chibisu | Ebisu's Inbox

Ebisu's Inbox

[For anyone who is familiar with Ebisu in person, they might be expecting the sound of a cute child on the answering machine.]

[They do not get a cute child's voice.]

[Instead, it's the voice of a young man, speaking calmly and professionally.]

Hello. You have reached the personal phone and temple of Ebisu, one of the Gods of Fortune. He and his shinki are currently busy right now, so please leave a message and someone will respond back to you as soon as possible.

Thank you, and have a nice day.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Frankly, he appreciates them getting straight to the point, and he gives a small nod.]

It's a concern we've all been wondering about... There are a few explanations. The ayakashi could have been pre-named, waiting in preparation for an upfront attack on the compound.

[One hand tucked partially into his pants pocket, Kiwami pauses for a moment, brow crinkling. It's a similar expression to when he'd paused telling her some things the first time they'd talked about the raid on the temple.]

...There's one other way... That doesn't require a mask at all. But I did not spot that during the confrontation either.

[With how quickly the octopus ayakashi tore through the first floor after the bell sounded, that they were prepared for an attack is a sound theory.

Ginia recognizes that expression. She waits for him to clarify, begins typing when he doesn't. She knows she's new, only a few months existing as a shinki, definitely not privvy to the full history of the temple. She also knows enough that hiding more from her feels silly.]

You told me Ebisu was away the night of the raid and took three shinki with him. Where did they go?

[Well, he may as well make sure that he doesn't have to explain too much that isn't necessary...]

Do you know of the name Izanami?

[Ginia's brow furrows as she tries to recall what she knows. At the urging of her coworkers, especially the ones working in the shrines, she's begin studying mythology for a better understanding of the god and people she's serving.]

Goddess of creation and death, resides in the underworld.

[A beat.]

Ebisu's mother.

That's correct.

[Taking a breath, he pauses in his stride and meets Ginia's eyes seriously.]

....What I'm telling you... is something that I trust you will keep as a secret of this temple. It is something that our master studied for a very long time, and which I am unsure Heaven has much knowledge of.

[It's an incredibly polite way of saying the Heavens don't know shit.]

If it were to leave these grounds or our coworkers, I worry, as do all of us, of what would happen.

[Ginia stops and looks back at him. The gravity of his words is not lost on her. It's also a deep level of trust being told whatever he's going to tell her.

Probably pretty convenient he's telling this to a mute woman. Go ahead, Heaven, try to make her talk.

She nods at him to continue.]

[For a moment long, Kiwami stares at her, before he nods slightly back- or perhaps it's only to himself. Either way, the agreement seems to be enough.]

Heaven says... no gods can control ayakashi. However, Iwazami-sama... is a unique case. Instead of naming them, and suffering constant blight... She created tools that could create them effortlessly.

I did not see any of those tools at use... Or, at least, I did not see that strange goddess or the old woman use them. I suppose that does not say much.

[Ginia listens to Kiwami, trying to remember if she'd seen the woman or teenager do anything else other than seemingly pull ayakashi-forming blobs out of nothing. No tools, no other incantations in that moments. Just an act that seem otherwise impossible without...

Impossible things.

Ginia's eyes widen as she remembers another conversation back in January, a statement she'd called out for its specificity but didn't make sense until now.

Dammit, Kimi.]

Ebisu went to the underworld for one of the tools the night of the raid.

Correct. It is an entrance normally guarded and sealed, but not on the day of the meeting, which the master knew.

[Letting out a slow breath, he picks up his stride once more.]

...He did, technically, retrieve one. However... its location is lost to us.

[The meeting where his absence was noted and served as enough justification to raid his temple. Did someone tip off Heaven knowing he would be there? It's an easy enough assumption Ebisu took the blame for someone else's masked ayakashi, but now Ginia wonders if they also wanted the tool.]

We know now the cult has some means of controlling ayakashi. There was also the sorcerer behind the masked ayakashi Ebisu took the blame for.

Do you think he works for or with the cult and do you think they have the tool?

It's highly possible. The Shores are disconnected. Anything tying them together is rare on its own, after all.

[It's possible that the two events are entirely separate... but the possibility of that is incredibly rare.]

Rare is not impossible.

[And even impossible or improbable things are becoming far more likely.]

Putting the tool and controlling ayakashi aside for a moment, is this kind of magic among humans common?

The rituals to drain energy, summoning demons, the dolls representing my generation, have these things happened before or is this kind of magic new?

I don't believe it's something that's common... but I believe it has happened before. I'm afraid I couldn't tell you the extent... not immediately.

[He would have to do a lot of thinking, talking with the others, and going through his own notes and journals that he's written in over the many decades.]

If you find something later, could you let me know? I've been wondering if the arrival of my generation perhaps changed something in the world.

[Arrivals from multiple worlds all with their own forms of magic, still working here. Ginia is far from an expert on magic, but something about that seems strange too.]

Of course. This is relevant to all of us, even the greater Far Shore.

[Granted, the rest of the Far Shore might not act like it, but that doesn't stop a truth from being what it is.]

Since it may very well come into play... The item the master was retrieving was a brush.

Is there anything about this brush that would make it stand?

[If she sees a cultist controlling ayakashi with a brush in their possession, she's mugging that cultist as soon as possible. But if there's anything specific, that'll make it easier than robbing every cultist calligraphy or art enthusiast too.]

I never saw any of them personally, so I can't say. I've heard the handle is red, and the brush itself is pointed, not flat.

[Unfortunately, that's all he knows.]

[A description is better than nothing. Whether the cult even has the brush in its possession is conjecture. It could be lost entirely or in the possession of someone else.

Would it be better if the brush was still in Ebisu's possession?]

Do you think someone in Heaven is working with the cult? The accuracy needed for the dolls is too precise otherwise.

[There's a pause before Ginia adds on to her message.]

For the record, no hard feelings for what happened in that basement.

Hm? Oh. [Right. That. Kiwami sighs.] I'm only glad that I was careful with that doll...

[If taking it away from the crystal had caused something to begin to happen... Who knows what damage would have done.]

At any rate... It might be that someone among Amaterasu's retinue is responsible. However, there are other possibilities. For example... [He curls his fingers to his mouth thoughtfully.] Have you ever heard of someone living being able to access the Far Shore...?

[That's something Ginia hopes to never find out. Hopefully no one takes it upon themselves to use the dolls like voodoo dolls.

Ginia shakes her head at Kiwami's question.]

I thought gods couldn't transport living humans.

[But perhaps never considering otherwise or other means was shortsighted.]

I believe it's not something that is necessarily... recommended. The Near Shore is for humans, after all.

[Taking one to the Far Shore could very quickly unbalance everything as it's meant to be, and there's no telling how well they would even adapt. It's a place inherently meant for gods and spirits. Maybe it's something that would need to be experimented with...]

[...Not that Ebisu himself would ever do it in an of his incarnations. Not with how much he loves humans to begin with.]

[Kiwami doesn't say all that, trusting Ginia to be intelligent enough to pick up on all the implications.]

There's something else as well... On rare occasions, a human's spirit can detach from the body while they're still alive, and they can reach the Far Shore if they know where to go.

[It feels like everything is a delicate balance atop a pin and the new generation is threatening to topple everything. What would happen if a human came to the Far Shore? How would they throw things off?

Did it already happen? Is that why everything is off kilter, toppling back and forth until it all crashes down?

On the other hand, what if only the spirit travels and the body stays behind? A detached spirit of a human isn't the strangest thing she's heard but it still takes some processing. Did some humans in the cult figure out how to detach their spirits? Is that why they're capable of seeing ayakashi and gods?

This feels like something better shared with the magically inclined.]

A detached human spirit, is there anything that would set them apart from a shinki or god appearance wise?

They have a tail. Technically, in that aspect, they could be considered partially an ayakashi. While only a part of it is visible, it acts as a connection to their body. If they damage the tail, then they lose their ability to return to their physical living body.

...Or so I understand. [He inclines his head slightly.] The young master's acquaintance, Yato-sama, would know more, I believe.

[A tail, a tether to their physical body. That narrows things down in terms of what to look for. Her mouth purses at the mention of Yato. She's heard of the god's name, from Ebisu and also more generally from Shun.]

A shame he's been on a mission with his shinki for the last seven months.

[If Shun believes it's a sincere mission, she'll take it, but it doesn't make it any less annoying.]

Perhaps I can find something in the library. I have a few things I've been meaning to research anyway.

Likely many missions, considering his status as a minor god.

[Kiwami might not know much about Yato's particular situation, as only Kunimi has actually become familiar with the other god, but it's not a hard thing to surmise. As Ginia should know by now, gods live through belief... so a minor god not known as well needs to work even harder for recognition.]

The library may be difficult... I wish you well in it. [His lips purse together as he looks up ahead.] Perhaps there's something in our research... but I am uncertain. Iwami-san would have to be asked to be sure.

Ebisu's Inbox

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)