Private Tales A Blade Through the Rain

[Himitsu]

That amused, sharp smile never left the white-haired woman’s face as she kept her hands up while the men advanced around them -- cautiously, clearly still expecting some sort of retaliation. It was one of the unscathed ones that finally grabbed for Red Hair’s wrists, quickly binding them together with rope, and another grabbing Mitsy’s to do the same to her. Two more men relieved them of their weapons -- tonfa and swords -- before they backed up again, giving room for the man in charge to step through -- Moustache.

Only, Moustache was… missing a large chunk of said moustache. At some point, either Mitsy’s fire or Touma’s own actions had resulted in one half of his impressive, large, meticulously tended moustache to be lost. And… when he spoke, the one half of his moustache that remained bounced dramatically.

“It seems, Timmy,” he said, clasping his hands behind his back as he looked over the redheaded swordsman. A soft sound like a muffled sneeze came from Mitsy and he cast a quelling glance at the woman before looking back to Red Hair. “You won’t be skipping town before you account--” Another sound came from Mitsy -- this time, more obvious that she was trying to suppress ..well, laughter. Moustache drew himself further up, as if determined to ignore the white-haired woman’s mirth. “You will account for your lecherous --” Another snigger from the white-haired woman and Moustache rounded on her.

“Would you be quiet!!!”

Mitsy looked up at him with this big, innocent expression… then reached out with her bound hands and flicked at Moustache’s one remaining moustache half, making it bounce, before erupting into laughter.

Moustache absolutely fumed, turning on his heel. “Bring them! And keep looking for the other swordsman! Boss will want to see both of them….”

Guards grabbed them by the elbows, directing them out of the warehouse after Moustache’s furious exit. Half-drug, half-directed, they were taken along with the guards, out into the rain. More than a few villagers had gathered around to watch the spectacle, pointing and whispering at the sight of both of them. There was a very real chance that Red Hair would catch the words ‘Wannaslice Timmy’ and ‘legend’ … it seemed his reputation had proceeded him. Whether that was good or bad remained to be seen…

They didn’t have far to go, but it was to a different part of town that they were escorted. A large building -- in another town it might have even been town hall, the seat of whatever government ran the area -- loomed ahead of them, and it was into this building they were brought. Inside, there were trappings of organization, desks and side offices where people wearing more bureaucratic style of clothing and accessories gathered, moving about their businesses. But it was past these, into the giant main hall, that they were taken.

At the far end, on a raised dias, sat a heavy-set man with dark eyes and a deep glower. He wore fine silks, though they were ill-fitted and wrinkled, and six heavily armed guards stood on either side of him, watching the two as they were brought in. Moustache strode forward, bowing deeply.

“Sir, we have captured one of the swordsmen and his consort. My guards are combing the town for the other one as we speak -- he will not escape us!”

Boss flicked his fingers to dismiss Moustache, turning his attention to the two bound prisoners in front of him. “So,” he began, in a deep voice. “You are --”

“Timmy my love!” From the side of the room came a shrill cry, interrupting what Boss was going to say, as a pretty brunette came rushing in, immediately cupping Red Hair’s cheeks and showering him with kisses. “Oh, you’re here, you came back, I knew you would, let’s run away, let’s go get married -- let’s --”

Boss cleared his throat loudly, practically radiating fury as he stared at Red Hair. And, into it, Red Hair would hear the sound of Mitsy snorting with her attempts to stifle her own laughter. At least someone thought the whole thing was funny…

 

[Wakasugi Touma]

Giving up his sword, that wasn't an experience that the bladesmen liked, you could see it in his somber face as the guards took the weapons. To a man such as himself, the very thought of removing his weapon was as if stripping him naked...for a man such as the Red Hair, it took more discipline to restrain from lashing out then it would have to beat all of these guards up...even with his hands tied.

Still, he went along with the ploy for now, as the women besides him had also did the same. The bladesmen had figured that if she gave up her weapons, she probably had a way of getting them back as well. If not, then he'll get them back alone.

No sweat.

The leader of the guards would soon approach, looking half as presentable as he did earlier, but Red Hair kept that to himself. The women, on the other hand, couldn't follow the same rule. Still, the bladesmen's expression didn't let up even when she was toying with the captain. Even when he was being lead out, his expression had been hidden under his hair. There was only one thought in Red Hair mind: When was he getting his weapons back.

So the guards lead on, Red Hair and White Hair both followed along, one happier then the other. When they had entered this particular chamber, that's when Red Hair lifted his face to reveal his hidden expression; a mixture of curiosity and stoicism, seemed ready for anything. Well, almost anything, as a sudden high pitch voice caught the attentions of Red Head. When the bladesmen saw who the voice belonged to, his eyes became wider when he saw some women come rushing out of the differnt room...straight towards him!

The bladesmen's first reaction to the out burst of the "strange" women was to immediate throw forward his bounded arms, catching the women's face in his palms as he struggled to keep this...Daffodil at arms length.

"P-please, you have the wrong person..." Was all the bladesmen had been able to get out, as he struggled to keep the women from jumping all over him. Yet as he did struggle, he had a chance to turn his head to look at his current white haired companion, glaring at her with an unamused expression.Things were already bad enough, but the way things were going now seemed that it could turn things from bad to worse, one way or another.​

 

[Himitsu]

Daffodil did not seem to be dissuaded by his plea or the fact he was holding her at arms length, her face smooshing against his hands into hilarious looks even as she flailed in an attempt to … jump him, essentially. “No, my love! Don’t be afraid of my father! Our love is too precious to hide! We shall be together forever! Let’s run away right now!”

His look to Mitsy revealed that the white-haired woman was standing there with a slightly astounded expression, watching the scene in front of her. Okay, they’d gotten drunk, and had a great night, but… this sort of response seemed a little, um… excessive. Catching his look, she sort of shrugged one shoulder, mouthing ‘sorry!’ at him. Still, she had the balls to look a bit smug, as well. She couldn’t help it, it was sort of ego-boosting to see the woman fawning all over him. Since it was, essentially, her doing.

Still… Daffodil was getting a bit handsy there, and Mitsy found it wasn’t nearly as enjoyable as she would have thought.

“Daffodil, was it?” she said, loudly enough to get the woman’s attention. Still with her face smooshed into Red Hair’s hands, the woman shifted her eyes to the Kitsune. Mitsy smiled. “Hi.. yeah. You slept with the other one. This is his twin brother… uh… Tommy.”

“Not… Timmy?” Daffodil managed..

Mitsy smiled. “Nope. Not Timmy! Not the love of your life… or … whatever.” she flicked her bound hands dismissively.

The brunette turned her gaze back to Red Hair, considering him for a moment, then abruptly flounced away from him, smoothing her dress down with a haughty sniff. “Well of course it’s not you,” she said, in a snotty voice. “You’re not nearly as handsome as my beloved Timmy. Hmph!” With that she turned on her heel, stalking over to her father. “Fine, Daddy. Do with them whatever you want. Throw them into the deepest darkest pit for all I care! I only care about Timmy.” She heaved a long suffering sigh, draping herself on the chair to the right of the larger man.

Boss cleared his throat as he turned back to the two of them, contemplatively. “... not a bad idea,” he muttered.

“Your lord,” Mitsy said, complete with a sweet smile. “Timmy’s the bad sort. Tommy, here, all he does is travel around trying to make things right. The problem is Timmy, so you should just… let us go, we’ll be on our way, and you and your lovely daughter can deal with Timmy however you feel fit.” She said it with such earnest conviction, too, how could one not believe her, and the genuine sincerity on her face? The Boss sort of furrowed his brow, considering the white-haired woman’s words.

Before he could say anything, however, Moustache’s right hand man appeared, carrying both Mitsy’s tonfa and Red Hair’s swords. He laid them down at the feet of the large man, bowing politely, before backing away.

Boss looked down at the weapons at his feet, and then up at them… and smiled. It wasn’t a nice smile.

“I have a better idea.”

 

[Wakasugi Touma]

The bladesmen breathed a sigh of relief when the women had finally gotten off of him. As much as he might have liked be fauned over by some pretty women, he'd at least like to earn it first. Context, after all, made things such as these all the better...though, he could only what White Hair had done the previous night(with his face mind you) that had managed to get this women so infatuated with him.

Part of him wanted to know...yet another part had rather not.

Regardless of the fact, the bladesmen returned to his original posture, looking at the man in front of him with a bit of content. His expression had returned back to it's sober state, not exactly disappointed by the women's withdrawl, nor was he even concerned with the prospect of getting thrown in a dungeon. There were ways of getting out of an enclosure such as that.

No, what the bladesmen was still thinking about was...well, his blades. Not that this was the longest he's ever gone without his blades, but he was not going to rest until his weapons had been returned.Thus, Red Hair remained silent...until he his weapons.

Another breath came out of him, as his eyes became fixated on the weapons. Not that he expected anything to happen, but having them in sight certainly took the edge off for him, as it only meant a couple of moves away from being rearmed. It was even better that their weapons had been flung on the ground, meaning were he in the mood, Red Hair probably could of gotten out of this bind in seconds.

Still, Red Hair was smart enough to know that doing anything in this bind probably wouldn't have ended well, for either him or White Hair. Not that he trusted this "bosses" expression, but he decided to take the initiative on this one.

"And...what idea would that be?...Lord?"
​

 

[Himitsu]

Boss leaned back in his seat as the redheaded swordsman pressed the request, a slow smile spreading over his lips. He gestured to one side, where a large woven map of the lands adorned the wall. The town in question was in the middle, and to the west of their town, near the base of one of the mountains, was a large red skull pinned to the fabric of the tapestry. Mitsy glanced at it, a frown settling on her face.

Here it comes, she thought. Humans always wanted something from everything that crossed their path. There wasn’t a single one of them who wasn’t always trying some angle, some ploy, some game… Left a bad taste in her mouth.

“There is a … group living outside of town. They call themselves the Black Shadows and worship a dark deity that they refer to as the Primal Shadow. I care not for what they do in their own cult, but there are words of a giant ogre that they are using to terrorize the village farmlands, killing my people and ruining crops that should otherwise be profitable.” Boss leaned back in his seat, flicking his fingers dismissively as he regarded the two of them.

“Go. Clear out the nest. Then all your lecherous misdeeds and transgressions will be forgiven and you will be free to leave our town… Or,” he chuckled as he ran his fingers along his chin, staring at them both. “You will both die, and the problem will be solved that way.”

Mitsy’s expression, by this point, was… sour, to be blunt. Any amusement she’d garnered from Moustache’s predicament or Daffodil swooning over Red Hair had rapidly disappeared. Not only did this moron want them to do a whole bunch of work to make up for imaginary slights that really were even that big of deals to begin with, but it carried the risk of death with it. Frankly, none of this was appealing in any shape at all… that deep, dark cell was looking pretty good in comparison. At least there she knew all it would take would be a matter of time -- a small matter of time -- before she found an out and was happily and merrily on her way. She glanced over at Red Hair, lips pressed in a tight line.

“Thanks, Bossman, but --” she began.

“Let me be clear,” the man interrupted, raising his voice just a touch. “If you refuse, I will be happy to acquaint your necks to my executioner’s axe.”

Mitsy’s expression soured even more.

 

[Wakasugi Touma]

The bladesmen's expression wasn't any much happier, if one were to be honest, although it had indeed lightened up a bit since the two of them had been bound. Red Hair didn't like the way the man smile, somthing about it made him seem so...slimy...but on the other hand, this "contract" did seem...interesting...

Red Hair would take a step forward, squinting at the tapestry as if he was formulating somthing in his mind. For what it was worth, this didn't seem all too bad of a deal...well, it was already terrible for him considering he didn't do anything...but going by what White Hair had done, this might have been pretty the generous...not that this man gave them much of a choice, but...

It also helped that Red Hair had no conception of the word "ogre", so maybe he didn't understand things to it's full extent.

Still, in the bladesmen's mind this was all the simple: It was essentially to do battle a troublesome group and emerge the victor. Though it may have not been a total walk in the part, Red Hair was at least confident that with the combined skill and power of the two of them(the other being White Hair), they could probably come up on top rather unscathed...least for the most part.

Why not? The bladesmen's gone against worst odds.

Before he spoke, Red Hair took a moment to glance back to White Hair, noting her expression. It was clear to him that she wasn't happy about things, but on the other hand, neither was he. All things considered, this could have been a worst deal, least in the Red Hair's mind.

"We...accept...your proposition...er, lord?" Red Hair spoke, bowing as much as he could, looking up a little as he did, before rising back up. The bladesmen would steel another glance at his companion...A part of him wondered if all of this had gone to her "plan"...or if she even had one to begin with...​

 

[Himitsu]

Mitsy’s eyes narrowed as she considered the overweight man and his daughter, considering all the angles… There was always an angle, always a way to manipulate a human, they were very simple in that way. She just needed to figure out what angle that was to get out of this whole stupid mess with as little work as --

"We...accept...your proposition...er, lord?"

… oh, good heavens, this handsome, clever, skilled redhead was going to be the death of her. Okay, well, maybe not the death of her, but he was sure going to make her do way more work than she had any interest in doing. Especially for stupid humans with their stupid needs and the look she shot RedHair was entirely unamused. Safe to say getting roped into clearing out a cult with an ogre at the end of it was not part of ‘the plan’, whatever ‘the plan’ had been. But before she could figure out a way to weasel out of it, the bearded man clapped his hands together delightedly.

“Fantastic. We have an agreement, then! You shall stay upstairs so we can keep an eye on you both, and tomorrow morning, off you go. To either victory or death, it’s up to you. I shall keep these,” he gestured to the weapons at his feet, “until tomorrow morning. To… assure your continued cooperation. You’ll get them back just before you set out on your mission, completely unharmed. I assume that is all acceptable to you.”

Mitsy smiled drily, folding her arms over her chest. “How could we say no,” she observed.

“You can’t,” Boss replied directly, then flicked his hand to one of the guards at his side. The man stepped forward, clasping his fist to his chest. “Show them to their room. And… make sure the locks are working, yes? Would hate for our guests to feel unsafe.” The look he gave them, a greasy, knowing smile, said that any assumptions towards having any sort of ‘free roam’ would likely end less than pleasantly.

With that, he waved them away… quite clearly the end of any discussion with him. Instead, he turned towards his daughter, who had watched the whole affair with noted disinterest, but as soon as her father’s attention was back on her, immediately burst into big, fat, dramatic tears. Mitsy made a face; yet another instance of copious amounts of wine making someone far more tolerable, it seemed.

“Follow me,” the guard said sternly, turning and walking from the room. For a very serious second, Mitsy considered conking him over the head, grabbing her tonfa, and burning this whole damn building down…

.. but instead, she heaved a sigh and followed him, glancing over her shoulder at her tonfa, still sitting at the Boss’s feet. If there was even a stray smudge on them, she thought annoyedly, but didn’t bother voicing that threat. She was mostly sober right now and mostly sober Mitsy didn’t have the energy to deal with the mess that would all make. Hopefully their ‘forced accommodations’ would have some sort of refreshments. Not that she thought she’d be that lucky, with the way this day was going.

Said accommodations seemed to be up several sets of stairs, up to the fourth floor. The floors they passed they could glimpse sight of revealed hallways that were decked out with all sorts of opulent and lavish trappings, servants moving to and fro with a brisk pace. Boss of the Blue Scarfs seemed to enjoy the benefits of that title, and to infer those benefits to others. The fourth floor, however, was perhaps as bare bones as could be expected, only the worn wooden floor and minimal decorations to be found. For those who didn’t have the Boss’s favor, it seemed. They didn’t have far to go, though, the guard stopping at the very first door and pushing it open.

“In,” the guard ordered.

‘In’ consisted of a room that had obviously been designed to be nice -- a large sitting or entertaining area, a separate sleeping area and even its own bath area -- but bore little in the way of niceties now. Indeed, the furniture was… sparse. The single window along the back wall was closed, and, Mitsy could tell from here, nailed shut.

“What amazing and plush amenities,” she noted with this faux-sweetness as she smiled at the guard. He didn’t so much as blink at her, just waiting until they’d both stepped into the room before slamming the door shut behind them. It didn’t take her Kitsune’s ears to hear the sound of the door being unceremoniously locked behind them. He hadn’t even bothered to untie their arms, either, leaving them bound and standing in the mostly-empty room.

“‘We accept’?” Mitsy repeated, incredulously. Inhaling, she raised her wrists to her mouth and breathed out a small blossom of white-blue fire. The ropes twisted and burned in the pale flame and she shook her hands out as the smoldering remains dropped onto the floor. “You really don’t like doing anything the easy way, do you?”

 

[Wakasugi Touma]

Red Hair felt the guard push him along after their agreement, following along without much of a word, as he glanced back to see his blades disappear from view...and then his vision focused on White Hair behind him. She, obviously, did not seem happy, but the bladesmen could only give her a apologetic shrug.

The bladesmen would remain quiet as they were lead down the various hall ways, taking note of each floor as he did and the movement of the people. Not that he was planning anything, but it was always good to have a sense of your surroundings. As they were lead to the fourth floor, Red Hair would be hardly afforded a moment of respite before being ordered into the nearest room.

Again, Red Hair stayed quite, listening to the quips of his White Haired companion. When the door slammed behind the two, the bladesmen's back would at first be turned to the White Hair, his head bent down for some reason. It was only when White Hair had called out to him did he turn his head, revealing what he had been doing. It would seem that the bladesmen was trying to pull a rope over one of his hands using his teeth. When Red Hair realized that he was being watched, he glanced up from what he was doing, pausing with a deer-caught-in-the-light expression on his face. A moment would pass before he continued, roping that piece around his hand, then dropping the rope out of his teeth. It would appear that the bladesmen had been a bit more sneaky then he initially seemed, as their was quite a bit of slack in his bind then it would first appear. Red Hair would then begin to twist his wrists in opposite direction, pulling on the bind further to slacken them up even more.

It was a laborious process, to be sure, but it seemed to be working.

"Would you have preferred the alternative..." The Red Hair replied calmly, as continued his struggle to get out of his bind, his focus returned to his hand. "...we did exactly have much an option in there that didn't end in complete violence...yet again, I might add...it wasn't like you had voiced any better ideas...and if I recall, getting caught was also your initiative, one that I only followed suit."

Red Hair was definitely making progress on his bind, but at the same time he still had sometime to go, as he continued his struggle to break free...

"Besides, it also seemed to be the most fair thing to do...after all the trouble you no doubt had caused for this people, it is only natural that you'd do somthing to repay their pati-kindess..." Red Hair's temples focused slightly, as he appeared to be contemplating somthing. "...responsibility...you have to accept that responsibility sometimes...it never is easy, but hardly anything in life is...you lose that sense of responsibility, and...well...you might end up doing somthing regrettable..."

Red Hair's voice seemed to trail off, the focus on his binds seemingly double, as it would seem somthing had crossed his mind...​

 

[Himitsu]

Mitsy planted her hands on her hips, watching with this air of faint amusement as he worked at the bonds around his wrist. Mm, tricky human, she thought as she realized just how much slack he’d afforded himself. In another situation, that sort of forethought would have been great aid to getting them both free, if, you know, one of them didn’t have the ability to spit fire she herself was immune to. She didn’t interrupt or move to stop him as he pulled at the rope, her head canting slightly to the side as he continued to speak.

Responsibility. Oh, bother, she thought, watching him quietly with those bright golden eyes of hers. A snippet of a burden, a tiny hint of whatever it was that he was trying to run from -- because nobody who wandered wasn’t running from something, she’d learned that well enough.

She sighed, stepping forward and putting her hands on either side of his to still him in his efforts. Without saying anything, she lifted his wrists a bit higher, her eyes on his face as she did so. Watching him, in part because she wasn’t convinced she hadn’t earned his ire, even as she leaned forward and carefully -- gently -- breathed the smallest of flames. Just a lick, because he was human and therefore, regrettably flammable, but it was enough to burn through two of the ropes furthest away from his skin and speed up the process of freeing himself.

“If you take responsibility for everyone around you, you’ll definitely live to regret that,” she replied, her voice soft, and perhaps just a bit hard underneath, as she helped him shed the rest of the pieces of rope, freeing his hands. “Humans will always find a way to hurt others.”

The last bits of rope fell away and she turned away, walking further into the room to inspect it. For… knowing her surroundings or something, not to put space back between them. Because that would have insinuated some danger of there not being space… and Mitsy didn’t do that.

“Threesome,” she said, finally. There was this tone to her voice, like she’d recognized how close it’d swung to something honest, and had put that flippant tone back in her voice. She glanced over her shoulder at him, smirking as she made her way to the threadbare futon that was the excuse for a sitting area and flopped down. “That would have been the easy way out. Seriously, convince her we were gonna have a great night, get her completely smashed, and sneak out the back once we were all done. But, no, you had to act all… weird about some hot brunette fawning all over you.”

She heaved a sigh, digging in her various belts and pouches before finding what she was looking for -- a silver flask, about the size of a palm. Shaking it next to her ear, she smiled at the sound of it being nearly full, and cracked it open before taking a big chug of it.

Never to be rude, she held it out to him to have some if he wanted.

“Seriously. Next time we get tied and bound up… threesome. Duh.”

 

[Wakasugi Touma]

"I don't disagree...we humans can be like that..." The bladesmen sighed gently, as he ceased his struggling and let her take control. Red Hair had been patiently working his way around the bind...although one could say he had been focused on it to keep some other thoughts away. "...but there are still many of us capable of better...some of us whom are capable of healing...or perhaps...redeeming..."

The bladesmen would remain silent for a time, as he began to rub his wrists to make sure they were alright, a serious by thoughtful expression on his face...until White Hair uttered the word "threesome".

At first, Red Hair would lift his head and stare at her, blinking a couple of times...trying to comprehend what she meant by "threesome". It took a bit of brain power, granted, but it would suddenly hit Red Hair when she kept on to reference what it meant...​

"I-I do apologize if...that, wasn't the first thing that came to my head...not all of us are depraved like that..." Red Hair seemed to have muttered somthing after that, as he turned his head and haughtily looked away. Despite being rather flustered by the topic, the bladesmen was able to keep his composure for the most part. I say most part, because after a few moments his face started to become quite red thinking of...well, whatever he was thinking of.

Quickly shaking his head, no doubt try to rid his head of his current thoughts, the Red Hair eyes would muse over to White Hair...specifically, at the fact that she was now holding up some container that had a rather familiar smell. Alcohol, there was almost no doubt about it, which only caused the bladesmen to sigh and shake his head.

The bladesmen folded his hands as he watched her drink, raising an eyebrow as she offered him the flask. Perhaps there was an instance where Red Hair might have said no, but a moment of thinking later, and he would step forward and take the container. The man took only a swig, mind you, wiping his mouth a bit as he did, his face was rather...calm...as he offered the flask back.

"What is this?"​

 

[Himitsu]

While Slice was deciding whether or not he wanted a drink, Mitsy took the moment to take another big chug before handing it over. True enough to his nose, it was alcohol… straight alcohol. Dangerously, strongly, and almost disgustingly powerful. Not something that someone drank to enjoy, since there wasn’t much of a taste, just a general burning sensation. Something that someone drank to blur out the world as quickly and thoroughly as possible.

She grinned at him, this sharp glitter to her golden eyes. “Depravity,” she replied with a laugh. “Don’t worry if you can’t handle it.”

Taking the flask back, she took another gulp, feeling the familiar warmth burning through her. There, that was a bit better. Nicely numbing, so everything just … mattered a little bit less. She cared a little bit less. Just what she’d needed.

Turning her golden eyes to him, she considered him for a moment. Really, the safest thing would be to let him retreat to his half of the room, stay on hers, and just sleep. Let the night pass by, because he’d already proven he could keep up with her, and in her world that wasn’t a good thing. That was a problem. But at the same time, he’d gotten all red and it was somewhat adorable how he caught on and then looked at anywhere but her, and really, really, leaving things well-enough alone had never been Mitsy’s strong suit.

Especially because he’d called her ‘depraved’.

So she tilted her head, grinning at him. “So, Slice, what’s up with the blushing? Are women not your thing? More of a guy’s guy? Or -- ooh -- is it that you took a vow of celibacy to go along with your whole responsible no-nonsense persona?” She gestured up and down him with one hand. There was just the slightest lilt to her voice, this decided lightness that if he was paying attention would clue him into the fact that she was poking fun at him. Or, rather, intentionally trying to get a rise out of him. Hey, if he wasn’t going to offer any other entertainment…

Even as she did so, she set about getting more comfortable. Hey, they were going to be there all night. And since she rather doubted Boss was going to send them any real amenities, she was going to make the best of what they had. She kicked her boots off, standing and pulling her belt and its assorted pouches and other amenities off and setting them on the table. Her padded leather armor top was next, which left her in only the loose white shirt she wore underneath and her pants.

There, much more comfortable, she stretched her arms up over her head, well aware that the motion was… well, rather flattering, to this figure. And from the grin she was leveling at him, it was intentional. More poking at him, it seemed...

 

[Wakasugi Touma]

Yeah, Red Hair that much out by the taste. Although he didn't show it, the burning sensation wasn't...the most idly sensation for him, but it wasn't by any means somthing foreign to him. The bladesmen wasn't unfamiliar to such a thing, weather drinking it willing or unwilling. After all...there were indeed days which required the need of outside alterations...although the bladesmen usually took his spirit with a companion of sorts. They were usually male, but more so out of a sense of camaraderie and rowdiness the spirit would have invigorated in both of them. Of course, not that Red Hair's never drank with a female...but never same...and things usually ended in...

A streak of red would appear again across the bladesmen's face, a blush that was beginning to build up intensity...

"It may serve to surprise you, but I do prefer intamcy with women...although less so with men...however, I have not sworn an oath of...um...any, conservative...oaths....it's just...I-I usually prefer to...earn...my, er...." The bladesmen had began so confidently, ut his eyes had begun to wander. Specifically, his eyes had fallen back onto White Hair in front of him; the very someone who had currently removing her armor to reveal a rather...

Now his face was as red as his hair.

This was why he needed his blades, not just for a means to be armed, but also as a means...to keeps his hands occupied. The only real thing Red Hair could have done in this situation was fold his arms, keeping one hand tucked under his armpits while the other was stroking his nonexistent goatee...as the baldesmen struggle to turn his body, specifically trying to turn his attention to one of the darker corners of the room

"...I t-think...that, uh...we should...just..really...go..go to...go to sleep..."​

 

[Himitsu]

Mitsy just watched as he blushed and stumbled over his words and … frankly, looked the least bit like the skilled swordsman who’d been able to catch up to her as he had all night. A smile spread over her lips. This, at least, was familiar. This was easy for her, and comfortable. It was all about keeping the other person off balance and by keeping them off balance, kept them safely in a small little box where she knew how to handle them. Someone who was able to catch her, see through her faces, that she didn’t know how to handle. This? Much better.

“Mm, should we?” was her playful retort as he mentioned going to sleep. “You’re looking a little… uncomfortable. Here, drink more, relax.”

She sort of shoved the flask at him for him to hold onto (and theoretically drink some more of) while she finished double-checking her things to make sure everything was accounted for. She had the decency to move the stuff off of the futon. She had no idea how far this ‘preference’ towards ‘earning’ it went, but in case he did decide to be stuffy and spend the night on what remained of this lumpy, pathetic old piece of furniture, she wouldn’t make him sleep on her armor and pouches, in addition.

Even as he was determinedly studying the far corner of the room, she shimmied out of her pants, tossing them over the rest of the items on the table. There, much more comfortable, leaving her in her shirt and undergarments and not even seeming the least bit concerned about it. It was going to be a chilly night and there didn’t look to be much of a blanket on the bed, but it didn’t much bother her. She was always warmer than normal humans. Someone, without realizing the irony of their statement, had teased her by saying it was because of the fire that burned within her. She was pretty sure it’d been a shitty pick-up line, but it wasn’t wrong. .

“Well then, Slice,” she said, stepping right up into his personal space -- way too close to be polite. Close enough that all he had to do was breathe too deeply and they were touching. Smiling, she slid her hand up his arm to the flask to steal it back. “I’m taking the bed. You get your choice of… futon. Floor. Or the other half of the bed, if you think you can stammer your way over there.” She accompanied her words with another of those winks, one that was equal parts inviting and playful, just this side of mocking…

With that, she stepped back, glancing up and down him one last time before turning and sauntering towards the sleeping area -- though not without flicking her two fingers over her shoulder in a very familiar gesture. Though, the last time she’d used it on him, it’d been when she was confident he wouldn’t be able to keep up.

Didn’t seem to mean too different this time, either.

 

[Wakasugi Touma]

More alcohol? In this state? It was really the only thing the bladesmen could think about, as the container was haphazardly trusted into his hands. Oh boy, this was a really bad idea, especially in this circumstance...But still...it had been quite a long day...and, well...he had been contemplating on visiting the tavern this evening anyways...maybe, just one sip.

One sip was really all he'd manage, before the women was suddenly in front of him...which almost caused Red Hair to stumble. The two of them were indeed touching now and....whoa, she was warm...and...soft...soft in the right places...and he was h-

No! No! Focus...least, that was what Red Hair was trying to do, as he blinked and blinked again at the women, trying to get a grip as that warm feeling suddenly began to overtake him. Did she look different all of a sudden? A revelation that caused the bladesmen to rub his eyes and do a double take...okay, she was not infront of him anymore, where is she....oh right there...wait a moment...

Suddenly, he clasped a hand over the lower half of his face....before glancing back at White hair, then staring back into the blank corner.

How did he get himself into this?

Spoiler

Fade to black

 

[Himitsu]

The guard led them down the stairs from the one-step-above-a-prison-cell room they’d been housed in overnight, golden rays of early morning light spilling across the floors and ornate decorations of the household. There were plenty of servants moving about, getting ready for the day, carrying food and husbandry items on trays as they moved about their morning duties. The white-haired Kitsune seized the opportunity as it presented itself and, displaying those lightning-fast reflexes, she snagged two steaming meatbuns off of one of the servant’s trays, ignoring his shout of annoyance.

Tossing one over her shoulder to Touma, she quickly hid the one she’d grabbed behind her back as the guard who was leading them turned to eye both of them at the disruption. Seeing nothing immediately untoward, the guard flicked the servant away dismissively, before leading them further on. Mitsy took a big bite of the bun she’d pilfered, chewing hungrily as they entered the large receiving room where Bossman had been sitting the night before.

It was almost completely different, from the crowded, party-like atmosphere it'd had last night. This morning it was nearly empty, with only a few people on the fringes moving about their business.

The man leading them stopped near the door, reaching out and picking up two blanket-wrapped bundles from the door before shoving one at Mitsy and the other at Touma. It turned out to be their weapons, two pearly white tonfa to the Kitsune and the pair of twin swords for the bladesman. Mitsy let her fingers run over the weapons almost tenderly, her fingers tracing the writing that was etched into their handles before swinging them into her grasp and tucking them into their sheaths at the small of her back.

“Map,” the guard snapped, shoving a folded piece of paper at Touma next. “You have two days to take care of the cult and bring back proof of your deeds. If you do not return in that time, word will be sent out to all of the surrounding towns detailing you both as enemies of the people and orders will be given to kill on sight.”

“Your faith in us is staggering,” Mitsy replied with an overly-sweet smile, before taking another bite of the meatbun.

The guard stared at the bun, then at her, then shook his head, drawing himself up. “You would do well not to cross the Blue Scarfs or Lord Dimmis, woman!”

 

[Wakasugi Touma]

Touma followed suit, as he began to tie his hair back into a pony tail. The bladesmen would follow behind the Kitsune, moving along and thinking to himself, when the hands of the women caught his attention...as she swipped somthing from a nearby servant and tossed part of it at him.

This startled the bladesmen just a bit, but he was still able caught the meat bun; catching it just before the guard had turned his head, not even looking at him as he waved off the servant. As Touma past the servant, he had an apologetic look on his face as he nodded towards the servant that had his routine interrupted...although he wasn't in much hurry to give the bun back though. However, instead of immediately digging into it, the swordsmen would produce some sort of bundle, wrapping the steaming bun up and packing it away, either to hide it or save it for later.

Touma was just able to put away the bun when they had come to a stop, is eyes now on the two blanket like objects the guard had produced...his attention would become more acute as one of those blanket like objects was revealed to be his blades. It had been a good thing the ronin had been distracted as he was last night, or he might have not been able to get as much sleep...

Touma would proceed to take a step forward, taking up his blades one by one; first, his short blade, as he unsheathed it slightly to examine the blade itself. When he was satisfied, he unsheathed it and slide it into his belt, before doing the same thing to his main weapon, sliding it next to it's companion once he was satisfied...an indifferent look on his face as he glanced towards the guard...nodding slightly as he did, satisfied that they had not been damaged.

It was then the bladesmen felt somthing shoved into his chest, as his hand reached down to grasp it, before holding it out to see what it was. It was indeed a map, with vague markings of where the target was...as Touma held up the piece of parchment to get a better look at it...thinking of the most direct route from here to the marked location...

What would snap him out of his concentration was when Misty spoke, which first drew his attention to the women eating away at a meat bun, before turning his attention to the guard, whom was now trying to act intimidating. This probably intimated neither the swordmen or the Kitsune, Touma nevertheless didn't want to get into even more trouble.

"Of course...sir...we understand..." Touma said as he folded the map and stowed it, stepping forward inbetween him and Misty, a polite smile on his face. "...we will get it done, no trouble...now please...where is the exit?"​

 

[Himitsu]

Mitsy’s eyebrows arched ever so slightly as she finished off the meatbun and slowly, pointedly, licked her fingers off, the guard staring at her at the blatant disrespect displayed by the white-haired woman who didn’t seem the least bit cowed by his spat-out fire. It might have even escalated, as she tilted her head in a rather ‘bring it’ gesture -- but Touma slid between the two of them, directing the man’s attention to him instead of the Kitsune.

The guard huffed and stepped back, gesturing at the door just behind him.

“Be gone, then,” he said. “And don’t think about crossing Lord Dimmis, or you’ll regret it.”

That last part was directed more towards Mitsy than the redheaded swordsman, huffing in annoyance. Mitsy didn’t bother sticking around -- he wasn’t worth her time, honestly -- instead heading towards the door and pushing it open. The square beyond was filled with people now, moving about towards the marketplace on the far side of the town or heading to the fields for their jobs, preparing for journeys, or countless small, mundane, human things in between. Mitsy planted her hands on her hips and regarded the throng in front of her.

“I’d bet a bunch of money there’s a tracking spell on at least one of our weapons,” she said, conversationally, to the man at her side. “I could smell the stink of it on the blankets when they unfolded them.” She didn’t reach back to touch her tonfa; they weren’t so delicate as to be harmed by anything these pathetic humans could do, forged by skills beyond what some dumb crime lord could scrape off the bottom of the proverbial magical barrel.

Turning her golden eyes towards him, she grinned again, that foxy, feral, playful grin. “You sure you’re not game for the burn-the-damn-thing-down plan?”

She didn’t really expect any answer than what he’d already given her -- and, honestly, she probably wouldn’t have been nearly as fascinated with him if he did -- so she stepped down into the crowd, hooking her hands behind her head as they walked. Her golden eyes flicked around them, idly contemplating the likelihood of getting her hands on some booze before they departed the town. Strangely enough, however, it wasn’t nearly the driving need she normally had… She was in a decidedly good mood. Even with being tasked with this stupid clear-out-the-cultists nonsense.

 

[Wakasugi Touma]

Touma bowed his head, as even to a man such as the guard, respect was to be had...if at the very least, to differentiate between them and the guards. Still, the bladesmen was just relieve that the Kitsune hadn't gotten into another fight, as he followed her out the door and into the warm sunlight of the outside. It was still relatively chilly, especially given the morning, but at least it wasn't raining any more...

As they exited, the ronin took one last look at the map, glazing over it and memorizing the various landmarks that were located near the area, before folding the piece of paper up and tucking it away. His attention turned to the women besides him, whom was now giving him a rather animistic look...which only caused him to smile a little.

"Burning down the village might just land a bounty on our heads......" The bladesmen said, having been listening to her observations as he read the map...as he watched her step into the crowed, before following suit. "...and if what you say is true...then getting away, unhounded, quite difficult...and it'll be quite annoying to deal with later on..."

The bladesmen walked up to keep pace with the women, one of his hands idly resting on his main weapon. Sure, that was a practical explanation, perhaps the more appealing of the arguments at the moment, the bladesmen couldn't really bring himself to burn the livelihood of an entire village for the sake of his own crimes...or rather, what had become his own crimes. It was far more honorable for him to just accept the responsibilities, and it'll also probably cause the least amount of problems later...potentially, anyways. A part of him knew that the women next to him could of easily just slipped away...even given the so called tracking magic...and he wouldn't even gone after her...not after last night...

Call him many things, a fool included...but she hadn't bolted so far...and that was enough for Touma...as he sighed a happy sigh, a warm smile on his lips as he looked up to the skies above.

"This might take at the very least the day...is there any provisions you want to pick up before we head out?"​

 

[Himitsu]

“Hm,” was Mitsy’s vaguely-annoyed response to Touma pointing out that burning down the village would only cause them more issues. Especially considering she was pretty sure she wasn’t wrong about the tracking spell... Unfortunately her own skills didn’t exactly lend themselves to figuring out where the spell had been laid or how to take it off, so it wasn’t like she could do anything about that to begin with.

“Ooooh, wine,” was her response to needing provisions. There was this loaded pause, as if waiting for her to contribute anything more, but… welp, that was really all she cared about. She wasn’t exactly the type of person to worry about carrying provisions or the like -- she had enough coin to pay for just about anything she wanted at the next town and more than enough wiles to get anything she couldn’t afford but still wanted. Her eyes drifted to him again, noting the smile on his face and his overall demeanor, before looking back towards the marketplace they were approaching, rather determinedly ignoring the fact that it made her smile in response.

Stupid handsome swordsmen…

They moved into the marketplace proper, people thronging about them, for the most part ignoring the two of them. Every so often they merited a second glance or a whisper -- more than a few people had been witness to the scene yesterday, after all, and gossip traveled fast -- but no one moved to interfere with the two of them.

It didn’t take the Kitsune long to locate an acceptable bottle of booze, flicking a coin at the merchant as she followed Touma as he selected what else it was that he wanted. Probably food. Water. Reasonable human things that most humans needed.

Pffft, this was why Mitsy liked not trying hard. Still, it wasn’t nearly as unpleasant as she would have thought to tag along with Touma. Mostly because at two separate junctures, she -- completely accidentally -- grabbed his butt. Total fluke. Definitely not on purpose. Nope. Not at all. She was just busy drinking her wine and looking bored, being a Good Kitsune and staying out of trouble while he got the rest of their items together…

Finally, however, they had whatever they needed and were headed out of town. Once free of the restraints of the town, Mitsy exhaled happily, stretching her arms up over her head. “I don’t even care that it’s going to rain again. It's nice out here, and significantly less stinky. Uck, humans..."

 

[Wakasugi Touma]

"Of course..." Touma sighed with another smile. Honestly, did he really expect anything else? Especially given what had happen the day prior? Or even last night? "...I think I may be more surprised if you weren't going to pick up alcohol."

It was quite funny, really, that the swordsmen had only known the women for really what was a day...and now, he could predict her habits like he had known her forever...quite amusing...as the bladesmen followed the Kitsune into the market place and watched her pick out some form of liquefied regret or another. Perhaps he should have said somthing, but...maybe it'll make things better for them? Somehow?...

Either way, Touma still wanted to pick some more stuff up for the journey ahead. Nothing too heavy duty, as this venture might take a day at most. Still, pays to be a bit prepared and cautious, would have been good to pick up some travel food and some water. Bandages too, you never know when these things can come in handy in a tight pinch....

The shopping trip might have ended up pretty mundane...but as Touma would learn, it hardly was so with the white haired Kitsune...As the swordsmen did his shopping, he had felt some sort of pressure on his behind...causing him to whirl around, his face tinted red...but all he saw when he did spin around were passersby, looking at him like he was some sort of madman. Perhaps he had been imagining things. The secound time, Touma was much faster, as he caught a glimpse of the perpetrator; his rather sly companion, whom was trying to pretend like nothing happened.

This, of course, did little to deter the redness from spreading across the swordsmen's face; if anything it deepened it. With a huff, Touma went back to his shopping list...perhaps secretly plotting to pay her back later...

Eventually, the swordsmen would get what he needed, all wrapped up into a bundle that was secured upon his back, as the knot was tied to his chest. It was after this little shopping trip did the journey finally begin, as the two would soon find themselves wandering into the countryside...as Touma's eyes wandered, they fell upon his companion next to him...smiling as she stretched..listening as she talked.

"Hm?..." Touma would idly hum in response to Misty, his attention returning to the countryside. It had been a lovely view, even walking into town during the down pour...and now that the weather had clear, everything seemed rather tranquil. Although the swordsmen had somthing else in mind...as a grin creeped it's way onto his face. "...I don't recall you minding the smell last night...if anything, I'd say you were rather...fond of it..."​

 

[Himitsu]

Mitsy even had the audacity to, when he spun around to catch her, fix him with this completely innocent look. Like she had absolutely no idea who could possibly be grabbing his butt… Though, she decided, as he turned back around, Huffy-Touma was now her fourth favorite Touma. Maybe fifth favorite, she thought as she took another drink of her wine, letting him finish the rest of his shopping unmolested.

For the time being.

The road the map had directed them to was decidedly less-than-well traveled, despite the fact that it was wide and showed signs of being previously well-tended. It was even in the direction of what seemed like good quality farmland in the distance, yet, they were the only ones walking along it. No farmers, no traders, nothing. Not very auspicious signs, to be sure, though the Kitsune noted all of this in this sort-of idle way. They already knew they were heading straight towards a hotbed of cultists and brigands, so none of that was surprising. The question wasn’t if they were going to run into trouble, but when. Hence her keeping half an ear keened around them…

Though she wasn’t so distracted as to miss the playful shade being thrown her way. “Oh?” she turned back towards him, her eyebrows arching as she took in that smug little grin, the sparkle in those crimson eyes of his. Oh, he was asking for it… She grinned, her golden eyes glittering as she leaned forward and playfully nipped at the tip of his nose.

“Watch it, Red,” she threatened, complete with a little growl. “I’ll strip you down and leave you tied up in the middle of the road… Blushing and naked, just like I like you.”

The forest closed around them, the fluttering leaves overhead doing much to block out the warmth of the sunlight. Without the morning sun dappling down on them, the breeze was significantly more chilly. Still, no sign of any life other than them… yet. They had a bit of walking to do before they were supposed to arrive where the map indicated the cultists were. Assuming, of course, the idiot crime lord hadn’t been out-and-out lying to them just to get them killed and out of his hair.

“Where are you headed, after all this is done?” she asked, suddenly, annoyingly curious about his plans. It wasn’t like she cared, she thought, she was just making conversation. Just idle, fill-the-silence-because-she-couldn’t-strip-him-and-entertain-herself-that-way, unimportant prattle. Not that his answer mattered at all. “Or are you one of those wanderers who just ‘lets the road take them where it will’?”

 

[Wakasugi Touma]

What was this feeling? It was quite a familiar feeling...but at the same time, it was quite different compared to the first time he felt it...A fluttering feeling rising in his heart every time she nipped at him...a sensation he was enjoying more and more...it was intimate to him in many ways...just like her teasing, which again, seemingly without fail, manage to cause Touma's face to redden...he probably should have known better then to tease Misty at this point.

The scary part was, he had no doubt that she could/would follow through with her threat...a thought that made Touma let out sigh, a smile still present on his face.

"Hmmm...even so...you never denied it..." Touma said, knowing this was probably not going to end well if he did, but doing so anyways...perhaps he just wanted to see how far he could push his limits...as he leaned in sideways closer to her, his face still red, but his grin persisted. "...admit it...you love my scent...least compare to most humans..."

The swordsmen would chuckle a little...as they continued to walk down the road like this...as he appeared to be relaxed...but of course a good warrior always has his guard up...one hand on the hilt of his blade, the other was gripping onto the bundle tied across his chest.

Still, that didn't stop the swordsmen from leaning in himself and playfully booping her on the nose with his own...his eyes meeting hers in the process...before returning to his upright posture...listening as she tried to make conversation.

"Hm...good question...I'm honestly not sure..." Touma said, as he looked up into the sky among the marrid of tree branches, a thoughtful expression on his face. "...I am indeed one of those wanderers of the land kind of people...I...well, I suppose I'm bound to the road so to say...I don't know if I can truly every stop...or rather...I dunno if I'll every find a place to stop..."

It seemed that talking about the subject had caused the swordsmen to become a bit quiet, his thoughtful expression persisted, but his grin had slowly faltered...as he now looked forward, as he was pondering on the same question...in silence...

However, it didn't take the bladesmen long to snap out of his trance, blinking a couple of times before remembering that he had a companion this time.

"Hehe...but yeah...I'll figure somthing out..." An embarrassed expression soon spread across his face, followed by a sheepish grin, as the man began to rubbing the back of his head...as if he had done somthing bad by accident. "...what about you?...Planning to terrorize another town after this is all over?"

​

 

[Himitsu]

The white-haired woman glanced at him as he leaned closer to her, that redness to his cheeks but this playful glimmer to his eyes that was just so … adorable. It wasn’t that often, or, even, really, ever, that someone proved capable of keeping up with her, both on the battlefield and in more… enjoyable pursuits. And here he was, grinning back at her and -- and he booped her again. Even after knowing who she was -- what she was -- here he was, treating her like she was… cute, or something. Cute. Her! Ridiculous.

She growled again, reaching out and curling her hand in the front of his robes and pulling him towards her so she could nip at his lower lip before releasing him. Threatening -- promising? -- more if he didn’t behave… though, there was the thought that maybe she’d be the one to lose this round. Not something she was used to, but… suddenly, not something that seemed entirely unbearable. As long as it was to the smiling swordsman next to her.

“Fine. As far as humans go, you’re not the worst,” she grinned. “But don’t go getting a big head, you’re still wearing far too many clothes for my tastes…”

She cracked the bottle of wine open again, taking a long drink of it before offering it to him if he wanted any. It wasn’t nearly as strong as the alcohol she’d had the previous night -- she didn’t need to be completely dulled right now, just take the edge off. Just enough to make everything just a bit.. Fuzzy.

Her eyes drifted to him as he spoke, watching him as that pensive look took hold. Despite the easy outer layer he carried, she knew there was something more underneath it…. She’d dug just enough to glimpse it last night, plus what he’d said, about some humans deserving redemption. There was something more there, something driving him, something that had pushed him onto the road and kept him there, and it piqued her interest. She very nearly asked, very nearly pushed for more… but then he was rubbing the back of his head, that sheepish expression on his face, and she turned her face towards the road again.

Complicated. She didn’t need complicated.

“Well, I was thinking Wannaslice Timmy could take his travelling drinking show on the road, find all the local taverns, drink them dry, maybe break a few hearts along the way with his devilish charm…” she began, with this completely serious tone, as if she had completely forgotten what had gotten them both into this mess in the first place.

And then she cracked a grin, amusement bright in those depths as she chuckled.

“Nah. I’ve got enough coin to get somewhere south, somewhere warm, and then… Eh, who knows. ‘Planning ahead’ is not my strong suit.”

She was self-aware of that, at least.

Though… Her eyes darted around the path, a slight press of her lips together indicating her mild displeasure. “Birds stopped singing,” she noted, at the sudden silence in the boughs and branches around and above them. She didn’t hear anything more than that, but she was in her human form, and her hearing wasn’t nearly as good in this form…

 

[Wakasugi Touma]

A part of Touma had expected the sudden jerk, as he was yanked down back towards Misty...the blush and the smile would persist as result, as he felt her continual nips upon him...it was certainly a nice feeling, at the very least for a threat. Wouldn't be long before she would let him go, allowing him to smooth out his robes a bit, as his smile morphed into a goofy one. No doubt he was happy, at least, happy to have her along...or happy that she had admitted what he wanted to hear.

Then she offered him her alcohol...and while a part of Touma probably would have gone for it, had the situation seemed to be less dangerous, the lad figured it would be best to have his full wits about him, so politely refused. They would not end up in a bedroom this time around, so best have your full attention...and be ready draw come the first sign of trouble.

But for the moment, trouble seemed to still be a bit far away. In the meantime, Touma continued to listen to the smaller women, letting out another sigh when he heard her talk about more drinking...wait, was he talking about him?

"Perhaps drinking your problems away works for you...but unfortunately, I am for the most part condemned to take my dis...issues...sober..." The swordsmen said, although he seemed a bit hesitant in his word choice, he maintained a similar tone as before. It didn't sound as if he was brooding, but one couldn't help but wonder what his words meant. "..besides...I'm not exactly much of a planner either...least, no anymore...but I think there is nothing wrong with floating down the river of life..."

Touma might have gone into a poetic ramble, had he not notice Misty's eyes...which were enough to tell him that somthing was wrong.

It would appear that the swordsmen's demeanor changed almost instantly when the Kitsune mentioned the birds...his attention returning to his surroundings as he shifted the grip of his sword, ready to draw at a split secound notice. It was clear to Touma that her mention of the birds had bigger implications on the surroundings...as birds were often great indicators of danger...

"Anything we should be wary of?..." The swordsmen said, he himself was now glancing about his immediate surroundings. "...I know we both probably don't plan things...but is there any way you want to approach this?"​

 

[Himitsu]

The Kitsune didn’t seem to share any of his reservations about drinking their problems away, because even as they addressed the fact that the forest had gone ominously silent around them, the white-haired woman took another drink of the wine. Corking it with a smooth move, she shoved it into the small pack she wore at the small of her back, just underneath her tonfa. With it out of the way, she was free to crack her knuckles out in front of her just as he was asking if she had an idea about how she wanted to approach it.

Tossing a playful wink at him, she grinned. “Sure do.”

It took a moment to fill in the proverbial blanks, as it was. She hadn’t looked at the man in question that intently, not really, and certainly not in enough detail to make this easy. But at the same time, if there was one Kitsune skill that Mitsy had always excelled at, it was this. Filling in the details, fleshing it out, making it look realistic… and that’s exactly what she did, taking what she remembered and adjusting it so it would suit her current need.

A blink of an eye and suddenly it wasn’t the white-haired woman standing next to the ronin, but instead a greasy black-haired, slightly tubby man, dressed in travelling clothes that still reeked of desperation to appear finer than his station. The-man-who-looked-like-Lord-Dimmis spread his arms, looking down at himself interestedly, turning his hands and looking at his clothing before nodding in satisfaction. It wasn’t his best work, but it’d do for now. After all, he highly doubted anyone would take the time to look that closely, and by the time they were so close as to see any flaws, it’d be too late.

Mitsy spread his arms, grinning at Touma. “What’d’ya think? It’s pretty smart, yeah? Soon as they see us, they’ll capture us and drag us to whomever’s in charge. They’ll definitely keep this sleeze-ball alive until then,” he gestured to himself, indicating the face of the Boss that he’d adopted, “and then we’ll skip straight to the head of the snake. Then, you take out whomever is in charge, and we’ll be done with this nonsense in time to get back to town before we have to spend a rainy night in the forest.”

Linking his hands behind his head, Mitsy began to stroll down the road once again, looking pretty proud of himself. It was a good plan. And it’d skip most of the more annoying bits and get straight to the point of things.

“Ugh, let’s hurry though. There are some forms that I just feel greasier for being in, and this is definitely one of them,” he grimaced.