Just another day...[OPEN]

[fuhenteki]

Characters: Kambei Shimada & Whoever else [Open]
Content: Wondering if life as a sky pirate is truly worth the hassle, a lone samurai travel through the streets of Trewe in search for an answer.
Setting: Trewe, Vohemar [4423]
Time: Late afternoon [5 o'clock or so]
Warnings: PG-13

Comments

[kirekaze]

It wasn't rare for Kensei to take walks - it had been a habit of his ever since he was in the Ivona army, though some wouldn't put it before Kensei to be the kind of guy to just walk around and let the air cool his usually hot-headed self. But as it was, this was just one of the days where the Vaizard decided that a walk would do well in helping clear his head.

Needless to say, the past few weeks had been... pretty hectic. In between finding Shinji and Hiyori once more, the Doma Incident and everything else, it was a bit of a wonder that the usually thick-headed man hadn't snapped yet. Maybe it was because he had finally found the two blockheads again that had helped him calm his temper - he wouldn't admit it, but Shinji and Hiyori were both very important to him; to him they were the family that he lost since so long ago.

The silver-haired Vaizard sighed as he strolled mindlessly along the streets of Trewe, idly wondering what was to happen next - Shinji had made it clear that he wasn't leaving anytime soon, and Hiyori was bound to stick to Shinji regardless. Kensei himself had sworn to follow those two assholes so that they didn't get themselves into some shit or another. Nothing to do but stick around and see what was to happen next, the man supposed.

Just as he turned around the corner, the man noticed a familiar figure on the gate of a mansion in the town - Kensei barely recognised him, but really who couldn't remember that beard? The Vaizard stared for a bit before making his way up to Kambei, one hand raised in greeting. "Yo."

[fuhenteki]

For the first time in a long time, someone actually managed to surprise the old samurai, mainly because Kambei was not paying attention to the crowds. His hands almost flew to the hilt of his blade until he caught a glimpse of Kensei's bright hair. He then welcomed the other with a curt nod and a faint smile as he settled against the gate again.

"Greetings." Kambei replied as he gazed at the other. The samurai's opinion of this newcomer was rather simple, he views Kensei as a hard worker but doesn't know a single thing about him and his other two companions. He's seen Kensei around aboard the 4423 but Kambei isn't exactly as sociable as his fellow allies, Gorobei and Heihachi. He normally remained silent around the new crew members, only speaking when spoken to.

"Grateful to be in Trewe?" He asked in hopes of starting a conversation with Kensei.

[kirekaze]

"Something like that," the Vaizard shrugged non-committally as he glanced around the town. It had been a while since he was here - the last time was most likely sometime before Lunasa last year, when he was here for plane repairs or whatnot; he could really remember anyway. He and the other Vaizards had been travelling all over Reial (especially Vohemar) ever since their... incident, and following exile.

Kensei glanced around for a bit, seeing not many people on the streets - made sense, since night was approaching soon. The nightlife in Vohemar was certainly not as safe as it was in Ivona (though it wasn't as if the other nation was really any better). He then looked back at Kambei for a bit, before speaking again. "Mind if I join you? Don't have much to do anyway around here 'sides walking."

And ensuring that Hiyori wasn't smacking Shinji to death, but that was another thing altogether.

[fuhenteki]

"I do not mind at all." Kambei replied to the pilot, his gaze still focused upon the crowd. He fell silent again as if trying to figure out what to say next. The old samurai figured that neither one of them would be so careless as to speak of their pasts to each other. The both of them of course have secrets that neither of them would want to bare, so maybe speaking about the current events so far would be a good idea.

“The captain’s crew has certainly grown since I’ve first arrived.” He said as he glanced over at Kensei. “At one point, the crew of the 4423 was barely over twenty people. But now, our numbers has grown at an alarming rate.” The old samurai paused.

“Those times were much simpler then. There weren’t any talk of traitors among our ranks.”

[kirekaze]

"Thanks," Kensei replied before he joined the samurai in his watching, crouching down and leaning against the metal grills of the gate as rusty brown eyes watched the crowd bustling before them. It was odd, how things seemed to be - no matter whatever happened in this world, it would still move on, still continue, heedless of whatever went on. It wouldn't stop for anyone at all, not even in the slightest.

Even if there had been a betrayal.

The Vaizard glanced upwards at the elder as he spoke, a bitter-looking smile on his face at Kambei's words. "The danger's always there, really. No matter how big or small the group is." Kensei himself knew this fact best of all. "It just really depends on the people you trust."

[fuhenteki]

A bitter chuckle from the samurai was Kensei's reward for those words rang true. Traitors exist no matter how large or how small a group is, there will always be one of two people willing to sell their comrades to the enemy. Kambei does his best to forgive those who make such a mistake, willing to turn the other cheek in order to maintain the peace. However, in the incident that just happened, Kambei honestly do not think he would be able to forgive the next betrayer who rises.

"True. That most certainly true." Kambei replied at last with a slight sigh. "Isako was willing to sacrifice herself for her crew, an act I never suspected a young girl would be willing to do." Maybe it is because of this fact that Kambei's resolve has been somewhat shaken. The captain is barely sixteen years old but she shows more strength then men ten years her senior. If the supposed perpetrator wasn't found by the time they reached Bellcius, Isako would have certainly been executed.

In the eyes of Ivonian law, a pirate is a pirate no matter how old they are.

"Kensei." He glanced over towards the pilot again. "You happen to be Ivonian as well?" Kambei was unsure if Kensei is Ivonian or not, the pilot's peculiar accent confused him greatly.

[kirekaze]

The Vaizard snorted at that, staring at the crowd much like the way Hiyori would stare at Shinji and him when they teased about her. However, the words he spoke next were true as they had ever been. "She's a good kid," he remarked, sighing as he closed his eyes. "Better than I'd ever be, at any rate."

God knew how many times he had screwed up in his two-year stint as a brigade leader in Ivona's Special Ops Division. And especially the last - and worst - choice he had made.

"..." There was a pause from the silver-haired man as the question was asked, and then Kensei only snorted before responding. "...only for a bit. But its all in the past. No point bringing it up." He really didn't want anybody to know about his current status as an exile, after all.

[fuhenteki]

Not giving a immediately reply to Kensei, the old samurai only nodded his head as a reply. He figured that this young man has a few secrets or two just like himself, so Kambei decided not to press the issue out of respect. As mysterious as these new crewmates are, the samurai had no need desire to know them. A curt nod or a friendly 'Hello' will suit him just fine without any needless tidbits about their history.

"How long are we staying in Trewe?" He asked with faint smirk. As much as he likes this city, Kambei was becoming much fonder of sailing the skies than being stuck here on land.

"Hopefully we can go on another raid soon, I am sure we are running out of money again."

[kirekaze]

Kensei was thankful that Kambei didn't press on with his questions. He wasn't the best person to hide stuff, given his straightforward nature - sooner or later he'd just simply spill the beans, and then Shinji would really want his head then. Their history with Ivona was something best kept secret after all.

The man shrugged once again at the samurai's question, sighing again as he sank deeper on the metal grills. "Who knows? That depends on the captain now, doesn't it?" Not that he had any complaints. The Vaizard was all too used to travelling around now - it came with the life of an exile. He laughed slightly at the latter remark though. "I don't doubt it, especially after everything. I'm just glad we're all still alive."

He had already lost too much.

[fuhenteki]

A faint chuckle came from the samurai as he gazed back over toward the nearly empty avenue before them. Their stay in Trewe so far has been uneventful one, a peaceful stay. Kambei was sure that such tranquility wouldn’t stay with them for long but he decided not to let his worries get the better of him. With any luck, the captain will not rush back into the skies too soon even if Kambei found life here upon the earth a tad bland.

“I better put few our crew men to work as soon as possible.” He paused. “That is unless they are too busy nursing a hangover after all that drinking.” The old samurai remembered that a good majority of the crew hit the bars here in Trewe as soon as they docked. He was sure by now that half of them where probably too damn drunk to even stand nevertheless work.

"I suppose I cannot blame them for seeking a bottle or two of sake."

[kirekaze]

Uneventful was a lot better than eventful, if Kensei had anything to say about it. At least uneventful things could be forgotten soon; the opposite held true for eventful things, on the other hand. There were... things, of course, that he wanted to remember. Unfortunately though, the eventful things that he wanted to forget were far more than what he wanted to remember. The man had no qualms at how long they were staying - whenever the captain wanted to go, he'd be gone.

The man snorted lightly with that statement, a somewhat unamused expression on his face, though it really didn't seem that all annoyed. "You'd better, or they'd all grow fat from the lack of work." He had been one of those who had went to the bars as well to celebrate their victory - with Shinji and Hiyori, though the results of that were... memorable. Another thing he'd like to remember.

"Everyone needs to relax sometimes, you know?" he remarked idly, blinking a couple of times. "Especially after... things like these." He had enough of being in situations like these.

[fuhenteki]

Kambei honestly had nothing against the idea of his crew mates celebrating or relaxing but his greatest worry was that they would forget about what happened and not learn a single thing from it. The Doma Incident, much like the Lunasa Day Bombings, should stay as a fresh reminder that they cannot trust every rogue who comes seeking a job upon this vessel. There has been a long list of traitors who used to sail with them, one such traitor involving a former military prodigy who ran off to the Silvana after infiltrating their ranks and investigating their operations.

Even though the old samurai was quick to stop anyone from pursuing Jushirou Ukitake, the entire event honestly left Kambei a tad bitter and his bitterness has only grown since. He was honestly trying to anticipate the next trial and tribulations they will have to face but Kambei knew all his worrying won't do him any good.

"It could be worse." Kambei replied. "It could be much worse than this. I am suppose I should thank our luck for carrying us this far."

[kirekaze]

Kensei liked to think that he had forgotten about the betrayals that he had to go through, all those years ago. But try as he might, the wound was always there - at times it was hidden under layers of nonchalance and other issues, but it would always surface eventually, one way or another. How could anyone ever forget such a life changing experience? While he had no idea about the incident with Ukitake, Kensei himself was more than acquainted with traitors and backstabbers.

It was because of them that he was here right now in the first place.

He sighed a little at Kambei's response lowering his head and closing his eyes once more, suppressing memories of what seemed to be a lifetime ago. "The devil's luck, then? You know how those things always roll," he returned, snorting at the end of that line. "Not that we can always depend on that, of course." It'd be the end of them if they did.