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Post by TAKAMI SHIRO on Feb 27, 2011 18:57:49 GMT -5
The sun was rising and the birds were singing. It was a beautiful day, but Shiro Takami--the leader of the Takami Swords--was out exploring the island of Tsukushi.
As the tall man walked around the forests of the island, Shiro took note of the forests and thought of tactics he could use if his job ever brough him to Tsukushi, "Hmm... I guess this could be worth me exploring out here." He said to himself. He stood under a tree and put his hand on the trunk, zoning out for a second as he thought about his soldiers. "We'd be to a disadvantage here... I think I'm gonna stay here for a while." The bass in his voice rumbled amongst the trees and he let out a sigh afterwards.
Prying himself from the tree and his thoughts, Shiro continued along the path in the forest and blinked as he noticed something in the distance that seemed to be a small building. He gripped the strap to his musket on his shoulder tightly as though he was getting ready to sling it off of his shoulder and into its ready position at the slightest sound. He neared the building and eyed the details of it, figuring that it resembled something like a shring, "Interesting.. what would this be doing all the way out here?"
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Post by NAKIGAHARA JUN on Feb 27, 2011 19:14:32 GMT -5
A few days had past since Nakigahara with the Shogun of the Sakamoto Forces, Sakamoto Ryuichi, and the Shichinihonto no Samurai was just settled in to her home once again--the journey back home had taken much more time on foot and carrying five swords did not help make her journey any easier. Regardless, the hermit was victorious in her struggle, sending the Shogun back to his castle with his tale between his legs... well at least thats how she would tell the story.
Needless to say, the incident had brought something very important to her attention, she was very vulnerable out here in the middle of the forest. Despite the fact that her skill with a sword may surpass that of almost everyone on this island is meaningless when it comes to sheer numbers, and the threat of harm being done to her shrine was enough to get her to do almost anything. Thus, something needed to be done.
Since she had returned to her shrine she has done three things: bathe in the fresh waters of the Tsukushi River, sleep on her makeshift bed, and booby-trapped every square foot of the Setsugetsuka Shine, so much so that it was difficult for even her to navigate. Most of these traps were set to maim, not kill, but even so it would even the odds if she had to take on, well, a small army. Setsugetsuka Shrine: the Forest Stronghold.
Satisfied with her efforts she sat with her legs hanging in the fresh waters of the river, allowing the soft current to caress her skin as she leaned back on her hands with her pipe in her mouth. The water was still chilly from the winter months, yet it satisfied her sore feet as the kicked too and fro in the deep blue, shooing away passing fish. |
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Post by TAKAMI SHIRO on Feb 27, 2011 21:24:50 GMT -5
As he neared the shrine, Shiro's interest and curiosity started to get the better of him. He walked a bit closer to the shrine and felt a tug on his foot. He stopped in his tracks and looked down, wondering what just happened.
After he kneeled and found there was a wire hanging from his foot, Shiro looked around a bit confused. He wated for a while and shrugged taking another step before he heard the sound of something big moving through the air. He blinked and looked to his right and saw nothing and the to the left, the same. He sighed and then thought to look behind him. His eyes widened as he saw a tree stump being hurled in his direction. "Oh... MY.... GOOOD!!" Without a thought, the man lunged to his right and sighed from the experience.
He straightened himself and tried to regain his composure. "Well.. that was a strange occurence... Maybe I should walk away.." He thought to himself as he took a step backwards and thought he heard something, jumping at his own paranoia. He laughed to himself and shook his head, "Nah... that was just a incident." He thought aloud as he moved a bit closer to the shrine. Before he knew it he felt something pierce his arm. He blinked and looked down at his arm and laughed a bit, "Just great." Somehow an arrow sprung out and made contact with him and somehow he didn't notice until now.
He sat on the ground and leaned against the tree for a while, pulling it out of his arm. He sighed again and ripped off some of his shirt sleeve and wrapped it around his wound. "What else can happen?!" He yelled to himself.
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Post by NAKIGAHARA JUN on Feb 27, 2011 21:50:01 GMT -5
Nakigahara’s peaceful humming was interrupted by what seemed to be mass mayhem coming from the eastern most part of her clearing. It would appear as though someone had stumbled upon one of her many traps set up around the Setsugetsuka Shrine, the though of which should have brought a smile to her face, instead it filled her with rage.
“Bakayarou!” She exclaimed as she removed her legs from the brisk water and bringing herself to her feet. “I just finished setting all of that up!” She ran in a zig-zag pattern back to her shrine to fetch one of her blades. Today, it was Benzaiten, her tachi, that she would wield against her potential rapist, much longer than Jurojin, the short kodachi. While inside, she also grabbed a small vile and quickly ran out towards the scene running in a similar zig-zagged manner.
“Chikusho, chikusho, chikusho!” She cursed under her breath as she dodged the triggers to the booby traps in order to make it to the forest as soon as possible. Needless to say, running in zig zags was not the most time preserving way, but it was the only way to make it without being brutalized.
By the time she got to the edge of the forest, Nakigahara was physically exhausted. Her fatigue led to carelessness, causing her to stumble over a trip wire just as she saw the tall man who was hit by an arrow. The wire triggered a large log strung up by ropes fashioned from vines to fall in what appeared to be some sort of giant hammer of death. As if by reflex, she jumped on top of the log, swinging back and forth subtly as she gripped her tachi.
“Yo! Bakayarou! Are you a good guy or a bad guy? You might want to hurry up with that answer, those arrows are tipped with fast acting snake venom... and you might only have an hour left...” She said rather matter of factly, loosening her grip to grab the vial from her nagajuban. “This is what will save you, so what are ya? Aside from a tall, clumsy, idiot.” |
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Post by TAKAMI SHIRO on Feb 28, 2011 0:25:50 GMT -5
Shiro looked up at the feminine voice that he heard. He looked around a bit as his vision got a bit blurry. A smile formed on his lips and he leaned his head back against the trunk of the tree looking at the woman. He chuckled a bit at her question and waved his hand back in forth, "Well.. I'm good or bad depending on my client. As of right now though? I have no client so I'd say good. I'd like to be good. Good is good." He chuckled as he rambled a bit, having an odd reaction to the venom.
He sighed and tried to force himself to his feet. He rested his hand against the trunk of the tree, using it to keep himself balanced. He waved at her. "I'm good, yeah. You say this is poison? You have antidote? If I could get some, I'd be really grateful." His forehead had started to glisten with sweat and he lowered back slowly onto his butt, sititng at the base of the tree again.
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Post by NAKIGAHARA JUN on Feb 28, 2011 0:36:56 GMT -5
He said he was a mercenary? Well that most certainly was not the kind of people she was trying to protect herself from--she was more on the look out for Shogun and Daimyo trying to throw their weight around... then again a mercenary could have easily been hired by a shogun scorned... but if that were the case they would more likely invest in a ninja who wouldn’t get caught up in such makeshift traps. She could sense a genuine air in his voice and would give him the benefit of the doubt. Besides, there was only one of him, and despite his height she had no fear that she could cut him down.
Nakigahara swiftly jumped from the log onto the soft forest ground, letting go of her blade. She personally gave him the anti venom, making sure every last drop dripped down the mercenary’s throat. The initial effect of the elixir would be drowsiness followed by temporary blacking out. She proceeded to drag him back to her shrine in the same zig zag pattern that she ran to him in, narrowly avoiding more traps.
SHe did genuinely feel bad for him, never did she intend to hurt someone undeserving... then again she had no way of knowing whether or not he was undeserving or not. Placing him on her makeshift bed, a sleeping mat, she covered his body with a sheet as though he were a corpse already. This was more for his protection, the last side effects were sensitivity to light and dizzy spells.
With the deed done, she returned to her spot beside the lake, only after leaving a sign in the shrine which read:
“WALK SERPENTINE!”
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Post by TAKAMI SHIRO on Feb 28, 2011 0:50:07 GMT -5
Ther mercenary blinked a bit as the woman approached him. He initially thought that the woman was going to try and end him, which he would not allow without a fight no matter his condition. He gripped the hilt of his katana as she started to pour some liquid down his throat. After the vile was emptied, Shiro pulled the blade a few inches out of the scabbard and started to lose consciousness and ended up sheathing it again.
The man sat up slowly as he awoke from his induced slumber. He groaned and put his hand to his head and rubbed it. He shook his head slowly from side to side as he took in the room he was in and scratched the back of his head. "Well. Whaddya know.. she didn't kill me!"
Shiro stood from the bed and looked around, noticing the letter on the table. He picked it up and read it silently and chuckled. "Serpentine huh?" He mused aloud. "Well I have to thank my 'savior' first." He said more to himself and walked around the room, inspecting the things in there and also looking for his equipment.
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Post by NAKIGAHARA JUN on Feb 28, 2011 1:04:34 GMT -5
By the time the mercenary had come to, Nakigahara had move onto other things. First, she reconstructed the traps that she and the clumsy man had set off, a process which took less time than she had thought. She also made sure to build and put up a relatively large wooden sign which read,
IMASHIME (戒め)
meaning caution for any other unexpected visitors... she had been getting a lot recently... in fact she had gotten more in the past week than the had in the past two months. A strange occurrence, the states might be at war once again--or so she thought.
After putting up this glorious eyesore Nakigahara returned to the base of her shrine, sitting on the porch like structure. She was sharpening her tachi, which she had kept on her, with a sharpening stone, making a repeated clanking sound as she went up the cold steel.
“Yo! Bakayarou!” She said, hearing the man inside was stirring, “Don’t touch anything. I know how I left everything in there.” Jun spoke as she continued her task at hand, not even looking back at the door. |
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Post by TAKAMI SHIRO on Feb 28, 2011 1:27:08 GMT -5
The man looked towards the door as he heard the woman's voice again. He blinked a bit and called back to her, "Yeah yeah yeah." He said in a playful tone. He didn't know the woman, but his comment had a joking sound to it as though he had known her for a while.
After finding his musket and katana, Shiro walked towards the door and ducked his head a bit as he stepped outside of it. He looked over to the woman as she sharpened her tachi. He watched her for a moment and shook his head a bit. "Bakayaro eh? Nice nickname. I'd prefer to call you by yours, which is?" He asked a bit, not paying the constant insult too much mind.
The mercenary adjusted the strap of his musket so that it went in a diagonal across his chest. The barrel tilting towards the air. He held his katana in his hand, being a bit too lazy to tie it to his sash yet, moreso that he felt too lazy due to the drug.
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Post by NAKIGAHARA JUN on Feb 28, 2011 1:38:16 GMT -5
“Nakigahara Jun. Call me by my family name.”
Jun said rather bluntly, sharpening her tachi without looking towards him as he stepped outside. She was still a bit irritated, his setting off of her traps was really a favor, someone had to see if they worked, right? She had no reason to be so cranky outside of the fact that she was just a generally cranky person.
She made a point not to ask him what his name is, instead, she proceeded with another question. “You wield a musket...” she she stopped sharpening her blade, creating an awkward silence, “Interesting.” She had never seen a musket up close before, and unbeknownst to him she had taken the liberty of getting to know the instrument while he was unconscious. Pretending to fire at imaginary Samurai and making sound effects with her mouth.
The hermit stood up, walking past the man and placing her tachi on the rack with her other six blades.
“You should really watch where you’re stepping.”
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Post by TAKAMI SHIRO on Feb 28, 2011 1:47:13 GMT -5
He blinked and looked out at the ground and chuckled a bit. He could tell she was blaming him for setting off the trap. First bakayarou, and now 'watch where you step'? He thought to himself as a grin grew on his face. He nodded as she walked inside and didn't turn around to look at her. He scratched the side of his face and turned his head slightly over his shoulder so she could hear him, "Probably.. but it'll be hard when someone hid the traps so well."
The mercenary brought the musket around from his back and tightened the strap so that it wouldn't interrupt his grip. He took up his position, resting the butt of firearm against his right shoulder and held the barrel steady with his left hand. "Yeah.. my skill with this thing is a bit of my pride... though there'll be someone better eventually. Could be you.. Would you like to try it?" He said as he aligned the barrel with the sign that she crafted, keeping his finger away from the trigger.
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Post by NAKIGAHARA JUN on Feb 28, 2011 2:04:41 GMT -5
"Probably.. but it'll be hard when someone hid the traps so well."
His words dove so sweetly in her ears as suddenly this compliment had changed her entire opinion on the man who she barely knows. Her narrow glare softened and she actually faced him... if you could call it that. In reality she faced his stomach, maybe a little higher.
“You will find that your chamber is quite empty. My aim is bad. I’m suited for melee combat.” She said, pointing at at a tree with a small round hole in it. “I was aiming for that one.” She pointed to another three about ten feet to its left. “And the recoil bounced back and hit my arm, it hurt. I don’t like muskets.”
She said matter of factly. “And don’t shoot my sign.” Her gaze temporarily narrowed once more before proceeding. “So what’s a big, tall mercenary doing in the Tsukushi forest alone like this? Up to no good? She said motioning for him to follow her to the river, which was trap free as it was the source of her food. She sat by it, lighting her pipe.
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Post by TAKAMI SHIRO on Feb 28, 2011 2:19:26 GMT -5
He chuckled softly seeing the hole in the tree and grimaced a bit hearing her say that she hurt her arm. He scratched the back of his head and shook his pouch a bit, hearing the bullets clatter around inside of it. He sighed and followed after her and loosened the strap of his musket.
He put the must back across his body, the musket against his back and the strap showing on his chest. "Well.. People usually hurt themselves because they hold it incorrectly.. just like when a student picks up the sword for the first time." He says with a smile. "I understand that you don't like them though."
He scratched the top of his head at her question. "Well. I'm here just in case business kicks off like I predict it will. If so.. I'll be over here a lot for my jobs and I wanted to know the place just in case we have to come through here... but after today I have a feeling I won't let my men step foot in this forest." He followed directly behind her, moving as she did to be sure that he didn't trigger anymore traps.
As they neared the river, Shiro blinked and took in the new scenary. He smiled at the sight and watched as she went to sit by the river. He walked over to her and set his musket down on the ground and stood next to her. "What about you? What made you want to live out in this forest?"
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Post by NAKIGAHARA JUN on Feb 28, 2011 9:13:53 GMT -5
“So I assume that there is conflict brewing between the states again... thats bothersome. That means more traffic through my forest, I’ve already seen it beginning.” She said with the Sakamoto Shogun in mind, running her fingers through her long, rose tinted hair. The issue was that her shrine in the middle of the forest existed in an important strategic position between states. Needless to say she was now even more glad that she had rigged this place to explode, though it made her consider going on the move again to escape the conflict.
In the last instance when the states were in a state of war, Nakigahara was actually forced to take up arms for the first time since becoming a ronin, banding together with a few other rogue samurai for the purpose of self preservation. But those days were long behind her... and the idea of going to war again upset her.
Lost in her own thought, she snapped out of her contemplation and returned to reality with her new Mercenary friend, Bakayarou. “You would be wise to keep them from my shrine, I don’t want any of this conflict being brought here. I built this place to be a requiem during a conflicted age, I don’t need rogue soldiers with guns messin’ around in here.”
“What made me want to live here? I guess I don’t really want to live here, though I have grown used to the solitude of this forest.” She paused, inhaling deeply from her pipe and letting out a deep sigh. She didn’t usually tell random passerby’s much about her background, though she was in a storytelling mood, and this mercenary was attractive enough to maintain her interest.
“I entered this forest out of necessity more than desire. I used to be a Samurai, you know. A relatively famous one at that. But some things lead to others and I have been a hermit here ever since. I built this shrine almost ten years from now and it has really flourished. Aside from the occasional challenger seeking me out, I have live peacefully here.” |
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Post by TAKAMI SHIRO on Feb 28, 2011 11:20:41 GMT -5
"Don't worry. My boys won't be entering any forests. Without proper training in them, its nothing but a death trap. I'm sure any Daimyo around here have already exposed their men to the landscape so they could get accustomed to fighting in it. Entirely foolish for me to go in them with my boys." Shiro had entered one of his phases for a second. He had short bouts of actual seriousness, mostly when it came to the lives of those who followed him.
Snapping out of the thought, the man's eyes went to the woman's hair. It drew his attention very easily. He wasn't used to seeing someone with that color hair. He looked out at the river as she told him about building the shrine and how she was a samurai. A grin crept to his face that was followed by a light chuckle. "Well, if you don't want to live here, you should make a home on Yamato. Taonori Bay is very nice." He looked at the woman from the corner of his eye and slowly eased himself onto the ground.
"Samurai huh? I thought about trying that. Its usually every kid's dream. The life of a mercenary seemed a bit more appealing to me I guess, once I was actually old enough to decide." He turned his head towards the woman with a smile on his face, as though there wasn't a care in the world, "So! I bet you were pretty good, eh Nakigahara-san? Have you retained any of that skill, or are you like some rounin and threw that part of your life completely to the side?"
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