There's a shadow just behind me [OPEN... sort of...]
Who: Himura Kenshin
What: Introspection re: the Riful stuff
When: Around July 18th (give or take a day, he’s doing this a lot)
Where: Out in the forest somewhere => the castle
Rating: G/PG
It had been just over two weeks since Allen Walker had brought full public attention to the woman-or beast, he wasn’t sure what to make of it-known as Riful. Of course it wasn’t just her, it was the allies she had. The loss he had experienced at the beginning of June made it perfectly clear what some residents of the castle could be capable of, and based off what he had heard repeatedly between Allen’s announcement and the information at the Peace Patrol meeting he had only seen what could constitute the tip of the proverbial ice berg.
Kenshin couldn’t ignore the situation. Not with what could potentially come with this situation. He couldn’t ignore it any more than he could ignore someone screaming for help. If there was any one truth he held in himself it was the need to protect people. Even before he had the ability to do so that need had been there. It was as much a part of him as the blood that flowed through his veins. But as much as he knew he couldn’t turn his back on the growing unrest he couldn’t help but recognize a very real fear. He had gone for the last ten years only needing the strength of a rurouni to protect those around him with few exceptions. All of the conflicts he had found in all that time were amid men much weaker than him in mind, spirit and skill. But beyond anything else he was well aware that Paradisa was not Meiji Era Japan. Riful and Legato and whoever else were at the head of this conflict were not dirty politicians, power-drunk police officers or small-time yakuza. What he was looking at was bigger than what he could even wrap his mind around.
He was torn and hesitant to place himself among those preparing to fight in what almost felt like the beginnings of a sort of war. After all, things had gone so well the last time he had thrown his lot in with any sort of organized movement. This time, however, his waning trust lay not with his allies but with himself. He had almost began discussing it with Esther, the previous month’s loss constantly tricking him into speaking more openly to her than he really wanted… but he feared a loss of self the same as when he had faced Jin-e those months before in Tokyo. He had no intention of breaking his vow, no intention of entering into anything no matter what movements they made with the intention of taking life of any kind…
But he also knew that if he was pushed to the wall that he would. He had lost himself in Hitokiri Battousai that night facing Jin-e, pushed to the point that his nature as the hitokiri had taken the forefront because his strength as a rurouni was not enough to save Kaoru. By the very nature of what he had heard of their potential foes he could only see it happening again. Even if it was only in his head the hazy scent of blood seemed to be clinging to him more thickly than it had in a long while. It seemed as though those days were about to begin again-but there was no real comparison. Whatever this was going to be, it would be no bakumatsu. It would be no Toba-Fushimi.
And perhaps it was the unknown that was unsettling him the most…
His wanderings amid the castle and the castle grounds had taken a more somber turn since the first announcement had gone out, only worsening with the most recent Peace Patrol meeting and the call to arms by Alleyne. It was getting much more difficult to maintain the carefully crafted mask he’d worn for ten years, as though the rurouni was already losing his foothold before anything had even happened.
Finding a clear area in the forest Kenshin did his best to clear his mind. He let his eyes shut, exhaling slowly before fluidly drawing his sword and beginning a kata. He had been growing soft, rusty as the claims went, in recent years, the necessity for precision simply not present. It was something he was regretting now. In the past week alone he had come to this area repeatedly to go through the motions and try to hone his skills and hopefully thereby calm some of his worries. The movements started out slow, comparable to a kata from any school with simple thrusts, swings and visible parries. As it progressed so did the speed and agility of the movements. The movements that could be recognizable as methods for facing the multiple foes Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu was known for becoming more clear. The movements were fluid, going from attacking blows to defensive blocks in one swing, the sword sheath coming lose from his belt to become part of the ‘dance’, savage movements that could clearly take down an opponent with a single blow between the trajectory and the speed they were delivered in. And truly, if anyone were to see him he would seem only a blur of red and flashes of metal as the light caught the edge of his blade.
The kata ended abruptly, despite the fury of the movement, Kenshin seeming to halt instantaneously the sakabatou being sheathed with the same godlike speed as it was generally drawn and Kenshin stood stock still at the center of the clearing, breathing deeply from the exertion, head bowed and eyes closed in concentration.
And just as it had been for the last week, Jin-e’s words came back to him. A hitokiri is a hitokiri until the day he dies. It seemed like no matter what he did those words and the truth that rang behind them would haunt him. He opened his eyes slowly, sliding out of stance and into a mockery of a relaxed posture before turning back toward the castle. There wasn’t much more that he could do… other than wait and see what happened. And pray that he had the strength to keep control over his own nature…
[ooc; mostly putting this up for in-game reference on Kenshin’s mental state BUT if anyone wants to interact with him feel free! Either out in the woods or on his way back to the castle or in the castle, LOL I’M EASY.]
What: Introspection re: the Riful stuff
When: Around July 18th (give or take a day, he’s doing this a lot)
Where: Out in the forest somewhere => the castle
Rating: G/PG
It had been just over two weeks since Allen Walker had brought full public attention to the woman-or beast, he wasn’t sure what to make of it-known as Riful. Of course it wasn’t just her, it was the allies she had. The loss he had experienced at the beginning of June made it perfectly clear what some residents of the castle could be capable of, and based off what he had heard repeatedly between Allen’s announcement and the information at the Peace Patrol meeting he had only seen what could constitute the tip of the proverbial ice berg.
Kenshin couldn’t ignore the situation. Not with what could potentially come with this situation. He couldn’t ignore it any more than he could ignore someone screaming for help. If there was any one truth he held in himself it was the need to protect people. Even before he had the ability to do so that need had been there. It was as much a part of him as the blood that flowed through his veins. But as much as he knew he couldn’t turn his back on the growing unrest he couldn’t help but recognize a very real fear. He had gone for the last ten years only needing the strength of a rurouni to protect those around him with few exceptions. All of the conflicts he had found in all that time were amid men much weaker than him in mind, spirit and skill. But beyond anything else he was well aware that Paradisa was not Meiji Era Japan. Riful and Legato and whoever else were at the head of this conflict were not dirty politicians, power-drunk police officers or small-time yakuza. What he was looking at was bigger than what he could even wrap his mind around.
He was torn and hesitant to place himself among those preparing to fight in what almost felt like the beginnings of a sort of war. After all, things had gone so well the last time he had thrown his lot in with any sort of organized movement. This time, however, his waning trust lay not with his allies but with himself. He had almost began discussing it with Esther, the previous month’s loss constantly tricking him into speaking more openly to her than he really wanted… but he feared a loss of self the same as when he had faced Jin-e those months before in Tokyo. He had no intention of breaking his vow, no intention of entering into anything no matter what movements they made with the intention of taking life of any kind…
But he also knew that if he was pushed to the wall that he would. He had lost himself in Hitokiri Battousai that night facing Jin-e, pushed to the point that his nature as the hitokiri had taken the forefront because his strength as a rurouni was not enough to save Kaoru. By the very nature of what he had heard of their potential foes he could only see it happening again. Even if it was only in his head the hazy scent of blood seemed to be clinging to him more thickly than it had in a long while. It seemed as though those days were about to begin again-but there was no real comparison. Whatever this was going to be, it would be no bakumatsu. It would be no Toba-Fushimi.
And perhaps it was the unknown that was unsettling him the most…
His wanderings amid the castle and the castle grounds had taken a more somber turn since the first announcement had gone out, only worsening with the most recent Peace Patrol meeting and the call to arms by Alleyne. It was getting much more difficult to maintain the carefully crafted mask he’d worn for ten years, as though the rurouni was already losing his foothold before anything had even happened.
Finding a clear area in the forest Kenshin did his best to clear his mind. He let his eyes shut, exhaling slowly before fluidly drawing his sword and beginning a kata. He had been growing soft, rusty as the claims went, in recent years, the necessity for precision simply not present. It was something he was regretting now. In the past week alone he had come to this area repeatedly to go through the motions and try to hone his skills and hopefully thereby calm some of his worries. The movements started out slow, comparable to a kata from any school with simple thrusts, swings and visible parries. As it progressed so did the speed and agility of the movements. The movements that could be recognizable as methods for facing the multiple foes Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu was known for becoming more clear. The movements were fluid, going from attacking blows to defensive blocks in one swing, the sword sheath coming lose from his belt to become part of the ‘dance’, savage movements that could clearly take down an opponent with a single blow between the trajectory and the speed they were delivered in. And truly, if anyone were to see him he would seem only a blur of red and flashes of metal as the light caught the edge of his blade.
The kata ended abruptly, despite the fury of the movement, Kenshin seeming to halt instantaneously the sakabatou being sheathed with the same godlike speed as it was generally drawn and Kenshin stood stock still at the center of the clearing, breathing deeply from the exertion, head bowed and eyes closed in concentration.
And just as it had been for the last week, Jin-e’s words came back to him. A hitokiri is a hitokiri until the day he dies. It seemed like no matter what he did those words and the truth that rang behind them would haunt him. He opened his eyes slowly, sliding out of stance and into a mockery of a relaxed posture before turning back toward the castle. There wasn’t much more that he could do… other than wait and see what happened. And pray that he had the strength to keep control over his own nature…
[ooc; mostly putting this up for in-game reference on Kenshin’s mental state BUT if anyone wants to interact with him feel free! Either out in the woods or on his way back to the castle or in the castle, LOL I’M EASY.]