A Dandy at the Gates

A man strolled down the streets leading directly towards Hoshigakure, his gait uneven and odd; he didn't seem to be walking so much as dancing.  His leading foot dipped and rolled as he moved, only the tips of his toes ever actually touching the ground.  He stopped every few minutes, perhaps on some internal clock, or perhaps to the tune of whatever song he was humming.  All that could be seen for certain was that he snapped his fingers and twirled on his feet, seeming to take in all of his surroundings.

This went on for some time, this odd histrionic performance that surely served no purpose except to be as gaudy as possible.  He eventually found himself within eye's range of the town gates, and as he did he put on a new burst of speed, running forward in another odd, remarkably silly gait that was nonetheless surprisingly fast; his arms pistoned up and down, his feet slamming against the ground with force more fitting a person trying to break a stone than actually walk.  Each step left a remarkably deep imprint in the ground...and made it downright impossible to tell who had left the footprints.  Finding a match, now or any time in the future, would've required some truly extraordinary senses.

Finally the man stood just before the gate, twirling on his heels and knocking against the material once, twice...and then letting out a soft, mellifluous chuckle.  He seemed, in fact, to be little more than a man out to milk the most enjoyment he could out of life.  He looked up at the gates, waiting for the inevitable response from the village...or from whoever was posted in the surrounding area to survey for newcomers.  He had almost certainly singled himself out enough to be worth checking out.  And when the time came, he'd have his own chance to remind people about how things worked in the abyss.

"This reminds me of...a story."

Taike walked aimlessly around the village wondering where the hospital was until she spots what looks like an old man  dancing at the front of the gates she just starts bursting out in laughter as ta man did a jig in front of her very eyes she walks up to the man and asks

“Um excuse me what are you doing?” she said trying to keep in here laughter

She then looks around to see if it was a trap and they were going to take her eyes because she was paranoid touching the scar that was clearly visible on her left eye she then asks

“Do you need help or anything?” She asks the man “My name is Taike Shen what is yours.”

She looks back at the gates to Hoshigakure and gestures the man to come with her for she was going to show him around and she waited for his response.

"Questions!  Here's a question for you.  Do you -always- have to know the answer to life's questions?"

Yaksha paused for a second, leaning forward and winking slowly, in a gesture that brought to mind two conspirators.  Almost as if he were letting her in on a secret, or revealing some great magic trick.  His brows rose, his smooth, milky pale features lighting up with mirth.  The faint smell of mint and licorice seemed to surround him, as he spoke.

"'Cuz if so, you're on the right track.  There's -so much- that could be solved in this world if people were a little more curious.  But all those schools, all those...institutions.  Even this beautiful gate.  It can't pin down creativity, can it?  It can't...teach curiosity.  You can't make a person inventive."

He rose slowly, adjusting the buttons on his vest, before folding forward in a low, rolling bow that brought his head directly to the ground, before he slowly unfurled, back to his normal position.  He tilted his head for a second, and when he spoke this time his voice sounded almost lascivious.  Almost...teasing.

"Okay, okay.  Here's one more question.  Do you offer 'or anything' to all the newcomers?  Or should I be flattered?"

Taike was kind of being creeped out by this man mainly because he keeps leaning in towards her but never the less she just ignored it and answered the man.

“If you’re asking me if I’m flirting with you I am not, I helping everyone in their first time coming to Hoshigakure it is like second nature for me.” She smiles she got a whiff of he’s smell and took at step back

She just kept smiling and looked at him with her Shining medical eyes looking at the man seeing If he is well but she found nothing wrong with his organs or veins not even his chakra he seemed simple and giving off this “Weird” vibe but her yellow eyes faded once more back to the dull pale eyes she sees every day she then asks

“Do you need anything like a way around town or healing if you have any cuts?” she asked the man examining him closely.

She then tells him to follow her into the village if he wanted a tour trying not to seem as if she was hitting on him because she didn’t want him to get the wrong Idea she was 15 after all and that would be just gross but the whole time she had thought about the responses he gave her about curiosity and such and how wise he was and maybe she could learn some life advice.


(WP: 240)

Yaksha smiled once more...but this time it was a bit more subdued.  It was the smile of a man who was trying his best not to let on how amused he was.  He fell into step behind her, barely moving at all as he did.  He kept a safe distance, easily out of arm's reach...but every time they passed someone new, he ran his finger across the top of his hat, flashing a toothy, winning smile, and nodding at them.  He seemed, for all the world, like a man coming home to visit old friends.

"I'm in good health, thank you for asking.  I'm not that interested in finding my way around town, but...if you'd care to talk, I'd be happy to listen.  I must confess, I find this town...curious.  Very very curious.  I grew up a bit sheltered, you see.  Took me...ten years?  Maybe twelve?  Before I knew there was something besides snow.  And as I look around this town, I find myself...falling in love.  Maybe just a little bit."

He paused for a second, quirking a brow.

"If you were smart, you might want to break me of that notion, before I feel compelled to stay.  And drive you insane."

Yaksha smiled once more...but this time it was a bit more subdued.  It was the smile of a man who was trying his best not to let on how amused he was.  He fell into step behind her, barely moving at all as he did.  He kept a safe distance, easily out of arm's reach...but every time they passed someone new, he ran his finger across the top of his hat, flashing a toothy, winning smile, and nodding at them.  He seemed, for all the world, like a man coming home to visit old friends.

"I'm in good health, thank you for asking.  I'm not that interested in finding my way around town, but...if you'd care to talk, I'd be happy to listen.  I must confess, I find this town...curious.  Very very curious.  I grew up a bit sheltered, you see.  Took me...ten years?  Maybe twelve?  Before I knew there was something besides snow.  And as I look around this town, I find myself...falling in love.  Maybe just a little bit."

He paused for a second, quirking a brow.

"If you were smart, you might want to break me of that notion, before I feel compelled to stay.  And drive you insane."

“What is that supposed to mean?” she questioned him but still retaining her smile as if she were joking

She decided to stay but to talk to the man for he was getting interesting but she didn’t know why so she stayed and chatted with the man listening to his wise words and such.

“So how long are you planning on staying in Hoshigakure? I mean if you are staying.” She said this time she started feeling his weird vibe again she didn’t know why though but she disregarded it and continued to talk to the man. Taike talked to the man which seemed like forever and she realized she had to go to the hospital for it was closing soon she kind of panicked and started rushing the conversation and then thought.

“Hey want to come to the hospital with me I need to sign up there for a job?” she told him as she waited a response from the creepy man that had talked to her for so long.


(WP: 173)

"A hospital?  Now that's new.  Most of the villages I pass by just have a little shack where the village doctor lives.  If they're especially luck he washes his hands before doing his work."

His smile once more remained, not wavering for a single moment as he began to follow after her.  He lengthened his stride every once in a while, seeming to catch up to her for just a second or two, before slowing down, giving her some room to move ahead.  One almost could've compared it to a cat, playing with a mouse.  Or a creature, testing the waters.  He moved without shame or subtlety, testing the waters, probing out the circle that formed her personal space with that same easy grin on his face.

"I plan on staying until I'm no longer welcome.  I'm not really the sort to just walk away, or throw things aside like...toys.  Everyone I meet is precious to me, in their own way.  It'd be a sin to leave before the time was right."

Yaksha's pace was steady, careful...and absolutely without any sense of hurry or effort.  It was impossible to gauge him, behind that confident, knowing smirk.  That smile of purest glee.  He even shoved one hand in his pocket, and began to glance around them once more, taking in the many stalls.

"I do apologize if I came on a bit strong.  It's a...long walk here, especially one to take alone.  It's hard to keep myself entertained sometimes, and I get a little eager to meet new company."

Kenshin walked down the streets of Hoshi with a small frown on his face, he had just received a report from one of the gate guards informing him that one of the newer Genin had invited an unknown into Hoshi, and while that in itself may not be too bad the reason that he received the report from the guards was, apparently this Genin had not even bothered to check just why this unknown was attempting to enter Hoshi. Kenshin could only give a small sigh after he read the report, I mean seriously had this Genin even considered the possibility that the unknown could have been an enemy who meant to cause harm to the people of Hoshi, but then again he already knew the answer to that question, no they did not. It was too late to get annoyed by that though, he would inform the new Genin of their mistake and then determine whether or not it was safe for this person to remain a visitor within Hoshigakure’s walls, and if he did feel it was safe for the unknown to remain then he was to give him a visitors tag for them to wear for the entirety of their stay within Hoshi.

But now came the hard part, actually tracking down the unknown and the Genin, the report told him that the unknown was an extremely tall yet thin man who looked to be in his med twenties, the report mentioning that he was clad in a dark red suit and slacks, his hair was pure white and apparently he wore a top hat that was the same colour as the rest of his outfit, a piece of information that got a small smirk out of Kenshin when he found out. The Genin on the other hand was apparently one Taike Shen, an up and coming medical nin who had only recently graduated from the Hoshi academy, much like the man that she was travelling with she had pure white hair, and according to the report that he had received she was clad in a white dress adorned with red flowers along with a pair of black heels, something that the silver haired teen personally felt was not the best choice of clothing for a shinobi, but then again he was not one to judge, especially not with his....unique taste when it came to clothing

Speaking of Kenshin’s unique choice in clothing he was wearing his usual outfit right now, his usual black robes over which he had a grey sash looped over his shoulder and around his back and finally tied at his hip, he was wearing his usual worn grey sandals and black pants, and finally on his head we had his usual grey top hat, which he now had his Hoshigakure headband tied around. As usual his hair was styled in such a way that his strange and unique eyes were completely covered from the view of anyone who decided to look his way, he no longer wore these clothes in order to hide the scars that covered his body, as thanks to Akihana teaching him the Mystical Palm technique the only scars that were left on his body were the one that went across his face and the one around his throat. Of course his body was still riddled with stitched buts due to his Earth Grudge Fear but unlike the scars he was proud of those cuts, in a way they symbolised all that he went through in order to attain the level of power that he wielded today, as well as all that he had overcome to make it to this point in his life.

Kenshin shook his head lightly to get out of his reverie, he needed to focus on his task of finding the Genin and the strange sounding man that she casually let into Hoshi, at least with the two of them looking the way that they did they would be easy to spot in the sprawling streets of Hoshi, after all it’s not every day that you see a giant man in a dark red suit walking alongside a girl with pure white hair in a similar coloured dress. He decided to also add his chakra sensory skills into the equation, expanding his senses out in a 100 meter radius, hoping to pick up the tell tale feel of a person who was well versed and skilled in the use of medical chakra, as he had recently discovered that people’s chakra signatures tended to vary somewhat depending on how they used it. He could only sigh lightly as he walked past the main square without finding hide nor hare of the missing duo, this new Genin had screwed up big time letting a strange and unknown man into the village without so much as asking what his intentions were, and honestly Kenshin was starting to fear the worst, that the man had indeed meant to cause harm to the people of Hoshi and started off by killing or seriously harming the very person who had welcomed him into the village with open arms.

But despite this growing feeling Kenshin decided to push on with his search, hoping that somewhere along the line he wouldn’t find the body of the up and coming med nin because she had been too trusting and let an enemy into the village, and his next destination was the hospital, the reason behind that choice being that she was a medical nin and may have decided to take the man to the hospital to watch her in work. He hoped this was the case because if so then it would explain just why he had been unable to find either of them yet, and much to his relief he soon found exactly what he was looking for, two chakra signatures right by each other, with one of them being more than twice as large as the other, being just a tiny bit larger than the chakra reserves of Castiel, while the other chakra signature was twice the Size of Keito’s yet half the size of Castiel's. Honestly this worried him a little, because even though he was unable to feel who’s chakra signature was who’s he now knew that the person the Genin let in was a shinobi, and based on the fact that neither of the guards saw the man with a headband he assumed that he must be a missing nin, much like Kenshin himself used to be, but what he had not been prepared to find out was that both chakra signatures felt like they belonged to medical ninja.

Deciding that his best option was to catch up to the pair as soon as possible he began to duck and weave through the crowd, slowly advancing upon his two targets with the intention of stopping them before they got any closer to the hospital, and before long he found himself able to see the man that had been described by the report. He was far easier to spot than the girl that was in front of him, as he easily towered over everybody in the crowd and his distinctive choice in clothing made it much to identify that this was indeed one of the people he was looking for, he found himself unable to see the girl from his position but he assumed that the chakra signature in front of the extremely tall and skinny man was hers. As Kenshin got closer he narrowed his eyes at the man who walked behind the young girl, the way he was walking almost screamed danger, as he saw the man get closer and close to the young girls back, getting close and close before stopping for a second and letting her continue on again and then repeating the process over and over again. It was very obvious to the silver haired teen was the unknown white haired man was doing, he was probing her, testing out her boundaries and seeing just how close he could get before the girl would react, something that he likened to a predator, seeing just how close it could get to it’s prey before it would run, and then using that knowledge to get as close as possible before striking. By this point the silver haired teen had seen more than enough, this guy quite literally screamed danger and he was not going to let him continue wandering through the streets of Hoshi with a young girl who more than likely would be unable to stop him if he decided that he wanted to do some harm to the people here. 

The scar faced teen would increase his pace until he completely surpassed the two of them and then came to a stop in their path, the road at this point was almost empty of civilians and innocent bystanders which he was glad about, because it meant that if this situation did turn bad and he did need to fight this unknown individual he would not have to hold back. The sheer anger and annoyance seemed to roll off him as he stared down the Missing Nin and the Genin that let him into the village, he briefly considered showing how pissed off he was at the moment by using his display of power but in the end decided against it, as he knew that the civilians would panic if they saw it and that it would only increase the tension of this situation. “Hold it right there you two, now you see you’ve caused me quite a bit of trouble today, I received a report from the gate guards saying that an unknown was allowed into Hoshi without you so much as asking for his name, let alone why he had come to Hoshi?” Kenshin would say in a rather irritated tone as he looked the girl straight in the eye, although with his silver hair in the way she would be unable to see his “Did you even consider the possibility that he could be hostile, that he may have come here to cause harm to the village or the people who live here?” Kenshin would ask in the same rather irritated tone, he didn’t want to be mean to the girl but he wanted her to understand that even the most kind of actions can have serious consequences.

“Now onto you, what’s your name and why have you come to Hoshi?” Kenshin would say as he looked up at the towering form of the missing nin, not intimidated in the slightest by the height difference between the two. He would listen for the answers from the two of them before continuing on


WC: 1789

And now things were getting too quick, too real; Yaksha felt it well before the man had actually approached, felt the hackles on his neck raise, felt his guard rising up almost immediately.  He was the center of attention, certainly...but the majority of people were looking at him with amusement or scorn.  At best, there was confusion in their expressions.  But now, Yaksha felt it as clearly as he felt the sun on his flesh, as surely as he smelled the faint melange of scents, mingling in the air.

There was someone nearby who was looking at him with malice and caution and hatred, all wrapped up in one.  Whoever was looking at him -knew- what saw; he realized, even if he didn't comprehend, what a threat Yaksha represented.  And he was prepared to resort to some remarkable ends to deal with the threat.  This was the moment Yaksha lived for...this was the thrill.  And whoever he had on his tail, they were almost certainly underestimating him.

He continued to approach the young kunoichi, his hands in his pockets and his expression neutral.  He opened his mouth to speak, and before he could the newcomer was...there.  He had moved quickly, far far more quickly than Yaksha could've even at his best.  This man was well within his rights to underestimate Yaksha; he could turn the nukenin into a red smear with a mere flick of his wrist.  And yet underestimating Yaksha Dokuja may well be the biggest mistake he could make.

Yaksha Dokuja lived in the moment's of heart's beats, in the span of time it took to moisten one's mouth, to properly cogitate.  Scrambling a young girl's mind was no difficult task for him, but this new figure was privvy to his game, was absolutely unwilling to fall for the facade.  And that only made Yaksha want to try even harder.  There was a chance of failing, of course; but wasn't that half the fun?

"I recieved-"

"Ma cheri, allow me to handle this!  I've got a little more experience dealing with grumpy old men like this.  Just let me work my magic, and you can be on your way within a few minutes.  You won't even be late for your work."

Yaksha's voice and projection was perfect, absolutely obdurate, roaring out with the force and immediacy of a man who was -going- to be heard, and had no intention of being talked over.  It would take a very special kind of person to keep their pacing when a voice like that rose up, and even if he did, it would be very nearly impossible to be heard next to that voice.  Drowned out or left in a baffled silence, Yaksha was poised to strike before the time was past.

Yaksha shot past Taikeo at his fullest speed, passing the kunoichi on the side that lacked an eye, putting on a burst of motion that, to her, would've looked remarkably fluid and easy...and to Kenshin was absolutely nothing he wasn't prepared for.  The nukenin took a couple steps, a third, and as he did his left hand swept across his body, fingers extending outwards.  It started low, from his kneecap, swiping across his torso and finally terminating at his shoulder.  His movements were precise and measured, and his patter all along made it nearly impossible to track the motion of his hand with any accuracy.

All the same, there was no way in the world Kenshin wouldn't have noticed Yaksha's fingers performing their slippery work, as he folded forward, allowing himself to lean in a graceful half-bow, far less inclined than he had performed for Taikeo, and yet somehow even more ostentatious as a result; his restraint was purely planned, there for no other reason than to show how much more theatrical he could've been.  And if he had tried, he may well have ruined the entire trick.  But as it was, he'd timed it with his words, fingers dipping into the nearest pocket on Taikeo's person, poised to pluck out whatever was inside.  He followed the motion through easily and perfectly, with the experience of a seasoned thief, shielding the contents of his hand from the kunoichi's view with the bulk of his mass.

"Pardon me for my positively pathetic display.  I've a paucity of patience at this moment, so if you'd be willing to, I'd suggest that Taikeo be allowed to promptly pursue her previous plans.  I was not aware that your town was so very strict when it came to immigration.  It certainly puts a damper on tourism, doesn't it?  All the same, these things exist for a reason.  Perhaps you'd deign to make me privvy to said reasons, as you escort me to the appropriate location with which to make my presence known?"

He rose once more, sliding his hand into his pocket once more, a smooth and swift gesture that, if completed would've left the contents of Taikeo's pockets resting comfortably in his own.  He rose his brows towards Kenshin, giving a smile that could only be called smug...and ever-so-slightly knowing.  Was that the stance of a fellow career criminal Yaksha spotted, on this scarred individual?  Would he be able to spot a fellow predator when the moment came?  Or would Yaksha fall under the blade like so many other animals?

God, Yaksha loved living dangerously.

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