"Hold on... You live HERE?"

 

Toshi was standing outside of the very same shinto shrine that he visited whenever he tried to contact God. Mieko nodded in response to Toshi's question, "Yes. Is that a problem?" Toshi stared up at the Torii that was at the entrance and shook his head, "Nope. It just is a little strange." She tilted her head slightly, "Why is that?" He looked at her, "Do you have a little brown shack that looks like it's a few hundred years old with a whole bunch of broom handles and straw in the back?"

 

Mieko looked surprised, "Uh... Yes. It's next to my house." He blinked, "You have a house?" She squinted and looked off to the side, "Well... sort of. My situation is a little... complicated." She seemed embarrassed by the very mention of the topic, but Toshi missed her reaction as he started up the stairs, "You mind if I see it?" She snapped her eyes back on Toshi and immediately began following him, "Well..." He stopped and looked back, "Oh. I'm sorry. I was just supposed to drop you off, right? This is rude-" She cut him off, "No! I-"

 

Mieko thought about how she really didn't want the date to end, but also about how she might get in trouble about this." She looked off to the side, pressing a knuckle up under her nose as she ran through the rules of the temple in her head. All that was trumped when she remembered her mother's pep talk and how she wanted Mieko to get closer to Toshi. She looked up and gave Toshi a single head nod, "I'd love to show you around." In two quick hops she was next to Toshi and walking up with him under the Torii and onto the temple grounds.

 

...

 

Now, you have to understand that Toshi's original world has no actual gods. There were no supernatural forces until very recently, and almost none of a divine nature. This means that all the religions and cults and cabals and supernatural seeking organizations don't actually have any REAL otherworldly guides. That is not the case here. On this world, there is God and his angels. They want to control the world to try and direct it in a fashion to keep it from collapsing in on itself. So if you are going to have human collaborators, who better than the various religions that are already present? True, there would need to be some... modification of purpose, but what religion wasn't open to revelation? Especially when it increased the power of those already in charge.

 

The problem was those religions were mostly populated by NPCs. Those NPCs were at the mercy of serendipity and as such, no matter how much God or his minions might want to take a direct and firm hand to the wheel of starship Reverse World, it won't do much good. At best they could make minor changes, form secret cabals, spread cryptic prophecy. They could influence events in the margins, but could not change the script itself. Reverse world was a crackled reflection of Earth and that was the way things had been for a very long time.

 

At least until recently.

 

Hanging over all of this you have an actual international conspiracy between many different religions perpetrated by angels. A conspiracy of angels that were attempting to at least TRY to keep the spiritual balance of the planet somewhere in the ballpark of Not-Completely-Fucked. I'm mentioning this because if you are expecting an accurate reflection of a Shinto shrine, I suggest you learn to live with disappointment.

 

It would be more accurate to describe what Toshi was walking into as the thin veneer of a shinto shrine spread over a secret military training facility run by Japanese Branch Davidians inside a holy national monument.

 

With a gift shop.

 

...

Toshi had no idea the place was so big.

 

It was easy to get lost in. Mieko took him off the beaten path and very quickly he found himself walking along the outer wall of the grounds. As he traveled with her, he could hear the muted sounds of the city drifting over the barrier. It was hard to keep track of your bearings, but Mieko seemed to know where she was going. She abruptly took a turn here and there, then pushed through some underbrush to step out to what appeared to be the corner of the compound. Here was a small house that could be better described as a Japanese style shack. It looked worn with the stylized roof common to more traditional times. It was more like an ornate turtle withdrawn into its shell while it slumbered in the sunshine. It was isolated and alone with a small area cleared out behind it that appeared to be some sort of square with a low barrier surrounding it.

 

Toshi blinked as the building came into view, "Whoa. Must be nice having your own place." Mieko looked downcast, "No. It is not." She slowly walked around the building, heading for the square out back. Their appeared to be various forms of exercise equipment stacked up against the shack under a small roof to keep the rain off. She came to a stop at the square, "Technically this is a punishment."

 

Toshi hurried over to look her in the face, "For what?" She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders, "My family is very... faithful. And part of that is being prepared. Strengthening one's self is what is important. So, me, my sisters and nieces all..." She swallowed once before continuing, "Compete." Toshi squinted at her out of the corner of her eye, "Compete for..." He rolled his hand to indicate he wanted her to fill in the blank.

 

She turned to him and said matter of factly, "Ranking. To see who is best." He shrugged, "And?" She sighed, "And I am dead last." She gestured to the building, "The one who is dead last gets sent here, so they can contemplate what it means to be last and work harder to improve themselves." Toshi thought about it for a second, "So... wait. You are... banished? You don't get to see your family?" She quirked her head slightly to the side, "Why would they want to see me?"

 

Toshi's jaw dropped open.

 

She looked back at him, "You don't understand. Being successful is everything. One cannot be successful unless you improve. I am good enough to be here, but I am still dead last." She turned to walk over to the center of the square, "It is the way of things. I just cannot seem to catch up to the others." Toshi opened his mouth to say something, as he reached out after her, but seemed to change his mind. He curled his fingers up into a fist and let it drop to his side as he walked slowly to join her, "Are you okay with the way things are?"

 

She looked back at him, puzzled, "What other way would they be?"

 

Toshi stared back and bit his lip for a second before turning to the exercise equipment and walked over to examine it, "So this is where you practice, huh?" She followed him with her eyes then moved after him, "You are not answering the question. Does that mean you are trying not to lie to me?" Toshi paused and stared off at the underbrush. When the wind made the branches move, he could make out the outline of a brown shack that he visited once before. He let out a short snort of laughter then nodded as he turned to her, "Yes. I am trying not to lie."

 

Mieko thought about this for several seconds, staring at the ground, before looking up, "Yes. Many hours a day." Toshi turned to face her fully, "My mom's been giving me some lessons in self-defense. I bet it is no where near your skill." He then held up his fists and quickly shuffled his feet forwards and backwards a few times, "Maybe you could give me some lessons sometime?" She watched his feet then looked up at him, "I think I would have you unlearn everything you know then start over." Toshi lowered his fists and sounded a little disappointed, "...oh."

 

She blinked then raised a hand. Stepping closer she spoke quickly, "B-but I would enjoy doing it!" She tried to smile reassuringly, not quite nailing it, but getting close. Toshi gave her a half smile, "Really?" She nodded, "Indeed. Even if you are completely incompetent, I'd love someone to practice with. It would be helpful regardless." Toshi nodded slowly, "Being your personal punching bad..." He shrugged, "I can live with that."

 

Mieko blinked and shook her head, "No. You misunderstand I-" Toshi held up a hand and waved it dismissively, "I get it. I'm joking." He gestured to himself, "I kid. I'm a kidder. I'm very funny." She nodded, "Oh." Then laughed in a very forced way. Toshi grinned, "Well, at least everyone who is trying to get in my pants laughs at my jokes."

 

Mieko froze up.

 

Toshi stared at her for a good three seconds before reaching out to gently hit her in the shoulder with the back of his hand, "That was a joke as well." Mieko continued to stand there, paralyzed with indecision, her arms perfectly ridged and body unmoving. Toshi's playful smirk faded as he grimaced, "Uh... I... uh..." He bit his lower lip and furrowed his eyebrows, not quite sure what to say. Mieko's eyes flickered over towards him, then her lip twitched. Toshi frowned, "Are you playing me?"

 

She started to sputter giggle then turned away, covering her face as she started to laugh in earnest. Toshi put his hands on his hips and mocked the appearance of being offended. He held his nose up high, opened his mouth as if to say something, then seemed to change his mind. He turned back to her, "You're number one in my book." Mieko stopped and immediately sobered up, "Uh." She blinked a few times, then hooked a thumb over her shoulder, "Want to see inside?" She winced slightly, "Not much to see, mind you." He shrugged both shoulders, "Sure. Why not?"

 

Mieko slid open the back door and they both stepped inside. It was small, mostly a two room affair with a wall sectioning off the bathroom. One side of the room had a few plug in appliances for cooking and what not. However, she clearly did not have much in the way of modern conveniences. The living space was remarkably devoid of personality, with the exception of one bookcase. It was half filled with books of various sorts and had one shelf dedicated to displaying various trophies. Toshi walked over and bent forward to get a closer look, "Wow. You got a lot of awards." Mieko looked saddened by his remark, "You should see my sister's trophies. My eldest sister has five times this, and all of them are first place." She gestured to the one on top, "I have to keep that second place award on top so I will always remember my failures."

 

Toshi gave her a sideways glance with one raised eyebrow, "You don't say..." She nodded in response, "I do say." Toshi turned to her abruptly and grabbed her by the shoulders, turning her to face him. She looked confused as she stared at him. He looked back with a very strong and determined expression on his face. He took a deep breath and...

 

Said nothing.

 

She continued to stare at him, as he seemed to lose the thread of what he wanted to say. He lowered his head and looked away while he drummed his fingers on her shoulders, "I want to say something, but don't know how." She nodded, "Your sister said you might have problems. It is fine. Try your best." Toshi let out another snort as he let go of her arms, "Yeah..." He turned away, rubbed his mouth with his hand, then turned back, "I don't care about contests, or tests, or tournaments, or races, or anything like that." He held up both hands in front of her face, almost cupping her chin, "You. Were there when it mattered."

 

He pointed at himself, "I almost died." He paused then added, "Again." He looked away, then back, "I don't think your family should look down on you." She looked confused, "but... I am last. Yes, they should." He smacked his forehead and dragged his hand down his face, "AUGH." Toshi looked at Mieko through his fingers then seemed to have a lightbulb go off over his head. He reached out to take her hand in both of his and squeezed, "I don't LIKE it when people look down on you." Mieko stood there, staring back at Toshi. Her eyes got wider and wider. Toshi smiled and looked hopeful, "Understand?" Mieko opened her mouth and started to speak, "I... I..." Toshi raised his eyebrows, "Yes?"

"I have to go to the bathroom!"

 

Before Toshi could respond, the bathroom door had already slammed shut.

 

Mieko was on the other side.