Fujioka Mitsuyo, still clad only in his fundoshi loincloth and dripping near-freezing water, stood slightly nonplussed as eight seemingly disparate people appeared from out of nowhere in the span of seconds and immediately proceeded to make a ruckus in the shrine. Unlike all of these people, he had neither magically teleported to the place nor did he instantly know of its name. He had simply walked into the shrine while strolling around looking for a place to purify himself, having heard of a temple in the area. He did not think it fitting to start his quest before tidying himself up physically and spiritually.

The ronin had been there for quite a while now, out of sight. He had painstakingly shaved himself and cut his hair down to a manageable length, and had cleansed and purified himself by standing for an hour under the shrine's waterfall in a ritual known as [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misogi]misogi[/url]. Clothes, he had procured before heading off. And now this seemingly rail-thin man, soaked to the bones and almost completely naked with a bundle of cloth under his arm, knelt on the shrine's steps in front of the crowd. "Excuse me, but you should really show proper respect in a place of worship", he said in a manner reminiscent of a parent educating a child on common courtesy.

At first sight he might seem sickly, but proper inspection by anyone martially inclined would notice that his body was corded steel and showed the wear and tear of a warrior. Clearly not someone one should mess with. Still, his expression seemed meek and he spoke in a soft tone as he undid the bundle and produced both his clothing and a something to dry himself with. "I'm afraid you've caught me after [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misogi]misogi[/url], please pardon my appearance. I am Hongo, a masseuse", he said with a smile. It was fairly common to see both men and women half naked performing such a ritual. "But who might you all be? And what brings you all to wherever this is?"