D15EA, Praying Can't Hurt (Open)

[Seppun Dawei]

The portable shrine to which Dawei had contributed so much was erected behind Shinsei's tent, Ayumu's rope-barrier and basins placed around it. Dawei "washes" his hands and face, kisses his jade, and enters.

Clapping thrice, as he had seen The Seppun do any number of times, he kneels before the shrine, bows his head.

I am not The Seppun; I am not a priest. But I still hope you will hear my prayers, Fortunes, and bless this group as it faces what lies ahead.

[Jiyo Sora]

Sora approached the Shrine. Noted the kneeling Seppun.

Shrugged.

Hikaru prayers tended to be shouted, and generally involved smacking the hell out of something, helping a woman survive childbirth, or perhaps getting laid, and they were almost never delivered in a formalized way.

With what lay ahead of them, Sora knew that Bishamon would be expected- maybe Jurojin or Hotei.

But he didn't feel... drawn to any of them.

So he focused his attention on the figure of Fukurokujin.

He didn't clap and kneel like the Seppun did- instead, he remained standing and held his hands out, palms up.

Hey old man. Don't know that I've ever sent a direct prayer of any kind your way. Hell, I don't even use you for cursing. But we're going to need more than strength, more than magic, more than that 'Honor' blither Nanzi never shuts up about. We're going to need wisdom to pull this off. We can't brute force a Spirit Realm, and I know- know for a fact- that I'm not sharp enough to make it work. So guide those who are. Give them what they need, let them see what has to be done.

...

And if we screw this up, and we don't make it out... give someone the library idea. The world needs it.

[Canary]

Kinyoubi waited for Sora a little way away from the Shrine, smiling to herself, and at Sora as he prayed.

[Seppun Dawei]

Give me the insight to find a path the others can follow, one that leads them back to safety.

[Jiyo Sora]

And for me? Well. You've already given me the clarity to know my limitations, and my aspirations as well. I don't know what more anyone should ask of a Fortune for his own sake. I follow Shiba for his selflessness, so making selfish requests seems... a bad idea. So. Help me help everyone else if you can.

...

And look after the kids. I think they'll already be drawn to your sphere of influence, simply based on their fathers, but... if this little stroll into hell has shown me anything, it's that knowledge is key- knowledge and the wisdom to use it properly.

And that was it. About how Sora talked to most of the divinities he knew, really.

[Jiyo Sora]

Sora exhaled, and then stepped back from the shrine.

Hope all of that got through.

[Canary]

Kinyoubi stepped up next to him. "All done?"

[Jiyo Sora]

He shrugged and grinned sheepishly.

"I guess? Not generally the most pious- shocking, I know- but the circumstances seem to call for it."

[Canary]

"It's certainly time to make the request, if no other," she agreed. "... Speaking of now, if ever..."

[Jiyo Sora]

He arched an eyebrow.

"Yes?"

[Seppun Dawei]

Dawei continues in prayer.

[Canary]

He arched an eyebrow.

"Yes?"

She huffed a little at the raised eyebrow, her expression determined. "Don't look at me so doubtfully. I want to marry you!"

[Jiyo Sora]

She huffed a little at the raised eyebrow, her expression determined. "Don't look at me so doubtfully. I want to marry you!"

Had Sora's brain been a cabinet of crockery, the crashing sound would have been cacophonous.

He blinked. Tried to think of something to say. He got exactly one word out, although it definitely summed up his most basic source of shock.

"Why?"

[Canary]

Had Sora's brain been a cabinet of crockery, the crashing sound would have been cacophonous.

He blinked. Tried to think of something to say. He got exactly one word out, although it definitely summed up his most basic source of shock.

"Why?"

She took a breath before responding. "You saved me, but... That's secondary. I appreciate that you care about knowledge as much as I do and you care about other people. You see where those two intersect and how they can create a better world for everyone."

She looked down, taking the Jade pendant carved in the shape of Fukrokujin and fiddled with it. "I want to stay by your side as we bring your idea of a great library system into reality. I want to do that with you, not just as your assistant."

"Besides, I like talking to you. I like your personality."

[Jiyo Sora]

"Besides, I like talking to you. I like your personality."

I suppose somebody has to.

"I..."

Have a bit of a thing for a woman whose children by another man I have spent the last five years I have helped raise which has given me a case of tunnel vision I'm only now coming to grips with. Please stand by.

"... don't want to make any promises tomorrow might make impossible. And it feels a bit odd, since there's been a... power disparity in our relationship so far. So. If we survive tomorrow, you would need to make the return trip as my equal, not my servant."

[Canary]

Her lips twitched, moving in that telltale way of someone who is keeping a joke funny only to them to themselves. "There is a bit of one. Though it will hardly be resolved, then. You're still a direct servant of the Son of Heaven, after all, and I am not."

[Jiyo Sora]

"Eh, that's for people who think like Nanzi. You came on this little journey into hell without combat training. So I'd say you're braver than I am. You're definitely smarter than I am. So. I'd say there's a basis for equality here."

[Canary]

"Some might say foolhardy rather than brave," she noted, eyebrows raised slightly.

[Jiyo Sora]

"Or dedicated. But I suppose that begs the question... why did you volunteer for this mission?"

[Canary]

"I wanted to record it as a primary source for future generations," she explained. "What's happening here - what will happen tomorrow - it's unprecedented. No one has managed something like this. It's world-shaking. People will need to remember it without it being reduced to heroic vagueries by historians overzealous about the images of the figures involved." She seemed to be slightly agitated over the last part.