Hatsumode

## Synopsis

It's the girls' first New Year's Eve together and Dam-Bi wants to do EVERYTHING!!! Buying omamori talismans, getting her omikuji fortune, listening to the bell ring at midnight... everything! Luckily she has Interlunium's resident expert on tradition Megumi and the other girls of Chi-Bi and Aurora✧Alice on hand!

## Hatsumode

### Dam-Bi

    Tonight is New Year's Eve. The first one, the one on December 31st, not the other one that moves around all the time and they haven't celebrated in Japan for about the last century and a half. Which means this year it's the only one I'll be getting, which is a little sad, but it also means packing as much New Year's tradition into it as possible along with my friends!

    “We're going to visit a shrine, right? I read online that you're supposed to visit at least three, is that enough? We need to get good luck charms! We need to buy omamori, and mayudama, and an omikuji fortune, and we can't forget the mochi! I want to have someone draw the seal in my new book too! Then we need to get up bright and early so we can go downtown and buy some surprise bags! There's a really trendy store that's guaranteeing a really cute hat with each one! You know how much I love trendy hats!”

    “I don't know if we're gonna have time to do all of that…” Kanon droned, skeptical of my timetable.

    “Y-Yeah, we only have a couple hours until midnight, and that's a lot of stuff to do.”

    “Plus I always sleep in on New Year's Day… and I already have a hat…” Kanon pointed at the yellow cap that's omnipresent on top of her head and Chiyo nodded along. “Can you even wear a hat with your hair in a bun…?”

    “I can if it's cute enough! Plus you can never have too many hats, right? Just in case!”

    “Personally I find them rather bothersome unless the weather is bad enough to require one. They always sit strangely with my kanzashi.” Megumin, who was tagging along with us tonight, pointed in a similar way as Kanon to the enamel cherry blossom in her hair.

    Our activities tonight are sort of a last-minute idea. Normally this is one of those holidays where everyone would go home to see their families, but we have a huge project starting really soon so none of us wanted to risk traveling very far, which meant that I got to snag Megumin to be my tour guide for a real Japanese New Year's celebration! Then when I was talking about how excited I was during rehearsal my little Chi-Bi bun buddy decided she wanted to come, and obviously Kanon tagged along because they're joined at the hip like mega-besties, and so we just had to make it a double-unit Chi-Bi/Aurora✧Alice bonding trip!

    Kazue is with us too, though she doesn't seem to have a strong enough opinion about hats to bother joining the conversation, instead keeping a close eye on where we walk for creepy crawly things she may want to make friends with. Though with how little hair she has and her general preference toward being warm, you would think we'd see her in hats a lot more often than we do. Maybe *she’ll* want to get up early to go hunt fukubukuro with me?

    “You should know, Ms. Han, that tradition does dictate that you have three days to engage in your shrine visits. However, I'm happy to be making my first trip of the year with friends. In the past I've always done so with my parents, but it already feels much more exciting.”

    “I liked the part about eating mochi. That sounds fun. We should do that part first.” Kazue added, looking up from the sidewalk long enough to weigh in.

    “Me too!” Shouted my little chartreuse bun buddy.

    “I want some mochi too…”

    “I normally don't eat this late, but it is a special occasion, and we do have an exhilarating night ahead of us. I believe Ms. Hoshino would consider mochi an acceptable carbohydrate to keep our energy up.”

    “See? Aren't you all glad I talked you into leaving early? Now we can go shopping for a snack before we go to the shrine! Megumin, I assume you know the best shrine to go to? Is it true that there are over a thousand shrines in Tokyo?!”

    “It is very true, Ms. Han. I've given it some thought and believe that the largest shrines will probably already be crowded with visitors, but many of the smaller ones are likely to be more suitable for your sight seeing. There’s a small Shinmei shrine not too far from here which I've hoped to visit for some time. If there are no objections, that would be my first choice.”

    “As long as they have mochi to eat, I don't mind which one we end up at!” Chiyo's sentiment was echoed by the rest of our friends. Well, Megumin is right. We do need extra energy if we're going to make it to midnight…

    When it comes to anything having to do with tradition or Japanese culture, Megumin is my girl, and this kind of thing is one of her areas of expertise. It wouldn't surprise me if she's memorized the details about each and every one of the shrines in the city, and I'd be equally unsurprised if she already had plans to visit each and every one. She led us on a fairly direct course for about twenty minutes after which we took a detour off of the main streets until we found the place she had in mind. Even though it was still a good while before midnight there was already a small crowd of visitors staking out good spots for the bell ringing, but there was still plenty of room to walk around and look at all the stalls selling souvenirs and food to revelers. Our first stop, naturally, was to a small cart on the street outside the shrine’s gate where an older gentleman was grilling pieces of mochi over a charcoal flame. Once we got our treats - very important to keep our voices warm and safe from the winter air - we browsed the rest of the vendors as we ate.

    “Look at how pretty the talismans are. I have to get one for good luck at school, and one for safety, one to ward off evil spirits, oh! And these ones are just for general good luck. That sounds really handy. You can never have enough luck, right?”

    “My, Ms. Han, you really are embracing the local culture tonight.”

    “I've never had these before, so I figure I'd better make up for lost time. These little guys owe me a lot of luck! Oh! Almost forgot!” I quickly grabbed one last omamori amulet from off of the table and added it to my pile.”That one's extra important.”

    “Hey, that's the same one Kanon’s getting!” Said Chiyo as she pointed at her bestie trying to slink off to the end of the table to pay.

    “Really?” The bright red little trinket I'd just grabbed is an en-musubi omamori, a charm designed to bring luck to someone looking for romance. It's not for me though! It's actually for my best friend who's a little girl-crazy. I figure if it'll help her get a girlfriend or at least a healthier crush then maybe she'll mellow out a little, which in a way could be considered good luck for me too. Kanon blushed slightly and tried to hide the little amulet she had just bought stealthily in her pocket. You know, Kanon and Tae-Eun do vibe really well when they play video games, and they look cute together with all the white hair. Sometimes we even call her Kan-Eun because of the resemblance, so maybe… Ah! No! That would be weird! Just think of how awkward that would make video game nights?! Plus they're unbeatable when they team up at *Capsule Girls!* That wouldn’t be good luck for me at all. “I bet Kanon meant to grab one of these! It's for, uh, good luck in…” I grabbed the first amulet I saw from the rows on the table in front of me and quickly read the characters on its bright pink fabric, which marked it as an anzan omamori, which brings good luck in having a… uh… “Video games! I'm pretty sure it's for good luck in video games!” Megumi and Kazue both fought back laughter from behind me as I committed to the bit, refusing to acknowledge what that particular talisman is actually for. Luckily I think Chiyo bought it as she went right back to holding Momo just above the table, using her like a divining rod to pick out the perfect good luck charm to take home. The little orange ball of fuwafuwa started to put up a fuss over a row of dark indigo pouches meant to bring good luck in traffic and grabbed onto one as soon as Chiyo set her down, swiftly biting at the corner. My bun buddy picked them both up and took them to the end of the table where an amused young girl in the red and white uniform of a miko rang her up, despite neither Chiyo nor Momo having a car or even a driver's license. At least they'll be safe on the subway!

    Better get one of those too, just to be safe…

    “Kazue, are you gonna let your pet pick out a talisman too?”

    “Nah. I tried that one year but the miko at the booth flipped out and started panicking. Poor little Goki… I'll just get one to help me with my finals next semester.  And maybe… Do they make ones to help you with making music videos? Cuz we should buy a whole bunch of those if they do.”

    “I believe that may be an as of yet untapped opportunity for the shrine, along with Ms. Han’s video game talisman.” Said Megumin as she calmly selected one of the little blue pouches that are supposed to bring you nonspecific good luck. “But perhaps a shobai-hanjo omamori for success in business would be appropriate, as the production will be a part of our jobs. I believe those are the yellow ones near the center of the table.” Kazue grabbed one of those two just to be safe, before doubling back and grabbing a second. Just to be extra safe I added one to my pile as well. You can never have too much luck! And it's so inexpensive!

    “Sp-Speaking of our jobs, do you think it's really okay that we're staying out so late? What if Lina finds out? Won't she get mad at us or even get us in trouble?” My bun buddy nervously asked while stroking Momo on the head.

    “I don't believe that it will be a problem, Ms. Watanabe. Surely enough girls celebrate their hatsumode at midnight that they wouldn't expect the normal curfew to apply. I doubt that they even pay attention tonight, so long as we acquit ourselves properly.”

    “We are kind of famous now though… What if someone sees us and rats us out?!” I haven't thought about it because I was so excited, but it could happen!

    “Why would we get in trouble? Auntie Lina already said it was okay. The CEO says it makes us look good to be seen at stuff like this.” Kazue sounded a little confused why we were even worried.

    “You told Lina about it…?” Kanon said, sounding almost disappointed that we weren't getting away with something sneaky.

    “Of course. What kind of idol would break curfew without letting their manager know why?” The rest of us who aren't quite so snuggly with our producer exchanged guilty glances before figuring this was actually a good thing.

    “Wellll in that case then we're not doing anything wrong! What a relief! Yay! Now let's go find someone who can draw the shrine's seal for us!” Every shrine in Japan has its own special seal, and it's sort of a tradition to pay a donation to have someone hand draw it into a little commemorative book for you. It's kind of like coin or stamp collecting, or like *Capsule Girls* on my phone! They even have a cute little miko idol named Hoshizuki!

    As we approached the red decorated booth that had been setup for the holiday, a long-haired girl about our age in the typical red hakama and white kosode of a shrine maiden was carefully painting a page in a visitor’s book with a long, thin brush. We waited patiently for the man in front of the table to get his book back and wander away before stepping up, just to let the girl have a tiny breather, since this has to be a busy night for her. Once we approached, however, the girl looked at us with a double take, her big brown eyes practically bugging out of her head like one of Kazue’s… uhhh, bugs.

    “Hello, I'd like to get your shrine's seal drawn in my book, please, if you wouldn't mind.” I asked sweetly and softly. I've seen that look before. It's the look of someone who's just found themself face to face with some of their favorite idols, and when that happens people have a tendency to get jumpy and awkward, or do something crazy like kick someone in the shin, and calligraphy is tough enough without our miko being all starstruck over meeting us.

    “I kn-know you…” The cute young girl stammered slowly, obviously an idol fan with good taste.

    “Well, we are kind of a big-”

    “Megumi Aihara! I'm your biggest fan! W-Wait, no, *Miss* Aihara! Please forgive my forwardness! I lost my manners…”

    The girl practically shouted her slow and awkward apology at us, her eyes never really leaving Megumin who herself looked a little bit shocked. We run into all sorts of fans all the time, but I can't recall any of them ever looking this excited to meet Megumin specifically. Then again, this is the kind of place where she fits in the best, so it makes sense that she'd be a hit with someone who works in a shrine.

    “There's no need for apologies, Ms…”

    “N-Nakabayashi. Amaterasu Nakabayashi. I'm a miko here. O-Obviously. Wh-Why did I even say that…?”

    “Ms. Nakabayashi, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. By your surname I take it it's your family who cares for this shrine?”

    “It's my grandfather's! But I help out as much as I'm able to between school and work. I'm… I'm here a lot…”

    “Well then, I'm very pleased to meet a fan as lovely as yourself. I must admit it makes me happy that I’m recognizable to the sort of young lady who can be found in a place like this. I often helped the shrine nearest my home growing up during their busiest festivals and have very fond memories of it.”

    “I know! I mean, I didn't know that exactly, but I'm not surprised! You're a perfect young lady like that!” The girl continued to get more and more flustered as she interacted with her oshi, her heart shaped face flushing red even as she tried to avert her dark eyes away to lessen the effect Megumin was having on her.

    “Thank you for the praise. You appear to be the embodiment of many of our culture’s finest aspects as well. I never looked half as natural in the kosode as you do. You do your family a great honor.”

    As the two girls exchanged several more compliments, getting sucked into some kind of feedback loop of politeness that was quickly embarrassing both of them, Kazue leaned over and whispered to the rest of us. “This is weird, right?”

    “This is *definitely* a little weird. What are they doing? Is that how smart people make friends? They're even more awkward than Juney and the president of her fan club…”

    “Is that how we look when we meet our fans…?”

    “I h-hope not… If it is then I don't think I want to meet any more fans…”

    Once their strange exchange reached a lull for them to stand in silence and look awkward, I spoke up again. “Here's my book… please?” I didn't want to seem pushy, but we do have a lot we want to do tonight, and if we waited for Megumin to notice that she was being a little strange, well, we'd probably miss everything else on my list. I love her to bits, but this sort of interaction isn't her forte.

    “Oh! I'm so sorry! Y-Yes, of course, I can do that for you immediately.” The girl proceeded to write the shrine's seal on the first page of my brand new goshuincho, first applying a little red ink stamp from a box on the table and then carefully writing out the name of the shrine in lovely calligraphy. We all watched her as she worked, impressed by how precise and fluid her brush strokes were. I'm no expert on ink painting, but I'm pretty sure that she's really good at it! “There you are. Thank you for visiting our shrine tonight.”

    “Thank you for doing such a great job! You have really pretty penmanship. Now I'm going to have to make Megumin take me to lots of other shrines to fill the rest of it!” Just like *Capsule Girls!* ‘Gotta collect all of ‘em!’ After admiring the job she had done for a moment I remembered my etiquette and deposited several coins into the jar at the right side of the table.

    “Thank you for your support, Miss Han. D-Do you want me to draw a seal in your book for you too, Miss Aihara? I-If you don't have one yet! I haven't seen you here before. Not that I've been looking for you! Just… I would have noticed…” The cute miko blushed even deeper in embarrassment and lowered her eyes to the table in between us. Megumi sheepishly placed the little book she had been carrying in her handbag on the table and the girl proceeded to write out the shrine's seal again after flipping all the way to the back of the book. Our friends, bored from having watched this once already, wandered around the courtyard looking at the decorations and goods on offer while Megumin stood back and stayed focused on her book, a fact which the girl seemed aware of as she looked extremely nervous, steadying her right hand with her other as she carefully drew out each stroke. Once she had finished expertly drawing the characters - taking much longer than she had with mine and producing an even more perfect result - she handed the book back over across the table to its appreciative owner.

    “You do that quite beautifully. It appears I inadvertently saved the best for last. Thank you for finishing my book. Your family must be very proud to have such a dedicated shrine maiden. Please accept this donation for your work.” Megumin extended her hand with a ¥1000 bill for the miko’s handiwork, at which the girl turned down her palms, refusing to accept it.

    “I couldn't possibly charge you for it, Miss Aihara! Just knowing that you like our shrine enough to accept our seal is plenty, and your praise is more than thanks enough.” The girl bowed her head in reverence. Yeah, this is still pretty weird, but I can't stop watching… “You're probably the most famous person who's ever come here! C-Certainly the most famous that I've ever drawn the seal for.”

    “I'm sure that couldn't possibly be the case, but it would be improper to not pay my respects and give my support to your family's shrine. The end of a year is a terrible time to offend your namesake. I would be plagued by her wrath for a full year before getting another chance to make amends.”

    “I volunteered to do it though. I couldn't possibly accept anything for it. She would be displeased if I accepted your donation for something I offered without expectation of anything in return.”

    The two girls continued their polite back and forth several times, the money never leaving Megumin's hands. As they debated the matter a crowd slowly started to form around us waiting to get their own seals drawn and, growing concerned over the growing crowd, I figured I had better politely step in before someone less patient did. “Excuse me, but how about we compromise like the young ladies we are? You two just go ahead and look over there…” I pointed toward the shrine's gate, making sure that both girls turned their heads to follow my finger, then took the bill out of Megumi's hand myself. “There. Now instead of a donation for the seal, we'll just buy some more omamori on the way out! Perfect compromise! Everyone wins!”

    The shrine maiden blushed, probably realizing the silliness of what had just transpired, and nodded her head in acceptance.

    “That sounds like a perfect compromise, Ms. Han. Excellent thinking. Thank you for resolving our stalemate.”

    “Hey guys, I hate to interrupt whatever it is you're doing, but i think there's some other people waiting for the nice lady…” Kazue, returned from her sightseeing around the temple, interrupted us with an admittedly pretty good point.

    “Oh! I'm really sorry! I got so distracted…”

    “It's quite alright. It's been a pleasure meeting you, Miss Nakabayashi. I hope you have a wonderful start to the new year.”

    I thought that everything was now happily resolved, but we barely turned around before the miko called out to ‘us’.  “W-Wait! Do you want a tour of the shrine?”

    “Ms. Nakabayashi…” Megumin turned and replied, because of course she did. This is starting to get as bad as when someone asks Kazue a question about bugs. “We couldn't take you away from your work, but the offer is appreciated nonetheless.”

    “It's okay! Hold on!” The miko drew herself up on her tiptoes and waved to another maiden walking by. The girl came over and she hurriedly explained the circumstances to her before switching places. “S-See? No trouble at all, Miss Aihara! It's professional courtesy, right? Since you've been a miko before, and my other job is… w-well…”

    “Ms. Nakabayashi? Are you saying that you're an idol as well?”

    “Ooohhh…” Intoned Kazue, suddenly interested in this twist, before being quickly joined by our juniors. I noticed that she was now chewing on a new skewer of grilled mochi, as were Kanon and Chiyo, who had arrived back next to her.

    “W-Well, not like you are all idols. You're all amazing, and I haven't even had a real debut yet. My parents pushed me to try it to promote the shrine, but I could only get signed with a really small agency, so I'm nothing like any of you! But my manager says that I have potential…”

    “Then please allow me to welcome you to the industry as an equal.” Megumi broke her usually perfect etiquette and grasped the girl's hand, shaking it politely. The color drained from the miko’s face, switching from a ruddy blush that matched her hakama to a pallor that resembled her kosode. “I assume you perform in a traditional style?”

    “Y-Yes, Miss. I wanted to base my act off of yours, but my parents and manager insist I perform in this.” She gestured up and down at her uniform. A miko idol! Just like Hoshizuki!

    “How interesting. You must let me know when you're next performing. I would enjoy seeing it very much. Well then, shall we start our tour?” The miko could only nod at the suggestion before turning sharply and uttering something similar to “please follow me!”

    Kazue was absolutely right before. This night is going to be *weird*…

    We were thus the lucky recipient of an insider’s guided tour of the entire shrine, and my friends and I were blessed to see some truly interesting sights. Some of the old statues on the grounds are really pretty, and remind me a little of some of the ones in the museums at home. Amaterasu showed us the torii gate we passed through on our way in and told us a little story about it and her namesake, and told us that the little lion-dog statues that look ferocious just like my little baby Pom-Bi are named Shishi and Komainu. We saw the high-ceilinged main hall, which would be perfect for practicing dancing if that wouldn't probably be disrespectful, and got a lengthy description of many of the sacred objects stored in the attached offering hall. The most interesting thing though, which just about all of us agreed on, was watching Megumin and her new friend talk about everything. Her and Eimicchi are always talking about all kinds of stuff that barely makes any sense, but this is like watching two Megumis have a conversation, only one of them has a major case of hero worship. Even Kanon has been watching with attentive eyes instead of trying to find the best place in the shrine to take a quick nap before midnight.

    “Omikuji!” Finally, after hearing basically everything about the shrine explained in excruciating detail, we hit upon something that was on my list. “Can we do that? We need to get our fortunes for next year!”

    “Yeah, that sounds like a good plan.” Agreed Kazue, petting a creepy crawly little spider she had somehow befriended inside the hall with a single fingertip.

    “I agwee.” Chirped Chiyo happily though a mouthful of sweet bean bun from their latest trip outside the shrine, while Kanon just chewed more quickly - her own way of voicing support.

    “O-Of course! Fortune telling is my specialty, actually. A lot of our visitors say that they get the best fortunes when I'm working…” Our own personal miko guided us to the little table and chest of drawers surrounded by festival goers. Two others were already aiding visitors, but thankfully they had thought ahead and had multiple sets on hand so the crowd wouldn't overwhelm them. I was hoping they'd do it like this! Some shrines that are really busy just have you draw your fortune from a little bag, but here you shake up a little wooden box and slide out a stick with a number, then they give you your fortune from the little drawers behind them. As we all expected, the miko offered the box first to Megumin, but she had long since realized that we were mostly being dragged around on her personal tour and politely handed it over to Kanon to draw first.

    “Forty-seven…” She passed it to her bestie who turned it over in her hands, probably trying to figure out how to let Momo help her pick a number, before shrugging and tipping it to release one of the little wooden sticks.

    “Ninety-six! That's really high!” She exclaimed.

    “We got an eight.” Said Kazue, speaking for herself and her pets.

    At last it was my turn. I shook the box like a maraca, making a fun little noise before one of the sticks popped out for me. “Seventeen! That's one of my lucky numbers!” Megumi then drew last, giving the box a single small shake before withdrawing her lot.

    “Fifty. Right in the middle.”

    “I'll get those right away…!” Amaterasu took our sticks, upsetting Momo just a little bit, and gathered our fortunes from the corresponding wooden drawers.

    “We got a big blessing!” Said Chiyo happily. “That means it's going to be a really good year! Maybe Momo will be able to get the new deluxe running wheel she wants!”

    “Mine says ‘middle blessing’. That still sounds pretty good! I bet me and Pom-Bi have a really great year too!” Chiyo and I exchanged a high five. This is gonna be Chi-Bi’s big year!

    “I only got a tiny blessing…” Lamented Kanon.

    “Me too.” Said Kazue. “But you’re tiny too, so it’s probably the same as a bigger person getting a lot more luck.” Kanon thought about this for a moment and nodded. It does make a certain amount of sense, in the unique way Kazue often does.

    “What about you, Miss Aihara?” The miko asked nervously. “Did you get a good fortune?”

    “My mother often says that there are no bad fortunes. They simply guide us to be prepared for what may come.” Megumi held up her slip of paper, the word ‘Curse’ clearly visible. Once more the color drained from the miko's face.

    “N-No way! That can't be right! H-Here! Draw again!” She thrust the box at Megumin while she hung her head in contrition. Poor girl. Her oshi showed up at her very own shrine and then she cursed her! She must feel awful! That's pretty bad luck for both of them.

    “It wouldn't be proper to try and cheat the threads of fate. My mother also taught me to look for the good fortune in the unfortunate. If I am to suffer some bad luck this year, it may serve to improve my actions in years yet to come. The only truly bad luck would be to ignore the forewarning.”

    “We can still fix it!” Shouted Amaterasu. Oh! I know this one!

    “Yeah! You can tie it to a tree and the tree will have bad luck instead!”

    “An excellent idea, Ms. Han.” Megumin smiled at me and I giggled slightly at her praise. She definitely noticed that I got that before she did! She walked a few steps to the nearest leafless tree and tied her paper to a low hanging branch, adding her white blossom to all the others which had already been left behind. It would be really pretty, if it weren't probably the unluckiest tree in the world right now. “And Ms. Nakabayashi, please don't feel bad. I thank you for the reminder to be on my most respectful behavior for the immediate future.”

    “Y-You’re… welcome…” The girl was clearly disappointed, and she tried hard to avoid making eye contact with any of us. “It's almost midnight… You should probably go so you can get good spots for the bell ringing…” Aww. She looks as sad as Pom-Bi when she's trying to get extra treats out of me…

    “You're coming with us, right?” I invited her along. It always works for Pom-Bi, and I guess it works when idols do it as well…

    “Yeah, you've gotta show us the best spot.” Continued Kazue.

    “Yeah…”

    “Yeah!”

    She looked a little surprised by our invitation, but that's because she's new to being an idol. Idols look out for each other, no matter if they're a little strange or not. It's the idol way!

    “It would be delightful if you joined us.” Said Megumin. “Assuming of course your duties would allow it. I'd love to hear more about the history of your shrine.”

    “O-Okay! I would love to…”

    What a weird night…

    But we made a new friend!

    That's got to be good luck for the new year!

—————