Sanctuary [Contract Search]

[Kanagawa Nozomi]

Kaori felt trapped. It didn't matter what she did or where she went, she felt imprisoned in this place called Fire Country. The ones she loved, her family, treat her like a tool (an asset) to their own ends. Their ambition to use her as a puppet for their sick and twisted religion left Kaori alone. She didn't want to die yet, nor did she want to be fed to the Great Dragon; the clan's deity spirit. She felt imprisoned by the village, itself, being tormented by people there due to being born with the curse of her horns. Not only that, but she also felt like a cog in the war machine that is Konoha. Nobody within those wall care about Kaori nor treated her like a human aside from a select few.

Yume was one of the people that treated her like a human being and not like some kind of monster, a commodity, or a number. Her disappearance did plenty to her psyche; damaging it. The feeling of separation from the ones she loved is a common affair with her friend, Mina, dying of childhood cancer. Yume vanished and the only one left that treats her like a human, seemingly, was a woman by the name of Yomi. After her run-in with the Shrine Knights pursuing her and the ANBU threatening to imprison her because of his ego and 'might is right' attitude, she took Kaori in and treated her like a person. For that, she was grateful.

But the damage dealt to her emotionally had already taken root. She had nobody and felt like a caged bird with no freedom. Nowhere to go and nobody to turn to.

The clouds filled with water and poured down in a torrent over Kaori once again, as she found herself standing in front of the the shrine that she came to for power once before. However, instead of power this time, she sought sanctuary. A place to feel accepted and a place to feel safe. The realm of humans seemed so far away from her that consorting with demons seems to be the final course to take. Kaori fell to her knees in front of the shrine's opening and fell forward, holding herself up with her arms.
She let out a loud cry as thunder crashed, muting her voice for a moment. She let out screams of pain and torment before leaning her head down into the mud. She cursed her birth and she cursed her lot in life. If only she had someone to see her as a human.

A flash of lightning lit up the night sky for a brief moment followed by a crack of thunder. She pushed herself up, sitting upon her rear as she got completely drenched by the rain. Mud covered her forehead and eyes as she looked up at the night sky for a moment, staring into the wide open sky. A thought came into her head. The sky looked so much bigger outside of the walls of Konoha and of the Shrine. The feeling of freedom welled up within her and new-found determination steeled her for what was going to come in the future. For now, she must confront her fears and those that treat her like an tool or a number. It is then and only then that she would be able to dig herself out of this pit.

Standing up, she looked up at the sky once again to take in how massive it was to her. The mud on her face loosened from the rain, turning into dark brown streaks going down her face, chin, and neck. She looked down and wiped the mud out of her face and started to make her way towards the maw of the cave, seeing the border of where it was raining and where it was dry. She stared at the boundary for a brief moment before stepping forward. The last time she was here, she found an empty cave with nothing inside. This time, however, she found a statue of a creature sitting upon it's haunches. She slowly approached the creature and came to her knees directly in front of it.

Her belief in the Great Dragon started to wane. Even though she is still horrified at the idea of being devoured by one due to the ritual that would take place within the Shrine, her belief that it's an actual dragon was disappearing. She had an emptying void within her, finding herself with receding faith in something. She needed this faith to be fulfilled by something and perhaps what this statue could manifest would do the job; whether what pops out would be good or evil. "I beseech you,
Gods of Old, hear my request. I am but a lowly mortal," she said as she stumbled over her words, still trying to eek them out through her tears of frustration and pain. "My name is Tenkawa Kaori!" she shouted out proudly before reaching up to her ribbons and unties them, holding the ribbon in her hand to expose her large black horns protruding out of her head. "I have been seen as a monster my entire life because of these. I have also been cursed by these to become a sacrifice to sate a dragon's hunger," she said, trying to stand firm with how she spoke to the creature within the statue, believing there to be a spirit inhabiting it.

"I beseech you! I need your help to turn my fate around. I will give you anything in return. Anything you ask for, in return, I shall grant you to the best of my abilities," she said trying to remain firm in her resolve. After a moment, she didn't hear an answer and the feeling of emptiness and loneliness started to affect her once again. She shook for a moment before crumbling to her knees with tears welling up in her eyes. "Someone. Anyone. Please," she said as she fell forward, resting her forehead upon the paved surface, crying. She was waiting for something to appear before her and grant her power, even if she had to give them something in return or even undergo a trial. All she does now, is wait.​

WC: 1038
OOC: Big money, big money, big money!

 

[Tomomi]

YOU HAVE FOUND THE TURTLE CONTRACT! DO YOU WISH TO ACCEPT OR DECLINE THIS CHALLENGE?​

 

[Kanagawa Nozomi]

Accept

 

[Tomomi]

From the shadows of the cave, a figure would smirk to himself as he watched the scene unfolding in front of his eyes. This girl seemed to be desperate for help that she was willing to sacrifice everything and form a pact with some odd-figurine that randomly was just situated there in the middle of the dimly-light caved. It truly made no sense to the creature, but he wasn't going to question her considering that there was not enough information provided to him to make an accurate inference about her. As far as he could tell from where he was standing, this girl was an oddball with her horns protruding from her head, but it wasn't completely out there for some of these creatures known as humans having odd physical characteristics about them. Besides, the stalker wasn't exactly normal when it came to appearance since he preferred to wear a bowtie, odd glasses, and a top-hat that had him stick out like a sore thumb to anyone that saw him. But, maybe these two abnormalities would strike a fire among them and actually hit it off and help one another out.

But for now, the turtle would make his presence available to the young girl as he walked out from the shadows with his smirk still on his face and knocked over the statue in the middle of the room shattering it into pieces. Once the deed was done, he would turn to the girl and place his turtle hand on her head and simple say: "Lady Kaori, stand up. Tell me more about these horns of yours and why you are so upset over them. Also, you shouldn't throw yourself out there like some piece of trash that man has used and abused." He would then take his cane that was used in the tipping process of the statue and gently smack her on the top of her head for her actions thus far. Of course, she would probably have many questions for him as well since he appeared out of nowhere and had done a deed that probably tied her stomach in knots or broke her heart since this statue had some value to her possibly if she was talking to it and appearing to pray to it. But, only time would tell.

 

[Kanagawa Nozomi]

Did that turtle just talk?

There was a moment when there wasn't a response, causing Kaori to wrap herself up into a ball, hugging her knees up to her chest with her damp face in her knees. She felt alone with nobody around to help. She took a shot in the dark only to come up, what she thought was, empty-handed. She didn't have any other alternative other than this. It was to her knowledge that statues of strange creatures, those that were definitely not human, had souls of beasts within them. This might have been due to her naivete or due to her lack of life experiences, but it was a stretch that she believed may have been her final choice.

Gentle skittering could be heard from the cave. She thought it was probably rodents scurrying about so she paid it no mind until the sound of stone crashing to the ground could be heard. The sudden and loud sound caused Kaori to jump and 'eep' loudly only to be thrown out of her self-pitying position to see a turtle wearing a top-hat, glasses,
and a bow-tie. This thing was actually kinda cute in that weird, creepy grandpa kind of way. She leaned forward on all fours and crawled over towards the turtle and poked it on the cheek a few times.

"You're real, right? Not my mind playing tricks on me?" she said before her finger touched the turtle's flesh, feeling the creature's flesh before recoiling her hand back towards her. It was then that the creature spoke to her, causing a curious look to come over Kaori's face. Her eyes darted to the side and her lips curled to one-side. She didn't really like talking about her horns, but this creature was probably sent from the Elder Gods to assist her. Not quite the powerful looking creature that she had begged to, but anything helps. This thing doesn't look too powerful in a fight, but it might offer some grand insight or may be extremely powerful in genjutsu. She didn't really know.

"These horns?" she asked before putting her hands upon them, grabbing onto them tightly as if she wanted them gone and then her grip changed to show that she wanted to keep them. They were an important part of her and removing that part of her would be like taking a piece of her away. "They are... They are a birth defect. The doctors called them Cutaneous Horns or some people call them 'Demon Horns'. People called me a monster or a demon because I was born with these. It's because of these, I am to be sacrificed to the gods to sate their hunger," she said before turning to look towards the creature.

His words had wisdom in them. The words of men weren't important. 'BONK' went the cane over her head, causing her to curl up a bit, holding her head in the process.
"Hey! What was that for?" she asked in an irritated tone. Once the pain resided, she lowered her hands to the ground, remaining on all fours as she looked at the creature. "Who are you? Were you sent by the gods? Are you here to help me?" She did, indeed, have many questions for this anthropomorphized turtle. She reached over towards the turtle and re-adjusted his bow-tie so that it sat straight on him.​

[MFT]
WC: 557

 

[Tomomi]

Five minutes hadn't even passed and this girl had already received a bonk on her head from his cane and had been invading his personal space because she was so surprised that there was a turtle speaking in her tongue and dressed so elegantly in front of her. To any human that initially saw this little fellow, they typically gave the same response before they headed off to do their own thing never to see this turtle again. They were fools for just seeing an interesting fellow and letting him go on with his day without really engaging them; honestly, they were missing out on a lot of interesting knowledge and views simply assuming that he was like many other turtles aside from the fact that he dressed up and could talk. Today though was a different matter as Kaori seemed interested in him at the very least considering he had appeared from the shadows, caused a commotion and smacked her on her head. It also might be the fact that she came here for some sacred ritual as she was talking to the former odd statue situated in the middle of the room that had been shattered.

In any case, the little blue haired maiden would give a swift and quick response to her horns on her head stating that they were a birth defect called Cutaneous Horns or the street name, Demon Horns. The old turtle would bring one of his turtle feet to his face as he gave a pondering look on his face at the description. However, his eyes would narrow as she continued explaining them and how she had to be be sacrificed to the gods to sate their hunger. Of course, he had no idea who these gods were or why they would want these horns of hers unless they were quite special, which they appeared to be. Still, being a martyr for a religion based strictly on her horns didn't make a lot of sense to our turtle fellow here. But, he was an outsider trying to look in on a situation and of course, he would need more information about them.

But for now, it seemed that it was his turn to answer some questions as he was questioned on his name, if he was sent here by gods, and if he was here to help her. All excellent questions, but the answer that she would be receiving was probably not ideal for her little blue haired self. Unfortunately before he could respond, she would readjust his bow-tie that seemed to have been messed with when she was poking and touching him earlier. The child was interesting in more ways for one for sure.

As he began to speak, the elements outside seemed to worsen as it began to rumble quite intensely and the downpour began to hit harder while the winds began to pick up. It seemed they would be in this cave for quite some time together. After his attention was brought back to Kaori, he would begin: "I am an old turtle who goes by the name of Joichi Jōtarō, but you may call me Jojo for short as that is a mouthful, Lady Kaori. As for my reasoning for being in this cave, I was seeking shelter from the elements outside as the rain began to get heavier when I first made my way in here and I did not notice that statue there initially. Actually, I don't even think the statue was there when I first entered. But in any case, I was not sent from any gods to sacrifice you nor to help you, but it seems you need more help between the two of us, Lady Kaori. So go on with your horn story, I must know more before I can offer you a piece of advice even if you won't like the answer. We will come back to why you were hit with the cane later so sit down on the ground like a lady and tell more about your horns."

He would then take a position between where the statue had fallen and Kaori placing his cane to his side as he plumped on the ground. He would keep his funky glasses on his face as and crack his neck as he waited for her to begin. After all, they might as well learn more about one another while they waited out the storm since it wasn't advisable for either of them to try to fight the storm back to a village or another location for shelter. The question that Jojo had now though was what else would these horns tell him about her.

[OOC: Click here if you dare!]

 

[Kanagawa Nozomi]

Re: Did that turtle just talk?

The crack of thunder caused Kaori to flinch a little bit, turning outside to see the weather beating down upon the ground. The rain had gotten worse the longer she was in here. Good thing she wasn't out there and that the statue she had tried to request was tucked neatly and comfortably inside this cave. The cool air from the rain, however, blew in through the cave giving her the chills; not having completely dried off yet. It was, as if on queue, the turtle began to speak. He introduced himself as Joichi Jotaro or just Jojo for short. It was quite the interesting name for a turtle. She would have pegged him to be named Samuel, Sebastian, or even Jeeves just by the way he looked alone. Then again, can't judge someone by their outer shell, right?

So even a majestic and strange animal like this had to seek shelter from the elements, huh? It was in Kaori's mind that a god like himself could just teleport somewhere away from this nasty weather; but apparently even gods had their limits. Disappointing news was relayed to her that the turtle wasn't sent to give her any aid. The silver lining, however, was that he wasn't sent here to sacrifice her either; at least there was one thing going her way in this world. She was encouraged to continue on with her story and instructed to sit down. She nodded to the creature and sat upon her knees, leaning back to place her rear upon her heels.

"Well, Jojo, the story of my horns is a long one. One stemming back several hundreds, if not thousands of years ago. There was this woman, a kind and gentle person, that the Tenkawa Clan called 'Ryuu-Hime'. We don't actually know her name, so this is what we referred to her as. She was very kind to others and some people even saw her as a 'healer' of sorts. Curing things that ailed others whether they were mental or physical problems and she also offered other services like taking care of the children and even feeding people who were hungry," she said before clearing her throat and re-adjusting her position on how she sat. The rocky floor of the cave wasn't very comfortable to sit on.

"Ryuu-Hime had a vision that there was something she had to see in a place we know now as Konohagakure. There was a dragon statue. From there,
she began her pilgrimage to go see the statue. During her pilgrimage, she met countless people and helped them through their struggles. Through her pilgrimage,
she picked up a large following of people who believed in the words she had spoken about the dragon statue and that it was possible that praying to the statue would grant prosperity to all of human-kind. She brought her following with her to the statue and everyone prayed to it," she said once again before shifting in her seat,
once again.

"After praying to the statue, they were approached with the vision of the dragon that laid hidden within the statue. The dragon demanded the sacrificing of 3 lambs and 2 calves to sate it's hunger before it could listen to any of their prayers. Once Ryuu-Hime and her followers gathered the 3 lambs and 2 calves, they sacrificed the animals in front of the statue, letting the blood of the animals spray over the statue. Satisfied, the dragon then spoke to them, telling them that they needed to purify themselves in the waters of the Valley. Ryuu-Hime took her followers to the Valley and they purified themselves, which is actually just them taking a bath,"
Kaori said, snickering at the idea that cleansing rituals are just people taking a bath in cold water. It was a silly way to put it, but that's how cultures with dogmatic practices work.

"While they were at the cleansing ritual, Ryuu-Hime came out of the water with large horns protruding out of her skull. This had caught the ire of her followers, now considering her to be a demon. Those that saw this as a bad omen ended up leaving the group, leaving behind only a small handful of followers remaining.
Her and her followers pressed on and returned to the statue. Ryuu-Hime was instructed to touch the statue and she was given mystical powers and even a child.
Several months later, she gave birth to twins. One child was born with the horns that Ryuu-Hime had acquired and the other without. The dragon demanded the child born with the horns as payment for the power that he had given to her. She, instead, offered herself as sacrifice to save her own child and the dragon accepted. The dragon devoured Ryuu-Hime in front of her followers and demanded that the horned child be given to him upon reaching maturity and to protect the hornless child so that she may propagate the bloodline," she said, clearing her throat. She turned to look the other way. She had multiple siblings and then there was her, the one born with the horns.

She had reached puberty, the time that the dragon wants children to devour. Not just any children, girls born with the dragon horns. "From then on, female children of the Tenkawa Clan were occasionally born with these demon horns. Once one is born, they are to be kept safe until they reached maturity and then would be fed to the dragon through a ceremony," she said. She had to practice for her own ceremony, not knowing the reason behind the ceremony. She didn't realize that she spent years practicing for the ritual that would spell out her own death. "So, here I am. I just reached maturity," she said with a saddened smile upon her face. Unlike the non-sense story that she told the ANBU in Leaf, this was the actual origin story for the Tenkawa. Coming here made her come to the realization that she had to break the loop. It was her desire to end this madness of sacrificing young girls for the sake of feeding a dragon god.

"That's the story of these horns, eh heh," she said with a rather uncomfortable laugh. A history that she was taught while she was younger, drilling the history into her head. She didn't think about it at the time due to being young and stupid, not being able to put 2-and-2 together to realize that she was going to become one of those sacrificial maidens. She believed that it was something that happened so many years ago and didn't realize that it was a tradition that was being upheld since time-in-memorial.​

WC: 1106

 

[Tomomi]

And so the story of Kaori's horns and the origins of them would be explained to Jotaro. If the horned maiden had been watching the body language of the elderly turtle, she would've noticed that he seemed to be interested as he leaned forward as she was speaking and continually rubbed his chin. Of course, there were many times when Jotaro wanted to stop Kaori while she was explaining to give a thought or comment on something, but he refrained from doing so since she was still young and his thoughts could be everlasting if he was too much. But while he listened, he was digesting all the information and would have something to say when she was done so it seemed she was going to hear his thoughts in the end anyways! While she talked though, he would watch her body language and see how she seemed to be confident in what she was saying, but she looked uncomfortable in many aspects of the story and when she finished, it made sense; she was the next one to be sacrificed to this god cause of her horns and that is why she was out here during this storm trying to worship some kind of statue that Jotaro just shattered. It all made sense now for how she was acting and speaking to him as well earlier.

When Kaori did finish however, the elder turtle would walk over to her and pat her on the head. He was doing it to give himself a moment to gather his thoughts before he spoke. After all, he needed to choose his words carefully or he could send Lady Kaori down an even darker path than she had been on before. After a few moments of patting, he would respond to her with a smile on his face as he tried to make everything less dark in the general vicinity after her story had a dark twist for an ending. His words were direct, honest, and in some ways assertive: "That's a very interesting story, Lady Kaori. However, you don't want to be sacrificed to this dragon from the looks of it which is why you came all the way out here to this statue that I shattered. You probably feel confused that your family would continually sacrifice to this 'dragon' god as you called it since they are technically killing off people who could keep your family going. But, I feel there is also more to why you came out here and were crying earlier as well...something to do with your village, isn't it? I mean you came out in this weather to a cave like this to just talk to a statue? I don't think so...there is more to why you came out here. Please explain that to me."

But before she could even open her mouth to respond, he would continue on with his thoughts as It seemed that he wanted to get them all out there in the open before she could offer any rebuttal to his thoughts. After all, he was an elder and they tended to cut the youth off anyways if there were in the middle of speaking. Possibly so they didn’t lose their train of thought or because they thought they were the boss of anyone younger than them. In any case, Jotaro would continue with the following: “Also, your religion, if you want to call it that, is wrong. Sacrificing people to appease a god is just completely asinine and a waste of time and effort. Lord Daihoho would never have anyone conducting a sacrifice and he would rather have everyone just get along and respect their differences. Of course, I could dive into why your kind, being humans, have torn this country apart during their Civil War. But, you are young and possibly are too young to even remember the fighting so I am not going to trouble you with that burden of hearing it. For now however, we need to get you back on the right track as you are going down a dark path from what I can tell…”

He would trail off for a moment as he seemed to have something on his turtle mind. Maybe something caught his attention or maybe he was gathering his thoughts some more. In any case, it wouldn't be too long before he continued speaking, or "lecturing" if you want to call it that, Kaori: “...what I mean by that, Lady Kaori, is you are still young and still have a bright future ahead of you. There is still time to turn things around even if the consequences might seem like too much. I mean if you don’t participate in this sacrificial ritual to this ‘dragon’ god, I am sure your clan is going to come after you and force you to do it. Maybe you need to eliminate the ones who are still so adamant about the sacrifices in your clan and turn them around. If there is an issue in your village which I will allow you to speak about soon, maybe you can schedule an appointment and ease tensions with whoever is up in arms. I mean life is too short in the end and it is better to find a healthy balance in your life instead of being too righteous or too sinister or going down the light or dark path. You understand what I mean?”

Hopefully, she would understand what he was trying to get out at through his long-winded responses to her. He seemed like he had an idea of what he was trying to convey, but he wandered off at times and tried to get himself back on track with a struggle. It could be merely the moderator who was typing this post or our little turtle friend could have some problems with focusing on what he is trying to say. After all, the turtle was still an animal and learning the human language was surely difficult for many animals including Lord Daihoho and the other overlords that resided in the world! However, Jotaro believed that he had gotten his message through more or less in the end but he had no idea what reaction he would receive in return from Lady Kaori.

 

[Kanagawa Nozomi]

Re: Did that turtle just talk?

She didn't know whether to feel comfort or displeasure from being pat by an anthropomorphized turtle. She flinched again, expecting to get bonked over the head, but the turtle did the best it could to seem comforting, allowing Kaori to drop her guard a bit. Then another story was what would be summoned out of her through a single question by the turtle. She cleared her throat and took a deep breath in. She opened her mouth to speak only to be cut off by the turtle. She stopped and listened to the creature and nodded to the things he said. What he said seemed reasonable, but the thing the turtle was criticizing was everything she knew up until this point. She was born into a cult-like religion only to prepare herself for her own sacrifice. The turtle finished talking and Kaori opened her mouth again only for the turtle to continue talking once again, causing Kaori to hush herself once more. She wasn't annoyed by this, as this turtle seemed to have quite a bit of wisdom to impart upon her. So she leaned in and listened intently to what the creature had to say.

What the turtle said was true, nodding to some of the things he said. If she didn't participate, they'd come after her. That is actually what's happening right now. It was time for the ritual to begin, which is why Kaori started to run away which caused a chain reaction of events to happen. She was caught by the ANBU only to get sent to Child Protective Services (also known as Yomi). She spent quite a few days with Yomi before leaving here; one place that the Shrine Knights wouldn't approach and the last place they'd believe Kaori would be at. They'd expect her to be at the Hokage Rock or at Ichiraku Ramen as their intelligence had tracked her movement this entire time. Them allowing her to leave was merely a ploy for intelligence gathering and allowing Kaori to feel the semblance of humanity just before she was killed in their sick and twisted ceremony. The turtle suggested speaking to the authorities and Kaori simply shook her head.

"I feel caged in within the village I live in. They don't feel the need to help me, only to hinder me with my problems. I came all the way out here as a way out of the village and to find something... anything... that might be able to help me with my problems. I learned of another god that could help me. I came out here a couple months ago and the gods didn't want to answer, but this time that statue," she said as she pointed at the crumbled mess that the turtle created. "was here. So I did what came naturally for me and started to pray to it, even offer something in return. And then you came along and knocked some sense into me." It was true, she felt like a bird in a cage and her only way out to something better was to leave and find help elsewhere. She felt imprisoned within the Shrine and she felt imprisoned within a village who didn't care about her as a person. At least that's how she felt.

"The authorities don't seem to care about my plight, rather arresting me and letting the bad men who were chasing me go free," she said. Yes,
that actually happened. Kaori had to make up a lie in order to appeal to the man's emotions. He wanted to know what was going on, forcing her to answer. He even attempted the 'good cop, bad cop' angle poorly which didn't result in the answers he was looking for. If only he treated the child like a child and not an object, he probably would have received his answer properly. "So the village isn't really something I can go to. I think the best option for me is to fix this problem myself," she replied. The best way for her to solve a problem with the Shrine is to do it herself. They were good enough at playing the system and even buying off people so their misdeeds would go unpunished.

Then the turtle mentioned having a strict balance between the light and the dark side. She could understand that there was a time and place for everything and that there were morally gray areas that were the best answers to everything. Being too stubborn going in either direction was silly. She nodded her head in response to that.
She had a plan, once she had enough power to execute it, to do something morally gray in order for her to change her fate. But in order for her to be able to do that,
though, she will need some help. "Yes, I understand what you mean," she said verbally announcing what the creature meant about treading a path of balance and not being stuck tilting towards the light or the darkness.

A question did pop up into her head though. "Uh. Who's this Lord Daihoho?"​

WC: 845

 

[Shu]

It was rather clear that the child did not wish to venture back to her village. As old as the turtles were Jojo knew that history always repeated itself. As much as the girl's mother was abandoned by her compatriots so was the girl herself, although it was not clear if this village were the same people who followed her into Konohagkure. Jojo had his outings with the Konohagure no Sato in his younger years. He remembered them being a chaotic bunch usually spending their times being

"Lord Daihoho, you ask?" The turtle inquired as if this question was self evident. He took a moment to stroke the furry white patch on his chin as pensively piece his words together. "You could say he is a god of some sort but he is my master among my people. A very wise...ughh man that I believe you will gain such a great benefit meeting but before that."

The turtle paused once more. "Tell me this Lady Karoi. Are you certain that there is no one in your village that is your ally? What village do you hail from? I am sure that as you have someone who is truly worry about you? I fear that your actions are precipitate. Have you though to consider that perhaps that as much as you running away from the village you are equally loosing those you care for in the village." The turtle bombarded her with the sleuth of questions like a quick explosion.

"I have lived quite a long time and there is one thing that seems to be true is home where ever you are. Be patient and trust those you have put your trust in" The turtle said as he bonked her head again to make sure the words seeped in.

"Still it seems you are determined to solve this problem on your own and since I am the only friend you have right now why don't we do this together."

Similar to the owls, the turtles were as inquisitive about everything except they tend to drag out their questions to end. What more could this child give Jojo would be willing to help. She was quite determined to solve this problem with or without his help.

 

[Kanagawa Nozomi]

Re: Did that turtle just talk?

A rather dodgy answer was given as she was told that this Lord Daihoho person was a god or deity of some sort. So this old crone in front of her might be a messenger from the god. Interesting. Someone bearing wisdom was, indeed, something that she was looking for. Knowledge and power were some of the things she needed right now in her hours of need that, without it, she would become a needless sacrifice and simply become forgotten within the sands of time. No! She didn't want to be forgotten, she wanted to leave behind a legacy. Whether the legacy was a good one or a bad one didn't matter to her. She wanted people to remember her, but in order to do that, she will have to stay alive and draw out the messed up customs of the Dragon Worshippers that reside within the Shrine.

The turtle, Jojo, started to talk more about Lord Daihoho and just as she started getting interested in it, she was asked yet another question. Her patience was starting to wear thin, but she knew that if she could seek an audience with Lord Daihoho, she would get what she wanted. However, in order for that to happen, she must impress Jojo (if not even remain friendly with the creature). Cannot reach the god if you anger the messenger. This turtle is making it a point to highlight her loneliness within the village. Kaori took a deep breath as she looked over the turtle for a moment before looking away. "There was one person that I could rely on. She disappeared though, so I have nobody left," she said in reference to Yume. Certainly, Yomi was nice to her and gave her a place to stay and gave her food, but it seemed to be more out of obligation than out of the kindness of her own heart; having been called in by the ANBU as 'child protective services'.

The turtle continued to insist that someone within the village actually cared about her. This caused Kaori to grind her teeth a little bit before taking a deep breath. "If I had someone that could help me in Konoha, I would have went to them instead of this cave to look for an elder god to help me," she said in the kindest way possible, without showing the amount of frustration that was starting to build up. This was a bit of a sensitive topic for her as everyone that she ended up caring for either died or disappeared on her. She then received another bonk on the head. The first time was cute but the second time just annoyed her. She bit her tongue with her mouth closed so that the turtle couldn't see it to keep in her annoyance.

Finally, something the turtle said that made a little bit of sense. She didn't have anyone so why in the world would anyone help her. Everyone is so drawn to their cliques and thinking of their own vanity that they stopped caring about other people. They don't stop to help you, they see you as a number -- a disposable one at that. The moment you become a slight inconvenience, they turn a blind eye to any of your plight and think of only themselves. Those are the kind of people that excel in this world,
not the ones that truly care about other people like Yume or Mina. People like them get trampled upon while the savages with ambition stomp all over the meager.
Sickening mantra that this world has. Sadly for Kaori, she falls along the meager.

"Yes, your help would be very much appreciated." She didn't come here for a place to rest or a place to formulate a plot on her own. She came here for help from an outside source since nobody from within the village would be willing to help her. Nobody she could trust due to being alienated from the rest of the village for having the sheer audacity of trying to stay alive. People jump to conclusions too quickly and weren't willing to help the way that was needed. So it was at t his shrine outside of the village that she sought out help.​

 

[Shu]

As Jojo continue to question the young girl, he could sense her irritability. She wanted to take out her frustration on the small turtle but by doing so she may not get what she wanted. Of course, Jojo was doing this on purpose to understand the woman's resolve as well as her patience.

It didn't seem like that there was anyone there for her in the village that she resided in. She remarked that there is one person but the individual had long disappeared. Jojo wanted to inquire the young woman about this person but he could see the disposition in her eyes that her fettered emotions were tying her down like a prisoner. There was no way of changing her mind and perhaps the only way to change her mind was to show her that she was not completely alone.

"Well since your beloved statue is gone what could I do? I am not much for rituals given my lack of opposable thumbs." He said as he wagged his stumps around like sticks beating against a drum. "I did find a group of merchants walking over the hill." He continued pointed toward the elevated pasture on the right side. "Maybe they can help."

If the horned maiden accepted his offer, the two comrades would meander down the green hill and found young men besides a wooden shake taking up shop down the road.

"There hasn't been a customer here all day, Keisuke-san." One of the men said. He was wearing a straw hat that covered his red freckles and accompanied by a mop of red hair.

"Deiki-san. Maybe if you take a shower once in a while we could actually track customers." Keisuke said sardonically clearly irritated by his comrades lack of patience and hygiene. He was a bigger man with board shoulders like a lumberjack. He was perhaps in mid 40's or a man who lived his entire life consumed by manual labor. There was stretch marks all over his face making him look more like an aged tree than a man.

"Do you see that." Deiki said as he pointed his scrawny finger over to the east. "Is that a demon and turtle walking together."

At first Keisuku ignored him expecting Deki to make a fart joke or any of his obscene behavior. He glanced toward the east out of curiosity and noticed that his partner was not playing a game.

Keisuke squinted his aged eyes trying to figure out what he was looking at. When they reached closer he could clearly see that there were two creatures. The first creature looked like a small female demon with diminutive spikes protruding from the woman's head. The second creature was a turtle dressed like a bonafide butler.

"Please don't eat us. We didn't mean to skip out on our monthly payments." Deki cried out.

"Shut up boy." Keisuke said as he slapped the delirious man up the side of his head. Deki's straw hat propped up showing his clear fearful blue eyes.

"Can we help ya?" Keisuke asked. He was just as nervous as his partner. His hand rested against his side preparing himself for what ever would come next.


[OOC: Apologies for the lateness.]

 

[Kanagawa Nozomi]

Re: Did that turtle just talk?

Kaori's eyes shifted towards the statue. For the turtle to say that it was 'her beloved statue' was an untruth. No. Kaori only flocked towards statues as she had been brought up believing that statues to the gods held great power and that a piece of the god, or even emissaries of the gods, were held captive within the stone monuments. It wasn't that she cherished these false idols, but that she was conditioned at birth to believe in something that may or may not be correct. Even at the Shrine, her clan believed that the large Dragon Statue held the soul of the Great Dragon that the clan worshiped. An eyebrow was raised at the turtle about it's belittling statement towards her and her idolization of the statue instead of her falling back upon her beliefs. Thumbs were also not a very big necessity for rituals depending on the ritual being performed. Usually these rituals, in Kaori's clan's instance, required a singer (the one being sacrificed) and a witness; no thumbs required.

Merchants over the hill? What good would they do? Well, this creature seemed wiser than her, so Kaori simply nodded towards the strange beast before her. It didn't hurt to ask them if they were the suggestion of the beast standing before her. The turtle lead the way out of the cave only for the rain to recede and the stars to brightly illuminate the night sky. The air was crisp and humid from the rains preceding and she continued forth until the two came across the group of merchants taking refuge near in a wooden shack. She witnessed a group of people, one wearing a straw hat and a rag of red hair and another with a much larger build with an irked expression plastered across his face.

Kaori stopped a moment as the goofy copper-top pleaded for 'the demon' to not eat them. She turned to look down towards the turtle for a moment before looking at the red-head and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't think turtles eat people," she said, obviously dodging the fact that the man referred to her as a demon. She didn't much care for the fact that ignorant human beings only judge people by their exterior and not even get to know the person before passing judgment. If she was so inclined, she'd probably strike the man down. But due to these people being someone that the turtle suggested, she wouldn't make any aggressive movements towards them. She wasn't in the right state of mind and sought out help, which was what lead her to that cave with the statue in the middle of the night.
She was desperate and needed someone, anyone that could help; be it something spiritual in nature or terrestrial. She needed strength to carry on, but if this red-head continued to mock her because of her horns, she might tear into him.

Her attention turned towards the burly individual and Kaori nodded her head, bowing to the older gentleman for being polite. Once she stood up a hand combed through her lavender hair to brush hair out from over her horns and ears. "Yes, I can certainly use your help."​

WC: 531
[MFT]

 

[Shu]

The woman was not as threaten as the duo had presumed. The older and sensible man began to relax as his arm retracted back to the front of him. His dark brown eyes looked firmly into the girl. He could sense nothing pernicious about her except he could feel that there was an emptyness within her.

She assured the two that Jojo and herself were not a threat. She venerated herself before the older man as she requested himself.

"First, let me apologize for my partner's reaction. We don't really see much travelers in our area especially those of your statue.[/b]" The man said. "My name is Keisuke and the idiot over here is Deiki. We are merchants from a village east from here. We usually come here to find people out here to trade with but we are having a bit of dry spell today. What can we do for you" Keisuke said.

"Sorry miss. It is awfully unkind of me to say that I hope you forgive me. I know this is asking a bit much but can a pretty girl like yourself help us sell. We can cut you a deal for helping us." Deki asked. His eyes perused her like an open book from head to toe, examining her riveting youth.

"Idiot. The young lady is asking for help and your idea is to use her." Keisuke said as he slapped him again upside his head. Deiki's flowing red hair covered his countenance like the hairs of a mop. "Come on, Keisuke-san. I am not asking much. We need to sell something before we go back home, besides who can resist a beautiful woman. I am sure we can make a killing today."

As much of Deki's comments were far from cerebral, he was not wrong with his statement. If she would give a few moments of her time it would really help the village; however, it seems the girl really need their help then the other way around.

Keisuke sighed. "That is for her to decide."

 

[Kanagawa Nozomi]

Kaori's eyes reverted to their normal color of lavender as she was introduced to the rather eccentric duo that stood before them. The rather reasonable one had apologized to her and Kaori just waved her hands in front of her frantically with an uncomfortable laugh. She shook her head rapidly. "No, it's alright. I'm quite used to it actually," she said. While she was playing it off as if nothing had happened, she knew exactly what they were talking about and didn't take any particular offense to it. She would probably react the same way to seeing someone with black horns protruding out of their head as well. She wasn't a stranger for people insulting her or teasing her for her otherworldly appearances.

Kaori lowered her hands back down in front of her and bowed to Deiki and Keisuke. Other than that off-comment when she first arrived, they seemed like nice people; perhaps that was Kaori's naivete kicking in. A compliment was thrown her way causing Kaori to curl up into an embarrassed ball as the color red was splashed upon her cheeks. "Well, sure," Kaori responded without much thought. There must've been a reason for the turtle to have brought her out here. To say no to people who obviously needed the money would be near criminal in Kaori's eyes. She had to help these people! Not only because it seemed like the turtle was urging her to do so but because it was just the right thing to do.

"Well, um," she said as she shifted around a little bit. "Let's just start with me helping you first and then we'll go from there, alright?" Kaori said with a sad smile upon her face. While she did need help--desperate for help, she didn't take away from other people that would also need help. She would gladly help those in need. This could be a nice little diversion before she worked on finding someone who could actually help her with what she needed.

"So, what are we selling?" Kaori asked. It might've been a little too early for her to agree to help this couple without knowing exactly what they were selling, but she may have to change her mind if what they were selling was something that she didn't particularly care for or something that insulted her sensibilities. If she sold weapons, fine, whatever. But anything that might actually hurt other people such as poisons or slave-labor would be things she would detest, having dealt with situations like that previously; both of which ended with her stomping them out with extreme prejudice. Kaori just hopes these people were more wholesome than that.

Another thought popped into her mind as Kaori thought, that she could also become the merchandise that the two would be selling. She put her hands behind her back and fished out her Gloves of Divine Dragon Flame and held them firmly in her left hand while taking on the facade of being a happy-go-lucky girl. The paranoia of these people being slave traders put her on edge (just a bit) but not enough for her to outright show it. "Oh! Um, sorry. My name is Kaori, by the way. It's nice to meet you both!"​

 

[Shu]

Lady Kaori's face lit up like a red ballon as she tried to surreptitious hide her embarrassment as if she did not want the two gentlemen to see. She insisted of helping the two men and keeping her request aside. Jojo couldn't help but smile but not enough that the men would notice. If he had thumbs he would have given her two thumbs up. Jojo began to climb on the table with all the odds and trinkets. Despite the lack of thumbs, he ascended the wooden legs like a man on top of the world as if he was a man the tallest mountains in Lightning Country. He sat down with his soft shell pressed against the cold wood trying to cool himself from the long hot journey.

The two men looked onward in bemusement trying to figure out if this turtle was an actual turtle or another unique creature as the young woman.

Kaori walked closer the items laid across the table. The table had a glowing coruscant shine as the rays from the afternoon sun bounced off the metallic items. The items were not as recognizable as a commoner gazing at a kunai.

Deki walked in from the table as he transform into a suave debonair man attempting to bewilder the young woman. "We are selling the finest inventions as far and as wide the country-side, Karoi-san." His hand for a contraption that looked like two stick attached to a small wooden spoon.

"This here is called a chopspoon. Never will you to eat ramen with a chopsticks and a spoon. Why not use them both at the same time." Deiki said with a cheerful grin.

He returned the item back to the table and retrieved what appeared to be a brown large sun hat but with white tubes wrapped around it. On the top center was a clear glass container with bright liquid that slushed back and forth as he raised the hat off the table.

"This is one of my favorites. It a drinker hat." He said as he placed the hat of Kaori's head. Her small horns could be seen protruding on the sides of the hat as the weight of the clear glassed pressed on her head.

"Take a hard sip after long day of traveling across the country. Never again will you need to carry your fragile teapot around." He said pointing toward the tubes.

"I think she gets the idea that you are a nut job, Deiki." Keisuke said shaking his head. "Why did you call that thing a chopspoon. Dumbest name I had ever heard."

"Oh yeah smart guy what would you have called?" Deiki remarked

“Chopsticks stuck to a spoon.” Keisuke said with a blase attitude. He unfolded his arm and walked to the opposite side of the table. He revealed a set of items that look prosaic compared to the extravagant but otiose products that Deiki was trying to upsell. There were several wooden miniature statues from horses to trees.

“I am a simple wooden sculptor trying to sell my art. What do you think?” Keisuke asked.

As the young woman deliberated on the matrix of products offered to her, a distant traveler could be seen from the far east. The traveler was a large man who stood about 6 feet tall with a cascading shadow that followed on his side. On the other side was a horse that was pulling a caravan of dead carcases. The stench was strong enough to ossify JoJo onto his seat as his stubby hands reached for his nose.

“Howdy folks” The man said as he approached the shack. “What guys selling over here?”

 

[Kanagawa Nozomi]

Kaori's eyes turned towards the turtle that had crawled onto the table and plopped upon the table. If she would have caught this sooner, she would've helped the creature, assisting it, up the tall structure where it laid itself out to cool down. Cold blooded creatures, even if they were messengers of the divine or unholy, still have to abide by the rules of their creation. While it was an interesting design choice to make reptiles such as turtles regulate their temperature much differently from humans, she wasn't one to judge; that's just how things were. All she could do was smile at the victorious efforts of the turtle. "Good job, Jojo," she said giving the creature a light clap with the slapping of skin making a hardly audible noise.

It was then that her attention went over the trinkets and stuff that was to be sold. Most of it was junk, at least in her opinion, but everything was quite shiny and sparkly. She didn't understand what most of this stuff was for nor would she know HOW to use them even if she did have them. Were these people inventors or did they just peddle obscure things? Perhaps selling rare oddities was their niche? Regardless of what it was, everyone needed something to make them stand out. But if Kaori wouldn't know what any of this stuff was, what would the average person think any of this stuff was? This was probably the reason that none of their wares got sold.

Her suspicions were verified as the man, Deki, tried to charm her with his smooth-talk and explaining that this stuff that was created were 'inventions' of theirs. It was then that a strange, quite a fumbling contraption was shown to her. The Chopspoon. She looked over the design and already could think of a better way to design that monstrosity. Kaori simply smiled at the creation. Kaori was a big fan of ramen and never did she feel the need to have a spoon AND a pair of chopsticks with her. Just chopsticks were needed to scoop up the noodles and she could drink the soup from the bowl, itself. Just the sales pitch of this man was awful and the fact that he created such a pointless invention is probably why nothing is selling. She didn't give any feedback and just entertained the man with a series of nods, some 'oooohs' and some 'awwwwes' to show that she was interested in the products; even if what the man created were absolutely crap.

It was then that the inventors slapped a hat upon her head. It was designed for all head-sizes and even fit snuggly above her horns. The tubes were quite unwieldly and she felt an unnecessary pressure upon the top of her head where the bottle would reside. Kaori really didn't want to take a sip from the tube. She didn't know if they were already used, nor did she know who drank from it prior. Would she get some kind of disease or would she get sick from taking a sip of whatever concoction was placed in there.

Then, suddenly, the two men started to bicker back and forth with one another. And after a little bit of bantering, the other person brought out their wares. An assortment of wooden figurines. Kaori smiled at the man for a moment before gently removing the drinking hat from her head and placed it down on an empty spot on the table. "Um, well. Everything here looks neat," she simply said. Nothing either of them were selling seemed too interesting, but if she had a choice, she would choose Keisuke's stuff as they were more aesthetically pleasing than weird and useless stuff. Kaori opened her mouth to say something, considering a suggestion to blend the talents of the two men together, but the smell of death wafted into her nose, causing Kaori to stop dead in her tracks.

The repulsive smell of rot caused the horned girl to recoil and turn to look towards the source of the smell. It was a tall man on a devil creature pulling a cart. Her eyes darted towards the devil creature, known as a horse to everyone else, before her eyes settled back upon the tall, dark peddler of death. Something about this guy had Kaori keep her guard up. Regardless she was to help these merchants sell their, albeit crap, products to whomever; even if that person may have done some wrongs or even committed atrocious crimes like this shady individual here.

Kaori removed the hand from her nostril and simply smiled to the man carting the corpses behind him. She said in a nasaly voice, trying to keep the stench of death from creeping into her nose. "Hello, good sir! Welcome to Keisuke and Deiki's mobile shop! We have an assortment of wonderful items for you to choose from. Ranging between intricately hand-carved dolls to one-of-a-kind inventions created by our resident genius, Deiki. We have great items, one that I'm sure you would enjoy," she said as she grabbed the drinking hat and raised it over her head.

"This is called a drinking hat!" she said with entirely too much enthusiasm. "All you do is fill up this jar with any liquid of your choice, cap it, then put this beautifully made hat upon your head. You can then drink out of these finely crafted tubes designed specifically to go into your mouth and maximize drinking. With this awesome product, you can drink your favorite drinks hands-free!" she said as she held her breath and took the hat over to the man and attempted to place it on his head, angling it to where the straws would face his mouth. "Oh, that liquid? It's just water. The tubes have also been recently replaced. So give it a try," she said as she was trying to sell this product. She read enough magazines to know a lot of the selling points; even if those magazines are technically taboo within her clan.

"Also, do you have any children? Because if you do, I'm sure they would love a beautifully hand-crafted doll made from our expert sculptor, Keisuke. Your kids will have many hours of fun playing with these wooden dolls as they let their imagination make stories for them. If they have enough imagination, which, if you have children I'm sure they do; they could even make up an entire world based around these figures being the main characters for the stories," she said stopping there, not wanting to overload the man with the products. She wanted to give each and every one of these people their own bit of attention without making either feel left out of the loop.

Kaori simply stood there with her hands clasped over her thighs and waited for the man's reaction.​

[MFT]
[WC: 1145]

 

[Shu]

Lady Kaori was not super impressed by the array of trinkets that was presented to her. She clandestinely hid her disdain from the two men as she smiled at the presentation. Jojo looked at her completely amazed at her resolve. Instead of begging for the aid of these poor sods she was aiding them, perhaps the young woman had already forgotten her precarious predicament already. Jojo secretly stroked his white curly beard being careful not to create a scene. He was wondered if she would join his pact, Lord Diahoho would be more than willing to help her out. At least it was the best that Jojo could do.

As Jojo remained ossified in his thoughts, the rest of the group continued on their discourse of selling the most prized merchandise in all of fire country. Lady Kaori held her winsome smile despite her disdain for the visceral smell of the dead. She presented the older man with the prized hat that brought Deiki to grin from ear to ear.

Keisuke made no sudden changes to his face as if he was expressing anhedonia. Nothing was going to change. The man was going to look at the crap here and just move on.

Deiki playfully nudged his elbow at Keisuke showing his confidence and ensuring him that this was going to work.

The burly reached for the hat and began to meticulously examine the hat poking around like a medical doctor pricking his patient. "I do have my long travels but my trust canteen has always been at my side." The man said as he lifted the chrome canteen from his belt. It was pretty bent and warn out like a solider's armor after a war. No doubt that the man's thirst quencher needed another face lift and this trusty hat would be the way to go.

"Are you sure this is water..looks run down oil to me..." The man said as he squinting at the thick brown liquid. "You fellas aint charlatans right." The man said as he took a quick glance at the two men. He looked back the young girl and couldn't help but be ensorcelled by the girl's effervescent beauty. The man barely noticed the black horns that protruded from her cranium.

"You know what..why not. I think the Misses would like it. Can you show me how to remove and clean what ever that thing is." The man said as he pointed at the brown slug water slushed and swirled around the glass container.

Deiki quickly darted toward the man as he retrieved the hat and began to work on it. He made sure that the man could see what he was doing so that he would be able to do the same thing later on. Of course, Deiki could charge a service fee every single time to refill the container but he was still a man of honor, besides they haven't sold anything all day.

Deiki shifted the hat upside up so that he could removed the container easily and indeed it was removed li as easy as butter. He poured the liquid onto the pavement then took it to the table to clean. He returned with a sparkling clean glass container with a coruscant shine that can make a wealthy aristocrat weep with joy.

"Here you go Pa good as new." Deiki said as presented the hat back to him.

"How much are you selling it for?" The man said as he begin fishing for a coin bag.

Deiki paused for a moment. "We are selling it for 4000 yen."

"That is a bit steep. How about 1500?" The man asked.

"1575" Deiki said goading the man to go a bit higher.

"1525" The man responded.

"Deal." Deiki said.

The man threw a coin bag at Deiki which he caught and quickly return it to an open box.

"Have a good day gentleman, but before I go I would like to give you a parting gift." He said as he walked to the back of his wagon. He was back there for a moment and returned with a medium size fish that was not deboned with its scales and fins still attached to the body. "I just caught this beauty this afternoon and you guys are probably hungry." The man said as he handed it to the young girl who would hopefully receive in.

"Until we meet again." He nodded as he began to depart from the shop toward the distance.

"We did it. You are born merchant. You should quit your day job and work with us. Three amingos." Deiki said as he jumped for joy and quickly giving the young woman a bear hair that would make a grizzly bear blush.

"You do know that the man only bought it because of Karoi-san right." Keisuke said as he securely stored the gold coin bag.

"Maybe but it is better than nothing." Deiki responded with no quips in his words. He could not disagree with anything Keisuke was saying.

"I am starting to think we should quit our day job and be fisherman like everyone keeps telling us." Keisuke remarked showing a bit of sadness in his voice.

"Ah what does the village know. I say we live our lives to the fullest. What do you think Karoi-san?" Deiki asked as he turned back toward Karoi

 

[Kanagawa Nozomi]

Oh, with how Kaori is selling these wares, she most certainly feels like a charlatan. Her smile at the response to the accusation remained unwavering as she continued to try to sell the skeptical man the absolutely non-sense products. It wasn't whether or not that he bought the products; certainly, it would be a grand bonus if he did, but the fact that she helped the duo (as mean and nice as they were) was what meant a bit more to her. Who knows, by helping those that the turtle had guided her towards, they might end up scratching her back when the time came. But for now, all Kaori could do was answer the man's questions and hope that he'd at least entertain the peddlers.

Now that she realized it, she didn't know what was inside that container. Was it something drinkable? Was it some kind of poison? Or was it some strange concoction that one of these strangers made? The answer to that would probably never find her. Thankfully, the man carting the corpses was kind enough to entertain the strange drinking contraption. As Deiki rushed off to clean out the bottles, Kaori side-stepped her way towards the other man that she was helping and keeping the smile upon her face, she spoke to the man without looking at him. "What is that nasty liquid, anyway?" she asked in a hushed tone. Hopefully, due to the man's distraction of watching Deiki clean the container, he wouldn't have heard.

She wanted to know. She didn't want to drink it but she wanted to know, at least. "He really didn't have a new model to give him? Like, one in a box?" she asked again, not really hoping for an answer but found the practice that she just witnessed as pretty gross. The amount of mouths and the duration that that nasty 'soup' had been in the jar. A new one probably would've been safer. It was at that point that the shiny and clean version of the exact same nastiness was handed off to the passerby. And then the haggling started. A steep price of 4000 yen got chopped down to just a bit over 1500. These people have problems with haggling, getting robbed of their rightful money. But coin is coin and as long as they turn over a profit, there shouldn't be an issue. Then again, Kaori wouldn't know this as she doesn't really understand the art of haggling.

After the exchange of money, the man offered a 'gift' to the group. After he came back with a fish, Kaori sighed in relief. So that was what the smell was. Thank goodness. She eyed the fish and her eyes flashed in amazement and hunger started to kick in. Her mouth began to salivate profusely at seeing the massive size of that fish. Definitely wouldn't find something like THAT in a river. No no! That looked like a deep ocean fish. At least, it was a LOT bigger than the minuscule things she caught. She waved the man goodbye as the prize was given to the group and everyone seemed to be in high spirits. Well, most of the group was to her knowledge.

As the man left, she put her hands upon her hips and inflated her cheeks. "He didn't even look at the figurines!" Kaori said as she stamped her foot on the ground, trying to give everyone their own chance to sell their wares. She turned to look towards Keisuke and held up a hand in apology. "Sorry, I tried," she said, trying to be as accommodating to their feelings as possible. Deiki's high spirits got Kaori pumped, but the proposition that was given to her was something she'd have to refuse. She looked towards the man and gave him the same apologetic gesture. "Sorry, but I do have things I need to pursue on my own, you know. But I'll be sure to keep you guys in mind if I ever need a plan B," she said with her usually delightful smile. Every smile she gave them was a forced one, even though she could mask that fact pretty well. In reality, she was in quite a lot of mental and physical pain.

"That's Kaori," she said correcting the man before she was given a massive bear-hug. She gasped inwards and tried to laugh, only sounding like someone who was wheezing the whole time due to the pressure upon her body. The couple started to go back and forth about their job choices and Kaori corrected the man once more about her name. "It's Kaori. Ka-o-ri," she said. After correcting the men on their words, she scratched the side of her face and laughed a little bit.

"Well, do what makes you the happiest, I suppose. I mean, it's great to make money, but if you aren't happy doing it, it probably isn't a very fulfilling life, I'd say," she stated. She was one to talk, needing to follow her own words. She wasn't in a happy place nor was she one to tell someone to 'follow their dreams' when she felt like a caged bird, stuck doing what destiny had in store for them. Perhaps when she gets older, she cold spread her wings and fly out of her physical and mental cages. ​

[MFT]
[WC: 887 ]

 

[Kanagawa Nozomi]

I am OCRing.. so you don't have to keep modding this anymore.