Shinigami's Manor. (Shinigami's Entry)

[Warning]

Shinigami kept learning more and more about them. Maybe there was some hope with those humans. Peace was a word she didn't exactly have in mind before while serving her mother but with Mitsuko and Jumi being part of her life now, perhaps there was a chance of that. "Understood... I will trust you on that, then.", she said shortly, figuring that if she was hurt, Mitsuko and possibly Jumi might give them a piece of their mind. Not that she needed their protection but best was not to cause troubles. Mitsuko also was learning how the war with demon was going on. On one side, she was told not to trust any but on the others, some demons could desire for peace? Still, the valkyrie would try to remain cautious.

As Umi spoke to Mitsuko, she started to see that there were more than one coming there to ask for help. Perhaps this place was the next best chance for them, after all. Even if, as Jumi as said, it was not a guarantee. Shinigami was still treated rather well so far but the human shenanigans were not something that the fox really understood completely well. Still, as she was given some freedom, Shinigami did take that into consideration for later. For now, they were offered to go eat, which probably was a good thing for all of them right now. "Fine, let's do that. Right?", she said but asked Mitsuko and Jumi for confirmation. Mitsuko nodded as well but exchanged a smile with Jumi. "Yes, let's go fill these bellies.", she said.

With how this was going, they would meet people and the leaders, possibly finding a solution to what they came for. For once, Shinigami herself didn't feel as anxious as she looked like back at the convention. Back then, there also was the stress of what happened between her and her mother and that punishment. But now, they were being welcomed among other humans. "It would be nice to meet him... I am pretty new at this and still learning how we fight and what threat we face. I have my own troubles after me as well and it's a little scary. I don't think she will find us here, though." Mitsuko said, vaguely leaving out who exactly was running after her. If asked, though, she might explain, not wanting to lie.

[SataiRolePlayingGuy]

Umi led the way to an open room, with several long wooden tables and numerous chairs.  “It can be crowded several times a day, at our meal times, but you all should be able to have a quiet meal, with just yourselves, me and maybe Hikaru.  I will go make arrangements for food and check on Hikaru.  Feel free to sit and wait.  After we are done eating, we will decide whether to check the library, or give you a bit of time to rest, either exploring or in one of our guest rooms.” 

Jumi took a seat near the end of one of the tables, let out a soft sigh, happy to set a little while and rest her legs, as Umi stepped out of the room.  “I’ve seen the library myself.  Impressively large, surprising how much material they have, though I have read very little of it myself.  Have not seen too much more of the place, so can’t tell you too much what you might find wandering.  The guest rooms are comfortable, though unless we want to spend some time researching, I doubt we will spend the night.”  It depended on how quickly something could be found, library or elsewhere.  She would not rule out staying, especially if Mitsuko and Shinigami wanted it, but a shorter stay seemed more likely,

[Warning]

Mitsuko followed Jumi after Uni started leaving, sitting near her while Shinigami followed them just the same. Nall however just landed on the table near them. Mitsuko waited that they were mostly alone to speak, following what Jumi explained about the library. "We know Shinigami's origins, though... What are we supposed to find now that would help us? Would there be a proof that she is not a demon? Or a way to help her fit in?", Mitsuko asked a few questions curiously. Shinigami herself just looked around passively, slightly annoyed about what time they might waste searching. "Death is Death... Don't humans know about her? You are all so mortal, I had no doubt that you would.", she said, like it was obvious.

Mitsuko scratched her head, though. "It's... It's not that simple. Life and death are normal parts of being humans. We never really ask how we're born or how we die... Besides, throughout times, Death had many names. I mean... Ancient civilizations spoke of gods guiding them through death. Um... Ancient history is not really easy to understand, though.", she tried to explain what she had learned at school but it didn't seem to convince Shinigami much. She barely knew her own "mother" all that much. Was she death itself or simply a holder of the power of death? Regardless, she was still the one that created her or at least brought her to life in this world, as far as she knew. The other mystery about her was the relics.

Those were seemingly destroyed into the sound breaking explosion created by Shinigami herself, destroying the portal to her manor or the dimension as a whole. Mitsuko however was not there to see her part with them, hiding them in the manor while she was with Jumi. A thing that she remembered, however. "The power that you used before you take us, though... Was it a demon's power? You controlled a number of sort.", Mitsuko asked, leading to Shinigami turning to her. "You mean the spell of doom. It was a power of the relic, handed to me by my mother. Putting a time on someone's life. Once the counter ends, the life it cursed ends with it. I can't do that anymore.", she answered as honestly as she could.

Mitsuko's eyes saw no reasons for her to lie. If the relics were the bad things and Shinigami was completely separated from them and her mother, she might be considered friendly. Still, she was too new at this to have a proper judgement in this world of magic. Turning her gaze to Jumi and Nall, she still wondered how far all of this went. Her, a guardian of Althena, according to Nall. Jumi was her own kind of magical girl as well. "What do you think, Jumi...?", she finally asked, figuring that she would not be able to figure this on her own. What she wished for was evident but was it realistic? She would not give up on the fox, though. Perhaps their meeting was coincidental and strange but she had followed them this far.

[SataiRolePlayingGuy]

Research into Shinigami’s mother, how different she was from demons, it was one option to this.  The library was one place to look, maybe, but she was hopeful there were other possibilities here too.  She did not have a good idea what they might be though.  She came up with this idea because the people at the temple might have ideas or consider something she had not.  She was unfortunately probably not going to be very helpful in this conversation.

”The library could have some other sort of information, to help convince people she is not a threat, or maybe blend in.  Or speaking of relics, maybe they have something that could help in that area.  Maybe they can convince their ancestor to help.”  The last part was not entirely serious.  But they were already connected to gods through Mitsuko.  Who knew?  Just maybe that Maxim they were supposedly descended from could help in some way.  “But that is why we are here.  Hopefully they already have ideas, or can think of something petty quick.  This sort of thing is new to me, and I don’t have ideas of how to convince most people to accept Shinigami.”  Outside of the people in this temple, Alexandrine and Nymphia, there might be a small number of similarly open minded people, but they would need help to get most to accept her.

[Warning]

Mitsuko was once more lost as to what Jumi said meant. Could any ancestors help somehow? This place seemed to hold many secrets. Still, Jumi had a point. In a world focused on humans or defending humanity as a whole, simply asking the people to accept Shinigami was going to be hard. What Mitsuko hoped however was for her to at least be left alone and not slain on sight. Humans may dislike her or not respect her but the valkyrie wanted to defend her, at the very least. She already wanted to be Jumi's knight of sort as well. She had a lot of work on her hands... "Right. I... still want to find out what we can in this place. Besides, once we're done, we can get a lift back home, right?", she asked, hoping it was true.

Shinigami and Nall both looked lost on what these researches would bring but the fox at least felt comfortable for once, curious about how far this "peace" between her and the people there would last. Even Nall was curious about people connected to gods somehow but he was looking forward to food right now. "Well, it won't hurt being here, I suppose. Better than being locked in a room forever in fear of your kind. However, I'm not a pet and I don't intend to stay like this. Underestimating me would be a mistake, with or without relics. You might not like to hear it but I'll fight any attackers if I must. If your kind is so stupid that they want to see me as the enemy, they'll lose an ally.", Shinigami said, a bit fed with this...

Mitsuko blinked, seeing an annoyed Shinigami but still, if she meant the part about being an ally, it might still be a win for at least her and Jumi. Humans would probably do as Jumi said and blame her with accusations of corruption if they tried to show her the world. Maybe it was silly of her to think that humans may accept her, especially after the convention. But still, Shinigami clearly didn't like this plan to hide and take it slowly. She didn't want to let go of her freedom. Whether Mitsuko liked it or not, conflict would happen soon or later. Being accused of being corrupted seemed like an easy way out for the magical girls to explain whatever alliance they had, whether it was true or not, to justify wanting to slay her.

"...I said it before, Shinigami. I won't let them try. I might be new at this but I'll stay by your side. But... I don't want my choice to put Jumi in danger either...", Mitsuko then said, looking at everyone there. She was torn between her choice to help Shinigami and what history Jumi already had in this world. She knew better than both she and Shinigami and she may or not want to defy other magical girls for the sake of the fox, who was mostly their captor. Was she wrong to want this? looking down for a bit, she slowly stood up. "I need a walk... Sorry, I will eat later. Please give my apologies to miss Umi for this. I will be back later...", the valkyrie said before she left, making sure Nall wouldn't follow her around, this time.