A bad beginning (open)

[Nanjirou Ren]

One thing that Ren missed about being home. Was that she didn't have to worry about eating, sleeping, and having a comfortable life. But how can she? She killed her father in cold blood. Just like he did to the other Nanjirou who were wilders of cursed weapons.

She will eventually have to go back. To get that blade that beckoned her. The spirit that understood her. But right now,she is powerless. She was in a part of the Village in which she doesn't know her way around.

She seen some guy pick the pockets of an unaware man. And that gave her an idea. As soon as the thief pocketed the money, she snuck up behind him and carefully took it out of his pocket without him even noticing.

Ren nodded to herself, with this, she could at least get some food for herself.

 

[Zentaru Tatsuya]

Why was he here again? Oh yes, that's right. He was chasing after another cat. It seems like for some reason, there were plenty of stray cats living in Sunagakure, and they all seemed to be extremely obnoxious. The village kept on getting requests to round up cats. He didn't particular like these requests, because having to deal with cats was quite a pain - they tend to have to be captured, rather than killed. Storing them after catching them was not a problem, since his puppets allow plenty of space for that - but yeah, the catching bit was, and is, very annoying.

Wandering around the place, he was growing increasingly frustrated. And why was he even sent to the Grand Palais? This place was not fitting for an Avademy Student! Oh wait, that's right. It's because his capabilities are a bit beyond that of a typical Academy Student, but he bore the rank. That meant that he could take care of himself in a place like this, while hiring him meant less money had to be spent. Dang it.

Kyokuso furrowed his eyebrows, as he continued the search. Nope, not this street. Nope, not that alley. Stop staring at me, creepy homeless people. He felt sorry for them, but at the same time, not. This place was filled with criminals. Any one person on the street may be evil. More often than not in fact, that was the case though.

That was what he was thinking, until he rounded a corner, and noticed a girl just... standing there. She stood almost as tall as him, but he felt like she was quite a bit younger than him. Not exactly sure though. Either way, it was not safe for a child to be here, unless they were at least somewhat trained.

Hm...

"Excuse me..." Kyokuso spoke, as he approached Ren. "Did you happen to see a cat wandering around here, probably with a huge fried bug in its mouth? It's relatively small, with black and white stripes, along with a brown patch of fur around its left eye. If you did see it, please let me know which way it could be. It would be greatly appreciated."

Wait, what? He did not mean to ask that! He was supposed to ask if the girl was okay... and what she was doing here. Damn his force of habit! He had been asking so many people about the cat that it just slipped out instead.

OOC:

[MFT, WC: 414]
[Mission: Catch the Cat]

 

[Nanjirou Ren]

Ren counted the money that she stole from the thief. "Darn it, why couldn't you steal from a more rich person?" She had whispered to herself, as for being too close to the man, hoping he didn't hear it.

Just then, someone got her attention. She sighed, figuring that someone had caught her in the act. But the kid that talked to her was talking about a cat. She was about to say something, but then someone else got her attention, the thief that she stole from noticed that his money was gone.

Without thinking, Ren grabbed the kid by the collar of his shirt and dragged him with her away from the problem that will soon arise.

"No, I haven't seen your Mr. Whiskers around anywhere. But you showed up at the wrong place looking for your cat." She pushed him into an alleyway and had herself close to the wall, looking around the corner to see if the man had caught on of who stole the money that he worked so hard to steal.

 

[Ryu Hime]

Within the alley was the cat matching the boy’s description, but it was not alone. With it was another cat with greyish black fur, white under belly and patches on it’s paws and tip of it’s tail. The two of them seem to be sharing a meal together; it seems to be some sort of fried bug. As soon the two entered the alley and interrupted their pleasant meal they hissed at the two unwelcomed humans. The two feline then quickly make there leave with the black one leading the way. Should the to of them follow they the would be lead through the alley into another main street. The blackish cat would then leap into the arms of a blind girl while the other would attempt to hide under the woman’s black dress. “Ah Goku, where have you been? And who is this?” The cat was up against her leg and she was trying hard not to accidentally step on the poor thing.

 

[Zentaru Tatsuya]

Ooomph, what's going on! Kyokuso was quickly dragged away by the collar into an alley by the girl, without a single response to his question. Wait, was there some sort of danger around that he was not aware of? He allowed her to drag him all the way into the alley, where he was told that she did not see the cat anywhere. Worse, she re-affirmed that there's some sort of danger here. Was it something even more dangerous than per usual? Or was she just not familiar with this place? Watching her peer around the corner in anticipation of some sort of danger. Whatever she meant, it was clear that she specifically was in imminent trouble.

There was a quick hiss from within the alley, catching Kyokuso's attention. Seeing his target cat, Kyokuso almost forgot about Ren's wariness. However, the cat - and what seemed to be its friend, darted away, leaving them behind. He almost went for the cat again, remembering his mission, but the girl's problem snapped him back to reality. Unfortunately, that meant that he did not see the cat running for the blind girl.

"Who are you looking out for?" Kyokuso whispered to Ren as he scooted closer to her. "I kind of know how dangerous this place could be, but you seem to be extra wary of... something?"

 

[Nanjirou Ren]

As Ren had dragged the boy with her to the alleyway, she seen couple cats run away. One of them might be the boy's cat. Once she figured the coast was clear, she looked at the boy.

Great, she thought, he was asking questions. She looked at him and said, "I stole from a thief. But it's alright, he would have probably used the money for illegal stuff. Now that I have it,I can put it to good use and live off the streets a little bit better."

Then she had an idea. Before the boy could react, she grabbed his wrist and pulled him along. "Come on, we are getting your Mr. Fluffy now." She didn't know the cats name, but she figured it might be something generic to say the least.

As she rounded the corner, pulling the boy along, she seen a woman there, with the two cats.

"Hello Miss, this boy is just looking for his lost cat, Mittens, are either of those belong to him?" She asked the woman.

 

[Zentaru Tatsuya]

OOC: Apologies for posting out of turn order, but I feel like this would make more sense.

IC:
Kyokuso was once again dragged off, this time right after being given the explanation of what Ren was doing in this place. Right, stealing from a thief. That was definitely dangerous. Kyokuso didn't particular mind though, especially if it seemed like Ren was doing it out of necessity. Poor girl though - what have had to happen for her to be like this? Although she was wary of dangers around her, she did not seem at all intimidated by this place - like it was just another day for her. Perhaps he could figure out something with her after this.

Rounding the same corner that his target cat had disappeared around, Kyokuso and Ren were met with the sight of a woman standing there, two cats with her. One was a mostly greyish-black cat, content in the arms of the lady. The other was brushed up against her leg, and also quickly recognizable by Kyokuso. It was the cat he was looking for!

While Ren addressed the lady, Kyokuso looked just a bit puzzled. The lady they were talking to seemed very familiar, for some reason. He felt like he had seen her somewhere before, in a situation that he remembered was somehow relatively warm and comfortable. A gathering or celebration of some sort, was it? Kyokuso just could not put his finger on it at the moment. This is in spite of the fact that she seemed to be blind should have greatly narrowed it down.

"The cat brushed up against her leg? That's the cat I am looking for." Kyokuso spoke to Ren as he leaned his head over closer to hers, even though his eyes were still transfixed on the lady in front of them. Taking a step forwards, Kyokuso addressed Hakuren. "Excuse me ma'am, I apologize for intruding upon you. There is currently a cat at the base of your legs, one that I have been looking for. May I ask if it belongs to you?"

 

[Ryu Hime]

Mittens she says. With the little white paws of the cat in her arms, it seems a more fitting name for her cat rather than the one by her feet. The boy that was the said owner of the cat she knew quite well. "Kyo-kun?” Hakuren was also of the Taisen clan; her mother is his father’s older sibling. “I did not know you got a cat and who is this cute one?" Hakuren was of coarse speaking about the girl he was with. "Is this your girlfriend? Does Uncle Koho know about this?" Hakuren was actually being serious with her question and if they were a couple she would be impressed. Hakuren was already twenty-one and she has yet to have a special someone in her life. While she was still a maiden, this however does not mean she is naive in such practices; having the ability to inhabit the bodies of animals did lead to some... experimentation.

Hakuren hopes he Kyokuso was not getting himself into such things. He was now in that age where boys are interested in the opposite sex, but he was too young to be putting such fantasies into practice. However the two of them did just come out of an alleyway, which did raise her suspicions. "You two aren't doing something that would be frowned upon, are you?" Considering Ren was already on high alert from the man that she stole, she might misinterpreted her meaning and think that Hakuren knows about the theft.

 

[Nanjirou Ren]

As the boy leaned his head towards Ren to tell her of that cat that he was looking for,she put a hand up in between their faces as so he won't be able to get any closer. Then, the boy made his way to the woman, asking her about the cat.

Kyo, it seems, to have no idea who the woman was as he addressed her like someone else, though the woman seems to know different.

Ren listened as the talked, and when the woman brought up about her being the boy's girlfriend, she shook her head in frustration. "No! I am not dating this boy. I barely even know him! I just dragged him away from the area we were just at."

Then the woman asked if they were getting into trouble. Ren, though have just stolen money, was honest about it. "The boy did nothing wrong except almost get me caught. I stole from a thief, and as I told him, the money is better off in my hands where it goes for me surviving rather than the thief doing illegal stuff with it."

Ren took a step away from Kyo, seeming as the woman thinks that they are dating, which is a crazy idea all in itself. She had more important matters to deal with. Eleven years old or not, she has to get that sword back, along with the spirit that resided in it.

 

[Zentaru Tatsuya]

It dawned on him finally, who the lady was. Yes, of course! "Cousin Hakuren!" Kyo exclaimed, his eyes lit up in delight. "It's been such a long time! We met when our family gathered together last time... sorry, I can't believe I didn't recognize you, I just didn't expect to see anyone I'd know around here." Kyo explained, embarrassed at what he had done. And also embarassed that Ren was called his girlfriend. "And yeah, what she said. We're not boyfriends and girlfriends... I really only just met her. She seems to be in a bit of a spot of trouble. Can either of our families help her?"

Kyo turned towards Ren, now that it got him thinking. "Actually yeah, how did you get into this position? Where's your friends and family? Why are you trying to make a living in this dark, decrepit, dangerous place?"

 

[Ryu Hime]

(Topic entered by NPC Taisen Yuki)​

“What makes you say he is a thief?” Did she see the person rob someone or was this a swindler. In either case the proper course of action is not to keep the money but give in back to the original owner that the said thief stole from.

Then from behind the pair there was a voice, “Onee-san what’s taking you so long. All the good stuff is going to get picked over if we don’t hurry.” The owner of the voice was Taisen Yuki, Hakuren’s only younger sibling. Yuki would be around the same age as Kyo and also a student. Kyo might not know of her as she was somewhat of a black sheep of the family. Hakuren and siblings seeked enlightenment, however the path to such a goal varies from person to person. Yuki believed there had to be a shortcut to enlightenment. She did not want to spend years in search of it so she decided to make a pack with a demon. She bound her soul to an Okami, a wolf demon, and sacrificed her powers as a Yamanaka for what she believes is enlightenment.

The sacrifice of her heritage did not really go over well with most of the Taisen clan. As the black sheep she would not have been invited to the last family gathering or any traditional family gathering. “Ah Yuki, I would like you to meet your cousin Kyokuso.” Unlike Hakuren who wore a dress, Yuki bore a more shinobi like attire. Yuki was quite obviously different from the norm with her canine-ish appearance; wolf like ears, golden eyes and a bushy tail. Next to her was a large black wolf that came up to her waist.

“It’s a pleasure to meetcha.” She says with a hearty grin, but still a little impatient to get to the new weapon shop that was having its grand opening.