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

[causink_trouble]

Jenka needed to visit the market, having depleted her supply of knives over the last weeks. Not being in the mood for for squeezing through a bustling crowd today - or most other days - she made her trip just before the market closed. Weapons weren't the kind of commodity to get sold out early in the day. She wasn't looking for anything fancy, just a few small knives of different types. She kept giving them away for some reason or other - the most recent being Komachi's training. She couldn't very well leave the girl with a spoon, could she

[fuhenteki]

Unlike the others he spoken to a little earlier, Kambei noticed the Jägerwoman within the crowd for she stuck out like sword thumb. Despite how human-like these Jägers may seem, these creatures all posses the same beast-like quality that can make an average human cringe. Maybe it's old wise tales about legendary the Heterodynes that made Kambei a tad friendlier towards these Jägerkins unlike many others. Or perhaps it is odd friendship with Madame Gkika that made the samurai come to like their kind, whichever the reason Kambei didn't mind having a conversation or two with the best Jäger of the group

[causink_trouble]

A simple greeting and no barrage of questions? That was a refreshing reaction. As was the lack of fear, disgust, or even unease on Kambei's face. Calmly friendly was not an expression she saw often, and Jenka found herself interested. The few words made it harder to start a conversation, of course, but she didn't insist on those. Most of the crew were talkative enough to more than compensate. Jenka liked quiet, and could get to know someone quite well by just spending time with them and looking at their reactions to the many things that happened in every moment

[fuhenteki]

He honestly did not Jenka’s silence, in fact he actually welcomed it. She proved so far that she is a tad different from the other Jägers by her quiet mannerisms alone. Kambei found it interesting that he is the one being observed rather than the other way around. Usually he acted as the observer for others are far too quick to start chatting aimlessly about topics that they either didn’t care about or didn’t understand. It will be interesting to see what sort of conclusion Jenka will create after her brief encounter with the samurai.

Allowing him his mind to wander a bit, Kambei nearly forgotten Jenka was even there as he closed his eyes in thought.

[causink_trouble]

Evening and morning were often the most interesting times of the day. As the light left the streets, the footsteps of the shoppers became more hurried and their eyes more afraid. Jenka flashed her teeth at a few of them, just to see them flinch and increase their pace. But mostly she left the people alone. They had plenty of reasons to be afraid as it was - she could see several just on this street.

The next time Jenka looked at Kambei, his eyes were closed. Again, a few minutes later - he wasn't asleep, but his eyes were still closed. That made him either very stupid or very good. It would be an interesting exercise to find out which... Jenka, a creature made for hunting, couldn't resist the opening

[fuhenteki]

Despite how soundless her steps were, the shift within the once peaceful environment around him alerted Kambei of Jenka’s intentions. Just because he couldn’t see her with his else closed, didn’t mean that he couldn’t sense her presence. A blind man doesn’t need eyes to see and the same goes for any good samurai who studied both the Code of Bushido and the martial art of Judo. He could tell just by sensing Jenka that she was no far away from him, perhaps directly across the street from him now

[causink_trouble]

Interesting, indeed! Jenka had no experience with such training, and Kambei gave no sign of being aware of her until a split second after she closed in, exactly in time to avoid her attack. Still, her inhuman reflexes allowed her to follow his unexpected movement - she went down on one knee with another step and shot her other hand out towards his midsection, a strike that would tear right through his heart if Jenka let it. Having glimpsed the blunt-side twist of Kambei's blade, she returned the favor, folding her hand into a fist just before the impact and softening the blow enough to only bruise

[fuhenteki]

Everything happened just as he expected it to turn out. Jenka would alter her movements to strike at his midsection to tear at his flesh with her claws while his blade would her sliced at her neck as she done so. If this were a real battle, the two of them would have been dead just after a few seconds and that somber thought humored Kambei. His fondness towards Jägers may be stranger to some but his fondness stems for the respect he has in knowing that they are fierce opponents. It isn't everyday that a true samurai can test their skill against a beast, knowing in the end that there wouldn't be a victor.

To him, this mock duel was much more amusing than any idle chatter. He learned more about Jenka in just a single moment than he could ever do so by talking with her. Kambei was honestly impressed with this woman and now wondered idly if Madame Gkika or Dimo could rival with Jenka's movements in battle.

“You are right.” Kambei replied with an actual smirk.

[causink_trouble]

After they exchanged conclusions, Jenka decided she was free to move. Finally withdrawing her hand from its position against Kambei's skin, she stood up, moving around his blade with careful respect. The energy of battle was still in her stance and the gleam of her eyes. She didn't get many opportunities to practice - too often she lost control and turned a mock fight into a real one, so she took care to only spar with opponents who really could stand up to her. As this one just did. On impulse she tilted her head to the side and drew a deep bloody line where Kambei's sword had touched her skin, her eyes half-closed in an expression resembling exhilaration more than pain. She wanted to remember this fight

[fuhenteki]

Despite the fact their philosophy in warfare varies greatly, Kambei shared in Jenka’s lust for combat. In the golden age, samurais were revered as the most feared warriors upon the battlefield. Five samurai could easily kill a dozen or so average soldiers with only their blades and the hand-to-hand combat they‘ve mastered since their youth.

The samurai were brilliant warriors who believed fully in the way of the sword. They were men who viewed themselves as already dead upon the battlefield. Men who did not hesitant to take the life of another for they welcomed Death’s cold embrace, the samurai were fearless combatants whose skills were unmatched for centuries until the creation of firearms. It would be then that this warrior class would slowly vanish under the weight of new technology that made killing a simple pull of trigger. The once feared and revered warrior class slowly died out in Ivona, those who still referred to themselves as “samurai” reduced to becoming nothing more than mere pirates

[causink_trouble]

Kambei's question snapped the Jäger out of the battle daze, although the dangerous grin would remain on her face for a while. How many wars? She never thought to count. Jenka wasn't much for keeping track of things, but if she were to count anything, it would be the periods without battles. Even before she was taken into the Heterodyne army, she grew up in the Castle and the barracks - once she came out into the world, it took her a long time to realize that elsewhere war wasn't the normal state of things

[fuhenteki]

A faint chuckle was his reply to her Jenka’s prose, honestly believing now that the only ones to benefit from a possible war would be only her and the other Jägers. It seems that such a war may come between the two countries, one that will be less likely to have the usual army-versus-army guerilla warfare and more likely to take to skies. If that is the case, Kambei would certainly be interested to see how such a skirmish would take place but for now he rather that this possible war be averted. If his fellow samurai companions knew of his anti-war sentiment, they wouldn’t believe that he actually thinks that. Unlike what many assumed about him, the old samurai does wander nomadically across Reial in hopes of another bloody war but he desires not wish such a frightful experience upon others. If a war was to break out between Ivona and Vohemar, not even the far away country of Erealia shall be spared from the conflict

[causink_trouble]

As far as Jenka was concerned, this was common knowledge, for anyone who cared to do some research on the Heterodyne family or Jägerkin. Well, perhaps not all of it, but there wasn't any reason to hide their purpose - and she didn't think that now, with all the suspicions flying around, was a good time to keep unnecessary secrets. "First for de Heterodyne - und ve found her." That had been unexpected joy. The Jägerkin didn't truly think the family had survived, though they kept their oath nonetheless. Jenka was proud of her part in that. But this current search... She shrugged, completing her answer. "Now for her father, becozz she gots nothink better to do vit us. Dis ship is as good a place as any for dat, und more fun den most." All four of them had refused freedom, so their newfound Mistress gave them the next best thing. It wasn't a bad life - still, it would be better to be needed again