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"Heeeerrre we aaaarrrree!" Kelly spun clockwise, with her arms stretching diagonally downwards and pressing the ground with only her right toes. "Tee hee hee!" She stops in front of the shoji.
Two Inkling men wearing a Samurai outfit went each on one of the shoji's sides, pulling them away from the center. Mirii's mouth opened wide, as her eyes were immediately seeing a small, long table where each Inkling and other humanoid creatures were all standing on their knees.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Mirii's eyes went on each person, watching them smiling back at her. Kelly's eyes were closed, as she was clapping and keeping her smiling mouth open.
"Come in here, Mirii!"
Mirii's head rose a bit, seeing Lisa standing up: she was located almost at the end of the table, on the right side. Her right forefinger pointed on the seat to her right.
"… they even let me sit on the head seat…" She smiled. "I always knew that my work was greatly appreciated…" She began walking, with her eyes closed for some seconds. "It was a matter of time, before my feats would be truly recognized."
Great job, Mirii!
Mirii!
I didn't expected that!
You are a better Squid than I thought!
Several voices kept coming in the air. Mirii's smile grew a bit more, as her eyes were seeing Lisa staring back at her, also smiling.
"Eh eh, you are overwhelmed by joy, aren't you?" Lisa's eyelids lowered to the middle.
"I'm surprised by this whole event…" Mirii passed the woman, turning to her left.
Slowly, Mirii lowered on her knees, landing on a small cushion-like surface decorate in a floral pattern. Her hands went on her knees, as her head turned to her left.
"When you said to come in the Shrine for lunch, I reported your choice to the owner in person!" Lisa smiled, as her eyes closed. "As I suspected, he organized the lunch event in no time!"
Mirii's head rose.
"And why he"
"In quality of High Senior Members of the Shrine Council!"
Silence came in. Mirii's head turned to her right, seeing Emi and Eri standing up in front of the table. Both were frowning a bit, while staring at a painting depicting the Shrine. Noises rise, as the girl turned her head left and right, seeing everyone else standing up on their feet. Quickly, the girl does the same, as she stared back at the two twins.
"We are honored to start this ceremony." They took some steps backwards. "We are ready to be part of this historic testimony."
Their eyes closed. Soon, their arms opened wide.
"Today, the Shrine welcomes a girl, whose mind grew in the sweeter seas…" Their eyes reopened, without their irises. "… her heart managed to listen the faraway pleas."
Mirii's mouth opened. The two twins spun each in a different direction, before stopping. They waved their arms and took sidesteps away from each other, before returning in their previous positions.
"She dared to face injustice… make no mistake: it wasn't a mere roll of the dice." Their hands clasped. "She did it twice… and now we are celebrating her feats, with our prize."
Their arms rotated, before stretching laterally in the opposite direction and away from each other.
"This is the 5th time, the Shrine hosts a mortal who bested a curse… as a sign of our gratitude, we shall give her our sacred food." They bowed. "Rice and bread is all we will eat… let's now begin our lunch, by taking our seat." They rose back, as they both smiled and their irises returned.
Clap, clap, clap, clap!
Nice!
Thank you, Shrine Sisters!
I'm so excited for lunch!
Everyone began sitting back on their knees, as voices began raising in the air.
"… if I never saw them before, I would say that those twins are fully coordinated even outside their ceremony." Mirii's head rose, as an image of herself seeing another Mirii appeared. "Having a twin who follows perfection as much as I do… I wouldn't mind that at all!" Her eyes closed, while smiling. "Especially if my twin follows my perfection guidelines…"
"So, what do you think?" Lisa's voice came from Mirii's left side. "Pretty cute for a starting ceremony, hmm?"
Mirii's head turned to her left.
"Lisa, how come you haven't told me about this...?"
"I didn't saw the need…" Lisa shrugged. "If you remained inside your home, then I would had told you about the prizing event once you had finished your lunch."
"I couldn't warn my friends in time, since I had to rush back in my room and prepare myself!" Mirii frowned, as her shoulders rose. "As you know, I'm not here for"
"Hey, hey… relax." Lisa's hands kept moving back in front, while her palms were pointing at the girl. "This lunch is the shortest of all ceremonies, because of the unique meal we will eat."
"Rice and bread…" Mirii's head rose. "… I remember it was one of the Splatfest held in our city."
"Bread is not considered an official food in our Shrine… although, it has been allowed its use several years ago, for the more ordinary lunches and dinners." Lisa's eyes closed, as a sweat drop appears on her head's right side. "This is the only event where Bread is used…"
"How come?" Mirii's arms folded.
"Groan… here we go again with the headache…" Lisa's eyes opened to the middle, while frowning a bit and turning her irises to her right. "Rice and Bread represent respectively the Shrine and the sweeter waters, even though our ancestors do call them sweeter sea…"
Her eyes closed.
"By eating them both, we symbolize our alliance with the mortal who survived a curse… as you just heard, you are the 5th Squid who managed to defeat one." The woman's head nodded. "That's definitively not something easy to do, not even when you have a pro as an ally."
"Besides, if I never knew anything about the Shrine… you wouldn't even let me enter inside the curse." Mirii's eyes squeezed a bit. "I assume you don't let mortals interact with curses…"
"… that's not always true." Lisa returned forward, as her posture lifted.
"Hmm?" Mirii bended a bit forward.
"Have you forgotten? A mortal who wields the fan and knows its use, is always the best combination. Not just the fan, though…" Lisa's head turned to her right, while smiling. "That's because mortals are not filled with pure energy… thus they are not distorted by the curse's negative influence."
"As if I lift a weight… while you lift the same one, except you are underwater." Mirii's right hand caressed her right tentacle.
"… hmm! You are on the right track." Lisa nodded. "Even the best pro couldn't compete against the strength of a mortal… however, because they don't have pure energy, they are easily manipulated by the curse's attacks. Not to mention, their lack of pure energy is the reason why we don't trust them as easily…"
"… I knew my opportunity of facing off this curse wasn't there by just merits alone. Although…" The girl snorted. "Inside those curses, I prefer being more balanced than that. Even though I usually attack from a distance, it doesn't mean I would ignore my overall defenses…"
"Eh eh, I can't hide my huge hunger and my sacrifice for eating less than usual..." Lisa's hands clasped, as her smile grew. "… but at the end, it will be so worth it!" She grins, while closing her eyes and whispering. "Eh eh eh…! I will finally receive the respect I always wanted…! I will finally be more famous…!"
Lisa kept chuckling, as her hands covered her mouth. Mirii frowned slightly.
"… no matter her tricks… I will get that fan as a reliable weapon for my wide arsenal." Her head rose. "I will make sure her own ego is going to be her own downfall…"