[Episode Ikki Pt1] Mebu Castle

[Sentou Sanada]

The sound of hurried footsteps crossed the courtyard before he had even made it past the gates.

A few of the younger monks rushed by him, robes shifting with the wind as they made their way toward the castle proper. Chō said nothing at first, only stepping aside enough to let them pass as his eyes followed after them. There was a feeling in the air that he couldn’t quite place. Not panic. Not exactly fear either. Something quieter than that, but no less heavy.

Anticipation?

His gaze eventually shifted toward the orange-haired man walking off through the courtyard, cigarette hanging from his mouth as smoke trailed after him. Chō had not caught whatever words had been spoken before, if any had been spoken at all. But there was something about him. Like even when no one stood near him, the space around him still felt taken.

Important, maybe. Troubled, definitely.

Still, it was not Chō’s place to pry. Not yet.

Reaching into the sleeve of his robe, he felt the edge of one of his talismans beneath his fingers and exhaled softly through his nose. For a place this quiet, too much felt like it was moving underneath it all. And if the young monks were rushing inside, then maybe the best thing he could do was not get in their way.

So he continued forward at his own pace, eyes drifting over the castle grounds as if searching less for a person, and more for whatever had made the air feel so restless.

 

[Earljt4]

The library was huge, filled to the brim with scrolls of many types, knowledge assorted from all over both the shinobi world and the oni world, possibly from even further than that. Eiji had been in the library since he separated from his former group; he now sat at a desk with a pile of scrolls, looking for anything that could help him with his situation, his understanding of puppetry, and possibly trying to unravel the idea of the Uzumaki adamantine sealing chains to apply that theory and skill to his own fighting style. He knew very little about what was going on in the world outside the library as Eiji sought to grow from learning in the library so as not to hold his team back any further and to grow to his own true potential, which some of the Oni and the Salesman saw, but he was only glimpsing at. At the moment, he was holding a scroll to understand the basic theory of chakra threads and chakra form manipulation. He was wondering how the rest of the group was faring on the mission.

 

[ZimTheInvader]

Within the tranquil gardens of Mebu Castle on a small rock floating in the center of the large majestic pond sat a young boy with bright orange hair dressed in a simple white Gi. His form was still and unwavering as he sat there his legs crossed and his hands together in his lap as a small orb of green chakra radiated between his hands. The boy was Chowa a young, weak but dedicated boy who who through mysterious means found himself trapped in Naraka a place were those as weak as him would surely die.

Luckily for the boy he had stumbled across his mentor Takewa within this treacherous, but beautiful land. Right now though he was in the process of training in fact he was working on a technique he devised with Takewa's assistance based on a form of meditation he had read about. It was still far from complete and as of right now he was still simply working on managing and maintaining the flow of his chakra and has yet to unlock the techniques true potential.​

 

[CelestialBlack]

Kiyoshi, was the kind of guy that was unlike many of the cast of Naraka's.....government, for lack of better word. Izanagi - was far too well known to simply go about the normal hustle and bustle of the world and be left alone. Its not that he wouldnt like to or that he wasnt that kind of guy, he simply was far too renown. He was after all, a hero for a great many of them. Imagine if Mikaboshi before him, was a violent dictator of a country that ruled with an iron fist. Well, you would recognize the man that took him off that throne and liberated your people - wouldn't you? It was simply out of the question for him most times. Genichiro was different. A legend in itself yes but with his association and stranglehold over the criminal underworld of Naraka, he was very much the same issue as Izanagi all be it working in a different polarity. The clan lords had all but disappeared, Sam'e suspected of spending most of his time somewhere in isolation in the impure world, Oda an aberration of war - seen only once in a blue moon, and the others? Who knew. And then, there were The Tengu and Tengu Legion commander - Oyodo. You were never even supposed to see them....and if you did it was likely not a good omen.
This to say, Kiyoshi was one of the only figures in Naraka that the people could look up to and associate with openly. There was the young Seiryu, but his training was demanding and he had not yet come to maturity within the Naraka political space yet to take the reign of much political power yet. The people were still divided as to their belief in him. Kiyoshi although his contribution to Naraka's protection and development were immense - with the exception of a few key battles and stories told by those privileged enough to witness them, his main contributions were things that did not bear his face or name. Architectural works, technological, military - inventions and innovations. He was still very much 'one of them' most would say...even if they couldn't be more wrong. All of this to say, Kiyoshi had a major weight on his shoulders and with that weight he had to keep a calm demeanor and kind mask so that those around him would feel like...well, feel like home was still home and not a boiling pot now. He still waved to those that passed by and flashed a smile with a nod of the head but something was off. He knew the people - and his memory was long:

"Hey - you there. I dont think I've ever seen you here before. Welcome to Mebu Castle. Hm, something I can help you with?"

He inquired to Cho as he walked about the castle grounds. There was something off with the way that he looked. It wasn't as if he was searching for a person, no it was that kind of half paying attention manner like someone on a scavenger hunt - people themselves as a concept holding no bearing on what his attention was focused towards but a thing, a specific listed item that he was told was in the area. He was looking hm...hard for him to say - through? Around them? Regardless, Kiyoshi had that feeling like he was under audit or something, like a contest judge or health inspector had just arrived. So the way that he addressed him was friendly and voiced - but loud and projected to catch attention. Hell, the way he was looking around made even him feel....just weird and a bit off. He looked around a bit waiting for the young man to answer, knowing that the others should know what to do from here as well, they were supposed to meet in the courtyard to discuss things moving forward - so he wanted to make sure that he didnt neglect greeting them as well when they arrived. Needless to say, the man did have a thing about punctuality.

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