Posts by warriorsaremyfavorite

Richie looked up at Master Katashi in awe. “Wow, Sensei, I never thought you’d get into trouble.”
Master Katashi chuckled. “You have no idea. Whenever Saburo came to the village, he managed to make a delinquent of me. Every other time, I was what you might call a ‘goody-two-shoes’.”
Saburo seems a lot like Jian, Shay thought absentmindedly, glancing at the Emperor. He folded his arms, still frowning unhappily. Frowning as well, she mentally added, well, when he’s in a better mood, he is.
Shay turned her attention back to Master Katashi, noticing the shinobi sneaking concerned glances Jian as well.
“Despite all the trouble he got us into, Saburo was a good friend,” Katashi admitted. “He always had some radical views, but I dismissed them. It was only later that I realized I should have noticed the signs.”
“What kind of signs? Stop signs?” Richie wondered, earning him a smack upside the head from Sev.

OOC: True. I still want to kill Anzelah.

IC: "You can't throw everything away for this!" Shay pressed. "Remember Xayin." She was too focused on convincing him to realize that if he didn't give into Kang, she would die. At this point, she really didn't care.

OOC: Drama drama drama. XD

OOC: I know, I know.... Hey, how much longer should we drag this out? Should Pride interrupt now?

Suddenly released, Shay fell to the ground. why'd he let me go? she briefly wondered, having not seen Kenny (almost called him Kenji for some dumb reason XD). Deciding not to stick around to give him another chance to use her as a hostage, she tried to get up, but was painfully reminded of her broken leg.

Pride staggered back, healing slowly. He felt strangely weak, and noticed it was taking longer than usual for his wounds to close. Surprised, he realized his stone was running out. I refuse to die like this, he thought angrily, before fighting back.

And, oblivious to the world, Naomi and the others continue to fight XD

Knowing he needed to give himself time to heal, and some sort of escape from the constant attacks, Pride reached for Crispin again with his shadows. He tried to keep Tess focused on fighting him so she wouldn't notice him grab Crispin.

OOC: It's kinda confusing trying to rp Pride. He's like the ultimate multi-tasker XD So if this doesn't make any sense, I'm sorry.

Katashi carefully dusted each mask that hung on the wall one by one. He got to the last one and chuckled, the familiar design bringing back memories. It was ironic that he was dusting the same masks he and Saburo got into trouble over about nine years before. Now, rather than cleaning the museum as a punishment, Katashi worked there in between his duties on the village council. If the artifacts ever fell over in a large domino effect again, he knew how to put it back together.
With the memories the mask brought back, Katashi found himself thinking about his wandering friend and wondering when they would meet again. It had been awhile since Saburo had last visited. Katashi could understand why, working as a council member over the entire Hamato clan would keep anyone busy. Although he wanted to see his friend again, Katashi had to admit it was easier to be promoted without the trouble Saburo managed to get them into.
“Did you actually manage to get in trouble without me? I’m proud of you,” a voice suddenly asked from behind Katashi. He jumped and turned around to see Saburo smirking at him. His smirk faded and Saburo sighed dramatically. “Now I’m less proud of you. You let me sneak up on you and I’m not even hiding my chi. You’re a ninja, a shinobi no less, you should be more attentive.”
Speak of the mogwai and he shall appear, Katashi thought as he rolled his eyes. “Not everyone is as hard to sneak up on as you, Saburo.”
“You mean not everyone is as amazing as I am,” Saburo bragged.
Shaking his head in exasperation, Katashi sarcastically remarked, “For some reason, I thought that arrogance of yours would have calmed down over the years.”
Saburo replied with a cocky grin, “Nope, I’m still as arrogant as ever!”
Deciding to change the subject, Katashi inquired, “It’s great to see you and all, but what are you doing here? Don’t you have important things to do in Ziben?”
“The emperor sent me out of the capital to go on a mission, and I thought I’d bring you along,” Saburo answered. “Apparently, some bankers are worried bandits will attack a shipment of gold that’s supposed to be coming in a few days.”
“And we’re supposed to make sure it gets there safely,” Katashi finished.
“Right,” Saburo confirmed. “So, I assume you’re coming?”
Katashi nodded, “Of course I’m coming. When do we leave?”
“Right now. The village is a fair distance away and I already wasted time coming here to get you, so we need to hurry,” Saburo explained as he headed for the door. Katashi followed, and the two began the journey to the next village.

The trip to the next village was uneventful. He knew they were in a hurry, but Katashi was still surprised Saburo didn’t stop to cause trouble anywhere. Katashi couldn’t help but think the wanderer seemed uncharacteristically focused; he wasn’t joking around as frequently. Without anything to distract them, it didn’t take long to arrive at the town where the gold shipment was waiting.
Once they arrived at the bank, the guards took them to meet the supervisor. He sat at his desk, dutifully filling out various forms of paperwork before he noticed them. He gestured for them to approach as he said, “Thank you for coming, I’m Chin of the Han Clan. There has been a lot of bandit activity lately; we need all the help we can get.”
“It’s a pleasure to be of assistance,” Katashi replied with a slight bow. “I’m Katashi and this is my companion, Saburo.” Saburo nodded slightly in greeting upon being introduced.
Chin stood and spoke, “Come, let’s go outside and I’ll explain the situation in more detail.” Once outside, Katashi and Saburo waited for the supervisor to explain, but Chin just looked around the empty room in confusion. After a few moments, he turned to face the ninjas and questioned, “Where’s the rest of the men you brought with you?”
“What other men?” Saburo asked dryly, raising an eyebrow.
Katashi shrugged apologetically. “It’s just us.”
Looking at the two of them, Chin’s face noticeably reddened and his hands clenched with barely contained anger. It was clear to Katashi that the supervisor was not very pleased that the Emperor only sent two men.
As if confirming Katashi’s thoughts, the supervisor said through gritted teeth, “Only two men? Does the Emperor think so lowly of us that he can only spare two men to help protect this shipment from an army of bandits?”
Although Katashi could tell Saburo was offended, he miraculously managed to keep his reply civil. “Are we not enough for you? I assure you, the Emperor sent the best men for the job.”
The supervisor sighed, clearly not placated. “It’ll have to be enough. We don’t have any more time.”
“Glad you see reason,” Saburo replied with a smirk. Katashi glared at his friend as if attempting to will him to be nicer.
Ignoring Saburo’s comment, the supervisor explained the details of their assignment to the ninjas and directed them to where they needed to go.
It took a few moments for Katashi and Saburo to convince the guards it was best they ride on the top of the truck that carried the gold. The ninjas explained riding on top of the truck would allow them to counter any bandits that arrived faster than they could if they had to stop and get out of one of the cars following. They conveniently left out that they also wanted to ride separately so the two of them could talk without worrying about revealing the existence of the Hamato Clan.
On the roof of the truck, the two ninjas sat in silence as the wind whipped around them. Although Saburo had been the one to suggest sitting on the roof of the truck to avoid the guards hearing their secrets, the wanderer didn’t say anything. Katashi glanced at Saburo every now and then, practically feeling the frustration emanating from him. He tried to distract himself by looking at the scenery passing by. Although he found the countryside of Xayin beautiful, it wasn’t long until he couldn’t stand it anymore and asked, “What’s bothering you? I’ve never seen you so frustrated.”
Saburo was visibly surprised for a moment before his face became an impassive mask again. “Nothing is bothering me. What gave you that idea?”
Unconvinced, Katashi replied, “Don’t lie to me. It’s written all over your chi.”
“What are you talking about? Since when is emotion written on chi?” Saburo questioned, trying to change the subject.
“Just answer me. What’s the problem?” Katashi persisted.
Saburo was silent for a moment, as if he were deciding whether or not he wanted to tell his friend. With a sigh, he finally admitted, “I suggested something to the rest of the council, and they didn’t like the idea.”
“Well, what was the idea?” Katashi inquired.
“It doesn’t matter now,” Saburo insisted, attempting to convince Katashi to drop the subject.
“Maybe I could talk to the council back at the village about it, but to do that, you have to tell me,” Katashi coerced.
Although he was clearly tempted to tell Katashi, Saburo hesitated. “Alright,” he caved, “I wanted to let the public know about the Hamato Clan. We do a lot for them, and it’s only fair that they know they have us to thank. We deserve the praise.”
Katashi was taken aback. He tried to formulate a response, but struggled. Now he wished he hadn’t prodded so much. “But, Saburo… that’s not the purpose of the clan. It’s about fulfilling our duty to the emperor and the people of Xayin. We don’t need any praise for doing what we’re supposed to.”
Saburo sighed, “That’s what the council said too. I knew you’d agree with them. None of you understand.”
“What do you mean?” Katashi asked slowly.
“I’m just tired of hiding. You wouldn’t understand because you grew up as a ninja. I had to lie to my family constantly. I left them without even saying goodbye because I couldn’t stand lying to them anymore. My whole life has been full of secrets and lies for the Hamato Clan.” With a scornful sneer, he added, “All for fulfilling my duty to the emperor and the people of Xayin.”
“But you chose to be part of the Hamato Clan,” Katashi reminded.
“I didn’t realize how hard it would be,” the wanderer retorted. "There's not exactly a disclosure statement for being a ninja."
Katashi fell silent, unsure how to reply. He couldn’t pretend this information wasn’t a shock; Saburo had never been open about his past. Admittedly, Katashi had never thought to ask. The wanderer had just appeared in the village one day and the two quickly became friends, and that was it. Finally, Katashi humbly began, “I didn’t know—”
Saburo held up a finger to interrupt him before saying, “The bandits are coming.”
Focusing for a moment, Katashi sensed the oncoming bandits Saburo warned him about. There was a group ahead of them and another coming from behind. Counting the bandits, Katashi informed Saburo, "I think there's about... fifteen?"
"No, there's twenty. Ten in each group," Saburo corrected. Pointing behind the truck, he said, "You take care of them, and I'll take the other group."
"Got it," Katashi replied before jumping to the ground. He landed carefully to avoid injury. He caught a brief glimpse of the shocked expression of one of the drivers and chuckled to himself. When he noticed a car on the other side swerved, he couldn't help but imagine Saburo making a show of himself.
It was easier than Katashi anticipated to dispatch the ten bandits. The two cars driving side by side skidded to a halt when the drivers saw him standing in the middle of the road. They could have easily ran him over, but must have been too shocked by his boldness to consider the option. Before the bandits could continue past him, Katashi drew his sword and lunged it through the window of one car, immediately killing the driver. Just as expected, the other bandits climbed out of the cars to avenge their comrade. Within minutes, it was clear they never stood a chance against the ninja and were all dead on the road.
Katashi took a moment to clean his blade before sheathing it and calmly climbing in the driver’s seat of the empty vehicle. Before long, he caught up with the transport, which was stopped by a barricade set up by the other group of bandits.
He parked the car and got out to see Saburo finishing off the last of the bandits. He saw Katashi approaching, then turned away again. "We should get going," Saburo stated. "There might be more." Katashi would have expected a snarky comment--something about them winning--but obviously their previous conversation hadn't left Saburo in a good mood. He headed back to the transport, and Katashi followed with a sigh.
The rest of the trip was uneventful. They arrived at the bank, and helped secure the gold. Saburo remained silent the whole time. Katashi could tell he was still angry, and was starting to wonder if for some reason he was angry at him. As they were leaving the bank, he decided it was best to ask. “About earlier…”
Saburo cut him off with a dismissive wave. “Don’t worry about it. I was just ranting.”
“If you say so,” Katashi muttered, unconvinced.
“Look, I should probably be getting back to Ziben. I have a lot to do, and this trip has already taken longer than I planned,” Saburo informed him.
“Alright. I guess I’ll see you later,” Katashi replied awkwardly.
The two ninjas went their separate ways. As he traveled alone, Katashi couldn’t keep his mind off of Saburo. He was both worried he had angered his friend, and worried that his views were taking him in the wrong direction. He’s only ranting, he tried to reassure himself, but he couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling that something wasn’t right.

OOC: XD sorry, I was going to add something on my last post, but forgot. I have such a hard time remembering both characters.

IC: Shay found herself smashed against the ground, pinned once again by Kang. Grumbling, she tried to free herself. She tried pushing herself up, but he was obviously stronger.

OOC: Why not? XD This is fun.

IC: The minute Jian agreed to go with Kang, Shay was filled with dread. She protested, but Jian ignored her. (She's protesting somewhere in the middle of that conversation...) After hearing Kang call her worthless, she fell silent, unable to deny any longer how worthless she felt. Frustrated and angry with herself, she suddenly felt like crying, which only made her feel worse.

Sloth stared at them silently as they discussed what to do, and moved Crispin. Then, unexpectedly, he turned away and started to lumber off, muttering, "what a pain..."

5 years later
A knock on the door sounded through the house. Katashi opened it, discovering an older unfamiliar man standing outside. “Are you Katashi?” the man asked before Katashi could say anything.
“Yes…” Katashi responded slowly, wondering what the man wanted.
“I am Zhen of the Hamato clan,” the man introduced with a slight bow. “I came to offer you a seat on the clan council.”
Surprised, Katashi wasn’t sure what to say. He knew it wasn’t every day a position opened up on the council, and it was shocking that out of all the ninjas throughout the country, they had chosen him. Hey, I could work with Saburo, he realized.
“Well?” Zhen asked, reminding Katashi he hadn’t said anything yet.
Gratefully bowing, he told Zhen, “I would be honored.”
“Very well. Report to the council on Monday. They’ll work out the details then,” Zhen instructed, and then bid him farewell. Katashi stood in the doorway for a minute, contemplating what had just happened. Well… that was… sudden, he thought, before heading back inside, in search for his wife, Kaori, to tell her the good news.
As if she had read his mind, she appeared from the kitchen, a curious expression on her face. “Who was that?” she asked him.
“A man from Ziben,” Katashi replied, “he came to offer me a job.”
She seemed a bit surprised. “A job? What job?” she asked.
Katashi grinned, unable to hide his excitement. "A position on the clan council," he announced.
Kaori smiled, now more surprised and a bit excited herself. “Really? That’s great!”
Katashi nodded enthusiastically. “We’ll have to move to the capital though. They want me to go there on Monday to discuss details.”
“Monday? That’s really short notice. I should probably tell my parents, oh and his parents too; he’ll probably forget. I’ve always wanted to see the capital!” Kaori turned back and told her husband, “This is exciting!” Then she wandered into the house, still muttering to herself about stuff she needed to do.

A few weeks passed, and everything was settled. Katashi and his wife started packing, and soon the moving day arrived. Backing up from placing another stack of boxes in the back of the truck, he started back for the door when he noticed Kaori coming out with a couple boxes. Hurrying to her, he took the boxes from her, saying, “Oh no, you can’t help load. These are heavy, you need to be careful.”
She sighed and rolled her eyes. “I’m pregnant, not disabled. Besides, I’m still a ninja. I can handle carrying a few boxes.”
He pushed the boxes into the truck with the others and turned back. “Just let me be overprotective, will you? I’m still trying to get used to the idea.”
Smiling at him, she shook her head slightly. “I can carry the little ones, at least. It’s not fair you have to pack the whole house on your own,” she pressed.
Katashi was about to reply, when he heard his name from behind. He turned to see Saburo approaching. He smiled and waved to his friend, and started toward him. Pausing, he turned back and pointed at Kaori as if scolding a little child. “No loading while I’m not looking,” he commanded, and then turned back to Saburo. He heard her laugh as he greeted his friend.
“Are you moving?” Saburo asked, glancing at the half-packed truck curiously.
“Yeah, to Ziben,” Katashi confirmed.
“Ziben? Why?” Saburo asked.
Katashi grinned. “I got offered a seat on the clan council! We can work together now,” he told his friend, expecting him to be excited. Saburo looked shocked at first, but then his expression shifted to anger. Katashi’s smile faded, now a bit confused. “Something wrong?” Saburo just stared at him, his anger so obvious it seemed to be flowing off of him. “Saburo?”
“You stole my job!” Saburo suddenly snapped.
Katashi blinked in surprise. “What?”
Kaori came to stand next to her husband. “Everything okay?” she asked.
“Who’s this?” Saburo demanded rudely.
Katashi glanced at his wife, and then back at his friend, suddenly feeling uncomfortable as he realized he forgot to tell Saburo he had gotten married. “Uh… this is my wife, Kaori. Kaori, this is an old friend of mine, Saburo.”
“You got married, and didn’t even mention it to me?” Saburo asked indignantly. Katashi scrambled to explain, but Saburo cut him off. “Whatever the reason is, I don’t care. Don’t worry about it. It doesn’t matter. I’ve got things to do.” With that, he turned and walked away, leaving Katashi staring after him in confusion.
“What was that about?” Kaori asked after a moment of silence.
Katashi sighed. “I’m not sure.”
Kaori looked just as confused as he felt. “That was a friend of yours?” Katashi nodded. “Didn’t seem that way.”
“Things have been… interesting lately,” Katashi admitted. “Saburo’s not the easiest person to get along with sometimes.”
Glancing back in the direction Saburo left, Kaori agreed, “Yeah, I noticed.”
After a moment, Katashi put his worries about Saburo aside, and forced a smile. “Let’s not worry about it. We’ve still got a move to complete.”
Kaori smiled. “And I’ve still got to convince you I can carry boxes.”

After a long, suspenseful wait, a doctor approached them. Glancing over the group, he pauses, looking just a bit confused. Then, addressing nobody in particular, he asked, "are you Crispin's family?"

Looking a bit relieved, the doctor nodded. "You're brother has a pretty severe head injury. He's stable, but it will probably be a while before he wakes up. We won't know the full extent of the damage until then." He paused to let this sink in and see if they had any questions. He was sure they would.

"It's hard to say," the doctor replied. " he has some brain damage, but what it would effect we aren't sure yet. There are many possibilities."

Ooc: I'm just making up crap XD I think thT makes sense, right?

Ooc: k. That's what I figured.

Ic: the doctor shook his head slightly. "I honestly can't give you a time range. I'm sorry. I wish I could give you more information."

The doctor turned to leave, and then he remembered he had a question of his own. "Could you tell me what happened to him?"

"Interesting," the doctor muttered. He couldn't help but think Crispin's injury seemed like it would have taken a little more than falling from a tree to cause it. "well, I will let you know if he changes."

"Sure," the doctor agreed. "I'll show you to his room."

OOC: I don't think the doctor knew everyone was there for Crispin XD