[Log, Finished] Meet the... Shaggy.
Who: Kirin (picklesplz) & Maya Fey (atrueevening)
Where: Terra; outside the Stea shop Kirin works in, then a convenience store, then a park.
When: November 4th, around 5pm.
Summary: Maya agrees to meet the "kind" stranger she met online, about some self-defense classes. Joy, Kirin has a toy playmate student now. And a bottomless pit to feed.
Rating: PG-13
Other: N/A
Around quarter to five, Kirin was snapping his knuckles. The sound irritated his boss. He knew the sound irritated his boss. But today he wasn't doing it because he was bored. Today he did it because he was tediously waiting for five o'clock, so he could meet his new... playmate.
A little malicious smile tugged at his lips as he shifted a bit around the high chair by the register. Today there hadn't been anything particularly note-worthy, so he had been stuck at the front of the store all day, poking at a laptop in between dealing with costumers. He didn't mind, today had been a mildly entertaining day online, and he might have even found himself someone to play with.
The front store was dully astonishing as ever; rows and rows of earrings and rings, and a farfetched display of necklaces he doubt any sane person would want to buy. Regardless, the Terra stores were almost moderate to the ones in Elysium, and Kirin decided it could be worse. He could be stuck being a clerk up in one of the obscenely bright displays there. He shuddered a bit.
Maya didn't really know what to expect about the upcoming 'play' time. By the way the strange man had described the excersice to her, she knew that it would be no place for her spirit garb. She had found a pair of jeans, a sweater and an old pair of running shoes (most likely her sisters) and decided they would be suitable 'playing' clothes. Reluctantly she had taken off her Magatama necklace and put it in the back pocket of her jeans. If she couldn't wear it she wanted it close. Tying her hair up in a ponytail, she asked Pearly if she'd be okay on her own. The young girl seemed content to watch TV, so Maya warned her one last time not to open the door to strangers before she was out of their shop and walking down the street.
She took the wrong way once or twice before finally ending up at the meeting point. Looking around outside the shop, she couldn't see the man anywheres, so she squatted down in front of the store and wished she had a soda to pass the time waiting for her playmate.
Half hidden as he was, behind the displays, Kirin did have a good view of the street from his little uncomfortable corner, and he grinned a bit when he saw the girl stop outside the store, obviously waiting for someone. Well, young ones were always good, they didn't get tired too easily and at least had that immature stubbornness on their side. Grin widening a sliver, he slid off his perch and hooked his sword on the back of his jeans. He figured it made him look a bit odd, but with paperwork properly filed, he didn't have much trouble with the cops around. He figured they'd gotten used to see him coming and going, from home to work, every day. He went inside to inform the old man he was leaving, and actually left before the twitching man could start a lecture.
Kirin, despite loving to give lectures, hated being the one on the receiving end of one.
Stepping into the streets, he didn't look particularly striking, a somewhat lanky man with white hair, wearing a black sweater and jeans. ...except for the particularly long sword half hooked on his belt, by his back. He grinned at Maya.
"Lost in the road of life, Miss?"
Maya looked up startled at the man before grasping her neck.
"I think so," Maya said sounding sincere "I still have a pulse so I must be! What about you?"
In Maya's opinion if the man wasn't lost on the road of life... he was definitely lost on where the barber was. His long shaggy hair made Maya long to recommend the top knot style she was so fond of but the young spirit medium held her tongue.
"I'm waiting for someone." Maya explained to the strange man "We're going to play a 'dusty-game'."
Kirin flashed her a toothy grin, clearly pleased. Well, as clear as it was through the lower half of his face, which was the only visible part of his features.
"Looks like you're at least prepared, ne?" Tilting his head to the side, he nodded in direction of a wider street. "What do you say we find somewhere we can play at our leisure? There's something I need to buy first, but there's a park outside the comercial district, where we won't bother anyone."
Maya looked around unsure before standing up and taking on a determined pose.
"You... you're not going to do anything bad are you? Can I have a Samurai oath that you're not bad?" Maya usually took things at face value, but now, because of the recent attacks and everything else she couldn't afford not to go home. Pearly needed her but Maya needed to make sure that she could help Pearly if the situation ever came. Fully aware that her Magatama would react slightly if Kirin told a lie, Maya waited for his answer.
"Mmm, you're naive enough to be here but not naive enough to follow without questions," Kirin noted as he folded his left arm over his chest and held his chin with his right hand. He pursed his lips for a moment before beaming a bit. "I like that, trusting but not stupid. This is looking promising already." Right hand falling on shunka-shutou's handle, the smile became lazy, somewhat relaxed. "I am not going to hurt you," it's probably going to be aaaall your doing, "I can promise that. Though I'm no samurai, so I dunno if I can do that." He scratched his head with his left hand, seemingly thoughtful. "Is that really necessary?"
"No," Maya said looking disappointed "I just like Samurai. But my Magatama says your telling the truth, so I guess lets play!" Or at least she hoped it did. She hadn't felt a response from the spiritual tool but that could be only Maya's fault. She knew full well she didn't have the strongest spirutal energy out there, and she might have mucked it up charging it. Maya hoped that the man was telling the truth, just in case. "My name's Maya by the way. Maya Fey!"
"Nice to meet you, Maya," Kirin smirked, "I'm Kirin, just Kirin." He tilted his head to the left, almost as if he were arching an eyebrow behind his bangs, though, of course, if he did, it went unseen. "Ready to go?"
"Yuuup!" Maya said looking around the area one last time before starting to follow Kirin. She walked oddly like she wasn't use to wearing jeans or shoes, but her mood didn't seem to decline even if she was uncomfortable.
"So what do you need to pick up?" Asked Maya curiously "Instant noodles?"
"Ew, no," Kirin grimaced a bit. "Just a ball." He started walking down the street, to a convenience store that sold haki as stress relievers. He'd been amused to see the toy up here in Terra; he had scarce but surprisingly good memories of them down in Abyss. Of course, he shut down that train of thought before it strayed to places it had no business going. "In here," he nodded to the store, "want to wait for me here, or do you need to buy anything? Water, maybe?"
"Now that you mention it... I could go for a nice big steak." She said rubbing her belly "Do you know where I could find one of those?" She looked around expectantly but nowhere on the street looked like it would house the meat she was craving. Sighing in defeat she said "Nevermind, I'll just go with you."
He seemed to be staring at her a bit oddly, but with his hair it was hard to tell. Shaking his head a bit, he moved into the store, fetching a bottle of water for himself - sadly, it was still a crime to drink alcohol in the street and he didn't want to have that conversation with a cop again, especially while carrying a sword. He moved over towards the cashier, but held back a bit, turning to Maya.
"Got everything you need?"
Maya who had been reading the back of a soda can, dutifully put the product down before coming to Kirin's side.
"Why do we need a ball?" She asked watching the transaction of money. "We're not going to play fetch are we?" She asked looking rather unamused by the idea.
"Patience is a virtue, y'know?" Kirin smirked a bit, putting his change into his wallet, which was also his keyring and had, along half a dozen keys, a fluffy white thing that seemed to be a mix of a dog and a sheep. Wallet and keys went into his back pocket, sheep-dog-thingy hanging off to the side, half hiden by the clip holding the katana in place. "I'll tell you what to do when we get there," bottle of water in one hand, haki in the other, Kirin walked out of the store and started walking down the street, out of the comercial district.
Maya followed close by taking in the sites. She didn't really wander too much now that she had the responsibility of a business and a little girl, but Maya did like exploring. She missed it, but shook her head before she could start feeling sorry for herself. She came up beside Kirin, and tugged on his shirt slightly.
"Are we there yet?" She asked sounding very much like a child bored to death during a road trip.
"Geez," looking down his nose at her - or at least seeming to - Kirin twitched a bit. "You're worse than me!" Shaking his head, he started threwing the haki up the air in one hand, playing absentmindedly with it. "Now, let's see, we should go down from here and... yep." Nodding to himself, he grinned at Maya. "No, we're not there yet."
Maya gave an groan and slumped forward. After a moment or so of walking in silence Maya finally asked;
"How can you see out of your hair?"
"Huh?" Very purposely, Kirin turned to face the opposite side to the one Maya was walking, seemingly talking to air. "That's a magic trick, you see, I have very good sight."
Maya looked at him confused for a minute before responding,
"I don't get it. How about you give me a piggy-back ride until the park?"
"What? Tired already?" Kirin made a face, "if you have so little stamina, it's not going to be fun or worth the effort!"
Maya huffed out loud puffing out her cheeks, and brought her shoulders up in a defensive pose.
"You'd be tired too if you meditated for an hour and then waxed a floor and watered a doze-billion plants." She didn't bother mentioning how long it took to search through the attic to find clothes to wear, or the mess she made boiling noodles and the time it took to clean it. Maya thought she was doing good considering her busy day.
"That's called endurance," Kirin said with amusement, smile wide enough for his tongue to be visible, as he pressed the tip of it against the back of his front teeth. "And you're gonna need lots if you hope to save your skin from someone attacking you. But that's not the point." He smirked. "You're gonna need lots of endurance if you wanna keep up with me. Otherwise the game will be boring."
"Boring games aren't fun," Agreed Maya, perking up as she spotted a flat lot of land she asked hopefully, "Are we here now?"
"Yep, this is it," Kirin grinned, entering the green area, still at a lazy pace.
It was pretty much just a stretch of grass with a few trees scattered about; most likely part of the "green" campaigns occasionally sprouted by the government when they needed people's attention elsewhere. Kirin didn't mind the park, though it was certainly different from the unkept, nearly wild areas he'd grown up in. The important thing was that it'd serve it's purpose.
"Right," setting his water bottle on the floor by his feet, he threw the haki from one hand to another. "Ready, Maya?"
Maya followed the bouncing ball with her eyes before looking at Kirin with an obvious 'you've got to be kidding' look on her face.
"Uhhh, for what?"
"See, I usually tell people who want classes to nick Jajamaru off my pocket," he balanced to the side, and tugged at the plushy at the end of his wallet/keychain, grinning deviously like christmas had come early. "But I don't think you're up to that yet. So here's the deal. Get this," he shaked the haki teasingly, "and I'll train you. Anything goes, the only rule is that I can't use my hands. 'cause then it'd wouldn't be fair, would it?"
"Alright!" Maya said pumping her fists in the air, "This will be easy!" She lurched forward and lunged for the ball in such an easily avoided move.
Kirin grinned, turning to the side and kicking the haki in Maya's direction, or more specifically, the three about two feet left from her. The haki bounced up by the strength of the hit and Kirin rolled smoothly out of the way, by passing Maya and catching the haki with the top of his right foot.
"Now," he kicked it lightly, changing from one foot to the other, "just what will be easy?"
Maya more or less did a belly flop on to the ground.
"Ow! That was mean!" She said stubbornly before making another dive at the haki and missing it by a foot or two.
"Really?" He asked in a perfectly sincere tone, balancing the haki in the crook between his foot and his ankle, before he threw it over his head to catch it with his other foot. "How so?" Using his most charming voice, Kirin smiled angelically.
"Haven't," Maya made a grab and missed... "You," And another... "Heard," and another "Of... AH!" She fell on her rump and winced "Treating a lady properly?" She finished weakly before scrambling to her feet again only wincing slightly at her bruise.
Kirin moved around, mostly playing with the girl - and the ball - but at Maya's words feinted left and right until he was standing next to her, facing the opposite direction. An arm almost carelessly thrown over her neck, he leaned a bit heavily against her. "And you think the people who took those kids away, are going to care if you're a lady or not?" He asked in an oddly purring tone, that seemed three parts malice, four pure mocking.
He let her go quickly enough, though, bouncing the haki against a tree again and keeping at least four feet of distance between them.
Maya stopped dead for a moment as unpleasent images flickered through her head. Only they weren't of the poor children but of her sister... slumped over, blood pouring too heavily from the gaping wound in her head... Maya made a grab furiously at the haki again.
"I know that!" She stopped and rubbed furiously at her face to wipe her bangs out of her eyes. "I just thought this was a game!"
"It is," Kirin said in an almost condescending tone, balancing back on his left foot. A sliver of a blue eye flickered momentarily through his hair. "And following my rules, it's a pretty harmless game. But whoever sets the rules, sets the tone." He taunted her, once more bouncing the haki from one foot to the other in a lazy rhythm. "The thing is, unless you're strong enough to always set the rules, you oughta be smart enough to adapt to the game. 'cause some people think it's fun to see you flailing about, getting dirt all over your clothes. Just like some people think killing a kid is a blast."
Maya ignored his taunt and thought about it for a moment.
"Adapt to the game... so I.... I got it!" Cried Maya happily. She ran at Kirin and the Haki, but instead of diving for the ball she kept running with every intent of running into the silver haired man.
Well, that was fast. Still not giving up, though, Kirin feinted left and right, back stepping to try and avoid a collision. At the last moment, backed up against a tree, he kicked the haki to the side and jumped up, balancing on a branch and looking down with a grin.
Maya had seen that the man had jumped out of range but stopping her body in time was an entirely different matter. She threw her arms up just in time for her elbows to catch most of the damage. Dislodging herself from the collusion she delicatly turned her arms over to inspect the damage. Both of her elbows were skinned... it hurt a bit, but would hurt much, much more in the bath later. She winced. No way she was going to explain this off on Pearly. Stubbornly Maya jumped up and tried to catch if not the haki, then at least Kirin's shoe or something for a hostage.
Kirin added insult to injury, he balanced on his branch, sitting crosslegged and with shunka-shutou on his lap. He grinned.
"Lost in the road of life again?"
Maya squinted upwards.
"No, I think some people would call this 'barking up the wrong tree'!" She pushed off of the plant and circled around it trying to find a weakspot to plan her next assult. She stopped dead though when something in the grass caught her eye.
"Hey! It's another Mr. Haki!" She started towards it curious to see if it was the same one Kirin had.
"Oy vey," Kirin muttered under his breath, pulling Jajamaru off his pants and watching the girl studing the only haki in the park. "This," he squeezed the keychain, and the fluffy dog made a wierd sound that could maybe be compared to barking, "is called barking. That," Kirin continued, leaping off his perch with relative ease, sword in one hand and keychain/wallet in the other, "is called a winner. A bit of a slow one, but still a winner."
Maya looked at the haki in her hand to Kirin and then back at the haki before it dawned on her.
"Ah! This is Haki! I won!" She shouted happily pumping her fists in the air, completely forgetting about injuries in light of her victory. "Thank you Mr. Kirin!"
Behind his bangs, Kirin arched an eyebrow. All that enthusiasm... it was going to be wickedly delightful to systematically grind it out. He grinned evilly.
"Congratulations... or maybe it should be my condolences? Ah well," he tilted his head to the side, his teeth suddenly seeming sharper and his grin far more feral, "seems we have an agreement, eh?"
"Yeah! You have to buy me ice cream now!" She shouted happily, completely ignoring any forwarning the man was trying to give her. "I know this really good place about three blocks from here..."
"Ew, that's just gross!" Kirin made a face at the prospect of the sugary treat. "Wouldn't you prefer some pickles? Nice and juicy?"
Clearly, the first thing to do in order to make this girl self-suficient was to beat the evil of sugar out of her system.
Maya deflated a bit.
"Pickles are good, but ice creams a better celebrating treat... or I know! A nice big juicy burger! I can always go for one of those." She said steepling her fingers in front of her and nodding vigouriously to her own statement. "Yeah, lets go burger-hunting!"
"Mmm," he bounced the sword against his shoulder, pensive, "I guess I'm a little hungry too... okay."
...he really didn't know the slaughter he signed his wallet into.
Where: Terra; outside the Stea shop Kirin works in, then a convenience store, then a park.
When: November 4th, around 5pm.
Summary: Maya agrees to meet the "kind" stranger she met online, about some self-defense classes. Joy, Kirin has a toy playmate student now. And a bottomless pit to feed.
Rating: PG-13
Other: N/A
Around quarter to five, Kirin was snapping his knuckles. The sound irritated his boss. He knew the sound irritated his boss. But today he wasn't doing it because he was bored. Today he did it because he was tediously waiting for five o'clock, so he could meet his new... playmate.
A little malicious smile tugged at his lips as he shifted a bit around the high chair by the register. Today there hadn't been anything particularly note-worthy, so he had been stuck at the front of the store all day, poking at a laptop in between dealing with costumers. He didn't mind, today had been a mildly entertaining day online, and he might have even found himself someone to play with.
The front store was dully astonishing as ever; rows and rows of earrings and rings, and a farfetched display of necklaces he doubt any sane person would want to buy. Regardless, the Terra stores were almost moderate to the ones in Elysium, and Kirin decided it could be worse. He could be stuck being a clerk up in one of the obscenely bright displays there. He shuddered a bit.
Maya didn't really know what to expect about the upcoming 'play' time. By the way the strange man had described the excersice to her, she knew that it would be no place for her spirit garb. She had found a pair of jeans, a sweater and an old pair of running shoes (most likely her sisters) and decided they would be suitable 'playing' clothes. Reluctantly she had taken off her Magatama necklace and put it in the back pocket of her jeans. If she couldn't wear it she wanted it close. Tying her hair up in a ponytail, she asked Pearly if she'd be okay on her own. The young girl seemed content to watch TV, so Maya warned her one last time not to open the door to strangers before she was out of their shop and walking down the street.
She took the wrong way once or twice before finally ending up at the meeting point. Looking around outside the shop, she couldn't see the man anywheres, so she squatted down in front of the store and wished she had a soda to pass the time waiting for her playmate.
Half hidden as he was, behind the displays, Kirin did have a good view of the street from his little uncomfortable corner, and he grinned a bit when he saw the girl stop outside the store, obviously waiting for someone. Well, young ones were always good, they didn't get tired too easily and at least had that immature stubbornness on their side. Grin widening a sliver, he slid off his perch and hooked his sword on the back of his jeans. He figured it made him look a bit odd, but with paperwork properly filed, he didn't have much trouble with the cops around. He figured they'd gotten used to see him coming and going, from home to work, every day. He went inside to inform the old man he was leaving, and actually left before the twitching man could start a lecture.
Kirin, despite loving to give lectures, hated being the one on the receiving end of one.
Stepping into the streets, he didn't look particularly striking, a somewhat lanky man with white hair, wearing a black sweater and jeans. ...except for the particularly long sword half hooked on his belt, by his back. He grinned at Maya.
"Lost in the road of life, Miss?"
Maya looked up startled at the man before grasping her neck.
"I think so," Maya said sounding sincere "I still have a pulse so I must be! What about you?"
In Maya's opinion if the man wasn't lost on the road of life... he was definitely lost on where the barber was. His long shaggy hair made Maya long to recommend the top knot style she was so fond of but the young spirit medium held her tongue.
"I'm waiting for someone." Maya explained to the strange man "We're going to play a 'dusty-game'."
Kirin flashed her a toothy grin, clearly pleased. Well, as clear as it was through the lower half of his face, which was the only visible part of his features.
"Looks like you're at least prepared, ne?" Tilting his head to the side, he nodded in direction of a wider street. "What do you say we find somewhere we can play at our leisure? There's something I need to buy first, but there's a park outside the comercial district, where we won't bother anyone."
Maya looked around unsure before standing up and taking on a determined pose.
"You... you're not going to do anything bad are you? Can I have a Samurai oath that you're not bad?" Maya usually took things at face value, but now, because of the recent attacks and everything else she couldn't afford not to go home. Pearly needed her but Maya needed to make sure that she could help Pearly if the situation ever came. Fully aware that her Magatama would react slightly if Kirin told a lie, Maya waited for his answer.
"Mmm, you're naive enough to be here but not naive enough to follow without questions," Kirin noted as he folded his left arm over his chest and held his chin with his right hand. He pursed his lips for a moment before beaming a bit. "I like that, trusting but not stupid. This is looking promising already." Right hand falling on shunka-shutou's handle, the smile became lazy, somewhat relaxed. "I am not going to hurt you," it's probably going to be aaaall your doing, "I can promise that. Though I'm no samurai, so I dunno if I can do that." He scratched his head with his left hand, seemingly thoughtful. "Is that really necessary?"
"No," Maya said looking disappointed "I just like Samurai. But my Magatama says your telling the truth, so I guess lets play!" Or at least she hoped it did. She hadn't felt a response from the spiritual tool but that could be only Maya's fault. She knew full well she didn't have the strongest spirutal energy out there, and she might have mucked it up charging it. Maya hoped that the man was telling the truth, just in case. "My name's Maya by the way. Maya Fey!"
"Nice to meet you, Maya," Kirin smirked, "I'm Kirin, just Kirin." He tilted his head to the left, almost as if he were arching an eyebrow behind his bangs, though, of course, if he did, it went unseen. "Ready to go?"
"Yuuup!" Maya said looking around the area one last time before starting to follow Kirin. She walked oddly like she wasn't use to wearing jeans or shoes, but her mood didn't seem to decline even if she was uncomfortable.
"So what do you need to pick up?" Asked Maya curiously "Instant noodles?"
"Ew, no," Kirin grimaced a bit. "Just a ball." He started walking down the street, to a convenience store that sold haki as stress relievers. He'd been amused to see the toy up here in Terra; he had scarce but surprisingly good memories of them down in Abyss. Of course, he shut down that train of thought before it strayed to places it had no business going. "In here," he nodded to the store, "want to wait for me here, or do you need to buy anything? Water, maybe?"
"Now that you mention it... I could go for a nice big steak." She said rubbing her belly "Do you know where I could find one of those?" She looked around expectantly but nowhere on the street looked like it would house the meat she was craving. Sighing in defeat she said "Nevermind, I'll just go with you."
He seemed to be staring at her a bit oddly, but with his hair it was hard to tell. Shaking his head a bit, he moved into the store, fetching a bottle of water for himself - sadly, it was still a crime to drink alcohol in the street and he didn't want to have that conversation with a cop again, especially while carrying a sword. He moved over towards the cashier, but held back a bit, turning to Maya.
"Got everything you need?"
Maya who had been reading the back of a soda can, dutifully put the product down before coming to Kirin's side.
"Why do we need a ball?" She asked watching the transaction of money. "We're not going to play fetch are we?" She asked looking rather unamused by the idea.
"Patience is a virtue, y'know?" Kirin smirked a bit, putting his change into his wallet, which was also his keyring and had, along half a dozen keys, a fluffy white thing that seemed to be a mix of a dog and a sheep. Wallet and keys went into his back pocket, sheep-dog-thingy hanging off to the side, half hiden by the clip holding the katana in place. "I'll tell you what to do when we get there," bottle of water in one hand, haki in the other, Kirin walked out of the store and started walking down the street, out of the comercial district.
Maya followed close by taking in the sites. She didn't really wander too much now that she had the responsibility of a business and a little girl, but Maya did like exploring. She missed it, but shook her head before she could start feeling sorry for herself. She came up beside Kirin, and tugged on his shirt slightly.
"Are we there yet?" She asked sounding very much like a child bored to death during a road trip.
"Geez," looking down his nose at her - or at least seeming to - Kirin twitched a bit. "You're worse than me!" Shaking his head, he started threwing the haki up the air in one hand, playing absentmindedly with it. "Now, let's see, we should go down from here and... yep." Nodding to himself, he grinned at Maya. "No, we're not there yet."
Maya gave an groan and slumped forward. After a moment or so of walking in silence Maya finally asked;
"How can you see out of your hair?"
"Huh?" Very purposely, Kirin turned to face the opposite side to the one Maya was walking, seemingly talking to air. "That's a magic trick, you see, I have very good sight."
Maya looked at him confused for a minute before responding,
"I don't get it. How about you give me a piggy-back ride until the park?"
"What? Tired already?" Kirin made a face, "if you have so little stamina, it's not going to be fun or worth the effort!"
Maya huffed out loud puffing out her cheeks, and brought her shoulders up in a defensive pose.
"You'd be tired too if you meditated for an hour and then waxed a floor and watered a doze-billion plants." She didn't bother mentioning how long it took to search through the attic to find clothes to wear, or the mess she made boiling noodles and the time it took to clean it. Maya thought she was doing good considering her busy day.
"That's called endurance," Kirin said with amusement, smile wide enough for his tongue to be visible, as he pressed the tip of it against the back of his front teeth. "And you're gonna need lots if you hope to save your skin from someone attacking you. But that's not the point." He smirked. "You're gonna need lots of endurance if you wanna keep up with me. Otherwise the game will be boring."
"Boring games aren't fun," Agreed Maya, perking up as she spotted a flat lot of land she asked hopefully, "Are we here now?"
"Yep, this is it," Kirin grinned, entering the green area, still at a lazy pace.
It was pretty much just a stretch of grass with a few trees scattered about; most likely part of the "green" campaigns occasionally sprouted by the government when they needed people's attention elsewhere. Kirin didn't mind the park, though it was certainly different from the unkept, nearly wild areas he'd grown up in. The important thing was that it'd serve it's purpose.
"Right," setting his water bottle on the floor by his feet, he threw the haki from one hand to another. "Ready, Maya?"
Maya followed the bouncing ball with her eyes before looking at Kirin with an obvious 'you've got to be kidding' look on her face.
"Uhhh, for what?"
"See, I usually tell people who want classes to nick Jajamaru off my pocket," he balanced to the side, and tugged at the plushy at the end of his wallet/keychain, grinning deviously like christmas had come early. "But I don't think you're up to that yet. So here's the deal. Get this," he shaked the haki teasingly, "and I'll train you. Anything goes, the only rule is that I can't use my hands. 'cause then it'd wouldn't be fair, would it?"
"Alright!" Maya said pumping her fists in the air, "This will be easy!" She lurched forward and lunged for the ball in such an easily avoided move.
Kirin grinned, turning to the side and kicking the haki in Maya's direction, or more specifically, the three about two feet left from her. The haki bounced up by the strength of the hit and Kirin rolled smoothly out of the way, by passing Maya and catching the haki with the top of his right foot.
"Now," he kicked it lightly, changing from one foot to the other, "just what will be easy?"
Maya more or less did a belly flop on to the ground.
"Ow! That was mean!" She said stubbornly before making another dive at the haki and missing it by a foot or two.
"Really?" He asked in a perfectly sincere tone, balancing the haki in the crook between his foot and his ankle, before he threw it over his head to catch it with his other foot. "How so?" Using his most charming voice, Kirin smiled angelically.
"Haven't," Maya made a grab and missed... "You," And another... "Heard," and another "Of... AH!" She fell on her rump and winced "Treating a lady properly?" She finished weakly before scrambling to her feet again only wincing slightly at her bruise.
Kirin moved around, mostly playing with the girl - and the ball - but at Maya's words feinted left and right until he was standing next to her, facing the opposite direction. An arm almost carelessly thrown over her neck, he leaned a bit heavily against her. "And you think the people who took those kids away, are going to care if you're a lady or not?" He asked in an oddly purring tone, that seemed three parts malice, four pure mocking.
He let her go quickly enough, though, bouncing the haki against a tree again and keeping at least four feet of distance between them.
Maya stopped dead for a moment as unpleasent images flickered through her head. Only they weren't of the poor children but of her sister... slumped over, blood pouring too heavily from the gaping wound in her head... Maya made a grab furiously at the haki again.
"I know that!" She stopped and rubbed furiously at her face to wipe her bangs out of her eyes. "I just thought this was a game!"
"It is," Kirin said in an almost condescending tone, balancing back on his left foot. A sliver of a blue eye flickered momentarily through his hair. "And following my rules, it's a pretty harmless game. But whoever sets the rules, sets the tone." He taunted her, once more bouncing the haki from one foot to the other in a lazy rhythm. "The thing is, unless you're strong enough to always set the rules, you oughta be smart enough to adapt to the game. 'cause some people think it's fun to see you flailing about, getting dirt all over your clothes. Just like some people think killing a kid is a blast."
Maya ignored his taunt and thought about it for a moment.
"Adapt to the game... so I.... I got it!" Cried Maya happily. She ran at Kirin and the Haki, but instead of diving for the ball she kept running with every intent of running into the silver haired man.
Well, that was fast. Still not giving up, though, Kirin feinted left and right, back stepping to try and avoid a collision. At the last moment, backed up against a tree, he kicked the haki to the side and jumped up, balancing on a branch and looking down with a grin.
Maya had seen that the man had jumped out of range but stopping her body in time was an entirely different matter. She threw her arms up just in time for her elbows to catch most of the damage. Dislodging herself from the collusion she delicatly turned her arms over to inspect the damage. Both of her elbows were skinned... it hurt a bit, but would hurt much, much more in the bath later. She winced. No way she was going to explain this off on Pearly. Stubbornly Maya jumped up and tried to catch if not the haki, then at least Kirin's shoe or something for a hostage.
Kirin added insult to injury, he balanced on his branch, sitting crosslegged and with shunka-shutou on his lap. He grinned.
"Lost in the road of life again?"
Maya squinted upwards.
"No, I think some people would call this 'barking up the wrong tree'!" She pushed off of the plant and circled around it trying to find a weakspot to plan her next assult. She stopped dead though when something in the grass caught her eye.
"Hey! It's another Mr. Haki!" She started towards it curious to see if it was the same one Kirin had.
"Oy vey," Kirin muttered under his breath, pulling Jajamaru off his pants and watching the girl studing the only haki in the park. "This," he squeezed the keychain, and the fluffy dog made a wierd sound that could maybe be compared to barking, "is called barking. That," Kirin continued, leaping off his perch with relative ease, sword in one hand and keychain/wallet in the other, "is called a winner. A bit of a slow one, but still a winner."
Maya looked at the haki in her hand to Kirin and then back at the haki before it dawned on her.
"Ah! This is Haki! I won!" She shouted happily pumping her fists in the air, completely forgetting about injuries in light of her victory. "Thank you Mr. Kirin!"
Behind his bangs, Kirin arched an eyebrow. All that enthusiasm... it was going to be wickedly delightful to systematically grind it out. He grinned evilly.
"Congratulations... or maybe it should be my condolences? Ah well," he tilted his head to the side, his teeth suddenly seeming sharper and his grin far more feral, "seems we have an agreement, eh?"
"Yeah! You have to buy me ice cream now!" She shouted happily, completely ignoring any forwarning the man was trying to give her. "I know this really good place about three blocks from here..."
"Ew, that's just gross!" Kirin made a face at the prospect of the sugary treat. "Wouldn't you prefer some pickles? Nice and juicy?"
Clearly, the first thing to do in order to make this girl self-suficient was to beat the evil of sugar out of her system.
Maya deflated a bit.
"Pickles are good, but ice creams a better celebrating treat... or I know! A nice big juicy burger! I can always go for one of those." She said steepling her fingers in front of her and nodding vigouriously to her own statement. "Yeah, lets go burger-hunting!"
"Mmm," he bounced the sword against his shoulder, pensive, "I guess I'm a little hungry too... okay."
...he really didn't know the slaughter he signed his wallet into.