[open]

[coughcoughshank]

[From the looks of it, Souji has just finished some practice - the bokuto are put away neatly, but he hasn't bothered getting changed yet. He's sitting out on the porch, still wearing his hakama and gi, hair tied up off his neck. He fans himself with one hand - it's a bit hot today for training, but he didn't want to waste a string of good days

Comments

[paintedkoi]

[Her kimono were messy, certainly not what one might expect from a woman out wandering alone. She walks slowly, with a cane in hand, but she knows she will reach what had being called to her soon.

Plain sandals on her feet, she carefully prods at the ground before her, and then turns to him. She raises a hand in greeting, bowing her head slightly and looking at him with eyes that were filmed over, like a dead fish's.]

Hello.

[coughcoughshank]

[Souji looked up and blinked in surprise. This woman did not look like the type to be wandering around Shinsengumi headquarters - but then again, this was temple land, as well. Perhaps she lost. Either way, it never hurt to be polite.]

Ah, hello!

[paintedkoi]

[Tapping her cane against the wood he was sitting on, she settled herself into place beside him, but not close enough to be rude. He eyes didn't focus on him, instead looking forward, always forward. That was how her life was, no matter if it was aiding her emperor or simply resting at the temple.

She smiled softly, drawing her robes around her.]

I am not lost.

My name is Ren. You are Souji Okita, correct?

[coughcoughshank]

[Another surprised blink from Souji - though the woman /did/ carry herself like a miko, even if she wasn't dressed as one, so...

He made a small affirmative noise]

I am. Were you looking for me?

[paintedkoi]

Don't be surprised. I can hear you.

[And she chuckled softly.]

I am no miko. Though I'll take that as a compliment.

I suppose you can say that I was looking for you...I was drawn to this place for some reason.

[She tapped her cane on the ground as she thought.]

I have been sent other places, spoken to others.

[coughcoughshank]

[If his guess was right, he wouldn't need to voice the question out loud. but it was habit to vocalise, and so he did.]

You can...read minds?

[paintedkoi]

[She nodded softly.]

I don't mean to invite myself in, but your thoughts are clear like water.

[coughcoughshank]

[He laughed a little awkwardly]

I suppose that's not a bad thing, ne? I wouldn't want my thoughts to be muddy, I think.

[Still, he couldn't help but feel a touch of fear - if she could read minds, she would know his secret.]

[paintedkoi]

Don't be concerned. I don't pry.

[And she nodded, turning those unseeing eyes in his direction. she would make some comment about the weather, but she never was much one for idle chit-chat. Instead she reached out, resting a hand on his arm and smiled.]

I can only see the waves of the surface, not the depths that lie beneath them.

[coughcoughshank]

[Ah, well, that was something of a relief. It wasn't quite a secret here, any more - not among the other officers, anyway - but the fact that one of the ranking Shinsengumi officers was dying of tuberculosis wasn't something he wanted spread around.]

Ah, I see!

[In an effort to draw the conversation away from that particular topic, he went back to something she had said earlier.]

Something...drew you here?

[paintedkoi]

I have been traveling for some time. Occasionally, the fog will lift and I will find myself speaking to someone.

[She smiled softly in his direction.]

It seems I am drawn to these places.

[coughcoughshank]

[Souji glanced up thoughtfully, kicking his legs absentmindedly]

I wonder what drew you here, then...

[paintedkoi]

Perhaps it was you. The threads of fate seem wound tight around you.

[She closes her eyes, tapping her cane softly against the ground with scaled and webbed hands.]

[coughcoughshank]

Mm, maybe.

[There's a sort of false cheerfulness to his voice - fate means someone taking his decisions out of his hands. And he really doesn't like the sound of that right now.]

[paintedkoi]

I have troubled you. I apologize.

[She doesn't have to hear the false cheer in his voice- she can sense his thoughts, and she doesn't dig deeper than that. She bows her head softly, blinking her eyes closed.]

[coughcoughshank]

Ah- it's fine. It wasn't you. Things have just been - complicated, lately.