Calling a Kami, like herding cats

[Hashigaki Honome]

How many days had it been and how many times had she heard those childish giggles, the bangles that sang on the little girl's wrists, and how many times had she seen in her minds eye the little girl that had run around, giggling with the braid on the side of her head. She had the suspicion that it was a kami of some sort from the interactions.

All of the signs pointed to the fact that this child was not, in fact, a child, and had eluded Riko and her attempts to have a conversation for the past four days. Her giggle was probably the most infuriating part of the whole ordeal. Every time that they would get anywhere close, she would duck behind, underneath, around, inside, outside, or above something and would disappear. Honome had started to make it a game. How would the little girl disappear this time? Honome's acute sense of hearing allowed for her to even pick up on things that others wouldn't, such as the sound of escaping footfalls or a disguised sneeze that hid words in it, even someone's breathing could be used to locate them.

The only sounds this girl made were the giggles, the footfalls which were almost as quiet as a cat's, the bangles jingling, and sometimes a word or two as she ran off.

Such was the way they found their way into this little sleepy village on the outskirts of Kumogakure no Sato, adjacent to the hustle and bustle that seemed to cram itself into the streets and encroach upon her heightened hearing. She and Riko had been here for four excruciatingly long days. That thought tumbled around in her head once more, picking up more of the dust that had settled from the tedium of trying to catch, then being eluded by a spirit. She had come to make a contract with a Kami, but it was more like playing hide and seek with a child than it was an epic quest with epic stories to tell to the folks when she returned home.

She sighed, pressing her smaller hand into Riko's larger one again as the little girl had disappeared around the corner once more, catching only a faint whisper of her presence this time, it was a quiet jangle, that jangle that now haunted her dreams. She could hear the clarion laugh clearly still each time they got close, but the spirit was too fast, too stealthy, and enjoyed this game too much.

"Maybe we should give up and go back, try to get more information as to what she likes, and lure her out that way. I've tried giving her things on her shrine, but all she does is eat and run. She doesn't want to stay and talk." Honome grumbled to Riko, running her fingertips over Riko's fingertips. She sighed and groaned, "And now I'm hungry!"








[ooc: Word Count: 466
using ASP item: Discovery Contract of my choice: https://ninpocho.com/shinobi-shop/inventory/27864/

[Ooc: edited out all mentions of overlord but left basically the same per kitsune and contract mods here: https://discord.com/channels/154432359456833537/1153153257141698560/1155766793600761887

 

[Shinrya Riko]

Riko had often been told that she was a paragon of patience. On this little endeavor however she wasn’t entirely sure if that was true. She had never though about it until now. In the past, its just something that people said. That Infuriating child-like giggling. ‘Heh. good thing I’m into girls then. I’ll never have to worry about small children unless we adopt… or unless we catch this silly thing. ’ Honome had essentially tried every trick in the book as far as enticing a Kami to interact went. They had gone to the shrine of the Kami and Riko had busied herself with tidying up the place and caring for things while Honome had placed an offering. The dastardly thing took the food and left giggling at its catch instead of seeing what they were after. Did the kami see this as some kind of game perhaps? She was glad that Honome was here otherwise Riko expected she would have last track of the thing so much earlier than now. Riko put on a brave face and tested the lengths of her endurance and patience if only for Honome’s sake.

As the jingling of the bells grew faded with distance, Riko found Honome seeking her hand. She wrapped her fingers around Honome’s smaller and delicate ones. She pressed hand supportively to Honome’s back. ”Since the shrine is in the small town maybe the locals will have a clue. Hm.. Oh how about that place over there? That smells good. We could take a break there and see if anyone knows anything about the Kami we’ve been chasing all over.” If Honome agreed, Riko would begin to lead her over to the bar to find a seat and a menu.

Riko didn’t gesture but rather tugged her hand in the direction of a nearby bar. It was a bar and grill and it was nearby. Given the smallness of the town it was a place that the people of the town would likely gather to socialize, and besides there would be food there as well. ”Do you have a preference when it comes to food?” Riko asked. ”My father was used to beef, and I’m a little partial to it as well. It just sucks that there are things that jutsu can’t cure. Anyway, sorry about bringing that up again. Its still pretty recent for me and I guess… Well I’m glad you’re here.” Riko gave Honome’s hand a hearty squeeze. ”I think the thing that scares me the most these days is just being by myself. So thank you for being by my side.”

WC: 455

 

[Hashigaki Honome]

Right, they could just take a break like they did yesterday, but would that be admitting defeat? Honome sighed and put her hands to her mouth, “Kami-sama, we will be having lunch! If you want to join us, we’ll be in the restaurant!” her voice erupted like a trumpet sound, echoing off of walls, and creating quite a din. She didn’t seem it, but she could make a racket if she wanted to with her voice. It was a literal weapon in some instances.

She then smiled and replaced her hand in Riko’s, before nodding and continuing the conversation in a conspiratorial volume, though her voice was very much casual, “I didn’t know that about your father, do your taste buds take after him, do you think, or your mother more?” Honome pressed the side of her chest against Riko’s arm and was led to the restaurant. She thought for a moment then picked up one of the slick menus, running her fingers over it she frowned. Damned society and their ableism in the small details.

“I um, I rather enjoy fish and anything fishy tasting. Usually ramen is a go to, whatever the chef is best at making is a good second choice, but no onions.” She shuddered and smacked her lips with just the imagined taste of onions, “They’re too-” she paused, looking for the right word, “acrid-” She shrugged, not knowing if it was the right word, “for my taste, even the ‘yellow’ ones, which I am convinced are the same as ‘white’ onions, despite people telling me otherwise.” She busied herself with rearranging her napkin and set her chopsticks on the little porcelain stand, rubbing it between her fingers, she made out that it was some sort of animal, though with the way that it was shaped all she could tell was that it was quadrupedal and was supposed to have a tail of some sort.

Honome frowned, remembering the last thing that Riko said, and it drew to her mind the smell of the place, the palpable feelings rolling off the child, the whimpers and whines of the fox as they had been too late to save the mother, “It happens.” She shook her head, “I can still hear her song in the wind sometimes, and the kid is safe in Kumogakure.” She smiled, “He’s living off his mother’s inheritance from selling his house in that district where we met Midori-sensei, you remember the one with the construction site?”[/magictext] She smiled, “once in a while I catch a snippet of his conversations, it seems he is doing well in his studies and wants to become a doctor in the future. So we might have either another medical ninja on our hand, if he has a proclivity for chakra, or a future medical professional.” She didn’t want to say doctor, as she didn’t want to get her hopes up too far to have him not meet them. There wasn’t anything wrong with nurses anyhow, they usually did all the actual care anyway.

She chewed the inside of her bottom lip and ran a hand through her hair, letting it fall in front of one of her iridescent eyes, “Think the waiter is flirting hard enough with the girl at the table four meters over there?” She pointed to the place where the waiter was leaning on a young woman’s table, his notepad in a hand that was resting on his hip in a fashion that bespoke his ego.

A familiar jingle of the Kami’s bangles met her ears as someone walked into the shop, looking around. She could hear no heartbeat nor breathing from the person. Aha, hungry then? She signalled Riko to play it cool.

WC: 615, total: 1081

 

[Shinrya Riko]

Honome was rather clever with her call out to the Kami about having lunch. She really was a clever girl. Riko couldn’t ever pity Honome’s lack of sight, because she had so much more insight that Riko often felt that she was the one walking the world blind. Even with the beautiful Honome squeezing her arm so tightly that Riko could feel Honome’s chest pressed against her. She may have been slender and subtle but Riko could still feel Honome’s softness and her face grew somewhat hot as she let her mind wander about what she might find if she were to explore the rest of Honome’s slender build. Riko pushed the hunger expression from her face and the dirty thoughts out of her mind. She was glad that Honome couldn’t see the red that had entered her cheeks - had anyone else caught her staring? She couldn’t help but feel lucky to be with Honome but sometimes she just felt like a teenager again with uncontrollable hormones. She really had thought that was past all that. Everything she did pushed Riko’s buttons, and made her feel greedy for Honome.

”I suppose I take after father a bit more. I didn’t really know my mother, she died in childbirth. My father raised me on his own. You see, Shinrya is a matriarchal clan - so they would have raised me but my father wanted to, so instead I lived outside of the clan with him. The clan gave me a stipend, so it wasn’t all bad. Damn, sorry rambling again. I can’t help but do that when it comes to my father. ”

”I can’t tell the difference between onions either. Green onions though I think thats just about the only kind I can tell the difference with. They put those in Ramen sometimes, do you dislike Green Onions?” As they sat she noted how Honome felt the slick menu and couldn’t find anything that explained what the menu meant. This was just a small town so it wasn’t guaranteed that they would have braille menus. She gestured for the waiter. Although it seemed that Honome could already tell that the Waiter was distracted. As after a few minutes of Riko trying to get his attention Honome had commented on the fact that he was flirting instead of waiting. ”Well shoot I don’t want to embarass the guy but he isn’t doing his job.” Riko knew what it was like to be infatuated. It was only human. She felt the same way towards Honome more often then not, but it also made her defensive too.

”Oi! WAITER! ” Riko raised her voice. ”CAN WE GET SOME SERVICE PLEASE?” She called out to the waiter. The man looked embarrassed. He briefly wrapped up what he was doing with the girl before coming over. Riko asked for a braille menu which they did have surprisingly, but while she was distracted with the waiter, she had missed what Honome had sensed. Riko followed Honome’s gesture towards the pint sized kami, four feet in height marching into the building like a curious child. Riko pretended not to notice and continued with her order. ”Water with a lemon slice, and I’d like an order of Beef Hibachi served over rice. Could you add an order of pork dumplings.”

Riko watched Honome out of the corner of her eye waiting for the signal for action.

WC:595 Total: 1050

 

[Hashigaki Honome]

Honome winced as Riko shouted at the young man. It was true that he had a job, but she had felt much like the girl at the table. She could almost hear the frown as the young man walked away from her. There would be time for him to give her his information while Honome and Riko ate. The waiter came over and Riko and he were talking about something, but Honome was paying attention to the wandering of the small girl with no footsteps, the breathless child that walked with no heartbeat toward the two of them tentatively. Honome smiled apologetically, "I'll wait for my braille menu." She nodded to the Kami, "greetings Kami-sama I am-"

"Hashigaki Honome and Shinrya Riko, yes I know." She hopped into the seat that was next to Honome, scrambling up like a child to sit at the table and pulling the menu that was useless to Honome out of her hands and started looking it over, "I am afraid I can't do anything for your eyesight, nor can I do anything for your friend here. So you're wasting your time." The small child-kami frowned and then nodded to herself as she perused the menu, "The spicy curry with fresh star anise looks particularly good. I'll have that, and an order of pork dumplings, a side of those short ribs, a platter of the blackened salmon, four eggs over-easy, and two bottles of Sake." The kami looked at the two and smiled at Riko, as she knew the gesture would be wasted on Honome.

"You misunderstand Kami-sama, I don't wish to regain my sight." Honome waved the words away that the Kami had said before, "We wish to make a contract with one of your sisters or brothers, or even you, and we were told that you were here, at least for now. It took us a good month or two to track you down."

"Because I didn't want to be found." The small kami said, her voice deepening to the voice of a woman which was shocking coming out of the small frame that sat next to Honome, and that she grew in almost an instant into a full grown woman with small cat ears atop her head She adjusted the hat she was now sporting atop her head to a rakish angle and smirked to at least Riko who could see her. Honome had already taken a placating stance, her head bowed toward the table, her sightless gaze averted from the Kami in a subservient half bow.

The waiter came back with the menu and Honome ordered what the kami said to order, and ordered a small bowl of ramen, no onions, and a cup of oolong tea for herself before settling back in.

"My price." The kami continued, "For a contract with one of my sisters or brothers, is that you both will give all of the money in your purses, of which I see there is 18,732 to be quite exact, to the next person that you see when you leave this town. They need it far more than you, and next Monday, when the full moon rises, leave a pitcher of milk, an empty glass, and a plate of some baked goods and my family members will come to your home and sign a contract with you. I'll pick ones that are befitting your personality. So tell me what it is and ill spread the word so that you can bond with whoever suits you." She frowned at Honome, "Though I suppose they could look like someone beat them with the ugly stick thrice over and you wouldn't care much eh sugar?"

The goddess smirked, her adult form more jarring than anything for the waiter who came back to the table with food.

[WC: 587, TOTAL: 1668]

 

[Shinrya Riko]

Riko watched the waiter leave. As he did so Honome began to speak but it wasn’t to address Riko. In fact, Riko was rather sure that she was speaking as if to address one of the Kami. Riko glanced about trying to identify with whom that Honome had been talking to and reluctantly nodded to herself when she realized that it seemed this was not something she had been invited to partake in. ‘Perhaps I’m the wrong sort of person? Am I too brash?’ For brief moment saw a flash of something. A woman typing her hat with rakish audacity. Then she was gone again. The waiter soon returned and put the dumpling appetizers on the table and then placed a braille menu in front of her. She was certainly a stunner and that brief wing had been very attractive. Riko nodded to herself as if to confirm that she was in fact attracted to women, and her attraction to Honome hadn’t been a fluke.

Home placed her order in short manner and Honome placed a curious order. Riko was quick to note that it was likely the Kami directing her what to order, as Honome continued to Kowtow to the invisible - to Riko at least - Kami. It was in a way rather amusing that the Kami couldn’t hide itself from Honome’s impressive senses. It was just another little thing to admire about Honome. She didn’t take her blindness as a weakness and instead she had worked hard to turn it into a strength. There was a world of sight and vision that belonged to Honome alone. Riko just kept as quiet as she could, recognizing that the noise might distract her for how hypersensitive she was. Perhaps calling the waiter over had been too loud as well?

The realization frankly came to Riko at the same time that the food arrived. Riko nodded and accepted the beef over rice The waiter placed the bowl of ramen at the empty - Riko’s view - chair and then the cup of oolong tea. Damn, she was just too gracecful. It was like sitting next to an angel and Riko was really feeling some imposter syndrome right now. Am I really good enough for Honome? Thoughts like those, were they really fair? ‘I know I shouldn’t be putting her on a pedestal but I can’t admire her qualities. ’ She shook her head and snapped her chopsticks in too. ?Best to chow down at least and not hold her back.

In between bites she decided to admit the truth to Honome. ”I think if the Kami is here, then this contract is mostly for you Honome. I haven’t been able to hear or see t he Kami since we came into this place.” She gave a sheepish grin, but ultimately she knew that even if Honome couldn’t see her face the Kami likely was judging her in whatever strange in human way that it was. ”I’ll just stay quiet while you two hammer out the details, or I could even step away if you’d like.”

WC: 514 Total 1564

 

[Hashigaki Honome]

[[OOC: submitting for review for Kami contract for Honome, Riko would like different contract, but feel free to @ her on discord to ask if she has changed her mind]]

 

[Ninpocho Admin]

You've found Kami! Do you accept?​