[Flashback] A pamphlet on Death

Kabukicho. Not quite the place one would want to find themselves in if they held some value. Ragtag houses stuck together to offer some comfort against the cold, buildings about to implode serving as the local bar-to-be in hopes the local kami would be pleased with the vast amount of people keeping up an impoverished sort of hope that the building would last for another week. What little the civilians had here was barely sufficient to scrape by on the condition rulings gangs allowed them those few coins.

Not exactly a place for a lone kid of thirteen years but it was easily the only place where people averted their eyes from the yokai and acted as if they hadn't seen her. A poor sort of comfort for the demon otherwise being gaped and pointed at, fled from or otherwise shunned and harassed. Yes, as long as the grimancer would not be able to uphold a more humane disguise the chances were slim she'd have an agreeable life. Unfortunately, remaining at the clan's compound was not an option as the clan expected her to mingle in and learn from Kumogakure, her new 'home'. Not quite what she had in mind but since she was generally left to fend for herself out here, the girl tended to pass her time by prying on those of weaker will to keep herself occupied and find the keys towards the deeper layers of the mind.

Wearing a simple grey shirt-dress and a pair of sandals, the white hair of the yokai draped over her upper back like a tattered cloak, strands being blown in random directions as the wind felt like teasing her. Her hair would do little to hide the two protruding black horns that betrayed her demonic ancestry, only the black pools for eyes she had possibly being described as them being a darker shade of grey or blue or what-have-you by the mortal minds attempting to reconcile the demon with their poor yet acceptable reality. Dressed like this, her sole comfort was that she wouldn't stand out too much in the equally shabby looking surroundings of Kabukicho.

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356

Shimiko was dressed in a black hoodie that exposed her mid-riff along with a pair of black shorts and black boots. The kunoichi wore a black stole that was draped over her shoulders giving her the distinct look of a satanic priestess. It was very flashy and bound to draw attention to herself but she had allowed herself to take greater risks nowadays. She had come so close to death this past year that she wasn't going to take her faith for granted ever again. As Shimiko walked down the streets she saw a young girl with demon horns sprouting from her head. She had been on the lookout for an orphan or defenseless hobo to slay but this was a far more curious development. A member of that new demon clan that had entered in the village.

"Hello"

Akari turned her gaze from the most interesting ground to that of a black-clad girl about her age with blonde hair. She had hoped the hello would not have been meant for her but from the way the blue eyes stared at her with curiosity, chances were slim the girl was talking to an invisible friend. Black pools glistening in the light would rest into the blue eyes, countless stars seemingly forming a galaxy of their own, their otherworldly allure eldritch enough they might possibly suck in the soul of those staring too deeply into them.

"H-hello", she returned the greeting, voice hoarse and broken as if exhausted. "Were you looking for me?"

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There was something off about the girl. Something otherworldly. It stayed Shimiko's hand when it came to inflicting pain on her but and made her a bit more curious. She went for an unorthodox response to the girl's question."Yes actually" she said with a smile. She hadn't been looking for this girl specifically but she had been looking for someone like her. There was an malice in her gaze that she had seen in her fellow worshipers. It was a malice that many a Jashinist had in their souls and it was one she looked for when considering prospects. She waved the girl over "Follow me, I want to talk" Shimiko would start walking down the street with the girl hopefully nearby. "What are you doing here? This is a really dangerous place for girls like us"

The total stranger acknowledged that she was looking for Akari. It made her sceptical since those who generally looked for her were not the sort to have good intentions with the yokai but the glint of curiosity in the girl's eyes, and perhaps recognition?, was something she generally didn't see in the eyes of her usual encounters. Requesting to be followed for a talk, Akari would casually follow up, leaving a meter or so between the two. Keeping her wits and vigilance about her just in case this would end up being a trap. Luring an innocent person into a gang to do... unthinkable things. Like mugging and stealing or beating them up. Though the demoness had little to show for aside from the oversized grey shirt and the black shorts she wore under it, just being different, being a yokai was often grounds for others to harass her.

This girl seemed concerned. Almost scolding her for lingering around this place by herself. A thirteen year old, easy prey. Akari frowned. She wasn't sure if she had to get irritated about the stranger scolding her, about her not knowing anything about Akari's past and upbringing or simply because she was meddling into something that didn't concern her in the first place. Whatever reason, the yokai didn't seem to appreciate the question all that much.

"What do you mean, girls like us?", she'd ask, black orbs running the Jashinite's Human figure up and down to make a point about the differences between her and the horned, winged being she was herself. "Most of the people here are too pathetic to realise their own existence, so I'll be fine. Why were you looking for me anyway?"

Shimiko could see the concern and annoyance on the girl's face and so she explained herself: "Beautiful girls. Ones who look defenseless or naive." she said in a matter-of-factly tone. It was a bit of a compliment really but she took it that Akari wasn't really used to receiving praise. She didn't want to scare the girl off entirely. She was impressed and intrigued by her astute analysis of the world around her. Shimiko also sensed a darkness in her that could be channeled and make her a wonderful cultist. When Akari asked her why she was looking for her she decided to fess up.

"Well...not necessarily you specifically but someone like you.... someone with a innate curiosity but a vicious mindset underneath it all..." She handed Akari a pamphlet. It was literally just a promotional advertisement for the Home of the Saints. A religious trinket shop that doubled as a front for the Jashinists in Kumogakure. Shimiko wanted Akari for her cult and so she decided to take a leap of faith in sharing the pamphlet with Akari.

"If you are ever alone and want to talk or need something to eat or a place to stay...just go to that address. There is much about the world we can teach you. Very few have the aptitude or stomach to take in what we teach but I have a feeling you've got the right stuff" she gave a cryptic smile and gave the demoness a polite pat on the back. Jashin willing, Akari would visit the shop over the course of a few years and in time she'd come to have a working knowledge of the Jashinist faith and what it entailed. Whether she would join them or not however would be completely her decision.

Exit.

Akari had expected some devious ploy but was instead offered a compliment. Narrowing her eyes somewhat as she was, indeed, not used to compliments of the sort she was nonetheless caught off-guard sufficiently to not find an immediate remark on the words. Her question would be answered in earnest, being handed a flyer to boot. As her eyes ran over the contents of the flyers, the girl continued her explanation. Curiosity with a vicious mindset. That sounded like her. Home of the Saints. She lifted an eyebrow, wondering if this was some misplaced joke relating to her wings. Like so many others calling her 'an angel' just because her wings were white.

Lifting her eyes up to the meet those of the girl in front of her again, she continued her welcoming advertisement about a place for food and shelter. A place where a lot could be taught. Something requiring a certain unspoken aptitude and the stomach... whatever it could be. It all remained a little too vague to the cautious mind of the demoness but viciousness, aptitude and a stomach...? That didn't exactly sound like the 'Home of Saints' was something harbouring meek sheep.

"... Thanks. I'll think about it.", she said casually, watching the girl leave to find another victim before she ran through the pamphlet's contents just once more. Yes, maybe she would take a peek some day.

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[EXIT]