Private Tales A Blade Through the Rain

[Wakasugi Touma]

The ronin probably would have stayed alert, had the women not taken another swig...which honestly almost caused the swordsmen to laugh out loud, opting instead for a quiet chuckle as his shoulders relaxed. There was just somthing about this women that made even the tense of scenario seem harmless...like one big joke. It probably was a bad thing but...what can you do?

Shaking his head, the swordsmen would glance over to Misty, whom seemed confident about what she was doing, to say the least...Touma had to admit, she was at least smooth in her presentation...even if she had transferred into someone that seemed...less so.

At the very least, the Kitsune now had a plan...a plan that, throughout it's presentation, had Touma wear an expression that basically said: "seriously?" ...as he watched the impostor turn around and walk off after explaining the plan...again, at least there was a plan.

A plan that Touma wanted to talk about, as he quietly strolled past the man, getting in his way and looked at him with the same unamused expression.

"Three things..." Touma said, as he raised his free hand and gestured three fingers at the man. "...One...how do you know there not going to kill us on sight? Two...Even if they don't try to kill us immediate, what makes you so certain that they will bring us to their leader , and not, I don't know...throw us into another dungeon?...and third, even if they decided to bring us to their leader, I'm fairly certain their not going to allow us to walk in with our arms...at the very least not me...if so: How am I suppose to "take out" the "head of the snake" without my swords?...unless your suggesting I use my bare hands?"

Improvise the entire thing? Honestly seemed like the Kitsune's style.

A part of Touma knew that the Kitsune's plans were hardly fool proof, given as they are, last night(as enjoyable as it was) didn't exactly "go to plan", simply because there wasn't really one...unless you counted burning down the entire town as "a plan". Still, a part of Touma knew that arguing about an elaborate plan with Misty was probably futile...not only because she probably wouldn't care, but also because that no matter what was said and done...he'd probably would go along with it.

Sure...he had barely known the Kitsune for a day...but that same part of had...started to grow a sizable soft spot for her...as foolish as it seemed...​

 

[Himitsu]

Mitsy didn’t seem to feel the need to stop and discuss said plan, mostly because there was plenty of road in front of them and plenty of time to go over the minutiae of “the Plan”. Though, really, true to the Kitsune’s nature, “the Plan” really didn’t have any minutiae or subtlety any deeper than what had been previously discussed. Hey, Touma was lucky MItsy had even half an idea, usually he didn’t have even that.

Glancing over at the redhead, the Fake Crime Lord just sort of chuckled as he laid out his concerns. Really, the Kitsune was in a stupidly good mood, despite the annoying amount of work before them, despite the fact there was only one bottle of wine in his pack, despite the fact that it was looking like rain on the horizon and they were walking right towards it… Mitsy blamed the handsome man strolling along next to her. Even when he was questioning her plan and its viability, he was just so… entertaining about it.

“I dunno, last night proved you’re pretty good with your hands,” the Kitsune said archly, complete with a playful wink. He hadn’t bothered to change his eyes yet, still those foxy, golden orbs.

“As far as getting to the head honcho… I’ll just… tell them I”ve come to bargain or something like that. These types always want to prove they’re the bigger man even if they’re not… I’d bet several gold pieces that if I show up looking like this whomever is in charge won’t be able to pass up gloating or lording about their grand plan or some nonsense….”

He flicked his fingers in the air dismissively. Humans always wanted to talk about their ‘grand schemes’ and how smart and how strong they were and how big their genitals were… It was frankly exhausting, though in certain circumstances something the Kitsune was more than happy to take advantage of. Such as in this one. Still.. Touma had a point about his swords. Mitsy was a fan of doing as little work as absolutely necessary, and depriving the swordsman of his swords would create much more work.

“I don’t suppose you’d be amenable to pretending to be my concubine?” he pitched. Not very seriously, though, because that’d require a lot more shifting for Mitsy. “Ooh. Hey. Just put them tied up in your blanket with the rest of the foodstuffs or whatever it is you bought. I’ll throw a bit of a fuss and you be quiet and they probably won’t even search you.” The good ol’ bait and switch. Or, in this case, ‘look at me so you don’t notice my very well-armed friends’.

“There’s always the original plan,” he said, playfully elbowing Touma before holding up three fingers. “If we get tied up? Threesome! Surefire, always works.’

 

[Wakasugi Touma]

Even in this rather unsavory form, his teasing somehow managed to fluster the swordsmen...perhaps it was his eyes...as a small bit of red spread across the swordsmen face...causing Touma to bring a hand up in attempt to cover it, closing his eyes in the process....at the same time, Touma couldn't help but let out a sigh at the man's explanation...At the very least, she had one...which was honestly more then what the bladesmen had expected.

Again, Touma could have argued the statstics of this plan working, but yet again, he knew the futility of it. Might as well get this over with...at least if they were caught faster, he didn't have to put up with this facade any longer.

"*Sigh*I highly doubt that our upcoming opposition would accept advances from you...in this form...not that I think it's advisable to do so....but you are right about one thing..." Shockingly enough, Touma thought quietly, as he mentally rolled his eyes. "...As much as I rather have my blade at my sigh...it's best I keep it concealed in case...Give me a moment..."

Touma took off the bundle from his back, untying it from his torso as he turned around and laid the items onto the ground. The swordsmen would then take off his red coat, laying it out on the ground too, before moving the contents from the bundle onto his coat. At the end of it, He tied the travel provisions into another bundle in his coat, before taking both his blades and laying them out onto the bundle blanket. It too a few moments, but Touma was able to cover his weapons in a conceivable manner along with the rest of the province, as he stood up again, back turned but the bundle once again slung over his back.

"Alright...I think this should do..." The ronin grunted, pulling on the knot a bit tighter as he finally turned around, looking up at the Kitsune with a rather indifferent expression. "...it'll take me a moment longer to draw my blade in this state, so a warning would be preferable before we go into combat...otherwise...Mr."Bossman", lead the way...and please...don't get us immediately...killed..."​

 

[Himitsu]

The Kitsune stood watch as the swordsman unpacked his things and repacked them around the swords to mask them. He’d enjoyed turning the swordsman’s cheeks red with his teasing… but there was only so far he wanted to push it while he was looking like this. Mitsy hadn’t been joking about some faces just making him feel… icky, and this was one of them. The faster they got ‘captured’ so Mitsy could be shed of this face and back into something much more comfortable, the better as far as the Kitsune was concerned.

As Touma stood, his companion glanced back at him before looking down the road once more.

“Sure,” he said, in this amused, somewhat lazy tone. “I’ll give you a head’s up before I start throwing punches. We’ll use the codeword ‘Daffodil’.” So absolutely innocent tone, like she wasn’t intentionally calling to attention the woman that had thrown herself -- literally and figuratively -- at him the previous evening. It was, in a non-teasing way, a good word to use since it was the name of “His” daughter, but things were rarely that straight-forward with the foxy trickster.

“I mean… as long as that’s not too distracting.” Complete with another wink. Yup, there it was.

The road in front of them was smaller, here, but bore signs of being more heavily traveled than the part that was closer to the village behind them. Sure enough, as they came around a corner in the forest, the trees suddenly fell away on one side of them and gave them an unobscured view of the valley in front of them. It’d been a nice area, once, though now there were signs of neglect -- a fence along the road that was fallen and hadn’t been tended, signposts that weren’t painted anymore, even some boxes and bags that had been left where they’d been set down.

Further ahead, almost barely visible, was a small compound, what looked like a town that had a clumsy wooden fence erected around it. Smudges of smoke drifted up over the rooftops, evidence that the compound was occupied…

Mitsy planted a hand on his hip, glancing over at Touma with a grin. “Well. If we don’t get ambushed in the next few minutes, I will be very disappointed....”

And with that, the Fake Bossman grinned and started walking -- right towards the mouth of the beast, as it were.

 

[Wakasugi Touma]

"You and me both..." The swordsmen muttered, as he followed the Kitsune. The ronin usually had other things in mind when traveling the open roads or journeying to complete various quests, so the outwards appearance of others were rarely on his mind. This one, on the other hand...while his mind was for the most part focused on the task...a part of him wanted to complete this mission as fast as possible...if not to allow his focus to turn elsewhere.

"Daffodil...now that is certainly a word you can fit into an exchange with someone whom has a weapon pressed against your neck...." The swordsmen muttered, more to himself then to the Kitsune in front of him, although the sarcasm dripped from his remarked. There was no doubt that the bladesmen remained unconvinced...but again, that didn't really matter at this point...still, if it came down for him to decide, he would have preferred somthing, or rather, someone else.

Touma would follow wordlessly, his eyes shifting away from the greasy man in front, turning towards his surroundings. While this wasn't the first time he had to be captured as part of a "plan", the idea of being vulnerable like this still put him a bit on edge...although Touma didn't outwardly emote it. Even so, there was still steps he could take to avoid being completely caught of guard, or worse...his eyes were darting for signs of an impending attack...

"Remember..." Touma said. almost whispering to the man infront of him. "...do not get us immediately killed...."​

 

[Himitsu]

Mitsy hardly seemed nervous or bothered at all as he strode forward, hands linked behind his head and this bored expression on his face. He didn’t seem untowardly concerned about… any of it, really. Not the fact that they might get ambushed, not the fact that they might not and this could all just be some complicated ploy to get them out of town and possibly killed… Truth be told the Kitsune had thought about all of that. Thought about the dangers they could be facing, whether this was truly an ogre or just a really ugly dude. Thought about how bad the day could get… and decided not to care.

The wine helped, with that. Though, he refrained from finishing off the bottle. Didn’t need to be completely smashed, not this time… It would be one thing if it was just her punching her way through this, but that wasn’t the case.

“Relax, Red,” he said, turning around so he could wink playfully at the man behind him. “If there’s one thing I’ve proven reliable at, it’s not dying.” He chuckled this dry, amused chuckle, and turned back towards the path ahead of them.

They only made it a bit further down the trail before the Kitsune glanced over his shoulder, pointing ahead at a copse of trees that was clsoer to the road than the other trees had been. The other side had some bushes that hung over, their branches thick and untidy. The perfect place for some ambushers to hide, especially since their path forward would take them out of the mid-morning sunlight into the darkness of the shade, theoretically challenging their eyesight. Mitsy didn’t slow, however, her pace steady and unfaltering.

Sure enough, as soon as they passed into the shade, there was a scuff from behind them and a pair of heavily armed figures in dark robes stepped out of their hiding spots. Joined a second later by four more men, making it an even half dozen. Their weapons were an eclectic sort, like they were mostly scrounged up, and their clothing was disheveled, a mishmash of pieces. It wasn’t like they seemed overly prepared or armed… Certainly not as impressive or threatening as the real Dimmis had made them seem. Regardless, the man in front lowered a sword towards “Lord Dimmis’ menacingly.

“That’s far enough, Dimmis! You’ve got a lot of nerve, showing yourself out here. Surrender immediately!”

Mitsy heaved a huge sigh, throwing his hands up dramatically. “Oh, dear… You’ve got us. What a surprise. Well, we’re so heavily out numbered and outmatched, I guess we’ll just have to do what you say and surrender. What a shame.”

The man in charge sort of hesitated, a bit thrown off as if he’d been expecting at least a degree of resistance, but then nodded to the men behind them. “Bind their wrists, we’ll take them to Master Tor.”

The armed men behind them moved forward, grabbing their wrists and tying them behind their backs. As they did so, Mitsy looked over at Touma and winked cheekily. So far so good, it seemed… Hey, surprisingly, things were actually going according to ‘the Plan’. That was an auspicious start, right?

 

[Wakasugi Touma]

"Well...I can't deny that..." The swordsmen sighed, matching speed with the Kitsune, as his eyes continued to dart about. The way Touma said it sounded like it was more of a hope then it was an agreement. It might have been easier to relax if Touma had his blades next to him, at least he felt less vulnerable that way...but, well... he didn't...

Touma's attention was suddenly turned to his hearing, as he heard the rustling of the bushes and footsteps from behind, glancing towards the rear but not outright turning his head. Just like clock-work, these thugs were too predictable in their actions...now let's see if Misty was right about the rest.

The swordsmen glanced over to the greasy man, an eyebrow raised at his "surprise"...Could have at least tried to act a bit convincing...would have at least help to cover up the fact that this apparent crime boss was here, alone, with a random fellow in a robe...but she was the one who did all the disguising...she apparently was able to do him convincing enough...

Touma almost reached down for his blade, even though he knew that they were hidden away on his back. A frustrating ordeal, no doubt, for a warrior such as him...but the bladesmen had enough patience. Patience, the critical time will come, you just have to have patience...as Touma felt one of the rather unsavory people come up behind him, roughly grabbing onto his hands and forcing them behind him. The swordsmen hardly put up a fight as the man behind him tied up his hands...although, he was sure to give himself a bit of wiggle room.

This was the secound time that Touma had been put into the bind within the last 24 hours, which frankly seemed like a new record, but he supposed things could be worse....To be honest, he thought these ambushers were really daft for not picking up on the man's more relaxed attitude...given how he acted when Touma and Misty met him. Still...Touma decided to give these men the benefit of the doubt, maybe they've never meet the real crime boss...lucky them.

Touma had decided to remain quiet during the engagement, partially because he was curious of seeing how the Kitsune was going to spin this forward...if she had to at all...as the thugs ordered them forward...​

 

[Himitsu]

The men wasted no time in tying their hands once again, the Kitsune making no move to stop or interrupt their movements. The bonds didn’t hold any worry for him, even with them behind his back like that. All he had to do was shift back into his ‘normal’ face and the ropes would fall right off… but he hoped to avoid that if at all possible. His half-form wasn’t one that he wanted many people hearing about. It always resulted in him getting run out of town or other nonsense like that, and he was looking forward to a nice, relaxing evening drinking himself silly at the local bar… Maybe seeing about a certain ronin’s clothes getting conveniently misplaced…

So even as the men gave the ‘Crime Lord’ a shove forward, he allowed himself to be manhandled, though he made a particular note of their scents so he could do his best to punch them extra hard later for the rough treatment. Now, however, he bided his time, allowing the armed men to sort of herd them along the path. It grew rougher as they drew closer to the compound, less tended-to but more-traveled, with more signs of heavy usage with minimal attention to keeping the compound or other areas clear. The rough wooden stakes of the fence drew into view, several sentries standing guard outside of the gate that led into the compound. It was, altogether, a much more slapdash and ramshackle outfitting than Mitsy would have expected considering that Bossman had seemingly been unable to oust them with his own men.

Either Bossman had been lying to them about his attempts to get them out or there was something much more ferocious awaiting them inside.

There was something, too, something that Mitsy could smell that was… unusual. She couldn’t place it, but it made her hackles sort of stand on end.

The man who’d spoken gestured to the guards to open up the gate and they obliged, pushing on into the compound itself. It looked, for all intents and purposes, like an old monastery or temple that had been repurposed and built up around. All of the security measures were haphazardly put together, almost amateurish in their construction and design… and Mitsy’s eyes darted to Touma’s, as if checking to make sure that he was seeing what she was seeing.

Their captor drew them towards the main door of what had been the monastery, pausing to glance at his captives.


“Search them for any weapons,” he ordered, gesturing to the men who had hold of their hands. They moved to do so, but before they’d gotten even a step, “Lord Dimmis” gave the man next to him a shoulder check hard enough to send him stumbling backwards, nearly knocking him onto his butt in the dirt.

“Don’t you know who I am?!” he hollered, drawing himself up to his maximum height. Which, considering that Mitsy was short as hell and hadn’t bothered to adjust for it, wasn’t all that impressive. “I demand that you release me immediately! And my mute manservant too! He carries my food and is very necessary!” The men fumbled to keep hold of his wrists, even as he threw his weight around, making it difficult for them and meaning that of the three men standing around Touma, two moved to help with Dimmis instead. The one remaining did a very perfunctory check-over of his weapons, more distracted with what was going on.

Their captor strode forward, and with one smooth motion, slammed the butt of the sword at his side into the “Crime Lord”’s stomach.

This time, Mitsy’s reaction was pretty convincing, as the greasy-haired man slumped forward, breathless. For just a second, those golden eyes glittered, ferocious and ready to strike… but with effort he reigned in his response, forcing himself to stay still and compliant as the men gripped his elbows.

According to plan, the Kitsune told himself, though not nearly as fond of that as before. Ugh. So annoying. They needed to hurry up and get to the man in charge before another dirty human laid his hand on Mitsy, or the Kitsune was going to start eating people.

“Take them inside. Master Tor is waiting,” the man ordered, and the door to the monastery opened, the two of them being ushered inside -- whether they wanted to go or not.

 

[Wakasugi Touma]

So here they would continue forward, being held "captives" once more...still, things did seem to go to plan, and the denseness of the guards probably just brought them a ticket inside.

The fortify establishment would catch the bladesmen's attention, causing him to raise his head out of his hair to observe. It was perhaps one of the poorest excuses for a fortified compound that the ronin had ever seen...although to be fair, the standard compounds that he was used to breaking into tended to appear a bit more dangerous, almost by design. Still, there was a credible threat here, or at least, evidence that there would be residence...rather odd that they choose a monastery as their base...but to be fair, it was a rather defensible structure...compared to building one from complete scratch.

Touma would meet Misty's glance, stating his opinion with a shrug, before returning his gaze upon the establishment. Touma himself pondering on the merrid of other ways they could have broken in, either by silence or by force...although perhaps such thoughts were moot in a time such as this...when they were already heading directly for the source of this cancer.

Touma was about to continue forward all on his own...until the guards ordered them to be searched.

Uh oh.

The swordsmen would quickly glance back at Misty, his mind racing through a number of different approaches were they to try to remove his blade...some methods were a bit more violent then others, but...it seemed that the Kitsune kept to his plan...as he began yelling about him being a servant and food, which almost caused the swordsmen to let out a chuckle. Those did seem like stuff the heft boss-man would say, and he got the boss's demeanor just on the noise. Now instead of outright laughing, Touma would keep his head down, allowing his hair to drape back over his eyes...although through the strands, he would watch...a silent fury began boiling in the bottom of his stomach...as he watched one of the guards smack the Kitsune in the stomach,

Discipline had ordered Touma to remain stationary, but impulse wanted to kick the man in the groin. Discipline manage to win out, although not by a large margin. All the swordsmen could do was watch as Misty played up to his role, gritting his teeth a little as he did.

No doubt, some of these people will pay a little more then others in the upcoming conflict...no doubt.

Still, in the long run, it was good thing that Touma didn't do anything, as the man in front of him would only solidify their roles as captives, giving them the edge of surprise they would need in confronting this "Master Tor". An odd title, no doubt, but you could infer a number of things from just a title. This man certainly held some sort of domain over these people, the question now was...what was so special about him that made him a master?
​

 

[Himitsu]

Mitsy raised his head as they passed from the brightness of the outside, plunging into the shadow of the inner monastery, half-dragged, half-escorted. The Fake Crime Lord was doing his best to just stay limp and make the men carry him -- a petty revenge, however small, for punching him in the gut like that. Thankfully this form had plenty of padding in that area, but it hadn’t exactly tickled… Still, it also afforded her the ability to inspect more fully her surroundings as they entered the new area…

It had been the main shrine, at one point, easily big enough for several dozen monks and villagers to pray to the god it worshipped without being pressed for space. Where the central shrine had been, however, the pedestal in front of them had been cleared off, instead bearing a large bamboo cage with several tarps thrown over the top of it. Mitsy’s nose flared as they entered the room, his shoulders sort of arching slightly as the scent set off all sorts of alarm bells in his head. What, though? His nose wrinkled as he tried to think, but he hadn’t smelled it for a really long time. Not since close to leaving home years ago, and those memories were foggy, at best.

In they drug the two of them, however, leaving them standing at the base of the step up towards the pedestal. The room was empty except for the crate and the small man who stood in front of it, his arms folded over his chest as he stared down at them. He was a thin man, with a pronounced hooked nose and beady eyes, a scowl on his lips.

“... Dimmis,” he droned, his eyes on Mitsy. The Kitsune glanced to his side, as if making sure Touma was still within reach and carrying his bundle.

All right then, time to bluff a bit and see what he could figure out.

The Fake Crime Lord sort of tossed his head, letting out a belch. “You! Peasant. I came all the way out here to retrieve your unconditional surrender! Do it now and hand me over your … thingy,” he nodded at the cage, “and your men and we’ll leave you all alive!”

The thin man’s jaw dropped slightly, staring at “Dimmis” for a moment before looking at his men, as if asking if they, too, were hearing what he was.

“... you are bound. Captive! And unarmed. What makes you think I would surrender my ogre and turn over my men? Just because you decree it to be so? Hah! This is why, Dimmis, my men have gained a substantial foothold in this area. Your…” But Mitsy stopped paying attention shortly before that, because he was looking at the cage with a good deal more of concern. An ogre? He’d fought one once. He’d gotten away, of course… but that was a far cry from disabling the thing and bringing it in. And if they wanted to fulfill the real Dimmis’s orders, they needed to do just that.

Mitsy’s eyes wandered to Touma once more, and he jerked his head towards the thin man. ‘Threesome?’ he mouthed.

“Excuse me, am I boring you?” Master Tor barked, drawing himself up to his full, not very impressive, height…. Mitsy could hear the guards behind them shifting in response. Just the four of them, Master Tor, and the ogre. Barring the ogre, these wouldn’t have even been the slightest of concerning odds. But throw in the ogre? Things were… decidedly more hairy.

 

[Wakasugi Touma]

Touma rolled his eyes at the Kitsune, not sure weather to laugh or be annoyed...at least she was consistent. That said, right now was far from the optimal time for such thoughts; First, Touma had to get rid of these binds before he could even think about accessing his weapons.

Luckily the swordsmen had thought about this on the way in, and had taken the time to have a little scan of the area they were being pushed in and found...well, basically nothing close by that would immediately be of help...but Touma was skilled, with plenty of tricks up his sleeves.

As the swordsmen watched as this so called "Master" try to size both of them up, it was probably a good idea to take the initiative, when their opponent think they are the weakest.

Now or never, right?

With one motion, Touma swiftly brought his foot back into the nether regions of the guard behind, catching him by surprise and stunning him. As the guard reached down to remedy the strike, the swordsmen slammed his back into him, staggering the guard backwards in a bit of pain. Once he had enough space, the ronin quickly brought his bound hands down, leaping over it and

The swordsmen quickly back stepped as the guard rushed forward, sword already drawn to meet the captive, as he slashed downwards at the man. As this motion occurred, Touma brought his bound hand up, pulling them outwards to present the bind, as the sword sliced into the rope like butter. This free Touma, which was all he needed, quickly reaching back to his pack and hurling it forward at his first attacker. The bundle, which had been tied to him, at first smashed into the man's head as a single entity, quickly unfurled as it made contact and allowing it's contacts to fly.

In this moment, everything seemed to slow...as the ronin narrowed his eyes upon the items in the air...two things really mattered at the moment: His swords. Picking the right moment, the swordsmen rushed forward, plucking his smaller sword out of the air with one hand and quickly stowing it to his side, before grabbing his main sword with his other hand. By the time everything had dropped to the floor, Touma was gripping onto his katana.

Now he was armed.

Within a moment, the blade had been drawn, the guards staggered at the sight. Yet as they attempted to move to subdue the ronin, he disappeared into a semi-blur, smacking the guard whom was hit by the bundle with his sheath, sending him to the floor. The next few secound, the other two were subdued, as the ronin ducked under the sword of the first before smacking him on the back with the blunt side of his sword...then quickly deflected the incoming blade of the other, smacking him in the face with the hilt of his blade before kicking him away.

After these moments of flurry, the ronin came to a slow stride, his hair covering his eyes...as he glared at the "Master" through them...walking back over to the Kitsune, twirling his blade in one hand as he did, the ronin would swiftly cut loose his bind, effectively freeing him...​

 

[Himitsu]

Mitsy’s head lowered, the readiness thrumming through his shoulders -- lose the problematic face, spit some fire, disable the guards, move to the ogre… Knock it out, get out of here, get gone. That was the most straight-forward plan, and probably what she would have done if she was in this situation by herself. But she wasn’t, and as much as she could easily slip the noose that had been placed around their neck, it would leave Touma on the proverbial ropes for everything.

Something that she was finding decidedly unacceptable.

So that meant getting the ogre contained in more than just a ‘knocked out’ way. Which meant figuring out how *this* idiot in front of them was controlling it. Because there was no way he’d asked nicely -- and no way an ogre was compliant enough to be willingly kept in a cage but still listen to its cage master’s orders. So this moron had some way of bending the ogre to his will… the question was what.

The Kitsune felt Touma’s intention before he even began to move -- maybe just the shift of his weight, maybe the adjustment he made before moving, the intake of breath, Mitsy couldn’t quite pin it. And into that realization was the loaded insinuation that he’d been paying that much attention to the swordsman subconsciously… but there was no time to consider what that meant. The Kitsune’s muscles tensed, ready to make his move --

-- but then, almost surprising himself, he forced himself to relax. “Lord Dimmis” stood there, bound and smug looking, watching the ‘Master’ in front of him grow increasingly terrified as within the span of only a few breaths, Touma had disabled all four guards. Tor had shrunk back against the cage, staring at the redhead with unmitigated awe and fear, his thin face pale as a white sheet.

‘Dimmis’ moved his hands to the side as the swordsman walked up to his side, and a second later he was free as well. Shaking his wrists off, he smiled.

“Now. I’ll repeat myself, but only once. Hand over the keys to the beastie, and we’ll let you live. Otherwise…” he trailed off ominously, holding his hands out to his side with a shrug that he was hoping was convincing. Touma probably wouldn’t approve of Mitsy eating this one, so the Kitsune wouldn’t even suggest it, but… hey, he could still use his words. And a threatening chuckle as he climbed the steps to the dias towards Tor.

The man, however, snapped his attention back to the “crime boss” in front of him and stepped back again, his hand sliding up to grip at his neck. Mitsy’s sharp eyes snapped to the action, getting the faintest glimpse of something -- a medallion? Amulet? -- underneath, before Tor hollered: “Kill them both!”

Mitsy’s eyes snapped to the cage instantly; something was moving in it. Something large.

And then the door flew open, a large, hulking form bursting through with such ferocity that it actually sent the door whipping past their heads to shatter against the far wall. Mitsy ducked it, then turned to look at the creature revealed -- easily towering over them, the ogre gripped a large shank of meat in one hand, like a club, its dull grey skin mottled with hard growths like literal stones growing on it. Small, beady black eyes squinted in the sudden light, even as it fixed its gaze on them. It wasn’t clad in anything more than a simple shirt and tunic, but it didn’t need to be. It’s very skin was armor enough.

“Great. He has a stoneskin ogre,” Mitsy said, gesturing at the creature in front of them with a sigh. “Who let this absolute sack of shit have a--”

He didn’t get to continue, though, because the ogre grabbed the cage behind it and whipped the entire giant structure towards both of them.

Mitsy barely leaped over top of it, sliding back into her half-fox form, her tails flaring around her as she let the structure pass underneath her. No reason to keep the greasy man’s face on. They had their target now. The Kitsune landed light as a feather, but it was hardly time to regroup, because the ogre was charging forward, wielding its meat shank like a club with… actually terrifying speed. This… was not going to be as easy as dispatching the four humans had been, and Tor was already making for the back of the room where the Kitsune was betting there was some sort of secret back exit…

 

[Wakasugi Touma]

The swordsmen felt the wind rushing past him, blowing up his scarlet strands, as the cage door sailed over head, not even blinking at how close he was to actually being hit. No, Touma was focused on the large hulking shadow that the metal cage had come from. Was pretty obvious that whatever casted that shadow was big and not friendly, but when Misty called it out as a "stoneskin ogre", Touma grimaced.

Touma knew what "stoneskin" meant, skin that was as tough as as tone, and truth be told that was perhaps all he needed to know; but "ogre"?...he didn't need a dictionary to know that it meant somthing big....Though....Back in his homeland, Touma had fraught plenty of creatures of such size...

Didn't mean this was going to be easy...it never is.

The moment this "ogre" sized the rest of the cage, Touma's eyes narrowed. With one fluid motion, he simultaneously brought his scabbad to his side, before sheathing his sword with the curved side facing up. The ronin then took a low stance, his hands hovering over the grip...as the ogre threw the cage at them.

Misty, with such grace and finesse, had reacted quickly to avoid the metal projectile...it was almost captivating to watch her move...her tails sprouting above her cute little butt...and her face...well, let's just say he didn't miss the crime bosses's face...hell, one may say such a thing was distracting watching...but Touma was better then that.

The ronin wasn't planning on avoiding the metal projectile, instead he closed his eyes and listened...listened as the metal cage hurled at him...before the next splitsecoud, his eyes flung open, his hands were now on his blade. In one motion, the swordsmen unsheathed his blade, bring it upwards in a rapid blur, before bring the blade over head and slicing downwards with such speed and momentum that it looked as if the blade was moving faster then it's strike. The strike itself must have lasted for a half a millisecond, as if you blinked you would have missed the glint in the cage. But within the next moment, the cage fell apart as it continued forward into the ground, falling into two pieces.....

The red headed swords had sliced the metal cage into two.

Yet Touma hadn't the time to admire his work, as he the ogre was now stampeding towards them and moving fast. The ronin decided to take the initiative, speeding forward to meet the beast, holding his blade low as he gripped the scabbard in the other hand. It was perhaps a good thing he was red headed, because the ogre's attention had quickly fell upon him, as he rushed towards him. Predictably, the ogre swung his blade, a little faster then Touma was used to of a monster this size. No matter, Touma would simply slide under it, watching as the blade sliced over him.

The bladesmen attempted two strikes upon the ogre's left leg, but both had been deflected by the ogre's tough skin. The thing lived up to it's name at the very least. More power was required in order to pierce the skin, Touma thought, as he rushed around the beast's rear, putting a little distance between him and the ogre.

Touma quickly placed his scabberd into his obi belt, bring his blade to the center of himself...placing his previously scabberd holding hand onto the grip...holding the blade in the center with both hands....with his target, the ogre, in his sights....

​

 

[Himitsu]

Mitsy’s leap had easily cleared the cage, her golden eyes flicking to the redhead as the metal construction shot towards him -- but with movements almost too fast for even the Kitsune to follow, he shattered the cage and sent it harmlessly split around him. He was already moving forward, towards the ogre, even as the Kitsune landed lightly in a crouch on the giant creature’s far side, her tails flared out behind her.

She hesitated -- the ogre was already moving towards Touma, and everything inside of her screamed to burn the creature to a crisp before it touched the bladesman -- but the cunning part of her reined those instincts in, as being silly. He was already moving to attack; he could protect himself, at least for the time being. What they needed was the amulet or magical device that ‘Master’ Tor had been using to control the creature. It was the easiest way to stop the ogre and the only way to prove that they’d dealt with the threat and have Dimmis’s threat hanging over their heads cleared up.

Ugh, since when did she care about a threat over her own head. Whatever.

So she darted around the cage, following the path that the thin man had taken. It was obvious that this area of the shrine had not been used regularly, as it was murky dark, not even a torch to brighten it. Her ears rotated, listening intently, even as the sound of the ogre roaring in fury behind her threatened to distract her. Behind the cage was a tumble of bones and food-stuffs, likely from trying to keep the ogre sated, and the smell made her wrinkle her nose in disgust. The creature had been in that cage for a while, if this refuse pile was to be believed, and that pissed the Kitsune off even more.

Almost enough to miss the throwing knife that glittered out of the darkness towards her. There was the slightest betrayal of its path catching her gaze with just enough time for her to twist out of its way, though it cost her a thin red line along her cheek and several strands of white drifting out into the air.

Carrying the smooth motion through, she spun, scattering balls of pale white kitsune-bi from her tails into the darkness around her. The fiery orbs spent themselves in little bursts of light along the walls and crannies of the shadowed room… and the thin man that immediately began to curse and smack at his burning clothes, jarred out of the cubby that he’d tucked himself into to evade her notice.

“There you are,” the Kitsune purred, drawing her finger along the gash on her cheek to collect a single bead of scarlet onto her fingertip. Bringing it to her lips, she inhaled, gathering the energy from the droplet into her and shaping it with her mind.

Then she blew, gently, and the slightest wrinkle slid through the air, the spell finding its target easily.

Tor stilled immediately, looking at her with a slack-jawed, smitten expression. “You’re… you’re so beautiful,” he gushed, his eyes dilated nearly to completion as the magic worked its effect. The charm wouldn’t last long, but it’d last long enough.

Mitsy planted one hand on her hip, the other held out expectantly. “Amulet, please. And quickly, you… reek.”

The thin man’s shoulders slumped, shame flooding across his face. “... yes, but…” He withdrew something from his neck and held it out to her, in the palms of his sweaty, thin hands. It was an amulet, to be sure… but the stone that had been set into the middle of it had come out of its setting, and sat glitter-less and dull on Tor’s palms. Mitsy snatched it up.

“You broke it? How in hell did you break it you were alone for two seconds?!”

“I… fell,” the man admitted, miserable in the face of her ire, stepping forward with his hands out-stretched beseechingly. His cloying need for her acceptance irritated her, and so she did the only sensible thing -- she slammed her fist into his face hard enough to drop him like a rock.

“Useless,” she muttered, then turned and dashed back towards where Touma and the ogre were… Well, this just got a whole lot more complicated… of course. When was she ever lucky enough for it to be simple.

 

[Wakasugi Touma]

Touma could only spare a glance, as he watched the Kistune leap after the "Master". Probably a good idea...cut off the head, and the muscle will follow...and she'd be the knife that cut the head off.

Meanwhile, he'd deal with the muscle.

The ogre would waste little time turning around, it's expression was more then enough to convey it's beserker like anger, as it charged forward once more, raising it's meat cleaver up into the air, ready to strike. The next strike from the beast would have been a devastating one, had the thing not telegraph the entire thing, allowing the bladesmen a small window to dodge rightward, falling upon his back shoulder as he shifted into a roll, landing upon the ogre's right side.

During the motion, Touma was able to size up the situation. In a battle such as this one, the enemy would most likely have some sort of weak point; like a knight with it's joints exposed, Touma would have find those "joints" and strike there. The hands would be the bladesmen's first target, as he gripped onto his sheath with his free hand, and launched himself forward at the ogre once more.

The ogre would try to backhand the ronin, swinging it's free hand horizontally at him, causing Touma to leap upwards into a spin. As the swordsmen flew, a flurry of strikes came from his swords, as ever secound spent in the air was another two or three strikes upon the ogre's attack. Within the next moment, Touma had landed into a sprint, having dealt a number of blows to one of the ogre's hands.

However, the swordsmen hadn't a moment to examine his work, as the ogre roared, bringing it's meat cleaver to bear against the swords men. Letting go of his sheath, Touma spun his blade with his sword hand and brought it horizontally in front of his chest, placing the other hand at the midsection of the blade. As the meat cleaver swung at him, he shifted backwards and stuck out the horizontal blade allowing his blade to touch the meat cleaver, using the weapon to deflect the larger blade away from him, allowing it to sail past him with out him having to take a step backwards.

As Touma allowed the blade to carry through, he brought his free hand onto the grip of the weapon, allowing the blade to move backwards with the motion...before the ronin, using a considerable amount of might, slashed in the opposite direction as the ogre's strike. This must of at least hurt it, as the beast roared, it's massive hands recoiling from the pain...stumbling backwards and recoiling in a bit of pain...but the beast was far from done, as even from where Touma stood, he could see the angry continue to well up within the beast's eyes.

It was then, the sound of footsteps caught the swordsmen's attentin, as a quick sideways glance would reveal it to be his dear o'l Kitsune...although the "Master" was no where to be seen.

"Did you get him?" Touma asked, his breathing was steady but had grown a bit heavier, as his attention turned back towards the monster in front of them...


​

 

[Himitsu]

Mitsy drew up next to Touma, her golden eyes flicking over the situation in front of her, taking it all in. Touma, breathing a bit harder, the stone-skin ogre in front of them still on its feet but in obvious pain as it opened and closed its hands repeatedly. A low rumble welled up from it -- it wasn’t seeming too happy, which made the Kitsune press her lips together tightly as she crouched next to the redhead, watching the ogre with that sharp gaze..

At least she was here, now, to make sure it couldn’t hurt her swordsman.

“Well, about that,” the white-haired woman said, her ears flicking backwards in annoyance. “I got the amulet… but the idiot broke it. We’re going to have to do this the hard way -- knock the damn thing out.”

Much easier said than done, especially with the fact that even after all of Touma’s hardwork the ogre didn’t actually seem that hurt … mostly just pissed off. Even Mitsy’s tonfa weren’t made to break through what was literally a walking mountain. The Kitsune’s eyes flicked through the shrine, taking stock of everything that they had to their advantage, before her eyes settled on the stone archway that adorned the middle of what had been the worship area. It was three large stone slabs, two upright and one laying across the others. It was, perhaps, their best bet to knock the damn thing out.. Provided, of course, they could get the ogre underneath it in time to drop it on its damn head.

“Hey,” she said, to get his attention, then jerked her chin towards the archway in question. She was hoping Touma would follow her train of thought well enough, especially when she cracked a grin at him.

“Wanna wrangle this idiot while I knock down a big stone thingy?”

They wouldn’t have much time to discuss; even as her question fell into the space between them, the ogre roared, apparently deciding that it’d had enough time to recover. It lunged forward once again, swinging the clever in a swift horizontal swipe that threatened to slice through both of them. Mitsy, however, leaped lightly over the swipe, towards the grey-skinned brute, white-blue fire blossoming from her mouth and spilling forth over the ogre’s face.

It roared, stumbling backwards, and the Kitsune landed on the other side of it, her tonfa back in hand as she glanced towards the archway again. Finding a point of weakness, she planted her feet, growling as she slammed forward with her tonfa into the pillar. A single spiderwebbing line formed in the stone where she’d hit it, and she stumbled back, casting a glance towards the ogre and the swordsman before dashing forward to hit the stone in front of her one more time, the ominous crack of stone echoing through the room…

 

[Wakasugi Touma]

The Red Hair grimaced at what the kitsune said, but within a secound his expression had returned to it's initial calm, twirling his blade, as he brought it to the center...grasping the grip now with both hands...No matter, they would have to defeat this beast the old fashion way; beating the ever living crap out of it.

The kitsune's voice would cause Touma's to perk up, as he quickly glanced first to Misty, then to where she had indicated. A rare grin flashed across Touma's face, you'd almost call it a frenzied look, as the ronin gave her a curt nod.

That was an idea, an idea that Touma could certainly help make into a reality.

The roar of the beast would cause the bladesmen to turn his attention back forward, resuming his focused expression, blade aimed at the brute. The swing of the monster triggered both of it's opponents to quickly react, as one leaped overhead spewing flames, the other slide under the blade, bringing his blade forward with momentum at the ogre's knees. Of course the results were expected, as the blades were deflected by the ogre's stone-hard skin, but perhaps it was the impact that the ronin was looking forward, as the ogre's knees buckled from the strike...causing the beast to let out another rumbling roar.

But Touma was not yet done, he needed to keep it busy until his dear Kistune was ready. Wasting no time nor energy, the bladesmen launched himself upwards from his crouch, bring his blade in a vertically upwards slash, flying high above the ogre, before bring his blade about in a 1-2 slash. This might have not mortally wounded the ogre, but damn if it didn't at least sting a bit, plus all that fire didn't help...which of course, caused the ogre to swing widely forward. Touma, for his part, shifted his body with his feet pointed at the ogre, so that when the ogre's next wild swing almost carved him apart, he used passing blade as a platform to launch himself backwards into a backflip, landing back into a crotch again, sliding back just a bit as he watched the frustrated ogre let out another roar.

Now he had it's attention...which deep down relieved him...he would rather it attack him then...

The bladesmen hadn't had the time to finish that thought, as the big thing began to hurl forward like a massive meat torpedo. Touma's grip on his blade tightened, but instead of preparing for another strike...he quickly sheathed his sword...much like he did at the beginning of this entire mess...as he remained in the crouching stance...hand hovering over the grip of his blade.

The ogre was now upon him, bringing the heft meat cleaver down with a vengeance...but the bladesmen was faster, as he quickly sidestep the blade, rushing forward with a couple of steps before drawing his blade, and his speed just further increased. Touma was now moving in short dashes, and with every dash, a flash of the ronin's blade. For a few moments, this was what Touma did; slicing fast and moving faster, avoiding the ogre's clumsier movements as best as he could.

It was at some point the ronin's ears caught the sound of cracking, as he slide along the rocky floor. Touma gave the arch way, now behind him, a quick glance, before looking back at the monster, bleeding, but still a lot of fight still in it. Perhaps it was now or never.

Holding out his blade and gripping onto his sheath, Touma turned into a sprint towards the archway, which angered the ogre to a point into giving chase. This might have been a bit more straightforward for the ronin, lead the ogre into the arch way and then get the hell out of the way. Of course, ever great plan can have it's hiccups...might have been a massive one if Touma glanced backwards...spotting from where he was the ogre's eyes turning...turning towards someone...

The ronin quickly sped to a halt, about facing and speeding back at the Ogre, the archway now behind him. The ronin then leap forward, bring his blade across about in an arcing slash. Attention was now back on the annoying blademan, as the ogre screamed in frenzy, launching into another barrage of wild swings and punches.

At this point, the ronin had committed himself to the brawl, leaping and dodging, slashing where he could. But Touma's ultimate goal was to move the ogre under the archway, even as it continued to crack, and it was working; ever secound past was another few steps the ogre took to purse Touma. Within a few moments, Touma and the ogre were only centimeters away from archway...but the ogre was still not under the optimal crushing spot.

With his mind racing, Touma looked up quickly at the cracked structure, before quickly glancing at the Misty at supporting pillar. "Do it now!" The ronin shouted, his voice echoing through the cave, before his eyes returning to the beast in front of him.

This would be the determining blow, as Touma leaped backwards into the shadows, the ogre following soon after with it's meat blade...​

 

[Himitsu]

The cracking impact of rock against her tonfa sent the magically imbued-blades vibrating hard in her palm, making her jump back and shake her hands with the weapons still grasped in them. It was only the fact that they had been built to withstand nearly any attack, magical strength folded into them layer by layer with Kitsune magic, that kept them from shattering under the force of the impact, but it didn’t spare Mitsy from regretting the choice she’d made in driving them into the rock of the archway.

The ogre roared behind her; a quick glance over her shoulder caught a streak of red and silver that was her bladesman, his movements almost too fast for even her quick eyes to keep track of. He was doing his part, keeping the big creature occupied and more importantly giving her time to get the archway prepped… but that time was limited, and the longer she took, the greater the risk to the swordsman.

A risk that Mitsy found more and more intolerable.

Squaring her stance, her tails flared behind her as she set herself before lunging forward, driving the tonfa into the stone in front of her once more. Her strike was true; with another snap, the crack traced its way through the entirety of the stone, the whole thing shifting dangerously as a scattering of pebbles dropped around her.

One ear flicked, monitoring the sound of the fighting behind her. The ring of steel on stone was more frantic now, and worrisome.

One pillar down, she skidded across to the other side of the archway, drawing the tonfa once again before swinging forward ferociously. Snap -- crack -- a low rumbling. But only about a third of the way through the stone -- not nearly far enough and she could hear the ogre and Touma drawing closer to her. Her golden eyes darted from the pillar, her fingers tingling painfully at this point after the repeated blows. Not enough, not nearly enough, and the two were nearly on top of her now, when she wasn’t nearly ready --

“Do it now!”

Touma’s voice rang in her ears, clanging through to the base of her stomach, and all of the sudden it didn’t matter that her fingers were numb or that she didn’t think she was nearly drunk enough to do this, because she had to. No other option. Not when he needed her.

She struck almost without thinking, gathering every ounce of her considerable strength and putting it all into the tonfa, into the crack there… and for a horrendous, heart-stopping instant, there was no sound from the pillar, no movement, just Touma and the ogre lunging past her. The ogre would be free of the hit zone and they’d have no other options, no further recourse…

When the stone across the top of the archway simply seemed to … drop, hardly a sound accenting its fall as it slipped silently through the air, pulled towards the ground by that inexplicable force. It made a crumbling noise as it shattered on the top of the stoneskin ogre’s head, boulder crunching into boulder, and with a strangely soft noise the ogre hit the ground, slab on top of him… and was still, only the dribbling of pebbles and dust settling in a gentle cloud around them.

Mitsy took one sharp breath in… then sprang forward, up over the stone, her golden eyes darting about, searching...

“Touma! Touma?!” She called, her voice tight.

 

[Wakasugi Touma]

No doubt, a massive feat...to cause structure to break in such a matter, collapsing upon the stone ogre...and one would assume the bladesmen. However, if one had been observing or listening close enough during the collapse of the archway, the visual specter of several rapid slashes coupled with the sound of a blade could be seen in the dark. Even so, the bladesmen, who one would assume had initiated the movements, was not seen in the darkness...nor he seen in the ensuing collapse of the archway...even as the dust began to settle.

For a few moments, all was silent...as the Kitsune's voice could be heard echoing through what was left of the archway....her echos becoming more and more distant with the secound...and soon it became silent once more, almost frighteningly so. One secound...two secound...three secound...and the secound soon turned into a minute...then another....

Perhaps a short period of time, dragged out by the suspense of the situation...but luckily, Touma was better.

A low rumble came from the edge of the rock pile...suddenly, a number of what looked to be sword slashes erupted from the rock pile, at first moving nothing...then exploding the stones into pieces, sending debris flying ever which direction.

There he was, the red headed bladesmen...gasping for air, breathing heavily as a result of the previous combat. Indeed, he was alive and kicking, no doubt about it. His ponytail had gotten undone in the mad rush, his hair was draped over his face in such a messy fashion...his face itself was now covered with dirt, no doubt as a result of strike his way out of the rock pile.

Yet for whatever reason, the bladesmen did not get up from his position, although he seemed to try. No, it seemed that he was struggling a bit...as one would advance closer, they'd realize his free hand was pinned under a rather large piece of debris...as the bladesmen struggled to break free....​

 

[Himitsu]

Pebbles and smaller chunks of shattered rock scattered underneath the Kitsune’s feet as she dipped around the stoneskin ogre, crouching near it’s head as her ears tuned to it, listening intently to its breathing. Steady, rhythmic. It wasn’t dead, then, just unconscious. Exactly what they’d hoped for, though having to drop a giant stone on it just to get it to that state wasn’t something she was confident they could repeat.

Still, it seemed out enough for now, and there was a more pressing concern to the fox-creature.

Touma.

She whipped around, to where the redheaded bladesman should have -- must have? -- been, her ears turning in a slow swivel as she heard the last remnants of her voice fading into nothing. And still, no answer. But there would be, he was going to make a noise, speak her name, let her know he was fine… any second now… She dropped into a crouch, her tails flaring out behind her as she inhaled, trying to sample the air to lead her to him -- but it was clouded with dust and she couldn’t smell anything.

Her stomach clenched inside of her, scanning the rubble around her again. Any second…

Then to her right, the rock rumbled, then exploded, scattering out and away as she held one hand up to protect her face… but even before the rubble had hit the ground she was moving in the direction of the sounds. There was a chance it was one of the guards who had interfered when they weren’t paying attention to them, but those slices, it had to be… It had to be…

And it was.

The Kitsune’s tails whipped out behind her as she carefully moved over him, her eyes taking in his appearance and, most importantly, the fact that he was trapped. The stone was probably too big for her to move. That’s what the logical part of her head said… but she was already sliding her fingers underneath it, and setting her shoulders, and throwing everything she had into it. She didn’t get it up, not too high, but with a groaning crack of the stone, she got it up to give him just enough space to pull himself free.

Dropping the stone, she ignored the burning protest of her muscles and dropped to her knee next to him, smoothing his hair out of his face as her gaze swept over him, looking for any injuries she could see.

“Hey, Red. The plan was to drop the stone on the ogre not you, remember?” she managed, though there wasn’t nearly enough levity in her voice, just this tightness that belied the hammering of her heart against her ribs.

 

[Wakasugi Touma]

When the bladesmen heard the movements coming from the archway entrance, he was about to swing his blade forward...until he realized it was Misty...and his free hand quickly relaxed, the blade lowered to the side as Touma...smiled...happy, that the plan had gone to plan...but soon his expression became rather...stunned.

When she moved over to him, over to the rock.that had him pinned down..he wanted to raise his voice in protest...give themselves a secound to catch their breath...but the thought was quickly snuffed out when he saw her face...determination, or perhaps...fear?

Perhaps...perhaps not...whatever it was, it was as signal that she was...worried...the cool, reckless little kitsune...worried about what?...It hadn't been just a day ago when she was about to ditch him to the guards...now she was worried that he was pinned down?

What came next was somthing of a shock as well...as the kitsune lifted this massive piece of rock off of him.

Wasting no time, Touma quickly withdrew his arm from underneath the debris, a moment before she dropped the massive rock. It had been no small feat for the kitsune to lift it, but that alone was not what had the swordsmen stunned; no, it was the combination of her...expression...the speed to which she had moved at him...all of that without one of her smart little quips that...and then, lifting the rock with such...ferocity...with such...urgency...

Touma might have not realized, but heat was beginning to build up across his face...as red began to creep up onto his face...perhaps at the realization that this kitsune cared weather or not he made it out alive...

The swordsmen only had a moment to ponder that thought...before he felt her brush aside his hair to look at him...when she used that nickname...somthing that had quite literally become significant to him overnight...the heat on his face only increased, spreading across...and becoming quite viable.

The natural reaction for Touma was to hide his face underneath his hair...but there was no hiding from the kitsune, whom had his hair up...guess there was only one other thing to do.

The bladesmen pushed himself up...leaning into Misty...and pressed his forehead against hers...closing his eyes in the process and just...smiled...

"I remember...but there was some complications, and well..." The swordsmen said, gently grabbing onto her hands that rested upon his face...his breath, though deep...was steady...as Touma spoke what had been on his mind this entire time.. "...I'm just glad your safe..."

Perhaps it was this moment, one of Touma's stray hairs fell...curtaining the view for anyone who had been looking...as Touma leaned in closer then ever before....
​

 

[Himitsu]

Mitsy had her hands on him. He was breathing, looking up at her with this expression she couldn’t quite decipher -- red, perhaps at the use of her petname for him, but also… happy? Or at least, not angry or hurt or any of the things she would have expected from someone who had just had a giant stone drop on them and almost kill them. She opened her mouth to ask…

… when instead he leaned up into her, his forehead coming to rest against her own.

And he smiled.

Her heart sort of forgot it was racing frantically in her chest, his hands sliding around hers as his hair curtained around them both… and just like that her world shrunk down to him, that smile on his face, his cheeks red, his calloused but warm hands on her own… The soft sweetness of his voice as he commented on how glad he was that she was safe. Her. The one who’d gotten them into the mess by stealing his face and then nearly dropped part of a building on top of him… He was worried about her.

Her hands curled around his as she rested there for just a moment, forehead against his, wrapped in all that was him and…

She leaned forward to kiss him, softly, sweetly, just… to kiss him. Just to let her lips tell him the way she couldn’t with her words that she felt the same, that having him in her hands and unharmed was what she’d needed at that moment. It wasn’t something she did, not … like this. She’d kissed plenty, sure, but it was always as an ends to a means, to drown out the world in other, more pleasurable sensations. Not because she necessarily wanted to kiss someone.

But here, right now, she just wanted to kiss him. Not even to get his clothes off. Well, yes, because damn, but not exactly at this moment.

There was the sound of shifting rubble from where the ogre was, just the tiniest bit, and Mitsy turned her head slightly, pulling back just far enough that her ears could swivel towards the ogre and judge for herself. No, just debris settling, its breathing had remained steady and even… for now.

With a sigh, she got to her feet, pulling him up as well.

“We should get out of here,” she said, “before that --”

She didn’t get to finish, though, because suddenly the doorway to the shrine cracked open, and she immediately snatched towards her tonfa… but the men who flooded through into the shrine room weren’t the men who they’d left behind. Instead, all of these men were wearing blue scarves around their necks, and the man who strolled in in the middle of all of it was a certain moustached (half-moustached) man who’d just spend the previous day chasing them all around town.

He viewed the ogre, then looked to them both with annoyance, then flicked his hand.

“Fine, be gone. Your debt is washed clean.”

Mitsy glanced at Touma, then looked back at (Half-)Moustache. “Were you all just waiting outside the door to see if we died or not? Really? That was the plan? Make us do all the hardwork and just stroll in when you were done? You little pieces of --” She even started towards the man, who stepped back several feet, grabbing at his sword at the threat of violence that was bright in the Kitsune’s eyes.

 

[Wakasugi Touma]

"Mitsy..." The voice near to the Kitsune called out softly, as a hand gently grasped onto her arm, tugging in an effort to keep her from rising into aggression. "...forget about them...your....we're alive...and that's all that matters..."

No doubt, the voice belonged to the ronin, a the smile he wore was as gentle as his current tone, and his expression was almost dreamy. Seemed that at the moment, he didn't so much care about this syndicate group or the ogre lying under the rubble. All of them seemed to be nonexistent, as far as the swordsmen was concern, in that moment...that moment, the only thing that he cared about, was the one he had his gaze upon.

"Let's get out of here."
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"Aaaaah~" Touma threw his head back, allowing his ponytail to swish from side to side, as he lowered the mug in his hands, a rare but bright smile was plastered on his face "...that hit the spot!"

The scene was that of a tavern, a typical roadside establishment fancied by travelers and adventurers alike. Tonight things were rather quiet, not many patrons upon the main floor...but two particular strangers sat at the bar, food in front of them and a mug for each of them.

"I'm not much of a stiff as you might think...where I come from...we do enjoy our alcohol...albeit, it's different from this..." Touma looked down at his mug in contemplation, as he swirled the contents around in his mug. The swordsmen would then glance over to his companion, his smile turning rather coy as his eyes floated over. "...although, some things are...still the same around here..."

The ronin took another gulp out of his mug, before finally setting it down on the table. His expression had turned thoughtful, as he looked on into the space in front of him, propping his head up on his hand.

"That was some quick thinking back there...I didn't even know you were that strong..." The swordsmen mused, his smile had dimmed, but still present on his face. "...is this the trouble you normally get into?...heh, I would think as much..."​

 

[Himitsu]

Golden eyes rested on him as he spoke, a smile playing over the red lips belonging to his white-haired companion. Mitsy had shifted back to her “normal” human form, in order not to draw more attention to them, her hair braided back out of her face and her tonfa tucked at the small of her back. The road that had led away from the monastery had been empty, for the most part, but as they approached the next town it’d gotten … busy. Busy enough that it was worth it to look nondescript -- or, at least, not obviously non-human.

Really, the past day had been a bit of an oddity, being in her half-form so much. She often went long periods of time without shifting into it, sometimes in the order of weeks or months, and here he was, making her feel so.. Comfortable about being in it.

Dangerous, handsome, enrapturing swordsmen. She was really in trouble with this one.

Especially when he leveled that damn smile at her and for a moment she forgot what smartass remark she even had loaded on her tongue.

“Pah,” she scoffed, leaning back in her seat as she idly turned her own mug -- already half-empty since she’d put a good amount of it in her stomach, happy to have the edge taken off. “I’ll have you know that most of my day is spent avoiding trouble like that. Way too much work, and annoying to boot. Well… mostly. Sometimes I get bored and then weird shit like that happens, I guess, but weird shit’s always happening somewhere.”

She tilted her head to look back at him, letting her eyes rove over him once again, as if the reminder made her want to double -- triple -- check to make sure that he was still unharmed.

“Still. Not too many humans who can stand toe to toe with a stoneskin ogre and live to tell the tale, much less escape mostly unscathed.” She raised her mug to her lips, leveling those golden eyes over the rim of it as she took in the sight of him. So deceptively casual looking, leaning against the bar like that, that happy, almost carefree, expression on his face. But she’d seen him when he was fighting, and seen the intensity and the sharpness to his gaze. “I guess it wasn’t too shabby, for a guy name Wannaslice Timmy.”

She laughed, a light, playful, tone, then downed more of the amber-brown liquid in her mug.

Setting it down, she glanced at him out of the corner of her golden eyes. Something about her mannerism sort of stilled, as if losing some of the joviality and relaxation that had been the name of the game up until that part.

“Guess here’s where we can part ways,” she said, suddenly, her voice strangely light. Decidedly so. “Ogre’s done and dealt with. You’re no longer in trouble with What’s-His-Name. You can… head wherever the road wants to take you. Maybe start with your admirer over there.” She jerked her thumb over her shoulder and behind her slightly, towards one of the tables in the corner. There were several younger women -- barely no longer teens -- sitting in a little giggle, who would notice as soon as Touma looked their way and twittered amongst themselves, gushing and giggling.

“Just… shake hands and we’re both just… free to go about things as we were before this whole nonsense even started,” the Kitsune continued, calmly.

She idly tilted her tankard, watching the movement of the liquid inside. “Unless, of course, you haven’t paid for a room yet. I do recall hearing the innkeeper say something about me booking the last room earlier. If so, I could be … persuaded to share. Potentially. If you ask nicely.”

She raised her eyes to him, grinning coyly.

 

[Wakasugi Touma]

Touma tilted his head as he looked at Misty, his smile persisted and there was curiosity in his eyes. Perhaps he was simply wondering what this rather...troublesome, Kitsune was thinking. Sure, she had used his face to get him into a world of trouble these past few days...and yes, it slightly annoyed him that he got dragged into it...but...it hadn't been in his nature to leave things along...a fact that a certain someone always seem to harp on about.

"I think you start trouble more often then you avoid it..." The swordsmen chuckled, as he looked up, looking as if he was pondering some sort of great life mystery. "...if I remember correctly...the only reason we got into all this mess was because somebody decided to use my face to stir up some mischief...which is what got us into trouble...though I'll be the first to admit...this was a rather happy trouble..."

Happy indeed, there was just somthing about sitting next to his current white haired companion that allowed a bubbly feeling that Touma hadn't felt in...quite a long time. Perhaps in that moment, the only thing on his mind was the drink in his hand and the women next to him.

"I suppose I've fought worse..." The bladesmen's eyes drifted back towards the Kitsune as a grin started to form on his face. "...demon ogres might be a start, if you could believe it."

There were a lot of those from he came from and all of them generally were pissed off at him.

Then Misty spoke again, which caused Touma eyes to widen and pause in his sentence...before shifting back to a relaxed expression. The white haired women seemed uncharacteristically calm about it...or rather, maybe the other way around. Still, what she said caused the swordsmen to shift his eyes back to his drink, as he listen to what the Kitsune said about departure. In truth, the bladesmen didn't want their interaction to end just yet...it had been...surprisingly fun...felt like the days of old for him...

"Just like that, huh?..."

As the Misty mentioned the his "admierers", Touma glanced over behind him, giving a polite smile and a nod to the girls, before turning back to the bar and raising his mug again. But he didn't down his drink yet, no...rather he was thinking about somthing...and while his expression seemed to match Misty, one would wonder what his heart thought.

Then she mentioned the room predicament, and Touma's heart relaxed.

"And let me guess, it's only a one bed room..." The swordsmen snorted, finally bringing his mug up and allowing the liquid to pass through his mouth. Bringing the mug down onto the counter, Touma turned his entire focus onto the Kitsune, leaning forward onto a hand that was currently propped up by his knee, a mousy look on his face as he continue to muse. "...well...I suppose I don't have much of a choose...I mean, I could sleep outside...in the cold...but I'd rather sleep somewhere warm...sooo...what do you say?"

The muse turned into a smile, a smile that glowed brighter then the red streak that was starting to take form across his face. "Could I burden you in sharing your warmth with me tonight?...Please?"​