The Right Rites? (Maria)

Unlike usual, both thankfully and unfortunately, Tomomi’s job was to clear up the litter somewhere else that wasn’t Little Tokyo. If he had to guess, it was because someone else had already done it, or that the festivities that always went on had lessened somewhat the previous night. Regardless, a change in scenery was nice, right? And in this instance, he was picking up litter around a church or something like that, in the Sunlake Palms.

Clad in his school uniform and with his general litter equipment, bin bag in hand and mask over his face. But, looking around, the area was much… Nicer than Little Tokyo. It was less city like, and if he didn’t know any better, he would have forgotten he was in Endymion city from the sight. The bell rang, Tomomi turning and looking to watch over what was happening. A black coffin carried by a group of unfamiliar faces to him. If he recalled correctly, that was a funeral rite. Out of respect, he stopped his job for the time, leaning his equipment on a fence next to him and lightly bowing his head as if in mourning for someone he didn’t know. A few seconds passed as he stayed like this, before picking his stuff back up and going back to picking up litter, avoiding looking around for fear that someone may have looked at him oddly for his appearance. After all, he had a medical mask on, latex gloves, a bin bag in one hand, while wearing a school uniform with a jacket over his head. Nothing about him was normal, not that it mattered. He was just doing what he was dumb enough to sign up for – litter pick up.

A couple minutes of it, and he paused, setting the bag to the side of him as he leaned against the fence and wiped his brow, shaking his head and pulling the mask down temporarily. The view was much nicer than that of Little Tokyo, but that just posed a question in his mind, as he glanced over to the funeral that was proceeding. “It’s nice here… So… Why do people litter? It’s not like there’s no bins… Is it accidental? On such a scale?... I dunno…”

Shaking his head, he realised it was pointless to talk to himself. Still, he couldn’t just get back to work. The thought was in his mind and he found himself gazing mindlessly at the funeral processes.

It was a somber beginning of a morning. Maria quietly sat in the pew with the rest of the Church-goers to this morning funeral. It was always a solemn moment when someone passed away and people came to give their final respects. She watched many people crowd together in their sorrow. But there were also many others who eagerly wanted to profit from their passing. Others simply came out of spite. It felt rather dizzying at first having to get funeral after funeral prepared during the first few years in the Church. But now it all worked like clockwork. Sure she felt their pain, but in the end it was a job for her.

The moment as they carried away the coffin, Maria felt a wave of relief coursing through her. The last of them passed on, her services were no longer needed for this day. Having to double-book her hours for the Government and the Church worked her to the bare bones. She was feeling exhausted, mildly, but tired nevertheless. The nun poised to return back into the chapel, but decided against it after noticing the gentle breeze and the pleasant sun outside. This was her moment of respite, the Cadet figured. It wouldn't hurt to take a small brisk walk to shake off languor.

To the corner of her eye, as she meandered through the grounds, she noticed someone was... loitering? Not that she minded, but it felt odd. They were picking up trash, usually the job she partook in nightly. Did the Mother Superior hire someone? This she would come to find out as she quietly stalked towards the person and finally spoke to grab his attention. "I'm afraid that's a question that will never see a definite answer. But getting new bins might better solve this issue."

The sudden sound of voice certainly startled Tomomi out of his daze as he leapt into a standing, straight posture, eyes wide in surprise for a moment before he spun on his heel to face the source. And in front of him was… Was she a nun? With blue hair? It piqued his interest, as he always thought the idea of being a nun was to be completely plain in appearance. Or perhaps that was just a stereotype?

Regardless, her reply to his self muttering made him blush somewhat, pulling his hygiene mask back up to both cover his blush and to make him look more professional. It was embarrassing to know that he was overheard when he was technically supposed to be working. Voice muffled mildly by the mask, he replied to her statement with a slight shrug and the words “I suppose… Still, there’s always holding on to rubbish until you find a bin… Pockets and such…”

The next question confused him however. “Mother superior? I’m… Sorry, I don’t actually know who you’re talking about… I’m just one of the many litter boys hired to clear up trash on the streets, roads, bushes, and stuff like that… I’m usually assigned to Little Tokyo, since I live there, but that position was already assigned today, so, I was sent to clear here instead. Apologies if that… Um… Caused confusion…”

Deciding to pose a question of his own, he tilted his head to the side, the mask moving in time with his words. “So, do you work here? Judging from your clothes and such… Oh, if that’s not too personal of a thing to ask, of course! I should technically be continuing to work I guess, so, if I’m intruding on work or causing trouble, I’ll be going!” he nodded his head quickly as he emphasised his point exasperatedly. Socialising was hard and confusing. Especially when you’re as socially awkward as Tomomi.

The young Cadet cocked her head to the side in confusion. Why was he hiding his face? She didn't possess even the faintest idea of why this visitor seemed reluctant to show his face. No way it's because she actually smelled. Sure working the Church's garden soil can probably do that. But it wasn't her shift today and she had a shower too!

"Oh! I see. No, no! It's fine. It's my fault for assuming. It's just we rarely get many people around unless it's for a special event." Maria gave a friendly laugh and shook her head. It turned out he was one of those public government litter pickers. Or whatever they call them. Disposal? Maria couldn't put her head around it. Neither did she really think too much of the topic either until now. But she found herself nodding to show her understanding of his explanation. How embarrassing. Not everything revolved around the Church, of course. At least, not when you're not part of its underbelly organization. "None at all! I actually live here too. I'm training to become a nun. Like I said, we don't get many visitors, so it's fine if you want to look around the area. It's not like we're aiming to forcibly proselytize you or anything. That kind of time is long gone by now anyway."


She offered her a handshake. Hopefully he'd shake it... after taking off that glove.

As the woman explained and talked, Tomomi nodded along, trying to understand as best he could despite the inflow of words that came in. One of those words in particular stuck in Tomomi’s head and confused him, causing him to repeat the word under his breath… Somewhat, completely unsure of what the word was. “Pro… Sterilise…?”

As Maria introduced herself and offered her hand out in a handshake, Tomomi went to accept before realising he had the gloves on, quickly taking one of them off and returning the handshake as he provided his own introduction. “Ah, nice to meet you Maria. My name is Tomomi. But, um… If that’s a mouthful, Tomi is fine…”

Putting his glove back on, Tomomi turned to face the church with an almost inquisitive curiosity, words slightly muffled behind the mask. “So, um, miss Maria… If it’s not too personal a question, what led to you training to become a nun? You’re clearly… What’s the word… Enthusiastic about it? I think that’s the word… But, um, you don’t have to answer, I’m just… Curious? It’s nice to see someone enthusiastic about something, so, I’m just wondering…”

She felt relief as the glove was off before shaking. Tomomi would feel some calluses on Maria's hand just as they shook. Before the young man may get curious enough about the state of her hand, Maria was first to remark, "Tomomi? Oh, are you Japanese? Forgive me. We've been getting a lot of Japanese people coming to this city lately. How's Endymion treating you?"

Maria noticed there were a lot of those island-dwellers coming into Endymion for some reason. Even out of all the Cadets, there was a remarkable Japanese member. But for what reason were they here for? Opportunities? Maybe, Endymion was a thriving city save for all of the demonic and Psyche-Terrorist presence. "Eh? Enthusiastic? A-am I? I don't know if you could say that, ha ha... Well, it's something that's expected of me. In a way."

She was more or less cryptic by this. Of course she couldn't say the real reasons for it. Personal, it was. But she didn't want this conversation to go any awkward, especially when on break.

The sudden questions about where Tomomi was from certainly caught the boy off guard, since for the longest time he’d considered himself from Endymion after how long he’d been living here. But… How was he finding it? That itself was a question to think on, since the question was certainly a broad one. Still, he may as well start with the beginning.

“Ah, um, I’ve… Kind of been living here for a… A while, I guess… I was born in Japan though, yes… Um… Me and my parents came to America just before the… What’s it that everyone around here calls it… Big split? The big event that made things go bad… Since then, I’ve been living here, since I heard rumours that the rest of the world has been for the worse…”

Coughing behind his mask, but putting his hand to his face out of habit, Tomomi continued. “As for how I’m finding it… I guess, it’s become home? I’m finding it the same that I found home back in Japan, with schooling, and the sights of Little Tokyo, so, I guess that made settling a bit… Easier? Easer I think is the word.”

Realising that he’d been rambling on with personal details, he grinned beneath the mask rather sheepishly, gesturing to the church. “Still, there weren’t things like this back in Japan. At least, not in the area I lived in. I’ve got to admit, the aesthetics pretty… Different, but, a nice different, I think anyways…"

For a moment, he fell silent, as if gauging Maria’s response to that. Then, with a shrug to himself, he moved on to his own question once more. “If you don’t mind me asking, what sort of stuff does a nun even do? Aside from talk to… Uh… Litter boys, as it was…”

"I'm glad you're fitting in then. It can be difficult to settle in these days, but it's worth the view and the city life." The mention of the Eternal Divide nearly made her twitch a little. It was never a good memory for everyone who was witness to the carnage of those times. But she refrained showing any signs of a response about the event. There was little need to concern him about her own personal problems anyway.

Tomomi listened intently to Maria, as if curious and wishing to understand more. Praying? Like, praying for better things to come? He can’t say he understood what she meant, but, mentioning such a thing would probably offend, and so he held his tongue, and continued to listen. She seemed fairly into this Christ person, but, if he recalled correctly, that was their religious practice, so, he just thought of it as fair enough.

As he went to speak, the sound of bells caused the boy to pause. A reminder of the time. As if taken aback, Tomomi began to awkwardly laugh, rubbing at the back of his neck. “Ah, right, the time! I should probably get back to work, otherwise my boss will wring my neck out… Besides, the streets aren’t going to clear themselves!”

While his smile was hidden behind his hygiene mask, Tomomi’s expression and the look of his eyes conveyed the feeling enough as he walked over to where he had left his equipment and bag, picking them back up. “So, um, Miss Maria, unless there is anything else, I think I’ll be taking my leave…” He declared with a slight bow, a cultural habit that he hadn’t quite gotten out of despite the years of not having to do it. At that, he spun on his heel, and provided he wasn’t called back, began to walk off to continue doing his work, desiring not to be shouted at for being a ‘slacker’.


[Exit]

She gave a gentle wave before the cleaner departed. Maria heaved a sigh. It was going to be a little lonesome to hang out in the Church's outer rim. But with the clock ringing earlier, the woman wasn't going to have much time left for a lonesome break anyway. It was going to be another day as usual, huh...?

Maria Woodsworth of the Chariot and Tomomi Jōmyaku of the Lovers have established a Social Link!