The Rising Sun Quarter's famous market is always brimming with activity in the early morning. Rising early is a long-held custom of the Land of Iron and Zaishin City is certainly no exception to this practice. Women are often shopping in the market quarter for groceries, supplies, and clothing. Foreigners will find that fashion is largely abandoned over function in this pragmatic culture.
Posted: Wed Jan 13, 2021 7:07 pm
[Hanabi β’ Enjo] calmanddeadly [Seinaru Enjo β’ Seiryu β’ Bloodline β’ Bukijutsu] βIf there is no mud, there would be no lotus. β
With a katana by her side and a goal in her mind, Hanabi had stopped few stalls just to browse. Her aunt wanted to pick up some more fabrics and supplies for her new baby. The baby arrived earlier than expected so the family wasn't quite yet prepared. Not only that, the baby seems to be growing pretty fast and pretty quickly so they were running out of clothes to keep the baby warm during this harsh winter. Bowed farewell to the merchant, she moved onto the next stall and this one had caught her eye. They had patterned fabrics and this merchant seemed to just meet her taste. There was this beautiful black silk kimono with red lotus on the bottom. Her fingertips tenderly touched the soft fabric. Hanabi so badly wanted to buy this but she didn't have her own ryo and the ryo she was carrying wasn't meant for her, but for another new baby in the Enjo Clan. Yet, she was unable to pry herself away from it. Instead, she stood there, trying to remember every pattern, every stitch, every little details so she could either to try make one herself which was a big fat joke or have someone else make it for her if this robe was no longer here when she had the ryo.
Bowed another farwell, she made her way over to the one stall she was needed for. Bought some furs and wooden toys for the new baby, her arms were rather full from the thickness of the fur but she was still able to see what was in front of her. "Mutt." Someone called out as Hanabi stopped in her tracks. One good sniff, she knew who it was. With a roll of her eyes, she turned around and saw one of the cheap weaponsmith. She didn't like him and the feeling was completely mutual. "Got yer uncle's order done." He handed her a katana. Shifted her arms a bit, she managed to free one of her hand and grabbed the katana. They both part their ways, there was no more need to complicate things especially with things being to tense and dangerous a month ago.
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"Hyaaaah!" Young Seiichi would swing his wooden stick at a tree that was nearby in the marketplace, imitating the way his brother had always attacked when they were play fighting. He faked a little genjutsu action that he might have put himself in and would bring up both hands to remove the illusion form his eyes. Once that was done, he circled around the base of the tree. [ Learned Kai! ]
Seiichi next would circle around the tree, as if it was a most intimidating opponent. "I'll have you see the face of the life you take from me." In a plume in smoke, the capable academy student would disappear, leaving behind the splitting image of his older brother. As the wind swept through his new longer hair, his stick would be raised, at the ready. [ Henge no Jutsu | Rank E ]
Then he would make another hand sign, different from last time. A couple of clones of his brother would appear next to him. Each would perfectly mimic his actions as he pointed at the tree. "Get him, boys!" With a few failed attacks, Seiichi would poofed back into his normal self and attack again. [ Bunshin no Jutsu | Rank E ]
Next the ethereal opponent came directly at him! But he was just in time to dodge. With another hand seal, he would replace himself with an object his size from nearby. It took the place of the boy for the phantom hit while Seiichi himself would swap into a location away form the attack. He hopped back to the tree again while raising his stick. [ Substitution Technique | Rank E ]
Then came the more boring part! Who'd wanna walk on water anyway? Seiichi channeled his chakra down into his feet again, the flats of his ends glowing a bright blue as he likely could have walked on water right about now. Instead, he would just swipe at the tree again. [ Art of Walking on Water | Rank E ]
Seiichi then would perform a hand seal and focus the flow of chakra down into his feet before beginning to hurry up the bough of the ancient looking piece of future lumber. His legs wobbled but he would be about sprinting all around while his sword tasted the thick exterior of his inanimate opponent. After some time, he came back down with a cheerful smile on his face and turn back around to face his ghost opponent. "You'll never get the best of me, foul shinobi!" [ Art of Walking on Walls | Rank E ]
Seiichi would perform his grandest trick yet, which was closing the distance between himself and others. It didn't take long after yet another hand seal for the boy to then ZOOM! He was over near the other side of the fence! Another few steps came again and he was right back where he started: in front of the tree again. [ Body Flicker Technique [ Shunshin no Jutsu ] | Rank E ]
Now it came time for the fun stuff! He tossed the stick away and would focus on the sword in his hand, a simple stock sword that an academy student would be given to practice with after graduation from a wooden one. Dullened for protection of the wielder. He would take a whiff of the air, honing his senses of his clan's famous breath technique. [ Total Concentration: Water Breathing [ SΕ NΕdo: Mizu KokyΕ« Learned ]
His next little technique to practice was a counter strike, one of many that would serve him well in the combat that was the life of samurai. He held his blade at the read while clearing his mind and allowing himself to focus. After a few seconds, his blade swung in a circular movement, water sprinkling out of his blade while then continuing the revolution and striking at the mock opponent. [ Line of Interval [ Kankaku no Sen ] Learned ]
Time for his first actually good skill. In the little puddle of water nearby, Seiichi would hold his sword downwards and vertical, with the blade just grazing the surface of the water. It was slow at first, but he swung the weapon upwards, as a wave of water would be expelled from the attack. On its way across, another wave would be sent behind it, aimed directly at Seiichi himself. The kid dove our of the way to safety while admiring the hole that had been punched by the attack [ First Form: Water Surface Slash [ Ichi no Kata: Minamo Giri ] Learned ]
Just as he was about to continue, a foot would stomp towards him from his right. An angry looking shopkeeper would be up in arms about his little stunt and playing soldier near his business. "I, Uh, I'm sorry about the fence. When I get some time for the academy, I can..." He was cut off shortly after by a rising tide of insults towards him and his family, Seiichi unable to do anything but slowly wander off while the man would be getting into the beginnings of a rant. Once he was a good enough position to bolt, he took it and went!
"You'd think he would be more open to having his face be open." Seiichi muttered to himself, looking down at his nalde again while his worries would take his attention once more. That technique from before had still been so sloppy and embarrassing. He wondered how he could ever set off on his own and become a great Seiryu like his family. Everything from here looked so daunting, and yet, there was barely any room here at the base of the clan's style was anything but easy. He let out an annoyed huff, his fingers dancing around the hilt of the blade, popping it from it's sheath for a moment before allowing it to fall back down into it's sheath.
Seiichi was stirred up from his session of doubt that he had ran into another here on the sidewalk. The boy sat with his rear on the ground while looking up at the woman he had just ran into. "Oh, I'm so, so so sorry, miss! I wasn't watching what I was doing." His tone was a bit fitting of his underdog appearance. "Allow me." he said in a soft, understanding tone as he offered his small, teenager sized hand to the woman with a kind smile while gazing around his surroundings to check and seeing if anything nearby had been damaged.
"Sorry, I'm Seiichi."
βlocationβ¦ Just walking on the streets for now βcompanyβ¦ No one right now βfeelingβ¦ Refreshed βstatusβ¦ Feelin good βOOCβ¦
β OOC NOTES [x]
Jenni Deer
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Posted: Tue Jan 19, 2021 6:27 pm
[Hanabi β’ Enjo] calmanddeadly [Seinaru Enjo β’ Seiryu β’ Bloodline β’ Bukijutsu] βIf there is no mud, there would be no lotus. β
Hanabi paused in her footsteps as she can hear the rapid crunching of the snow in front of her. She grimaced and braced herself for an impact and sure enough, there was the bump. Luckily, the fabrics she was holding had absorbed the impact from the one that wasn't paying attention. Heard the apology, Hanabi stepped to the side a bit and was able to see a boy, maybe few or couple years younger than her was before her. Took one sniff, he smelled like he was training and the wooden bokken he was holding confirmed it. Ah. So he was a little samurai in training. She remembered those days as her body suddenly ached for a moment from getting bruises when she was whacked with those. She can see his eyes glanced around as she was curious to if he was running from something or was making sure that everything was okay? "Seiichi-chan, no last name?" Hanabi mused, noticed that since the war, some clans has been more hesitant to mentioned their last names, "Enjo Hanabi. It's nice to meet you Seiichi-chan. I'm quite alright but I would not mind the company to home that is, unless you were in a hurry to get to somewhere?" questioned Hanabi. Hanabi always comes off a rather friendly individual and she never turns down opportunities to possibly meet new friends. She always believed that everything happened for a reason and maybe this timid boy had a reason for not paying attention when he ran into her. She could smell spices from him and damn, now she wanted some tea.
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Seiichi would allow his worries to flow from his mind as the woman appeared to take no offense to his misdirection. He was up in an instant as the dark haired boy would look up at the woman while he took in her features. While he assumed that she would have been likely to sever his head from his shoulders for disturbing her, Enjo-san would be fully humble enough to forgive him. The difference in height was only slight though Seiichi could tell she had but a few inches to him. A look of frustration became apparent on his face for only a second before he would puff his chest out and try to stand up a bit more straight, attempting to cover that distance gap before it became too apparent. "It's nice to meet you, Hanabi-san. A-And the last name is...It's a long story." Seiichi replied, his tone a bit worried that he had offended her in any way. With the current happenings of Zaishin and how his clan was seen to the locals, the last thing he wanted to do was to get on some person's bad side. His little wooden weapon clunked his leg while he would rub the back of his neck. She would be fine, but want company home? It was definitely a rather awkward situation if Auntie could see him with another woman. One that he was hellbent on making sure that could never happen. I'd rather be cooked for the senior brunch than to be caught with her back home. B-But I guess if it's just a walk to her home it shouldn't be too bad. With a confident nod, Seiichi would shake his head from its previously worried look and force himself up to the plate! "With pleasure! It'll be a nice break from training for a while."
The two would begin their slow walk back, with the younger of the two eyeing the woman. She was pretty, somebody that Kenji would have started doting upon sight. So why didn't he feel the same way? Was it something about his appearance? The height gap? Or the fact that he was still a student despite being old enough to be a junior level by now? The woman did have that sort of beauty a woman who knew her way with her weapons had. And those tattoo sleeves were...wow. But still, just like the others his age, Seiichi couldn't feel any kind of feeling towards. Was he weird like the others had been calling him lately? Maybe just how focused he was on becoming a Genin. Yeah, that was it. Of course, it also hit him that he had been staring at her for a good five or six seconds by now. He swung his head around and tried to play it off cool, like he was admiring just how clear skies it was today. Or that weird looking bug on the ground.
"S-So, ah, Hanabi-san." he began, his voice trembling a little from his previous train of thought. "I was wondering...I-Um. Tattos. Y-Yeah, your sleeve. Where did you get it? It looks, uh, pretty nice."
"Hmm? Who do you have there, Itoko?." A voice called out from nearby, one that spoke with the kind of confidence and authority that didn't befit his lithe appearance. He wore a military officer's uniform with the Seiryu crest emblazoned on a sash tied around his waist that reached down to his right knee on that side. On the opposite side was a single katana on his hip, along with a hand fan strapped to his left knee. His dark hair was long and tied, with lighter shades of blue appearing towards the ends. Given his position among the five great clans and notoriety as the heir to the main branch before the Seiryu's betrayal, even the commoners knew him as the water dragon prince. The two in front of him, however, would easily recognize him as General Isao Seiryu.
His eyes sized up Hanabi once, briefly, as he approached Seiichi, ascertaining both her intention and level of threat in the blink of an eye. Normally it would have been too quick to perceive without anticipating it beforehand, but his eyes settled a bit longer on her tattoos and the sword on her hip. "Right. Jeez, it's been some time." He was muttering towards himself really, but it was simple to perceive that Isao didn't care about whether others heard him. In fact, the general seemed to have an aloof manner similar to the flame sage, Ikebatsu. That was showcased when he moved closer to Seiichi in a carefree manner and ruffled the young Seiryu's dark hair with his left hand. Turning his gaze towards his cousin, Isao wore an affectionate expression reserved only for family. "Sorry if I'm interrupting, but I saw you and wanted to remind you about today's ceremony in case you forgot. Will you be there, Seiichi-chan?" He asked expectantly, but with his smile and polite tone, it was hard to tell how passively he was going about it. Even the most minuscule question from someone in his position had a fair bit of pressure involved, but the issue with Isao was how difficult it was to gauge his intensity.
γTITLE: General of Wadatsumi no YΕsai & Tetsukabeγβ°γRANK: S+γβ°γSTRENGTH: 10γβ°γSPEED: 10γβ°γAGILITY: 10γβ°γENDURANCE: 10γβ°γCHAKRA: 5,000 || 5,000γβ°γSTAMINA: 5,000 || 5,000γβ°γWATER SAGE CHAKRA: 2,000 || 2,000γγβ°γBUKIJUTSU | BUKIJUTSU | SCHOLARγ
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Jenni Deer
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Jenni Deer
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Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2021 8:41 am
[Hanabi β’ Enjo] calmanddeadly [Seinaru Enjo β’ Seiryu β’ Bloodline β’ Bukijutsu] βIf there is no mud, there would be no lotus. β
As he mentioned that the last name was a bit of a long story, Hanabi shrugged her shoulders softly. She gets it. While she likes having companies and friends, it doesn't mean that she trusts easily so she understood where this meek guy was coming from. Her lips formed a smile, "Hai," as she agreed with taking a break from training. "I actually love training. Ever since I fought in the war, it seemed the training had lessen a bit but more harsh. Maybe now, I'll request training with my peers when I get home." Took a step, Hanabi wanted to explain to where they were going real quick, "We're going to Eien Hono Temple, that's where my uncle whose wife need these fabrics and this katana belongs to him, is currently training at." Seiichi spoke again, his voice slightly trembling as her brows furrowed in confusion. Why was he trembling around her? He accepted her invitation for the walk and it seemed that the mere idea had frighten him a bit. The furrowiness of her brows were removed as her right eyebrow rose. It was obvious he changed the topic but she wasn't going to press it. they were strangers after all. He might be slightly taller than her but he was rather scrawny. It wasn't training he needed to build muscles, he needed food too. "Arigato, Seiichi-chan. My cousin, Seiryu Satsuki made it for me on my sixteenth birthday. Sadly, she died in the war."
A voice called out and Hanabi as she shifted her foot in the snow. When General Seiryu was in eye range, she leaned her head forward, her arms full of the fur fabrics and a katana on top as her back slightly bend but straight as she ojigi towards the general. "Hajimemashite, General Seiryu." Hanabi hid her confusion when he had mentioned that it's been some time. He shifted close to Seiichi and for a moment she was worried until she saw the expression he had given towards Seiichi. Ah. They knew each other. Hanabi was less tense now as he ruffled the poor boy's head. "A ceremony? That's exciting!" Now her curiosity was piqued. She hasn't heard of any ceremonies lately. Perhaps it was for the higher classes, Hanabi had made sure she knew the important figures to avoid getting in trouble.
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So she did train. How interesting. Seiichi would make a mental note to himself to maybe ask for help or advice later on, or maybe if she wanted to spar sometime in the future when he felt more confident in his abilities. Of course, this assumed that she wanted to fight. He knew that the war had taken its toll on the city. There were likely many people and veterans who had their fair share of combat for the rest of their natural lifetime. It was very soon after that Hanabi would reveal who had made her sleeve of tattoos. Her cousin, Satsuki, whom had sadly passed in the war. A pang of guilt hit the boy's chest as his soft lips turned inwards to frown. "O-Oh." A pregnant pause came as a second passed. Then a second, a third and fourth. "Ah-I'm sorry. I didn't know. I'm sure she was a great artist and person to have known." Seiichi offered a gentle smile, hoping that he hadn't managed to ruin another moment like he seemed to have always have done.
But soon, a familiar voice rang out from nearby the two samurai, one which caused the boy to spin his head around only to be faced with the face of that familiar well dressed individual. Out of habit, his stance became straight and he stood at attention (more so than usual) while he felt a bit frazzled from the sudden appearance of Isao. "G-General Seiryu! We just met after I, ah..." he stuttered off as he drew near. Seiichi would mentally chide himself on his inability to gather words in front of a General of the city, more less than a family member. The younger Seiryu kept a respectful look and stance before feeling the weight of Isao's hand coursing through his messy raven black hair. He let out a frustrated huff, his cheeks stuck in a pout for a moment. Hanabi could likely put two and two together and make the connection of what he had meant by his last name being "a rather long story". Maybe more so if she had known precisely who would be present at the ceremony. "It's nice to see you again, Isao-san." he said meekly, meeting his cousin's smile while briefly looking at Hanabi as she spoke before returned to meet Isao's. "I haven't forgotten about the ceremony, but thank you for the remainder. I'll definitely be there."
Isao's smile warmed further at the responses he received, nodding his head and removing his hand from Seiichi's properly-tussled hair. "You're more than welcome to attend as well. The Seiryu's announcement will cause things to change for all of the clans, so all are encouraged to bear witness." He directed his attention towards the black-haired girl, appreciating her curiosity. "The next time you visit your temple, Enjo-san, be sure to ask General Ikebatsu for an assignment. He's visiting today to my understanding, and there's much to be done outside of our city walls." He suggested, giving away that he knew of her clan without the need to hear anything. Either he knew already or he'd been listening in on their conversation before arrival.
"As for you, Itoko..." He started, turning back to the promising novice with that affectionate gaze once more. "Make sure to focus on your training. Your name actually came up during the last clan meeting with the Shogun, so I'm sure people are expecting great things. I know I am." Letting the weight of those words sink in for the poor boy, Isao gave a half-bow to the group, getting ready to leave.
"Give Ikebatsu my regards and remind him to stop smoking for me if you see him doing it. I look forward to seeing both of you at the ceremony." Isao would then turn and walk away if there weren't any more questions for him.
γTITLE: General of Wadatsumi no YΕsai & Tetsukabeγβ°γRANK: S+γβ°γSTRENGTH: 10γβ°γSPEED: 10γβ°γAGILITY: 10γβ°γENDURANCE: 10γβ°γCHAKRA: 5,000 || 5,000γβ°γSTAMINA: 5,000 || 5,000γβ°γWATER SAGE CHAKRA: 2,000 || 2,000γγβ°γBUKIJUTSU | BUKIJUTSU | SCHOLARγ
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Jenni Deer
Posted: Fri Jan 22, 2021 7:52 am
[Hanabi β’ Enjo] calmanddeadly [Seinaru Enjo β’ Seiryu β’ Bloodline β’ Bukijutsu] βIf there is no mud, there would be no lotus. β
With the awkward pause, Seiichi broke it as she shook her head, to reassure him that it was okay. "I don't dwell on the dead. That's the Mahofu's job." Hanabi smiled as she hope the slight jab at the Mahofu clan would at least crack a smile from him or something. "Besides, I honor the dead by respecting who they were when they were living and continue their stories. Satsuki-chan left her story on my arm along with few others so she'll always be remembered by her artwork which was what she wanted to be remembered for. I'm certain that she does not wish to be remembered for her shitty footwork." She chuckled softly and shook her head at the memory of poor Satsuki's lousy footwork. When the General approached and she gave her greeting, it seemed that Seiichi became rather tongue tied. With his word of being there for the ceremony, the general had directed his attention to her. "Hai. I'll be sure to do those." General Ikebatsu at the temple today? She had never met him but she had heard of him from her family of course. She's being raised in the Enjo household after all. General Seiryu had brought up about Seiichi needed to focus on his training as Hanabi grimaced a bit, wondering if she should step in and explained that it was her fault that he's not presently training. 'Stop smoking?' Hanabi thought to herself, wondering if it was ever a good idea to tell anyone to stop smoking but now her curiosity had piqued even more, especially to a general's reaction. Would he punish her or would he make a snarky comment about Isao behind his back? With the farewell half-bow, she could feel her arms getting tired from holding the heavy fur fabrics for awhile so she resumed walking, "Perhaps, once we get to the temple, we could train a bit if you wish? Or must you prepare for the ceremony?" Hanabi questioned, if she was responsible that he's lacking a bit in training, she would like to make up for it. Where better to do that than at the Temple? The Temple was one of the few places that was always warm in the bitter coldness of the Zaishin's winter.
I'll stop quoting you for now and will re-quote you on the 26th! We should be at the temple by then and could join in! c:
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Jenni Deer
Dangerous Lunatic
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Posted: Fri Jan 22, 2021 12:34 pm
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A light red tinge had made itself known on Seiichi's cheeks with Isao's hand still upon his head. He gave a strong face but this body made it all too clear that he was obviously troubled in the self esteem department. His legs shook beneath Kenji's old clothing that had been passed down to him when he was the appropriate age. Although he always had trouble carrying the weight around. His brother was far more built than Seiichi could ever hope to be, which made hauling the robes around more of a chore than they were meant to be. Auntie had always given him the reassurance to carry himself, saying how he would grow well into it. His Itoko removed his hand from his messy head of hair as Seiichi felt a bit of an empty feeling in doing so. "Yeah, Hanabi-san. You should come with me. It'll be the first foot forward that the Seiryu can work on making amends." He smiled with as much excitement and passion that Isao had likely managed to force deep within himself. He always had that sort of stern, unflinching exterior that even Seiichi had been frightened by, though he had a softer inside than what most people could expect. Of course, it also helped that the aspiring samurai was family and not some nameless vagabond.
The topic came to him as Seiichi was actually pretty surprised. His name coming up during the last clan meeting? That was an honor in itself, and filled the youth with elation as the embers of determination had only grown all the more fierce in his eyes. "W-Wow! I'll work extra hard then. Thank you, General Seiryu." He swapped back towards using the proper title just as Isao would take his leave for the time being. His azure eyes watched as the other male would vanish into the surrounding maze of citizens around the streets. Seiichi then turned back to Hanabi once more with an embarrassed look on his face. The pink on his cheeks was slowly fading but still as present as ever. "I, ah, warned you. Sorry for not telling you, it's just people...they don't really trrust as Seiryu after what some of us did. That's why I want to become a great samurai. So I can prove that we can make up for the mistakes that we've made."
Regardless of her words, Seiichi would node at her offer. They had a bit longer until the ceremony, which meant that there was plenty of time to get some extra training done in the mean time. "That would great! It would be an honor to learn from you, Hanabi-san. I would appreciate it greatly. If you want, I can help you carry your furs to the temple." The boy offered, holding his hands out to take some of the weight from her shoulders.
[Hanabi β’ Enjo] calmanddeadly [Seinaru Enjo β’ Seiryu β’ Bloodline β’ Bukijutsu] βIf there is no mud, there would be no lotus. β
Hanabi smiled softly towards Seiichi as it seemed that he also wanted her there. But she wanted to make something clear so she waited for General Seiryu to make his leave. When he left, she listened to Seiichi's apology as she shook her head. "No. Stop." She stopped as she looked at him in the eyes, with the slight height difference, it wasn't hard to do. "If everyone believes that one bad apple makes the whole tree rotten to the roots are wrong." She explained, "My mother is a Seiryu so I also have the traits of Seiryu passed down onto me. We hid some Seiryu in our home. Now, some Enjo members were not okay with this but we managed to keep it a secret. Just because some of our Seiryu's did something so horrible doesn't mean we all did. We'll just have to show them that our roots and our branches are not all rotten. Right?" She questioned towards him, hoping she made sense. She had gotten in few fights with the Enjo members when they made nasty remarks about all of Seiryu. Sometimes, people forget that Hanabi was a product from both clans.
She hears him that he would be honored to learn from her as she laughed softly, "I'm not sure if it would be an honor. I was recently recruited into the army so I'm quite new at this myself." She smiled and then nodded, "Good idea, can get your arms to start burning first." She said with a smile as she handed him some of the heavy fur fabrics for him to hold while they make their way over to the temple.
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Hanabi's words touched the soft heart of Seiichi. He listened attentively as she went on about being a Seiryu. Not just a Seiryu but also an Enjo as well. It was a bit of an ironic pairing, with opposing elements and now formerly opposing clans. He didn't think any less of her though, as the boy would only smile and give a nod of his head. "I know the feeling. My aunt and I had been in hiding elsewhere as well. It's a very heroic thing you did, and the people your family saved will no doubt be in your debt." This graceful thinking would be interrupted as he would nearly topple over at the sudden weight. He grunted, shuffling around on his feet while following Hanabi towards the temple. "W-Wa-Wait up! Ngh, so heavy..."
Kusa organized their stall and displays, found deep in a one-way alley amongst the much more lucrative and popular stalls dotting the main roadway. Their offerings stood out in their own way though, various baubles and weapons, polished relics sitting side by side with lit candles and fancy furniture. Such an ensemble looked truly bizarre in the run-down alley it graced, and thats what Kusa was betting on. They couldn't afford a more premium position for their shop, and the goods they offered weren't all necessarily procured through the most noble of ways, so to wedge into an undesirable location and succeed he needed to have some sort of eye-catching draw.
While digging around below the various tables to set out today's most lucrative finds, he wipes off the side-table with a rag, setting out crystals and jewelry, their own luxurious garments brushing against the fancy, yet ancient carpet laid onto the bare stone. Their unkempt yet regal golden-white hair brushed out of their face, they let out a long sigh, dusting themselves off and striking their trusty pose from behind the counter, a lazy yet alluring saucy gaze to the passerby, attempting to attract some customers into their ragtag shop.
M A M O R U 'Liquid strong as storms, flows smoothly down the gullet; The pain never drowns.'
It was the first time since Master Kuragi's passing, that Mamoru made his way passed the inner wall. Not by choice per say, but a matter of necessity. The Nakama couple who had 'adopted' him in what could only be considered as 'the slums' outside of the inner walls, were barely getting by on the hours of labor in the farmlands everyday. Jun was expecting a child soon, so Mamoru took up a large portion of her workload - on top of his own - to ease her struggle. However, that was starting to become a little bit of a problem itself. The oni had been having issues sleeping as of late. Nightmares... extremely late nights out drinking, or coming home battered and bruised on occasions. It was affecting the amount of work he was able to complete for the day; thus the amount of money the couple would earn in return. The suspicious bundles of ryo left on the kitchen table every other night, weren't comparing to the days worth of work Mamoru should be focused on doing. Akito, Jun's husband, is more concerned about what the oni might be doing to obtain said money, at the cost of his health, and whether said actions will put his family at risk. Mamoru just had a lot on his mind, and the only way to find relief was through strong booze, private dances, and the occasional tussle with arrogant brutes.
The farmlands hosted a brutal environment for the workers who tended to them, and with the extra pocket change Mamoru had on hand, he'd tried to ease her worrying about his condition by acquiring some sturdier linens, a decent meal, and maybe something nice for her unborn child. The weight of his guilt that consumed him the moment he passed by his master's living quarters had started to subside as he made his way towards the main road of the marketplace through the alleyway. He steps were mostly silent, as he didn't wear any shoes, however his visage would do very little to help him blend in with the semi-dark path he traveled. Porcelain skin and hair, combined with the sight of two horns protruding from his forehead and piercing gold eyes that borderlined feral in appearance, surrounded by semi-dark circles. The shopkeeper of this particular stall - oddly out of place among the rest, which were lined down the main road - would certainly notice as Mamoru approached them.
The oni glanced at the individual behind the counter, only to return their gaze back to them briefly after scanning over the objects placed before him. The shopkeeper was certainly alluring in a way that Mamoru couldn't describe. He took note of it, the deadpan expression on his face remaining as his attention returned to the items. Silence filled the alleyway. It would be difficult to tell whether the oni was contemplating a purchase or just staring a hole into the counter. There was an odd assortment of wares here, and it appeared the shopkeeper didn't specialize in any particular sale.
"Did you make these?" Mamoru finally spoke, his tone casual, with a voice that could only be compared to that of velvet. His gaze returned to the shopkeeper, steady and intense.
