A Chance Encounter (Hisashi/Invite Only)

Today was just another day on her scheduled patrol. Stopping illegal hunting for sport, preventing forest fires, stopping rather unsavory crimes the city folk would come out into the woods to perform in an attempt to cover up their tracks, etc. Seventeen, almost eighteen years into this Hisashi had become something of an urban legend to the people in the smaller villages within the woods and around the lookout where she spent most of her time silently watching from the underbrush or from the tops of particularly tall trees. The telling signs of the nearby 'guardian' passed around through word of mouth by these small villages was a sudden quieting of the wind. Or vice versa, should the wind already have been quiet on that day. The latter sign would occur as the wind began to pick up, the leaves and branches of trees moving in the opposite direction Hisashi was facing in her chosen place to scout the area from. It was unclear how she had reached such a high place considering her appearance. Exceptionally long, light silver hair traveling down to below her waist and a white, long-sleeved shirt with detached sleeves and a large white skirt with black and red designs starting from the waist reaching down towards the bottom of the skirt where it was still mostly white. Around her waist was a black belt with a square buckle part of a harness that disappeared underneath the belt. The straps of the harness looped up over her shoulders and again disappeared underneath her belt. Her detached sleeves were were held to her arms only by the upper-arm just a little above the elbow as especially after the elbow they appeared loose fitting and left free to move with the wind or with every movement Hisashi made. There were little slots near the bottom of the detached sleeves with a red ribbon looped through them and completely around it to give the would-be straight white sleeves a more appealing and pleasant to look at design.


Seeing the smoke of a fire not too far away Hisashi stepped off the branch she balanced on and landed gracefully in the shade of the tree, dropping to a knee for just a brief second as most people knew that a straight fall would likely not end well for one's ankles or even the whole leg. Hisashi looked off in the direction she had seen the smoke and began smelling at the air, catching the scent of cooked meat giving her a clue that this fire was still active. Her gut and other such instincts did not warn her that this could be a dangerous encounter so she nodding reassuringly to herself and began to walk towards the source of the smoke she had seen and the scent she had picked up. With the way the light hit her through the thick layer of leaves above her made by the seemingly never-ending expanse of trees made it a little more clear why simpler people would consider her an urban legend. Something not normal, or from a more open-minded perspective something they're not used to in their everyday lives. There was certainly something about her that set her aside from the rest, but it wasn't anything enough to deem her fit to be used as a parental scare tactic or other such fictional things. She was just a regular elemi with a desire to protect the natural beauty of the eastern islands.



She knew nothing of the tales people made up about her as she had been mostly secluded for the past year haven given up on her aspirations to be some holy knight that would protect the entire planet. Armored to the teeth, wielding some mythical weapon, and striking down evil where ever it may appear. Now though, her expectations were far lower and she had given up on those dreams long ago. She would certainly strike down evil where ever it appeared, but only if it stepped onto her territory and threatened it with it's presence. She may be a little more lenient towards a passerby, but so much as a piece of bark stripped off a tree by a clearly evil individual and there would be very little negotiating. Whether this was exaggerating or not some could see it as irrational to be so overprotective of such a thing, and Hisashi would agree but that would still not change a thing. This was the only home she had and she did not have plans to leave it or let it be harmed.


Soon the air elemi would step into Katsurou's little makeshift campsite. The presence of the man was no surprise as she had anticipated someone would be here near the fire, however she was still curious of his reasons for being there as she had never seen him camping out here before. Assuming he would remain in a sleep-like state despite her presence she would quietly examine the camp, the man, and especially his weapon. There was a sort of evilness to it that rubbed her the wrong way but she didn't detect anything from the man. The man himself seemed like a normal swordsman to her so she disregarded any gut feelings about his weapon. After her curiosity was as sated as it could be from simple examinations she spoke up. "Hello."  In the last year her voice didn't seem to have changed at all. If anything had changed, it was her clothing yet only slightly, the way she held her weapon and most noticeably the obscene length of her hair. Of course these changes wouldn't be changes to Katsurou should he wake up as he hadn't met Hisashi up until this point, but regardless.


WC: 958
PL: 30,724/15,362 Reduced by 75% due to Heavy WC making it 7,681/3,840
+Mansion (50%) +Heavy WC (75% PL) +Elemi Hybrid (5% PL)

"I've eaten today thank you." Hisashi responded, keeping a polite tone despite the stranger being a grumpy geezer towards her. It wasn't uncommon for someone to speak to her in such a tone initially.. Unless they were a woman for some reason, which this man clearly was not. He was definitely a full grown-man built as an experienced swordsman should be. These thoughts only continued to peak Hisashi's curiosity about the stranger. She had seen fellow elemi and she had seen a majin, or as she still calls them due to never learning the name of their species: 'bubblegum people'. Katsurou was clearly not made of bubblegum and there was no natural element about him that Hisashi could detect through a bit of focusing. He certainly seemed like he had the right temper to be a fire elemi, though. But unless he suddenly relights his campfire and kept it going by shooting flames at it Hisashi was going to remain at least ninety-percent sure that he was something other than a saiyan, elemi, or bubblegum person. "If I had to pay for food which I don't as I am not hungry, I would offer you a better place to stay. Staying out in the wilderness can be troublesome these days as there seems to be a severe lack of actual law enforcement in the nearby cities." Hisashi was not about to go on about her opinion of huge civilizations as she would certainly put the old geezer back to sleep. There was no need to say how she would pay for food should she actually need it but she thought it might strike up a bit more conversation so that she may learn more about this newcomer to the wilderness of the eastern islands.


Hisashi watched as the man narrowed his eyes at her, seemingly in disbelief at who he was looking at. This wouldn't be the first time someone was surprised by how young Hisashi appeared either, despite how geared up she looked. In reality she was still quite young at the nice old age of seventeen. She was by no means a tall girl and was in fact just a bit below the average height for her age and gender. The air elemi watched the man's every move, especially the one he made to grip the handle of his sword. Hisashi had narrowed her own eyes for just a brief second and fought the temptation to grip the hilt of her own weapon. There was no need for such hostilities though and she lacked the proper demons Katsurou had to think against such rational reasoning. "No, I am not here to beg. In relation I said about there being no proper law enforcement in the cities.. I am the law, sort of. I dispose of bandits and put out fires that aren't properly put out. I smelled meat and came to check if you were hunting for the sake of eating or hunting for the sake of sport. The latter isn't exactly allowed out here." Hisashi explained properly, the canine ears on her head twitching to bring a bit of attention to them so it would make more sense as to how she was able to smell Katsurou's food from the distance she had been at before.


The young wolf zoanthrope would keep on taking a glance at Katsurou's weapon. The more hostile the man seemed to become the stronger that evil presence she had felt before became. The orb hidden within the same cloth her weapon was wrapped up in even vibrated.. Not enough to be visible, but Hisashi could feel it if she focused on it. Something was off, but her gut nor her other instincts were sending off red flags that this man might be a danger to her. "I disturbed you because I was curious about you especially after I noticed your sword. Are you a swordsman? Who did you train under?" Hisashi asked as for all she knew the only two people that trained others in the way of swordsmanship were the knights on the lookout if they even still existed and Hisashi's own father.


Hisashi stared back at the man as he stared at her. He appeared irritated which was understandable. She could definitely get behind being angry when woken up from a decent nap but she did not take this as a sign of a fight about to initiate. The air elemi would remain completely still as well, waiting for the same thing Katsurou was. She did not anticipate that something like that would happen but she knew it would be wiser to be on her defensive despite how non-hostile Katsurou seemed to her.

WC: 783
PL: 30,724/15,362 Reduced by 75% due to Heavy WC making it 7,681/3,840

+Mansion (50%) +Heavy WC (75% PL) +Elemi Hybrid (5% PL)

Hisashi's eyes narrowed when Katsurou not only made a negative remark about her authority, but her skills with a sword as well. "I would be more than willing to prove myself to you through actions rather than pointless words if that is what you wish." The air elemi responded coldly, her brow furrowed making an irritated expression. The wolf zoanthrope would begin to pull the apparent bundle of black cloth kept tied together by a thin red rope off of her back. She found the edge of the cloth where the roll ended and tugged at it gently, the rope and cloth easily coming undone as if she had set it up so that it would be easy to undo if she were suddenly attacked. She was clearly set on fighting if this 'Ronin' insisted on being disrespectful without a real need to be. "I protect the natural beauty of these lands with my life. Those who come here with no hostile intent are under my protection until they leave. Those who come here with ill intent are killed. You clearly came here with no ill intent and so I hold nothing against you but I will happily prove myself to you in the form of a friendly spar." The air elemi would explain why she had drawn her weapon. If Katsurou were truly a Ronin like he said, he may understand her need to take this action a bit better.


Despite having her weapon drawn Hisashi would maintain a non-combat stance. She stood relaxed, her weapon still tight in her grip as Katsurou went in and came out of the bushes with her eyes still narrowed and focused onto the old geezer. Her weapon stayed in her hand even when Katsurou sheathed his own weapon. Hisashi couldn't accept a simple apology. If the man required an example of her skill despite her appearance than she would be more than willing to provide just that. "My age and size don't account for my abilities as a swordswoman and a guardian. With your apparent age and proclaimed skill I would assume you were quite smart. But you would be a bit of a fool to think that I'm not experienced enough to take you on in a fair little sparring match." Hisashi responded, the remark toward her age and size making her only tighten her grip around the handle of Eurus. The wind would seemingly pick up along with her temper. Keeping her cool was turning out to be harder than she thought it would be.


When Katsurou's entire demeanor had changed, it seemed to surprise Hisashi enough that she seemed to forget what made her so irritated. She relaxed her grip and wrapped her weapon back up in it's cloth, securing it onto her back with a sigh. Once she finished taking some deep breaths, calming her temper as well as the winds which had started to become a little more aggressive whenever they breezed by, the young swordswoman returned Katsurou's gesture. "Hisashi Ikuto.. My father trained me, as well. But during these last two years I have been mostly self-taught." Hisashi introduced herself properly, once again feeling calm. Calm enough that it showed in her tone.

WC: 537

PL: 30,724/15,362 Reduced by 75% due to Heavy WC making it 7,681/3,840

+Mansion (50%) +Heavy WC (75% PL) +Elemi Hybrid (5% PL)

Hisashi went and sat down near Katsurou's fire, taking a space next to him sitting with her legs crossed and her hands shoved in her lap. "Sort of.. I have a little trouble controlling my temper sometimes. I didn't intend to react the way I did to a little bit of verbal potshots." The air elemi shrugged and sighed, staring into the fire. While Katsurou stared into the forest she manipulated the wind to make the fire move about trying to make certain shapes without putting the thing out entirely. It was a strange means of entertainment but it seemed to work and it made for halfway decent practice.


"There hasn't been a genuine threat, yet.. Just bandits and thugs which can be easily dealt with. Even by a small, not quite adult girl. It gets boring sometimes." Hisashi sighed, using the wind to split the fire down the middle without putting it out making it kind of look like a weird claw shape. "It's family tradition to protect the eastern islands.. My mother did it before I did. My father says she died giving birth to me but sometimes I have my doubts about that. My father chose to carry on the tradition until I was still decently young and he then passed it to me after teaching me most of the things I know." The wolf zoanthrope explained while she manipulated the wind and thus the fire to create a sort of ring shape. "My father was always more of a knight instead of a samurai like my mother. Her maiden name.. My last name in particular belonged to a family that was pretty well known for the samurai stuff. I never really learned much about it, though. My dad isn't too knowledgeable about the culture and lessons and all things associated.." The air elemi swallowed hard and quit manipulating the fire, looking to the side towards Katsurou figuring a pause would be a good idea so he could process what she was saying.


"I used to favor wielding two swords at a time but I didn't like the lack of defense and I can easily get more power out of having both my hands on the handle of a single weapon. My father favored wielding bigger, heavier weapons so I had to make some alterations to his teachings to fit my preferred style of fighting." Hisashi explained when asked about how her training worked. It might've been a little more complicated than that but she wanted to put it as simply as she could. Adapting power-based, slower striking sword stances into ones that worked for more speed-based and no less hard hitting strikes was no easy thing to explain. "It's.. hard to explain through words. I have to apply my teachings to more than just how I use my swords." Unwrapping her weapon again, Hisashi held it up where Katsurou could see it should he turn to face towards her. "This was my mother's.. 'sword'. It's not like anything I've ever wielded though and I only recently got my hands on it. I'm more used to straight-edged swords but it's still interesting figuring out the effective ways to take advantage of the curved blade, how light the weapon is, and how long the weapon is. Of course bandits never make for very good target dummies and trees can't exactly act like moving targets."

WC: 566
PL: 30,724/15,362 Reduced by 75% due to Heavy WC making it 7,681/3,840
+Mansion (50%) +Heavy WC (75% PL) +Elemi Hybrid (5% PL)

"I do not think it will take that long to pick up on how to use a katana.. Maybe knowing how to use straight-edged swords will make the process just a little shorter." Hisashi responded, trying to look at this whole 'specialized training' thing a little more optimistically to make it seem less intimidating. She took a good look at her own weapon, having only used it once or twice as a scare tactic and using her elemi powers over actually using it out of fear she may wind up dead for misusing it. It worked on bandits and other unsavory individuals but it probably wouldn't work on someone that was.. higher up on the food chain, so to say. Looking away from her weapon and back at Katsurou Hisashi nodded at his request. "That is a simple enough favor to pay off. It is just me and my father living in our home and we have plenty of unused rooms as well as an area where he and I used to train before I decided to stick to self-training." The wolf girl explained, knowing the training area would be something that Katsurou might just take interest in.


Hisashi waited for Katsurou to put some distance between them before attempting one of her own stances. Holding the blade in a reverse grip and standing with her left foot out in front of her, her right foot behind it slightly. It didn't take long for the stance to feel wrong though, as she originally used it back when she still favored using two weapons, one for either hand. The blade wasn't heavy enough to warrant her using a stance she had seen her father use while wielding a bigger and broader weapon so she shook her head, choosing instead to take a casual non-combat stance as she waited for instruction. "Utilizing the light weight of the blade and the length of it to it's full potential would certainly be a nice skill to have. What sort of stances are the basic ones?" The air elemi asked while she waited.

WC: 348

PL: 30,724/15,362 Reduced by 75% due to Heavy WC making it 7,681/3,840

+Mansion (50%) +Heavy WC (75% PL) +Elemi Hybrid (5% PL)

Hisashi mimicked Katsurou's movements for the most part. Listening intently to his every word as if her life depended on it.. Which it kinda did. These instructions may determiner whether or not she comes out alive in the next fight she ends up in. However, despite listening so intently the little wolf girl was quick to begin experimenting. Starting in high stance with her hands level with her head, her sword held out in front of her. She made a face at the stance, disliking how open it left the front of her torso. She tried bringing her hands down to her chest and then lower but that put the stance closer to what Katsurou had told her was the medium stance and that still left the front of her torso somewhat open. For her second idea she twisted the blade in her grip and took one of her hands off it, putting it out in front of her and turning her torso so it was facing to the side away from Katsurou. Immediately the experimental stance felt awkward and she dropped back into a casual, non-combat stance. "They all have their advantages and disadvantage but they all share one that my father told me was not a disadvantage one should take likely. It seems medium would only need a small change to be rid of it." The air elemi brought her free hand up and motioned towards her torso. "The smaller the target, the better. With the high stance the entire width of my torso is exposed to attacks and it is likely a stance I wouldn't ever think of using in a fight." To show an example of what she meant by it being easiest to fix medium stance she went into it but slowly turned her torso to the side, putting her right foot in front of her putting the bottom of the hilt level with her waist and gripping it with her left hand while her right hand remained just under the guard of the katana keeping it steady and aimed for Katsurou's torso. "This way I'm a smaller target and my defense is that much better. It also will be easier to step in and out of an engagement or clash."


She then switched back to the high stance. "This stance is horrible, in my honest opinion. I don't doubt your experience so you've surely learned to adjust to it's vulnerabilities and use it to its maximum offensive potential but I feel there's something more suited to my preferred style of combat while keeping the offensive potential you described almost fully intact." Bringing the blade up so the handle was level with er forehead Hisashi turned the upper half of her body to the side facing towards the blade and away from Katsurou. The blade was positioned higher up and both of her hands were gripping the handle tightly. The stance felt more solid and she was able to remain perfectly still staring intently ahead towards her new mentor. "My body is a smaller target but I am still able to initiate combat with this stance and sustain a frontal assault without leaving my torso and head as a big bulls-eye for an experienced opponent should I come to face one." Hisashi then went back to a more casual stance, standing waiting for what Katsurou thought of her ideas for better more efficient stances that would have better overall defense. "Versus bandits and less experienced opponents I have no doubt your stances would be perfect.. But if someone as skilled as some of the people I have met came around and weren't on the side of good, they would certainly take advantage of all the flaws you mentioned. I think with my ideas we'll at least be smaller targets to attacks and have an easier time moving."

WC: 642
PL: 30,724/15,362 Reduced by 75% due to Heavy WC making it 7,681/3,840
+Mansion (50%) +Heavy WC (75% PL) +Elemi Hybrid (5% PL)

"Ko Gasumi No Kamae.." Hisashi repeated to herself, nodding her head. It was named in the same way that some of the attacks passed down by her parents were. It made it a little more clear that Hisashi's mother had wielded the blade the wolf girl currently held. "Reminds me of Kaze no Iku and Kongōsōha." Hisashi added, giving her sword a practice swing going downwards at an angle. The wind whipped against the blade without needing to be swung so hard and that was perfectly suited to Hisashi's needs. Just the sort of weapon she had been looking for. She then shifted back into the combat stance that Katsurou was mirroring, bending her knees just as he was. With her knees bent, an already sturdy build felt a lot more stable. "Well.. Scabbard is going to be an issue. When I was given the sword it did not come with one. It was apparently lost so I simply wrapped it up in some cloth and kept it bundled up with some thin rope. But I do have an alternative means of defending myself when my sword won't do the trick." She began to weave her blade back and forth, the wind and air seemingly moving around her blade forming a kind of barrier around it. The way it appeared visible was like vibrations in there air.. Like staring down a long road on a hot day. The visible air formed a sort of barrier around the blade. If she smacked someone with the blade now she most likely planned to blast them away with a gust of wind. Once she knew Katsurou had gotten a good look she dispelled the air from around the blade.


"I often use abilities like the one I just showed you to either finish someone off non-lethally or finish them off maybe a little too lethally depending on my mood. My temper often gets the best of me but I know that no one is going to miss a random, no-life and murderous bandit or two." Hisashi explained, sounding cold. Taking a life was a very serious thing to her. Even if it were just a bandit that hadn't done anything good for anyone. To judge whether someone lives or dies is a huge responsibility, but in recent times she has become hardened towards any guilt that may assault her conscience. "I'm rarely in a situation where I don't just finish an opponent off, though. I just prefer to kill out of necessity or as a punishment and not out of anger because I let my temper get the better of me."


Even though she had no scabbard to properly mimic Katsurou's unsheathing strike, Hisashi put her sword to her side and held her palm against the pommel of the hilt. Once again, visible air began to surround the length of the blade and once completely covered she gripped the handle of the blade tightly and took her palm off the pommel. Swinging outwards hard, her sword whipping through the wind she had generated and sending it forwards towards Katsurou. Since it was just the wind on it's own and not the actual blade, Katsurou would only be hit with a potentially unpleasant gust of wind. By the time the wind would even reach him it would have already been dying down and so the most it would do is move his clothes and hair after applying a light amount of force to his chest where it would have originally 'hit'.


"I'm familiar with meditation. I usually use it to keep my temper in check." Hisashi nodded and got onto her knees, just as Katsurou did. She put her sword in front of her with her hands open-palm on it. "I haven't ever done it with my weapons, though.." She added quietly as she shut her eyes and focused on her weapon. Taking deep but steady breathes as she focused on any potential connections she might be able to establish.


WC: 668
PL: 30,724/15,362 Reduced by 75% due to Heavy WC making it 7,681/3,840
+Mansion (50%) +Heavy WC (75% PL) +Elemi Hybrid (5% PL)