An intruder.

Rains poured, the sky cracked with thunder and clouds blotted out the sun. Amid this simply miserable day Yamamoto was busy dashing home, dressed in a garb far more practical than Kimono’s she would normally be dressed in. Her boots splashed into a puddle of water, soaking the bottoms of her jeans and causing her to grumble beneath her breath yet, she kept on running. Eventually, she came to the gate to her estate. A brief fumbling for her keys, which did expose her long-sleeved shirt to the rains, and she had unlocked her gate.

She burst through the gate, locked it behind her and dashed inside her home. It may have been foolish for her home’s main security to be the wooden gate of its walls but even with proper doors and walls on the building itself, it was unlikely to keep out a truly determined thief, especially if they were a ninja. Now inside her home, it was a simple matter to unpack her shopping, shove it into the fridge then put on the kettle to sit down with a cup of tea and perhaps some sweet snacks.

She retreated from her kitchen to her bedroom, eyes refusing to focus upon the door to her now passed parent’s room. She rarely, if ever, entered that room. How many years had it been since she entered? Oh yeah. Since she entered the academy. Yamamoto shook her head free of the thoughts and retreated into her bedroom, changing into a replacement set of clothes before returning to the lounge. When the tea was made, she simply sat down at the lounge table and relaxed, enjoying the warmth of her home.

Marcus sighed at the rain hitting his skin. He didn't mind the feeling at all and, truth be told, enjoyed it more often than not. Rain was something that just didn't happen in his old home of the Land of Wind, so for it to be so common a thing here still fascinated him a little bit. He had all of his pouches and tools on his person, though the only clothing he wore was a pair of black trousers and his shinobi sandals. The rain on his bare upper body was a good feeling for him. Today he was walking through the village, utilizing his sensory abilities to analyze the people walking by him. It was good practice, as he wanted to be able to tell the difference between shinobi and citizens. Most citizens didn't have very impressive chakra but shinobi usually had chakra that was above average in either quantity or quality, sometimes both.

It was as he was performing this mental exercise that he detected a signature he had detected a couple days beforehand. That had been at the training grounds where he had been practicing the Arhat Fist. Yes, it was very similar to that woman who had shown up and challenged him to a spar only to leave once the Raikage had appeared. A shiver ran down his spine at the thought of meeting her, the Queen of the village, in such a casual way. Marcus shook himself out of the feeling of awe that started to build in his gut and instead decided to follow this signature to see where this Yamamoto girl would go. She was quicker than he was but Yamamoto was able to keep her within his sensory range, just barely though.

He stopped as she came into sight on the other side of a gate, dashing towards a house. Marcus hesitated, unsure on whether he should follow or not. Gated houses meant wealth and wealth meant guards. Not a fight he relished, but it was also possible that they weren't too fond of the idea either. Shrugging as if to say "fuck it", he would run to the gate. A jump followed by him grasping the gate allowed him to fling his body over the gate where he would land on the other side in a roll. That, of course, promptly covered him in mud. He stood, monitoring the area to see if anybody had seen that while ignoring how dirty he now was.

"All of this just to see what her deal is..." Marcus muttered that and a few other things as he followed her signature to the house inside the gates. He would stop on the front stoop, dripping wet from the rain but uncaring at his wetness, and went to knock on the door. Then he hesitated. He could sense the woman inside, but did he really want to announce his presence so casually? He had already snuck onto the grounds, so it was possible this could end badly for him. Nobody else was in the house so far as he could tell, but maybe there were some sensors inside who were suppressing their chakra? Only one way to find out.

So with that thought, Marcus knocked three times. Not obnoxiously loud, but enough so that the woman named Yamamoto would be able to hear it from inside. Once finished with his knock, Marcus would slip his hands into his soaked pockets and wait to see what happened.



Using:


Sensing, .5 upkeep

.5/110 stamina used

Just as she was about to take a bite from her chosen snacks, she heard it. The taps upon her door. Yamamoto’s expression snapped suddenly, her relaxed expression twisting into a slight scowl before sighing, a mask of neutrality taking over her face. She put down her chosen snack and walked towards her front door, snatching up her blade and holding it at her waist. On the way to the door she stopped, pausing to consider things. Should she attack? Open the door?

The sword was unsheathed, chakra extending down her limbs, into her muscles and along the length of her blade too. Analyse composition, strengthen the edge, empower the weapon, loosen her muscles. She inhaled and in a single motion, forcibly opened her front door before stepping forth to hold the edge of her sword against the throat of her visitor; or at least that is what she was attempting to do.

“Oh. Hello.” She was understandably on edge, a brief glance over Marcus’s shoulders revealing that he had broken into her home by bypassing the gate. The cold edge to her voice only intensified, paired with an emotionally detached glare in her eyes. She was analysing the entirety of Marcus’s body, calculating targets, estimating distances and most importantly, considering how quickly she could kill him if it came to that.

“Now, why did you break into my estate?” Yamamoto was understandably distrustful of this blatant intruder on her property, especially given how he had willingly surrendered the element of surprise. Was he working with others? Was this simply a distraction while a comrade broke into her home? Many questions and few answers.

Chakra flow: -3 CP. +1 durability for her sword.
Autopilot UA: -5 CP for +1 speed.

Current CP: 102.

Marcus didn't hear the woman inside get up and move or anything, he didn't have senses that keen, but he did sense her starting to mold chakra into something. Remembering the bokken she had been using at the training grounds, he decided it might be best to take a few steps back. He didn't really know this woman at all other than from their first meeting at the training grounds, but the way she had interacted with him before suddenly shifting her personality to something completely different had been something fairly unique. That and her quick departure at the Raikage's appearance had left an impression on him once he had gotten over the shock of the Raikage and thought about it at his own house.

Turns out, he was right to be a little wary. When Yamamoto opened the door and went to brandish her weapon she would find that Marcus had stepped back about a meter and a half. That put him back into the rain, but he really didn't mind that so much. Eyeing the weapon with a raised eyebrow, Marcus would listen to what Yamamoto had to say. It wasn't much, really, just a hostile greeting and a perfectly valid question on why he was even on her estate. Shifting his attention to Yamamoto herself, emerald gemstones for eyes meeting her own, he would shrug lightly in the same manner as before.

"I was practicing my sensory abilities in the village and detected your signature. You left so quickly the other day on the training grounds that I didn't get much of an opportunity to really talk to you so I decided to see where you were going," he replied casually. A slight smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, almost a smirk if not for his relaxed posture and the glint in his eye. "You... interest me, to be honest." With that, he glanced around at her estate and nodded slightly a few times in appreciation. "Nice place you've got, by the way. You should make the walls a little higher though."



Using:

Sensing, .5 upkeep

“Do I now? You realise my house has a bell on the gate, right?” She lowered her blade and let it hang at her side, the blade catching the light of her home’s lighting. It may have looked like she was simply lowering her guard but the emotionally dead look in her eyes revealed that she was by no means simply going to allow herself to be totally defenceless. It would have been immensely foolish to be vulnerable in front of someone who had broken into their home. Who knows what their motive was?

“The height of my walls would simply not change anything. Most ninja can walk on walls and even failing that, you could always get a ladder or line of rope with a hook. The height of my walls is, unless I make them extended higher than the longest feasible ladder or rope, will do little to defend my home.” Then she went silent, gaze focusing with unnatural exclusivity upon Marcus. She saw nothing except him and his body, lifeless gaze analysing every possible weakness.

“But if your visit was simply due to me being interesting, then you simply could have rung the bell.” She took slow and measured steps out of her home, crossing the porch in her wooden geta, unbothered and utterly unaware of the rain splattering down upon her. All Yamamoto’s eye saw was Marcus, her sword and the distance between them. The same Yamamoto that had made an appearance at the training grounds had returned. There was utterly nothing else of any worth to her right now.

stats and things.:

Marcus shrugged at Yamamoto's comments. "Didn't bother to look to see if there was a bell. The rain distracted me a little and, to be honest, I wanted to see if I could vault the gate." He gave a slight smile at that, motioning at his dirtied clothing and body. "Turns out, I can." He noted that the look in her eye was the same as when she had challenged him to a match at the sparring grounds before everything got so busy. The way she brandished her blade also gave him a hint at what kind of mood she was in. This woman must really not like the rain or visitors to have such a volatile reaction to one she hardly knew. If he had wanted to attack her, then he sure as hell wasn't going to be knocking on the door to announce his presence.

Her walking towards him had prompted him to take equal steps back, keeping a bit of distance between the two. He didn't want her getting angry and taking a swipe with that blade of hers. He'd be forced to defend himself which meant a ninjutsu, more than likely, and using one of those would definitely cause a bit of damage to her home.

"You know, you challenged me to a spar but never even gave me your name. That's another reason I followed you here." The choice of words was carefully selected so as to not give the impression he had been purposefully stalking her. He knew that this situation could be taken as such, but it wasn't exactly something he wanted to be known for if he could help it. "Most people don't do that, so I was curious why you're one of the few who do. I still want that spar, too, if you'd be kind enough to try again." He pulled his head back towards the gate as if to motion he wanted her to follow. "We could go to the training grounds right now, if you wanted to. We're both wet anyways," he finished humorously, a slight grin staying on his lips.



Using:


Sensing, .5 upkeep



1.5/110 stamina used

“Hmmm….an inattention to detail can be fatal you know? After all…” Then she jumped forward, the full force of her muscles launching her through the air at the maximum speed her muscles allowed. In a single elegant motion, she stopped at just a mere meter away from Marcus, her blade hanging with idle energy at her side. She tilted her head sideways, pondering things with an expression of raw neutrality on her face. She returned her sword to its sheath in one graceful movement, deliberate but controlled.

“That question is easily answered. For what purpose does one fight?” It was an easy question really, one with many answers and all of them equally correct but in this circumstance, there was only one Yamamoto was hoping for. Yamamoto lowered her blade, sheathing it having made her stance on the matter clear. She was faster than Marcus, a lot faster, and that speed would be the main barrier between the two he would need to overcome.

“Oh?..Hmm…..My desire to spar was a mere passing breeze, carried with the soft winds to a far off place but if you do truly wish to spar, then that will depend on your answer to my question.” Already it seemed that a spar with Marcus would not be the first of many nudges required to push her beyond her current level of ability. That was why she had retracted her earlier request those few days ago.

stats:

Yamamoto commented on attention to detail being important, which Marcus agreed with, before making a quick dash towards him to close the distance a bit. He blinked when she did so, her form appearing as more of a blur than anything else. She hadn't tried to strike him down yet and didn't see why she would kill a fellow shinobi in the middle of the village, so he didn't react with any oblique defensive maneuvers or anything of the sort. It did surprise him though, prompting a single step back when she finished moving. Well, she's pretty fast. That's good to know, he thought to himself. That was a piece of information he stored in the back of his mind for later. You know, just in case.

Her reply to the rest of what he said puzzled him slightly. She still refused to give her name to him for some reason he didn't understand and told him that her sparring him would depend on the answer to a question on philosophy she asked. The question itself wasn't one he had ever really thought on too hard. He had learned to fight to defend himself against his drunken bastard of a father and after he succeeded with that, he had decided to fight for Kumogakure to earn a better living than the little jobs he had been working at before provided. He had skills and used them. That was really everything up to this point in his life, but he recalled something the Raikage had told him in that little incident at the training grounds. She had mentioned a church, one he had looked into afterwards, and their tenets interested him a little. For some reason, they rang a good and sound note within his chest whenever he thought about it.

He knew, of course, that the words the church used were likely to put the best possible light on what they taught. No organization, church or otherwise, was perfect. There would be flaws, yes, but everyone was flawed in some way. For example, this woman couldn't even be bothered to give her name to people she challenged to spars and brandished swords at in the middle of the village.

Marcus thought on her question for a bit, tipping his head down to look at her feet as his brow furrowed in concentration. "Why do I fight, hm?" He wasn't asking Yamamoto that but said it more to himself though his words should still be audible to her. "Well," he started, turning his head up to look at the sky with a very slight smile pasted onto his lips. "I suppose... I suppose I started fighting to defend myself, but now I want to defend others so they don't have to go through the same things I did. There's got to be someone in the world capable of delivering justice, and if so few are willing to step up to the plate then that means I need to be one of those few."

He tilted his head back down, eyes fixated on her own. "How about you, Yamamoto-san? Why do you fight?" He paused here before chuckling. He had just realized that he still didn't know here name despite the varied and fairly interesting interactions they had had so far as strangers. "And,uh, what's your full name, by the way? I heard Gyo call you Yamamoto, but that's only half of it and you don't really look like half a person to me," he teased gently.



Using:


Sensing, .5 upkeep


2/110 stamina used

The look in her eyes faded and, for a brief flash, she seemed almost sad, but it was only a momentary thing, fleeting and transitory. Yamamoto’s expression had gone from neutrality to a mixture of disappointment and sadness then to a polite smile in a matter of mere moments. Her switch flicked off, the flow chakra dissipating and returning to normal. Her speed and her blade returned to their natural state as whatever state had gripped Yamamoto passed, her sense of self returning to normal or at least as normal as she could be.

“To defend people and deliver justice hm?” Her soft and polite smile remained as obvious as ever, matched with a softly spoken tone of voice. It all contributed to that persona she used to mask herself away, to fit in and be seen with at least some degree of normalcy. It was one of many things that she was yet to cut away from herself. A realisation hit her at that moment, her eyes expanding for a few milliseconds. Was that reason why she had been hitting a roadblock in her progress since leaving the academy?

“Oh, you want to know why I fight?... Hmmm…” The kunoichi brought her free hand up to her chin, softly caressing it in deep contemplation. It was a good question to ask really. Why DID Yamamoto fight? In fact, was fighting even the way to support her goals? Was fighting the best way to progress? Questions, questions and more questions….

“In truth, I don’t really know.” It was only partially true. She had a reason why she fought but...it was really something she needed to discard. Her reasons, her motivations, her silly personas. She needed to, as with many other things in Yamamoto’s life, cut them away. They were simply weight slowing her down and holding her back.

“Oh? Yamamoto Akahana. I rarely go by my forename so just Yamamoto will do Marcus-san.” She turned and walked back to her home, sheltering under its entrance way from the rain.

“Hmm...I had just poured myself some tea. Would you like to escape the rains until they pass?”

(Jutsu and UA deactivated.)

This girl was definitely a whirlwind of emotions. Her chakra fluctuated in various directions as her facial expressions changed to suit, evidently finding his answer to be disappointing or insufficient in some manner or another. That was fine with him. Marcus wasn't entirely sure himself on whether what he had said was the whole truth, but it had seemingly affected Yamamoto in some fashion. His question to her about why she chose to fight seemed to stump her for a few moments as she thought about it in a similar manner as he had.

The answer she gave him wasn't exactly a huge revelation or a stroke of philosophical genius as he had been half expecting but was quite blunt instead. She simply didn't know, or claimed that she didn't. The way her chakra was reading made Marcus a little suspicious but ultimately it isn't a very important thing to get worked up about. Not right now, anyways. Thankfully she was willing to give her full name as most people did when prodded a little bit, though she informed him that she preferred the more traditional way of addressing people by their surname rather than their forename. That was fine with him too. Lots of people held to that tradition in the various countries though Marcus himself had never really taken much stake in it. To be honest, he didn't even really see what the purpose was to it. What was the point to having a first name if you weren't ever going to let people use it in conversation? It made no sense to him.

Yamamoto then invited him in for tea which baffled Marcus. A moment ago she seemed ready to try and slice him up a bit and now she was inviting him in for tea? Yes, there was definitely something more to this woman than he could see on the surface. Perhaps once his sensing abilities got better he would be able to determine what she was truly like since she wasn't making it very easy to do right now.

"Sure, that sounds good," he said, beginning to follow her into her house before stopping at the doorway. He glanced down at himself, eyeing the mud and thoroughly soaked clothing. "Er, you don't mind me being this dirty though, do you?" He didn't exactly have a change of clothing on him, so if she had an issue with it then he would need to stand or strip down and... well, that might get a little awkward for him. Maybe even for her, too, but that wasn't his concern. If she was fine with him being inside in some manner or another he would step in and oblige her unless it was something obtuse as a request.

"What kind of tea is it?"




Using:


Sensing, .5 upkeep

“...Hmmm...wait in the entrance hall and do please remove your shoes.” She turned away from Marcus, slipping her outdoor shoes off to not trapse mud through her house. Wooden flooring may have been easier to clean than carpet but dried out mud was not something she wished to spend hours cleaning. She retreated into the house, coming back out with a simple white shirt and grey tracksuits, clean but wrinkled due to a lack of use.

“Feel free to take these. They were my father’s and they never fit me. I have no need for them.” She offered the garments towards her guest, unconcerned whether he accepted them or not. In fact, she cared not for either keeping them or discarding them. They were simply a thing that gathered dust and had no real purpose anymore. When she was younger, they had been a reminder of her father but even that one-time familiar scent of body spray had faded. Now they were just clothes.

“Hmmm green tea but it may have gone cold. The lounge is the first door on the left.” And then back into her home she retreated, walking around the corner and vanishing into a room beyond it. When, or perhaps if, Marcus made his way into the kitchen/lounge combination, he would find a single kettle sitting upon the table, a small wisp of steam escaping through its spout. There was a single solitary teacup sitting next to it, untouched and lukewarm.

For now, Marcus was seemingly left alone. Additional teacups were easy to find thankfully, having been left hanging on a wooden rack in the kitchen. Oddly enough, the lounge was surprisingly sparsely decorated. Outside of the floral patterns decorating the sliding doors and a single plant sitting upon a chest of doors there were little personalised elements that made the house feel lived in.

Akahana told Marcus to stay where he was after entering the house and taking off his shoes. There were guest slippers waiting nearby, but he had a feeling he should probably wait a bit before slipping them on. She returned with simple clothing for him which he graciously took, noting that Akahana referred to her father in such a way as to indicate he had passed away. Was her mother also gone? That would leave her alone in this house more than likely. A pang of sympathy ran through Marcus as she departed for the lounge after a courteous nod from him as thanks for the clothing.

His father, while not dead, was busy being a drunken fool of a man back in the Land of Wind and his mother was nowhere to be found even despite him looking so hard for her once had gotten to her homeland here. He was also parentless and felt that weight every day, though it had become familiar to him now. It reminded him of why he had come to this land in the first place. Depending on when and how that weight found itself on Akahana's shoulders could explain her odd behavior towards people. Marcus put a mental note in the back of his mind to ask her about that one day when she didn't feel like poking him with the pointy end of the katana.

Marcus stripped right there in the entryway and put on the clean, somewhat rumpled clothing she had provided. A little baggy on him and the shirt was a bit short, but he couldn't expect a perfect fit. He left his disheveled pants at the entryway for him to pick up later on his way out. First though, he would have tea with Akahana.

He followed her path, seeing that there was only one teacup set out before turning back into the kitchen to snag one off the wall where they were hanging. That done, he made his way into the lounge that was totally not Emiya's lounge at all and sat across from wherever Akahana would sit. He would sit casually, legs crossed and his posture fully erect. "You said green tea, right? That's one of my favorites, actually," he commented lightly. He shifted slightly, the clothing she had gotten him being a little itchy from its time collecting dust. That, or he was just uncomfortable wearing a dead man's clothing. Which it was wasn't entirely clear to him, but he still itched a little bit nonetheless.

Marcus poured himself a cup and took a sip, sighing with contentment after he did so. A smile brushed his lips as he peered at Akahana. "So tell me a bit about yourself," he started brightly. "Other than you want to poke me with a sharp piece of metal, that is."




Using:

Sensory, .5 upkeep

Yamamoto returned to the living room, dressed in a simple white T-shirt, a pair of loose-fitting jeans and indoor slippers. She carefully sat down upon a crimson cushion, reaching forth to clutch her now lukewarm beverage. She brought it up to her lips, softly drinking from the cup. Green tea was not exactly a beverage Yamamoto ‘enjoyed’ per say but she did not hate it. In fact, it would be accurate to say she was totally neutral to it. For her it was simply a pleasant beverage to drink to pass the time under peaceful circumstances. It was only when Marcus spoke up that her focus would turn to him.

“Myself?... Hmm…” She turned her eyes downwards, looking at the floor while gripping her cup. Herself..herself...hmmm… it was a difficult question to answer really and it showed on her face, Yamamoto’s features contorting into a puzzled expression. It was one of the rare instances she had shown an emotion she genuinely felt. There was plenty about herself she could say but...what exactly? What information did Marcus wish to know? She remained silent, looking up with a freshly minted, albeit polite and reserved, smile decorating her face.

“I am unsure what exactly you wish to know about me. I am simply a swordsman.” That is all Yamamoto considered herself and so, with little else to say, she simply returned to drinking her tea in silence. Socialisation had never really been her forte. She was perfectly capable of holding a conversation and communicating with people but the art of engaging others in entertaining discussions that past the time as quickly as any other hobby were beyond her. She often spent her time alone, either in silence, doing chores, meeting her other responsibilities, resting or practicing.

Marcus eyed Akahana over the brim of his teacup as he sipped and awaited her response to his light-hearted question. She seemed to be thinking very, very hard on the subject as though she didn't quite know much about herself. Most people liked to try and spin a positive side to themselves when they were first meeting people so they didn't frighten them off or make them think they were weird. This girl might have been doing that, but the amount she was concentrating made him doubt it was that simple. He set his teacup down and eyed her expectantly, one eyebrow cocked slightly in curiosity.

Then she finally responded and... well, it wasn't what he had been expecting and he hadn't been expecting much. Marcus blinked a few times, unsure if he had heard her correctly. That's what she was going with? That she was a swordsman? After a couple moments Marcus would chuckle lightly, rubbing his forehead as though exasperated. He wasn't, it was just a habit of his when he had to think harder than usual. She was definitely not making this whole "getting to know each other" very easy.

He would speak after a few moments of chuckling, some of the amusement rubbing off with his words. "I would never have guessed, what with the sword and all," he mused before taking another sip of tea. He placed the cup down gently, letting out a satisfied sigh. "Well, I suppose I'll start and give you an example. I won't tell you I'm a taijutsu user because, well, you already know that much." His hand rose to his chin in thought as he mulled over what exactly to say, though this only lasted a few moments.

"Have you ever had dried figs and grilled pork? It's a simple dish served in the Land of Wind, but it's one of my favorite things to eat. I remember when I was a kid I would always eat too many of the figs and get sick whenever we had it, but it never stopped me from doing it every time." He took another sip of tea before continuing, another small sigh escaping his lips. "Now I prefer the meat, but I haven't actually had figs since I moved to the Land of Lightning. How about you? You have a favorite food or do you just survive off of onigiri?" He said this last part with a note of sarcasm, meaning it as a light jibe more than a serious comment. Marcus held his teacup at the ready for another sip, anticipating her response.




Using:

Sensing, .5 upkeep

“Fufu. Your powers of observation do you credit Marcus-san.” Her laugh was neither serious nor casual. Neither mocking nor genuine. It was simply a soft and calm laugh, designed to be an acknowledgement but little more than that. The art of conversation beyond the basic was a talent that as of yet eluded Yamamoto, and most likely would. It had never really appealed to her and so she was unlikely to ever invest the level of effort demanded to be a true master of the art of the gab.

“I have not. My diet is rather simple.” Other people would have called Yamamoto’s diet boring given the total absence of complexity as well as its focus on fish and poultry. This was not to say her diet was lacking in flavour but her diet revolved around what was accessible, cheap, abundant and healthy. Being easy to cook was another element she appreciated very much as well.

“Oh? A favourite food?...Hmmm… I will have to say no, at least if you mean favourite in the traditional sense. My most preferred food would have to be anything with fish.” Yamamoto had no real specific emotionally spawned reason for why she liked it. It was simply something she had an easy time cooking and liked eating. There was no fundamental reason beyond that.

As time rolled by Yamamoto would simply drink her tea, the level of fluid within the kettle slowly running out as the duo’s tea cups were refilled, if they so desired anyway. Small talk formed a lot of the afternoon’s proceedings until, eventually, the rain died out and the sun began to break through the cloud cover.

“Ah...I do believe the rain is passing and, unfortunately, I must disengage from this as I have other matters to attend to today.” She rose from her seat and made her way to the kitchen, bringing the kettle and her own teacup with her. They were carefully returned to their proper places, except the cup which was put down next to the sink in order for it to be cleaned.

“Do you need me to show you out?” Yamamoto turned back to ask her guest a simple question, features soft and unassumingly ordinary.

Akahana replied in the way Marcus was coming to expect of the woman. She didn't sound particularly happy, sad, angry, or, well... anything, really. Each word was spoken in the same tone as if on purpose or if she just didn't know any other way. Marcus felt a strange mixture of curiosity, wariness, and oddly enough, a bit of fear whenever she spoke. It was all just too rote for him to think it was normal in any fashion. "Fish is a start though! There are definitely good ways to cook a fish, though sushi can be pretty good too..."

The conversation would continue as such, little bits and pieces of small talk as the tea was drank intermittently and the rain started to slowly slacken outside. The pitter patter of raindrops hitting slate finally quieted down after a time and the teapot was close to empty when Akahana stood and mentioned having other things to do. Marcus rose smoothly to his feet, cup in hand, and followed her into the kitchen where he would set his cup down next to hers. He had made the decision that he wanted to get to know this woman a little better if for no other reason than to try and coax a bit of true emotion out of her. What that would take or if it was even possible, he did not know, but for a strange reason he wanted to try. It had absolutely nothing to do with the mysterious figure he knew nothing about who controlled his every thought wanting to do more. No, not at all. It was entirely his own choice, and that was that!

Akahana asked if he needed shown out to which he would point to the clothing he still wore. "Do you want these back now or would you rather I washed and returned them the next time we meet?" If she wanted them back now, he would strip to his underclothes right there and hand the clothing to her before retreating to the door to slip off the slippers and put his own clothing back on. If she didn't, then he would simply slip off the slippers in favor of his sandals before picking his sodden trousers off the floor to carry home with him. Marcus made sure to bow to her as tradition would have it, a light smile on his face.

"That was much more pleasant than I thought it would be. How about you follow me home next time and I can cook up some of that pork for you," he said with that same smile coating his words. "I'll see ya around Yamamoto-san. Have a good night." And with that, he would turn to leave and head back towards his own home. He would, of course, vault back over the gate rather than opening it. Where was the fun otherwise?




Exit

“Oh, do not worry about the clothes Marcus-san. I have no need for them. Meaningless things with little purpose should be discarded right?” She escorted her guest to the door, smile soft and inoffensive utterly missing the coldness inherent to her question. When she saw Marcus out of her door she would, at first, be a little confused by the bowing motion however, she decided to simply return the gesture. Yamamoto bowed in return, a simple fluid motion being her head lower to the ground.

“Hmm...Pork is a meat I have not tasted but I would have no issue trying it. Goodbye Marcus-san.” She waved politely towards him, hands held together at her front in a posture of restraint and polite reservation. She watched him leap over her gate and sighed, wishing her had just opened it like a normal person but on the other hand, Yamamoto supposed it was a fitting way to end the visit. Leaving the same way one arrived did make sense in a certain way.

With Marcus gone the swordsman slipped back into her home, tidying up after tea and cleaning the mugs up before yet again making her way out into the city. Despite having done most of her shopping there were a few specialist items she needed that had not been available from the supermarket; namely some sword oil and a whetstone to assist in the maintenance of her beloved blade. It mattered to her a lot more than anything else in the world.

[exited thread]