ICHIGO KUROSAKI

i don't fight because i want to win, i fight to win!

template by #punki-chan

It was almost ironic that he had never really been the religious type. The same went for his family. They didn't worship any god from what he could remember, and instead mostly focused on traditions than the likes of religion. It was perfectly fine with Ichigo at that young age because he didn't really know anything all that much about the place. It was when he grew older and was pushed into the aspect of what the afterlife consisted of, that he realized that he had been wrong. Growing up however, he knew how important was to take care of shrines and the dead. Treat them with the respect that they deserved to be treated just like when they were alive. Souls and spirits were drawn to certain aspects of the living world, but eventually they would all pass on like they should. If they didn't, then that was when the problems happened. Ichigo was accustomed to leaving shrines on the likes of graves or memorials. He wasn't completely cold-hearted when it came to the aspect of the dead. Ichigo didn't believe in gods or goddesses however, and instead the Shinigami simply believed in life and death. When someone died they returned to soul society where they could continue living for the majority of their life. There were no such things as gods to them, although there were some instances that certain beings could be called gods from their power but could be killed just the same. Ichigo was a Death God, but he wasn't a God. He knew that it was confusing, but most believed that gods couldn't be killed. Ichigo on the other hand wasn't a complete Death God, and was actually part mortal.

But the idea that a Death God/ Grim Reaper couldn't be killed was false. Ichigo had the experience to prove that he had watched his fellow Shinigami comrades die and never come back. It was a horrible sight, but he knew it did happen. He didn't like it though and would do everything in his power to protect his friends. Ichigo was brought up with certain Japanese traditions and those that he didn't know he read on. The group of clans that he had come from his travels and the one that he had led up to a point also had a shrine. It was a small shrine made of just a simple archway and no building. There was always something sinister about the shrine, and one day one of his clanmates had gotten close to the shrine only to end up being attacked by a corrupted spirit. Corrupted spirits were usually tracking Ichigo down thanks to the spiritual energy he commonly gave off. It was almost like a curse to the Death God, but he was attentive to know when something bad was about to happen spiritually. His clanmate had been lucky to get out alive when the thing had left, and Ichigo was there to hopefully calm her down even if it was just a little bit. It was his job, after all, to deal with souls and spirits that refused to let go of the world of the living and safely pass on. One thing about moving to a new group of clans was the fact that he didn't really know anything. This was slightly annoying, but he knew that he would get the hang of it eventually. The over-sized cougar had been patrolling a lot to make sure that anyone near the border would remain safe to whatever was happening.

Ichigo was still confused as he still didn't have enough knowledge to know which side to pick or which side to protect. It was frustrating, and with the lack of sleep he knew that his hallucinations would start getting the better of him if he wasn't careful. The Shinigami let a sigh escape his jaws as he hadn't been paying attention to where he was going until he saw a building off in the distance. He stopped for a second and observed a building off at a distance. He tilted his head slightly as he recognized certain decore and symbols that were spread across the building. Was that... a shrine? This immediately took his interest as spirits and ghosts took refuge near these areas. Ichigo heard voices not too far away from where the shrine seemed to be, and Ichigo seemed to stop and bow his head slightly before he entered the sacred grown that covered the area. Some shrines could be pathways marked to go back to Soul Society, and if he wanted to try to go back he could try and get information if this was one of the places. He rounded the area until he found the door. Two familiar faces and one quite not familiar. Of course, he only knew the name of Infirmaryward and that was around it. He stopped at the threshold of the door closing his eyes and obviously saying something in his head, slightly bowing his head before walking in. "Well this is a familiar site." Ichigo said with a tired grin spread across his facial features. "How long has this shrine been here?' Ichigo questioned to no one particular. It reminded him of the houses and shrines that were in Soul Society. All the rooms sectioned off with paneled walls and mats. [color=crimson]"I don't like it here.". A familiar voice rang out into Ichigo's head, causing one of his ears to flick to the side. "Of course you don't like it here. But you would think that you would get used to it by now considering how many years its been." Ichigo replied with a snarky comment, and that definitely shut the corrupted spirit inside of him up.

/god this entire post is a mess my apologies

ICHIGO KUROSAKI

i don't fight because i want to win, i fight to win!

template by[color=#2e2e2e] #punki-chan

Ichigo knew a good amount of Japanese culture. But that didn't mean he practiced everything either. He remembered his family giving bedtime stories about some of the mythological aspects of their culture and how Ichigo found them interesting. That time was short lived however and he didn't really remember anything that was said. It was when he finally established himself into aclan and actually had a library that had different books in them that he was able to do a little bit more research on his culture. It certainly opened his mind quite a lot since it had been such a long time since he had practiced any of the traditions. Maybe it was because he hadn't been around his family albiet for about a couple months before all of them had disappeared and he was on his own. The Shinigami did know what it meant to others when they were allowed to be shown respect. Respect went a long way when it came to those that one was working with. There were times as a Shinigami he was shown respect, while others raised their noses in disgust and anger that he was part of a corrupted spirit, the type of corrupted spirits that they hunted on a daily basis. Some of the Shinigami didn't even try to listen to him at the end either, and Ichigo knew where they were coming from and for the most part actually ignored it. The issue with Ichigo though when it came to certain things and terms was that he wasn't the smartest. From the clans that he came from, more words were common than others to use when describing something.

So far he hadn't run into any issues when describing something in a place like this. The wildcat was glad for that as he didn't want to be taken like he was some sort of idoit either. Ichigo allowed himself to sit down to the right of the doorway and allowed himself to inhale the familiar scents. Most shrines had the same scent to them, at least to the Shinigami. The voices in his head were chatting away to one another like they usually did, and Ichigo, as usual, ignored them so that he wouldn't have to deal with their nagging. Or at least one of them would nag he doubted the other voice actually cared at all. The first impression had told Ichigo that he probably wouldn't like the griffon all that much. Especially after how he had reacted to the corpses that had been on the border. But listening to the other having fixed the shrine changed his opinion on the griffon. Not entirely, but to the point where he didn't mind being around the other and wasn't immediately aggressive about something. Ichigo nodded his head in understanding the larger male, and it made sense that someone died around the shrine. Sometimes graves were put near shrines as hope that the shrines would act as a gateway to the afterlife and they would have an easier chance of finding their way there. "That was nice of you to do that. I can help you keep it up to date if you wanted." Ichigo offered with a subtle shrug of his shoulders. Considering how the other felt about this place, the griffon might feel better having it all to himself. Although Ichigo would visit from time to time to look to see if there were any spirits that were hanging around for far too long.

The Shinigami was caught a little bit by surprise that the other realized that he was Japanese. He hadn't expected that to happen, but the griffon wanted to learn more about the shrines and what they were. It had been a long time since the last time someone wanted to be remotely educated by him. At the mention of Inari, Ichigo's attention seemed to be caught and he nodded his head as he gathered the majority of the information that he knew of. "There are usually different types of shrines. Sometimes there are certain shrines that are dedicated to certain deities. Since there are Inari statues, this place is most definitely for the deity Inari. Its said that they are the god of rice and usually bring good fortune to merchants and farmers if offerings are given. The fox statues you see outside symbolize Inari's messengers, which are kitsune from what I remember. Inari definitely seems fitting for a place like this which are mostly traders and merchants." Ichigo stated calmly, not really looking at the griffon and seemed to almost staring at the roof as he tried to remember everything. Easier said than done considering he hadn't thought of the information for a long time. "The most common shrines I know about are Shinto shrines. They're used to pray to Kami, god, and pray for good fortune. They usually have a sacred or spiritual item that is also kept in them. Sometimes there's something called a Torii, which is a large archway type structure that is said to separate the real world to the next. It's common for spirits or souls to gather around shrines as it can become easier for them to cross over." Ichigo explained although he didn't go into great detail of the knowledge he had about souls as not to draw suspicion to himself. Each shrine was different but usually consisted of the same stuff. Most were for worship, but there could be other shrines around that could mean others things. However, no matter what kind of shrine it was it deserved to be respected as it was a means for some mortals to practice their religion.