To Kamui! (Bailey Jane)

"Thank you, Bailey," said Kemushiri, his body shaking a bit as he nodded. For as old and frail as he looked, there was a hidden strength behind his eyes, "The formality and friendship you've shown my people is touching in such a dark time. Wep'keer is an ancient city, and it shows in its architecture. I'm glad you appreciate the work that went into it." Samaikuru gave a low grunt from behind Kemushiri, who simply ignored the blue-robed man and continued.

"You must apologize our...demeanor earlier. We have long since seen a foreigner in these parts; not since the gods themselves still walked the Earth they created. We had to be absolutely sure you weren't hear to spy, or attack us. As I'm sure Kaipoku has told you--for she has a very big mouth--" Kemushiri giggled a bit as Kaipoku made a sound of indignant protest. If she wasn't wearing a mask Okuninushi was very certain she'd be blushing--or perhaps she was. The wooden mask made it hard to tell for sure.

Once Kaipoku's protest was over, Kemushiri continued. "--We have been experience a bit of a...crisis in the land of Kamui. It is not one easily understood by many, and even I--the oldest living Oina--cannot full comprehend what has happened." "Sir, what kind of crisis?" asked Sakuyahime, pretending that Kaipoku had not divulged everything to them willingly, so as to help her save face and appear less big-mouthed. Whether Kemushiri knew this to be true or not was unknown, for he hid it well as he carefully mulled over his answer.

Bailey sat solemnly as she listed to him speak of the clan's troubles. The more he spoke, the farther she began to feel sympathy for the group. Bailey considered the option of forgiving the entirety of the group, her mind wondered what it could feel like to be picked off one by one against an enemy that would never cease. The idea seemed to muse her, feeling a sense of warmth come with it until her mind drifted long enough to settle on a simple person with them. Could she simply forgive the actions that they had woken up to that morning, or not?

"Even as I do not take found to being attacked in the night, I wish for a peaceful alliance between us, Your Highness." Bailey began as she glanced around the room, holding her gaze on the twins for a moment before turning back to Kemushiri. "I see no problem with forgiving what your members have done to us, as they were protecting their own against any enemy. May we agree to work together from this moment farther on the crisis that your people have suffered with the hope of finding a solution to the problem at hand?"

Bailey wasn't totally sure what crisis the Oinas faced. It had to be something big for the very well-trained Oina creatures to be suffering from it. Would the three of them actually be able to provide any assistance to the great warriors standing around them, or would they simply get trampled on like ants at a picnic by the creatures they were destined to face?

(Sorry it's short. Had a muse burst and ran with it)

Kemushiri let out a deep throated chuckle and laughed so loud he made Sakuyahime jump in surprise at the suddenness of it. He kept giggling for a while before turning back to Bailey, wiping a tear from his eye. "I have never seen someone speak so formally to us--none except the Emperor of Nippon or his royal emissaries spoke to us like this, and event then it was through a message runner," Kemushiri said as he stood up, walked over to his fire and began pouring tea for himself, Samaikuru, Kaipoku, Bailey, Sakuyahime and Okuninushi, "Also, my child, I am not a king, I am an old man and a chief. I'm an old chief.. You don't need to call me Your Majesty. Just call me Kemushiri, or Kemu. Old Man works too. Just nothing formal."

Kemushiri let out another chuckle and then paused. "You say you were attacked this morning? That is not possible, Kaipoku wouldn't attack a fly...and Samaikuru--hate you though he may--would never violate the Oina's sacred law. It is forbidden to attack a stranger in our lands unless it is agreed by all that they are a threat." Kaipoku spoke this time, but as she did, Okuninushi realized that she wasn't sipping her tea from the cup, but instead from a wooden straw. As were Samaikuru and Kemushiri. "Uh," was all Okuninushi could manage, but Samaikuru responded anyway, gruffly and a bit impatient.

"It is forbidden for Oina to remove their masks in front of outsiders, unknown guests, or those not officially of the tribe. Sorry if you're disappointed, but you will not be seeing our faces today," was all he said before he went back to drinking his tea through a straw. "Harsh as he was, Samaikuru speaks correctly. Sorry guys," added Kaipoku, genuinely disappointed, "By the way, Kemushiri, it wasn't Samaikuru who attacked them. It was Okikurmi. He stole the Sacred Sword of Sceter, Kutone, and is using it to slay demons in hopes that it will help him become the hero of legends and save our people."

Kemushiri sighed and frowned, "That is grave news indeed...I knew he had stolen the sword from its pedestal after the Ezofuji Irwak Shrine burst open...I didn't know that he had gone that mad however, or that he had left the village." "He just left last night, Kemushiri," stated Samaikuru, "He must have fled when he heard there were outsiders and decided he would go and deal with them himself. He told me he was going hunting for deer. I should have checked further into it, I apologize." "Unless you swung the sword yourself, you have nothing to sbe sorry for, Samaikuru. No the fault lies entirely with Okikurmi. But we shall have to deal with him later--come! You three as well, I have an idea."

Kemushiri's laugh caught Bailey off guard. Have I angered him? Said something wrong? She wondered as she glanced at her other comrades before looking back at the Chief. Without a second thought or wonder, her hand instinctively reached for her blades, ready to take out as many as needed. If by some chance she had in fact angered the chief, they were out-numbered and Bailey knew she could not take them all on by herself and survive. It wasn't until Kemushiri mentioned to call him Kemu that her brain calmed and she realized the conversation at hand.

Bailey sighed and looked down at her tea, there was a strange looking straw stuck in the cup but nothing else looked off with it. Not wishing to offend, she took the cup as he set it in front of her and started to drink. The tea was wonderfully warm and inviting, just as she would imagine a tea would be from these wonderful people. So I dont have to be so formal, huh? Bailey relaxed and sat comfortably as she listened to those around her talking of the morning's attack. Anger began to rise as the chief denied any reasoning for them to be attacked, claiming the law keep strangers and outsiders safe from harm. "BULLS***" Bailey almost called out before biting her tongue, there was no need to argue. Samaikuru was in the middle of explaining the incident anyway, Bailey would only be intruding on tribe matters if she spoke up.

By the time Chief Kemushiri asked for them to follow him, she tongue was bleeding and swelling against her cheek. She hoped no one would notice, as it wasn't against her cheek but still just as painful. Without waiting for the chance for the twins to notice, Bailey stood and began to follow Kemu, keeping her tongue settled behind her teeth and swallowing the blood until it stopped throbbing. Reminder, do not chomp down when attempting to bite ones own tongue. Consequences are not pleasurable.

Kemushiri led the threesome through his house, towards a small back room behind a curtain. Inside was a small firepit sunk into the floor located in the centre of the room, as well as several futon bed rolls stacked up in the corner, next to a pile of folded blankets and a stack of pillows. Oina art, a mixture of carved wood, bones and animal skins, hung on the wall ceremoniously and mysteriously, and there were enough kettles and pots and firewood stacked to the left of the room to accommodate several people living in the place.

"This is my spare room," explained Kemshiri, "In times of hardship, I would invite families or elders who required the most help to live with me. We are in a time of need, and currently those most in need are you three outsiders." Kemushiri leaned heavily on his cane as he sipped his tea from a straw. "You say you have come to help," he said after his pause, his breath seeming somewhat shorter than before, no doubt due to his old age, "Then you shall help; I shall ensure of it." Kemushiri stepped forward into the room, beckoning everyone to follow him.

"You will live here with me," continued Kemushiri, "And each day you will train with Samaikuru and Kaipoku." Okuninushi looked at his sister, Sakuyahime. He had an idea what was coming, but did not dare cut the elder off. Instead, he asked politely, "What do you mean? Train in what?" Kemushiri turned back towards the threesome, She Who Runs With Scissors and the two siblings, and with what Okuninushi thought was a wry smile behind his mask, though of course the mask prevented anyone from seeing what his real face looked like, and thus, was only speculation.

"You shall train in the ways of the Oina Demon Hunters," said Okuninushi calmly. There was loud protest from Samaikuru, and silence only from Kaipoku, who seemed dreadfully terrified. "Silence Samaikuru," said Kemushiri calmly but authoritatively, exercising his great command and power as the leader of the Oina, "They wish to help, and in times as dark as these, when our kind have forsaken our laws and customs for an hair-brained prophecy, we cannot be so foolish as to turn away help from those who sincerely wish to help us, outsiders though they may be."

"Besides," chuckled Kemushiri, "I sense some Oina in these two." Kemushiri pointed his cane at the siblings, Okuninushi and Sakuyahime. They looked at each other in surprise, but not in shock. Something about them always seemed...different. Not human. More...more spiritual, more...otherworldly, just how the Oina felt. "How can you tell by just looking at us?" asked Sakuyahime kindly. "It's in your scent," growled Samaikuru, roughly, yet not unkindly, "I noticed it as well but...I never thought anything of it. I thought it was inconsequential. Besides, being around other Oina at the time...your scent goes unnoticed. One must look for it specifically to sense it."

Kemushiri chuckled, "What an interesting turn of events. Now, get some sleep. You've had a long journey. You have the remainder of the day, and all night to sleep. We shall come for you in the morning, and begin your training regiment. Besides, I feel I will have to talk some sense into Samaikuru here before he is willing to accept you as his students, and thus will require that time to do so." With a huff and a grunt, Kemushiri limped from the spare room, closing the blue drape curtains behind him, as Samaikuru and Kaipoku left with him.

Kaipoku bid her farewell and good evening, while Samaikuru merely growled under his breath while he passed his future students. Sakuyahime and Okuninushi sat with She Who Runs With Scissors around the sunk-in fire pit, and looked deep into the flames. Unable to speak on what had just transpired. In the matter of several days, their lives had changed completely with the biggest changes coming within the last hour of their lives. It was almost too large to fathom.

When She Who Runs With Scissors stepped through the curtain, her eyes immediately feel upon the fire pit in the middle. A small sense of comfort came from the sheer knowledge she could sleep next to fire again that night. As she continued to look around the room, stepping from one art piece to the other, she listened to the conversations around her. The art was wonderfully crafted and amazing to her, but she couldn't help but over-hear they would be training with the one Oina that seemed to dislike them the most. Was this the Chief's plan to get them to tolerate each other, as many leaders have tried with her in the past, or was this punishment for the member's crimes against the clan?

She Who Runs With Scissors wasn't all to sure about training, but hey. It's not everyday you get to train to be a Demon Hunter, right? She couldn't really imagine how different the training would be from her advanced training with the Empire, or her assassination training, but she was ready for anything to happen. Slicing the blade through the air at the demons, jumping into battle, and for once feeling like she had a team to help watch her back...

It wasn't until Kemushiri mentioned sensing Oina in the twins that She Who Runs With Scissors realized she had begun daydreaming. By the time she started to pay full attention, Kemushiri was telling them to get some sleep and she missed most of the conversation. The twins didn't seem to be concerned, so she relaxed and moved to one of the bed rolls. "I don't think I've ever been so excited to get some training time in." She Who Runs With Scissors said half to herself, half to the twins, as she started to get a bed made up. She laid down next to the fire pit, just as she had been doing since she met the twins, and started to lite a small spark.

She Who Runs With Scissors moved slowly, setting her dagger under her pillow as she watched the spark slowly pull itself up onto the wood and grow. The light reflected in her eyes formed a small line across her pupils, making them seem almost like cat eyes. She lay with her eyes on the fire until exhaustion took her over and she slipped easily into her dreams.

((OOC: I'm gonna start a new topic since they're now in a new place, and training and stuff.))