The Herald (P, Kenshin)

Thu Nov 14, 2019 8:31 pm

The days had been short since her arrival in Sunagakure, but she had felt like she had spent months here - the decimated remains felt like home like no other place had before, she felt alive here for the first time in a long time outside of a kill. Interacting with Amat had been it’s own adventure, the girl had grown on Mizuki in their few meetings, a budding partnership looked promising as Mizuki greatly respected the young girl for how resilient and methodical she was. It took some pride swallowing on her part to accept that someone who seemed so under qualified was more than capable of such raw power and handling it with a capable mind.

On the other hand there was Kenshin Uzumaki - an enigma in his own right - with which a deep rooted contrast to her own psyche existed. Being in his presence is like interacting with her own weaknesses - to explain, she was the one in control of her interactions with others, always and Kenshin matched her flawlessly - not only to show her that he could, but to beat her at her own game- and she knew it. Having had no one spark her soul with as much intensity as herself it was hard to shake the thought off - unhappy as she was about it she had to win against him.
Their connection was unexplainable unless you were there to witness their meeting first hand of course - like lightning striking a tree there was instantaneous flames of possibility.

She had been mulling this over at the top of the ninja academy, leaning against one of the walls and staring out into the red stone and destruction - the sun had begun to set, though she could have sworn she had been being roasted alive by it not an hour earlier. The sky was turning vivid rays of blood red mixed with a deep violet purple color and Mizuki couldn’t help but smirk to herself - two opposites melding perfectly together to make something greater than either color alone. Her eyebrows furrowed in frustration - I am far behind everyone else it's time to step up and take my rightful place. Though she wouldn’t word the thought, even in her own mind, deep down her rightful place was beside Kenshin for they had so much to unpack.

[WC 386]

Sun Nov 17, 2019 9:21 pm

The Faceless Man could be seen walking the streets of Sunagakure without a care in the world, the new identity that he had crafted for himself was certainly doing a good job of making him see just how reviled Kenshin Uzumaki truly was amongst the populous of Sunagakure. ‘Stark’, a gruff and grizzled old mercenary originally from Volcano Country, could generally always be seen drinking his sorrows away in any of the villages many bars, and slowly but surely his presence had become something that the regular people had begun to expect… and with that comfort came loose lips. The fact that the man didn’t even seem to respect his own employer, the man that they saw as responsible for their suffering and the man that had taken the village for himself, only earned him more points in their eyes. He had made it clear to them that with his ‘boss’ gone he was the one that had been left in charge of the village, and he personally didn’t give even the slightest of fucks about what they actually did, so long as they didn’t try to pick fights with those allied with Kenshin. Not surprisingly this led to a rather drastic increase in crime within the village walls… but what did he care? These were the very people that spat on his kindness and outright reviled his as much as the very people that had once enslaved them… he was done trying to help them, and was now content to simply watch as they wallowed in the filth that they seemed so happy to remain in

The Immortal had his Byakugan active as he continued to mindlessly stroll through the empty streets of the desolate village, the eye allowing him to continuously scan everything within 100m of his position as he walked. It was only through it that he spotted Mizuki casually leaning against one of the walls of the former Shinobi Academy of Sunagakure, a building that hadn’t been in commission for a few years at this point… not since Sunagakure was annexed by Kumo. It seemed that his newest plaything was thinking whilst admiring the admittedly beautiful sunset. Truth be told he had found it rather hard to resist tracking her down to continue playing their little game for the past few days… but he had managed to resist the temptation and given the rather fiery young woman the opportunity to make the next move, one that she still had yet to make. He was rather bored right now, with both Amaterasu and Kai having completed their respective training regimens for the day and likely having gone home to rest for tomorrow… and what better way to pass the time than to enjoy a little game of ‘Control’ with Mizuki. She was certainly the most entertaining opponent that he had found in years, and the fact that there was a chance for him to lose only made it all the more enticing… especially when one considers just how long The Raggedy Man had gone without a true loss in some form.

Without any prompt The Reaper would simply become one with the earth, his speed increased drastically as his body was broken down and merged with the seemingly infinite underground network of roots and organic matter. He would travel to the building before merging with the walls of the building, his organic form attaching itself to small clusters of other such substances all throughout the building materials and climbing upwards, until he was housed within the wall right behind The Monster Reborn. Silent as the grave his face would form on the wall right next to her own, above her shoulder yet still just out of her peripheral vision due to how little of his face was actually emerging from the wall. With his Byakugan he would take note of the small smirk on her face, and a similar one would appear on his own… however the reasons for them would be decidedly different. As her brows began to furrow in obvious frustration, something that certainly clashed with the small smirk that was still affixed to her face, his smirk would simply widen. Oh yes, he was most definitely in her head… but now he needed her to know that he was aware of this simply fact, for the knowledge alone would be all that he truly needed to extend his lead over her even further… all that he needed to truly begin to break her down even further.

“Is this a bad time?” the naturally smooth and deep voice of his original body would ask, the words almost being whispered directly into her ear by the disembodied face. She was the only person that could possibly have heard the words, and the way they were spoken would sound just as pleased as the smirk on his face would imply.

WC: 813

Mon Nov 18, 2019 11:51 pm

There was no possible way for Mizuki to know her solitude had been intruded on, her thoughts were still deep in contemplation actually, thus making the sudden feeling of not being alone more jarring to her senses. Her mind was like a completely frozen over lake - slowly falling snow and unearthly silence- suddenly being shattered by a smooth deep voice in her ear. Her breath would catch in her throat, now clenched tight in apprehension, and with a huge amount of effort she controlled her outward reaction to Kenshin’s face would begin to materialize next to her - just his face was showing but it was all she needed to get a grip on his mental state. Her eyes slid automatically toward the direction of the deep voice as a soft huff escaped her lungs- as if she was exhauling her anxiety, for her next inhale brought her confidence- eyes narrowing in a playful tendency she would turn more fully to face his own semi emerged face - leaning with a more easily against the wall she would cross her legs and arms while matching his smirk to a tee and smiling at him with a gentle predators gaze.

It was hard to analyze Mizuki’s face in general terms but she knew she had to be on guard when he was around - simply put he could read her like no other and it thrilled and frightened her. As reserved and guarded as Mizuki is having anyone be able to read and overpower her still threw her off more than she would like to admit. So adhering to the rules of this game she was playing with The Ragdoll she had to pin her microexpressions and reactions as close to her chest as possible - let even the smallest thing slip and he had his claws in, and there was no getting out. Her last encounter with the man had told her that much at least - keep yourself guarded or find yourself check mated - simple as that. What had he already seen though? Unconsciously her eyes would narrow for a moment as she pictured what she had been thinking about before he had shown himself, no telling how long he had been watching her either - and a similar feeling of unintentional openness came over her. What was it about him that overtook her? She felt… observed like an experiment in his presence but wasn’t he that to her too?

Coming back to the moment and the smirk that mirrored the emerging face she would finally speak, her voice casual and a little playful, “It’s never a bad time for my favorite nihilist.” Her eyes would twinkle a bit as her new nickname would land. Raising her eyebrows and making a show of looking at the smooth stone of the wall merging seamlessly with his face, “Though I must say… would be better to have you in a complete form,” she would laugh distantly as if remembering her own inside joke, “though I have had some interesting conversations with dismembered heads before.”,her voice trailed off slightly with unfocused eyes as memories of her old life flooded her memory - many a nights she would find she hadn’t spoken a syllable in days and would find her mental escape in talking to her victim’s bodies- most often their head if it were still intact. Nothing ever important or deep, more like she needed to be heard by something that in essence could never repeat her words. Mizuki had lived her life so deep in secrecy that she had become invisible to even herself at times - and having someone like Kenshin take such an interest in her and see her for what she was… it was jarring and most importantly inflammatory.

[WC 624]

[TWC 1010]

Wed Nov 20, 2019 10:25 am

He couldn’t hear the hitch in her breath due to the fact that at this point he didn’t truly possess ears, but he could see the almost unconscious tensing of her entire body as well as the physical signs of her breath hitching, thanks mostly to his Byakugan… truly it alone gave him an almost unfair advantage when it came to observing her… as did his Sharingan now that he thought about it. It allowed him to see the most minute of muscular twitches, something that people were simply unable to consciously control, and with it alone he would be able to read the guarded woman that stood before him like a book… but it wasn’t alone, it was in combination with the Byakugan… truly an unfair combination… but that simply made the game more fun for him. This moment of weakness was just that, a moment, and once it had passed Mizuki would begin to slip into the more playful and confident woman that he knew, her inviting violet eyes narrowing lightly and coming to rest upon what little of him was actually visible to her, and a light but dangerous smile beginning to form upon her face. He would read her lips as she spoke, his smirk simply widening at the little nickname that she had given him, before releasing a small chuckle when she expressed her wish for him to be in his complete form again.

Her distant laughter and almost glassy expression as she made her next, almost unconscious, comment about having conversations with disembodied heads almost made his eyes narrow, but he knew full well that the woman was a former assassin, she had outright admitted it in their first meeting after-all. Most who ended up in that line of work didn’t end up there due to happy circumstances, and those that were as damaged as himself and Mizuki were certainly not normal even amongst them… which again, was usually the result of some less than ideal situations in their pasts. The disembodied head of The Reaper would seemingly merge with the wall again, and from there he would move down the wall, between the woman's legs and continue for another meter, stopping directly where he needed to be in order to properly emerge. Once there, he would do just that, emerge, the scene almost looking as though he was simply being raised up from the earth… when in actuality his body was actually being reformed slowly as he cancelled his jutsu and allowed himself to be ‘expelled’ from the earth. His face held the same smirk as it did when he first revealed his position to the woman, and once his body was fully formed once more he would take a step forward and press his right hand onto the wall next to her head.

“Well, here I am, in full form and all… what now?” The Raggedy Man would ask simply, his dull yet piercing red eyes seemingly staring right through the woman that stood before him. She had lost the first round of their little game due to her own hesitance, the doubt and fear that she had unconsciously shown had allowed him to set the pace and steer the conversation in the direction that he had wanted… but he truly doubted that it would be quite so easy this time. He was throwing her a bone here and he knew it as well as she would… he had essentially given her control of the situation, and now it was up to him to win it back. This game of theirs didn’t really have any rules, save his own self imposed rule to not simply use the almost overwhelming power he possessed to simply rip the control from her… so there was nothing stopping him from giving her a little bit of a treat here, and really, that was what this was. The raven haired woman had proven to be a good sport, and she was rapidly worming her way up his list of favourites… so why not both reward her for it and make the game that little bit more interesting for himself.

WC: 692

Wed Nov 20, 2019 7:15 pm

Bright violet bored into the dull red of Kenshin’s, watching the chuckle reach his eyes in earnest - he was enjoying his time with her and while he was obviously showing her he was enjoying himself he didn’t have to and it made her smirk cement itself firmer on her lips as her confidence grew a bit more in strength. She had very few skeletons in her closet that she was unwilling to let anyone in on, but even then she had no reason for it really… but she would tell him anything. Maybe it was because she knew how even with her skills as they were there was no hiding herself from him - the full scope unknown to her. Her eyes which had sparked in the return of their game but quickly diminished as she watched him melt back into the wall like the earth itself was dragging him back in - his momentary absence was like taking the fire back out of her - the feeling didn’t last long as she was able to witness his reformation as a full person again. Taller than her he leaned against the wall once more - the deja vu she was feeling from their first meeting was strong - but there was no way she was going to lose this time but to do so she had to ease the power away from him in earnest.
How though? Surprise didn’t work last time and emotions cloud her judgement since you still haven’t mastered them around him. Okay… have him invest in you. When the most terrifying being asks you ‘what now’ you don’t back down from the question - you demand what you want. She settled her eyes on his, the piercing quality matched by her own, and slid her hands in her pockets as a show that she had many ways to play their game and she too had control over herself as much as he had over her. Taking a deep breath she could feel her body warming from within - the fire chakra she had learned from Amaterasu came with it’s own downfalls but one thing was for sure, when she was channeling it she was more direct and fired up - the slight tint of red was seeping into the inner parts of her iris. Eye contact unwavering she would take his handout with grace, “I want you to teach me… teach me to be like you - no…”, her eyes would narrow a bit as she reworded herself, “.. teach me to be better than you. If I am to believe our first conversation to be fruitful-” her eyes would flash in jest, “-I am to understand you and I have a long road ahead of us and I have a world to plunge into despair.”

She wasn’t being dramatic, though, her words alone would suggest it, having kept an even tone and complete eye contact Kenshin would know she was completely serious and determined to outlast and outpace anyone who came across her path. Maybe it was her own focus on the fire element bring this out in her but she was buzzing with possibility and ability to learn. Having picked up her skill with Amat in no time she was anxious to get more under her belt - power hungry as she was she knew it was all in due time and there were things that she needed to learn and master before stepping up to the plate. If Mizu thought about it from an outsiders perspective she had been channeling more assertiveness and was less likely to go with the flow, she wanted control she wanted everything - like a flame consuming a dry grassland- she had her taste of raw power and was in search for more. Her temper flared more often while using the element and she followed her desires for more readily than she had before - usually spending time to think things through to see all possible outcomes.

Stepping closer into Kenshin’s frame she craned her neck up, violet eyes speckled with the dull red of his own, following the flow of his unruly hair and tracing the edges of his jaw into her memory - “That is… if that’s what you wanted for me of course. You have to have a beast….”, finally her tainted eyes would land on his and an earnest smile would greet it, “to unleash a beast.” It may seem as if she was handing back control of the conversation to Kenshin but she was only showing him the respect she knew he expected from her - back handed. Let you know that Hey… even though you have all the real power here, look what I can do when I'm given some.

[WC 783]

[TWC 1793]

Sun Nov 24, 2019 9:47 am

Kenshin would not allow his smirk to grow as she met his eyes… nor would he allow it to grow as he noted her hands slide into her pockets, something that could easily be seen as her being in control of herself… but The Reaper knew better… he knew that if anything it was a sign that she was not entirely sure just how much sway he truly held over her… she didn’t know whether she was truly in control of herself just yet. This unconscious revelation gave The Raggedy Man a sense of power unlike anything he had felt in quite some time… a sense of power that one only truly got when they were beating someone that considered themselves to be a master at their own game… a sense that one only felt when besting an equal. Sure, Mizuki was not an equal when it came to power… she was not even a match for Amaterasu when it came to that, not yet at least… but when it came to the realm of mental manipulation she was a true master, his Byakugan having watched her meeting with his little apprentice and just how easily the girl had been strung along. In that realm, and that realm alone, Mizuki was a true threat to him… but it had been so long since he had felt this sense of power… so long since he had actually faced off against someone worth fighting… so long since he had actually had this much FUN… and that fun was only enhanced by the danger.

He would watch as the briefest hint of red began to invade her seductive violet eyes, the dual tones within matching those of the sky as she continued to gaze into his own eyes… and then she would begin to speak, her words doing very little to move Kenshin at first… not until she reworded her request. She didn’t want to be like him… she wanted to be BETTER than him, certainly something that was much easier said than actually done, and a process that would most certainly take years to actually accomplish… but it was still possible he supposed. He truly had no issue in training the young woman, but whether she actually reached his level, let alone surpassed it like she wished, was just as much up to her as it was up to him. She would need to train to push herself beyond her limits each and every day… she would need to develop her own jutsu to cover the weaknesses in her fighting style… she would need to sacrifice what remained of her humanity for the sake of power… and he could tell that she was the type to do all of those things for the sake of power. After-all… it was quite easy for him to see the similarities between the two of them, almost as though they were two sides of the same coin, with himself more embodying the realm of thought, and her embodying emotion.

It seemed she understood this would not be a simple request… good, but he found it quite likely that she didn’t truly understand the depths of his own power… as even he found it quite difficult to truly comprehend at times, and he was the only one that could truly understand it. When she expressed her desire to plunge the entire world into despair he would simply smirk, sooner or later she would realise that it was a fool's errand… one that would end up getting her killed if she continued to pursue it… just as he had. Sure, his end goal had been far beyond simply bringing misery to the world… it had been outright reducing the current world to ashes and crafting a lasting empire from said ashes, destroying what existed now to create something far stronger for the future. But in the process he had brought pure, unadulterated dread to the masses… and the world had hit him back in a way that he hadn’t expected, coming together where once they would never have, all in the effort to end his life and crush his fledgling empire. They had succeeded in one of those tasks, and in the process managed to show him just how shortsighted he had actually been in the first place… along with finally succeeding in something that he had apparently failed at for years… completely killing his desire to help the world at large.

She very nearly threw him for a loop when she took a step closer and said her final words, his momentary confusion only shown by the lightest of narrowing of his dull red eyes… truth be told he was still a little confused by her words… was she saying that she would only bring the world despair if that was what HE wished? Or was she saying that she would only be able to do so with his help. The message could be interpreted in both ways, truly it could even be a combination of the two… but if the true smile she was giving was any indication then it was closer to the first… and that thought was indeed getting under his skin. It wasn’t a bad thing by any means, simply something that The Reaper had not expected… not for quite a bit more time anyways, and the ease at which the young woman admitted it was also something that added to his confusion. How strange… he had held all the power until now and the two of them knew it… but it was her admittance of that simple fact, and what almost appeared to be her submission to him, that actually managed to successfully wrest some of it back. Almost unconsciously his right hand began to draw closer to the woman that was so close to him, pulling off the wall and slowly tangling itself through her raven tresses… but rather than using it as leverage and pulling her back The Raggedy Man simply allowed himself to play with the silky smooth hair.

This served its own message of course, a physical display that many would see as affection from the normally unflappable man… him simply playing with her carefully brushed and controlled hair, throwing it into disarray and smoothing it back in his own way, before repeating the process… the smirk on his face simply growing as he continued to do this

“Perhaps one day you will come to understand just what it is that you’re asking of me… perhaps one day you will truly comprehend just how powerful you are asking for me to make you… perhaps one day you will understand all that you must be willing to sacrifice for the sake of that power.” He would simply muse aloud for the two of them to hear, his voice as deep and smooth as ever as he did so, his dull red eyes almost seeming to look directly through the woman that stood before him as he did so.

“But what I do know is this… if you do manage to succeed in gaining the strength you desire, and if you do indeed manage manage to ‘plunge the world into despair’ you WILL come to realise just how pointless and boring such a desire truly was… it will change nothing.” The Reaper would then state with the utmost seriousness, his eyes seemingly losing their dull quality as he spoke… but it only lasted for a moment, only until he stopped toying with her now thoroughly dishevelled hair and took a small step back, a small smirk once again forming on his face as he did so.

“But for that to happen you will need to gain a great deal of strength… and unfortunately I cannot simply bestow that power upon others. You will need to truly work for it, and as fun as this little game is it will not help you grow in power… now follow me.” The Ragdoll would then state, casually walking backwards and outstretching his arms as he stepped back off the building, a light flip being all it took to right himself and land gently upon the smooth sandy ground below. He would wait for Mizuki to join him before he began to make his way towards one of the villages many training grounds, eager to get the process started… eager to see whether the mastery she showed in mental manipulation was all she had… or whether it was simply combined with natural talent and an endless potential

She would need all of those things if she truly wished to succeed in her desire… she would truly need to be something special if she wished to surpass him. There were very few people that could claim to be his equal nowadays, and she didn’t even want something that simple… she outright wished to surpass him… this fiery young woman wished to surpass The Monster… she wished to become The Monster Reborn.

And he was most eager to see her succeed in this endeavour.

WC: 1508

Tue Nov 26, 2019 3:54 am

Standing in front of the man was a surreal experience to say the least, everything was dichotic when it came to these two, their approach to situations came to a crossroads when it came down to it. On the one hand Kenshin was the practical and logical side of the brain that would mostly likely contribute analytical and methodical thinking to his every move - always planning out his intentions, theirs and every detail in between; being able to apprehend the other in a way to lead the conversation in the direction they desire. When met with someone like … Mizuki, on the other hand - who was so readily available to adjust herself to the given situation a constant trial and error mentality drove her to her prowess as it stood today. Yes, Kenshin was in a league all his own but even masters such as he weren’t masters of all - and unfortunately for the man who had walked through hell fire ,unscathed, and which his name alone carried heavy weight had undoubtedly met the one flame that could consume him; mind and soul. The real connection she had with him thus far - no illusions from their body language and no interference of intention - was when their eyes were locked. Eyes were, after all, the windows to the soul - They show the truth, no matter what face we put on, in any situation. The best way to get to know someone is to look them in the eyes and observe what they reveal about their emotional state. The dull red of Kenshin’s eyes were telling her a lot more than he wanted to reveal, and it was obvious to Mizuki, who was so engaged in Kenshin that she was looking for these signs.

Standing closer to him now she had even better opportunity to alayze his reaction to her new tactic - she had been going over and over what had happened to her in their first meeting and analyzing everything that had been said and unsaid - tagging emotional context to every point she made. Kenshin was an enigma she was ready to uncover, at whatever cost it had attached to it; would she lose part of herself in the process? Most likely, but so would Kenshin. You can’t keep an old shell when you learn new things - growth happens when you least expect it. Back to the moment at hand though, standing just in front of him, and her face as close to his as possible for their height difference she easily noted the slight narrowing of his eyes - which she was still transfixed on. This meant he was wrestling with something internally and was attempting to block out his own personal distaste for how this conflict was uncomfortable to say the least - but once again a master of his own body he was able to reign in this micro reaction.

To mention micro reactions and ignore his next action would be blasphemy, as she was hyper aware of him - and not just physically, his voice swirled in her head when he spoke and it seemed to give her confidence and encouragement without meaning to. So when his right hand fell from the wall and rooted itself deep in her sleek black hair she noticed immediately it wasn’t as Kenshin had intended- at least not at first. For maybe a moment or so Kenshin’s guard was down he was acting on emotional wims and impulses that she was sure at this point he was deeply uncomfortable with. On the surface, yes he was showing her affection, but the moment his fingers had wound themselves in her hair - his emotional state shifted. It was subtle but his touch became cold again … controlled. She had felt him draw to her for a split second - red hot with emotion only to turn to ice in the same moment - smoothly transitioning into another power play. From their first meeting she knew she needed control and the results of that meeting had left her with a lot to dwell on and her conclusion was thus: be the unexpected - this disheveling of her hair was his way of physically taking her control away. Okay, take it, unshackle me from my own vices. What better way to embrace her destiny than to… lean into it.

Her hair was now wild, strands and spikes flowing back from her face and creating dimension to her eyes that she lacked before - she now looked as she felt - the beautiful predator.
Focusing in on what he was saying she raised an eyebrow at his second point, ‘perhaps one day you will truly comprehend just how powerful you are asking for me to make you’, she could take that two ways and both she knew were true - he was far more powerful than she could dream in which case she truly couldn’t imagine and the other way being that she had a special ability to get close to people, making her more powerful than given credit. His voice was the most striking thing about everything thus far, having seen him switch from this to a more relaxed version of himself during their first meeting brought up some questions. First, why are you on guard? Second, was he trying to impose his power over her? Thoughts she would have to delve into deeper later on of course. He was also trying to distance his eyes - to explain when someone is invested in a conversation emotionally they are focused on the person they are talking to and alert in their eye contact, but Kenshin’s dull red were penetrating through her, trying to distance himself from her?

“You keep saying ‘If’,” she cocked her eyebrow in a playful manner, her red tinted violet eyes flickering to register his step back from her before returing to stare back into the endless red of Kenshin’s, “you are overlooking the most important thing. I’m not you. There is no ‘if’ with me, you may have wanted the same end goal as me Kenshin… but you lacked my method of approach.” her eyes had become as hard as his had, seriousness sharpening her features into something resembling a bird of prey. Raising her hands to her shoulders as if she was about to fix what he had just done to her hair her fingers would instead slide into her thick locks and dishevel it more thoroughly, her fingers sliding out at the ends, as she tossed her hair back to let it fly free. “You say it will change nothing, but I will change everything you ever knew.” At face value her words were simply about her ‘pointless plans’ at domination over the shinobi world but if he was able to analyze his feelings as well as she was able to he would realize that she was in fact possibly one of the few who could truly change him and in turn everything he thought he knew about his current world.

“Little game?”, she couldn't suppress the laugh that escaped her lips, stepping forward - quickly closing the gap he had made again with surprising speed and aggression - she grabbed the front of his shirt, stopping him from backing away from her, knuckles white from her grip her eyes showed the hint of Kenshin she held deep in her - the crazed side that rarely came out. This was not an act of real aggression, simply a display that she was not going to be labeled as such and she was determined to make it clear to him here and now. “I’m not a little game Kenshin. I am an investment and you will treat me with the care an investment of my caliber entails.” She dropped her eyes from his, they were suddenly burning with angry tears that were fighting their way to the surface, of course they wouldn’t surface but the sting was still there. Her fingers slackened and slid down his shirt as she lifted her eyes back to his, “I have so much to learn from you… and you have more to learn from me… as insane as that sounds.”, her eyes would harden a bit at that last bit as she was searching his for his reaction, once more wondering how he would take her extreme show of dominance and emotion in one.

[WC 1386]

[TWC 3179]

Sun Dec 01, 2019 1:16 pm

He knew that she was studying him just as deeply as he was her, perhaps even deeper if that was actually possible… but the question was… just what had she seen? Had she seen his minute slip up and actually registered it for what it was? Had she taken it the way that he hoped she had… unlikely but possible. As she spoke, he would raise a lightly greying brow… she would succeed because she wasn’t him? Implying that he had failed because he lacked HER method of approach? The fiery woman certainly possessed more of a backbone than any he had met in the past, and that was speaking nothing of the level of self confidence she possessed… or was this arrogance? It could be hard to differentiate the two at times. When she raised her hands to her shoulders he resisted the urge to smirk, her need for control demanding that she fix the hair that he had taken such joy into ruffling until it resembled that of a birds nest… which was why he was thrown for a loop when she simply made it even moreso, ruffling it until it almost resembled the plumes of a raven… much like his own, yet more chaotic.

“You say it will change nothing, but I will change everything you ever knew.”

With that declaration Kenshin's entire being would begin to shift, turning from the fun loving man that she knew so well into the hunter that most others knew him as… but that was ignored as the woman simply chuckled and stepped forwards, grabbing the front of his shirt and gazing deep into his dull red eyes with a ferocity and fixation that he had never truly seen from anyone in the past. The look that she was giving him was… actually somewhat unnerving, and that was saying something considering just who was inwardly admitting that… and it was then that she began to speak. The words themselves began to stoke a flame that had long since been starved of fuel, igniting it and sending the flames of rage through his system… she apparently thought herself to be much more important than she actually was in the grand scheme of things, and amusing game or not he would not allow her to make demands of this to him. But, before he could even think about unleashing that anger… his sharp eyes took note of the physical reaction of her body as she tried to drop her gaze away from his, a move that was stopped by his left hand swiftly shooting up and grasping her by the jaw, not enough to cause pain or even discomfort… if anything it was almost gentle as it held her face in place.

Eyes swelling, lacrimal gland production increased, face flushed, body trembling… why was she crying? Had he done something wrong? Had he ruined their game? Had he been the only one who saw it as that? None of what he had read from Mizuki, or gleaned from observing her both within their meeting, before their meeting, and even after it had prepared him for the possibility of this. Was this even a real reaction to his words? Or was it some clever ploy to throw him off balance… certainly possible, and if so it was certainly working… she had to be onto him, changing up her own reactions to match the knowledge that he had gathered on her, a new strategy to gain control of the situation and win. Smart strategy, but not one that would be accepted, nonono, he refused to allow this clever little minx to outsmart him, and he knew that he still had a key way of gaining the advantage. It had worked last time, and physical signs observed at the start of this meeting indicated that she was still uncomfortable with her bodies reaction to him… unless she had planned for this and had done so in an effort to trap him, possible but unlikely considering what he knew of her.

To think that this would come down to a simple gamble… how very exciting.

His right hand, the very one that he had been using to toy with her hair, would reach out and come to gently grasp her by the hip, and using it combined with the left hand that was now resting firmly upon the base of her neck, Kenshin would simply take a stride forward and use his own body to push the fiery soul that was Mizuki up against the wall that she had been leaning against earlier. His forehead would come down to rest upon hers, and he would simply give a husky chuckle as he did so, gazing deeply into the still wet eyes of his favourite little plaything, his right hand lowering and lightly grazing up and down the back of her thigh as he did so. He was tempted to simply kiss her as he had last time… beyond tempted if he was entirely honest with himself… but he was not yet at the point that he was beyond his own self control, and for now he gained more from this move in particular. He knew that he gained more power by dangling it like a carrot in front of her, offering something that he could physically see she wanted but not simply giving it to her, forcing her to make the last move herself if she truly wanted it. The true question was whether or not this game meant so much to her that she would deny her own rather obvious desire like this… not that he would ever truly admit it… but he hoped that she wouldn’t

And that hope was not simply born of his desire to win this round of their little game.

WC: 969

Mon Dec 02, 2019 10:21 pm

Mizuki felt her jaw being cupped with gentle yet firm fingers, bringing her eyes that were clearly fighting off tears, back to Kenshins - there was no way she would have believed the man was capable of this much care or even yet, this much concern. His fingertips felt like burning cinders on her jaw, where every finger tip made contact with her smooth skin it felt like a pull on his soul. The feeling she had felt for a moment earlier when his hand fell from the wall was ignited again. Like a moth drawn to flame once more she was drawing out true feelings from this man that he was not ready or at least unwilling to deal with - case in point being how he then handled this outright sign of real concern.

She felt his hand drift down to her hip, gripping it with intention as he used his larger form to push her back against the wall - with both of his hands on her she was held in place, in the spot he wanted her most. With his forhead coming down to rest on hers, their eyes connected at such a close range was unnerving in a way she wasn’t used to, she would focus rather on Kenshin as a being - someone with more to himself than he showed. The chuckle coming out husky- intentionally tempting - which wasn’t to say she wasn’t tempted. Having him so close was an awful temptation that tugged at her core desires, but to grant them would be the easy way out, the instant gratification. If she was anything she wasn’t the one to take the easy path to anything - and unfortunately for the two of them she couldn’t give in to this desire this time.

Instead of leaning into his grip and kissing him, the primal urge she was feeling, she took the hard road and resisted the pull. It wasn’t for the game, which she was wondering at this moment was all Kenshin was able to see her as, or really anyone at that rate. It was for something deeper, something she couldn’t quite name… but her next action was something she couldn’t have guessed she would do herself. Lifting her hands simultaneously up to his back -gentle in her approach and touch- she would grip his back and pull him into her, her face sinking into his neck as her eyes closed. An intimate hug, the kind that exudes waves of emotion, the kind that strikes the cords of even the most frozen hearts. She put everything she could into it, raised on her tiptoes she clung to him as he was her life vest in the sea that was her own emotions - pouring so much into the empty vessel she held in her arms. For Mizuki this felt like the hardest thing she had ever done - not for power or for a one up - real emotion for this person flowed through her and into him like a tidal wave. It was as terrifying for her as it must be for Kenshin if he could feel it, “For a man so adept at reading people…”, she would begin, whispering into his neck, her nose cold against his exposed skin, “... can you read this?” it wasn’t a simple question of whether he could read the situation itself, but rather if he could read the whole thing - top to bottom would he be able to feel how vulnerable she was making herself for him.

She wasn’t sure if he was going to handle this well, lean into it or cast her aside, the thought had crossed her mind but after their first meeting it was hard to push aside her emotions, infact she was never able to do it. Being so full of emotion it was an impossibility to get lost in her own emotions often - and Kenshin was her opposite - keeping his own locked up so tightly. If she had to imagine the two in this moment, she felt like a raging inferno of raw feeling, so used to scorching everything in her path - holding onto an iceberg of logic and critical thinking. If he had allowed her to cling to him she would whisper one more thing into his neck, her grip tightening for a moment, a confession she wasn’t sure why she was expressing coming to her lips -“You could break me… right down to my core… but something tells me you won’t…”

[WC 745]

[TWC 3924]

Sat Dec 07, 2019 1:35 am

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Kenshin’s entire world revolved around Mizuki for these few tense moments… in fact, it would probably be more apt to say that she WAS his entire world… and with him being so hyper focused on her it was next to impossible for him to miss the internal struggle that she was currently going through. He could see the desire burning within her dual toned gaze and he knew that she would spot the same thing within his own… he was still in perfect control of himself, but that was only due to the amount of self control and restraint that he possessed. There was just something about this accursed woman that drew him in like a moth to the flame, something that rendered his logic and control null and void… every move she made was enticing to him and he both loved and hated that. He loved it solely because in the span of just over a month she had successfully integrated herself into both his life and Sunagakure as a whole… and in the process made both thoroughly more interesting, inspiring new plans for both himself and the village that he had been about to abandon. He hated it because she had somehow managed to sneak her way past his defences and actually become someone that he valued… all because he had deigned to play this little game of control with her. But, truth be told, he didn’t mind it all that much.

She hadn’t been wrong to refer to him as a nihilist earlier, and it was something that he truly hated… life had just become stale and boring to him, bland with no real enjoyment to be had from anything that he did… and to make matters worse, he had just accepted it with no hesitation and allowed himself to stagnate… at least until she had arrived. He would take note of the minuscule movements of her shoulders and upper arms as she began to lift her arms, noting with some confusion that she didn’t appear to be making the moves he had anticipated… and it was only then that he would feel her grip his back and drag him in. The Reaper knew that he could resist the pull if he truly wished, but he made absolutely no move to do so, his mind moving faster than it had been earlier when she had been driven to the point of tears… and his mind only started racing faster as she began to push her face into his neck. Her whispered words flowed like honey to him, but the breath on his neck was akin to ice water trickling down his back… he had allowed her to get far too close, she had taken any and all power, and in his desperate move to get the upper hand he had unintentionally given all of the power to her. No, that wasn’t right… she had reversed his move and taken it all for herself… but he could tell that was not the intention. Their game meant nothing to her at this point, and what was even more worrying was that he had also stopped caring about it… all he could focus on was her.

He noted almost absentmindedly that he had almost completely frozen when she had pulled him into the unexpected hug, the threads that made up his body writhing uncomfortably within his body almost as though they were about to lash out, but even in this state he wouldn’t allow anything to harm Mizuki… least of all him. Huh… just when had she become quite so important to him? Usually he was more than willing to remove even one of his own pieces when they started to move in ways that he couldn’t predict or benefit from… yet right now, when one piece in particular was capable of putting him in a very bad situation like this… HAD put him in one… he was outright unwilling to do anything against them. Kenshin usually despised being touched by others, and hugs were no exception to that rule… so why in the seven hells was he actually enjoying this experience… why was he feeling uncomfortable due to just how COMFORTABLE this damn display was making him feel. Logically this made no sense, the two had only known each other for a month, they had only truly had one chance to actually interact… so just HOW had she gotten so far beyond his defences that he was allowing this to happen… and just WHY was she willing to make herself so vulnerable to him… someone that she had, in reality, just met.

The final whispered confession was what truly ended up breaking him, and with it he would allow his left hand to slide up and around her, coming to rest upon her upper back, while his right, which had been situated on her thigh, would slide itself up and come to rest upon her lower back. He would allow his head to fall forward slowly, his chin resting upon the crown of her head as he released a shaky chuckle, his voice unintentionally fluctuating between his original voice and his new voice as he struggled to maintain control over the E-rank technique that allowed him to mimic his old voice so easily.

“You…” was the sole word that could make it out of his mouth before he had to drop the jutsu entirely, swallowing lightly before releasing yet another shaky chuckle, this time entirely in his new voice.

“You’re right… it would be so easy as well… but I don’t think I could actually bring myself to do it. That alone scares me… I’ve never been one to hesitate and yet here I am… practically frozen because of a single hug and unwilling to do anything to hurt the one that holds that power over me.” He would admit, his words implying far more than he would ever outright say, but knowing that in the end it didn’t matter if he outright said it or not… Mizuki and he were two sides of the same coin, she would understand what he couldn’t bring himself to outwardly admit.

WC: 1037

The Herald (P, Kenshin)

The Herald (P, Kenshin)

Re: The Herald (P, Kenshin)

Re: The Herald (P, Kenshin)

Re: The Herald (P, Kenshin)

Re: The Herald (P, Kenshin)

Re: The Herald (P, Kenshin)

Re: The Herald (P, Kenshin)

Re: The Herald (P, Kenshin)

Re: The Herald (P, Kenshin)

Re: The Herald (P, Kenshin)