weakerlink (weakerlink) wrote in marvel_nextgen,
@ 2011-09-22 23:11:00

Entry tags:

Moonlight duels? What could be more exciting!
Kayura should have been more careful. She should have watched from further off. Or done more research on her computer at home. Things would have gone better. She realized that she was very lucky to be limping into the area reserved for training the next morning.

She didn't feel it. Normally she would dress in demure calf-length skirts with big shapeless tops not wanting to look too pretty or too eye catching. Besides, it was comfortable to dress that way. Today was a pants day though.

And the first time she was going to ask someone for assistance dealing with the supernatural since she had taken over her father's duty. She feels a touch of shame she has to ask for help.

"Hajime-sempai?" He has been here longer than her, he deserves that respect. "May I speak with you?"

She was glad it appeared that they were the only ones here this early in the day. She hadn't slept much after her defeat last night.

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	get_medieval 2011-09-23 03:16 am UTC (link)
	He bows back. "I will be here. Return two hours before the time of your battle, so we may study anything you've learned. Then we will go to wait for him." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

weakerlink
2011-09-23 03:24 am UTC (link)

She nods in understanding.

"I will be here by eight."

The fact he was going to do this made things easier. She departed to go do as he had ordered her.

She got so wrapped up in her work she had nearly been late to class. It was not until after her final test she was able to eat as much as she had really needed. Which was much more than a normal person.

And by half past seven she was back there will a small pile of books and several still warm copies of things she dared not take from home.

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	get_medieval 2011-09-23 03:26 am UTC (link)
	In truth, he has spent the day preparing. Not to die - never. While always possible, he cannot let defeat enter his thoughts. It will not happen. But for his first duel since the presumptive new Silver Samurai. By appearances, he is back where he was when she left, kneeling in meditation. "You have found something?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

weakerlink
2011-09-23 03:44 am UTC (link)

She had to catch herself when she moves. She nearly tripped because well, she was a little excited by her findings. She should be moving slower since she is still hurt.

But it's hard for her to not feel energetic. "Hai! I was able to find some information on him. I think I know how he died and more importantly why he is where he is."

She carefully sits placing the books down and adjusting her glasses before spreading out first the papers.

"There was something very particular about his stance and accent. But... His presence in this city made no sense for the clothes of his period. Tokyo in his time was not the capital of Japan. He dressed as a soldier who would have been stationed in the Imperial capital, Kyoto."

She shifts again not being able to still herself perfectly while thinking.

"I am not certain exactly how his spirit came here. But there are records from that period." She picks up the still warm papers.

"What I was able to gather is that in Kyoto there had been been rumors of a swordsman challenging people at night. He was.... not seen as honorable because of the way he won the duels. A young captain decided that he would deal with this after some of the recruits under his command died, and another was left a cripple.

So he challenged the swordsman to meet him openly at night on a well known bridge by leaving a message at every tea house in the city and with anyone who would spread the word for him. What he didn't know is that it had been a group of thieves doing this. It's not exactly clear but I think he was killed facing them. The thieves were caught latter on when one of them felt remorse for killing the captain."

She's convinced it is this captain. Something about it jumps out at her. She just has no idea how he got to Tokyo.

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	get_medieval 2011-09-23 03:49 am UTC (link)
	He nods. "Unfortunate. But all too common a type of tragedy. But it always is when spirits like this are involved. Very well, he must be dealt with properly, and with honor... and then laid to rest. I will attempt to speak with him, and see if there is more. But this tale must end. You are prepared to see him again?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	weakerlink 2011-09-23 04:03 am UTC (link)
	She almost froze because really she isn't ready. He had been scary. She had been reminded that she could die and there was no one else after her who the armor would bond to. "Yes." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

get_medieval
2011-09-23 04:07 am UTC (link)

He shakes his head.

"Kneel, relax. Clear your mind. You paused too long... you thought... you are not ready.

You were ready for your test today. You did not hesitate for that, and yet the consequences of failure were there.

I will promise you, he will not harm you unless I am dead first, and I will not die tonight." he says, with absolute conviction. "I am a better fighter than he is." he adds, waiting for the obvious question.

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weakerlink
2011-09-23 04:28 am UTC (link)

"I knew I couldn't fail, I had prepared myself," she pointed out.

"You can't really be ready for any fight. It just happens and then it's over, no matter what happens," she continued on. Then paused when he said he wasn't going to let him hurt her, not unless he was dead. It was touching because she wasn't used to anyone doing this either.

"I know you're better. You would have beaten me quicker. He took too long."

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	get_medieval 2011-09-23 04:56 am UTC (link)
	"Then go into the next fight knowing you cannot fail. I did not know how long he took, or how good he was. I just know I am better, because if I was wrong, I would die. And I am not dying today. Therefore I will win. And thus, you will not be harmed. Do you believe me?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	weakerlink 2011-09-23 05:11 am UTC (link)
	"Yes." That wasn't even worth thinking about. She knew she believed him. Her Father would have liked him, she thought. Her Father had been like a force of nature in a fight. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	get_medieval 2011-09-23 05:17 am UTC (link)
	"Good. Then if you believe me... I ask again, are you ready to face him?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	weakerlink 2011-09-23 05:21 am UTC (link)
	Hajime giving her a pre-fight pep talk is rather surreal. And if he wasn't her 'teacher' right now she might blush. No hesitation now either. "Hai." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

get_medieval
2011-09-23 05:27 am UTC (link)

"Very good. A fight is no different than any other test." he taps his head with two fingertips. "The fight is as much about steel as your test is about a pencil. If you are prepared, and know you cannot lose, and your purpose is just... then you must win. If you do not go into it to win... you have already lost."

He stands. "Show me to this place, we will rest and talk there and wait for him."

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weakerlink
2011-09-23 05:38 am UTC (link)

She nodded and got up gathering her things as she did. She would leave these some place safe and get them later. Probably the next day since she'll need to sleep after this is done.

She takes him there. It takes very little time because she knows how to get all over the city very quickly. There is a near by park with a small man made stream running through it.

It is very dark out here tonight even with some near by street lights.

Kayura searches for a place they can sit and wait using a flash light that is on her cell phone to guide the way since they're in a pretty dark part of the park.

And she has a back pack with her not wanting to have to worry if she has to transform into her armor and ends up loosing ALL of her clothes. This has happened before.

Not fun.

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get_medieval
2011-09-23 05:43 am UTC (link)

He follows her, then moves out to the bridge across the man-made stream. "He will come here." he muses aloud. "Yes, this is a good place. And the stream will be happier when it is no longer haunted."

That said, he kneels on the bridge, and instructs her to do likewise, before closing his eyes and taking deep breaths.

"Yes, much happier. I do not think this place likes the ghost... out of balance."

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weakerlink
2011-09-23 05:51 am UTC (link)

She nearly tripped when he said that.

"You mean... you can feel that too Sempai?" She was shocked. She had only recently gotten used to the ability to feel when things were wrong.

The armor had granted her that gift. It let her track supernatural hotspots much easier. "This place... it's not like other places I've been to. But I can feel it isn't as it should be."

She had knelt down beside him and checked her clock.

They still had time.

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get_medieval
2011-09-23 05:58 am UTC (link)

He smiles. "Put the clock away. Even if I miss it, your armor will tell us when it is time." he replies, calm and serene as before, keeping his eyes closed.

"I cannot feel it like you do, with your magic. But a samurai must be balanced... follow the code, know the 8 lessons, keep mind, body and spirit in harmony, and keep all the five elements in balance.

The world is the same way. It wishes to be in balance. The right amount of fire, water, metal, earth and wood. If you are in balance in a place that is in harmony... you will feel it. So too can you sometimes tell when the world is not right."

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weakerlink
2011-09-23 06:08 am UTC (link)

She wasn't going to ask how he knew. She put her phone in the back pack though.

"It's more than that. I was trained how to see signs of things since I was little." She shakes her head.

"Father believed in making sure I knew how to see things because he thought I'd be much older when the armor fell to me and I had to be able to defend myself if something happened. The armor just makes it much more certain because I can feel it."

She knew that if a ghost asked someone a question directly to not answer it directly in most cases.

"Though you are right. I have seen people shy away from places I know for certain are not right, they don't seem to know why, they just feel uncomfortable."

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get_medieval
2011-09-23 06:14 am UTC (link)

He answers without being asked. "I can hear you shifting. There is a trial coming, you should be relaxing, and focusing on the task at hand. It will come when it comes." he replies, in regards to the time.

"Your father was a wise man. And yes... the kami speak to us all, some just choose not to listen, or are so far out of balance with the world they cannot hear. It is part of why I prefer places like this over the city. Too much fire and metal, and all the water and earth are trapped. Definitely not enough wood."

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weakerlink
2011-09-23 06:24 am UTC (link)

She finds it so hard to stay still. She clasped her hands together tightly and put them in her lap to help herself focus on that.

"He was.... I wanted to be just like him," she admits. "He wasn't just wise. He was smart. And a kind man too."

She had also seen as reserved as her father could be in public, in private he had loved her mother very much. She can still remember hearing sloshing water and her mother giggling in the kitchen whenever her father tried to 'help' mother. The memory leaves her aching and her mouth tasting of ashes again.

"It is why parks are built in cities. To return some of the green. I read somewhere that it is good for a city to have 'green spots'. That it helps the people in the city who can't leave to enjoy the outdoors." It makes sense to her anyways. Parks like this are nice and she is willing to bet it's pretty here during the day.

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	get_medieval 2011-09-23 06:27 am UTC (link)
	"I am still getting used to them. Once upon a time, there was far less city, and far more... park. As for wishing to be like him, you are already very smart. Wisdom comes with time and experience. You can choose to be kind... so you are well on your way." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

weakerlink
2011-09-23 01:14 pm UTC (link)

She would point out her intelligence comes from so much studying. But she knows her father also studied and if the stories of grandfather are true he had been forced to be much more disciplined than he expected her to be.

He was a much nicer teacher apparently.

"Thank you Sempai." She felt something tug at her senses so she silently peered looking for something different.

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	get_medieval 2011-09-23 01:35 pm UTC (link)
	Either he senses it as well, or he hears her shifting. In no hurry, he stands up near the center of the bridge, and moves his hand to his belt, not on his sword, but near. "This is my bridge now, you cannot use it." he tells the darkness. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

nextgen_misc
2011-09-23 04:33 pm UTC (link)

It shouldn't be happening this way. But down the path there is a faint white image that becomes more clear. It is a man.

He is rather handsome despite the fact he is dead. His uniform is neatly presented. He would look the picture of the perfect guard except or an important fact, he is dead and there is blood spots from where he had been stabbed.

He approaches the bridge then stops not setting foot on it.

"I ask you to leave please. I do not wish to involve you in what must happen tonight." He sees Kayura too but does not choose to acknowledge her for now.

"And take your charge with you. They do not belong out here alone, it is dangerous I would not see them harmed," he says again in a firm tone but choosing to not speak directly to Kayura and deciding she is not a warrior either.

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	get_medieval 2011-09-23 04:37 pm UTC (link)
	Hajime shakes his head. "People have died. I am already involved. This is my bridge, you may not cross it. The girl is my student, she is here to learn. She is otherwise no more involved than you make her. But I will hear your tale, and your name, if you will tell it. It is good to know who one faces." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)