Re: The Parting Glass [Mizuki, Kenshin]

Sat Feb 01, 2020 5:21 pm

Amaterasu froze as the hand came into contact with her scalp- why was he touching her? After a moment, though she relaxed. Surely there must be a reason for it. "You really mean it?" she asked bluntly, unused to the attention- well, positive attention, anyways. The life of a criminal was usually a lonely one, so the feeling was... Hm. Unfamiliar. She wasn't quite sure if she liked it yet or not. On the corpse... "That sounds fun. Do you think he has gills?" she wondered aloud. A pause as she listened to the ragdoll man continue. She liked rules, generally- usually, society seemed to operate on strange unspoken rituals and methods that were invisible to ones such as herself. A code of conduct, in that regard, sounded quite useful. She nodded to herself and to the man in front of her as a sign that she understood and was paying attention.

"...Does that mean we're changing the name of the village? To symbolize our literal and metaphorical separation from Konoha and such. Also, if we do something like this, it might be a good idea to organize the place's existing resources to be more easily accessible... And probably more sanitary." a pause. "I kinda want to make some kind of library, or archive I guess. Anyone can access it under the clause that you don't harm what's inside, and that every time you learn something from it you must leave something. Kinda like what Hoshigakure did, but... Nothing would be off limits." A breath and then a nod. "I like your ambition. I would... personally appreciate it, though, if we straightened up the village a bit more. Food's starting to run out in some circles, and it's really annoying to have to deal with all the robberies and stuff. I'm trying to do what you said, and kill people less, but." a tilt of the head. "But. These people make it hard."

[WC: 323]
[Total WC: 1,362]

Wed Feb 05, 2020 4:00 am

A smile reached his lips as he listened to the woman’s teasing words before pouring some of the liquor into his glass. It was one of equal parts amusement and pride, as strange as that was. Amusement due to her reaction to seeing him for the first time since figuring out what he had done, and pride in the fact that she actually had figured it out so quickly.

Lifting the glass, now graciously filled with both ice and alcohol thanks to his master and potential protégé, Kai would swirl it around in his hand for a moment before taking a sip of the refreshingly cool substance. ”Oh come now, Mizuki. I knew you’d figure it out eventually. Why else would I have given you a reserve of my own chakra, if it wasn’t because I saw your potential, hmm?” The former Konohagakure shinobi smiled mischievously at her before taking another sip.

Of course the playful mood dipped a bit then, when Mizuki went from likening them all to a family, to asking about their future plans...together. Serious as it may be, it had been something that tickled the back of his own thoughts ever since swearing himself to the Demon in that cave. What exactly has he sworn himself to? What would become of what he now knew to be a poor and unsanitary haven for the lawless and the outcasts? What role was he to play in this future that his master envisioned? Hopefully all of these questions would soon be answered as three pairs of eyes turned expectantly to the one that had united them.

Rules and punishments, the beginnings of any civilized society and what would surely mean the inevitable rise from its current state into something much greater. A haven for the strong, and a beacon for those who rebel against the current village system, to show them that true strength can be obtained without the biased and broken shinobi villages that have done nothing but establish a false vision of their own importance. An illusion used to cover the eyes of the ignorant sheep calling them home. Something that no longer applied to himself, thankfully.

And again the small girl managed to surprise him. Kai couldn’t stop his eyes from flicking briefly to Amaterasu at her mention of her desire to build an archive, though after that brief lapse he realized it was what logically made the most sense for the girl. She was, after all, always hungry for more knowledge and some type of order, from what he had gleaned about her at least. ”That’s a good point,” he began in answer as he allowed his gaze to flick back to the child before focusing on the Demon they all called their leader. ”I’ve seen it all over the village since I arrived. The people are getting restless and violence is in the air. They aren’t happy about the unsanitary and less-than-comfortable conditions currently forced upon them. It’s perhaps a smart move to organize our resources and clean up what we plan to make into a haven. An archive would be a good addition as well, where we can add our own knowledge and either grant access to those who are willing to pay the right price, or those who have proven themselves to be strong. The bloodworks have come along nicely, perhaps we grant the winners a small taste of what our archive has to offer so that they come to us willing to pay higher prices in an attempt to gain more power.”

[WC: 592]
[TWC: 1,074]

Wed Feb 05, 2020 4:56 pm

Flashing her eyes warningly to Kai - she could almost feel the mark on her collarbone burn slightly under her shirt. She hadn’t told Kenshin about the gift and to be honest she didn’t know how he would react. They returned quickly to stare back at Kenshin though, her main interest about to play out.

Which was watching Kenshin’s reaction to her abrupt subject change - had she not been intently watching those dull red eyes with her vibrant violet ones she would have missed his ever so sly reaction; irritation, annoyance, maybe even disapproval if she thought about it long enough and his face showed more of the same expression she had discerned in that small moment. Then it was gone. A look like that, even given a few days ago, would have frozen her in her place and made her heartbeat stop from fear of misstep - but not anymore. The change Suna had given to her personality, the interactions with everyone in this room had left imprints on her that changed her demeanor slightly over time - she wasn’t going to cow down from a gaze like that - not if she belonged here as she believed she did. Shifting her legs restlessly, uncrossing them to recross them with the opposite leg under the other she too brought the bottle to her lips - eyes still on Kenshin - as she drank the length it took him to down the glass left by Amat.

The shift in his demeanor was slight enough but it brought an air of authority back to him, the laid back mood also morphing along with it. Bringing his fingers to his mouth in thought he would begin to outline his plans and ideas - and as Mizu listened her eyes began to harden, along with her grip on the bottle. It was moments like this that it was most obvious how different Mizu and Kenshin viewed the world at large. Stranger still was just how close they were to the same path - but instead of standing side by side with the same goals they stood back to back. Part of the same entity and yet so different. The core idea of his centered around Suna becoming a haven for the strong - but staying to itself. So instead of doing something about the village system either way - either by reform or destruction - his proposed third option was an expanded upon neutral territory. It was very… grey.

She took another long swig from the bottle - eyes still hard as they turned to look at Amat as she spoke on the matter. It came as a bit of a shock as she pointed out resource lows and sanitary conditions. She repressed her face from showing any of this of course - and impassive mask as she took in her observations. It was impressive she had noticed these issues and had seemed to already plan on bringing it up to be fixed whether this conversation has arose or not. It was harder to suppress the small smile that formed on her lips as she watched Amat tilt her head and admit that her abstinence from murder was made difficult by the very people she wished to murder.

Her hard eyes swiveled to watch Kai again - harder still as he continued the same strain of thought presented by Kenshin. It seemed as though she was the only one in attendance not completely satisfied with the direction he chose to take them in - but that wasn’t surprising in the least it was in her nature of course to differ from Kenshin in this way. She hadn’t spoken a word as everyone spoke, putting their two cents in as they moved around the circle and it seemed it was her turn to speak up - but what would they think about how she views things… taking a long drink from the bottle, nearing 30 seconds before releasing the bottle from her lips and resting the bottom of it on her thigh- her eyes focusing on the center of the desk purposefully not meeting anyones gaze. “I agree something needs to be done about the conditions of the village and how its maintained. Getting everyone back into regular jobs - upkeep on food and water systems etc. yes those are all very important aspects of this place that need to be taken care of before exercising our power in greater ways.”, she paused for a moment and bit the tip of her tongue between her teeth thoughtfully, mouth closed in a pondering expression before continuing. “As for the proposal of focusing inwardly and creating a haven… and turning your backs completely on the world around us - doesn’t sit well with me.”

Finally she raised her eyes, now stones, to stare at Kenshin. This wasn’t the first time she had disagreed with his views and it wasn’t going to be the last. “Instead of succumbing to the broken village system, because yes it is broken and deplorable, but it is this way because the leaders in charge aren’t fit for the role.”, the fire was back - blazing white hot as she continued, “It would be easy to take a desecrated village like Suna and make it a Hub for the strong to learn and grow, but what about everyone else? What about where you all came from.”, her eyes narrowed at the last words, unsure where all this emotion was brewing from, but now her memories were flooding back - her origins in Hoshi. Setting her jaw tightly to control her outburst she took a deep breath, “Not everyone who vies to create change in the world is a pawn when you approach the problem correctly - find the root of the problem and go on from there.” It was in this moment she came to realize how much her desire to reform the world was - and unlike the traditional methods used over the millennia of brute force to enact temporary change, you needed to coerce people to understand their problems and give them a chance to remedy it. Brute force only brought retaliation and retaliation only brought further strife and broken systems.

This was a much deeper conversation than she had intended to introduce to the group - already missing the light energy that had been shattered when she brought it up. Sighing she would drop her gaze and stare down into her bottle, “All in all, differing opinions are just that, opinions. There is a saying, ‘Great minds think alike, but bad minds think exactly alike.’, but the choice is up to all of you.”

[WC 1093]
[TWC 2622]

Thu Feb 13, 2020 8:33 pm

Kenshin would simply nod in response to Amaterasu’s query, and would chuckle lightly when she questioned whether or not this apparently sharklike man would possess gills.

“The question isn’t whether he has gills, the question is if he does do they function properly? That would be truly fascinating to study.” The Reaper would state with an amused smirk, his more scientific side truly looking forward to this next lesson with his apprentice.

As he spoke to Amaterasu it seemed Kai was content to speak to Mizuki, casually mentioning that he had gifted her with some of his own reserves, answering the unasked question of who had placed a seal upon his chosen, and hinting at what the purpose of it was. He had taken note of it quite some time ago with his Byakugan, but he hadn’t bothered to ask her about it… if she had any worries about it he had no doubt that she would have approached him.

“Ahh, so you were the one who gifted her with that seal. I was wondering who had done that, I was not aware you were proficient with Fuinjutsu Kai” He would comment simply, small smirk fixed upon his face as his eyes flickered to Mizuki momentarily, before focusing on Kai once more.

After this The Raggedy Man explained his plans, Amaterasu both asking whether they would be changing the name of the village and giving suggestions on how to properly organise the village, something that he had already been planning to do. What truly caught his attention though, was her suggestion to create an archive much like Hoshigakures, however this one had some additional rules but less restrictions on who could browse it… and truth be told, he found himself quite drawn to the idea. One of very few things that he had truly enjoyed within the walls of Hoshigakure was the almost limitless font of knowledge that was the library. It was only then that Kai would speak, agreeing with both of Amaterasu’s points and further expanding upon them with the ideas of payment for access, or even tying it to the bloodworks. He wasn’t much of a fan of only allowing those who paid access… he much prefered Amaterasu’s idea of making people surrender their own knowledge for access to the knowledge within. Of course, this could be combined with Kai’s suggestion to tie some knowledge to the Bloodworks, perhaps requiring people to reach certain ranks within to be allowed access to some of the more powerful and dangerous knowledge and techniques within.

It was then, after the others had said their piece, that Mizuki would voice her own opinion, and truth be told hers was the one he was paying the most attention to. He had, of course, noticed her focusing intently on the bottle sitting on her lap, and he knew full well that she was thinking. He remembered what her plans for the future were, and they certainly weren’t the same as his, but he was hoping that she could truly see through the fluff of what he had said and take note of the important parts. Of course, neither of the others had, but he knew that to Mizuki it would seem as though his goals didn’t align with hers, unless of course she did see through his words and see what he hoped she would. However, as she continued to speak, it became clear to him that the subtle hint he had been giving had been completely glossed over by her as well, but it was understandable… she was quite emotional and based on her outburst near the middle they were getting the best of her here. As she finished speaking The Raggedy Man could do little more than chuckle lightly, before giving a small sigh and shaking his head slowly, the smallest of smiles upon his face as he looked from Amaterasu, to Kai, and finally to Mizuki.

“Who said anything about turning our backs on the world around us Mizuki? I want you to think back on everything I just said about MY future plans and goals. I will be turning Sunagakure into a haven for the strong, and for those that don’t want to follow the village system, that is true. But what else did I say? I have no interest in destruction or domination, I will not become a pawn to that broken system… but have you noticed it yet?” He would ask simply, a slightly greying brow rising as he met the red flecked gaze of Mizuki directly.

“These are simply MY plans and goals, and we are allies no? Does that not mean that you will be helping me fulfill my goals, in exchange for me helping you fulfill yours? Did you truly think I forgot about your desire for revenge Kai? Or your desire for lasting change and control Mizuki? I might not care about either of those things, but the two of you do… and as I said before, I don’t care enough to try changing the world… but that isn’t my plan nor my goal now is it?” The half-blood Uzumaki would explain with the same smile on his face, neither growing nor shrinking, throughout his entire speech.

“Come now, I am many things but a bad ally is not one of them... and as far as I am aware I haven't given any of you cause to suspect that I would be. Surely you have come to realise that I am loyal to those that are loyal to me, and if you are willing to help me fulfil my goals then of course I would be willing to help you fulfil yours.”

WC: 951

Wed Jul 22, 2020 5:31 pm

Her gaze was still fixed on the inside of her bottle as she listened to him answer, in order, everyone's comments, questions and concerns. Diplomatic at best and unnervingly pointed at worst - though she had the most argumentative question he savored her impatience and made her wait to very last to address her. The chuckle of the gravelly voiced man made her heart beat skip a few beats - not for the reason most would, she had missed something crucial in his words and now she was about to hear the extent of her mistake. Clenching her jaw she closed her violet eyes and braced herself, the sigh only proving her assumption correct. Gripping the neck of the bottle for support she steeled herself as best she could.

The way he emphasized his words would make a lesser person flinch but she took each pointed word like a stone wall - her temper though was rising no matter how much she tried to contain it. Her eyes had risen to meet his as he scolded her… publicly scolded her. The slight condescension in his tone and his oh so obvious questions berated her ears - causing her knuckles to turn white as her grip grew stronger, her jaw clenching so tightly she could feel her back molars protesting to the strain. No words left her though, she did not interrupt the man of whom she had a complicated relationship with; swirling in uncertainty.

His rhetorical questions rolled over her one by one in such quickness it only made her blood boil. Intentionally making her seem as the only one oblivious to his true intentions while the others hadn’t even made attempt at thinking for themselves. Finally it had gotten the better of her and she could no longer contain the outrage that public humiliation harbored. The grip on the bottles neck had gotten so tight it shattered in her hand as she stood - indignant but unable to form words as she stared into the smiling face of Kenshin. “Loyalty to allies opens avenues to corruption for your people - do you follow in aid of your ally or lead in aid of your people. One day the views and decisions of your allies will not align with yours and it *will* tear you apart.”

The bottom of the bottle had thudded against the desk and fallen over, spilling the last dredged of liquor from the shattered top, opening her hand several shards of glass fell from her palm along with some droplets of blood as she turned from the group - her black tresses flying wildly behind her with a snap. The chair she had been sitting in flung back to slam into the wall behind the desk as she made it to the entrance and flung the door open with her injured hand - leaving only a bloody palm imprint on the surface. The sharp taps of her footsteps quickly faded as she made her way out of the hospital making a B-line to the farthest point in the village…. As far out of the range of his sight she could get.

[EXIT]

WC 518
TWC 3140

Claims to be made later

Thu Jul 30, 2020 9:50 pm

Exit Claims:

TWC 3140

13 Stat points to Vigor bringing me to max stats and using the remaining word count to give me 36 AP

1000/1000 - Unlocking Advanced Element Blood Release
1500/1500 - Blood Clone Jutsu [V7]
640/5000 - Assimilating Aura [Sunagakure Exclusive] V7

Thu Jul 30, 2020 11:15 pm

Approved of Mizuki's claims

Fri Jul 31, 2020 11:30 am

Kenshin would almost glare at Mizuki as she spat her vitriolic words back at him, and while he knew they were coming from a place of pure emotion and thus was not how she truly felt, he was still rather offended that she was implying he was moronic enough to allow his allies wants to rule him entirely. While he was not glaring at her, his eyes were narrowed into slits and his gaze was harsher than she would have ever seen it, and it was directed solely at her. Both Kai and Amaterasu being ignored as his eyes pierced through her and his chakra began to react in response to his rage, the sickening and foul energy slamming down on everyone in the room as a black and purple mist began to appear around him, almost as though his entire body were emitting the foul smoke-like substance… but just as soon as it appeared it would vanish, and he would lean back with a small smirk on his face as Mizuki stormed out of the room. His point had been made and he knew it, Mizuki would know it, and both Amaterasu and Kai would be none the wiser. Mizuki, as much as he enjoyed her company and having her around, could be rather arrogant at times and would sometimes fail to see things in the ways that he needed her too… to put it simply, she could be rather short sighted and would often allow her emotions to get the better of her. He had intentionally pointed out this short sightedness in front of Amaterasu and Kai to garner this reaction, and he knew that once she had cooled off she would berate herself for her actions here, or more specifically, allowing her mask to slip and her anger to be seen by the others.

Was he being harsh with her? Oh absolutely, he had intentionally poked her and all but made a mockery of her in front of Amaterasu and Kai, or at least had done so in her eyes, and forced her to explode and humiliate herself, again in her own eyes, in front of them as well. But she needed to learn, and sometimes the best ways for one to realise their flaws and improve on them was having them exposed… and truthfully, he knew that Mizuki would not take him simply telling her that sort of thing well, nor would she simply accept it, so he needed to prove it and allow her to handle it herself. When Kenshin turned to speak to Amaterasu and Kai, he noticed that Kai in particular was looking extremely pale and was staring blankly off at one of the walls of his office, something that was made more concerning when the man was completely unresponsive when The Reaper called his name.

“Well, I suppose this meeting is done at this point. We will have to pick it up again sometime in the future, and hopefully next time it doesn’t have such a dramatic conclusion. Amaterasu, feel free to spend as much time as you would like in here, and feel free to begin dissecting any of the corpses in the Cold Storage Lockers. I will be taking Kai to another room to run a few tests in private.” The Ragdoll would explain to his little protege with a small smile on his face, before standing up and walking over to Kai, grabbing the mans arm lightly and pulling him up, and walking him to the door and out of the room. He walked slowly with the seemingly out of it man, leading him to one of the empty rooms near the end of the hall, typically unused due to their proximity to his makeshift office in the morgue, and lead Kai towards the bed.

However, as soon as the two of them passed the door frame the man collapsed, his proximity and existing grip on the mans arm making it far easier for Kenshin to catch him before he hit the floor, but it was still with a frown on his face that he would carry the man to the bed and begin to examine him. What was most worrying was that the man SEEMED to be in perfect physical health for the time being, which meant that whatever was causing this was not something conventional like a poison… could it be some type of illness? He had never truly heard of something like this before, not without any true symptoms anyways. More testing was needed, and for the time being he would need to focus on finding out the causes of this before he could focus on helping the man recover.

Kai was not going to die that easily, and of that The Ragdoll was perfectly certain.

Even if that meant he had to spit in the face of death a second time.

WC: 816.

[Exit with Kai (He missed the AC so I am simply providing IC reasoning for why he seemingly vanished)]

TWC: 3381

Will make my topic claims later

Sun Aug 09, 2020 8:51 pm

Approved of Kenshin + Kai's exit (make separate post for claims please)

Sun Aug 30, 2020 3:02 am

(Exit)

Ill post claims later. Highkey ass forgot i was here