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<FONTFACE fontface="georgia">You know, they say love changes people… Kaji did not know who penned the saying, but he agreed. It can make you, build you into the best version of yourself, and inspire you. Love evokes you into bringing joy into the life of your lover, your partner, your better half. “Better half” Kaji would sometimes spit the words when the loneliness peaked. At times he was full of spite and a bit of pain, the reasonable sort he had gotten so tired of denying. For months he had been replaying the incident which drove him and his wife apart, even using the memory console in the Sileo, breaching protocol to review a snapshot of the moment on repeat.
The idea of moving on wasn’t even considered... But, with every visit to the Aescepuleum to visit their ailing daughter Umeko, Kaji felt the wounds between him and Yuii open fresh. Feelings of resentment attacked him when he saw his beautiful daughter withering. For those first few months, the guilt became rage— countless hunts were conducted through the underbellies of the region, trying to uncover the culprit of his daughter’s near-demise. But once all of the homes were raided and the scum was scraped from the bellows of the Lightning Country, there proved to be too much to sort an answer. His rage met its end, replaced by hope for Umeko’s survival. And so the father waited, and he watched over her, and when he could, he hunted. To the point of being a distraction from the present, Kaji was pursuing that incident he wasn’t there for, and the things he could not change.
To be honest, the period of separation felt sufferable for Kaji at first. He convinced himself that they needed this pain to focus on the tasks at hand. But when enough was enough, Kaji discovered that Yuii was not quite finished with her cooling off phase. She had been evading him. The game of keep away continued until a peculiar point where everything changed. A doppelganger had impersonated Yuii, and from there came a chain reaction of awful proportions.
Awake at night and sleepless, Kaji always wondered how she was faring and would feel the tattoo he shared with her as a symbol of their union. Thoughts of the rumors spreading about her presently plagued the husband. Ninja in the speakeasies were telling lies, defiling the name and good reputation of a good woman. Not only Yuii but Umeko— whispers called them monsters... Monsters?
A rare night on the town to celebrate Tatsuo’s birthday came to an end with Kaji set loose, quietly planning to douse the fire which kept his family separated. His blood was hot from the potent drink circulating in his system when he left the inn and took to the streets. Having paid good money for it, the drunken Kaji even took a bottle of booze with him and took swigs as he went. It was incredibly out of character for him to do such things, but you know, love changes people. Kaji Okada never lacked courage, but in his middle years, he was finding himself too wise for his own good. Now, he was ready to be assertive in the way their relationship needed— he was ready to give her the chase she demanded out of him. Reliable intel from one of Yuii's closest henchmen said she’d quite likely be in her office that night, catching up on work. And so he was on his way, swaying but sure-footed on his path towards the Torre Celeste.
Kaji was aware that he was a bit too drunk to stumble straight through the entrance of the Torre Celeste in his casual attire. So Kaji used one of many subterranean access points from the Sileo Tempestas to sneak into the mighty tower. A secret elevator opened into the broom closet of the tower, arriving on the exact floor he needed. The intrusion was simple up to that point but would be complicated moving forward. In the passing months, there was an element of discretion when it came to the rockiness of their marriage. However, whenever Kaji had come to visit and Yuii were present, shinobi guarding the floor would seek to turn him away, claiming that Sennin Kagetsu was not taking visitors. It was disgusting... even though revealing his own authority allowed him to override their orders, the interruption was enough to aware Yuii and supply her time to evade him. Tonight, he wouldn’t accept such a ruse! Using the transformation technique, Kaji donned the uniform of a shinobi on janitor duty. To complete the ruse he dropped his bottle of booze a rolling mop bucket, covered it with the mop, and ran some cold fresh water for authenticity. On a sober night, he might have done things differently— however, he likely wouldn't have gone through with this, either.
Rolling the yellow bucket with its rickety wheels through the hallways was easy. The shinobi on guard paid Kaji no mind when they passed him, except for one who said “missed a spot”, pointed, and splayed a douchey grin. Once he met the doors of Yuii’s Office he hardly hesitated to give a courteous knock. He crumpled his voice to sound old and haggard and called out “Housekeeping.” Then he twisted the handle and let himself in, rolling in the mop bucket first and moving with his head low, hat hiding those uncanny emeraldine eyes.
- Kaji has entered the thread.
- Requesting Yuii Kagetsu.
- This is a private thread.
The idea of moving on wasn’t even considered... But, with every visit to the Aescepuleum to visit their ailing daughter Umeko, Kaji felt the wounds between him and Yuii open fresh. Feelings of resentment attacked him when he saw his beautiful daughter withering. For those first few months, the guilt became rage— countless hunts were conducted through the underbellies of the region, trying to uncover the culprit of his daughter’s near-demise. But once all of the homes were raided and the scum was scraped from the bellows of the Lightning Country, there proved to be too much to sort an answer. His rage met its end, replaced by hope for Umeko’s survival. And so the father waited, and he watched over her, and when he could, he hunted. To the point of being a distraction from the present, Kaji was pursuing that incident he wasn’t there for, and the things he could not change.
To be honest, the period of separation felt sufferable for Kaji at first. He convinced himself that they needed this pain to focus on the tasks at hand. But when enough was enough, Kaji discovered that Yuii was not quite finished with her cooling off phase. She had been evading him. The game of keep away continued until a peculiar point where everything changed. A doppelganger had impersonated Yuii, and from there came a chain reaction of awful proportions.
Awake at night and sleepless, Kaji always wondered how she was faring and would feel the tattoo he shared with her as a symbol of their union. Thoughts of the rumors spreading about her presently plagued the husband. Ninja in the speakeasies were telling lies, defiling the name and good reputation of a good woman. Not only Yuii but Umeko— whispers called them monsters... Monsters?
A rare night on the town to celebrate Tatsuo’s birthday came to an end with Kaji set loose, quietly planning to douse the fire which kept his family separated. His blood was hot from the potent drink circulating in his system when he left the inn and took to the streets. Having paid good money for it, the drunken Kaji even took a bottle of booze with him and took swigs as he went. It was incredibly out of character for him to do such things, but you know, love changes people. Kaji Okada never lacked courage, but in his middle years, he was finding himself too wise for his own good. Now, he was ready to be assertive in the way their relationship needed— he was ready to give her the chase she demanded out of him. Reliable intel from one of Yuii's closest henchmen said she’d quite likely be in her office that night, catching up on work. And so he was on his way, swaying but sure-footed on his path towards the Torre Celeste.
Kaji was aware that he was a bit too drunk to stumble straight through the entrance of the Torre Celeste in his casual attire. So Kaji used one of many subterranean access points from the Sileo Tempestas to sneak into the mighty tower. A secret elevator opened into the broom closet of the tower, arriving on the exact floor he needed. The intrusion was simple up to that point but would be complicated moving forward. In the passing months, there was an element of discretion when it came to the rockiness of their marriage. However, whenever Kaji had come to visit and Yuii were present, shinobi guarding the floor would seek to turn him away, claiming that Sennin Kagetsu was not taking visitors. It was disgusting... even though revealing his own authority allowed him to override their orders, the interruption was enough to aware Yuii and supply her time to evade him. Tonight, he wouldn’t accept such a ruse! Using the transformation technique, Kaji donned the uniform of a shinobi on janitor duty. To complete the ruse he dropped his bottle of booze a rolling mop bucket, covered it with the mop, and ran some cold fresh water for authenticity. On a sober night, he might have done things differently— however, he likely wouldn't have gone through with this, either.
Rolling the yellow bucket with its rickety wheels through the hallways was easy. The shinobi on guard paid Kaji no mind when they passed him, except for one who said “missed a spot”, pointed, and splayed a douchey grin. Once he met the doors of Yuii’s Office he hardly hesitated to give a courteous knock. He crumpled his voice to sound old and haggard and called out “Housekeeping.” Then he twisted the handle and let himself in, rolling in the mop bucket first and moving with his head low, hat hiding those uncanny emeraldine eyes.
- Kaji has entered the thread.
- Requesting Yuii Kagetsu.
- This is a private thread.
"I'm not a bro, stupid machine!" she said as she pulled her spear back, ready for a super-bonk. She swung the flat of her spear downwards only for the Vending Machine to move out of the way, leaving after-images behind it. It's display changed from showing the drink-of-choice to that of the Sharingan. This caused Nozomi to recoil and gasp in horror. "Ye of cursed blood!" she said before sticking her sword into the ground and formed together handseals and held her hand down below her. The sound of crackling could be heard as black lightning appeared around her hand. 
