Compared to the day prior, when she was caked in sweat and sand, Suzume felt like a regal princess. Her hair was combed and cleaned, her outfit was washed and readied, and her skin was smooth and radiant. Now, as she strode purposefully through the halls of the Miroku Clan, she felt as if she could have taken on the entire lot of them with both of her arms tied behind her back. Part of her knew that was folly, but that part also believed that she could do so eventually, with a little training. Old Suzume may have been about to fail out of the academy but with Lord Jashin on her side she had a renewed sense of purpose and power. To those ends, she now wandered alone through the more dangerous parts of the complex to hunt down the man who would be able to assist her in such endeavors, Miroku Riyota.
The problem was that she didn't exactly know where he would be, nor how she would explain everything. She had done so a few times, to various individuals, and those had worked out fine and so she was confident that this time would only fare better. "Miroku Riyota, I need to speak with him. Where can I find him?" She had asked that to a number of individuals that she had seen along the way. Their responses had ranged from annoyance, dismissal or a very occasional tidbit of info. With enough morsels of the latter she had eventually managed to find her way all the way to his own room, which was nested away as deeply as it could get. A series of three quick knocks sounded on Riyota's door as she stood patiently outside, her arms crossed, the possibility of him not being at home never even occurring to her.
He undoubtedly would not recognize her, for all intents and purposes he had never seen this girl before in her life. She bore no resemblance to the Suzume he knew, outside of a few minor traits that weren't uncommon among girls of her age, although she new stood roughly an inch taller than she had before. Her clothes were foreign, of Tea Country fashion and her hair a shoulder length dark brown that was a mixture between haphazard and yet well kept.
The problem was that she didn't exactly know where he would be, nor how she would explain everything. She had done so a few times, to various individuals, and those had worked out fine and so she was confident that this time would only fare better. "Miroku Riyota, I need to speak with him. Where can I find him?" She had asked that to a number of individuals that she had seen along the way. Their responses had ranged from annoyance, dismissal or a very occasional tidbit of info. With enough morsels of the latter she had eventually managed to find her way all the way to his own room, which was nested away as deeply as it could get. A series of three quick knocks sounded on Riyota's door as she stood patiently outside, her arms crossed, the possibility of him not being at home never even occurring to her.
He undoubtedly would not recognize her, for all intents and purposes he had never seen this girl before in her life. She bore no resemblance to the Suzume he knew, outside of a few minor traits that weren't uncommon among girls of her age, although she new stood roughly an inch taller than she had before. Her clothes were foreign, of Tea Country fashion and her hair a shoulder length dark brown that was a mixture between haphazard and yet well kept.