a vibrant outfit remain unnoticed in this situation?

 

[Shieo]

I arched a brow, having angled an inquisitive; yet still rather flat gaze to the young girl to my size. Perhaps the most striking thing, was not quite her appearance; but the mannerisms in which she spoke. It caught my attention, and my mental standing a bit off guard.
At the mention of my age, or even the manner of perhaps my appearance giving it away; I disguised my look of discontent by looking forwards, advantage seized by both angle and I suspect our rather drastic height difference "Sitting inside all day, while appealing; does grow dull every once in a blue moon, I wager." Repeating what I said in my head, 'I wager'? What am I even saying No idea old man.

Sniffing, ever to subtly to help grasp myself into reality once more. Taking in the girls words carefully, shuffling my hands in my pockets a moment while I thought on the matter. "What's more important, hm...? I wonder." Slowly quietening myself as the comment filled the air of my appearance, and what I would have wished for as a child. A question I hesitate to say I'm prepared for.

My usual dour expression loosened to something more natural, or awake; but the color drained ever so slightly from their gaze.

Looking back, I couldn't help but picture the shorter; spunkier version of myself. Popping around with more energy, and less care for things literally; in contrast to myself which hides behind a facade of disinterest, where care should be shown. With a varying flash of events that jumped from the past, to life more recently. I couldn't help but feel a crack form on the left of my mouth, shifting to a faint smirk. "My wish as a child would be something heartfelt, and foolish." Pulling my right hand out of my pocket, I patted the girls head twice; if allowed. Following, it fell to my side. "Wish for something that makes you happier; you're wishing for something in the present. -- And what's important now, will change later. It could be tomorrow, a week from now; or a year from now. And why waste a wish on something that's so fleeting, hm?" My eyes cast back to her, presenting that same questioning brow; the half-lidded look returning only to add to the unusual look of the whole expression.

---

[MFT]
Thought
"Speech."
Bahamut Thought.

 

[Tanuki Rinko]

Rinko's ears parted slightly, allowing the man's hand to fit between them. Normally she wouldn't be keen on physical contact, but something about this guy seemed calming. His hand pulled away, and Rinko had to pat down her hair as her static strands reached for the man. With his opinion given, Rinko looked down at her ema and repeated his words. "Something that makes me happy, huh?" For the longest time, learning to be a carbon copy of her father was what made her happy. Trying to make money, start businesses, convince the kids on the playground to take out loans. But now, her curse was ripping that away. Was that really bad though? Was this her chance to become her own person, not just a mini-Kechi? "Happy." What was making her happy now? When was the last time she was happy? Talking with this interesting 'barbarian' was pleasant at least. The day she met Setsu was good. But what made her more happy was meeting him again, and seeing the excited look in his eye when he realized they had a class together. Between Rinko skipping classes, and the alarming rate at which academy students seem to come and go, it was rare to talk with someone more than once. Rinko nibbled the end of her pen as she contemplated the exact words she wanted. Kami could be as sneaky as youkai when it came to wordplay, so she needed to make sure her desire couldn't be misconstrued. With a nod, she finally wrote down her wish.

I wish for good, long-lasting relationships.

She trotted to the ema display and hung her wish on a knob. She swore she heard a snicker coming from the shrine proper, and shot the kami within a fierce glare. With her self-inflicted stress left at the display, Rinko returned to the man and smiled. "Thanks mister. I guess I was over-thinking things." She searched his person for a moment and cocked her head. "Are you going to make an ema wish too? Or did you already say what you wanted to the kami?" I wonder what he'd wish for now...but it's probably pretty nosy to ask an adult about their problems. When her question was answered, Rinko nodded and placed her fists on her hips. "I'm Tanuki Rinko by the way. I'm a student here, though that's only because I don't have all my credits yet. I'll probably be a Genin in a few months..." Rinko's voice quieted, "if I actually attend them." She shrugged before continuing. "Anyway, what's your name? I doubt you want me to call you 'Old Man' for the rest of our conversation." Once given the means to address the man properly, Rinko pointed to a large wooden bucket a distance away from the shrine. "Wanna help me make mochi? Pops won't let me run any of the shops, so he's making me work in other ways."

 

[Suzuki Setsu]

The older man gave some good advice and though intended for the small Tanuki girl, it made Setsu reconsider what to write down on his ema too. He had just been going to write something along the lines of being able to visit his parents this year. Will that make me happy though? The young empath had many encounters in the short amount of time he had spent in Kumogakure, he wasn’t sure if his parents would recognize him anymore. Not to mention, the small hamlet where he grew up held little love for shinobi, the children that were identified as chakra-sensitive were presumed dead. Setsu had been writing letters to them daily, but he was smart enough to know that they were being heavily scrutinized and possibly censored before sent out of the village. Setsu shook his head free of such worries. It was the new year, no place for negative thoughts or emotions. And besides like the older gentleman suggested, wishes were meant for the present. So he wrote down his wish, and returned to the conversation Rinko and the man were having.

Rinko seemed to come to a decision about her wish, writing something down on her ema before hanging it up. I wonder what she ended up writing? Setsu asked himself. He was curious, but knew the rules of wishing. If you mentioned what you wished for, it wouldn’t come true. And it would be rude to simply read through all of the ema until he found hers. Not to mention he might earn the ire of the shrine god. With the fortune he pulled earlier, it was best not to tempt fate. Rinko asked the man if he had a wish to make, before asking if he wanted to join her in making mochi. Oh this is my chance to enter the conversation! The boy thought. All he had to do was slowly back away from the bushes and step around them and it would be like he had just arrived. However, before he could do so, the young empath felt what seemed to be a light push forward. It was enough to send to boy toppling out of the bushes, where he face planted on the pathway. He lost hold of his ema which went skittering over to where the mystery man and Rinko stood, stopping squarely between them with the wish he had written clearly visible.

I wish for a little bit of courage, to turns my dreams into reality.

“Umm, hi,” Setsu awkardly greeted the pair as he stood and brushed himself off. A feeling of great embarrassment spilled out of him while he continued. “I-I’m sorry for eavesdropping. I-I just didn’t know when to come in, and I didn’t want to interrupt.” He walked forward and continued, “If it’s alright I’ll just pick up my ema there. Umm...do you think I could join you for making mochi? If not that’s fine.” I’m totally going to get scolded for this, aren’t I.

 

[Shieo]

"I'va... Opted outta' makin' any wishes this year." I offered, with some release of my own tension- I felt my accent slipping for a moment. Or ever.. They needn't know that. After a brief silent stint while I addressed the format of my mind, I returned my gaze to the hanging ema. "Nice'ta meet you; Shieo, no'ne particularly importan' or worth mentioning." Having adjusted my hands to my pant pockets and slipped them in. "You'a be fine I wager. S'well, the early stages' are pretty simple." Having notably addressed both topics rather backwards, I then turned to Rinko to answer he question about the mochi making, before the young boy made his grand-- Arrival.

Drawing an arched brow over my right eye; I simply stared at the form that collapsed rather than affording any time or attention to the wooden object that skittered like a rock over a lake. "'Fraid, I'm notta' much of a foody-person, but it seems..." Fishing my hand out of my pocket; to point a thumb towards Setsu. "You hav' someone willin'. Truth be, I need'ta head back to work." Letting my arm fall to my side, I gave a brief smile to the girl- and Setsu. Afterwards I had made my way over to ema between the two parties; kneeling down and picking it up. Without sparing it the time to read, I passed by Setsu and offered it facing down.
After, passing by; I spoke with a lower tone. "Sometimes speakin' less, s'better all'round."

Then returning to the path, I began back towards the entryway.

---

Note: Sorry for being a bit delayed. I'll take my leave just because I'm having trouble keeping up with all my threads, sorry!
Thought
"Speech."
Bahamut Thought.