Kaori & Tia; Underwater adventure: Deep below the surface; B Rank - Private

Kaori had woke up first, or at least, first after Tia realized he wasn't alone, and took note that she was being held back. It was an odd feeling, to have someone holding her while she slept; but she didn't dislike it. Kaori had vanished from under the covers and reappeared in the middle of the room quieter than a ghost. Her first instinct was touching her face and making sure the mask was still there, much to her satisfaction it was. She had gone to the kitchen and made breakfast for everyone as a way to thank them for all they'd done so far. Tia would find a vegetarian omelette with a side of hash browns, and toast sitting on the desk in her room. Next to it was a cup of spice tea sitting on an electric heater, and a glass of water.

Kaori had visited the mammoth, making sure to get in its line of sight before touching it. The mammoth began fidgeting at the sight of the strange creature, and the froze up when it realized it couldn't move. Kaori had slowly approached and gently rested her hand on the base of its trunk, creating a body link and sharing her emotions with it. The creature's eyes widened at the sudden shift, but then it relaxed as it understood that Kaori had no intentions of harming it. She looked in its eyes and began stroking its fur, which was rougher than she'd expected. "You'll be lonely where you're going... but I'll ensure you're not harmed. After some time, I'll get you back to your clan my friend so be strong for the time being." she said in a soft voice. The mammoth had understood that she knew how it was feeling, that she too was a leader and was separated from her herd, and that her words were genuine.

The ship had begun landing above the zoo where the mammoth would be kept. The mammoth had a general trust for Kaori, but it didn't know any other humans and didn't want them coming near it. As the cargo bay door opened, it revealed a blast of frigid air and a hallway that would lead to a rather spacious enclosure. A large group of men helped pull the mammoth from the small room, into the larger hallway where it could stand up. It immediately swung its trunk to smack one of the men away out of fear, and Kaori ran in front it to calm him down. She moved slow to begin cutting the ropes, making sure to sing a soft melody so the mammoth could know where she was. With mammoths, it was hard to lose track of the others since they're massive; but Kaori was tiny. Once all the ropes were cut, she slid them off the mammoth's back and came back around front and began rubbing his trunk. "Come on, the sooner we get you to your home the better." Kaori said and began walking while holding the top of the trunk.

The ground shook with each step the mammoth took, and even though there was plenty of room to walk around in, the handlers had all stuck against the wall to avoid getting thrown like rag dolls. Kaori seemed to have a good handle on things, so they didn't want to mess it up. The mammoth winced as the lights for the enclosure had changed, giving way to a massive room with concrete walls. The top had a viewing platform with visitors already crowding it. Kaori felt the panic begin setting in and immediately turned around and began walking backwards. "It's okay. You're safe." she said while keeping the body link up. The mammoth was hesitant, but continued following Kaori to the middle of the enclosure. One of the handlers came in with a large cart filled with the same kind of grass the mammoth ate up north, something that Kaori was very adamant about stocking up on if they wanted her cooperation. Kaori took a large hand full of some and held it up from the mammoth to smell, after which it took and began eating it. The enclosure had the same grass growing in it, but it'd take awhile to grow; so hand feeding was all they could do for now. Kaori had taken the handler's hand and held it out for the mammoth to smell, and then guided him to touching the mammoth's nose.

A buzz came on Kaori's iLac with a message from the Arc, stating there were people waiting on her at the docks. Kaori left the mammoth with the handler to bond, and returned to the White Mermaid. Kaori would apologize to Tia for not immediately taking her home, and explain that there's a group of individuals waiting at the docks for her. She would state that she'd only need an hour or two with them, and afterwards she'd be able to take her home. However, after an hour and a half with the people; Kaori had found herself being asked to do more... "Miss Haiku, I understand you must be wanting to return to your clan; but my colleagues would like me to perform an errand for them. Lady Ceostra would implore me to seek assistance with this task, so would you mind accompanying me once more?"

If Tia would agree, Kaori would have Salty take them to the site of the artifact the scientists spoke of. She would be wearing a two-piece swimsuit that was white with a blue trimming. Tia would notice that Kaori had larger breasts than her normal attire made it seem. Kaori had several weapons strapped to her being. On her upper left arm was a set of five kunai, and five senbon strapped to her lower arm. She had a bag tied to her waist, just above where the strings for her bottoms were tied, that held her tactical and explosive items. Naturally, she was still wearing the cat mask. "Once we dive down we'll have a spell on us that lets us breath and talk under water, so we don't need any scuba gear. When you're ready, I'll jump first." Kaori would say as she stood on the cargo bay door, a hundred feet above the water's surface.

Lava Hawk
Motorcycle
Job Info
Word Count: 1,051/6,200
Mana: 100%

Kaori had noticed how flustered Tia had gotten from seeing her in a swim suit, something that she found to be odd- but cute. Kaori was accustom to people seeing her body since she often times prepared for battle with the rest of her clan, all women did. The men of her clan were immune to the feminine features as a result, and very hard to seduce. At the same time, the women of her clan were completely comfortable being stark naked in front other men and women. She took a few seconds after Tia dove in to let her get clear of the dive zone before going in herself. That way, when she did finally dive it wouldn't be a face first collision with ceramic and steel against skull.

Kaori had seen several other females who had a very similar body to her, but very different face. She let out a small giggle and decided that if she were going to make someone uncomfortable, she would at least have fun with it. Kaori placed her hand over her chest, letting a magic circle consume her. The magic would seemingly do nothing at akk but change her hair style, but in reality, it changed her face to that of someone else's entirely. Since almost no one had ever seen her real face, Kaori had no problems with people seeing this one. She grabbed her mas and mounted on her shoulder, using telekinesis to tie the ribbon and keep it in place.


Kaori jumped with her arms spread out, quickly moving them together to a diving position and blasting through the water's surface like a fleshy torpedo. When she emerged, Tia would see a face with very gentle features, brown eyes, and not a single blemish. Her hair was tied back in a single pony tail so it didn't obstruct her vision. Tia would here in her mind 'Let's go, the portal's at the bottom' and Kaori would go under water. When Tia dove down, she would see Kaori quite some distance below. After a few minutes of her diving down, she would see Kaori vanish in a puff of smoke.

Out of nowhere, Tia would feel a pair of hands gently touching her shoulders before slowly gliding across her smooth skin, over her shoulders and past her collar bone. They'd trace their way across her chest and gently hold Kaori against her, pressing her bust against the other woman's back. Tia would feel Kaori's skin against her own, her stomach against her back, her arms gently holding her in place. Kaori's face would slide against Tia's cheek and turn, placing a pair of peach colors, well cared for lips against her cheek. Then she'd hear Kaori's voice in her head, playfully saying in a soft, somewhat sexy voice "Did you have any good dreams? Our conversation last night makes me thing so..."

Afterwards, Kaori would release her and begin speeding up. A pair of large sharks were approaching from the east, easily noticeable as Great Whites. Kaori stopped swimming and her brown eyes turned a vivid shade of violet, the shark's eyes reflecting the color. One of them passed Kaori and she grabbed hold of its' dorsal fin, using it as means of swimming faster. The second shark approached Tia and used its snout to nudge her, trying to get her to grab on. "Fall too far behind and I won't cuddle you anymore!" Kaori joked, giving a playful smile as her and her shark sped up towards the portal.

Several hundred feet below the surface, the portal glowed a bright blue color. It was easy to see since the surrounding area was pitch black, and anything glowing was easy to find. Kaori was thankful that the enchantment on her made it so the atmospheric pressure increase didn't crush her, otherwise breathing might be a bit complicated. She waited for Tia to show up, anticipating having more fun with the easily flustered girl. It was a sure sign that she'd lived a mostly innocent life, and was just getting into the harsh part of reality. It was also a sign that Kaori would have to protect her from those who would do things without the intent of toying around.

Lava Hawk
Motorcycle
Job Info
Word Count: 1,762/6,200
Mana: 92.5%


Duration:
Clone - 1/4

Kaori's expression didn't change much when her hand was grabbed. She knew the things that gaijin thought of as romantic, but she herself didn't find many things to be the same. Couples saw a sunset and felt love spring, Kaori felt like it was a distraction from the mission. Couples kissed and felt their hearts race, Kaori felt nothing at all. They wore somewhat revealing clothes and felt embarrassed, Kaori felt the same as when she wore normal clothes. Her life in the Lareci clan had made her numb to conventional things, and her life of hunting down Saia's clan made her heart calloused, and difficult to waver. Upon being pushed through the portal, Kaori's instincts kicked in and made her vanish and reappear several feet way in time to dodge an incoming attack.

Kaori and Tia, when she got through the portal, were completely surrounded by very colorful fish that were roughly as large as Kaori was. "Well... shit." Kaori said with a fairly impressed tone at how quickly they were surrounded. One of them began glowing in alternating colors that made Kaori want to continue looking. She felt her mind relaxing slightly, but mind games were Kaori's shtick- one does not simply beat her at them. She looked around and noticed more and more of them were doing it, making it impossible to break eye contact. Kaori was a psychic by birth, she had an exceedingly powerful mind and was able to resist such attacks; but she had no reason to believe Tia was any different. Kaori quickly turned around and grabbed Tia's hip, pulling her in and pressing her lips to Tia's. Kaori knew she'd need something heavy to counter this much hypnosis, and because of that, she began sliding her tongue inside Tia's mouth as a means of shocking her out of focusing on the enemies. 'Close your eyes and focus on your happiest memory.' she would hear in her mind, all the meanwhile Kaori's tongue was invading her mouth and playing with Tia's.

Whichever memory Tia began focusing on would then be projected outward, on the world around them. Just like when Kaori projected the past for the wolves, and the volcanic eruption; the details of the memory would be an exact match. The scents, the feeling around her, the air- everything would match; except the fish around them would be floating around and looking in confusion. Afterwards, Kaori would disconnect her french oral embrace and turn to face the confused enemies. Holding her right hand out, a small, five point shuriken had formed on her finger and began spinning while expanding. A heavy current picked up as the shuriken had gotten as large as Kaori herself and continued spinning, even going faster. Tia would feel Kaori using her telekinesis to hold her in place, and the fish would all begin trying to escape. "Tengoku no sutā..." Kaori said in calm voice, causing the white shuriken to begin spinning even faster while giving off a brilliant glow. "...no kegeki kaminari!" she shouted, causing the shuriken to spark violently with white lightning. When Kaori threw it, the lightning sparked and shocked every fish nearby; the force of the spinning star pulled more in, letting them get consumed by Kaori's holy lightning.

Kaori would turn to Tia with a fierce look, take a breath, and relax herself to a neutral expression. "I'm sorry for that. I needed something to redirect your focus, that was the first thing that came to mind... W-was that your first time? I understand to outsiders such things are precious, so I apologize again." Kaori said in a humble tone, explaining the method behind her madness. Her eyes would reflect her regret for using such an insensitive method as her go-to if her voice didn't already do so. Looking around, Kaori had finally noticed the beauty of the place she was in while the crispy fish all floated upwards. There were glowing plants all over that illuminated the sandy bottom, and Kaori's being. It was like nothing she'd ever seen before, and made her feel somewhat sad that she had come to this place with violence before even looking at her battlefield..

Lava Hawk
Motorcycle
Job Info
Word Count: 2,462/6,200
Mana: 85%


Duration:
Clone - 2/4

Cooldown:
Heavenly Star 1/3

Kaori could tell that this would be in Tia's mind, and decided that it would be cruel to play with her heart to such an extent. Kaori said "Miss Haiku-" with a stern voice that lacked any form of playfulness, but Kaori was interrupted by something darting from the depths. It was moving fast, not as fast as Kaori during a fight, but faster than could be reacted to while adrenaline was inactive. Kaori began charging a fist full of lightning to use against the new enemy, but stopping when she noticed it was something adorable and fluffy. Kaori's spell slowly faded, the magic returning to where it came from.

The un-masked ninja waited a few seconds while the creature began frantically screaming at Tia, and concluded that they were comrades. However, before their conversation could get too far Kaori would let out a squeal and grab the small furry thing by the body and pull it into her chest. "Oh my, it's so soft and furry!" she would exclaim with a bright smile on her face while rubbing her cheek against the exceed's. Kaori then gasped and held the creature out away from her while looking at it. "-gasp- I should get a plush version of this!" she exclaimed with more youthful exuberance. "Can I hold her more!? Please Miss Haiku!? She's so adorable and well spoken!" Kaori continued gushing over the small, furry, articulate creature. Her adoration for it would be so great that Tia might be able to see hearts bubbling off the woman, even though there weren't any in reality.

Kaori heard the sound of lightning and her expression returned to being neutral, her mind quickly switching to battle mode and releasing the exceed. "On second thought, I'll need my hands free." she said in an annoyed tone. Kaori knew that Tia had weaker magic, and now with her comrade present, she'd need to devote her attention to keeping her safe. "Miss Haiku, I'd like to establish something. I... am... a... monster. Let the definition of that sink in, and never forget it. I don't have a heart, or a soul. I'm a shell, a husk, the corpse of a child at best... You can do better." Kaori's words were very matter of fact. The fish began charging electrical energy around its body and quickly darted after Kaori with an open mouth. Kaori materialized a sword made of bone, the same one she used to dispatch the ninja from the Silent Glaciers, and used it to cut the attacking fish in half- right down the spine as it attacked.

Kaori's eyes turned sour as she was reminded of her destiny. "I will die with a hole in my stomach... alone, remembering all the things I'd done. There will be no honorable battle, no funeral procession, and no one to mourn me... I'll die as any monster does." she said in a very soft, almost inaudible tone as her bone sword began vanishing. Kaori turned her face, looking at Tia and Chai with a stern expression. "Let's get moving before more enemies show up." she said and began looking around. Spotting a rather impressive rock structure in the distance, Kaori pointed to it. "That place might contain something of substance." Kaori said before beginning to swim towards it.

A few minutes had passed when Kaori had felt a small trickle of danger crawling down her spine. She stopped swimming and began looking around when one of the hypnotic creatures from earlier began descending in front her. Kaori got ready to attack be slowly reaching for one of her kunai, but stopped when she noticed the creature wasn't beginning to use its attack. The fish moved forward, pressing itself into Kaori's stomach and brushing against her while turning. It stopped a few feet away and began swimming in small circles as though it were waiting on her. Kaori's eyes lit up a brilliant violet, then the fish's eyes did the same as Kaori performed a body link to better understand the creature. "This one's trying to lead us to something. It has no intention of leading us into a trap." Kaori stated before swimming to follow. The fish had led them closer to the large rock formation in the distance before stopping at a fragment of a tile of sorts. It was small and contained several hieroglyphs that Kaori couldn't recognize. Kaori let out a sigh knowing exactly what came next. "Dammit... Why is it always old ruins? Why can't it be something normal like a cave, or a field of flowers... that'd be a nice change for once." she sarcastically said while cursing her luck. The fish let out a small 'blub' as though it were commenting on Kaori's words. "Hey, don't judge me! You got any idea how many times I damn near got splattered because some ass from some crap ton-hundred years ago is paranoid about someone trying to steal their dead leader's corpse!? Many!" she snapped at the fish. The fish let out another 'blub' while looking at Kaori. "I may look crazy talking to a fish, but you look just as crazy leading and talking to me." she countered the argument. The fish turned around and continued swimming towards the underwater city, accepting defeat.

Lava Hawk
Motorcycle
Job Info
Word Count: 3,344/6,200
Mana: 85%


Duration:
Clone - 3/4

Cooldown:
Heavenly Star 2/3

Tia's words fell on deaf ears as Kaori kept moving. Having a heart didn't win a war, it didn't end suffering, it didn't stop the pain, and it certainly didn't make Kaori stronger than Saia. Kaori's emotions were unstable because of her magic, and how too strong an emotion effected the world around her. She had seen how her magic could reduce entire armies to ash and cinder, and she hated having that much power. Kaori's heart had made her the monster she was, and she hated having it.

Before long, Kaori's fish friend had returned with more numbers. Scores of the predatory fish had began gathering around Kaori, making her feel on edge. Rather than facing Chai, Tia, and Kaori; the fish swam around them in a large circle. The one from earlier approached Kaori and brushed against her stomach once more. She felt no desire to harm her coming from it, and Kaori reached her hands out to wrap around the fish who in turn, allowed itself to sink into them. She gently rubbing the fish's scales, noting how smooth they felt. Her eyes had softened and she let out a sigh. "The only greatness I am destine for... is the death of millions." Kaori said softly before releasing the fish. She grabbed the mask on her shoulder and put it back on her face, using her telekinesis to tie the bands. A magic circle appeared around her and moved from her waist to her toes as a second one moved from the same spot to her head; returning Kaori's face to its original visage- the one Tia was yet to see.

Up till now, Kaori had been using her Telekinesis on herself and Tia to keep them on the floor and allow them to move a bit more comfortable. Running wasn't possible due to water resistance, but walking was perfectly normal. Her psychokinetic powers went out of control when she was a child. She'd shatter things when she got mad, send her trainer into a wall when she was scared, even break her own arm while trying to control it. But unlike those powers, her emotions weren't something she could effortlessly control. She had to force herself to feel nothing to prevent it from going haywire. The school of fish began moving towards a large structure, and pushing the group in its direction. Kaori would follow them as she began questioning what was so important about it.

Lava Hawk
Motorcycle
Job Info
Word Count: 3,755/6,200
Mana: 85%


Duration:
Clone - 3/4

Cooldown:
Heavenly Star 2/3

Chai had found what seemed to be another piece of the map. Kaori had moved over to them and looked at the ridges on the piece Tia had, and the piece she had in her bag. Kaori's memory was extremely powerful when compared to most other humans, the cause being that her mind itself was unique. She was able to remember many things by seeing them just once, a trait many confused for phographic memorization. In reality, it was the result of her training. On the battlefield, warriors had a fraction of a second to take in their surroundings, process it, remember it, and plan how to navigate it. They didn't get the luxury of pausing time and planning ahead, looking around, or finding advantageous places.

While the two women began displaying how close a relationship they had, Kaori was thinking back to the two pieces they'd obtained so far. She couldn't decipher the language on them, and didn't know anyone who specialized in dead languages. Moments later, Tia had been grabbed by a large crustacean with a nasty case of sticky fingers. Kaori watched as Tia took out the one latched to her leg, a second one was trying to finish the fight. This one tried lunging out, but was quickly intercepted by Kaori putting her hand out and forming a barrier between herself and Tia, and the large crab. "Shirofune..." Kaori stated, causing white particles to spiral around a central point to form a sword that was more beautiful than any other. It was perfectly straight, and twin bladed on top of being pure white and gently glowing. The sword floated in the water, not being held by Kaori but rather her telekinesis. The sword spun in the air and pointed towards the crustacean that was being held back by Kaori's barrier while it tried beating its way through with a massive claw. "...sekai o moyasu!" she shouted before launching the sword forward at the crab-thing. The sword phased through her barrier, as well as the crab's armor plating like a ghost through a wall. Suddenly, the water got incredibly hot as bubbles began erupting from the shell of the monster crab, then, the water returned to normal temperature.

The crab laid motionless and Kaori dispelled her barrier, turning towards Tia and pulling her to a nearby coral. "You should be more careful, Miss Haiku." she would say in a calm voice while moving down her body and gently grabbing her leg. Kaori would hold her hand over the markings from where the claw had grabbed her, and envelope the area in a warm light. "Hold still please." she would say just before channelling her spell. While Kaori was using her magic, her emotions normally leaked through; this was no exception. Tia would feel a great deal of pain inside her that seemingly came out of nowhere. She'd feel pressure, the kind you got when you took a test that would decide your future; except this pressure was more like taking a test that decided the future of millions. She'd feel loneliness, and regret coupled with despair and panic in a glorious quartet. Within those emotions, duty and responsibility performed a mile ballet. After a minute or two, the wounds were healed and any pain would have been dulled. As Kaori's spell faded away, so too would the feelings she accidentally shared with Tia.

Kaori would take the map fragment from Tia and open her bag, which seemed to be much too small to hold even one fragment. She'd put it inside and close it without any challenge, which would suggest the bag was much larger on the inside. "Since we already have two pieces of the tablet we may as well obtain the last. That's all I'm willing to stay for since it's getting increasingly more dangerous." Kaori said calmly. She had been using her psychic abilities very often around Tia, and decided that if she was going to be this exposed to Kaori she should understand her a bit more. "Miss Haiku." Kaori stated to get her attention. "You remember how I found those wolves back at the glaciers? It was the same ability that allowed me to distract the fish from earlier. You see, humans consciously use around 10% of their brain; the other 90% is unconsciously used. According to some strange people in white coats, I was born using 20% of my brain consciously; which allow me access to non-magical abilities that normal people would require magic for. I can move objects with my mind, create an emotional link between people, view the history of any person or object, turn that memory into an illusion for others to see, and even recreate broken objects. Let me show you." Kaori would say calmly and take the two pieces back out. "Hold these." she would say and gently place the fragments in Chai's hand- paws.

Kaori took a look at the object and the slits in her cat mask began glowing bright violet. Tia and Chai would see the fragments glowing as well. A pulse of energy expanded, showing a group of men walking with the object and placing it on a pillar. The vision faded and the object began grow, reverting to its original form and becoming whole as though it were never broken. Kaori then gently took it from Chai and turned it around for Tia and Chai to see. "From what I understand, the historical reconstruction works by reversing the time around and object without actually reversing time as a whole; so a paradox isn't made." Kaori took the item and slid it into her bag. "And now to get the hell out of here before something else tries to kill-" Kaori paused as she felt her instincts kicking in. "..... There's a giant tooth monster behind me isn't there?"

As she'd predicted, there was a massive leech like creature that could easily swallow her, Chai, and Tia in one bite if it wanted to. The creature reeled back while expanding its jaws, and then shot forward. Kaori vanished and the fangs would shoot past Tia and Chai, slamming into the coral nearby and ripping a chunk out. "OKAY WE HAVE A THINGY FOR THE PEOPLE, LET'S GET GONE!" Kaori shouted and began swimming away. She had no intentions of fighting in a closed space such as the city.

Lava Hawk
Motorcycle
Job Info
Word Count: 4,822/6,200
Mana: 85%


Cooldown:
Clone - 2/4
Shirofune - 0
Passionate Force - 0

Kaori continued swimming with the toothy leech from hell on her six, constantly trying to lunge at her and take a chunk out of her lower half, only to miss by mere inches. She entered a slightly narrower path that lead to a wall where, to the best of Kaori's knowledge, the open ocean was on the other side. She waited for the pissed off monster to take another snap at her before vanishing and letting it blast a hole in the wall for her to slip through. On the other side, as if drawn to Kaori, was something equally just as horrible; a massive lobster with a nasty case of snaggletooth.

Kaori had narrowly dodged the spikey leg of the creature as it tried to crush her against the city wall, and she appeared a short ways away. "This is why I hate old ruins..." Kaori said with an annoyed tone. The two oversized creatures began coming after her, alternating their attacks to keep her from being able to stop them. It was then that Tia had conjured another of her books and told Kaori to get out the way. A rather large orb appeared that began sucking Kaori and the two monsters in. Kaori, rather than heed her warning, began creating a magic circle as the worm made another attack. The circle expanded, engulfing all three beings and coating the two sea monsters in a type of white energy that paralyzed them. Just before Kaori would touch the orb, she vanished and reappeared behind Tia. "Keep that open a second." Kaori would say as she reached into her bag and pulled out a large cylinder. The cylinder was a fusion core that she often used in combat, as well as for powering her vehicle. She pressed a button on the top of it and turned the handle, causing the device to begin beeping. "Bomb-apatit." she said before casually tossing the item into Tia's void.

Kaori closed her bag and let out an exasperated sigh. "I really hate old ruins... There's always something oversized and ticked off, and it always comes after me." she said with an annoyed tone. "I'm casting my vote to leave... and punch that damned researcher." Kaori added, pointing in the direction of the portal.

On their way back, Kaori's eye was drawn to something in the distance. It was a golden city that gently reflected the minuscule amount of light filtering through from above. She saw small dots moving around it, presumably fish of sorts, and noted mentally that it could be worth checking it out. "Nope." Kaori said, having had her fill of things attacking her for one day. 'Not today, nope. No thank you.' she thought to herself before immediately turning back in the direction of the portal. 'Life is not betta, down where it's wetta. Take it from me... Your stupid urchan and ya snail, will both boil and start to wail...' she continued thinking, creating her own parody of a rather famous children's song.

Upon arriving at the portal and entering it, the two sharks from earlier were there, circling the glowing object. One of them nudged Kaori to confirm who it was, and then allowed her to grab hold and ride it to the surface. Up above, Salty and his ship were waiting with the cargo bay door gently dipped into the water to allow Kaori and Tia to grab hold and pull themselves in. When she got on board, Kaori grabbed her hair and began wringing it to get some of the water out. A man walked through the door who wore a pair of black dress shoes, polished to a perfect shine. In the middle of the bottom lace was a solid gold flower, a hibiscus. He wore a set of black dress pants to match, and a well cared for shirt of the same color was tucked into them. From his neck dangled another golden hibiscus, as though it were symbolic to the man. His broad shoulders gave way to normal sized arms, the muscular structure hidden behind black silk sleeves; courtesy of his dress shirt. The man wore a dark grey tie that had a crimson outline on the top, and holding the two tie ends together and preventing wind from flicking them about was a golden clasp.

He walked over to the girls with a trio of warm, soft, cotton towels that were large enough to wrap around them several times. "Welcome back my ladies, I trust you're both uninjured?" he said calmly, presenting the towels to them both. "Lady Lareci, a certain business associate is requesting your presence. Shall I tell them you're busy?" he asked, to which Kaori shook her head. "Very well, then." he then turned to Chai and Tia. He handed Chai a smaller towel of the same quality and warmth. "I saw you dive in and assumed you were a comrade of Lady Haiku. I am Ikuchi, and am honored to meet you." he said. "Lady Haiku, I've had your garments from the last mission and your rest dry cleaned. They await you in your quarters." Ikuchi then turned and began heading towards the exit to attend to other matters. "Miss Haiku, I'll have to go to a meeting after this. You can come if you'd like, or you can wait on the ship. I'm sorry for delaying your return further." Kaori would say before heading to her room to bathe and switch clothes.

Lava Hawk
Motorcycle
Job Info
Word Count: 5,738/6,200
Mana: 85%


Cooldown:
Clone - 3/4
Passionate Burden - 1/4

Once at Hargeon, Kaori disembarked the White Mermaid. She was wearing a white kimono with a light blue trim, and a sash to match that was tied in an elegant bow at the back. The markings on her mask were the same shade of light blue so as to not clash, and her snow white hair was tied into a single ponytail that was mostly on the right side of her head, causing the hair to dangle to that side. On her feet were a pair of sandals with white socks, and on her hip was a katana. "Miss Haiku..." Kaori said in a soft tone that was slightly distorted by the mask she wore. "...The person we're about to meet is the vassal of a noble from Midi." Kaori said while walking. "I've known him since I was a child, so he'll know that you're not my servant and will address you accordingly. Understand however, that if you say something to offend his master- he will kill you, and I will not get in his way. I'm fighting enough wars as is..."

While Kaori's voice didn't sound as though not acting was easy, it also didn't sound like she was joking. The place they were meeting at was very small, like a house. The bottom half of the outside structure up till the windows were logs arranged vertically, and after the bottom of the windows up, it was stone. Large, crystal clear windows gave a view to what was inside... Entering the establishment, a golden bell rang gently and an older woman in her forties was behind the counter. The floors were hardwood, bloodwood, a very beautiful and rare tree. The walls were a gentle shade of peach and had various pictures, and ornaments on them. Several pillars were arranged evenly in the room, and on each side of the pillar was a sconce made of horn that house a lacrima to provide light. In the middle of the room was an elderly looking man with narrow, dangerous looking eyes that looked like they could see a thousand miles worth of death. He wore white robes with gold trimming, and unlike Kaori, no mask at all.

Kaori approached him and bowed gently. The man raised an eyebrow "You greet me with such an underwhelming gesture?" he asked, his tone sounding less angry and more surprised. "You're the one who didn't meet me half way, bumpkin." Kaori replied with a snarky tone, a testament to their friendship. "How foolish of me." he said and got up, opening his arms wide to receive Kaori's hug. Once completed, they both sat down. "This is Tia Haiku, an ally of mine who's been helping me for a little while now." Kaori said, introducing Tia before getting to business. "I see, a fine young woman at that. You could pass for nobility Haiku-sama." he said respectfully. "So, what did Kirei want with me?" Kaori asked impatiently.
Vassal: "The wedding date has been moved up."
Kaori: "B-but Kirei promised to wait until-"
Vassal: "Yes, but things have gotten more unstable. Uniting the two clans is the only way to stabilize the situation."
Kaori: "He does realize I can't stop what I'm doing for that, right!?"
Vassal: "Lord Shu sends his apologies in advance. He is doing what he must..."
Kaori: "That's not exactly fair, I mean, I haven't even-"
Vassal: "It's either this, or total war Lady Lareci. I hope you understand that this must be done to avoid bloodshed."
Kaori: "When... (sigh) When will the wedding ceremony be?"
Vassal: "A month from now, at Lord Shu's estate."
Kaori: "Let Kirei know... I'll look my best for him."

The vassal stood up and bowed, thanking Kaori for her time and walking out. "Miss Haiku... It'd be foolish of me to go alone. Will you accompany me to the wedding?" Kaori requested, knowing that their time was relatively short together, but she knew enough of the details for Kaori to ask her along. It was common for noble families to get married to settle disputes, or redistribute wealth and it was generally bad to show up without a guest.

Lava Hawk
Motorcycle
Job Info
Word Count: Complete
Mana: 85%