[Ryuujin Shiina]

In the city of fools, I was careful and cool but they tore me apart like a hurricane.

TAG - Muramasa Uemon && Taki Okada



NOTES - reference thread: Tag Me Back In?

While the woman was making tea, she would listen to Taki, her head down a little to hide the grimace that was on her face at Taki's word choices. Shiina was a lady, a person who believed words held the key to a person's personality, probably a very skewed idea in the long wrong. Although she didn't discredit the girl's words themselves, she was mindful that she spoke very differently from both herself and Muramasa. And so, she merely kept quiet, her hands working intricacies as she followed the traditional tea ceremony host guidelines to a tee. There was no room for error, and any slight movements not aligned with what she had been taught was the effect of distraction or laziness. As she watched both of her guests take the tea and drink it, Shiina would be rather happy that Taki had somewhat followed Muramasa. She could tell that the girl hadn't been to many settings like this one, and would not have faulted her regardless.

And then the matter itself.

As she cleaned the bowls and whisks with hot water, her hands would stop moving while she listened more intently at what the girl had to say. At first she was incredibly confused, her head raised to look at the blonde countless times. But she would continue to wait, until the girl was finished talking. "I don't understand the meaning of this..." her words were soft, setting down the utensils and shifting her position so that she now faced both Muramasa and Taki. "Why should I be working for you?" The look of confusion was met with Muramasa's blankness, a very removed expression she hadn't seen before. "And what is this about signing of a contract?" Shiina glanced at Taki and then at Muramasa yet again, trying to understand the meaning of it all. "Are my geisha services required in Tsuchi no Kuni? If so, I'd be fine with going with you without the need to sign any contract."

Indeed, she had never signed a contract, not even to enter the geisha business some four years ago. "I apologize for being frank, Taki-san. But I don't belong nor do I entrust myself to anyone in the form of a binding contract unless there's a compelling reason for it." She stood up, removing the tray of bowls, whisks and spoons from the room to the mizuya. The sudden movement caused her chest to constrict and for a moment she froze, her eyes widening, the hands which held the trays trembled slightly. Still, she cleared her throat, lowering her head so as not to allow either of them to see the pained expression on her face.

"Muramasa-dono..." her voice changed, the whisper she held was slightly strained. "Would you...mind...helping...me...again?" It carried the literal and an underlying meaning, although she was certain that whatever was plaguing his mind at that moment was one which took precedent. She lifted her gaze to stare at his face and if he were to look at her then, he would recognize the signs of a distressed human being that was trying desperately to keep her composure. She didn't move, perhaps incapable of taking steps forward, and merely waited for either a reaction from the man or for the pain to pass, whichever came first.

MADE BY MIZO

[Taki Okada]

Taki "Bakudan" Okada

A loser like you ain't got no guts!

After the girl watched the two of them interact a look of color would come across his face which the girl herself thought was rather odd, noting this the girl must've figured they might've been closer than she thought? But at the same time the girl could see why someone like her would catch someone's eye but still she wasn't entirely too sure how to take such a reaction he never looked at her that way? It seemed unlike him, but that was something she could deal with later for now it was back to business.

As she gave her pitch she got a response she wasn’t expecting she seemed as though she may have been confused uncertain as to what was in the contract, but when she spoke her intentions were revealed she wanted to know why it was that she should work for Taki and her family, she figured she was asking for her geisha services she wouldn’t need a contract for that at the same time Uemon seemed to be lost in some sort of mental trance this wasn’t what she needed right now.

But keeping her composure she would try and think on the negotiations for what more needed to be said, just how was she going to convince her to work for them. With the girl wanting to seal the deal she needed to think on her toes, she heard the girl mention that she was a geisha and while she wasn’t certain as to what that was. She seemed apprehensive about the idea of working for them she needed a reason. "Well for starta's...we'd be offering you a sizeable contract woith a great deal of money, de're's a great deal invested in you and money's no object." going a bit further the girl would try to sweeten the deal by adding more perks too it. "Not to mention you'd also be given your own place to stay wit access to everything you could eva need." the girl would say allowing her to sit on it for a moment.

The girl would let out a sigh and had a bit of a bashful look on her face, before she added her next line. "And...Well I didn’t want to embarrass him like dis but uhh…” the girl would let out a small chuckle. "Hiring you was partially Fudo-san’s idea.” she’d say looking over at him but would notice that something was wrong. "Eyy, Fudo…you alright…?” she’d look over at him wanting to rattle his shoulder for a moment to get him to come back to reality for a brief moment.

Taki had seen that look in his eye before she was worried for him, just what was going through his head? She would wonder. If he had managed to snap himself back to reality she would look back towards the woman. "As I was saying, Fudo-san ere is one of our top paforma’s in fact he’s got a big match coming up.” the girl would gesture to him speaking of him almost as if he were a trophy, like he was some sort of a prize thinking of his accomplishments as a badge of honor.

"Howeva…he said he needed something to spruce up his act and requested you poisonally?” she would say trying to butter the girl up it was obvious she had some sort of connection to him so she wanted to play upon dat, she wanted her to come on board as a combatant but was attempting to employ a different tactic.

"The kinda woik you’d be doin ain’t awl dat complex, but ol Fudo ere said he wanted to make sure you were nice and accommodated.” the girl would cross her arms as she thought on the contract a bit more giving the woman a rather wide grin. "It wadn’t easy but we made it woik…so if’n you ain’t tryna woik for me why not help out ya buddy, he came awl da way here just to see ya.” The girl felt a bit bad putting him on the spot and a lot of this was conveyed in the way she carried herself but she didn’t exactly want to open with that cause she didn’t anticipate that she’d say no to the offer of money so the next step was to appeal to her emotion.

"At least if she has to ask why I didn’t start I can let Huey take da heat.” the girl would think to herself. "And I mean hey wit the amount of money on da line it ain’t somethin I’d pass up, we could always use more valet's afta awl.” the girl would say waiting to gauge her response.

SPOILER: Click to show

MOVEMENT TECHNIQUES:



OFFENSIVE TECHNIQUES:

SUMMARY

SA's:

House of Fire

During Taki's training she learns that she has a significant amount of energy and after graduating to the rank of genin she began to learn how to properly make use of them under the tutelage of Midori Chizawa. As a result the girl is now able to perform a bevy of powerful techniques for longer periods of time without tiring as quickly as others.

[Heavyweight: Super Strength SA]

With the rigorous training that Taki's now able to throw down with the best of them boasting monstrous strength fitting for her professional wrestling background, having combined that with the training she performed at the academy has now made her able to performs ridiculous feats such as being able to crush stones in her grip causing concussions and snap bones with her powerful strikes and holds. Taki has also increased the amount of weight she is able to lift by a massive margin in a way that makes her an even more fearsome taijutsu practitioner than before.

[Wrestling Genius]

As a result of her training, and advancements as a genin. Taki's grappling ability has increased even further making her wrestling based techniques far more difficult to deal with and escape from. As a result, her slams, holds, submissions and suplex's are far more damaging and harder to escape from then that of a genin who is not trained in these particular abilities.

[Sage Mode]


✤ | Abilities (Imperfect Enhancement)
✤ Gorilla Grip [Grip Strength]

When transforming into Sage Mode Taki's body and overall Taijutsu prowess increase exponentially most notably her grip strength allowing her to take hold of someone with a painful amount of power amplifying her already proficient ability to grapple with an opponent making it significantly harder to be broken out of as well a deal a considerable amount of damage.

✤ | Abilities (Imperfect Enhancement)
✤ Gorilla Press [Natural Taijutsu]

When transforming into Sage Mode Taki's body Taki is able to use nature energy to harness her powers in order to make her more physically imposing than normal adding to her natural affinities with Taijutsu allowing her move faster and hit harder heavy items thus adding a good amount of power and heft to her attacks allowing her to snap bones with much less effort and outpace a good majority of her enemies with her monstrous charge.

✤ | Abilities (Imperfect Enhancement)
✤ The Immovable Force [Durability]

Due to the coarse strength of a gorilla's skin Taki is able to withstand a good amount of extra punishment allowing her to be able to withstand blows from most enemies that most shinobi wouldn't be able to normally withstand. As such blows from strong fighters are reduced by a considerable amount and when struck feel like colliding with a considerably immovable force.

776 WORDS

Muramasa Uemon Ryuujin Shiina

SHORT NOTE

deltra of gangnam style

[Muramasa Uemon]

Masamune fudo

What followed was a conversation that went about as well as he might have expected prior to setting this meet up.

Slick as Taki could be, Shiina was no slouch when it came to games of the mind. "Just as I thought." The words sounded in his head as his eyes shifted between the two. Attempting to convince someone of coming on board for something without revealing your true motives was a tough task... moreover it put him in a tricky spot. Help to deceive the woman at Taki's behest or stick to his principles and risk the girl's anger. A hard decision for some, maybe. But he had to stay true to himself.

As he always had... as he always would.

Money could not buy everything, a fact that was on full display during this proposal. "I'm fine." He said at Taki's question, thoughts of his dream fading as he was brought back to the present. Suggesting that hiring her was his idea he paused before giving a slow nod. "I did mention your name..." After he had been asked about any friends he had. If he didn't know better he might've rolled his eyes at her tale. "Didn't have to make me sound so desperate." Hearing their sides he placed a hand to his chin, covering his mouth slightly as he thought. Shiina had already said that she was willing to practice her geisha service in the Land of Earth... so to him there was an easier way. Without deception. "How about..." He said as he thought for a moment, dark eyes shifting between the two of them again. "You hold off on the contract, and see if Ran-san here just wants to take a trip to see Kuwana instead?" Truthfully there was no forcing anyone into an agreement, especially this particular person. "If that's what you want." He finished, speaking directly to Shiina. Turning to Taki he continued on. "Learning more about each other first might be for the best." Hoping that Taki would recall her plan to judge for herself whether or not to bring the woman on board, this served all of their needs. Taki could still do any testing she might want to, decide whether or not the woman was suitable for her mission, and Shiina wasn't locked into a binding contract for something she had little to no interest in.

It was as good of a middle ground solution as he could come up with given the circumstances and conflicting motives here.

Not long after his suggestion something alarming happened. Shiina requested his aid and his gaze met hers. "Of course." He said, instantly taking her meaning. A look of distress hid behind her composed expression. "Her chest." The thought occurred as he stood from his seat and moved to help her to her feet. "What do you need?" A slight concern crossed his face as he helped. Hopefully this flare up wasn't bad.

Remembering Oniishi's words he knew her treatment was not simple and that it required soaking hot springs. If that's what she wanted he could certainly assist... but did she want that?

[Ryuujin Shiina]

In the city of fools, I was careful and cool but they tore me apart like a hurricane.

TAG - Muramasa Uemon && Taki Okada



NOTES - reference thread: Tag Me Back In?

Shiina almost laughed at the words that were coming out of Taki's mouth.

She had half the thought of wanting to exchange glances with Muramasa, but she had held back doing so, especially in the company of another like Taki. But she couldn't bring herself to really believe, even if she could be naive and ignorant at times, that the words escaping her lips was less than a blatant lie. A small smile creeped across her face, perhaps mischievous, as she listened. Shiina wouldn't interject, merely listening and waiting for Taki to finish. She noticed the contract, or rather pieces of paper, that the other girl held in her hand as well. The woman would try to formulate words to the best of her ability, words which would not come off as highly disrespectful and still maintain an amicable middle ground, despite what was being told to her. Although she wasn't a hundred percent certain, she had very reasonable grounds to believe that what Taki was telling her was not to be trusted.

And she expected her to sign a contract?

As Taki finished her speech, Shiina's golden hues would move to look at the girl squarely, and although her words were cordial, she did not mask her displeasure at the ploy she had just witnessed. "Like I said before, Taki-san, I do not sign contracts of any kind, not because of their legality, but simply because I do not wish to sign something from someone who I know nothing about. While I appreciate you coming all the way here from Tsuchi no Kuni, I will have to politely decline your offer of lodging and work..." she then glanced at Muramasa before turning back to the girl. "I was not aware that Muramasa-dono was a performer, directly employed under you. From my knowledge of him and our interactions, I am highly not inclined to believe that what you say about him and how he needs my assistance to 'spruce up his act' is an honest statement. You are entirely welcome to prove me wrong, but I do not appreciate anyone using my connections with another person as bait to coerce me into doing something."

She took in a deep breath, the tone of her voice still relatively in control. "With all due respect, Taki-san, you have told me nothing about what it is you wish for me to do for you, while employing me to do this mysterious thing at the same time. Surely you recognize that I would not follow through with this because I don't do things for people I don't know or anyone who I can't trust..." her voice trailed, stacking the bowls and utensils in order. "If you wish for me to assist you in anything, the least you can do is be honest about your intentions. This is a lesson in business, as I assume you are trying to learn. You don't need to be entirely honest, but some information must be shared in order for basic trust to be formed." She got up from the floor with her tray of utensils before adding, "So, formulate your thoughts for a bit and I shall return shortly, if you really wish to continue this discussion any further."

Muramasa had then spoken, advocating for Shiina to go to Kuwana and not for the business contract idea. It would seem that her assumptions of him had been correct, and that he too felt a bit reserved about the contract signing part. At least their minds were somewhat aligned, she thought to herself, the wave of pain that overtook her at that point had broken some of her built-up resolve. As he moved to her and readily agreed to help, she would grip the tray in her hands, her body shaking slightly as she tried to maintain composure. "Please...take this..." she would say through gritted teeth, handing the tray towards the man while attempting to leave the room. It was time for her to endure her daily dose of poison cleansing, a ritual she had maintained well beyond the three days that Oniishi had advised.

Once they were out of the room, she half fell onto Muramasa, almost having forgotten that he was still holding onto the tray of utensils. If he chose to drop the tray and hold her, she would ask for his assistance to the hot springs, whispering softly of the cleansing ritual the old medic had asked of her to endure. "I'm sorry...if I offended your friend..." she would say weakly, beads of cold sweat forming on her forehead as she gazed at him. "I hope...she's not too mad..."

MADE BY MIZO

[Taki Okada]

Taki "Bakudan" Okada

A loser like you ain't got no guts!

As the girl gave her further explanation it would seem that still didn’t work she didn’t seem to fully understand she thought she had laid out all of her cards perfectly, even if there was a degree a deception. Muramasa had added in that it might be a good idea for them too head back to Tsuchi no Kuni to see if she might be more interested in wanting to learn more about the organization itself, this was only further confirmed by Shiina’s misunderstanding of Muramasa’s profession. Which caused her to raised an eyebrow. "She doesn’t know…I told Muramasa not to use the address but I didn’t tell him he couldn’t tell her who they were.” the girl would think to herself. There was confusion in the room.

"It would seem there’s a great deal of confusion ere…I was unda de impression dat Fudo ere had told you who we were and what we’re awl about.” the girl had a bit of a bashful look on her face feeling somewhat embarrassed by the snafu that she had found herself apart of. "Allow me to start over…” she had a great deal of back tracking to do and information to re-explain thinking on the situation to try and salvage this somewhat broken business deal she wasn’t out of this fight yet.

"So our Organization the Okada Wrestling Association runs a series of promotions that promote a combat sport cawled professional wrasslin’ da league dat Ole Fudo woiks for is cawled the SSWA, which focuses primarily on shinobi combat.” the girl would pause to make sure that the information was getting through looking over at the girl making certain that she understood just exactly what she was trying to say. "Fudo ere, is a paforma who woiks for us as a combatant but part o his act, is based upon his background as a Samurai.” tying everything together she’d then try to re-iterate just where she would come in based upon the information that she had stated earlier.

"But he wanted to add something to his act, and asked if you could come and woik for us albeit in a limited capacity to be his valet, you’re main job would simply be escorting him to the arena when he makes his entrances for his matches.” she hadn’t figured it’d be this difficult to explain their craft to an outsider someone who had never known what their act was but hopefully that cleared things up. "Da offa still stands and da toims of da contract can even be negotiated.” she’d add to make sure she was still being clear.

"But if dat still isn’t something you’re interested in, I can undarstand its unfortunate but…I am willing to respect ya decision.” Taki hated the idea of admitting defeat especially considering she had worked so hard to get to this point, while the idea of her working in Tsuchi no Kuni was a solid idea it didn’t give her the grounds she needed to make the kind of impact she wanted she felt the opportunity slipping through her fingers but it was better to cut her losses and try other ventures then waste time trying to get water from a rock.

SPOILER: Click to show

MOVEMENT TECHNIQUES:

OFFENSIVE TECHNIQUES:

SUMMARY

SA's:

House of Fire

During Taki's training she learns that she has a significant amount of energy and after graduating to the rank of genin she began to learn how to properly make use of them under the tutelage of Midori Chizawa. As a result the girl is now able to perform a bevy of powerful techniques for longer periods of time without tiring as quickly as others.

[Heavyweight: Super Strength SA]

With the rigorous training that Taki's now able to throw down with the best of them boasting monstrous strength fitting for her professional wrestling background, having combined that with the training she performed at the academy has now made her able to performs ridiculous feats such as being able to crush stones in her grip causing concussions and snap bones with her powerful strikes and holds. Taki has also increased the amount of weight she is able to lift by a massive margin in a way that makes her an even more fearsome taijutsu practitioner than before.

[Wrestling Genius]

As a result of her training, and advancements as a genin. Taki's grappling ability has increased even further making her wrestling based techniques far more difficult to deal with and escape from. As a result, her slams, holds, submissions and suplex's are far more damaging and harder to escape from then that of a genin who is not trained in these particular abilities.

[Sage Mode]


✤ | Abilities (Imperfect Enhancement)
✤ Gorilla Grip [Grip Strength]

When transforming into Sage Mode Taki's body and overall Taijutsu prowess increase exponentially most notably her grip strength allowing her to take hold of someone with a painful amount of power amplifying her already proficient ability to grapple with an opponent making it significantly harder to be broken out of as well a deal a considerable amount of damage.

✤ | Abilities (Imperfect Enhancement)
✤ Gorilla Press [Natural Taijutsu]

When transforming into Sage Mode Taki's body Taki is able to use nature energy to harness her powers in order to make her more physically imposing than normal adding to her natural affinities with Taijutsu allowing her move faster and hit harder heavy items thus adding a good amount of power and heft to her attacks allowing her to snap bones with much less effort and outpace a good majority of her enemies with her monstrous charge.

✤ | Abilities (Imperfect Enhancement)
✤ The Immovable Force [Durability]

Due to the coarse strength of a gorilla's skin Taki is able to withstand a good amount of extra punishment allowing her to be able to withstand blows from most enemies that most shinobi wouldn't be able to normally withstand. As such blows from strong fighters are reduced by a considerable amount and when struck feel like colliding with a considerably immovable force.

536 WORDS

Ryuujin Shiina Muramasa Uemon

SHORT NOTE

deltra of gangnam style

[Muramasa Uemon]

Masamune fudo

Well... things had certainly taken a turn.

Uemon's eyes widened a bit as he noticed Shiina smile. "Uh-oh." It wasn't a soft one like the kind he was used to seeing... more of a sly one like he remembered from the night they met. Assumptions proved correct as the woman rebuffed Taki's offer, pointing out some inconsistences in the tale and expressing shock at the idea of him performing. "Well... that part's true." He thought, but could only listen as their opposing interests crashed headlong into each other. Thus far it hadn't been his worst case scenario. But maybe that was just because no one had come to blows. Yet. Glancing between the two he watched as the Okada girl tried to salvage the deal she planned on making and couldn't help but feel that there had been miscommunication somewhere along the way. Wires had been crossed. Nerves frayed, maybe. Yet he didn't feel as if the situation was doomed completely. There may still be a way.

Compromise. Essential to all business dealings and not a bad thing to learn for interpersonal reasons either. As he took the tray from Shiina's hands he followed her to the door, holding up an index finger to Taki. 'Wait' he was saying. Mediation was never something he pictured himself doing... but life had thrown much stranger twists at him before this moment.

Like fighting in a wrestling alliance, for instance.

Once they were out of the door and he'd closed it behind him he barely had time to think before the woman collapsed. Instinctually he dropped the tray he carried, it clattering to the ground as he reached out to catch her. "Hold on... I have you." He responded to her request as he allowed her to lean on him for support and they made their way towards the springs. On the way he notified one of the staff of the mess in the hall and apologized. "Don't worry." Waving off her apology regarding Taki he continued to slowly walk her to the springs. "She's one of the toughest people I know." It was true, too. Certainly not the perfect start to their collective relationship... but he remembered his own initial reaction to Taki's offer months ago. Something about him 'not being a cage fighter'. Thinking back on it almost made him chuckle.

Eventually they arrived at the springs and Uemon helped her to steady herself near the shower area, carefully aiding her in disrobing should she allow. "Do you have your medicine?" He asked, hands untying her obi and lifting her kimono delicately from her shoulders. "Are the treatments helping?" Uemon filled a wooden basin full of warm water knowing that she'd wish to wash herself first before entering the springs, and afterwards he grabbed a stool so that she'd be more comfortable. He was there to help... but still couldn't take his eyes off her as he watched. "So listen..." He began, sighing a bit as he thought back to the conversation. "Contracts are tricky... I kind of expect them being a craftsman, but I fully get not wanting to sign something without knowing." Agreements didn't have to be on paper to be valid. And he knew Shiina had more than one reason not to document things. Kneeling down he grabbed a clean towel and wet it for her, handing her the cloth as he stared into her eyes. "Take out the paper... would you come visit the Land of Earth?" A simple question. Perhaps where this whole discussion should have started to begin with. "That way you can both get the measure of each other... before deciding anything else." Probably for the best this way. It also meant no one would be locked into anything they could not back out of on either side.

If it didn't pan out, no harm no foul. Everyone could bow out gracefully and nothing important would be at risk.

[Ryuujin Shiina]

In the city of fools, I was careful and cool but they tore me apart like a hurricane.

TAG - Muramasa Uemon && Taki Okada



NOTES - reference thread: Tag Me Back In?

Shiina listened carefully to what Taki had to say. Perhaps she had been a little harsh in her word choice, or perhaps it was the fact that miscommunication was the root cause of all of this. Whichever, she would simply nod her head, trying to wrap her head around this wrestling organization the girl was talking about. It would seem that Muramasa was indeed a performer at this wrestling organization, representing a league of shinobi combat. The idea itself seemed preposterous to her, at least from what she knew of the man. But then again, one rarely did things one wanted, and perhaps he had some ulterior reasons for joining the organization.

As Muramasa then followed her out of the room, she allowed herself to fall into his arms, the sound of the tray of tea ceremony utensils falling toe the ground was as clear as day. She nodded her head weakly, no words would come as he guided them both to the hot springs, knowing that he would be there for her. She despised being in this state, despised having to count on another, even if that person happened to be Muramasa. She took out a small cylindrical bottle from the inside sleeve of her kimono and handed it over to the man, instructing him to pour its contents into the hot springs water.

Once the medicine was put into the water, she assumed he would help her into the showers. He helped with her clothing, removing them slowly and pulling up a stool so that she could clean her body before entering the hot springs. "It's helped only slightly I'm afraid...there's still a lot of toxins in my body that need to be cleansed..." she whispered, turning to look at the man while he wrung a towel for her. "I understand that the interaction back there was one spawned out of misunderstanding, to say the least." She listened to Muramasa's suggestion of going to see Tsuchi no Kuni, sans signing any contract, to which she nodded slowly. "Of course, I don't mind visiting any place, especially now that I no longer belong to a geisha house..." she dabbed the towel on her body, "I was simply confused at the mention of wrestling..."

She would then proceed to enter the hot springs, slipping into the waters. "If you don't mind...keeping Taki-san company for a few minutes...that would be greatly appreciated." It would take more than a few minutes for the cleansing to be complete. "It would be highly suspicious if we both just leave her there in the room...and since it will take some time for the cleansing to finish, I think it's best that you go back..." Shiina inhaled and exhaled deeply, before continuing, "Please let her know...let her know that I'll gladly accompany the both of you to Tsuchi no Kuni, but contract signing is out of the question..."

As a last note, she moved her head so that she could whisper in his ear. "And you must tell me at some point...why you got involved in this wrestling organization..." And with that she closed her eyes, the hand that gripped Muramasa's relaxing so he could choose to either leave or stay with her.

MADE BY MIZO

[Taki Okada]

Taki "Bakudan" Okada

A loser like you ain't got no guts!

As the two of them left the room, as a result of the woman feeling a strain on her body she’d be left to her own devices, she said little and simply left the room but seemed to acknowledge her words hopefully she had managed to at least clear up some of the confusion but she did happen to notice that the woman was clutching her chest. What was that all about did she have some kind of ailment or something that was not a good sign, performer or not she couldn’t have a liability on the battlefield.

Whilst she sat alone she’d reflect on everything wondering what she must’ve thought of her proposition, but also noting Muramasa’s interactions with the woman they seemed rather close Taki herself didn’t really know what to make of it but she also wasn’t too sure how to feel about it later.

For now she’d just bide her time, with everyone being gone she’d go back and get her suit from the rental shop and then head outside looking about and taking a hit from her vape, with all the stress she was under she was glad she could at least take a breather for now. She stopped by and chatted with her security letting them know that the negotiations were still ongoing but that she was driving a hard bargain.

She’d remain by the carriage for a short while before heading back towards the area where the tea ceremony was taking place wondering if they had returned, but so far she didn’t seem to find anything she’d place her smoking device in her pocket and look about the place on second glance it looked fancy, not her style but fancy enough.

SPOILER: Click to show

MOVEMENT TECHNIQUES:



OFFENSIVE TECHNIQUES:

SUMMARY

SA's:

House of Fire

During Taki's training she learns that she has a significant amount of energy and after graduating to the rank of genin she began to learn how to properly make use of them under the tutelage of Midori Chizawa. As a result the girl is now able to perform a bevy of powerful techniques for longer periods of time without tiring as quickly as others.

[Heavyweight: Super Strength SA]

With the rigorous training that Taki's now able to throw down with the best of them boasting monstrous strength fitting for her professional wrestling background, having combined that with the training she performed at the academy has now made her able to performs ridiculous feats such as being able to crush stones in her grip causing concussions and snap bones with her powerful strikes and holds. Taki has also increased the amount of weight she is able to lift by a massive margin in a way that makes her an even more fearsome taijutsu practitioner than before.

[Wrestling Genius]

As a result of her training, and advancements as a genin. Taki's grappling ability has increased even further making her wrestling based techniques far more difficult to deal with and escape from. As a result, her slams, holds, submissions and suplex's are far more damaging and harder to escape from then that of a genin who is not trained in these particular abilities.

[Sage Mode]


✤ | Abilities (Imperfect Enhancement)
✤ Gorilla Grip [Grip Strength]

When transforming into Sage Mode Taki's body and overall Taijutsu prowess increase exponentially most notably her grip strength allowing her to take hold of someone with a painful amount of power amplifying her already proficient ability to grapple with an opponent making it significantly harder to be broken out of as well a deal a considerable amount of damage.

✤ | Abilities (Imperfect Enhancement)
✤ Gorilla Press [Natural Taijutsu]

When transforming into Sage Mode Taki's body Taki is able to use nature energy to harness her powers in order to make her more physically imposing than normal adding to her natural affinities with Taijutsu allowing her move faster and hit harder heavy items thus adding a good amount of power and heft to her attacks allowing her to snap bones with much less effort and outpace a good majority of her enemies with her monstrous charge.

✤ | Abilities (Imperfect Enhancement)
✤ The Immovable Force [Durability]

Due to the coarse strength of a gorilla's skin Taki is able to withstand a good amount of extra punishment allowing her to be able to withstand blows from most enemies that most shinobi wouldn't be able to normally withstand. As such blows from strong fighters are reduced by a considerable amount and when struck feel like colliding with a considerably immovable force.

288 WORDS

Muramasa Uemon Ryuujin Shiina

SHORT NOTE

deltra of gangnam style

[Muramasa Uemon]

Masamune fudo

Seemed like his judgement was spot on.

Deception was a powerful ally if utilized correctly... a lesson that Suppa had instilled in him during his training. Manipulating one's enemies and maintaining the element of surprise at all times could give you the edge you need when it came to war. But the opposite was true of one's friends, comrades, and even acquaintances. It eroded trust. If ever you were discovered it could fracture a relationship outright. Which is why he tried never to lie with those he cared for. Too little to gain from such a large and unnecessary risk. Truth was better.

Though the delicate nature of this endeavor was not lost on him... he knew Taki couldn't be completely forthright.

Nodding as she spoke his brow furrowed just slightly. "Keep at it, alright?" He said softly, placing a hand on the woman's shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze. Toxins were never easy to remove from one's system... especially those that had been building up for years. Shiina agreed to visit and his half smile returned. It would be better this way. Perhaps not exactly what Taki wanted... but a chance for them to proceed correctly. "Wrestling is pretty confusing..." He mused, helping her to her feet and assisting her as she walked over to the hot springs to enter the water. Still holding her hand he crouched down near the water's edge so that they were eye level and listened to her wishes. "Probably a good idea." His response to him keeping Taki company. Even if the waters did look very inviting. "Try to relax, if you can." Uemon's free hand came to rest over top of hers so that he clasped it. "That was a nice ceremony by the way... very artful, I liked it." Giving one final squeeze he felt her grip relax and let her go. She looked a quite the sight in those waters... but he couldn't let himself get distracted. Standing back up to his full height he turned to leave and almost chuckled at her mention of his wrestling 'career'. "It's not a long story but it is odd... I'll definitely tell you about it." With that he gave a wave over his shoulder and headed for the tea room. His mouth pursed a bit as he did.

If he lingered any longer at all he'd be much too tempted to join her in the soothing waters. Later, he thought. 

Arriving shortly after Taki returned he closed the door behind him, shut his eyes and sighed. "Ran's willing to come with us back to Kuwana... the contract is a no-go, though." It didn't surprise him much, she was too sophisticated for that sort of thing. Not her scene. Wasn't his either... but his aim was solely rapid improvement. By any means. "I know it's not what you hoped for." He spoke again, opening his eyes to look at the girl. It had been quite the meeting. "But this way you still get to feel her out, see for yourself if you want to include her in the real business." Slowly he moved towards the table, taking a seat once more on a cushion. "And don't worry, I didn't tell her about it." Uemon withdrew his pipe once more from within his kimono, filling it with a small pinch of tobacco as he raised an eyebrow and gave a bit of a knowing glance at Taki. "I don't break confidence." Rising from his seat and stepping towards the side of the room he noticed another sliding door, which he opened to reveal a small walk-out balcony. He placed the pipe to his lips and sighed again in relief. Taking a match from its small book he struck it and lit the pipe, making sure to blow any smoke away and out of the window. "So?" He asked her, a slight quizzical look flashing across his face. "What do you think?" Purposely vague.

Today had been interesting to say the least... what did Taki think of the whole situation? As he waited he took a drag.

[Ryuujin Shiina]

In the city of fools, I was careful and cool but they tore me apart like a hurricane.

TAG - Muramasa Uemon && Taki Okada



NOTES - reference thread: Tag Me Back In?

The woman let out deep breaths as they moved together to the hot springs area. Shiina nodded her head at Muramasa's suggestion of keeping at it. Poison was hard to cleanse, especially one lodged within the system for as long as it had in her body. What complicated matters was the fact that said poison involved many toxins working together. As Oniishi had said before, he could only cleanse a part of the poison in her system, and through painful and long processes. "I know...I will do my best..." she gave him a small smile, one that wasn't entirely a true reflection of how she felt now.

"Wrestling sounds quite confusing, indeed. I suppose it is just surprising that you would become one of them. They seem to be...opposite from the Uemon I know..." her smile would widen just a fraction as she teased him. It baffled her that he had agreed to work for this organization, especially since she knew that he had his own retribution arc that he was adamant about wanting to advance. Perhaps this organization or this girl somehow could help him with his endeavors? Although unlikely, she wouldn't discredit this thought entirely, regardless of how farfetched it sounded in her head. The reassuring squeeze of his hand on hers was enough to make her smile genuinely, nodding her head while he released his grip and turned to leave.

Did she want him to stay? Yes.

Was she in any position to? Most likely.

Did she feel it was the right thing to do? No.

And so, she let him leave the room, focusing her attention on the poison cleansing. Closing her eyes, she continued to control her breathing, the medicine slowly seeping into her pores and travel through her body. As it was a small amount, it would take quite some time before the desired effect would come to be, and she was rather glad that Muramasa had left her alone at that point. Black blood dripped from her lips, dripping into the hot spring waters, her chest constricting like she could die any moment. Such was the process of the cleanse, as she had now become accustomed to the sensations and the blood loss after so many days of the same ritual.

MADE BY MIZO

[Taki Okada]

Taki "Bakudan" Okada

A loser like you ain't got no guts!

As the girl stood in the room she’d begin to fiddle with her cassette player, finding something to listen too, her headphones around her neck, as music softly played through them, fitting given the time of day, looking at a clock in the room just a half our past 10 AM. Shortly after she’d hear word from Muramasa that Ran would come back but she wouldn’t sign the contract, that was a heartbreaker she was really banking on pulling that one off, all that hard work and painstaking effort but not everyone bats a hundred but she was going to feel bad having to face her mother in the wake of her failure.

"Shit…” she’d let out a sigh placing her hands in her pocket a bit disheartened. "Well at least she’ll be coming back wit us…and yeah dat was da plan.” the girl would say to herself, but would then look to Muramasa as if she were about to say something she didn’t think he said anything but wondered if it might’ve slipped however her worries were assuaged when he mentioned that he doesn’t break confidence. "Thanks, never doubted you for a second.” the girl would say walking with him the two of them moving towards the balcony. It was still early morning; the sulfur in the air and mist from earlier had passed, giving them a nice view of the small villa they found themselves in.

Muramasa himself would then ask what she thought, but with the manner in which the question was presented she wasn’t sure what he was referring too. "Of the view?” she’d say with a chuckle looking towards him with his Yukata on, trying not to glance at him too much. "Well if we’re talking about you…” the girl would keep that thought to herself she knew she didn’t need to go down that road but as her mind went back to the matter at hand.

"Well if’n we’re tawlkin about Ran…I’ll be honest, I’m a bit weary types like her don’t like people like me.” the girl would say to herself as she looked out at the villa. Taki’s herself wasn’t as couth as her mother or father and their profession didn’t exactly garner a great deal of respect for other people who were of a specific repute and despite not knowing her she felt like Shiina’s mannerisms gave off the vibe of someone who was a bit more uppity than most.

"I’m sure I’m wrong but she gives off dhose vibes, I dunno how ta explain it.” her mother was the same way in all honestly but at least she was able to her mother somewhat cut loose and understood that she was still respectful of others. After that statement however the girl would raise a brow the young man. "Do you and her have…history…” the word history had a bit of a connotation too it she noticed him act different around her in a way that he never did with Taki herself why was that?

SPOILER: Click to show

MOVEMENT TECHNIQUES:



OFFENSIVE TECHNIQUES:

SUMMARY

SA's:

House of Fire

During Taki's training she learns that she has a significant amount of energy and after graduating to the rank of genin she began to learn how to properly make use of them under the tutelage of Midori Chizawa. As a result the girl is now able to perform a bevy of powerful techniques for longer periods of time without tiring as quickly as others.

[Heavyweight: Super Strength SA]

With the rigorous training that Taki's now able to throw down with the best of them boasting monstrous strength fitting for her professional wrestling background, having combined that with the training she performed at the academy has now made her able to performs ridiculous feats such as being able to crush stones in her grip causing concussions and snap bones with her powerful strikes and holds. Taki has also increased the amount of weight she is able to lift by a massive margin in a way that makes her an even more fearsome taijutsu practitioner than before.

[Wrestling Genius]

As a result of her training, and advancements as a genin. Taki's grappling ability has increased even further making her wrestling based techniques far more difficult to deal with and escape from. As a result, her slams, holds, submissions and suplex's are far more damaging and harder to escape from then that of a genin who is not trained in these particular abilities.

[Sage Mode]


✤ | Abilities (Imperfect Enhancement)
✤ Gorilla Grip [Grip Strength]

When transforming into Sage Mode Taki's body and overall Taijutsu prowess increase exponentially most notably her grip strength allowing her to take hold of someone with a painful amount of power amplifying her already proficient ability to grapple with an opponent making it significantly harder to be broken out of as well a deal a considerable amount of damage.

✤ | Abilities (Imperfect Enhancement)
✤ Gorilla Press [Natural Taijutsu]

When transforming into Sage Mode Taki's body Taki is able to use nature energy to harness her powers in order to make her more physically imposing than normal adding to her natural affinities with Taijutsu allowing her move faster and hit harder heavy items thus adding a good amount of power and heft to her attacks allowing her to snap bones with much less effort and outpace a good majority of her enemies with her monstrous charge.

✤ | Abilities (Imperfect Enhancement)
✤ The Immovable Force [Durability]

Due to the coarse strength of a gorilla's skin Taki is able to withstand a good amount of extra punishment allowing her to be able to withstand blows from most enemies that most shinobi wouldn't be able to normally withstand. As such blows from strong fighters are reduced by a considerable amount and when struck feel like colliding with a considerably immovable force.

484 WORDS

Muramasa Uemon Ryuujin Shiina

SHORT NOTE

deltra of gangnam style

[Muramasa Uemon]

Masamune fudo

A resigned nod followed Taki's response, placing his thin kiseru once again to his lips as he listened.

It was not exactly what she wanted for a result, but still a path forward. "I hope not." He replied half jokingly to her statement of not doubting him. There was still much to do. And though Shiina had agreed to return with them it was not a guarantee of anything else. "Still, you might want to keep an eye out for other candidates." Uemon spoke quietly, taking a deep drag before exhaling the smoke off of the balcony. Three was better than two, but even three would not be enough.

At her telling comment and glance Uemon's half smirk seemed to return. "You know what I mean..." And she did judging from her real answer. Paying close attention he took in her words before nodding slowly. "She's a careful person, like I am." Thinking back to their first encounter, Taki might recall that he was none too thrilled to be approached by stranger who seemed to know him. "I wouldn't take it personally... when we met she was wary of me, and I of her." Memories flashed before him of he and Shiina's chance meeting. An interesting night to say the least. Sake, samurai, and blood. 

Things could have gone a different way on that evening... so it was fortunate they didn't end up as enemies.

Uemon raised an eyebrow at her final question, thinking it over a bit before giving another slow nod. "We do, but..." He said softly, turning to lean against the railing as he held his pipe in his fingers. "My goal is my priority." The young man's voice had grown quiet, but perhaps a tad more serious as he stared off into the distance. "Everything else is just..." Trailing off he chose not to finish the thought. Nose? A distraction? Maybe... but he was beginning to realize he was not as devoid of feeling as he once thought. Taki was no distraction, she was someone he cared about. Shiina had brought forth emotions he thought long dead. Maybe the truth was bit more complex than he previously thought. Whatever the case though, his convictions remained the same. Love, romance... those kind of things were for normal people. Unbroken, whole, functioning people.

Muramasa Uemon was an avenger who walked a path of blood and steel... there were no fairy tale endings waiting for him.

[Ryuujin Shiina]

In the city of fools, I was careful and cool but they tore me apart like a hurricane.

TAG - Muramasa Uemon && Taki Okada



NOTES - reference thread: Tag Me Back In?

Shiina would spend the next half an hour alone in the hot springs room, battling pain and the puking of black-colored blood. It took her entire resolve to fight it but when at last the pain began to subside, she would get out of the waters weakly, taking some time to climb out of it. She was relieved that Muramasa was not in the room logically, though in her heart she would yearn for him to be with her now. There was something about having a strong person to lean on during her weakest moments, but she understood that having him here worrying about her was perhaps not the best move, especially since he had brought his friend along with him.

Had they been alone...it would be a different story, she supposed.

Dressing herself in a black and purple silk dress that mirrored her kimono sans the many layers of the traditional clothing, she put her hair up in a lazy ponytail and adorned some gold crescent moon earrings. Checking in the mirror to make sure that there was no remnants of blood on her lips or her face, she would make her way back to the room where she had left Taki in moments ago. Opening the door, she would be surprised to find it empty. Perhaps they left...? She thought to herself, moving to another room with an open door. It was then that she heard voices, voices she knew could only belong to Taki and Muramasa.

Ah, they were on the balcony...

Shiina moved into the room, almost gliding into the room. Unlike the kimono, the dress she adorned now had a small train behind her, moving gracefully with her every step. As she made her way to the balcony, the woman would catch the last words Muramasa spoke about his goals being his sole priority. She couldn't help but give a small but sad smile, understanding full well even mid-conversation the context in which would prompt him to say such things. It didn't come to her as a surprise though, as he had been fully transparent about his motives, his convictions since they opened up to one another the first night.

"I apologize for keeping the both of you waiting..." her voice was soft and distant, as she made her presence known, her eyes avoiding any eye contact with Muramasa purposefully.

MADE BY MIZO

[Taki Okada]

Taki "Bakudan" Okada

A loser like you ain't got no guts!

The girl would hear the puppeteers' words stating she might need to be on the lookout for other candidates. "You know I don’t got that kinda time…” the girl would sigh. "But you might be right..shit man, but I kinda wonder what did you say to her?” with the rest of their conversation he’d tell her not to take her attitude towards her personally and that he too was given the same frosty reception as she was during their first encounter.

"I guess I’ll take ya woid for it…” the girl would lean over the railing looking out at the town waiting to hear the answer to his next question the history that the two of them had together, turns out she was right and if it was anything like she was thinking she felt a rock in the put of her stomach just thinking about it, this was the last thing she needed. "So it’s like dat…” the girl would think to herself. He’d harp back on like he always did about his goal being his top priority at least she knew he was consistent in his beliefs but she didn’t have much time to worry about all of this right now either.

As their conversation came to an end Shiina would make her presence known her head craned down as she apologized for keeping the two of us waiting. The girl would prop herself up and smile towards her. "Eyy, don’t worry abhat it, Fudo ere tells me dat uhh you might be interested in coming back wit us just to take a tour o da facilities.” the girl would say. "Sorry to hear you won’t be signing on board…” she’d say the professionalism in her voice was still apparent but was considerably more relaxed same with the mannerisms in how she carried herself.

"If’n you’re ready we’ve got a carriage waitin down stairs, it’ll be a bit of a ride back so we’d betta move.” she’d prepare herself to head off gesturing for the two of them to come along she was disappointed that she didn’t get the contract signed but was still somewhat gunning for a slightly positive outcome, maybe a taste of Kuwana culture might be enough to change her mind, she could only hope. Who knows maybe if they spent enough time around each other they could potentially become friends? It seemed like a long shot but only time will tell.

SPOILER: Click to show

MOVEMENT TECHNIQUES:



OFFENSIVE TECHNIQUES:

SUMMARY

SA's:

House of Fire

During Taki's training she learns that she has a significant amount of energy and after graduating to the rank of genin she began to learn how to properly make use of them under the tutelage of Midori Chizawa. As a result the girl is now able to perform a bevy of powerful techniques for longer periods of time without tiring as quickly as others.

[Heavyweight: Super Strength SA]

With the rigorous training that Taki's now able to throw down with the best of them boasting monstrous strength fitting for her professional wrestling background, having combined that with the training she performed at the academy has now made her able to performs ridiculous feats such as being able to crush stones in her grip causing concussions and snap bones with her powerful strikes and holds. Taki has also increased the amount of weight she is able to lift by a massive margin in a way that makes her an even more fearsome taijutsu practitioner than before.

[Wrestling Genius]

As a result of her training, and advancements as a genin. Taki's grappling ability has increased even further making her wrestling based techniques far more difficult to deal with and escape from. As a result, her slams, holds, submissions and suplex's are far more damaging and harder to escape from then that of a genin who is not trained in these particular abilities.

[Sage Mode]


✤ | Abilities (Imperfect Enhancement)
✤ Gorilla Grip [Grip Strength]

When transforming into Sage Mode Taki's body and overall Taijutsu prowess increase exponentially most notably her grip strength allowing her to take hold of someone with a painful amount of power amplifying her already proficient ability to grapple with an opponent making it significantly harder to be broken out of as well a deal a considerable amount of damage.

✤ | Abilities (Imperfect Enhancement)
✤ Gorilla Press [Natural Taijutsu]

When transforming into Sage Mode Taki's body Taki is able to use nature energy to harness her powers in order to make her more physically imposing than normal adding to her natural affinities with Taijutsu allowing her move faster and hit harder heavy items thus adding a good amount of power and heft to her attacks allowing her to snap bones with much less effort and outpace a good majority of her enemies with her monstrous charge.

✤ | Abilities (Imperfect Enhancement)
✤ The Immovable Force [Durability]

Due to the coarse strength of a gorilla's skin Taki is able to withstand a good amount of extra punishment allowing her to be able to withstand blows from most enemies that most shinobi wouldn't be able to normally withstand. As such blows from strong fighters are reduced by a considerable amount and when struck feel like colliding with a considerably immovable force.

412 WORDS

Ryuujin Shiina Muramasa Uemon

SHORT NOTE

deltra of gangnam style

[Muramasa Uemon]

Masamune fudo

Taking a final drag before turning the pipe in his fingers and tapping it over the balcony's side he shook his head in reply.

Time was important... but so was being prepared. "True, but we have to make sure we don't run off unprepared." Next she asked what he said to the woman. Turned out to be pretty simple. "I just asked if she'd like to visit the Land of Earth." Two birds, one stone he thought. Nobody got what they wanted entirely... which made it a good compromise. As for their meeting, Shiina and he hadn't exactly been frosty with one another. But both had been wholly untruthful with each other out of caution. Which proved to be smart as Uemon took his first life that night and she revealed herself to be more dangerous than anyone realized. Different than this meeting for certain... but still not quite a warm reception at first.

As he continued gazing into the distance a familiar voice interrupted any thoughts he was having.

Turning around he saw Shiina who seemed to be avoiding his gaze. "Did she hear?" He wondered for a moment, a slight sullenness creeping into his eyes. They had shared much. Understood each other's boundaries, goals, and feelings so nothing would be news... but he was no fool. Knowing something inside and hearing it said aloud were two very different things. "Nothing to apologize for." He replied quietly, leaning back against the railing as he stared. "Feeling any better?" Uemon knew she could take care of herself, but her treatment was not an easy process. From everything Oniishi had told them it was an ongoing ordeal. Hopefully the results would speak for themselves. Shiina absent her illness would be even more of a force to be reckoned with than she already was.

If the medicine would not outright cure her... hopefully it could significantly lessen her symptoms.

Eyes glanced to Taki as she spoke to the woman, telling her of their readiness to depart and of the trip back to Kuwana. Uemon remained silent, only folding his arms as he shifted his gaze between the two of them. "Do you have anything left to do here?" He would ask, just to be sure. It was a bit of a short notice and if she needed to she could always meet them there at some point. So far, there was still a chance that things might work out for Taki's plan. If not, she would have to source help from somewhere else. Surely there were others sympathetic to her plight. A little closer to home maybe?

Taki definitely had enough cousins... but if not them then there were always unruly for-hire types lurking about in the world.