Since there may have been some distant relation of Hoshoku Mushiba that lived in China, he figured that he might very well have been related to the White Tiger clan at times. It would have made sense, considering the fact that he looked something like a tiger to some mild degree. Should he ever have found out something like that it would have answered a number of questions that he had. These were questions, of course, that he had held onto for a long time.<br/><br/>Nevertheless, Mushiba had of course lived nothing like a member of a storied clan. He'd instead been a longtime traveler. He was a monk who had sworn away all of his earthly possessions, considering even his blessed firearm to be the property of the holy order that he served. With each step he took, he meditated on the sacred sutras that continued to give him strength even when the failings of the material world were unable to do so.<br/><br/>For a monk, though, he didn't exactly dress like one. The somewhat vaguely feline half-demon wore a garment made of red plates of polished wood reinforced with metal. He served, perhaps, as one of the drafted soldiers that served as warriors far beneath the samurai class. It was yet another admission of incredible humility when it came to his status.<br/><br/>Those like Moroa were proud warriors. The Samurai, of course, were a class of professional soldiers. Mushiba was something quite different. He was someone who had a task to perform, and hoped for the absolute best when performing said task. Often a victim of circumstance, he had worked well to ensure that he could have at least made the best out of a rather bad situation that had seemed to befall the entire country of Japan in many ways.<br/><br/>Eventually he too arrived at the shrine currently occupied by Matsubara Aikiko, and once he was there immediately removed the large conical hat that he had worn around his head. He unlatched the strap that held it in place, and allowed it to rest comfortably between his two gauntlet-wearing hands.<br/><br/>Removing a portion of his footwear as he recognized that he was on holy ground, Mushiba continued to step forward. He looked about, hoping that one of the priests or priestesses that attended to this shrine would have come to him shortly.<br/><br/>Had they not, though, he would have more than likely started to speak anyway. Without anyone there to listen, he would certainly have looked extremely foolish to say the very least. People in these small towns seldom liked unusual spectacles like that. They would have often assumed that someone was crazy very quickly.<br/><br/>"I know all too well that our orders are not in communion. Perhaps, though, we could both put aside our theological differences and share with me some news. I serve under a local samurai, and have come on an inspection tour."<br/><br/>Naturally he was referring to the fact that this was a presumably Shinto shrine. His particular school was rather exacting in its instruction of the Buddha's teachings, and therefore there was some concern when he had phrased that before. There were some in the Shinto sect who were uncharitable toward Buddhists. He had met Buddhists who were uncharitable toward followers of a Shinto path. Religious differences, to him, were a sad state of affairs. He had no use for them, and had become increasingly idealistic in that sense.<br/><br/>"Allow me to introduce myself; I am Brother Hoshoku Mushiba." He didn't mention the particular order of monks that he was a member of, but it would have been easy enough to figure out considering that he were outfitted as a regular enlisted soldier. There was only one order famous for having members amongst the military in Japan serving in any capacity other than army chaplains.<br/><br/>While this could have ended badly, he sincerely hoped it wouldn't have. He was clearly displaying the fact that he was a half-demon in order to ensure that they wouldn't have insisted that anything were being hidden from them. More notable was the fact that his weapon was currently unloaded. Naturally he couldn't have brought himself to kill anyone on sacred ground.<br/><br/>That being said, something inside Mushiba told him that the priest and priestesses here probably had little idea how to spot a loaded Tanegashima rifle and distinguish it from one that wasn't loaded. More than likely they would have had little experience in that respect.