|
|
Post by Koneko on Jan 22, 2024 23:45:11 GMT
The lone figure of a common-looking Sengoku era village man stood pondering in deep thought in the middle of the main road leading down towards the village of Kiso. "Strange, it's really strange... Those merchants mentioned a man named Koneko matching the description of the woman he sought wandering off in this direction and she would have passed this way by now. I've been checking around here for at least a few days but there isn't a trace of her having even passed through." The man scratched his head, considering his next course of action. It was possible she'd already made it through the village, and he was even quite sure she'd been making it difficult to track herself on purpose: she was fairly keen on keeping as much of her existence as quiet as possible for reasons he was well aware of. Then he snapped his fingers in sudden realization, there was a chance that perhaps she'd opt to stick to a nearby river instead to keep even her scent hidden as her habits and ways to hide were no true secret to him. Yet he had found it unusual he'd managed to pick her name up from a human this time, let alone another name he wasn't quite sure about the owner of, but he'd assess this unknown person in the company of his previous companion once he'd found her. 'I'll find you soon, Konene, I'll make sure that you're actually alright and not let you out of my sight ever again! That's a promise!' With that thought, the man first walked off into the treeline before he seemed to vanish as if a phantom among the trees.
--------------
"We really should keep moving, we'll make it to Kiso faster if we don't stop," Koneko insisted as she pushed through more of the shrubbery between the trees, "besides, if we want to keep Murada and Jiro from catching up to quick then staying off the main road the whole way there is our best bet." The feline seemed to be in quite the hurry ever since just before leaving the inn a short ways back and, despite being a few hours safely out of sight of their 'favorite' merchants, she also didn't seem to favor the idea of stopping to rest too much or favor the main road for an easier time walking either. Even turning back to glance back at Mitsuyoshi, there was a fair distance between them as she was far ahead and making her way through the forested area with quite a bit of determination in her step. 'I'd just burn a path through here to make it easier if it wouldn't be a glaringly obvious sign I'd been here. I can't risk that if that idiot fox might still have a chance of being in the area...' Avoiding the frustration of such a torturous reunion was her sole motivation to make their way through as quickly as possible, and, with any luck, they'll have assuredly missed bumping into Kaito completely.
"If you really are having too hard a time keeping up, I could just carry you through here. Leaping through this stuff really isn't that bad." Her pushiness continued, though she seemed to take a moment of consideration. "Though I suppose if you really want a break, we could make it through to a better clearing and I could go find us some water and you can rest. But just a short one so that we can keep moving and get to Kiso before nightfall." It truly was a bit odd that her entire attitude had flipped from being content to take some time to being in almost a desperate rush externally to the thoughts running through her mind.
|
|
|
|
Post by Taishou89 on Jan 23, 2024 5:29:21 GMT
Mitsuyoshi had been following behind Koneko through the forest at a casual pace, his mind focused on the strange woman from his dreams, singing that strange song that he somehow felt familiar with, including the woman, yet he did not know why or who she was. Stranger still, it seemed to be the case that he'd even heard it while wide awake and in the middle of that battle with Mistress Chi, yet only he could hear it. 'Who was that woman? Why did that song sound so familiar?' he asked himself as he searched his memories for any thing that could help identify her or the song. "If you really are having too hard a time keeping up, I could just carry you through here..." Koneko's voice suddenly drew him from his thoughts as he looked up to see Koneko almost comically far ahead of him. "...Leaping through this stuff really isn't that bad." she added as a surprised looked crossed his face followed by a rosy color developing on his cheeks. "Eh?! No It's nothing like that!" He exclaimed as he surged forward, leaping and sprinting at a pace that no ordinary human could perform.
"I'm just a little confused as to why we're rushing? Kiso is still going to be there when we get there, and I'm pretty sure Murada and Jiro won't be leaving that Inn for some time. Is everything alright Koneko?" an inquisitive look, now forming on his face as he gazed at her. He'd begun to suspect that there was more to the reasoning for their haste than what had been mentioned. "I doubt Murada and Jiro would have gone very far in search of us, they probably wouldn't have wanted to leave their recent investment unattended." He mentioned as he followed after her leaping forward. "You also don't strike me as a thief, so I doubt you'd have taken something that would have given them cause to pursue us with such devotion, but I can't help but get this feeling that you're on edge about something..." As they came to a stop at the base of a large tree, he noticed that she seemed to be sweating. "Eh? Are you feeling unwell Koneko?" he said as he gently placed the back of his palm against her forehead to see if she was running a temperature. Koneko gently removed his hand and tried to downplay it all “no nothings wrong, I'm fine really... I just want to get there really fast but don’t want to risk them catching up” 'I'm pretty sure something has her on edge... even though she says she's fine, I get the feeling that there is something troubling her beneath the surface..' Mitsuyoshi turned his gaze ahead of them and raised his nose, sniffing the air. "I think there's a river nearby... Perhaps we should rest there for a bit, though I really can't say what might be ailing you, maybe a dip in the river might make you feel better by alleviating whatever ailment is stressing you, ne? Or You might end up needing me to carry you the rest of the way to Kiso." He jokingly smirked. Giving Mitsuyoshi a slightly dirty look, she responded in a half-joking, half-sass tone, "oh very funny, I can walk on my own thanks!" As she spoke, she moved her face to very lightly upturn her nose with a soft snort. The mention of a nearby river seemed to quell the Daiyoukai's energy to one of relief though as she led the way towards the river. Mitsuyoshi chuckled slightly at her reaction as he followed after. "Last one to the river doesn't get a red bean cake!" The only warning he gave as he leaped past her and proceeded through the forest dodging trees and branches. As he ran through the forest, dodging the trees he rounded one tree to find a large banyan tree obstructing his path with it's many limbs hanging down. Acting quickly, he drew the Kazega "Wind Blades!" and slashed twice, sending forth two blades of light that struck the upper and lower parts of the tree's hanging limbs, with the force of wind striking the center of the cuts and helped loosen it. With a swift kick to the center of the cuts, using his forward momentum, he barged through the severed limbs of the banyan tree. However, almost immediately upon passing through the hole he made, he found a large oak tree in his path. He could have easily dodged the Oak tree, but decided to show off a little and ran up close and near to the tree with his sword drawn, and slashed through it with ease and in a downward angle from the right of the trunk to the bottom left, before sheathing his sword and smirking as he glanced back to see the progress of his friend, just in time to see the oak fall apart and all over.
|
|
|
|
Post by Koneko on Jan 25, 2024 7:21:01 GMT
While glancing away in her momentary guff, Koneko did consider what he said for a moment. ‘A bath after not having a real one for nearly a week and considering our fight with that spider no less… I suppose it couldn’t hurt to take a short break and refresh, I’m sure Kaito is off still hunting the main road at this point looking for me so he should be off my trail just enough…’ Lost in some slight thought while turning to lead the way to the nearby river, she was pulled back to the present moment as Mitsuyoshi took off leaping past her shouting, "Last one to the river doesn't get a red bean cake!" With surprise written all over her face, it soon changed to a fiery competitive glare shouting, “don’t think you’re going to beat me just like that!!” It took only a second to gear up before she came barreling up after him, leaping with quite a bit of gusto. Ears perking forward, she observed as her companion launch an attack on the banyan tree's branches with his wind blades, and then snap the branches off, leaping herself on the remaining portion of upper branch in his wake. 'So much for a quieter walk through the forest...' the feline thought after the thudding of the branches on the ground, mindlessly hopping forward in some disdain while staring at the fallen limbs, 'Well, I suppose with any luck we're a good enough distance from the road-'
There was no time to finish that next thought as her ears picked up the sound of a blade moving through something, then turning her head back to attention, she partly flinched in her jump before quickly spinning to adjust her trajectory and momentum. As the oak began to fall, she instead launched herself just around it's great trunk, sliding herself around it and somersaulting to be on what was becoming the topside before winding up for a mighty leap and pushing off, sending herself flipping through the air. Seeming to glide across the air rather than fully just leap through it, she landed gracefully in the upper branches of the next tree ahead before twisting her way out of it and back down towards the ground before turning back to return Mitsuyoshi's gaze. "That was quite impressive," she complimented before she seemed ready to cross her arms, tutting the next part out, "but I was imagining a but of a quieter competition for this race aside from some shouting. Though I guess you'll be making up for it in having given me the advantage with that little stunt!" Her scolding had shifted right into a cocky little smirk as she picked back up on pace to the river. "Good luck catching up!"
Her competitive attitude was hiding the slight concern she held over that tree and bunch of branches going down. Koneko only could hope she was right about that irritating fox being far enough away that he wouldn't have heard nor felt any of what just happened. There could be no worse thing than him waltzing right up to her thanks to all the noise and signals of life in the area that undoubtedly gave off to anything surrounding them. Then again, a bath would still end up removing her scent and keeping her strides fairly far apart would at least make tracking somewhat hard to accomplish. 'I can keep my distance from his advances, that's all i have to do is stay out of his sights long enough that we get away and he carries on elsewhere...'
------------
Little could she have known the noise was close enough that it had drawn the interest of the man that had previously entered the treeline, now making his way via the trees to the location he felt the quake and heard the racket. 'I'm not sure what that was, but I swear if that was someone attacking her... I better not be too late to make sure she's alright, or I swear anyone who's assaulting her won't be left standing when I'm through with them!' From his typical line of work, he was prepared for quite a worst-case scenario, imagining another youkai might be looking to take his desired partner down with something quite clearly taking down a large tree of some kind. 'Hold on Konene! I'm coming to help you!'
|
|
|
|
Post by Taishou89 on Jan 25, 2024 20:30:56 GMT
His eyes were called forward and above as he heard Koneko's voice suddenly ahead of him, leaping through the trees as she propelled ahead of him in the race. "What the?! How??" He exclaimed as he leaned forward and sprinted harder. As he now struggled to catch up on the ground with the various little forest items presenting more hindrances as he dodged tree trunks, bushes, and boulders. Suddenly a large boulder rapidly approached 'This might be what I need to help get back in this race...' as he sprinted towards it. Using his forward moment, he managed to run up the side of the boulder and as he feet met the very top of it, he used his forward momentum and his leg muscles to spring him skyward, leaping past the tree line while still flying forward with considerable speed. "I gotta hand it to ya Koneko! Cats are truly agile..." He called out from above, before crashing through the canopy and managing to set his feet upon one of the branches of the tree, using his downward motion and his leg muscles to propel himself forward, eventually landing on the very Branch Koneko would have just leapt from. "... but wolves can be quite stubborn and resolute!" he exclaimed, his voice now directly behind her as they leapt through the trees.
He'd managed to close the distance between him and Koneko, quite literally almost nipping at her heels but now he had to somehow get around and pass her. Instead of following her to the next tree, he opted to leap onto the tree to her left and aggressively try to leap ahead of her. "Ha! It worked!" he called out as he was now able to see her from his right peripheral as he continued to match her speed. The fierce competition between the two could yield no sudden major gain over the other as they now leapt parallel to each other through the trees. Until suddenly a jolt of alarm ran through him as his instincts fired. From his peripheral vision, he caught the motion of an object approaching fast to his left. Instinctively he held up his left arm to guard and protect himself as it's mouth clamped onto his forearms, Fortunately his forearm guards had done their job and prevented the creature's fangs from sinking into his arm or causing any damage. The force of the mass that struck him mid air sent him flying towards the ground as it twisted and attempted to entangle him, but whilst still in air, he managed to swing his right fist down into the creature's snout causing it to release it's grip as he then kicked it's scaly and lengthy body away from him, but in the twisting motion mid-air, the snake was now flying towards Koneko. "Koneko Watch out!" He tried to warn her, just before he struck the ground and tumbled a couple of times before coming to a stop and quickly getting into a kneeling position, looking up just in time to see the large Snake had attempt the same move on Koneko.
The snake was larger than any normal snake and was colored bright yellow, unlike most snakes he'd ever seen. It was then that he realized it likely was a lesser youkai as even it's moves seemed to be less natural than a normal snake. Quickly he surged forward to assist his friend as she fell towards the ground Grappling with the snake much as he had, but a short distance ahead of his position. "Koneko are you alright?!" he called as he rushed to the scene, only to find her with the large body of the snake on the ground. It was then that he noticed that the snake wasn't moving. "Koneko???" he called as he leaped forward and began to pull the body of the snake from her.
|
|
|
|
Post by Koneko on Jan 26, 2024 7:52:32 GMT
"Haha! Got more in ya, huh? Good, this race ain't over yet!" The feline exclaimed as Mitsuyoshi pressed on after her to catch up, grinning widely. Glancing over as he made a move to get the lead, Koneko's grin only grew as she focused on trying to keep any edge she had on him, "We'll see how long you can keep pace!" Her competitive attitude faded to concern a short few moments later as she heard some grunting and the warning from her companion a small ways behind her, turning in her leap to see the snake youkai speeding in the air towards her with it's mouth agape intending to strike. "I don't think so!!" Flexing her claws, she guarded with one of her arms, trying to keep it's mouth preoccupied so she could attack with her other hand. Jabbing into the snake easily with her claws, she winced from it's maw encasing her other arm, but continued to attack with her free hand a few more times before she could impact the ground.
The momentum between the attacking demon and Koneko's movement forward had them tumble and slide across the ground as soon as they made contact, a grunt coming from the daiyoukai at initial impact before she went still. Feeling the snake's body move, she grunted again and inhaled sharply through her teeth, quickly grabbing hold of the now lifeless creature's head at first in thought it had survived her retaliation only to hold it still for a moment once she realized it was her friend trying to move it. "Augh, damn thing bit harder than I thought," the feline growled, following up quickly with, "I'm fine, I'm fine... Hold on, I need to pull this fang free..." As she sat up and shifted to a better position while Mitsuyoshi helped support part of the snake's corpse, it was more noticeable she'd clawed pretty deeply through the demon's head as it had attacked to kill it. Moving her free hand to the fang now, she pulled it out in a swift motion with a slight hiss and let Mitsuyoshi toss what was left of the youkai away then assessed the damage to her arm. "Deeper than I thought too... Won't take long to heal, but it's gonna sting for a little bit. Guess our little competition must've provoked it," she groaned, covering the wound in her arm.
Recuperating for a few moments longer, she took her friend's help to at least get off the ground, stumbling into him until she steadied her footing from the decently hard impact. Yet, before he could even utter an offer of carrying her again, though likely more seriously than a jest, Koneko moved right into insisting, "I'm good enough to walk, just a little dazed is all. Actually that idea of relaxing in the river is sounding even better right now." Managing to grin through the mild stinging pain, she kept a hand clasped over the wound to at least keep the air from stinging it too much. "So much for our little competition I guess, let's get a move on and take a short rest, I'll feel better after I get some time in the water." Turning to lead the way to help prevent any opportunities of offers to help her along, she actually had managed to walk just fine even though there were a few aches from hitting the ground and kept her wounded arm tucked into her torso. The heat of everything for that moment had eliminated any thoughts of her little fox problem from her mind, now only considering getting cleaned back up and relaxing long enough to at least let the soreness in her body ebb and the wound to start healing over. "The river should just be a little further ahead anyways, so just follow after me." |
|
|
|
Post by Taishou89 on Jan 27, 2024 10:56:15 GMT
"Well at least I don't think it's venomous..." Mitsuyoshi said as he helped hold the snake's body while she pried it's jaws apart wincing as he watched it's teeth was slowly drawn from her arm. Once it's jaws were free, Mitsuyoshi tossed the body of the snake aside at the foot of the nearby tree. Quickly removing the pack that he carried and removed his old and worn Hadagi stored within. Carefully, but quickly, he cut a couple of strips of cloth from it's sleeve, before walking over to Koneko. "You should probably at least let it clot up enough so you don't attract another hungry visitor by leaving a trail." telling her as he handed her the strips, with a slight smirk at the thought that she was trying to down play it. "Just take it, I'm sure your wound will clot and dry well before you decide to take a dip. Especially if you decide to take a brief moment to eat your prize." As he pointed towards the bushes just past her.
Just past the bushes lay some large boulders which may have hindered her view, but Koneko would quickly notice the sound of the river's gentle burble and the the smell of fresh water flowing down from the mountains that they had just crossed. Even though their race had been interrupted by the snake youkai, it would appear that since Koneko was still in the lead even in the aftermath of the little scuffle, she was undoubtedly the winner. "I may be a proud warrior and a wolf, but I'm not beyond admitting to whom this victory belongs." Mitsuyoshi sighed as he stood from his position. "... I'll just have to beat you the next time." giving her a wry smile as he stepped up alongside of her, extending his arm out and offering her the red bean cake. It was a fairly large but simple white daifuku mochi ball stuffed with red bean paste, almost the size of his palm in diameter, wrapped in an oak leaf.
"I think this area would be a good spot to rest for a little and with the bushes and those boulders next to the river over there, I think that should be sufficient for some privacy." He said as he helped take her pack from her so she wouldn't have to deal with the sting. Though as she was removing her injured arm through on the straps, some blood had transferred from her bandaged wound as it brushed against it and Mitsuyoshi would unknowingly have taken hold of the strap, smearing some of her blood on his hand. Only when he set the pack down, did he notice the smeared blood. "Eh?" as he retrieved another strip of cloth from his own pack and started wiping the blood away from his hand and setting the cloth down on the log next to him as took a seat. Taking the gourd water canteen from his pack and gently rinsing whatever remained of the blood from his hand before finishing the rest of it's contents off in one swig.
|
|
|
|
Post by Koneko on Jan 28, 2024 9:50:26 GMT
"Ugh, thankfully... After fighting that spider I think I've had my fill of being poisoned with venom," Koneko groaned out just thinking about the ridiculous amount she'd taken from their previous encounter. Rolling her eyes from that memory while keeping her hand clasped tightly over the wound, her focus soon came onto the makeshift bandages offered to her along with his smirk, causing her to look off to the side with a gentle blush and accompanying pout. Letting out a small sigh as she was further encouraged to take time to bandage it, she mumbled, "alright, alright," before reaching to take it with her ears and tail flicking upon noticing they'd gotten close to the river as it was with it pointed out. "I didn't realized we'd already reached it from all the excitement," the feline soon admitted, taking the moment to start wrapping the gouged area in her arm and pulling it tight before tying it off. Soon after she was blinking as the bean cake was offered, looking back to him in some surprise of his smile while reaching out to look at it again as he continued speaking.
"I guess this really would be a good spot to relax," she soon agreed while turning to look at the bushes and boulders making a perfect spot to block view of the river. Feeling Mitsuyoshi remove the pack she carried as well, the hybrid pouted lightly, but let him go ahead with taking it from her, getting the feeling he was being so overtly care-taker-like to her because she'd gotten injured regardless of it being incidentally. With another large flick of her ears, she relented a little more and took a seat pretty well next to him and looked to the bean cake she held again, "are you sure about the mochi? We could split it..." There was a little reluctance to be treated so gently in the given situation, more for the fact it seemed to her to be over the wound she'd gotten than entirely on their spur of the moment race. Noticing her companion seem to light up at her offer to share, she held the cake out in her hand and used a couple of her claws to slice through it quickly before handing him one of the halves and going ahead to munch on hers. "Oishiiiii!" she uttered through a full mouth, the flavor of it honestly seeming better having shared than just accepting the entire thing with the feeling of it given in consolation of events.
After the short rest to nibble on the mochi, the hybrid stretched and stood back up looking to freshen up now that her wound had already stopped bleeding. "I think it's about time I go ahead and get cleaned up, I'll try not to take too long, but no promises!" Though she was mainly joking about taking a long time with a grin on her face, she once again remembered it had been a little long for her liking with now two youkai incidents in between. "If anything else happens that needs my attention, just shout for me and I'll get out of the water as soon as I can." With that said, she let the call of the river and cleanliness consume her thoughts and shuffled off behind the boulders near the river's edge. Disrobing and taking her hair down from it's tie as well, Koneko eagerly slid into the water and instantly melted into the gentle flow, "Aaahhhh, that's really nice! Only thing better would be a hot spring!" Letting herself get soaked thoroughly first, she eventually found a spot to sit back long enough to start grooming her hair and tail. Yet she started to feel like she'd forgotten about something in the very recent commotion, though the lull of the water was too strong at that moment to let in any real worries, so she just shrugged it off and carried on tidying herself up.
|
|
|
|
Post by Taishou89 on Jan 29, 2024 1:49:23 GMT
Mitsuyoshi was a little surprised to see her offer to split it, although he was also eager and pleased to accept it. How could anyone turn down a treat that, even in his days at the castle were considered a treat and mostly served during festivals, aside from the sweets offered during tea ceremonies, but usually such confections would be regulated per the ceremony. Taking his half, he staved off the temptation to devour it in one bite but the struggle was obvious. He'd intended to enjoy and savor every moment of the sweet treat as he took a small bite and let it's soft chewy texture and sweet delight linger in his mouth, before proceeding. "Mmmm!" He uttered as he savored the bite and, almost in sync with Koneko, responded "Oishiiii!". To some extent, he tried to wonder what a world would be like if such treats were more common and not such a rare commodity. Perhaps when all the wars and hardships of the country would cease and the land would move into an era of peace and prosperity, such luxuries would become more abundant, but for now these little joys served as a great pick up for morale especially when shared with good company.
After their brief pause to rest and enjoy the moment of their sweet treat, Mitsuyoshi would remove his swords from his obi, placing his wakizashi on the ground next to him as he slipped from his seat on the log to the ground, stretching his legs out as he held his Kazega within his crossed arms as he rested his back against the log to relax. "Take your time Koneko, I think we still have quite a bit of day light left, and I can share your desire for a bath. I think the closest I've come to one since I've been awake was that a brief dip in the river with that other Youkai, but you go on and enjoy it. I'll keep watch over our stuff." As he leaned his head back to gaze up at the light penetrating the canopy of the trees. "If anything else happens that needs my attention, just shout for me and I'll get out of the water as soon as I can." Koneko's words drew his attention back to their level. "Eh? Oh don't worry I'm sure I can handle whatever comes our way, especially out here. I've handled a lot of minor Youkai before just like that snake." A smug look crossing his face as he looked at her. "I am fully recovered from our last battle with that Spider lady, and if it wasn't for her poisonous advantage over men, I'd probably would have had no problem killing her." He then leaned his head back to relax and gaze up at the canopy again with a sigh as what bits of light and warmth from the sun peeked through and cast down upon him in the gentle breeze above.
Neither of them would notice or realize that the the wind had been blowing against them and carrying their scent, as well as the scent of the dead snake youkai, through the forest in the direction from which they came from. Koneko's blood especially would have been easily identified by their unknown pursuer, at least unknown to Mitsuyoshi. The wind working in this manner would also prevent either of them from detecting the scent of the one whom followed them. This, combined with their decision to stop and rest, would work in the advantage of Koneko's bane of existence. Mitsuyoshi would have to keep his keen hearing and wits about him to detect his advance as the wind did not work in either of their favor, but on such a beautiful day, with wonderful weather compared to the previous week, though a Samurai must always remain alert and vigilant in all aspects of life, with the current conditions it was very possible and easy for him to let his guard down to enjoy the moment and relax.
|
|
|
|
Post by Koneko on Jan 30, 2024 8:55:12 GMT
Following the direction the loud crashing of the tree had echoed from, the solitary man had continued his hurried pursuit of the source, praying the one he sought was safe as he darted quickly through the treetops. Being so deep into the woods, the true visage of the man was now visible thanks to confidence of not being seen: he was no human at all, but rather a kitsune with long brown hair, a mainly red and blue kimono with the front open, and a reddish-orange furred tail trailing behind him that matched his fox-like feet. With the wind carrying the smell of blood from the same way he'd heard the crash, a look of horror came over his face as he recognized the scent of that blood. "Konene... Konene!! I'm coming just hold on and I'll rescue you!!" Feeling like his fears of his previous companion being in danger were confirmed, he picked up speed, moving as fast as he could and pausing for only a moment when he came across the place where the branches and tree had been downed.
His respite only came to take a moment to observe and assess the damage of the area in assumption this had been the scene of a nasty attack. "This damage... the cuts on the branches and tree are too clean for it to have been done by a human blade. Either it was a power like hers or this was a youkai blade..." Seeing cuts this clean only allowed his worry to fester, but the blood didn't come from this spot so there was a possibility Koneko had avoided the weapon and the likely onslaught of it's owner. Though he was becoming curious of the person he presumed had attacked her, he could still smell the scent on the wind and close by to the base of the toppled tree and he was pretty sure this was distinctly a hanyou. "Those merchants did mention another man with her, could it be he was a half demon with ill intentions all along and attempted to turn on her?" With his nose up to the wind for another moment, he also caught the smell of blood from another demon, but was unsure of what to make of it. If his guess about what had already occurred was correct, then it was possible this was an accomplice or even just another that had gotten in the way without intending to, but there was no mistake he did still smell her blood strongly enough on the breeze drifting around him along with the unknown extra. "They're close by, I swear if he's laid any kind of cruel hand on her...!"
Moving back off hastily, the moment the unknown male scent really began to get strong, he slowed and kept hidden up among the branches of the trees until his target was in view. 'I see the hanyou I've been smelling, there's the corpse of the lesser demon I've been picking up on as well,' the fox thought to himself, his eyes narrowing while noting how relaxed the other man was, so much so his weapons were off of his obi. Quietly his eyes darted around and a panic filled him as he couldn't help but notice the distinct lack of the one he was truly hoping to see and her scent trail ended here. 'Damn it! I don't see her anywhere around here, but I still smell her blood and there's no question some of it is on him!! If he hurt her, then I can't dive right after him, that's too risky, but I can get a feel for him before I do go after him myself!' Holding back the urge to start growling, knowing he'd alert his physical presence too soon he grit his teeth in anger and decided he could test just how tough this guy thought he was first and see if he could get to the bottom of the presumed crime with a confession. After that, he could leap down himself and take him on with his fists, the only fitting way to avenge the now missing and thought to be murdered woman he sought. Stealthily creating an illusionary clone of himself, he had it move forward quietly before letting it call out to the wolf hanyou in his gaze, "you there, who are you and would you care to explain the blood I smell on you?!" The clone stood with arms crossed calmly, yet there was an anger reflected in his eyes, the seemingly single orange tail flicking to each side behind him with a twitch of agitation in it. 'If he's responsible, I'll get payback for you, Konene! I'm make sure to make him pay for however he made you suffer!'
|
|
|
|
Post by Taishou89 on Jan 31, 2024 3:13:45 GMT
"you there, who are you and would you care to explain the blood I smell on you?!" Mitsuyoshi's ears perked at the sudden address and appearance of a stranger. "Who goes there?!" he called back as he jumped to his feet in a start, quickly placing the Kazega into his Obi in the process. 'How did I not catch his scent or hear his approach??' His mind raced as he eyed the stranger's appearance. Noticing quickly his tail flicking behind him and digitigrade legs he knew that he was a Kitsune Youkai. Mitsuyoshi positioned himself with his left foot behind him and his right foot forward, his left hand gripping the Kazega by it's saya, thumb ready to break it's seal, while keeping his right hand visible in front of him, a move that displayed that he was guarded but not about to attack unless provoked. "What does it matter to you, that I have blood on me? State your business, Fox!"
As the wind shifted slightly, he caught the man's scent and could confirm it was definitely not that of a human, nor of any youkai he'd encountered before, but more importantly he caught another completely identical scent in a different direction. 'Is there two of him? Twins perhaps?' as his eyes glanced around, while still keeping his body facing the clone before him. His instinct told him that he was not in an ideal position now. 'It's likely that his other half is in a concealed position, ready to strike if things escalate... clever...' He thought to himself. '...But who could he mean? Does he mean that Spider woman's blood? true... I haven't had a chance to wash since, perhaps it is her scent that he smells on me... Perhaps they can be reasoned with...' as he shifted slightly to a more relaxed position, but still ready to strike or defend if necessary. "Your partner can come out and perhaps we can talk more civilly..." he started "... If you had dealings with that woman, she will not bother men any more for me and my companion Keiji have sent her to the netherworld." With any hope, these two might have been seeking to kill Chi themselves.
|
|
|
|
Post by Koneko on Jan 31, 2024 7:33:26 GMT
'Partner? So he can smell where I am. He's definitely sharper than I was considering,' the fox thought while in his hiding spot, debating if he wanted to play along with the misconception, though his decision was soon made to carry on with such a plan at Mitsuyoshi's next words. His clone now slightly baring fangs at the man's last statement, his own misunderstanding now took hold with the introduction of a name he hadn't come across, slightly growling out, "that woman?" The kitsune himself slickly slid down from the tree, now certain he wanted to physically be the one to avenge Koneko as he stepped up near to his clone. 'Keiji? So there's another one I didn't notice? Or was that the lesser youkai lying in the heap over there? No matter, he said he killed her! I'll avenge you Konene! He'll pay for hurting you!!'
"The blood I smell on you happens to be our business," the clone started, the real one finishing the statement, "because we've been looking for that woman and we're not keen on hearing such a thing." Both of their eyes narrowed before one of them spoke again, "since it sounds like you've done such a cruel thing to her, the prospects of this staying civil have narrowed quite a bit." Then the other picked up where the thought left off, "and it sounds like we'll be investigating the Keiji too since it sounds like he had something to do with hurting her as well, but we'll deal with you first!" With that last statement said, the seemingly two kitsune bound in somewhat together, though the clone moved so it would be the one to take the brunt of any attacks, but his first plan was just to disorient the wolf hanyou, seeing as with the way it sounded the scenario had gone, this man had to his knowledge managed to best what he knew as a daiyoukai and a great fighter by his side and the blade he held was no doubt what caused the damage he'd noticed much earlier to the trees. He couldn't afford to take this guy lightly with assumptions and knowledge like that. Dashing in and around, he didn't draw any weapons yet, rather tried to bait his opponent to pulling his sword to knock it from his grip or get him into a fist fight instead. Both versions of himself were light on their feet, able to twist, duck and turn gracefully in tandem with weaving in and out with decent speed. In opportunities his clone managed to dart in close enough, he'd only shove just a little bit before continuing so he could turn and make another pass in attempts to get the man to break his readied form.
It would be inevitable, however, that the clone would keep up it's end in the ruse forever before ultimately getting caught, yet that would be his best plan to offset this fight in his favor. The moment it would get caught and vanish would be his most reliable opportunity for the strike he wanted, and it very likely wouldn't take long for it to happen. As soon as that moment came, he moved straight in behind it as it vanished to launch his riskily forward assault. "I want you to remember the name Kaito when I make you pay for this! I don't play around when it involves the woman I deeply care about!" the fox snarled as he moved in to grab for Mitsuyoshi's kimono so he could pull him in for a punch, his bright blue eyes glaring angrily at his target. It was the thought that Koneko was lying dead somewhere that fueled him forward, the images he imagined of her fighting for her life and suffering that pushed him on to do all he could to punish the one he thought had lead to her demise.
------------
Meanwhile, only a short way over behind the concealing rocks and bushes, Koneko had been working on making certain her hair and ears wear all clean, dunking her head under just enough a few times to make sure the dirt was off of her ears and running her fingers through her hair to keep it from being too tangled. After working on her hair for a short little while, getting close to satisfied with the work she put into the care of her clean appearance, she realized there seemed to be the sounds of a scuffle going on by her companion. "Damn it, I hope it's not some more snake youkai having come by thanks to that other one... I must not have noticed right away from the water muffling some of my hearing..." she remarked quietly to herself, glancing at the direction of the sounds she heard while her ears made slight movements to hear it better. 'I know he said he'd be fine... but maybe I really should just make sure it's nothing serious...' Looking down at the wound in her arm that was already on it's way to sealing up, she sighed and knew she'd at least cleaned herself enough that she would be more than adequate: at worst it really was nothing and she could get a selfish moment more to just enjoy soaking as soon as she could verify there was no cause for alarm. Another small sigh escaped her and she stood up, quickly trying to wipe some of the water away and squeeze out her hair so she could mostly dress and see what the fuss was.
|
|
|
|
Post by Taishou89 on Jan 31, 2024 21:20:20 GMT
As the other appeared, Mitsuyoshi was surprised at how identical he looked to the man before him. Either they were identical twins who dressed and styled themselves exactly like the other to create confusion, or there was some kind of magic involved. He'd heard stories as a child that Kitsune's possessed magical abilities and were able to take on many forms in order to trick or deceive people and perhaps this was what was occurring, but he couldn't say for certain. The uncanny way the two would finish each other's lines made him suspect the latter, but still he couldn't be certain. His instincts would sound the alarm as their intentions became all too clear by the tone of their statement, it was now apparently so that the two foxes were servants of some kind to Chi. He quickly discarded the thought that they might have been under some residual lasting effects of her venom, as they seemed to be of a clear mind. "So it appears she did have pets..." he mentioned as he quickly shifted his posture in alarm.
The sudden and rapid movements of the two foxes caught him by surprise. 'They're fast!' he thought with a gasp, he quickly broke the seal with his thumb and reached for his sword but before he could draw it from it's scabbard, The first fox was upon him grasping hilt of his sword and using his forward momentum and strength to force it back into it's scabbard, as the Fox's left hand grasped him by his Kimono over his left shoulder, in an attempt to pry his sword away from him. Mitsuyoshi slid his left hand up and enclosed his grip around the tsuba and the saya to better retain the sword while relinquishing his grip over it's hilt with his right hand. Swiftly, he swung his right hand out and brought it down at an angle hard against the back of the clone's left arm, the motion going against his arm's natural bending motion, forcing him to release his grip on his kimono or risk breaking it. In that same moment, Mitsuyoshi rotated leftwards swinging his sword away and from out of the doppleganger's grip. As the clone's back was exposed, he quickly drew his right hand and slashed his claws down across the back of the fox and with a swift kick to his tail end, sent the fox into the ground.
As the fox fell to the ground, Mitsuyoshi was suddenly taken aback as his body suddenly disappeared, "That means..." he was cut off swiftly as a firm hand grasped him by his collar and a fist slammed into his right jaw "I want you to remember the name Kaito when I make you pay for this! I don't play around when it involves the woman I deeply care about!". Almost on instinct and reflex, before he could recoil his head back to meet the Fox's gaze, he swung both of his forearms down against Kaito's arm, forcing him to break his grasp. Mitsuyoshi swifly followed up by swinging his right fist back up and striking the enranged fox in the chin before using his left hand to shove him back and create some distance and breathing space. "What is wrong with you!? How could you love that vile woman! She lured so many innocent men in and played with their emotions before devouring them! I could never forgive her!" as he postured himself with his hands in front of him, ready to to continue their brawl. Since Kaito had not drawn any weapons thus far, he certainly did not plan on doing so for his own sense of honor.
|
|
|
|
Post by Koneko on Feb 1, 2024 7:17:46 GMT
Stumbling backwards as he was punched and shoved back, there was a brief moment all five of Kaito's tails became visible before he recollected himself and moved back into a stance that was ready to take another dive in at any moment. Yet he paused and took in what his opponent had retorted before making any moves, 'What?! That sounds nothing like how Konene is now! Don't tell me he killed her over learning about the way she used to be before we'd helped her?! This half demon has a lot of nerve to say awful things like that about her!!' With his feeling of offense growing to just the notions presented to him, he growled in retort, "How dare you say such awful things about her like that!! Who are you to judge her?! I'd say you're the one with something wrong with you if that's how you decided to see her!!" Charging in again with great speed, he moved in low to come in from under and break Mitsuyoshi's guard from underneath with his left arm before trying to follow up with a shovel hook with his right. "You'll regret even saying it!"
While his punch connected, there was no question he wouldn't be able to maintain such a close proximity for very long without getting attacked in retaliation. Attempting to back off just as quickly, Kaito was still caught by a return blow from his adversary, stumbling slightly before he caught his footing before turning his body out of the way of the next blow. Leaping to the side he was in the clear, he moved up behind Mitsuyoshi and leapt up, slamming both of his digitigrade legs into him to push him off balance before following in with a swipe of his claws. Moving around him as he followed through with his strike, he landed a few feet away and snipped out, "you couldn't forgive her and took her life for it, so I won't be able to forgive you in turn!" While he could have jumped right in and gotten ruthless, he decided to wait just long enough for the hanyou to regain himself so he could fight him and have the satisfaction of defeating him on a fairly even ground. Once Mitsuyoshi had gotten solid footing again, Kaito dove in after him once more to throw another punch, yet this time found his foe picking up on some of his movements, deflecting his assault and landing a return punch landing against his own jaw, sending him stumbling back a few paces and opening him to a short window of retaliation before he could bounce back a little again and disengage to collect himself for another, slightly more planned assault. Now that he'd been shoved back once again, the fox let out another growl before deciding to catch his breath for a moment, tossing out some insults instead, "you punch like a child! I know for a fact she could hit me harder than anything you've hit me with so far!" Spitting to the side to clear his mouth of a little dribble of blood then wiping his chin with his sleeve, he then continued to tear into the pride of the warrior before him, "If you really were the one to kill her, then you must have gotten lucky and taken her completely off-guard. You wouldn't stand a chance if you attacked her head on!"
"What?!" Mitsuyoshi growled at Kaito's insult. "Listen you, I don't know what kinda kinky Slave and master relationship you and that woman had going on, but you've got quite a mouth and the nerve to talk for someone with a punch like that little tap! Ya didn't even draw my blood!" He shouted back as he shook his fist at the Fox. "I didn't deliver the kill strike, but at least I had a part in bringing her down and if I hadn't been bewitched by her seductive powers Myself, I'd have personally ripped out her heart!" Hiding his anger behind a cocky smirk as Mitsuyoshi began to shout some insults back, Kaito then snarled out another set of mockery, "You're just a mangy dog with next to no bite to you! I bet without that sword you couldn't even kill a flea! Every hit I've taken felt more like a weak slap!" Upon hearing Kaito's last remark, he promptly removed his sword from his obi and set it aside. "You wanna put that to the test, you flea ridden scrap eater!? Come over here and I'll show you who's higher on the food chain you oversized Lap pet! Or are you just all mouth?" Kaito then let a haughty laugh rolled out through his cocky smirk. "I don't know what you're talking about with this whole relationship or seductive powers thing, but now it sounds like maybe you were just mad she must have been rejecting you," he snorted out, his coy grin only growing as the blade was tossed away while quickly following up with, "But I'll gladly show you I'm all bite! Especially since you just admitted you weren't the one to kill her but still played a significant part! Guess I'll be hunting down this Keiji too, but I'm not leaving until I've made sure you've paid for your hand in her demise first!" Starting to gear up to leap in again for another round of fist fighting to take his target down, he let just a few more insults fly in one last response to the man, "I'll put you in your place eating dirt with the worms at the bottom and show you what I can really do! I'll stomp you under my feet faster than you can hit back you wannabe mutt warrior!!"
Dressing in a rush, Koneko managed to get her hadagi, hakama and tabi on with fairly decent speed, though she left her hair down and bindings off in an effort to spare a little time, wrapping the items she'd normally wear in the remaining portion of her kimono to carry without risk of losing them along with her katana under one of her arms. Sliding around the boulder hastily, she tried to get close enough that she could see past the bushes to at least get a glimpse of what exactly all the commotion was and if it was anything really worth worrying about, though it having gone on this long gave her the impression maybe it was serious. Just as her vision could reach over the hedge of bushes for a good look, she noticed an all too familiar streak of orange fur and brown hair which caused her to fill with an incredible disdain now that she was catching hints of his scent as well. Her hurried pace slowed to a stop just as fast as she'd gained her speed, an annoyed and soured look coming across her face as she thought, 'oh son of a-! I can't believe I forgot all about him possibly being nearby!!' Her tail began flicking back and forth in a show of her irritation, now understanding the racket was that damnable fox attacking her friend for some reason or another. Standing silently as she morosely listened to the insults fly for a moment, she let out a much heftier sigh than she had by the water. 'Well I guess this has come down to a pride measuring contest at this point, I'm not even sure what the blazes they're even going on about with kinks and relationships and... someone being dead I think...? I better stop them before that moron takes this too far...' her begrudging inner monologue continued, eyes searching the ground for a couple of rocks to pick up, 'might as well be resigned to the fact he caught up to me after all this time and all the quiet I've enjoyed...' Leaning down to retrieve two decently sized ones she saw while hearing insults continue back and forth, the feline rose to her feet again and readied one to throw, waiting for just the right moment to interrupt the brawl and shouting match taking place. With some mighty force behind it, she chucked the rock she held at a terrifyingly well-timed moment, impacting the side of Kaito's face and sending him flying a good distance.
Caught off guard by the rock that suddenly impacted his head, the kitsune's eyes went wide as he flew a pretty impressive distance from just being hit by the rock. 'Hold on! I know the exact feeling of the throw of rocks like this! There's only one who throws them exactly like this and hits every time!!' He tumbled in a slight heap as he landed, his five tails splayed out again as he lay still for a moment, and then slightly peeled himself from the ground to look in the direction the rock came from. "K-Konene!! You're still alive?!" he shouted, his expression both relieved and overjoyed to see her, though his gaze was met with a look of pure loathing. "Of COURSE I'm alive you numbskull! What in the seven hells made you think I wasn't?!" she snapped back, her look seeming like her head was about to hurt in irritation, though she tossed the spare rock in her hand threateningly, "and I told you to stop calling me that!"
|
|
|
|
Post by Taishou89 on Feb 2, 2024 2:35:50 GMT
A look of surprise crossed his face as the stone collided against Kaito's face and sent him flying of into the nearby bushes, turning to look in the direction that the rock travelled from he saw a disheveled Koneko with an exasperated expression across her face. Mitsuyoshi then turned to look at Kaito, who looked far worse than he did just previously. "K-Konene!! You're still alive?!" As the fox peeled himself from the ground. "Of COURSE I'm alive you numbskull! What in the seven hells made you think I wasn't?!" Koneko shot back, as Mitsuyoshi's gaze turned back to her. A baffled expression crossed Mitsuyoshi's face as watched the exchange "Ano..." Until a memory flashed through his mind of Murada mentioning a friend of Koneko's that he and Jiro encountered on their travels named 'Kaito...wait a minute...' He suddenly pointed at Kaito as he looked at Koneko. "Is this the Kaito that Murada had mentioned that you knew?"
As Koneko would inevitably confirm Kaito's identity, Mitsuyoshi would heave a sigh as he walked over and retrieve both of his swords and return them to his Obi. "You daft Fox, I could have killed you! Why didn't you just say that you were an Ally of Koneko, we could have avoided this entire drama." Mitsuyoshi crossed his arms as he turned his nose up towards Kaito. He then turned to Koneko, easing his posture. "Sorry Koneko, I didn't know that you knew this fool. I thought he was one of Chi's pets because he said I had her blood on me." as he fought the urge to bow as he would have done normally in his former life in the castle.
It still bewildered him though how Koneko could possibly be associated with someone like Kaito, though his skill and ability to produce a doppelganger of himself was impressive, the punches he threw didn't seem all too impressive. 'It's so perplexing how Koneko could find this guy as an ally, he seems so rash, foolish, impudent, and indignant.' Mitsuyoshi thought to himself as he silently continued to judge the character conduct of Kaito. Although Mitsuyoshi also still had Koneko's blood and subsequently her scent on him, he'd become so accustomed to it by now having been traveling with her for some time and fought two battles alongside her, he had forgotten entirely about the blood that transferred onto her pack from the snake youkai's attack, and subsequently onto his hand when he helped take her pack off.
|
|
|
|
Post by Koneko on Feb 2, 2024 5:40:42 GMT
"That guy's been saying he killed you!" Kaito replied in his own defense, wobbling as he got back onto his feet while pointing at Mitsuyoshi. "I seriously doubt he said anything like that..." Koneko sighed back out in frustration as she moved into the open through the bushes, looking to her current companion as his question came up. "Is this the Kaito that Murada had mentioned that you knew?" With a pained groaned, the feline gave up on hiding the information she'd hoped she wouldn't ever have to divulge, seeing as there was no escaping it now. "Yes, this is the Kaito he mentioned, unfortunately..."
The fox looked disheartened the moment she uttered the last word, his five tails drooping dejectedly. "C... Come on Konene, you don't mean that..." He whined, looking on the edge of tears. "I meant every syllable," she snipped back with no hesitation. Their exchange interrupted as Mitsuyoshi chimed back in scolding Kaito, their eyes both trailed over to him, the fox's crocodile tears instantly turning to a glare instead while Koneko's expression just turned to slight interest. "Oh sure! This was all my fault! You didn't even answer me straight forward when I asked about the blood then kept insisting you killed a woman! What else was I supposed to think?!" he growled out, glaring daggers at this point and interjecting quickly again before Koneko could respond to the apology given to her, "Who the hell is Chi?! It was Konene's blood I smelled on you asshole!" He quickly found the other rock slamming against his head, but light enough this time to just knock him over into a crumpled heap. "Will you cool off already?!" She snapped at him, then returned her focus to the hanyou, "it's fine, Mitsuyoshi, I was trying to make sure we avoided him anyways... But I can at least attest he would only attack someone openly for very few reasons and I did get bitten earlier... was there maybe a moment you got some of my blood on you when you were convincing me to sit down?"
'Mitsuyoshi? I do remember those merchants mentioned that name as the person accompanying her... Wait! The way she's treating him so favorably!! Don't tell me they're...!' There was a bit of blood dribbling from the side of Kaito's head from the second rock, but he got off the ground surprisingly quickly given the blows he'd been taking and was immediately right next to her, pulling her focus to him by grabbing her shoulders. "Konene... You and him... You aren't... Tell me you didn't choose him to be with?!" Koneko's expression changed to an irritated speechlessness, pushing him off quickly and snipping at him in reply, "What the hell is wrong with you?! I just met Mitsuyoshi a week ago! He's my friend and companion, don't tell me you're being-" Despite being pushed back slightly, his motion swiftly moved to taking her free hand in both of his, moving the topic right along, "That means we could still be together! Please say you'll-"
Matching the vigorous pace the conversation had been pushed along, Koneko had yanked her hand free in rage before the proposal could be completed and hooked him hard across the face, then leapt and span in place to use her tail to slam him hard into the ground. "Don't you DARE start that notion up again," she hissed furiously, glaring him down before turning her head away in a huff. "Try it again and I'll feed your tails to you one by one!" She then moved on forward over to Mitsuyoshi, much more calmly stating, "Keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't get around you, I'm going to finish dressing since I rushed over here so quickly." With that she kept going past him and found a little bit of cover view so she could get fully dressed again.
|
|
