Ichigoichie "One time, One meeting"

[Firehead]

Kentata let out a sigh of relief when they lowered their weapons. He had been pretty sure of what he was doing, but that didn't mean he was free of concern. It seemed the rest of this delivery would be a simple affair for him though the question of just what he was delivering did spring to mind. He certainly wasn't going to ask the question though. He suddenly heard the sound of blood splattering and turned to see the kikai standing over the dead man.

"Oh shi..." He didn't have time to finish the declaration of annoyance before one of the ronin charged him. He tried to reach for his kanaba, but the assailent was too quick. With too little time to grab his weapon he almost reflexively brought the only other thing in his possession that could stop the blade in the way. The sword bit deep into the wood and he lost his grip on it. The wooden box tumbled through the air as it toppled down into the dirt below bursting open to spread its contents for anyone to see. Panties? This had to be the most cocked up job he'd ever been on. Someone comes in to attack the ronin just as he's about to be lead in, so now they think he was just a distraction for her, and the package was scented fucking panties?!?

There was a bit of an edge to his voice he couldn't quite contain as he tried to keep himself from getting into a fight that wasn't any of his damn business. "Look man, I don't know what her deal is, but we're not together. I was just here to make this stupid little delivery. Now my cargo is all over the dirt road, so I'd suggest you stop hassling me and help your friend on the ground there." He considered drawing his kanaba in case the man still thought he was with her, but he doubted the aggressive action would do much but make him more suspicious, so he simply held his hands up in clear view.

[FragranceofMtDew]

Izumi would be grinning pretty widely right now if this whole situation hadn't gotten so weird all of a sudden. Just like she had planned, the surprise and momentum of her sliding down the cliff had meant the poor ronin never stood a chance against her blade and even when his friends came to help, she had just smacked the sword right out of his hands. She had her captive to give her the information she wanted, but suddenly she found herself staring at a box of panties scattered all over the road. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" Izumi found herself asking in disbelief, her blank stare moving from the scented underwear to the man who had been carrying them, briefly wondering if she should have just let the ronin rob him.

Eventually, she snapped out of it though, keeping her sword firmly pressed against the ronin's neck, applying enough pressure that he would feel pain but not so much as to draw any blood. "Right, I don't know what the hell you guys are up to, and I frankly don't care. I'm hear to collect on a bounty for your boss. So you're gonna tell me where your boss is, what they look like, and how many of your pals are still with them. And if I like what I hear, you won't end up like your dead friend over there. Are we clear?" Izumi asks her captive in a calm tone, deciding it's best for her sanity to ignore the pantie matter. She would still keep a close eye on the perv and the other ronin though, just in case they tried something on her.

[VintageBass]

It's certainly said something about Nori's timing. She always tend to have quite the rather supernatural ability to show up at the right moments, whether it's for good or bad. Her getting brought in by the police and now meeting up with her lord at this time, it all plays into things. Even then she does enjoy this rather impromptu greeting, not minding she's missing out on her lord's little performance when greeting her. When he brought up her going into her beast mode, her mind mistook Ichirou's words for something else and a bright blush appears on her cheeks. "My lord, I didn't think you were into that sort of thing," she replied, playfully cupping her cheek to hide the blush. "Such a naughty mind and thinking about me all restrained..." Eventually Nori's mind focuses back on what he said and shakes her head. "But no thanks, I'm fine for now. I rather not get you in trouble just in case someone comes in and sees me like so... unless you really do want me cuddled up in your lap..."

The blush on her face lingers, recalling the time where she went full beast and enjoyed a moment resting in her lord's lap. His warm glow, his hands brushing through her fur, him content and at peace as she lay there completely happy being that close to him. Nori takes her cup of tea and drinks some more of it, listening in on what jobs Ichirou has at the moment for her to do. There are simple tasks, the third one being rather dangerous for even her... until when Ichirou mentioned wanting a warm pillow to sleep with. She points away and did a spit take, her face turning cherry red in embarrassment at such a proposal. There's no way that anyone would appreciate a human like Ichirou and a hengeyokai sleeping together in the palace, but... when is a chance like this ever going to come up again?

"I... I lo-lo... I love to," she replied, grinning awkwardly as her hand shakes nervously, barely keeping the cup in her hands and the tea splashing around inside. "In fact... I met up with someone earlier about staying at their dojo, but... if you want me to spend a night here, I love to!" Her mind is running around in circles, completely ecstatic about the proposal. Well maybe not spend the night as a pillow, but maybe as a warm blanket. Her soft plush furry body against his nude form... It's far too much for Nori to process.

So maybe she should focus on getting some jobs done! Shaking her head off any naughty stuff that could get her into trouble, Nori reconsiders what her lord told her and figure out which is better for her to do. The Skinner job definitely would be good to do, but she's a huge target herself given her... well, large assets. Not to mention she will have to go back to the police at some point, all to figure out who stole the money from the merchant, and if this works out for her she might get some allies in the police force. Really Nori doesn't want to think about how the Skinner goes about his job, but getting him off the street will be fantastic. However her main focus will be on meeting up with the other hengeyokai in the city and learn all she can from them. If she can become friends with them, this could mean a whole lot for her goal.

"Um, is it too much to take up all the tasks?" she asked with a head tilt, now feeling more relaxed from before. "I'm not going to do them all at once, and I really not want do the Skinner job. However, it'll be good for me to check out the community and feed this family while warning them about the Skinner, just so they're aware of things. I can see what I can do about stuff. I'll take care of the family first then go see about that community."

[Meep Meepersons]

Puu simply nodded frantically when the Poncle Sanjo asked her if she was cumming already. Obviously, she was experiencing a weakness she didn't even know she had during her first real(ish?) sexual encounter. Through some miracle she managed to hold it in when Sanjo suddenly pulled her tiny arm out of huge meat log. "Aahnnn! Sssss-sto~" Poor Puu couldn't even speak properly, her virgin mind being scrambled from the intense and bizarre pleasures being inflicted upon her inexperienced meat. Her mind barely registered the poncle whore's words as she rode her log like banana floaty, grinding her sopping crotch against the base. Even if Sanjo didn't tell her to cum, Puu was about to anyways. Almost as soon as Sanjo placed her pert tiny lips over the head of her cock she seized up, her cock fattening as it starts shooting off thick, pent up virginal spunk right into the smaller woman's hungry gob. Thick ropes of her spunk fire with each lurching throb of her meat, each spurt rivaling a human ejaculation by them selves. After the first spurt, the spunk began to fly! Each splat of her hot pink hued spooge only served to maker her cum harder, her hips bucking as her cock attempts to impregnate her partner externally, coating the poor whore's body and Puu's plush pillows in sticky pinkish white glaze. Some of her spooged managed to make it passed the hungry Poncle and her own bountiful bossoms to coat her face, splattering against her chin and whipping up her visage, giving her a partial facial~ "Puu good~" She says dreamily, body twitching and tongue half lolled. Her brains were practically mush at this point and sleep was threatening to take her vision. Though her cock was still throbbing hard she was well spent, at least for now.

[lilbooth]

"We have a make-shift daidokoro." Said Seto graciously accepting the small pouch of mon from her new student. She held out her hand to help up her gakusei and led him out towards the small garden. The dojo featured a four by four raised bed, a tall fence, miniature shrine, and a cooking pot suspended on two iron hooks above a fire pit. Near there pit, there was a thick red pine stump and a collection of simple clay jars. Protruding from the stump was a crude cleaver beside a worn whetstone. Seto crouched down beside the fire pit and began breathing some life back into the dull embers. "So, tell me what you can of this yokia." She requested as she sprinkled some tinder upon the smoldering coals. "Does he operate alone or had he convinced other to follow him?" She questioned as the flame flickered to life. Lunch today, like most days, was Okayu. A thick rice porridge that was cheap, filling, and easy to digest. Some days, particularly towards the end of the week, Seto made it from a rich stock. But for today water would suffice. The garden offered a handful of spring garlic and shishito, that Seto roasted by the side of fire before chopping and folding into the rice. The preparation took the better part of half an hour, giving Seto' s new student plenty of time to share his story, perhaps even telling her his name. As the okayu finished cooking, Seto scooped a small wooden bowl for herself and her student. With no hunt this morning, Seto had skipped breakfast, slept in actually, and her stomach was just as ravenous as her student's.

[Nobudi]

The trip back to the castle was quiet. Chiyome had now another guest, now, this one entirely uninvited. However, she held her tongue, as she did not wish to offend the Kikai by refusing a guest, even one that was not invited to serve or to drink among Lords. Once the hall had been announced to the arrival of the mechanical beings that wandered her halls, she noted with a clinical eye to figure out why this particular woman had become so frightened with the name "Shimada". Then and again, the name must be familiar to herself somewhere... This bore investigation. She was snapped out of those musings when the Emperor announced a private meeting. This was the tricky bit, which could allow assassins in and break the balance of peace that she desperately wanted preserved. She walked up to the Emperor and bowed. "Esteemed Emperor. I do not believe that we should allow only the leaders and the advisor of two massive factions to be alone. Not that I would be judging either faction. It is dangerous to allow powerful men to speak alone, since I fear assassins may take this opportunity to relight the flames of war. It would be prudent for each Leader to bring at least one extra witness, should the worst come to pass."

[Albedo28]

Walking to the castle was easy enough, given that the streets were deserted and their present company wasn't exactly thrilled to be chatting. Entering the grand building and looking about, Ryuuji couldn't help but feel strange as he looked over the splendor the humans so easily displayed. Kikai were expensive to create and maintain, their body's consisting of a grand amount of raw materials and energies, so it was rare that their surroundings were more than adequate given their wealth was placed internally instead of shown about like this. It was strange to see people who would display their wealth after the two decades of adjusting to his new life.

Entering the party hall, the armored Kikai stood by, glancing over the gathered samurai and nobles, feeling a bit of contempt for the lot of them, save for the young Izanagi. He'd swallowed his pride and had agreed to peace talks with the man who'd killed his father on the field of battle. It wasn't every king who could handle coming to terms with the sins of his own parents and attempt to do what was best for his people. Though his little viewing of the group of important humans was interrupted just as Kunio introduced the lot of them. A woman, a hauntingly familiar woman stood, demanding to be excused right after the mention of his name. The samurai family he belonged to was but a branch family of the Shimada name and it was rather clear that the mention of who he was unsettled the group of self important humans.

Ryuuji found himself having difficulty concentrating, his mind going back to the face of that fiery noble who'd just slinked past them and left. Even as Izanagi spoke to his Master, the armored Kikai couldn't help but miss every third word. Leaning over to Takeba he pats the female Kikai upon the shoulder. "I'm sure you wouldn't object to Master Kunio bringing an advisor with him then, Lord Izanagi. Though, I'm afraid I must excuse myself for a moment." He looks to Kunio with his featureless black face, "I believe it may have been something you said, Master. Though it may be something else entirely. I intend to find out before this niggling feeling consumes me further." He explains, bowing to the leader of Kikai before moving to follow the young female noble. He knew her from somewhere but he couldn't place where. Had they met in battle? Surely he'd be able to figure it out once he'd found her and forced her to speak with- no, he could handle this normally. He would not act as an inquisitor here in the midst of peace talks. Resolving himself, Ryuuji went to leave, hoping to find the woman before her trail went cold.

[exalted]

Miho kept a weary eye on the Kikai as they led them back to the castle, waiting for them to betray the peace. These things had disgraced their code as Samurai and had no honour, when the late Emperor decreed their deaths they should have fallen on their swords as honour dictated.

Back in the castle, she moved to take her seat back by her father, not blaming the female lord who chose to leave. Her stomach churned at the thought of the Emperor meeting alone with these things, fearing the loss of her old sparring partner. She perked up as Lord Tomoe made her suggestion, deciding to perhaps reevaluate her opinion of the woman of later as she pivoted on her knees to face the Emperor.

"Please Emperor," She bowed, "I would be honoured to guard your door during the meeting."

[An Ying Hu]

Yaena herself said nothing during the encounter so far, only watched carefully as the woman left, the Kikai following after her, Chiyome proposing the idea of bringing on additional witnesses and Miho requesting to guard the door for them. Kunio's hesitation upon hearing that Pang Xin would join them was peculiar, hinting that there was a story behind that, but she had no idea what it could be, and judging by the way the proverbial tables were arranged, it wasn't likely she would find out any time soon.

Still, she kept herself by Chiyome's side - the gap in status that separated them aside, it seems that she and Yaena were the ones who desired peace the most, which made them natural allies in the courtesans' view. "Is there anything you want me to do, my lady?" she would ask in a whisper. If the noblewoman would want her assistance, she would be provided, that seemed to be her best potential entryway into this meeting, whether literal if drinks were needed to be served, and if not, maybe she could probe the other for answers as to what went on there afterward. The only other way she could think of was perhaps finding an annex to the meeting room from where she could listen in, though that was not the safest of plans by far.

[Reaver]

"Well too bad! You're either going to learn something useful or I'm going to pick my teeth with one of your ribs!" That had been the last thing Sivir had said to Kujo before they had started walking back. The walk itself was enjoyable as Sivir enjoyed the fresh air, exercise and pondering on how proud Gojou would be for her making the choice to spare the thief's life and deliver justice instead. Besides with another person making sure the shop didn't fall into disrepair, she and Gojou would be free to devote more time to crafting the weapons and armor that their shop depended on to survive. Of course now her stomach grumbled and growled as she had expected to get a decent meal after that chase one way or another so she'd have to make sure that she ate extra today to supplement the exercise she had done. Most importantly, the event had got Sivir thinking on whether she was still the same alpha predator that she believed herself to be. Sure her killer instincts were still there, as well as her strength and speed but were they still at their peak or had they declined in correlation to her increase in indulgence of "human living"? It was a worrying proposition to say the least, but something that would do more harm than good to dwell on too much in one sitting so Sivir spent the rest of the trip in quiet reflection of smithing and hunting techniques.

It didn't take them too long to get back and it seemed like perfect timing with Gojou also returning with the decorated hilt. Her tail began to slowly swish to the sides in delight as she stood behind Kujo as if delivering dinner for him to consume, if only he ate humanoids like she did.... Instead she sat on her haunches as the Hengeyokai begged for forgiveness and pledged herself to service to make up for her crime. It was quite the sight to observe and Gojou seemed a bit surprised which was also amusing to see. "The weapon is in good shape. I saw no dents or scraps, although it could use some sharpening. The girl was very lucky that she didn't break the blade when she tripped on the floor." Grinning widely at Gojou as her tail curled to lightly swat at Kujo's vulnerable back. She waited until the girl had gone inside to continue talking to her mentor after handing over the weapon to him. "She stole it, I chased her into the forest. I could have killed her easily and I truly wanted to eat her for such a slight against us but I knew you would have preferred human justice as opposed to my type of retribution. I did enjoy the chase although I enjoyed her attempts at trying to convince me to breed her even more." A chuckle emerging from her mouth as she ran her fingers up the length of her kanabo. "I assume she wanted to do it as a way of getting out of trouble but I don't breed weak prey. Maybe you'll enjoy her flesh since you've always been unwilling to sate your desires on the prostitutes of the city or seek out a specific woman." Gojou's sex life wasn't something Sivir brought up often as it seemed like that was his own business but it did worry her that such a specimen was going to waste and not breeding so someone could carry on his name. As weak and dishonorablel as the Hengeyokai was, perhaps it would be a stepping stone for him.

"As for me, I'll stick around to help you if you need it, to keep an eye on her and to see if we have any meat left." Placing her kanabo down in the same corner of the store as before heading towards the food cabinets. "So when are you planning on presenting the odachi to the emperor? I think I want to come to get a good look at the man, who leads all the human in this area. Also to provide protection against the metal-men should the talk of them be true." The concept of Kikai was still one that eluded Sivir. They were humans that either cheated death or sought to improve themselves beyond their regular limitations. Accomplishing those feats, naturally, scared humans and other races and even caused a war according to Gojou. People, particularly humans seemed to fear what they couldn't defeat or understand but to Sivir they seemed worthy of fighting herself. Any other judgement would have to wait until after she met one. "We should have some of that deer left from last week right?"

[MASigma]

Kagomi tried to think of how this had happened... how had just wanting to see a Kikai in real life had led to her having tea in front of the Emperor and what she only now realized was the leader of the Kikai... this had to be karma counteracting her luck from earlier, it just had to be. Kagomi kept quiet, not wanting even more attention on her if she could help it... though she could feel the way Chiyome was looking at her, no doubt wanting the "Rabid Dog" out of there as Kagomi clearly didn't belong at all... though at least the woman was keeping to herself. The woman's reaction to Ryuuji's name made her curious, though Shimada meant nothing to Kagomi herself... of course as Ryuuji left, Kagomi felt an immense weight lift off of her small shoulders as the Kikai freaked her out the most of the group.

Still as talks of the meeting were brought up, Kagomi realized this could be her best chance to find a way to slip off... while the important people were off to the meeting she could find a way out of here before someone tried anything against her once her protection was gone... wow, never thought she'd think of Kikai as being protective of her... weird, but strangely not bad as they were alot better then most people she'd met beforehand... ugh, now she felt a bit guilty of how she'd thought of them... except Ryuuji, he was still creepy. Still, if she managed to slip out... she'd resist the urge to steal anything, if only to keep the kind Kikai from being blamed for it... though she'd have to look into swiping some of the food without being noticed as she could use a good lunch and dinner for once.

[Nobudi]

Chiyome was quite surprised at the courtesan's offer of assistance. After all, she didn't understand why the courtesan was so interested in the politics at all. Was this some sort of power play? If this was, then she'd be more interested in currying favor to the Emperor. Hmm, something else that was worth bearing investigation. And as useful as a courtesan as a spy would be, a private talk was not a place she could mess about so freely. "Yaena, correct? Yaena- san, I would ask you to remove the uninvited Hengeyoukai from this party, as a potential hazard of this situation, but I fear I may end up accidentally offending the Kikai in doing so. I merely ask of you to do as you once did and tend to the festivities. But, keep your eyes and ears open. I fear that there are those who do not seek peace. And what loosens tongues better than wine?" She then turned to Miho and said quite frankly, "Miho- san. Do not trouble the Emperor by starting a fight with the Kikai for the duration of their talks. I hold high expectations for this work, so please, do not betray those expectations, or the Emperor's."

Once she sent the Courtesan off, she decided not to join in on the festivities. She wanted to get updated on her stores, after all, parties were quite the draining resource. And she needed to find her personal handmaid. She had not been around for quite some time, and it'd do Chiyome good to find her.

[exalted]

Miho stared daggers at Chiyome, mentally eviscerating the woman in slow, graphic detail. She had thought the woman had shown sense in recommending the meeting be guarded, but now saw the vile, conniving creature for what she was, another lord twisted by the decadence of city who turned words for personal gain or to shame her rivals. And here Miho had fallen for her trap, leaping at the chance for duty only to be publicly embarrassed.

"No trouble is intended, Lord Tomoe," Miho tried to smile through clenched teeth as her lip twitched in anger still at Chiyome's use of the word betrayal, "The Kikai are the Emperor's guests, and while they remain in his care we are all duty and oath bound to defend them as we would the Emperor himself. Call us old fashioned if you will, Lord Tomoe, but the Ran take their oaths to heart, and if you would question otherwise again I suggest name yourself a champion so we may promptly settle the matter as I will not settle to hear our name besmirched."

Turning back to the Emperor, she bowed again from her kneeling position.

"Please forgive my interruption Emperor," she kept her forehead pressed to the floor solemnly until he responded.

[Nicoffee]

Izumi & Kentata

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

The one ronin that still had his sword and wasn't lying down in a pool of his own blood looked back and forth between all of the things presented at him so far. One, was the Kikai with her sword right to his "friend's" throat, the other was a large hengeyokai armed with a club, who had just come with a delivery for Oboro of a bunch of panties, the other was his other colleague, lying down on the floor spread out and bleeding like a cow for butchering.

With all of that in mind, he decided to do the most logical thing he could think of and just did a full 180 and ran his ass as fast as he could into the woods, hoping to get away as fast as he could. The ronin at ground, gurgled something, oh my, he was still alive, somehow. Well, for now, he probably wouldn't last much longer without some sort of medical attention. And then there was the matter of the guy who had Izumi's sword pointed at his throat, still sweating nervously as he considered her words carefully.

"If...If I tell you and he finds out...He kills me!" He stated, shaking in his toes.

Izumi Persuasion Roll (2) (6,8) - 2 Hits! Vs. Ronin Will Roll (3) (8,5,1) - 0 Hits!

A simple threat of pushing the katana forward was it all took and the man instantly tripped backwards, landing on his ass and mumbling incoherently for his life. "Wa-Wait wait! Okay okay! His name is Akita! He's a Hengeyokai, a fox hengeyokai, black hair! H-He's deeper into the forest, in our hideout...There must be another twenty or so ronin in there!" He blurbed out, before then simply covering up his head. "Pl-Please, that's all I know!"

Meanwhile, a gust of wind flew by and tossed one of the panties at Izumi's face, it smelled of strawberries.

Nori

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Ichirou blinked a few times, nervously scratching the side of his cheek as they flushed up some. "That's...Not exactly what I had meant. But hey, whatever floats your boat, I was just offering." He stated, lying back a bit and taking a sip of his tea. "All right! Well, here, keep this then." He tossed over a badge over to Nori, bearing the symbol of Ichirou's family, as you knew it well, usually you'd find it on your armor back when you were on campaign, the same symbol was also present on Ichirou's belt. "Flash that to the guards, they'll know you're clear to come in...Hopefully." He frowned some, crossing his arms before adjusting himself back again.

When he heard your proposal of doing all three jobs at once, the lord simply shrugged. "Hey, you're free to, of course. You handle thing as you see better, I know you can handle your own stuff, hound." He winked, sticking his tongue out some. "So. Anything I can help you with to assist on those? Just uh...Don't ask me for direct cash, I can't help there." He confessed, shrugging his shoulders some.

Seto

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

"R-Right!" The student nodded, taking a deep breath as he adjusted himself on his spot, cold sweat running down his brows as the thought of you having actually accepted him as your student seemed to still be in process of digestion for him. He glanced at the food and was quickly reminded of another digestion he should probably be putting in priority over that one! He gulped and nervously accepted the bowl, joining his hands to thank the Gods, and you, for the food before he got to chowing down.

Eventually stopping when he heard you question him about the yokai, gulping down the food in his throat before answering. "...Ah...Well, no. It's a bit...Complicated." The boy confessed, awkwardly beginning to scratch the back of his head. "He uhm...He's a big black Inugami, a dog demon, works by himself, as far as I know. He sat up home over at our farm and...Well. Ever since he settled in our home, he's been keeping all of us locked up in there and serving him, giving him food and...Stuff like that." The boy stated, flustering each time more. "He also uhm...Demanded some other things of my sisters...And me." The boy seemed to glance down for a bit before a thought occurred to him. "O-Oh no! U-uhm. I'm sorry, Sensei, my name is Yukito Hideaki." He stated, bowing his head to you slightly once more.

Ryuuji

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Kunio blinked...Well, tried to blink, more like his eye light just flickered some in response to your sudden exit, watching you leave as you rushed off after the lord from earlier. Luckily for you, you turned around the corner just in time to see the tip of her kimono zip around the corner, quickly picking up your pace to give chase. You quickly picked up in speed to catch up with her, speeding up your footsteps and turning the corner-

Donk.

Echoed the sound of a pistol being placed against you black mask, the girl you had been following was holding up a matchlock firearm against your face, pulling the hammer back and ready to fire. "I don't appreciate being followed, kikai." She simply spoke, her finger resting in the trigger firmly. "...What do you want?"

Chiyome, Miho and Yaena

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Chiyome Awareness Roll (4,1,4,6,2) - 0 hits.

Yaena Awareness Roll (5,4,3,3) - 0 hits.

Miho Awareness Roll (6,4,2) - 1 hit

Ken let out a long, drawn out sigh as the whole situation unfolded in front of him, idly glancing over at Kunio as the Kikai leader seemed to be somewhat distracted by one of his companions heading off on his own. Pang Xin himself, was mostly silent, carefully eyeing around everyone as he seemed to be considering the best option, Ken glanced over at Pang Xin, who leaned over to Ken's ear and began whispering something, barely audible to anyone else in the room, save maybe the three kikai, it was always hard to measure what a Kikai could or could not do just from looking at them, after all.

Regardless, after being consulted by Pang Xin, Ken decided he would speak up, putting his hands behind his back. "Very well then, Miho, it would be an honor to have you accompany me on the meeting with our esteemed guest, Kunio. Please, do come along and watch my back, we all know you can handle a sword better than I can." He stated, sticking his tongue out somewhat playfully before turning to Kunio. "Kunio, if you are uncomfortable with this, you are free to have one of your...Companions come with you as well."

Kunio seemed to be about to just refuse the notion, but Juro, the male Kikai with a huge nodachi on his back, quickly raised his hand. "I'll be with him, Takeba, you hang around here and...Well, just do your thing, yeah?" He chuckled, walking up close to Kunio. "Well..." The Kikai leader spoke. "I suppose it is fair. Very well then, let's proceed." Ken patted Miho's head. "Come on, let's go, Miho-san. We've got a long day ahead of us, still." And with that, the five of them would find themselves heading off to meet in private, Kunio, Ken and Pang Xin entering within a room, while Miho found herself being left just outside the door alongside the Kikai, Juro.

Juro glanced over at Miho. "...So...You're what, one of them onnabushi types or something?" Juro questioned, fidgeting about against the wall. "I guess he picked you because you offered...But, y'know, you should tell him that it'd be fair to have like...Five of you, if he wants an equivalent protection to having a Kikai around."

Meanwhile, Chiyome found herself her handmaiden, she didn't even leave where she was standing, actually, the poor girl had been put to help a few of the other guest, what with how crowded the castle was and was now found stumbling her way over to Chiyome, falling on her face in prostration. "Lady Tomoe! I'm sorry, I'm sorry I lost track of you again!" She whined, rubbing her horns as she slowly got herself to stand again. The Oni handmaiden pouted in frustration.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/28/8c/03/288c03aaa52160a1a9146a531468cc1b.jpg

Well, regardless, now it was just a matter of making sure that the Hengeyokai girl left the castle- Wait...Where was she?!

Kagomi

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Kagomi Stealth Roll (5) (6,6,2,2,6) - 3 HITS!

Well, that was easy. Somewhere along their conversation you took a moment none of their eyes were focused on you to slip out without a sound, leaving them behind as you went on to explore the castle on your own, mainly looking for the kitchen! It took a little bit of further sneaking about and searching, but she eventually found the place where all of the food was being prepared. Here's an interesting tidbit of japanese history for you, first. Contrary to popular belief, the samurai families weren't simply associated with war and fighting, as servants of their lords, many samurai families actually consisted, in some small part or another, of other professions who served the lords to the best of their abilities, such as cooks!

Among such cases, was the Dennai family, a family composed of a wide variety of renowned chefs, who served the Tomoe family. Kagomi happened upon their kitchen, where all of them were currently working diligently to make as much as food as possible to feed the hungry guest in the floor above.

"Nishida! We are running out of tuna!" One of the cooks shouted to the Master Chef who shook his head in disappointment. "Well then get some more tuna! Do I need to tell you do that as well? I swear I need to- Ryu, that's too much wasabi, are you trying to make it spicy or give them indigestion? Less wasabi!" Well, this would be easy, Kagomi slowly slipped her way in around the main brunt of the cooks and headed straight over to where they were getting all of their supplies from, hungrily glancing inside.

Kagomi Steal Roll (4,2,3,3,2) - 0 Hits.

"...What do you think you're doing?" Kagomi suddenly froze up, as she turned around, she found a girl, one of the cook apparently, staring down at Kagomi, who currently had three entire salmons in her arms. This cook, on the other hand, had a chopper knife on hers.

https://sloaneranime.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/mito.png?w=840

Sivir

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Gojou slowly rubbed the back of his head as he heard you explain what happened. Dropping his head to the side at the mention of him breeding with her and what not. "...Okay...No offense, but I'd rather not have a Hengeyokai child...Besides, can we not talk about my sex life?" The blacksmith sighed, before taking another look at the blade and beginning to disassemble the hilt in his hands, intending to slowly build it back up around the blade. Meanwhile, Kujo had kind of just been hanging around, half-naked, which got Gojou to roll his eyes. "Right."

A few minutes later, the tanuki was now dressed up in an old beat up kimono, a broom in her hands as she cleaned up the smithy, getting dust off the floor...Or, well, at least as well as she could, gathering up the dust into certain parts of the room and then struggling to get it all outside by dusting it all the way to the exit. Gojou rubbed his forehead some at the sigh, but no matter, he had more important things to attend to. Namely, finishing up his sword. With great care, he continued to disassemble the hilt, getting the measurements of the inside before he quickly crafted a small piece of wood just the size to fit in there, to work as the blade's interior hilt. Carefully, he would make a hole in the wooden cylinder and attach the blade inside, before he placed it inside of half of the hilt, before he began assembling the rest of it back on top of it.

"Looking to visit the castle, are you? I figured I would do it once the tournament rolls out, since you know, a smith like me wouldn't be allowed into the castle." He chuckled, finishing up assembling the odachi. The weapon was pretty much finished, the green hilt, the storm motifs all around it and the sharp, carefully treated blade. "One day perhaps though...Remember what I said about social mobility? Doesn't matter if you're an old smith, a shizen foku such as yourself or...Even a hengeyokai thief." He stated, glancing over at Kujo. "Make the right friends in the right places and your life can change, drastically, for the better." He stated, a big smile wrinkling up on his face before he set the sword down, wrapping it up in a cloth and carefully placing it inside a drawer, following by locking it up and finally placing the key in his kimono. "...Just an extra precaution. We already had one attempt, and dragging around a drawer is harder than dragging around a sword. Anyways...About that deer, we must still have some left...Not enough for our uhm...Guest, though. Speaking of which...That tournament...You thinking of participating, maybe? I know it's not exactly your style of thing but, hey, if you win, you could get yourself a lot of money...And recognition. Consider it a...Uhm...Proving your strength, in front of everyone else."

Puu

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

As Puu exploded into a sticky mess, coating the entirety of...Well...The entirety of Sanjo, really. And a little bit of herself, too. The poncle girl slowly used her minuscule hands to pull off the excess cum out of her face, the sticky stuff like glue as it dribbled down her arms. Sanjo slowly hopped out of the bed, searching around for a towel or box of tissues, whichever was closest, she needed to get that stuff out of her...She'd probably need a bath too, at least to get the smell out. Sanjo turned over to say something to Puu, but was quickly remined of all the oni cum in her mouth, Puu rolled her eyes, focused a bit and then just gulped the whole thing down in one go, letting out a steamy sigh before speaking. "Well, you sure made a mess...Someone should charge you extra for that." The girl stated, finally finding some tissues which she began to use to clean herself off. "Well...You have the room...And me. For the rest of the night...But I get the feeling you're good, already." The poncle observed, watching Puu twitch in the bed, cum slowly pooling under her as it dribbled off her body. "...Good thing we have a bath, eh?"

[Firehead]

Kentata watched as the man showed just exactly what he was made of by dashing off. Of course the other showed off it wasn't just one of them when he so easily handed over his leader's name like that. Between these men's lack of bravery and the condition of their steel if the pile of rust was anything to go by it would seem they really wouldn't be much more than a nuisance to Otenjo. It seemed the recipient of his delivery wasn't the leader of this gang though, so he had no reason to consider whether stopping the kikai himself was worth the 400 mon to him. "I assume you're here for the 500 mon reward on the leader's life then. The reward only pertains to the leader, so you have no reason to kill these two men or start a fight with me. Of course that one'll probably warn the whole lot you're coming if you don't catch him first, so you might want to get moving while I try to keep my delivery from completely falling apart." Assuming she left he'd gather as much of the panties as he could and probably tend to the one in a pool of his own blood. If both men survived it should be enough to prove his lack of involvement with this woman. He couldn't help but snicker though when a pair of his cargo's panties decided to fly right into the girl's face.

[MASigma]

Kagomi was quite pleased with how easily she slid from view... despite the dangers of such people it seemed they like anyone she could slip past them... good to know if she was ever dumb enough to come back here. Of course she found the kitchen easily enough, grinning as she slid inside in order to get herself some of the delicious smelling delights inside... though of course she lost focus and ended up spotted. She tensed... before slowly turning with her best smile, cursing the fact she'd relaxed for even a moment as the big breasted cook looked ready to chop her to pieces," Um... I was told to help myself?", she offered, not exactly lying given she HAD been invited to have tea and food in the first place,"... W-was I supposed to wait?", she asked, putting on a look of honest worry at this bit," I'm just hungry and they all looked like they were going to keep talking FOREVER", she groaned, inwardly planning on how best to book it if they didn't buy her bullshit.

[FragranceofMtDew]

Izumi managed to pull her gaze away from the scented panties splayed out across the road to listen to what her hostage has to say, until a stray pair fly into her face filling her vision with white and her nose with the scent of strawberries. This combined with the fact that twenty ronin awaited her further within and the blathering of the panty snatching Hengeyokai only serve to deepen Izumi's agitation with this whole scenario. "I know what the damn bounty is for!" She growls as she pulls the underwear off of her face and uses it to wipe the blood off her sword, mostly out of spite since it was likely to be soiled again very soon, before tossing them back to the ground and turning to the ronin at her mercy.

"You read the bounty so you know that these ronin have been killing folks just for the hell of it, yeah? I don't see the point in sparing someone who gets off on killing people weaker than themselves." Indeed, this guy probably had it coming and letting him live could come back to bite her later but.... "I'm a woman of my word though, for whatever that's worth these days. Just stick to panty sniffing and stay the fuck out of my way." She warns before sprinting off after the one who had gotten away. Hengeyokai could be tricky to deal with, especially ones who wouldn't have any reservations about going full beast on her, and she didn't need this Akita guy and his 20 pals to be ready for her on top of that.

[exalted]

Miho was taken aback as the Emperor poked his tongue out at her, unsure of what to do or how to respond to such an... inelegant and unregal display. Her face blushed red with anger and embarrassment as she felt his hand on her head ruffling her hair, clenching her teeth to hold her emotions back. No one had ever touched her like that and she wondered if Ken was taking advantage to repay all the times she had dropped him on his ass in training. She shook the thought off as she stood to follow, her Emperor would never take advantage of his position over her.... would he?

When the they reached the Emperor's chambers she dutifully took her place at the door without question or attempt to gain entry, her post was here by the door. Sitting cross legged to relieve the stress on his knees, she settled down for what could take a long while.

"Your words are wasted Kikai, you shall not provoke me now, nor as you did at the gate," She muttered lowly in reply as to not interrupt the meeting, "My orders are to keep the peace and so I shall, your crude boasts and jests have no weight with me... though it comes as no surprise you ignore you current master's word as you did your last, the late Emperor."

[Albedo28]

Ryuuji had several thoughts buzzing around in his head as he trumped off, moving down the hall at a quick pace to catch up with the retreating noble woman. His sudden desertion of his duty being one of his concerns. He was certain that Kunio would find it in his heart to forgive him, as long as he could apologize profusely enough for the sudden need to be elsewhere. Hopefully this little adventure would prove fruitful and he'd have some information to bring back to make his rash decision appear more meaningful. The Kikai Inquisitor just couldn't shake this feeling he had and he'd rarely ever had reason to doubt his intuition in the past.

Moving up and turning the corner, he was met with a solid thunk as the barrel of a firearm met his blank face, held there by the very noble woman he'd been chasing. Unlike many soldiers, Ryuuji had the pleasure of understanding just how lethal these new instruments of war actually were. If he had a mouth, he'd have smirked at the young woman's words but instead he simply kept his head still and slowly raised his hands in a show of surrender. "Now, I understand I've made you feel uncomfortable but I believe the gun against my head places us at least equal on the playing field at this point for feeling out of our element." He starts off, trying to sound as amiable as possible. "What I want however, is to speak with you. You see, you have me at a disadvantage. As was said before, I am Ryuuji Shimada. Former samurai under the employ of the late Izanagi during the first weeks of the Kikai war. You, however, seem strangely familiar. Though I suppose I may have simply have known your mother, given your youth." The Kikai sighs, seeming more uncomfortable trying to understand his own actions than with the deadly weapon touching his face, "I apologize, during my reconstruction, several of my less... pertinent cognitive abilities were impaired. Memory and my sense of empathy being prime examples. I find it difficult to put this forward, but I can't shake the sense that you're more than simply some noble youth I happened to cross paths with. Given your reaction to my name, I can't simply leave the issue alone."

His motivation explained, he left it to the noble woman to decide how to continue. He wasn't going to attempt to wrest control from her at this point given it would only serve to make her less comfortable divulging information to him and he didn't have the freedom to simply make her talk here. Not to mention, even if she was a racist, she'd agreed to be at this meeting and wouldn't be likely to jeopardize her sworn Lord's work simply to harm Ryuuji and force his reconstruction.

[Reaver]

"Very well, I'll drop it for now but you better not let your lineage die out. I want to tutor your child in the art of weapon-crafting as you did for me." Continuing to talk as she brought out the remnants of the deer and began preparing it in a large pot over the forge. It was delicate work, which meant that Sivir had to use her upper hands to stir and sprinkle spices into the mix so her lower body laid on the ground, tail slowly swishing to the sides. With her gift of fire-telling, she knew exactly how hot the flames were and how quickly they'd cook the meat to Gojou's preferred eating condition. That allowed her to be able to glance up often to watch both Gojou and Kujo work. To everyone's disappointment, Kujo wasn't even good at sweeping, something that Sivir observed Gojou react to with sighs and rubbing his forehead. Her own reaction was to simply scrunch up her nose as some of the dust billowed near her. "You get some dust in this food and I'll add you to it to regain its rich flavor." Speaking nonchalantly and making eye contact with her before smiling widely to show off her sharp teeth. It was another human method called either intimidation or motivation since Sivir didn't truly mean the threat but had said it as a way to make her improve. Humans and their social mechanisms were things to behold sometimes..

Gojou was almost done with the hilt by the time Sivir was close to finishing cooking his portion. Of course her own part would be cooked longer until it was extra crunchy and that perfect amount of burnt. That was how she liked her meat, either raw or close to charred, which ironically, was two ways humans couldn't eat their meat because of disease. It was admirable how hard he was working on getting this sword and its hilt right. He was putting all of his honor and expertise into it and it showed, the odachi being a weapon Sivir could wield with pride if it had been made for her. Then there was Kujo pathetically trying to clean and sweep around the house.... Maybe I should just eat her to save everyone some headaches? Only slightly considering it as the rich scent of cooked meat wafted around herself from the pot. By her divine father she was hungry, but hunger wasn't a proper excuse to deny serving Gojou first.

It was a pretty standard stew since Sivir wasn't one for culinary adeptness nor had any inclination to learn since meat was meat at the end of the day. She listened to Gojou speak about how impossible it would be for him to actually meet the Emperor despite making it an almost perfect weapon, as she poured his stew into a wooden bowl before silently handing it to him. Now for her own food she fished the rest of the meat chunks out of the pot and casually tossed them into the forge fires, before settling down ti hear the rest of what Gojou had to say. "I am well aware that there isn't enough food for our resident thief." Allowing some bestial edge to creep into her voice, as it sometimes did when the topic of shortages of food came up. "Shes my prey so if she wants some of mine then her best bet is begging like she did for your forgiveness. She may not clean well but her groveling is most.... Appealing." Her cock becoming semi-hard as Sivir relived how she had caught her back in the woods. Like any good huntress, Sivir took great enjoyment and pride in her hunts but this was the first time she was spending time around such an easy prey that was consistently at her mercy. As for the tournament, it had quite a bit of appeal to it. It could provide an extremely fortuitous chance to spread word of Gojou's smithy as well as show off the armor he had crafted for her and the weapon she had made for herself. Not to mention they could both use the money that she'd get from winning the thing. But the best part of it would be as Gojou had ended with, showing off her strength or rather testing it. Most humans were no match for her but if there was a chance of running into some that could provide a challenge then Sivir owed it to herself to check it out. "I'll compete for us. Hopefully I'll get a good challenge out of it." Her tail slowly happily swishing to the sides as she imagined getting the fight of her lifetime. "Anymore information you can give me about the event?" Keeping the excitement out of her voice as she smelled the burnt meat and plucked the chunks out of the forge and into her own bowl of stew before slowly eating. Crunchy and tasty like always!