Reunion of a Troublesome Ally

[Taishou89]

"You impudent Fox! You storm in here asking whose blood is on me and I can only recall having that Spider woman's blood on me last!" His sharp tone quickly subdued as he admitted to himself "... I probably could use a bath to get that stench off me still." before turning his attention back to Kaito with the same raised tone as just prior. "But still, You drew your own conclusion without even confirming whose blood it was!" Mitsuyoshi shot, visibly very annoyed by Kaito's attitude. Never before had he met someone who was so mouthy and crass in his manner that Mitsuyoshi, having come from a more structured, polite, and refined society, had every single button of his pushed by Kaito. 


When Koneko chimed in and asked if there was any point when her blood might have gotten on him, Mitsuyoshi paused to recollect for a moment. As he replayed the recent events in his mind, his eyes widened slightly as he remembered the fresh blood from the strap Koneko's pack getting on his hand, and wiping it off with a torn cloth of his old hadagi. Blushing slightly he gave a soft chuckle in embarrassment. "Oh yeah... I guess some of your blood did get on me when I helped you take off your pack. heh heh..." as he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. “That’s all it was?! Why didn’t you just mention that when I asked?!” Kaito huffed, then grumbled as his tails all flicked independently with frustration, “saying that would have avoided the drama! And you wanted to make it out to be my fault…” much to Mitsuyoshi's further annoyance. "I ought to turn you into a pelt you mangy fox! Maybe if you behaved a little more civilly and like an intelligent person, you would have found that out!" Mitsuyoshi retorted as he shot an annoyed glare at Kaito. Koneko sighed as her former companion continued to be more argumentative than usual, “it was a misunderstanding between both of you, will you let it go already? Bickering about it isn’t going to make it better!”



Just as Mitsuyoshi sighed and nodded in agreement with Koneko, it would be short lived when his ears perked and his face turned deeper red with embarrassment at the Fox's next wild assumption "Konene... You and him... You aren't... Tell me you didn't choose him to be with?!". Mitsuyoshi recoiled at the audacity of Kaito for his indignant insinuation. "Eh?! A-ah... We only just met!" he finally blurted out. 'The nerve of this guy! Has he no shame?' His mind wondered as he quickly recomposed himself as Koneko tore into Kaito. "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-" as she pushed him off. "That means we could still be together! Please say you'll-" but before Kaito could finished his question, he was met by Koneko's fist slamming hard across his face. Mitsuyoshi decided to hold his tongue and avoid annoying her as well, letting the Daiyoukai handle it.


As Koneko then turned her attention to Mitsuyoshi and asked him to keep an eye on the fox while she finished dressing, he simply nodded and said nothing. Stepping over to the Fox, now laying in a perfect indented outline of his body in the ground "You know, you are very rude! Maybe if you practiced a little more tact and class you might not find yourself in these kind of situations..." Mitsuyoshi quipped as he knelt beside the fox. As Kaito would react and attempt to get up, Mitsuyoshi drove his scabbarded sword right into the Fox's back and forced him back down into his indentation. "Down boy..."

[Koneko]

Sliding off behind a further tree, Koneko pulled her kimono open with confidence she wouldn't be bothered while assembling herself. "Reasoning with him to change his ways isn't worth it, he's never listened before and I doubt he'll start now," she piped up with some irritation as she fixed herself, pulling her bindings tight before tying it off and pulling her kimono back up and adjusting it to look respectable. "Konene... c'mon, I'm not that bad..." Kaito whined in response while trying to get up, seeming to ignore Mitsuyoshi's comment until he was shoved back down via the scabbard, scoffing, "last thing I'd listen to is some kid telling me what to do or how to act!" Once she finished dressing, the feline slowly walked out while pulling her hair back to tie it up as usual,commenting, "told ya, this idiot listens about as well as a rock, but he's practically as durable as one too. Alright, you caught up with me, what do you you want, Kaito?"

Pushing the stowed blade off of his back, the kitsune sat up pouting as his tails fluffed around him, "you know I listen plenty enough... But I really was worried about you, I've barely seen a trace of you for thirty years after I promised to have your back. I thought something might've happened to you when I got back to find you gone all that time ago..." While he gave off an air of being genuinely concerned, Koneko herself didn't seem to particularly let him off so easy on it with her tail tip flicking a few times as she responded, "it's not like I need you to watch my back, I've been just fine without you around. Besides, Mistuyoshi can watch my back just fine enough." It seemed more like an attempt to dig into Kaito's pride and get him to shuffle off, but he seemed just as undeterred, even sending a slight side-eyed scowl to the wolf hanyou, "maybe in pure strength, but you know my capabilities better than that. I've just found you again, it's going to take much more than that to convince me to leave." He started to brush himself off and pulled a cloth from in his draped open kimono, wiping some dirt and blood from his face and head.

Through grit teeth from her motives being called out, Koneko instead grumbled, "well isn't that just unfortunate. You better be up for making yourself useful if I'm putting up with your presence again in that case." As she crossed her arms, she let out a sigh as the fox then started his own line of more serious questioning, "so then, you're the unknown name I got from the merchants I picked up the lead on Konene from. Since she's vouching for you, what's your deal? You seem pretty well armed and trained for a half demon, but I've not heard your name around before." The daiyoukai unfurled one of her hands and patted Mitsuyoshi's arm, an attempt to signal to him that, despite all the standoffish-ness in the air, the situation was fine. "Don't let him get to you, he's good at saying things to get under other's skin, but he's not going to do anything else but run his mouth. He might be annoying, but he's trustable that he won't go after anyone I consider a friend or ally," she reassured, trying to keep any further full-on spats diffused.

[Taishou89]

"last thing I'd listen to is some kid telling me what to do or how to act!" Mitsuyoshi felt a twitch over his eye as he refrained from commenting on the remark out of respect for Koneko. 'Kid?! Who's he calling kid?! He's the one who's been acting childish...' he thought to himself before sucking in some air and sighing as he tried to let the remark go. 'Come on Mitsuyoshi, you can be the better man here... you're a warrior...' as he struggled to refrain from lashing out again, until another thought emerged 'Wait, it's exactly because you're a warrior that you shouldn't let such an insult slide!' as he teetered on the verge of lashing out until he felt the Fox brush the Kazega off his back. Annoyed still, he held his tongue and just swiftly but smoothly returned his sword back into his obi with an energy that displayed both his irritation and his skill. It was only because of Koneko and the respect and trust he held in her, that he decided to let his pride suffer a little, otherwise he'd have likely challenged the impudent Fox to a dual.

Koneko's praise of him as a worthy companion in arms capable of watching her back, did serve to stroke his own pride and ego a bit which helped alleviate his reluctant tolerance of Kaito's indignant behavior. A smug smirk crossing his face as he stood there silently, noticing the jealous side eyed scowl of the Fox. "What exactly are your capabilities beyond creating copies of yourself?" Mitsuyoshi inquired sharply after Kaito's comment making his case. "I'll give you this, that was Impressive and I could see a use for it, but beyond that what else can YOU do besides grovel and pine after Koneko?" his words and tone were sharp, but he was legitimately curious to know just exactly what Kaito had to bring to the table, especially if he'd have to suffer his rude and indignant behavior on their journey. On another hand, he did have to admit to himself that Kaito's dedication and apparent loyalty to Koneko was worthy enough cause to consider, even if he was loud and obnoxious and obviously had some indiscretion to his nature when it came to Koneko while she was in a state of vulnerability.

He was caught a bit off guard as Kaito suddenly turned the table on him and inquired of his own character, never the less a moment of formality and an air of pride came over him as he introduced himself. "I'm Mitsuyoshi Nagano, Vassal to the Nagano Clan and a Captain of Infantry. To my enemies, I was known as the Wolf of Nishino." He proudly boasted as he beamed with pride. "... In fact we are on the very borders of the lands in which my Clan rules." his tone being very matter of factly until he remembered the sad truth he'd only learned a week ago. "... Or ruled actually... Although apparently that was until 100 years ago." invoking a slight sense of sadness in his tone, as he recalled how much time had passed that he had missed out on and the losses that came with it. His mood lightened when he felt Koneko's hand pat him on the arm and reassured him that Kaito was trustworthy even if he was annoying. Whether or not the twinge of sadness he felt was detected, he couldn't be certain, but either way it was reassuring and comforting enough that it chased those feelings away. "I don't know you Kaito-dono, but I trust and respect Koneko's word and her character greatly. So I will strive to tolerate your crass and indiscreet behavior." Although Mitsuyoshi didn't really care for Kaito's personality, it didn't stop him from being cordial and using honorifics for the moment.

[Koneko]

"Tolerate my behavior?! I'll have you know-" Kaito geared up, about to start poking with his words more until he flinched once his eyes grazed over Koneko, catching a fairly deadly glare pointed right at him in threat of more beatings. "...Know that I'm pretty well praised for my abilities where I'm from," he diverted off to what he was asked a moment earlier rather than deciding to continue on with pressing buttons further for his own well-being. "As for what else I can do," within a moment, he turned into a perfect look-alike of Koneko, even the voice was indistinguishable from her, "I can easily keep opponents guessing on anyone's location if that's what we need to go with. Or maybe just confuse them with numbers and keep them guessing." In another instant, he'd made several duplicates of his current disguise as the feline, all just as clean copies as his personal assuming of her appearance. Then Mitsuyoshi would feel an arm seeming to lean on his free shoulder, only to notice it was now a perfect copy of himself that was getting his attention from next to him, "or maybe if you need to move locations undetected with a little distraction and switching out with another version of you." The illusion burst and it was the kitsune himself standing with his arm on the wolf, having seemed to have gotten there as if he materialized in disguise out of thin air.

Removing his arm to not push his luck too hard, he instead folded his arms behind his head and walked forward as his illusions all followed suit in vanishing. "Of course I can turn into objects too if need be, just about anything or anyone really to suit our needs. I am also actually armed quite well despite how I look, and creating fox fire is nothing as well, if we need information on an enemy, I go in first and tell you what I find out. Or-" Kaito waved his hand over to Koneko, as if asking her to finish his explanation. Rolling her eyes, she at least obliged him, "Or we can go in together to gather some information if we need to in a joint effort." Giving a prideful look back, it lasted for a moment that he felt venerated in himself before it was the feline snapping him back to some reality again. "If you're done stroking your ego, then maybe we can take this whole thing down a notch," she sighed out, then looking back to Mitsuyoshi apologetically, "he has a big mouth, but he really is a fairly useful idiot... Though you don't need to really show him any respect if you don't want to either, respect is wasted on him." The fox seemed disheartened by being knocked down a few pegs. "Ne, Konene... I'm not an idiot, I did help train you to fight better and I'm more than respectable..."

While he whined, it didn't seem to penetrate the feline's immunity to his pouting on bit, as she followed up with, "Teaching me better tactics for fighting doesn't mean you're smart and you're just an ancient pervert anyways! There's no reason to give you respect until you've done something praiseworthy." Her words hit him like an arrow through the chest, as he sat slightly dejected by it all while she turned to reassure her new companion, "see, talking down to him keeps him more quiet." Koneko had no way of knowing if it was really talking down to him that mellowed him or if it was simply because he wasn't getting praise from her specifically, but for her it had always worked to shut him up if she shut him down. "Now then I'd appreciate if you would at least reel it back in and be nicer to Mitsuyoshi, his entire way of life changed when I woke him up a week ago and I'd appreciate if he can have at least one better experience while encountering our kind." That would be the point it did seem she'd picked up on his earlier drop in mood, a slight protectiveness able to be detected in her words as she asked for some form of attitude adjustment out of her former companion. "Wolf of Nishino you said, huh? Sounds like you had a pretty large reputation among humans. I may have heard of the Nagano clan while passing through the area on orders back then, couldn't say for sure though since we usually stay out of human affairs unless it's necessary to be involved." The kitsune's tune seemed to change a little bit, almost more attempting to meet the wolf in the middle and acknowledge the introduction he'd given just a short bit earlier.

Koneko's scowl shifted to a comforting smile as she refocused on the hanyou once again, "since he caught up, there's no point in rushing anymore... If you wanted to freshen up yourself, I can handle him for a little while on my own." Koneko clearly was doing her best to keep the tension between the two down, and a suggestion to refresh when they'd spent the week in their previous situation seemed like a good option to give him time to cool off from Kaito's badgering and feel a little more composed as well. "I'll have a talk with him too about what's happened, I can't guarantee it'll get him to completely stop trying to bicker with you, but it might at least get him to think twice about it a little."

[Taishou89]

Mitsuyoshi watched as the fox transformed into an exact look alike of Koneko, even mimicking her voice as he continued to speak. It wasn't until he felt the weight of an arm pressed against his shoulder did he find himself staring at a copy of himself. "Eh!?" Mitsuyoshi reacted at the surprise. "That's a bit... Unsettling." until in a cloud of smoke he appeared as himself. "Impressive though, very Impressive. So you are skilled in infiltration and subversion. I've heard of warriors skilled at such, I've even heard it also said that some have even formed clans in the mountains in the South. Though I've also heard that Kitsune were known for such deceptive tricks, but I feel truly privileged to witness it myself." Mitsuyoshi admitted before adding "Ano... Kaito-dono, Just don't impersonate me and I think we can work together, I do have my pride as a warrior to uphold." A part of him concerned that his own honor and reputation might be ruined by the Fox, though he didn't intend his words to be sharp.

"he has a big mouth, but he really is a fairly useful idiot... Though you don't need to really show him any respect if you don't want to either, respect is wasted on him." Koneko's comment amused him slightly, just because she had no problem at cutting down the Fox's ego, but more so his dejected reaction to the comment. "Wait, you trained Koneko?" baffled by the Fox's remark as it made him think for a moment. Perhaps he underestimated Kaito's goofy and rude behavior. Mitsuyoshi had seen Koneko fight and her skill in battle and even at plotting were commendable and her abilities undoubtedly superior. It now did seem to be that Kaito possessed some rather unique and powerful abilities, though both of them were full blooded, save for Koneko whom still had two very powerful bloodlines. 'It would appear that I have a lot to learn still... I really need to start meditating and honing my own skills, and discover abilities... But... Why would my mother, a Daiyoukai, leave me with my human father if the world is full of many powerful youkai with these kinds of abilities?' Although Mitsuyoshi was very confident in his skills as a warrior amongst humans, however with the sudden exposure to more powerful youkai with some very unique and powerful abilities it did cause him to question his own capabilities. His friend Koneko, the Kitsune Kaito, Mistress Chi, and that youkai from the river were all quite powerful and possessed some rather unique and unusual abilities. While it was true that he had his grandfather's sword which gave him an edge in a fight, besides his sword he only really could rely on his superior speed, agility, and his claws.

"Wolf of Nishino you said, huh? Sounds like you had a pretty large reputation among humans. I may have heard of the Nagano clan while passing through the area on orders back then, couldn't say for sure though since we usually stay out of human affairs unless it's necessary to be involved." Kaito's comments drew him from his thoughts. "Oh, yeah. I've been in several battles and one large war with a rival clan. They were the ones that coined that term based on whispers they'd heard that my Brother had a secret weapon: me. I was a Captain of foot soldiers at that time and my unit had the head of a wolf as it's war crest, so when we advanced they dismissed the rumors that our clan had an actual Youkai, until I engaged the brother of the enemy lord and took his head. It was a tremendous victory and I was very honored to present his head too my Brother." Mitsuyoshi beamed with pride and nostalgia as he recalled the Head viewing ceremony. During which Mitsutada commended him and gave him a smile, albeit a small one. It was the first time that Mitsutada had shown a sign of affection towards him since they were children, but Mitsuyoshi was just pleased that his brother had recognized him then.

When Koneko mentioned them taking a more relaxed pace now and that Mitsuyoshi could take his turn to freshen up, he perked up with delight. He certainly had been feeling the need to bath since he hadn't taken a dip in any water since that little tussle with the Hounengyo. "Oh good! I certainly feel like I could use it. It can't help but feel like I can still smell that floozy's scent on me." Mitsuyoshi chirped as he set the Kazega, his wakizashi, and his Father's tanto aside before stripping off his armor. It's heavy metal plates clanged together as he rested it against the log, signing of it's quality and weight. Though his armor was human, his brother spared no expense when it came to equipping Mitsuyoshi for war and His armor was made of high quality steel and undoubtedly heavier and stronger than the average of most Samurai of the time. Mitsuyoshi twisted and stretched, now lightened from the significant reduction in weight. It did feel refreshing to feel the cool air graze against where his armor had been resting on his body. Removing his hair tie and setting it down atop his swords, he turned to the group "I shouldn't take too long." with that being said and with a burst of fresh energy, Mitsuyoshi leaped with incredible speed, moving significantly much faster without the weight of his armor, and landed on the large boulder next to the river before leaping straight into the deeper part of the river fully clothed and with a loud splash. After swimming under the surface for a little, he'd eventually let himself float to the top before wrapping his right arm around a rock that stuck out of the water to anchor himself while he floated on his back and just soaked, allowing the river's gentle current to wash him as he relaxed, staring at the blue sky above.

[Koneko]

"With a tale like that, I guess I underestimated your abilities and skill a little bit. Though, given some of the things you've been saying since I revealed myself, it sounds like you've not encountered many youkai before Konene found you," Kaito commented as he considered the history that was proudly shared. Mitsuyoshi sounded like he was actually quite well trained and that fighting with him as an ally would be fairly beneficial, though he'd have to see for himself just how well he'd call the shots solo before he could really say how well his own tactics would meld in with him working as both a distraction and pulling tricks in the background. It was favorable at least that they weren't working with someone who was learning to fight from the ground up, just needed to know what better to expect out of inhuman opponents. "I can't promise I won't if it comes down to necessity, but don't give me a reason to impersonate you and you'll have nothing to worry about," the fox soon assured, seeming to at least accept the fact there would be a new face he'd need to get used to being around, though his tone seemed to warn he still might not be fully convinced. Though given he seemed quite energetic once a bath was mentioned and most definitely seemed to be picking up some mannerisms from Koneko in at least speech, he likely had little to feel skeptical about.

Moving to take a more relaxed seat on the log with a light chuckle to the floozy comment, Koneko watched as the blades and armor were removed, hearing the thud of the heavy piece as it came to rest on the ground. "Take all the time you want!" She then observed as he moved faster and leapt right off to the river in some awe, a more content grin coming across her face with sheepishness flowing through it as he jumped in fully clothed. "He would have won our race for sure if he hadn't stopped to show off and wasn't wearing all this heavy armor," she commented idly as his enthusiasm had at least amused her for the moment before her gaze refocused over to the fox. "So if you two just met and aren't involved, what's with him having your hair tie?" Kaito asked as he approached, observing the items left behind to be watched over. "Quit being so interested, it's not that deep," the feline grouched back at him, resting her head in her hand to unwind, "I felt bad he lost his when he rushed in to defend me against the youkai we fought near the castle." Now able to get a better look at the one in her hair, he then followed up asking, "so where'd this one come from?" With a sigh, she responded, "Mitsuyoshi found it in the goods our merchant friends had left lying around before they came back. Like I said, it's not like that, so quit your line of questioning and thinking, nothing you do or say is going to work on me anyways."

"Alright, alright, I'll lay off a little bit, but I really was worried when I couldn't find you. I thought some past problems might've caught up with you, so it's actually reliving to see you breathing," Kaito said more seriously, making it clear his concern was genuine and quite deep, biting his tongue as she made her retort and request. "There's no reason I wouldn't be fine, I'm more than capable of handling myself! Though... since you're here... when we're more alone I want to know anything you know about Yuzuki..." For a moment Koneko seemed very upset and forlorn, yet she gathered herself quickly, "but I said I would catch you up to speed about having gained a new companion." The daiyoukai began to explain a slightly abridged version of the events leading up to the current moment, explaining a little bit of the visions she saw at the castle while she'd broken the spell on Mitsuyoshi, the honengyou fight and the merchants, and the incident they had just narrowly avoided turning fairly ugly for them, though she trimmed on that story to make sure the kitsune couldn't use it to fuel his insistence of her needing him. "I was right then that he hasn't encountered too many youkai, but good to know he's got enough spark to do all he can." The explanation seem the ease the fox, though he still seemed keen on getting the attention of his previous companion in some regard, the gears in his head were turning for another attempt at her praise and affection.

[Taishou89]

As Mitsuyoshi relaxed in the river's gentle current, floating on his back, his mind returned to his thoughts about his own bloodline. 'I suppose I do have Daiyoukai blood, from what I gather it must be so if the Kazega belonged to my Grandfather... Though I'm just a half breed...' his expression soured a little as the thought reminded him. 'Perhaps if I had been a full blooded daiyoukai, I may be better able to unlock the power of that bloodline... Though even being a full blooded human would make life in the human world a lot easier and maybe life wouldn't have been so...' he sighed as the despair of being less than either of the two started to set in. As his mood waned at his troubled thoughts, with his back facing the current, he would not have noticed another presence had slipped silently into the river just up stream.

Suddenly a jolt of alarm silently tingled through his body as his instincts warned that something wasn't right. "Wha-" Just as he set his feet back on the floor of the river and made to leap from the water he felt a strong muscly form swiftly seize and wrap it's body around him and pulled him back into the water with a splash, dragging him further into the deeper part of the river. As a surge of bubbles swirled around his face he managed to look at what had grasped him. It was another Snake youkai, likely the mate of the one that attacked them earlier. Quickly he raised his arms high to avoid them being wrapped as the snake continued to try and wrap and restrain him. His attempts to pry himself from the muscly body were in vain as it kept it's grip firm. In desperation he dug his claws into it's body as he hoped it would cause the snake to loosen just enough for him to pry himself loose, but it reacted by tightening it's grip and quickly wrapping itself further and enclosing his arms within it's coil as it began to squeeze him and force what little air remained in his lungs out of him to drown him. Without his armor, he didn't have that extra protection from the crushing pressure of the snake's body and he knew he didn't have long.

(insert battle theme(click)
As the creature brought it's face up close to gaze into the eyes of the ensnared hanyou, readying itself for the final strike. Just as Mitsuyoshi felt the last of his air begin to seep from his mouth in a trail of bubbles a soft voice spoke within him, the voice urged him to howl, howl like the wolf that he was "Now! Now!" it shouted clearly in his mind. Almost immediately he felt a 2nd wind of energy as his air supply was just about out. With what air supply he had left he belted out the haunting tone of a Wolf's howl. If it had been on the surface, the sound would have traveled for miles, but under water it's decibels were amplified, piercing through the water like a sonar ping and hitting the face of the snake like a sonic wave causing it to recoil at the sudden acoustic assault and it's concussive force. The howl would have even emerged from the water and echo through the forest, albeit not as loud as it would have, had it occurred above the surface.

The sudden move used the last of his air supply, but it worked. The snake had loosened it's grip as it reeled dizzied and disoriented, allowing Mitsuyoshi to slip away and swim to the surface. Breaking the surface of the water, with a loud desperate gasp, his wet hair covering his face as he heaved at the air like he couldn't get enough of it. His heart racing with each gasp, he took another deep breath and with a loud wolf like growl, dove beneath the surface with a fury. 'You're mine now!' He thought to himself as he caught up to the snake, now recollecting itself. As it tried to do the same move again, Mitsuyoshi quickly dove backwards so that  as the snake lunged at him, it's body would run parallel with his own as he then enclosed his feet together on the snake's tail to prevent it from trying to ensnare him, as he clasped his knees and thighs around it's body for more leverage while his hands grasped the snake's throat, digging his claws in to further ensure a good grip as he lunged forward with his fangs bore, sinking them deep into the area of the creature's throat between where his hands were grasped. Yanking out a large chunk of flesh from the snake in a cloud of blood, it's body went limp and more blood spewed from the large wound in it's throat; the creature was dead.

A plume of blood would appear on the surface and trail down stream in quite a large quantity, alarming Koneko and Kaito who would have likely rushed to the waters edge after hearing the howl. With no sign of their hanyou companion, the two might have even feared the worse, until Mitsuyoshi broke the surface of the water and side paddled to the shallows as he then tossed the body of the snake closer to the banks and lay there on his back in the shallow water of the river's edge, panting with his hair covering most of his face. "This forest sure is much more dangerous than I remember..." the hanyou said with a soft chuckle. At the end of the drama, he may have just learned a new ability thanks to the mysterious voice.

[Koneko]

Koneko closed her eyes lightly as she shifted in her spot on the log, continuing the conversation with her reacquainted former companion, "he's learning pretty quick how to manage fighting other youkai instead of mostly humans, but I think he still needs a little time to recognize himself as something more than a human." Opening his mouth to respond, Kaito heard the howl and froze in place, seeing the ears on the woman before him come to sharp attention at the sound before she shot up from her place near instantly after. The fox's own head turned towards the river right as the feline leapt over to the boulders as fast as she could, catching a glimpse of Mitsuyoshi just dunking back under the surface and shortly after the blood trailing up to the surface to pool. "Mitsuyoshi!!" she shouted in deep concern, prepared to leap right in when the kitsune's hand grabbed her arm and held her back from doing so, "hold on, give him a moment. If he doesn't surface in a minute or so, then leap in since we don't know what happened."

With a look like she was about to retaliate and chew the five-tails out, Koneko held back her tongue as she noticed his expression also held deep concern while staring out over the bloodied water, going against her assumption he was still holding some kind of grudge from the earlier arguing. Returning her own focus to the water, her eyes darted frantically for any sign her companion would surface, eagerly about ready to pull away and dive in anyways just as Mitsuyoshi finally broke the surface and moved to the river bank with the additional snake demon corpse. "This forest sure is much more dangerous than I remember..." Kaito let go of the daiyoukai to let her dash ahead, following behind closely, as they both moved to get a better look. "Are you alright, Mitsuyoshi?! What happened?!" the feline asked in worry, though relieved he didn't seem wounded nor smelled any of his blood as she soon was standing over him bent over to get a look. "We heard your howl, but it sounded odd, like it was muffled or something," the fox followed up, looking over both the wolf hanyou and the damage he did to the snake. 'Looks like he has some brute strength too way he ripped that youkai up, I definitely misjudged him between his abilities and his personality. Maybe he's not so bad after all.'

Now at least satisfied to see her friend was mostly uninjured, a light pout crossed the feline's face, grumbling relief, "I thought your overly polite manners were going to be the death of me, but maybe it's really going to be all the danger you get into that'll worry me to death instead." Koneko's pout soon turned to a grin, "but I guess we both got our baths interrupted, ne?" She reached a hand down to help remove the hair from his face and eyes, then offered that same hand to help him at least sit up. "Seeing as already there was more than one of those snakes and we've been attacked twice so far, maybe the main road will be fine enough after we've had our fill of taking a break. I think I've had enough surprise attacks for today and it's not like I'll be able to ditch this loud mouth now that he caught up to me." Kaito flinched and then looked deflated, responding, "don't be so cruel, Konene..." A sly grin graced the daiyoukai's lips as she didn't even seem sorry for saying her little dig, "though maybe keeping the faster pace once there isn't a bad idea either, just to avoid too much more trouble until we can find a safer place to stop in Kiso."

[Taishou89]

 "I'm fine, maybe a little bruised, but it wasn't able to crush any of my bones." Mitsuyoshi reassured her. "I'm Sorry if I caused you some concern." recognizing the serious look of concern on her face which turned into a pout as she brushed the hair from his face. "I thought your overly polite manners were going to be the death of me, but maybe it's really going to be all the danger you get into that'll worry me to death instead." the Daiyoukai grumbled slightly. "Oh ho! I wasn't in all too much danger, I had it under control." Mitsuyoshi chuckled as he tried to downplay his situation. "Really, I did!" as the memory of how close he literally came to being crushed, drowned, and likely eaten by the large snake youkai played in his mind. "Although, I didn't sense this guy until he was already on me, but I suspect that it was because he was already in the water."

"It was rather strange though, I've never howled like that before... It disoriented the snake though and caused it to release me." Mitsuyosh replied to the Fox's comment. He decided not to mention the voice he heard down there, at least not just yet. He didn't want to come off as a possibly crazy sounding, at least not since he had only just met Kaito and didn't quite trust him enough to mention it, considering they were a little at odds initially. A closer inspection of the snake's corpse would show that blood had seeped from it's eyes and nose, a result of the sonic concussion of Mitsuyoshi's directed howl. Though it wasn't what killed the snake, it played a huge part in weakening it for Mitsuyoshi to kill it with his claws and fangs. 'This was the second time I've heard that voice, it is so familiar, yet still I do not know whose it is...' Mitsuyoshi thought to himself, until Koneko's voice drew his attention from the thought. "... but I guess we both got our baths interrupted, ne?" as she offered her hand to help him sit up.

Accepting the hand that was offered, he groaned slightly as he sat up still a little sore from the snake's embrace. "Oh, Yeaaah... So much for a relaxing bath... At least we were both able to wash off and get some refreshment though, I certainly don't feel as icky as I did earlier, as he cupped his hand in the water and raised it to his mouth, taking it in while also rinsing the snake's blood from his lips. Swishing the water a little in his mouth before spitting out what little of the snake's blood remained in his mouth. He chuckled lightly as he heard the interaction between Koneko and Kaito. Her cruelty toward him and his sad look did hit a funny bone, even though he did feel sorry for the Fox. "Well, I suppose I must give him this... Kaito-dono's loyalty and dedication are commendable traits, even if it may be for such perverted desires as I've gathered. I mean if he's been searching for you with concern for 30 years, I've never known a man with such dedication." He gave a nod to the Kitsune. "Although, I still say that if he learned a little manners, tact, and class it would go a long way with courting women instead of peeping."

[Koneko]

Seeming to beam with pride at the mention of how commendable his dedication and loyalty were, Kaito came back from his defeated state surprisingly quickly and placed his hands on his hips just to accentuate an almost gloating look in contrast to the feline's side-eyed glance directed at him. While there was a returned appreciation to the nod Mitsuyoshi gave, he soon was hiding a bit of returning puncturing to his ego, bolstering himself by saying, "I can't help my eyes appreciating the true beauty of a woman in her natural state, such sights are truly mesmerizing and meant to be admired accordingly. Dare I say such moments beg for eyes to behold it! AH!-Itatatatata!!" A smaller rock had connected with the middle of his forehead after his little statement, causing him to recoil before covering and rubbing the rapidly forming lump on that spot as he breathed out in mild pain. "No women are begging to be watched while bathing, least of all me!" Koneko snipped back, crossing her arms after it was apparent she was the one that tossed the rock, "I was only nice with my throw this one time, so don't get used to it being so light like that." Turning her nose up and huffing at the fox with a large flick of her tail, she turned her attention to her friend instead moving the conversation away from the pitiful excuses for the consistently indecent behavior.

"So you've never howled like that even before I found you?" the daiyoukai asked then, calming herself by shifting into curiosity and observing some of the damage done to the snake with the fact stated that it had disoriented it, "aside from you having ripped it's throat out, it looks like it hits pretty hard compared to what I'd expect howling to do. I guess you found an ability you didn't realize you had all along." Having managed to recover fairly quickly from the strike he took, the kitsune then piped in, "you mentioned you couldn't sense the snake because it was already in the water, so the muffled way it sounded: were you under the surface when we heard it?" Koneko's ears came to attention again and her stare snapped over to Mitsuyoshi, "Is... Is that true...?!" She seemed awed by that possibility, sure she was half dragon and she could talk underwater thanks to that, but such a reasonably clear howl like that made by him from under the surface really impressed her. The look on her face even seemed like she wanted to see him do it again, yet wasn't sure if she should ask such a thing while the end of her tail wiggled about excitedly. "Maybe then you found at least one thing to be trained to get better at and maybe soon you'll discover more abilities too!"

[Taishou89]

Mitsuyosh stifled a little chuckle as Kaito's mood quickly shifted before suddenly being shot in the forehead by the small rock that Koneko had launched and proceeded to scold him. He had to admit to himself that this seemingly normal interaction between the two was indeed a bit amusing. "I think you definitely could definitely use some work on your abilities to charm and appeal to the desire of women, Kaito-dono. Even I know that most women of class tend to dislike being spied on while in their most relaxing and vulnerable moments." He forced back a chuckle as the Fox's lump turned red, making him think of one of those Noh Masks of Demons with horns.


"So you've never howled like that even before I found you?" Koneko's question caught him a little by surprise, but he figured that she was trying to move on from the topic of Kaito's indiscretions and prideful gloating. "Oh... Well, when I was just a young pup, I used to. It was hard to resist the urge at times..." he confessed, pausing for a moment as the memory of Lady Emiko striking him with his own training Bokken for making so much noise. "... But... I guess.. Uh.. It was frowned upon... So, I had to learn to refrain." as he rubbed his head, almost as if he could still feel her strikes from the memory. "aside from you having ripped it's throat out, it looks like it hits pretty hard compared to what I'd expect howling to do. I guess you found an ability you didn't realize you had all along." Her comment gave him much relief as it shifted him away from the painful memory. "Oh yeah, It-" he was cut off as Kaito suddenly piped in "you mentioned you couldn't sense the snake because it was already in the water, so the muffled way it sounded: were you under the surface when we heard it?" It was starting to seem like he'd have to admit how close he came to actually drowning and being the snake's next meal. "Is... Is that true...?! Maybe then you found at least one thing to be trained to get better at and maybe soon you'll discover more abilities too!" Koneko Added excitedly as was evident by her expression and her tail motions.

"Well I suppose I should be a little more forth coming..." he started as he scratched the back of his head, uncertain how he should put it. "Well It may sound a little crazy... But I was actually in a bad position..." Mitsuyoshi would go on to tell them about how the battle started, and how despite his attempts to fight it, the snake managed to ensnare him. "I heard a voice... as clear as I hear you both now... a woman's voice told me to howl with my last bit of air. I don't know who it belongs to, but it worked! Allowed me to escape to the surface for more air. It Also seemed to weaken the snake as well, by the time I went back down it barely put up a fight." when he did howl as a kid before, it wasn't anything like that, and Mitsuyoshi began to wonder if he could do it again. "Hmm, I wonder..." Mitsuyoshi suddenly rose from his seat in the water and leapt onto the large boulder next to them. Clearing his throat as he propped himself at the top of the boulder he let loose "Awwwooooooooooooooo!" sounding more akin to a human attempting to imitate a wolf howl. Mitsuyoshi tried this 2 more times, but each time sounding no different.

Frowning a little at how weak that sounded 'How did I do this then?' as he played back the moment underwater again in his mind as he tried to feel what was different aside from being in danger, then he remembered what Akari had told him to do when he first discovered the Wind blade attack in the Dojo. "Ah.." He propped himself up again, cleared his throat and closed his eyes as he focused his mind just as he did when he first learned the Wind blade.  When he felt a tingle run throughout his body like a bolt of energy, his ears bent back low as he arched  his body backward and raised his face toward the sky. "WWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooo" Hauntingly beautiful and this time an authentic howl. Just as under water, a sonic force wave flowed from his mouth, looking almost blurred and wavy as the sound pierced through the air and echoed through the forest and off the distant mountains. The Exciting moment was short lived as a 4 birds who had crossed the wave's path high above, fell to the ground and landed by the two sitting below. The bird's twitched and fidgeted on the ground. Mitsuyoshi leaped down, frowning as he picked up one of the little birds and held it in his hands, feeling remorseful at such an innocent life being lost. "Arrww, I didn't mean to..." Fortunately, and much to his relief, the birds were at a far enough range to avoid any damage and were just stunned as it would stop twitching and right itself in his palm before fluttering away, back into the sky with the rest of his buddies. 

[Koneko]

As Mitsuyoshi sheepishly seemed to admit he'd been hiding just how much trouble he'd been in with the snake, Koneko stayed fairly attentive, though a very slight hint of a sullen expression brushed over her face for a moment at the fact he had been in a bit more danger. "Well It may sound a little crazy... But I was actually in a bad position... I heard a voice... as clear as I hear you both now... a woman's voice told me to howl with my last bit of air. I don't know who it belongs to, but it worked! Allowed me to escape to the surface for more air. It also seemed to weaken the snake as well, by the time I went back down it barely put up a fight." Her head soon cocked to the side and her ears splayed in thought as she considered what he said about how it came about he'd managed to howl. "That sounds similar to what you asked me at the inn when you asked if I heard music," the feline stated, folding her arms to support her chin with one hand in thought, soon smiling as she spoke again, "but, I won't be one to call you crazy since however you're hearing it seems to be helping in finding out some abilities. You still fought your own way out of this one and I'd say didn't nearly come as close to death this time, so I think it's worth calling a pretty big improvement." The last words she said in earnest while also teasing him slightly for his current pattern of managing to skirt death fairly closely. "This is at least something to try again and is a sign you're embracing your youkai blood!" Over-all she didn't seem to move to scolding him, rather seemed more joyous about the outcome at the end. "Hmm, I wonder..." She watched as he then rose up and leapt up onto the rock to make his next attempts with interest.

Also being captivated by the desire to see an attempt first hand, Kaito gazed up at the hanyou on the boulder attentively. With the first tries though, both youkai seemed to get a sinking feeling in different ways: the fox looking a little confused while the feline seemed almost embarrassed for him. Yet seeing him thing and then gear up one more time perked them both up. 'Maybe he's really going to?' the kitsune thought, seeing the change in posture before the slight burst of air from feeling some of the energy the powerful howl put out. Koneko shifted forward and her ears directly pointed towards it, seeming awed by the sight and sound before seeing the birds fall to the ground. 'They fell to the ground!' she thought, surprised by the little incident before hearing Mistuyoshi leap down and speak our remorse for the tiny creatures. "It's alright, it wasn't your-" surprisingly the fox out of the two spoke out first in some comfort before they were caught off guard by the birds recovering themselves and flying back off. It turned out they're okay," the daiyoukai spoke up with relief in her voice, moving to pat the wolf's back reassuringly, "that was incredible! You keep practicing doing that and I'm sure you'll be able to use it effectively in the battles we face ahead!"

"It'll be a great element of surprise in a fight for sure," the fox agreed, a light grin on his face. Shortly after Kaito's compliment, his stomach growled loud enough for the others to hear and causing him to rub the back of his head in embarrassment. With a sigh he started to shamefully admit, "looks like I'm a bit hungry from searching the area pretty thoroughly for the past couple days..." Koneko, on the other hand, rolled her eyes and groaned at the interruption and grumbled, "Of course you'd not stop for a moment to eat in that time... You hungry too, Mitsuyoshi? We could eat while you dry off." She stretched widely before starting to take a few steps back off towards where they sat down to relax, looking back at the two she had begun to walk in front of.

[Taishou89]

Mitsuyoshi sighed in relief as the little birds flew away, though he had no qualms of taking a life and despite being a Samurai who would take any life he was commanded to take, much less being a hanyou with a very blood thirsty youkai side, personally he had no desires or love of taking lives from those that wasn't warranted. During his life, he grew up during a relatively peaceful yet still turbulent time with most fights being internal to the Shogunate's circle or within the Clans themselves, but it was because of this and his Father's more enlightened and educated style of leadership, rather than being strictly a warlord, that he would come to be taught the values and appreciation of life and all things living, Akari herself would also instruct him on these topics as well, and indeed it is likely why he became quite civilized and not just a weapon of war.


"Heh heh, Thanks. I'll keep on working on it and practicing. Maybe I'll learn more as well ne?" Mitsuyoshi said blushing a little at the cheery compliments he was paid by the two. It was a level of informality he had not been quite used to. Most compliments he had ever been paid, even by Akari, but especially his brother, were rather formal and dignified as typical with the stoicism of such a class. He honestly felt a little tingling of joy to be complimented like this by his Friend Koneko, and even by his new acquaintance Kaito. They were all suddenly interrupted by the growling gurgle of Kaito's stomach. Mitsuyoshi couldn't hold back his chuckle as Kaito's stomach growled and even Koneko's reaction. "So dedicated to your endeavors that you have neglected to eat. That, I must say, is quite an admirable quality. You sure you aren't Samurai? Granted a bit lecherous... but still. I suppose I could go for a bite myself, that snake worked up quite an appetite" Mitsuyoshi chirped as he then realized that he was still soaking wet.  planting both hands on the ground as he kneeled, he did a quick doggy shake spraying water every where before sitting back up and brushing his hair back with his hands to see the annoyed expressions on the two whom he just sprayed. "Oh... Uh... Sorry." He apologized with a little blush. "I've never felt so liberated before..." He gave an embarrassed toothy smile. It was certainly true that since meeting Koneko, he'd begun to lessen his restraint of certain instinctual and animalistic habits.

[Koneko]

"Don't praise him too much, the praise will go to his already big head," Koneko spoke up, motioning to her own head while talking about the fox's ego, "I already have to berate him enough just to make sure he doesn't get too full of himself." The once more puffed-up Kaito from the mostly-complimentary words Mitsuyoshi had to say was already too ego-inflated again to hold back, "but he's pointing out again that I have decent qualities, Konene! He's able to see it, so why keep denying yourself the permanent company of this man with desirable traits?" He seemed to have shifted entirely into a more suave attitude, even brushing his loose hair back with charm before trying to sound enticing and seductive, "if you just give me the chance, you might find you enjoy the more libertine side of me as well, after all I-" The kitsune's attempt to court the feline again was cut short when water suddenly partly drenched both of them from the hanyou that had started shaking off to dry off a little bit. Being sprayed with water ironically dried up his haughty attitude rather quickly, looking both frustrated and defeated at the same time as he shot a disgruntled look over at the wolf. "You couldn't have waited a few moments longer?"

Koneko on the other hand had been ready to boil over at the lewd insistence of the fox, gearing up to tell him off when she was doused with water and shot a grumpy look over to Mitsuyoshi as well. Sighing loudly, she let it slide for this time since most of her anger was really meant for Kaito instead, snipping out, "Well I guess I'm glad you feel liberated, drenching us has at least liberated us of Kaito's disgusting stench for at least until we dry off." Moving to wring out a little bit of the water from her sleeves, her comment seemed to have hit the fox enough to get him to whimper out, "I don't smell bad though and I bathe regularly... please just give me a chance Konene!" Shooting Mitsuyoshi a look as if asking to second him on that sentiment, the daiyoukai was already turning her nose up and snidely remarking back, "Like hell I'll give you a chance! Last thing I ever need in my life is your stink all over me, you disgusting fox! That water helped make the air around here just a little clearer than it's been thanks to your presence." She started back off to lead the way back to their little resting spot in attempt to end the protest against her claim there, mumbling under her breath as her tail flipped back and forth in irritation, "damn five-tails and his never ending advances... It was nicer when I was guaranteed some peace and quiet from his big mouth..."

[Taishou89]

Mitsuyoshi cocked his head sideways at Koneko's comment about Kaito smelling, confused as he didn't catch a whiff of anything foul from Kaito's presence. He knew that Kaito had a unique scent that differed from any human, and it did smell a kin to wild foxes, but different. When Kaito shot him a look, seeking his support to aid his uphill quest for Koneko's heart, his ears perked up as he gave Kaito a look that said don't involve me. "You know Kaito-dono, I did say that your dedication and loyalty are admirable traits but... I don't think Pestering and peeping are the qualities of which Koneko likes. Plus..." Mitsuyoshi paused for a second as he tried to remember something he'd learned from Akari. "...Ah yes, A wise man on the continent once said 'all rivers flow to the sea because it is lower than they are. Therefore be humble.' or something like that, but the message was simple, a little Humility goes a long way." As he stood up and started to follow Koneko back to their resting area.

Mitsuyoshi briefly paused as he got near Kaito and leaned in close to him and sniffed the air around him. "Hmm... I don't notice any foul smell... Though Maybe you might want to take a dip in the river too, if Koneko seems to think you do smell." He mentioned to the Fox before proceeding back to their rest area, leaving the fox to think over the words that he had said. Catching up to Koneko and hearing her curse Kaito's continuous advances. "He is quite an unusual character, but perhaps there is a way in which he can be tolerated? He certainly seems like he might be useful in obtaining more information on the Priestess you seek, maybe he could transform and inquire at the temples and shrines along the way, since he might be able to visit them inconspicuously, or he might even be welcomed into the Shrines to Inari since he is a Fox. Though his lack of humility is a bit disturbing and might get him in trouble in those holy places..." He lightly patted Koneko's shoulder as he passed her and walked over to his belongings and sat on the grass in front of the log, resting his back against it as he reached for his pack. Rummaging through, he found the small wooden box containing the dried fish that they had acquired from Murada and Jiro, taking one for himself and handing the box to Koneko. "Well you know what they say right? What goes around comes around. One day Kaito might have someone who will constantly pester and try to peep on him when he bathes." Mitsuyoshi said just before he crunched into the fish.