So you all meet at the Shrine (Persona SoTVD)

[Merilan]

The Higashikata Shrine sits on the outskirts of the city as the local Shinto shrine of the prefecture. It isn't particularly large like some of the other primary shrines around the region, but it serves the local populace well with their spiritual needs and also helps to provide assistance during the festival seasons, and on days of particularly strong worship.

Lyeo Myung-Hon has only recently begun to undertake the duties at the shrine; with the kannushi and other shrine maidens typically fulfilling duties elsewhere, she finds herself more often than not the sole caretaker of the place, despite being particularly new to the region. Still, she isn't complaining -- there are more stressful things to do than meticulously groom the shrine courtyard, provide charms and services to the locals, and ensure the offertory box is... not empty... somehow.

That last bit may require some work.

Currently, the white-haired girl - standing at a resoundingly average 5'6" - is seated at her porch, tying together strings to create decorative arrows - hamaya - in preparation for the New Years' celebration. She's dressed as any of her peers would, in a white haori and red hakama, though she's also got several white ribbons tied around her hair.

[Mokou-tan]

Tsubaki finds herself on the outskirts of town near an unfamiliar shrine. She's clad in her usual attire: black Hakama and a sarashi to cover her chest, with her naginata covered and slung across her back. Am I lost again? If you have to ask, you're lost, Little Hero. Whatever, Setanta, there are worse places to be lost at. At least I'm still clean. After her short internal conversation, the tiny warrior walks under the Torii. Her nearly floor-length black hair blows in the breeze, restrained only by the small red ribbon in her hair. With a serene appearance, she steps up to the chozubachi and cleanses herself before approaching the main shrine. When she gets up to the shrine, she first peers into the donation box. That's disturbingly barren. There's a few coins, but still... Do the gods here not do anything useful? Well, I don't think anyone's watching me. With a soft sigh, she reaches into her messenger bag and pulls a small drawstring bag that jingles. She reaches in and drops a handful of 500 yen coins into the box. She replaces the bag, steps back and prays properly. On her way back down, she notices the white-haired girl and grins.

"Hey, Miko-san! Do you sell charms here?"

[Merilan]

The white-haired girl jumps, quite evidently distracted with her duties. There's a particularly seized-up look as her pupils shrink and some arcane internal working in her mind pushes her towards a flee-or-fight response... before she reminds herself that she's not dealing with an encounter here.

"Charms, that is, um--" she clumsily fumbles her first words, and then speaks in slightly broken Japanese, "We do sell charms here."

She doesn't visibly relax, though she does set the tray of hamaya aside and quietly walks over to the main building, pulling over a little table serving as a kiosk. There are a variety of colourful omamori at display; charms of good fortune, for avoidance of evil spirits, for good results in studies and the office, for traffic safety...

The white-haired miko also bows, customarily saying, "Thank you for, for your donation. Please feel free to collect a charm."

[Mokou-tan]

Tsubaki gives the shrine maiden a smile as she picks up an omamori for avoiding evil spirits.

"Yaku-yoke. I suppose this would be the one most useful for them." Tsubaki places the charm in her bag and places another coin on the table.

"So, you must be new here. And a foreigner..." She pauses for a moment, processing everything about the person in front of her. "So, is your work here hard?"

[Merilan]

There's a rigid stiffness about the shrine maiden's demeanor, her back straight-laced and her eyes locked onto Tsubaki's as if she were monitoring her for sudden movements. Her facial expressions are subdued, face perpetually locked in emotional stillness. It would be convincing, but her voice seems to convey her feelings more.

Nonetheless, she takes one of the pouches -- a cotton white one with blue and red sunbursts and the characters laced in gold thread -- and hands it to her gratefully, bowing her head.

"Shrine work? No, it is not particularly difficult..." the shrine maiden answers honestly.

[Mokou-tan]

Tsubaki nods to the shrine maiden. "That's good. You seem a little uncomfortable, though. Don't worry, most of the people in this town are decent. Do you go to school?"

[Merilan]

There's a note of quiet relief as Tsubaki reassures Myung. She gestures, moving back towards the porch towards her tea to pour some for the visiting girl. It is normal green tea, it seems, served in an earthenware tea mug sat upon a little cup cushion.

"No, not yet. My grandfather is looking to start me at the local high school in a few days, however..." she relays, then pauses, asking with curiousity in her voice.

"Do you go to the local school? What is... school like?"

[Mokou-tan]

Tsubaki follows and takes a seat next to her host, carefully placing her naginata on the ground.

"The school is nice for most people. You'll have a bunch of classes to deal with. If you haven't been to school before, it might seem a little difficult. There are a bunch of clubs and stuff you can join. I used to be president of one, until my life got busy." The little warrior sips her tea and smiles to her.

"Though, when you go, pretend not to know me. It's not that I don't want to know the new kid, it's more that I'd rather you had a shot at having friends here."

[Merilan]

Myung's tension could possibly be explained by the presence of the weapon around, though she doesn't try to outwardsly show it. She pays close attention, hands on her lap as she sits seiza-style, to Tsubaki's description. "No, I have only been taught Japanese and other basic subjects at home before this. And... I don't understand. Do you not have friends yourself? Is it... common for people to be carrying weapons here?"

She returns to her work idly in the meanwhile, tying the arrows with their little streamers with due diligence. "Oh. My apologies. I have not introduced myself." The ribboned shrine maiden bows her head and says, "I am supposed to introduce myself as Hakari Myorei... but, I... prefer Myung. Lyeo Myung-Hon. If that is not a problem with you." It sounds a little unnatural, being a Korean name, perhaps, but it isn't exactly a big jump.

[Mokou-tan]

Tsubaki nods a little and takes another sip of her tea. "I've got a really bad reputation around there, honestly. I'd rather you didn't get one for being associated with me." At mention of her weapon she chuckles.

"It depends, I practice Naginatajutsu, so I can take it with me around classes and such due to my club, but if I hit someone with it I'd still get in trouble. Not many people carry them, though. My name is Kuroki Tsubaki, Myung."

[Merilan]

Myung stops to sip some tea from her mug, and then she repeats, "Kuroki... Tsubaki," as if to recall the name to herself, to affix it to her memory so that she wouldn't forget.

But then she follows that up with: "That... seems a bit lonely," in a rather blunt and to the point answer. She looks up, dull grey eyes towards Tsubaki's, and asks, "Why do people dislike you? Is it because of your weapon? I do not mind, myself. People sometimes sees me as strange. Maybe that can be something common among us."

[Mokou-tan]

Tsubaki laughs a little. "I'm disliked because I'm violent. If I see someone getting picked on sometimes I can't help but assist the weaker party. Sadly, it usually gets twisted until I become the person in the wrong. Since that's how it is, I'm the most vile person at the school. Even the local bullies are better people than I am. That's fine though, I'm sturdy enough to take it."

[Merilan]

"I've tried to not be violent ever since Grandfather adopted and took me to Japan," Myung quietly shares, finishing her tea off with another gulp. At the same time, her hamaya seem to all be done, ready to be stored and sold for visiting families come the new year. She must be well ahead of schedule at this rate. "... it's necessary, sometimes. I suppose. It takes too long to make someone understand otherwise. Or they're too stubborn. Or other people get hurt, first."

It kind of feels like she's projecting. Maybe just a little. The white-haired miko shifts on her seat, but then resolves to pull up the tray and head into the open room behind her, to store it on the shelf. She glances back towards Tsubaki. "But it isn't like you enjoy it, do you?"

[Mokou-tan]

Tsubaki lets out a little sigh and sips her tea. "I do enjoy it. I gained strength and I put it to use. So long as I use it to help others, I don't see anything wrong with enjoying it. It's not like I use it for personal gain or anything. Sure, rumors started spreading because of my past. Maybe I'm even hated for it, but that's fine. I don't do it to be liked. I'm just someone who knows how to properly direct her violent heart." Her tone throughout all her words is a serenely peaceful one.

[Merilan]

Serene peace, at the very least, seems to be in line with how quiet and peaceful the Higashikata Shrine is. Away from the relative bustle of the city's commercial business district, there's a chance at warm, welcoming silence.

"Because of your... past?" Myung asks, as she returns with a small tray with some manju rice cakes. She's hospitable almost on rote to visitors to the shrine, it seems.

[Mokou-tan]

Tsubaki picks up one of the cakes and nibbles on it a little. "You'll hear it anyway if you ask around or do a little digging into who I am, so I suppose it's best if you hear it from my lips." She waits to be sure Myung doesn't have food in her mouth.

"When I was ten years old, a man broke into my house and put my sister in danger. In return for that, I took his life from him. Since I killed someone at such a young age, people who find out are afraid I'll snap. Nobody cares about my reason for doing it, just that I did." She pauses for a moment and smiles. "So, if you did something like that, only tell someone you feel you can trust. You're a foreigner, so you wouldn't be as easy to find through old news articles."

[Merilan]

Any normal teenager would probably look shocked - or interested, excited, at the news; an adult, perhaps, in shock and horror. But Myung's relative lack of a large reaction seems telling, in her own little way. She -- knows what it's like. Myung-hon momentarily recalls the frigid barrens of Sinhung. The way she could sniff the scent of fruit, rice roots, soil; the way she stalked people she thought was carrying even a scrap of food. The absolute lack of a care as she pounced and clawed and waited until there wasn't even a little bit of movement left. The primal relish of her looted meal, even if it had no taste even to the starving.

"But..." she pauses, lacing her hands together. "You told me. Does that mean that you trust me -- even a little?"

She manages to have a little smile. So she can smile, after all.

[Mokou-tan]

Tsubaki chuckles softly and nibbles a little more. "I have no reason not to. You're a cute miko who isn't freaking out about it. And besides, worst you could really do is grab my own naginata and try to cut me. But, I don't have to worry about that, you try not to be violent anymore."

[Merilan]

The smile flakes a little, like the girl is completely unused to being complimented. But it is a better look for her than the tense one from just even five minutes ago.

"I don't want to make light of killing. It's a horrible thing to do, no matter where or why," Myung admits. She shuts her eyes, for a moment, and then takes a moment of silence as she refills Tsubaki's tea. There's just a moment of tension, a moment of hesitation, but then she resolves it silently.

"But... I've... done it too."

She takes a sip of her tea, and then sets the mug down. "If you would trust me with that, then I will trust you with it as well."

[Mokou-tan]

Tsubaki shakes her head and looks to the sky. "Nobody ever takes my advice, do they? I told you because it's better you hear the truth than whatever fantasy the other students have created from it. I won't tell anyone though. One person bearing people's distrust and hate is more than enough at that school. I'd rather nobody else ended up in the same position as I." Tsubaki stretches out and sips her tea. "Especially since I figured out roughly where you're from. You've already had it hard enough. I'm not going to make your life any harder."

[Merilan]

"I do not want to keep it a secret forever," Myung says, with conviction in her voice. "Not right now, not next week, but... not forever. So, I am sorry to be selfish, but I suppose... please consider that a first step of sorts. But I understand. Thank you."

[Mokou-tan]

Tsubaki pats the taller girl on the back gently. "Don't worry about it. If you need to talk to someone, I'll be around the school. You can tap me or something and I'll find a way to come see you without others catching on. I think a girl like you would be better off not being known as my friend."

[Merilan]

Myung is a little perplexed, but doesn't raise an objection to it. Everyone has their comfort zone, and perhaps, this is Tsubaki's. "I ... will be sure to do so," she responds in kind.

[Mokou-tan]

Tsubaki stands up and grins as she gently pats the taller girl on the head. "Good girl, it's nice to meet someone who understands that, though I'm nice, I'm a curse that decreases your likeability if discovered." She stretches a bit as her phone lets out a kitten's meow. The little warrior retrieves it from her bag and takes a look at the message.

"And once again, I've been challenged to a duel. I really wish I wasn't considered the school's strongest sometimes."

[Merilan]

Myung is patted on the head by the school's strongest! "You... have duels here?" the miko seems, once more, perplexed. "I won't interfere. But do be careful." Oh dear, it looks like someone's not got an idea of what it might be like.

[Mokou-tan]

Tsubaki chuckles softly. "They don't want to fight me until tomorrow. Judging who the actual challenge is from, his friends are going to try to rough me up before classes. I'm glad Fumiko takes names down for me. Now I know I've actually got at least two fights to deal with tomorrow. One of which I'll get in trouble for using my naginata. He just wants the prize money, how annoying." The small girl digs into her bag a little and withdraws a package of sweet candies. She gingerly sets them down next to Myung and gives another big smile.

[Merilan]

Myung's face tenses quietly. Without a context of what life is like here, it feels just as cutthroat... perhaps, not quite as cutthroat, but certainly without its rockiness, up and down, up and down. She looks to the candy, and almost immediately wants to say, 'You don't have to,' but thinks the better of it. "Oh, thank you very much..."

She quietly inspects them, before rising to her feet. She's caught in a pause to Tsubaki's smile. "Do you fight, every day?"

[Mokou-tan]

Tsubaki gives Myung a nod. "I don't have many marketable skills, so one of my club-mates suggested I set up a pool. Basically, if someone wants to win the money, they pay 500 yen to challenge me. If they win, they get all the money that's accumulated up until then. If they lose, I keep the money and add it to the pool. If I remain undefeated until I leave the school, the money is mine to do with as I wish. The fight starts when the observer shouts and ends when one submits or loses consciousness. I'd much rather they submit though."

[Merilan]

Myung-hon has no idea how lucky she is to be told about Fight Club. Or perhaps, unlucky. "Do their parents not object to their fighting? I suppose children will be children, though..." She looks up and squints towards the sun past the sheath of the canopy, and quietly takes her long, bamboo broom in hand. She starts to sweep the courtyard nearby where Tsubaki is seated, at a leisurely pace. "What do you wish to do with the money, if you are undefeated? You seem to have many challengers. I imagine it'd be a fair sum by the end."

[Mokou-tan]

Tsubaki leans on her knees and chuckles. "A lot of us live in the dorms around here, myself included. As far as the money goes though, I'll probably spend it on my little sister in some way. Maybe help her through university if she needs it."

[Merilan]

"The dorms?" Myung-hon puts a hand to her cheek. "I seem to recall Grandfather mentioning it. I am not sure if that will be convenient, though, with my duties to the shrine... but we will see." She sweeps for a few more moments, but then says, "It is kind of you, to think about your little sister. What does she plan on studying?"

[Mokou-tan]

Tsubaki shrugs a little. "She always tells me 'it's a secret.' No matter what it is I'll support her, though." Tsubaki sees movement across the ground out of the corner of her eye. After an instant she confirms her fear. The culprit was a large huntsman spider. She rapidly reaches into her bag and draws a handful of long needles. In an instant, the needles sail from her hand into the arachnid, impaling and pinning it to the ground. She cautiously steps up to the spider. She carefully grabs one of the needles that missed and jams it into a vital point, killing the spider for certain before removing the other needles and cleaning them with a small piece of cloth once she returns to her spot.

"Sorry about that, I don't do well around spiders."

[Merilan]

It's over in an instant, by the time Myung-hon turns around and sees the little commotion. Her eyes widen a little in surprise, and she quietly walks past Tsubaki to kneel by the spider, on both knees. "O-oh, I see... that is all right." Without a sense of disgust or squeamishness, she scoops the inert spider's body and quietly brings it around the shrine's porch, disappearing around the corner for a moment. When she returns, it's with a cloth to wipe her hands with, and she says, "I will pray for its spirit and conduct a ritual for it later."

[Mokou-tan]

Tsubaki collects her things and smiles to the shrine maiden. "Sorry for making the extra work for you. My sister's afraid of spiders, so it became instinct." She takes a couple steps forward before turning around.

"Sadly, I have to leave. I hope we meet again sometime. Maybe I'll stop by and donate some more to the gods here sometime, they lead to me meeting you after all."

[Merilan]

Myung-hon shakes her head, and says, "It is a daily ritual for me anyhow. And--ah," she finds herself a little off-guard, holding a little, stilted smile at her. She sets her broom down, offering to walk her towards the torii of the shrine as the naginata fighter prepares to leave. "Yes, it was-- it was nice to meet you, Tsubaki. I appreciate it."

At the gate, she bows, candies still in her hands. "Be well. And do send my regards to your sister too."

[Mokou-tan]

Tsubaki waves as she walks away, a smile on her face. "I will next time I get the chance!" For someone who tells others to avoid contact with her, you sure do act friendly. Quiet, Setanta! I only do that for their own good. You know that as well as I do, after all, you are part of me. Fair enough, Little Hero.

And I do believe that's a wrap for this Social link. You now have a Rank 1 Tower Arcana Link. Congratulations!

[Merilan]

And I believe you have increased in Temperance. Thank you! :)