#match this length and i destroy u angie pls i am begging u

[shimzus-a2]

“when am i gonna get my shrine maiden kiyoko and guy-who-visits-shrine-4-his-granny kita slowburn 3.6k 1.8k word starter,” said @kainan​ “bet,” said i.

        SHE’S NORMALLY SLOW & DILIGENT in her daily ministrations. though simple tasks she’s bound by her word to complete— cleaning the temples by hand, leading guests to the omikuji, & watching over the monks as they meditate in the mornings— kiyoko works at her own speed. there’s no rush to duty, but no reason for her to slack, either. eventually, everything will be completed. 

        she’s lucky to have moved beyond her days as a mere temple servant, into her own right as a shrine maiden. the work is still the same ( & she can’t complain about that, when it needs to be done ), but the expectations for her have lightened. she isn’t drilled to finish her tasks early, or scolded for the ways that she accomplishes them. when she was younger, that was often the case. the monks forced her to RUN FAST & JUMP HIGH, performing at the highest expectations possible. 

        more often than not, the rush would overtake her. with wind sweeping across her bangs & through the sleeves of her yukata as she carried a new branch of wood for the temple fireplace, kiyoko ran the full circle of the temple grounds at the calling whim of her superiors. her reliable legs carried her far, bounding gracefully over the uneven stone pathways that had seen hundreds of years of wear before her. [ had she been the only one to run across them ? ] as far as kiyoko knew, nobody else was likely to run here. the monks walked silently across the stones, & the other servants in her cohort scurried … even the guests took their sweet time when they visited. but she ran.

        gracefulness still has its limits, and running so much was always bound to lead to mistakes. kiyoko fell often, no matter how much focus & attention she paid to her feet or the uneven stones beneath them. one wrong step— her geta catching on the edge of one— & she’d meet solid ground again. it was frustrating, but sturdy : a reminder that RUNNING isn’t FLYING, & for all the excitement it could build up in her chest, the ground would always be there to catch her again … to level her out.

        the monks liked to say that they were spirits tripping her. they liked to play games on people, especially young girls who hadn’t learned much yet. [ kiyoko had learned enough, though, she thought. why target her & not someone more powerful ? ] if anything, it seemed like TRIPPING her would give them nothing but a good laugh. & even then … kiyoko grew used to the feeling of the uneven stones on her back, pressing awkwardly into her spine when she rolled onto them & stared up into the sky to catch her breath. she grew used to the feeling of scars on her legs, too, & felt grateful that her yukata would hide them from view.

        but she doesn’t need to run anymore. her superiors don’t press her as hard, & she’s grown perfectly accustomed to walking instead, now. it delivers the same results, & she doesn’t trip. so at her own pace, quietly but responsibly, she completes her duties as a shrine maiden.

        only … today is a bit different. the temple has always seemed like a SECOND WORLD, & by its own rights, it is. the bridge between a mortal plane & that of the gods must inherently feel different somehow. perhaps their visitors don’t realize it ( since they only ever come to pray in times of hardship, when they need to rely on the gods for good grades or success in love ), but someone who has spent every day living & working here would recognize it. 

        there’s a quiet change in the way that the temple operates, in comparison to the world outside. as soon as kiyoko sets foot beyond the torii gate entrance, the world swells with sounds & sensations of physical GROUNDEDNESS. a horn honks, or someone shouts, or a sign for a convenience store starts blinking from loss of power. they all feel deafening in comparison to the world inside the gate. in the temples, those sounds & sensations are more muffled & subtle. the plinking sound of water being dripped into a stone basin is almost like the steady whisper from a god, leading one along their path. the carefully drawn seals placed above every doorway inside are a reminder of the monks who came before, each with their own life & their own tie to this place. the world outside may be blaringly abrasive & direct, but within the temples, life is quiet & subtle. every element here poses a hidden story & meaning. there is more beyond the surface, laying in wait to be uncovered.

        those worlds don’t mix well. kiyoko finds herself feeling out of place outside, unsure of how to act & how to hold herself. similarly, those guests she always saw visiting seemed out of place here. they may go through the process of making their offerings, praying for luck & guidance, & dismissing themselves … but do they truly know why they do so ? it seems to kiyoko like they’re visitors from another world, wedging themselves into a place where they don’t fit because they don’t understand. 

        even him. she’s spied him here before— regularly, even— but it’s clear that he’s still from another world. he may seem to be more respectful than their usual visits, & certainly more diligent about coming regularly … but not her kind.

        if she were to give into her curiosities, perhaps she’d try to create a story for him to explain his purpose here. [ a man with a gambling debt, & with each day he’d gamble a bit more away & lose, he’d feel he needed to come here to ask the gods for more … or perhaps not even someone with a vested interest in the gods, but instead a budding architect curious about the history of the buildings & their designs ? ] with any less self-restraint to her name, perhaps kiyoko would have given him plenty of stories already. with the frequency of his visits, it would be hard not to exhaust every ounce of creativity her brain might have …

        but she maintains her virtue of self-restraint & chooses not to indulge in those stories when she spies him. it’s not really her business why he comes, in any case ; instead, her interest should be vested in her own responsibilities, than in those of others. whatever reason he has for making his regular attendances, it doesn’t concern her. it’s probably a good enough reason for him, & if he’s found a way to make use of their space, then she won’t bother him. 

        though today, of course, is different. if their worlds are not quite the same, that’s fine. kiyoko can accept the nuances of her lifestyle that conflict with his beyond this place. if the world could be categorized that simply— into two worlds like this— then life would be easy. but a third is at play, & it complicates things. 

        she’s never been to the world of the gods before, nor would she know what to expect of it. simply trying to gather her thoughts to make a guess about it feels like a feeble attempt at pinning down the UNKNOWN, so she won’t even try. there are things that can’t ever know, & this is certainly one of them. the world bends for the gods, & always has : they dip their fingers into her world & his, grazing across each like stray cows in an open pasture. but she can’t turn her eyes to their world in return, or dip a finger into it. as a mortal, all she can do is show her respect & devotion, & hope that in doing so she can appease some of the angrier gods into a state of calm. 

        she can also ensure that she clears out the temple from those in the way of the gods. kiyoko has done something similar before, although not to the degree of this occasion. sometimes, the monks might instruct her to convey to the guests their intent to close early ( for ‘ cleaning ’ ). in that case, all that kiyoko needed to do was to patter around the grounds & share the message : i’m so sorry to interrupt you, but it’s important you know. the temple will be closing a bit early today so that it can undergo its scheduled cleaning. if you can, please be sure to hurry along & finish up your visit— we wouldn’t want to inconvenience you with the ruckus of the cleaning. that, albeit indirect ( & a lie ), usually worked.

        this instance was a bit different, though, & kiyoko hadn’t been given a full explanation as to why. she wasn’t a very high-ranking staff member, but that didn’t mean that she wasn’t welcome at important meetings for the whole temple staff. she would simply be asked to sit to the side & listen, rather than contribute or express her opinion. [ but that’s fine. so long as she was able to observe what was happening, she could form her own approach quietly to herself. ]

        however, at this meeting, even sitting to the side & observing wasn’t enough to understand the circumstances. kiyoko had heard bits & pieces, more so as separate words strung together haphazardly than as anything resembling a true, definitive explanation. THE GODS ARE COMING. YATAGARASU. IT’S IMPORTANT THIS TIME. THE TEMPLE MUST BE EMPTY. THEY’RE COMING. 

        it would seem as though this were just another case of a godly ‘ visitation. ’ kiyoko would have to clear out the temple grounds & prepare to host the presence of a god, though she had never actually seen one visit. they were small, anyways, & preferred not to show their physical selves when the spiritual, unbodied form worked well enough. 

        the looks on the monks’ faces conveyed clearly enough to kiyoko that this was not ‘ just another case. ’ they had stressed the importance of this occasion, & the fact that the space needed to be CLEAR. so although she might not have understood it fully, nor been given the chance to ask any clarifying questions, kiyoko was certain of her tasks.

        she would do as she always did when trying to clear out her world & separate it from that of the mortal world outside. however, this time, she would be a bit more fervent in her attempts, simply to speed things up. 

        it’s why she doesn’t feel bad or impolite about tapping him on the shoulder with her index finger, her bangs unsettled by the rising wind & her cheeks nipped by the cold.  ❛  anou … i’m sorry. i know you come here often, but the temple will be closing early today. we’re cleaning up the space. so if you could … make your peace & part …  ❜