Volume 16 - The Mountain, Chapter 125 - The Shrine
Hakuto sat in the Mountain Lily Inn's living room in a comfy armchair, but she didn't look the least bit comfortable. One rabbit-like paw clumsily held a newfangled 'telephone' against her head.
"Mister Will? Can you hear me?" Hakuto said, trying to position the phone as best she could between her mouth and her ear, which was higher on her head than a human's.
"Call me Agent Will, please," replied the voice on the phone. "And I can't hear you very well. Can you check if that phone has a button labeled 'speaker-phone'? That should work better for you."
"Okay, one second, Agent Will," Hakuto answered, but Agent Will barely heard her because she'd already moved the phone. She scanned the overwhelmingly complex cordless phone, looking for anything that said 'speaker-phone'.
Just as she was about to give up, she found the rubber button and pressed it. "Got it!" Hakuto cheered. "Now what?"
"Now just set the phone on a table or your lap or whatever," Agent Will said calmly. It wasn't the first time he'd talked a liminal through using human technology.
She set the phone speaker-side-up in her lap, resting it mostly on her bare thighs. "Okay. Can you hear me now?"
"Loud and clear. So what did you want to talk about, Hakuto?"
Hakuto's hips wiggled involuntarily as she searched for the words, tipping the phone sideways. She turned it back up again and said, "Uh, I'd like to… I want to join the exchange program! Though I should tell you that I physically can't leave my mountain."
"Haha, I was hoping that was what you'd called about. And I assure you that your inability to leave the mountain won't be a problem."
"Oh, I can stay in my burrow? That's good to hear since I just got it all cleaned up and—"
"Oh no," Agent Will interrupted. "You'll definitely need to live in the main house with Yuisu and the other girls."
Hakuto hunched over the phone and blurted, "What? Why?"
He just chuckled and said, "The whole point of the program is to learn how to integrate with humanity, and you need to live in a human home for that." Then he half-mumbled, "Well, we are working on a new reverse-exchange program, but there's no way a human could live in your little burrow with you…"
Agent Will cleared his throat and said, "Anyway, I heard you made up with Haru, so living with her and the others should be no problem. Yuisu already agreed to give up the center guest bedroom, at least once I assured her the program will cover any lost income. I believe it doesn't share any walls with other bedrooms, so you won't have to worry about the, uh, nighttime noise."
"Huh, what do you mean by—" Hakuto started, but she cut herself off as she realized that he was talking about the 'noisy lovemaking' that had awoken her from her spirit hibernation in the first place. Blushing, she said, "Oh. Yeah… That sounds good."
"Wonderful! I can drive there this afternoon with the paperwork, if that works for you. I can even pick up some new clothes on the way, if you'd like some more variety than your shrine outfit."
Hakuto blinked and her ears folded down against her head. She had zero interest in trying on clothes picked out by a near stranger, and she liked her outfit just fine. "N-no, that's fine. No need to bring any clothes. Just the paperwork is fine."
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As Agent Will had suspected, Hakuto didn't have any other clothes, or many other belongings at all. Technically, she didn't even 'have' the clothes she was wearing, since they had long ago stopped being physical matter. Her miko outfit had started as a real hakama and haori, given to her as a gift by an actual shrine priestess. Then when Hakuto became a mountain god, the clothes she'd been wearing ere absorbed and became part of her spiritual energy.
On the plus side, owning so little meant that Hakuto didn't need to transport much when she moved into her new bedroom. While in rabbit form, she pushed a few trinkets out of her burrow with her nose, then she transformed and carried them into the house in a single armful.
"So this whole room is mine?" Hakuto asked as she set her few possessions on a dresser. They amounted to barely more than a couple shiny stones, a carved wooden figure, and what appeared to be a set of Shinto prayer beads. She set the beads down with particular care.
"Yep," Yuisu answered, "And you're still welcome to use the bathing room and hot spring whenever you want. And the kitchen and restroom, too." Yuisu tugged nervously at a strand of her hair. "Uh, if you even need to use those? I don't really understand this spiritual stuff."
Hakuto giggled and said, "I do indeed. I'm not that different from the rest of you."
From the hallway came the distinctive sound of hoofsteps, accompanied by some cheerful conversation in Mara's youthful voice. Shortly after, two faces peered into the open door, one a few feet above the other.
"Sorry to intrude, but—" Tsuen started. She had her magenta hair back in a short ponytail and she was wearing a particularly sporty orange top.
"We were just so excited to hear you're moving in!" Mara finished. She wore an oversized t-shirt as a dress and she had at least four different pairs of socks on. If Tsuen was dressed for exercise, then Mara was dressed for the exact opposite.
"Welcome!" the odd couple said in unison.
Hakuto smiled and nodded slightly. "Thank you. I'm happy to be here. A bit nervous, but mostly happy."
Tsuen stepped into the room and set a gentle hand on Hakuto's shoulder. "Well if you ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask. Our door's always open."
Mara grinned up from between Tsuen's front legs. "Unless it's closed. Then you should definitely knock." She winked three of her six eyes to make it uncomfortably clear what she was suggesting.
"Oh, uh, thank you," Hakuto responded. Then she turned her attention to Tsuen specifically. "I heard that you go jogging every day. Would you mind if I joined you tomorrow, at least as far as the bottom of the mountain?"
Tsuen started to answer, but Mara interrupted. "If it's just that far, I wanna come too! Jogging with Tsuen is fun, but I can't keep up for long." Then Mara swept her eyes up Hakuto's long, toned legs and added, "Though I don't think you'll have any trouble with that."
With a brief stern glance at Mara, Tsuen resumed, "That sounds wonderful. Does 8am work?"
Hakuto nodded eagerly and Mara mumbled something about it being too early, then agreed anyway.
Tsuen clasped her hands in front of her chest. "Wonderful! I'll see you then, Hakuto!"
"Yupyup, seeya around, neighbor," Mara said with a toothy smile, then she skittered from the room. When she hit the smooth hardwood floor of the hallway, the skitter became a skate and she slid out of sight.
Tsuen waved and followed after, her magenta tail swishing in time with her hoofsteps.
Yuisu, who had been standing silently during the whole exchange, said, "I'll let you get settled in. Let me know if you need anything at all."
"Will do. Thanks again, Yuisu."
"You're welcome," Yuisu responded, giving a brief wave before exiting the cozy bedroom and closing the door behind her.
Hakuto flopped onto the bed with her head down near the foot of the bed, then she rolled over and noticed the skylight in the ceiling for the first time. Since the room had no exterior walls, the bit of natural light really helped create a comfortable atmosphere. The bed's freshly washed blankets and remarkably soft pillow-top mattress helped too.
"I guess I could get used to this," Hakuto said to herself. "It's certainly nicer than the last time I lived in a human home."
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At the bottom of the mountain, about a kilometer past the edge of Yuisu's property, Hakuto skidded to a halt. Tsuen did the same, but Mara had fallen behind. She slowed to a walk as she caught up to the two stopped liminals.
"Well, this is as far as I go," Hakuto said with a hint of sorrow. "I can feel the mountain boundary just ahead."
Tsuen frowned. "Aww, since we got Agent Will's permission to go into town, I was really hoping you'd be able to get closer and maybe see the gym where I work."
Hakuto shrugged. "I knew this would happen. A mountain god can't leave her mountain. That's just the way it is." She pawed at the ground, her feet still itching to run. "Well, I guess a really powerful god could bend the rules a bit, but I'm about as weak as they come."
Mara hobbled up, breathing hard. "What makes a mountain god stronger or weaker?" she asked. As a lifelong gamer, Mara was always interested in how rules systems worked. Knowing the rules also helped her learn how to skirt them and get away with causing trouble.
Hakuto answered, "Two things, really: how big their domain is, and how much worship they get. For example, Sakuya-hime would be incredibly strong on both counts."
Despite being the one that asked the question, Mara didn't hear the answer. She was lost in the sight of Tsuen's skin shining the in sun. Her light jacket was open at the front and there was even a little rivulet of sweat running down the middle of her cleavage. Tsuen always looked beautiful to Mara, but in that moment she was absolutely stunning. The perky centaur was in peak form and perfectly within her element.
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Tsuen, on the other hand, was actually paying attention to Hakuto. She nodded along, then asked, "Sakuya-hime? Who's that?"
"She's the kami enshrined on Mt. Fuji. She was a goddess even before she became its mountain god, and she has Japan's biggest mountain as her territory, and she has many worshippers. I'm nothing compared to her."
Sensing Hakuto's plummeting mood, Tsuen changed the subject. "Oh! We should get moving again before our heart rates drop too much. Now for the uphill stretch, which will really build those muscles!"
Hakuto leapt into motion, bouncing from one foot to the other, but the third member of the group was less eager.
Mara flopped onto the grass at the side of the road. She whined, "I don't know if I can make it, Tsuen."
Tsuen lowered herself down next to Mara, then pulled her jacket down off her shoulders. The pose really showcased her cleavage, which she had already seen Mara ogling.
"Don't you want to be fit and sexy, Mara? For me?" she said with a wink.
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That was exactly the motivation Mara needed. She tapped into her special energy reserves, normally saved for causing mischief or staying up too late, and took off running up the hill.
With a knowing smile, Tsuen stood back up and quickly matched her speed.
Hakuto followed after, deep in thought. Even though I don't understand the appeal of sex, I can't deny that it's a driving force in this world. To each their own, I guess.
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After their morning jog, Mara, Tsuen, and Hakuto usually rinsed off in the bathing room, then soaked for a bit in the hot spring. But after their seventh day's run, they broke from the routine.
"Before we hit the spring, there's something we wanted to show you, Hakuto," Tsuen said while drying her hair with a towel. She had another towel around her chest but was otherwise still naked.
"Oh, okay. What is it?" Hakuto asked. She was already wearing her miko outfit, since she only had to will it into existence when she wanted to get dressed.
"It's a surprise!" Mara cheered, a bit too loudly for Hakuto's sensitive ears and the closed space of the laundry room. Mara had some panties on but hadn't gotten around to putting on a shirt.
Mara's girlish figure was strangely familiar to Hakuto. She went silent as a faint memory came to the surface.
A young girl is carefully drying my fur, but she's soaking wet. It's cold out. Why won't she take care of herself first? She'll get sick!
The sun sets and the temperature drops, but still she won't think of herself. She's holding me close and I can hear her heartbeat. But it's getting weaker and—
"Hakuto? Did you hear me?" Mara's voice cut through the fog of Hakuto's memory. "I said it's a surprise for you. Hurry up!" Mara had donned a simple t-shirt and skirt and pulled her hair back into two pigtails, and now she was bouncing by the door to the hallway.
"Oh, yeah, sorry about that. Got lost in thought."
Hakuto followed Tsuen and Mara as they went outside, then started down the path to the hot spring. Before they could reach the changing room, they took a different path that lead toward the picnic tables.
"So what is this surprise anyway? And why's it out here?" Hakuto asked as they walked.
Mara giggled. "It wouldn't make sense for it to be inside the house!"
"And here we are!" Tsuen said with a flourish of her arms.
Hakuto followed the gesture and finally saw the surprise. A few feet from the path, under a towering pine, was a south-facing wooden structure not much taller than herself. There was just enough room under its sloped roof for one person to crouch or kneel. Red and white braided cords hung from the corners of the roof and there were carvings on the vertical beams.
On closer inspection, the carvings were all of trees, mountains, and wildlife, mostly rabbits. The depictions were simple, but charming.
"What is this?" Hakuto asked. "And who made it?"
"I did! Well, some of it. Tsuen actually built it, but I made the carvings!" Mara blurted, answering only the second of Hakuto's questions.
"You carved these? I thought sewing was your thing?"
Mara rubbed her pedipalps together, embarrassed. "Uh, yeah. I wasn't able to sell many dresses, so I picked up another artistic hobby. I don't even need many tools, thanks to these." She raised an exoskeleton-covered hand and her razor-sharp fingertips shone in the morning sun.
Hakuto returned her gaze to the structure, appreciating the simple, sturdy craftsmanship. Despite its simplicity, it was built with extensive care and purpose. She looked to Tsuen, still confused. "But what is all this?"
Tsuen smiled. "It's a shrine, and we made it for you."
A drop of water hit Hakuto's arm and then another hit her chest. She looked up to see if it was raining, then realized that they had been tears. Her tears. Tears of joy.
A shrine. For me? My very own shrine… In all these years, I've never had my own shrine…
She fell forward onto her knees and put a paw against the shrine for support. Then she gasped aloud.
Mara darted forward. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"
Hakuto whispered, "I know this wood. I remember helping this tree grow, so very long ago."
Tsuen knelt down next to her, then nodded and said, "It's from an old tree that fell down during that earthquake when you woke up. It was already dead before that, though."
"Why?" Hakuto said, her voice heavy and wet with tears.
"Why what?" Mara asked. "Why did we use that tree?"
Hakuto shook her head. She tried to say something, but she was sobbing too hard. She took a deep breath, then tried again. "Why did you do all of this… for me?"
"Because we felt that a mountain spirit as wonderful as you needs a shrine," Tsuen answered.
"And because you're our friend," Mara added.
Hakuto spun around and grabbed Tsuen with one arm and Mara with the other. She pulled them together into a tight hug, but she couldn't manage any words. She was filled to the brim with joy, and with more gratitude than she could ever properly express.
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The next day, a Shinto priest visited the property to bless the shrine and establish it as a formal shrine, dedicated to the kami that inhabited the mountain of Yuriyama. He was a young man of perhaps twenty-five, and his name was Hideki.
At first, he struggled with how many attractive young women were gathered around. While Shinto priests were not expected to be celibate, he was acting as a formal representative of his shrine and his religion, and needed to stay on his best behavior. His wandering eyes made that difficult, particularly when the scantily-clad Aluru arrived while he was trying to talk to Yuisu.
Hideki said, "Um, I believe I have completed all my preparations, miss Yuisu. Can you show me to the shrine?"
"Please, just Yuisu is fine. You're older than me, after all," Yuisu replied. Then she waved for him to follow her up the side path to the shrine.
"R-really?" he mumbled. He thought, She seems so put-together and she's running her own business and she's so beau—
"Eyes back in your head, priest. The girls here aren't into your kind." It was Aluru, wearing a skimpy bikini and grinning. The sun always had a strong effect on her mood, and the beautiful weather had her in a particularly playful mood. Hideki was the unfortunate target of that playfulness.
[https://i.imgur.com/LfhsGhF.png]
"My kind? Humans or priests?" he asked meekly. It took every ounce of his strength to not stare at Aluru's impressive cleavage or the curve of her hips or…
She laughed loudly, not even bothering to cover her wide open mouth. "No, I mean men! We're all lesbians here. Well, except for the lady of the hour. She isn't into anyone."
As the little shrine came into sight, Aluru pointed with a slender green finger. "Speak of the devil. There she is now, our resident god."
Hideki followed her finger and saw a woman dressed very similarly to the miko girls that assisted him at his home shrine, though she had rabbit ears and paws. And her outfit was rather different in a couple specific ways. Thank the gods that those girls don't wear their skirts that short. I'd never be able to focus… he thought.
Then he clasped his hands over his mouth, as if he'd said something terrible. Oh no! That's a genuine god! I mustn't look at her that way. I must atone for this somehow…
Hakuto bounced over, a sunny smile on her face. "Oh, hello sir! It's been so long since I've met a kannushi. My name's Hakuto."
Hideki's face flushed hot. Oh god oh god how do I talk to a god? And I've blessed shrines before, but never while their god was physically present! I can't handle this! He was panicking, but before he could turn to flee, Hakuto put a warm, soft paw on his arm.
She said, "I wanted to thank you for coming all this way. This entire thing means so very much to me. Can you believe it? My own shrine after over 300 years!"
That brought Hideki back down to earth. God or not, Hakuto was a real person who was depending on him. He took a deep breath, then said, "You're welcome. My name's Hideki." It wasn't much, but he'd managed to respond to a literal god. He considered it a triumph.
Hakuto didn't seem to mind or even notice how concise his response had been. "I'm just a bundle of nerves today, so I'll try to stay out of your way. Let me know if you need anything," she said as she skipped away, her long sleeves swaying and her fluffy tail wiggling.
[https://i.imgur.com/JN1e5yI.png]
Hideki stared after her, still reeling from the divine experience. Finally, Yuisu broke him from his trance.
"So that's the spirit of this mountain, an Inaba Hare. She's lived here all alone for a very long time, but now she has friends and this little shrine." Yuisu gestured at the small wooden structure.
Hideki looked closely at it for the first time. It had the distinctive peaked roof of most traditional shrines, but it's scale was rather small, closer to a hokora, the miniature shrines that could be found on roadsides. Since the shrine was to be dedicated to a mountain, it didn't need a honden to house the spirit. In fact, since this spirit had physical form, wherever she took up residence was effectively a honden by default. He thought, On that note, I'll be sure to ask to bless her room in the house as well.
"Hmm, this is solidly built, and it seems to have held to the 'pure style' of shrine construction quite well. The carvings are an interesting, albeit welcome, departure." He turned to Yuisu and asked, "Who did you hire to build it? I'll have to recommend that company to my own shrine for our next maintenance undertaking."
Yuisu smiled, both at his words and at the way he had finally become more comfortable. "Oh, it wasn't a company. Mara and Tsuen, two of the liminal homestays here, worked on it all last week. Hakuto is their dear friend."
He nodded. "Ah, that explains it. In matters of faith, passion always beats experience. Please tell them that they did very well."
Yuisu said she would, then Hideki waved a hand and said, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll begin my dedication ritual. It should be less than an hour, though I'd like to bless her bedroom in the house as well."
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Before Hideki left, he announced that the shrine was fully blessed and ready for use. Rem asked what kind of use he meant, but before he could explain, he was tackled backwards several feet.
It was Hakuto, holding him tightly in a hug, her wide paws firm on his back. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," she babbled. "I feel complete, like a hole I never knew I had has been filled."
After several seconds of total confusion, Hideki managed, "Um, you're welcome." Then he felt the soft sensation of Hakuto's breasts pressing against his chest, and he noticed her hips wiggling excitedly, bumping against his own. Nope nope nope, not gonna get the hots for a god! I'm not gonna be that guy, he screamed in his head as he pried himself free from the hug.
With his face bright red and his jaw clenched tight from his force of will, Hideki waved once and left in a hurry.
Rem slumped against Sya's leg and whined, "Aww, he never answered my question. What can we use the shrine for?"
Mara leapt up on Tsuen's back and proclaimed, "I can answer that, since I did a lot of research on Shintoism this week. And now that I know that Shinto spirits really exist, I think I'm gonna convert. It's a very positive religion, especially regarding its attitudes on life and death and—"
"Mara, you're getting off track," Tsuen said.
"Oh, yeah, sorry. Well, as I see it, the main uses of a shrine like this are praying for guidance and help from the mountain god, and leaving her tribute as thanks. In fact, I figured we could all be the first people to leave offerings to our friend Hakuto."
Over the next few minutes, Hakuto went misty-eyed and tried to keep her composure as all the permanent residents and employees of the Inn visited the shrine. One by one, they knelt in the little enclosure and left behind something that represented their relationship with Hakuto.
Most of the offerings were small folded notes or coins, but Rem left a piece of candy. To her, sharing food was a significant gesture that took substantial effort. She was a little worried that Hakuto wouldn't understand, but Mara promised to explain it for her.
Haru went last so that the others wouldn't see her offering and likely misunderstand its meaning. Her relationship with Hakuto had been a rocky journey, especially during their prank war, but they had arrived at mutual understanding and friendship. Haru chose to represent that with a single bright pink plastic Easter egg.