Let's drag suspicious strangers all over the ship! [Closed]

[causink_trouble]

Characters: Komachi, Jenka, Gin (!!)
Content: Gin talks the two into giving him a tour of the 4423.
Setting: First somewhere nearby the 4423, then all over the ship.
Time: Morning-ish, one of the days before the races
Warnings: Ten-year-old child interacting with the worst possible role models

Comments

/SORRY FOR DELAY ;A;

[inyourmidst]

Gin had been wandering around the market place for an hour, strolling through the makeshift collection of tents and benches with the sort of cheerful smile on his face that suggested he was enjoying the atmosphere...although it wasn't so much the market that interested him as the ships parked around it. Lunasa had cut into the number of attendees by a fair margin, so all those left were either people who hadn't been targeted or those who had struggled to piece themselves back together and keep flying despite the scare. Both groups were worth knowing, and Gin was patiently memorising names and hulls on the off-chance it might ever become useful.

Right in the middle of the dock, sitting smugly in the circle of its peers who were all giving it plenty of distance, was the 4423; a ship whose reputation had become rather infamous over the last few months. Gin indulged his curiosity and came a little closer, eyeing the slight imperfections where repairs had obviously taken place. The ship was in surprisingly good condition for all the trouble it had been though, although he found himself raising an eyebrow as he caught a glimpse of a small girl swinging on the railings. A child on a pirate ship? On this ship?

Maybe he should go introduce himself.

"Good morning!" he called up to the woman beside the girl. "Is she yours?"

Considering the glimpses of skin he could see past the woman's clothing suggested she was a demi-human of some kind, whilst the child seemed perfectly ordinary, he kind of doubted there was a relation, but you could never tell for sure.

/glomps

[causink_trouble]

Jenka waited for Komachi just long enough to make it clear the girl wasn't running off by herself, before hurrying down the ramp to take a closer look at, well, everything.

The white-haired man's question caused her to slow down thoughtfully. It was both unexpected and confusing, earning him a surprised glance. Why would he think that? It took the Jäger a moment to understand the stranger meant 'is she your child?', not 'does she serve you?'. The enlightened look on her face was quickly replaced by another uncertain frown and then wry amusement, as she realized she had no idea whose child Komachi was. It had never occurred to her to ask. By the time she mustered an answer, it was quite obvious Jenka wasn't good with family concepts.

"No, sure izn't!" she laughed, passing the man on her way toward the tents. She wasn't expecting a conversation.

Nobody would be surprised that among all the fair's attractions, the Jäger was drawn to the weapons merchant first. The choice available in the makeshift booth was unexpectedly wide, but the owner's decision clearly paid off - the place was getting plenty of business. Jenka stopped by the knives section first, picking a few for a closer look and squatting down to demonstrate their features to Komachi. Despite the surprised looks from a few of the customers, she didn't think a weapons shop was a strange place to take a ten-year-old girl.

[komachibi]

Komachi, skipping down the ramp behind Jenka, cast a surprised look over at Gin, and then another at the Jäger - it didn't look like she was related to Jenka, surely? What sort of guy would think she could be Jenka's kid? Though, the idea that she did look that closely associated with the Jäger was kind of cool, given the growing idea she'd had for a while that she'd rather like to be like Jenka when she grew up.

Jenka had answered the man's question, though, so there was no need for her to do the same - she settled for just flashing a smile at him as they passed, and then hurried on after her companion to the weapons salesman. Komachi cast an admiring eye over the array of weapons the merchant had lying or hanging around his booth. Although her eyes were first drawn to the larger and more impressive swords, axes, and unidentifiable spiky things, she quickly turned her attention back to Jenka and her selection of knives. If this was going to be lesson time, she was paying attention, no question.

[inyourmidst]

Although he'd been seemingly dismissed after the reply to his question, Gin wasn't deterred in the slightest, and although 'unobtrusive' wasn't generally a word that could be applied to him he trailed along after the interesting pair from the pirate ship without drawing attention to himself. He wasn't all that surprised by their choice in shopping - the woman had the look about her of a seasoned fighter, although the girl seemed in awe. He could only suppose she was still in training. The way the woman was quietly instructing her seemed to be the case.

"Are you picking out a weapon for the little one?" he asked, looming over the woman's back in a way that was bound to raise her hackles, but his smile was as harmlessly friendly as he could stand to make it. "Knives are nice for beginners, but I think she's old enough to start considering a sword, don't you?"

[causink_trouble]

Willingly getting that close to her earned the stranger a few points on Jenka's list. She wasn't in the habit of feeling threatened - although perhaps she should have, this once - and she was enjoying herself too much to get annoyed, which left curiosity as her main reaction. Of course, annoyed or not, she'd cheerfully break his arm if the situation warranted that. Or if she felt like it.

The comment about swords intrigued the Jäger enough to land the silver-haired man squarely in the 'worth talking to' category. She turned her head to flash him a fang-filled grin. "Mebbe she should start considering it, den." Jenka would happily teach even a six-year-old swordplay - that was about when she started, after all, and without the benefit of a teacher - but she wasn't going to push her student. Komachi wasn't, in any sense, hers, and they were both getting in enough trouble for the lessons as it was.

She knew the girl was still a bit apprehensive about the notion of real violence, but having noticed her longing look toward the more impressive weapons earlier, Jenka watched for her reaction curiously.

[komachibi]

Komachi, looking up in surprise as the stranger appeared behind Jenka, was about to give him a defensive comeback to 'little one' - she was ten, ten was not little - when the sword comment drove that right out of her head.

She flicked her gaze down from him and back to Jenka, wondering what the Jäger's response to that would be - and she wasn't disappointed.
"Really? Could I?"
The actual things you could do with a sword - indeed, the things swords were designed to do to people - she might not be at all comfortable with, but the idea of sword-fighting was just cool. Plus, swords were samurai weapons, and samurai were, in Komachi's world, among the best possible people to emulate. If she was allowed a sword, that completely eclipsed knife-fighting in the awesomeness stakes.

[inyourmidst]

Gin knew he'd found an audience he could play to by the expressions on their faces. The hint of bloodthirstiness in the woman's grin was something he could wholeheartedly relate to, and he was all too familiar with the bright look of eagerness in the little girl's eyes. New weapons, new toys; they were much the same thing.

"I don't see why not," he told the girl, although it wasn't really his place to give permission. "You're never too young to start learning. In fact, the earlier the better."

He turned back to the woman with a smile that was playfully flattering - almost a little too bold, but she struck him as the type who'd prefer it that way than sly, dancing around the issue. "You seem like a woman of good taste. I'm sure between us we can find something that'll suit your little friend."

Gin gestured at one of the nearby weapons racks which held a variety of gleaming short swords in all their sharp, deadly glory. Some of them would still be a little oversized for the girl, but she'd grow into it and eventually start needing bigger ones anyway.

finally! /smacks

[causink_trouble]

"Vot hyu lookink at me for, now?" Jenka shot Komachi a familiar exasperated glance. Not mine, kid. She honestly didn't understand why the girl kept acting like they were... in some kind of command relationship. She had developed a suspicion Komachi was just pretending - she still had no notion of why, but the game was starting to amuse her a little.

Still, it wouldn't do to encourage this sort of thing. Jenka didn't want a minion. Oh, she was just fine with forcing others to do what she wanted - it was the idea of being on the receiving end of a voluntary bond that disturbed her. And here was the perfect opportunity to shift a bit of that growing attachment somewhere else. "If hyu new friend here vants to buy you a sword, hyu gots no need for anyvun's permission, keed." She caught the man's eyes with a cheerful smirk, repeating his gesture. Have the stage. You were clearly asking for it. She was curious to see what he'd choose, and how he would go about it. Enough so that she forgot to be curious as to what he was doing there in the first place.

[komachibi]

Komachi gave Jenka the bemused look the Jager had seem plenty of times before. There were some things on which they were probably never going to understand each other. "Because you know about this stuff and you'd tell me if you thought I'd be really bad at using one?"

She felt vaguely hurt at Jenka's attitude - which, when she thought about it, was strange: one of the things that she liked about Jenka was that Jenka never did seem to treat her like a kid, or feel the need to give or deny permission for every little thing Komachi wanted to do, so why didn't she like it that that was exactly what the Jager was doing now? Rather than think any further about it, though, she turned away from Jenka, shifting her attention to the rack of swords Gin was indicating - and to the man himself.
"Do you know about swords and things, then, mister?" The confidence he'd initiated the conversation with seemed to suggest he knew what he was talking about, and talking to him seemed like it should satisfy Jenka, since apparently Komachi wasn't supposed to be looking to her for guidance...which only really left this guy, for the moment.

[inyourmidst]

He was all too happy to take the woman up on her silent offer. He did love a good performance, although he was amused that apparently she didn't have any issue with the little girl taking her advice from a stranger. Most guardians would be against that kind of thing, but she seemed just as intrigued by him as he was by her.

"Oh I know plenty," he told the girl, reaching for the sword rack. "See, this one, for instance..."

With one finger he flicked the blade from its hooks, sending it flying upwards in an impressive looking spin, and then with effortless grace he plucked the hilt from the air with a twist of his wrist to complete the rotation and with blinding speed slashed towards the girl's throat. He stopped the blade just in time, smiling all the while as though his move hadn't ever been dangerous in the slightest.

"This one has nice balance," he told her cheerfully, tapping the steel harmlessly against her throat twice before offering her the sword. "See how it feels."

<3 <3

[causink_trouble]

"Oh."
"If hyu chust vants to know vot I think, don't sound like hyu'z asking permission!" she complained, a little embarrassed at her over-reaction. Humans. "Iz confusink." Playful as she was, the Jäger took words strangely seriously sometimes.

Now that she knew what Komachi meant, the question was easily answered. "Hyu'z gun be fine, keed." In Jenka's world, everyone would be better off armed. "I got a sword vhen I vos vot, six? seven?" She never figured out exactly how old she was when it all started. "Und it vosn't earlier only cozz I had to steal vun." she added, laughing at the memory. The words sketched a picture of a rather bleak, violent childhood, but Jenka's tone made it clear she enjoyed every minute of it.

The Jäger only chuckled at the stranger's little show with the sword, but the moment his motion turned threatening, she reacted - and her claws reached his throat a split-second after Komachi would have been dead. She drew a surprised breath - what was he? - then exhaled with a pleased growl, letting go to lick his blood off her fingertips. Most guardians would be even more against that kind of thing, but Jenka didn't seem perturbed, nodding easily as the man offered the sword to her student. She caught his gaze with a slow smile. "Very nize." It wasn't clear if this was an opinion on his skill with a sword, the taste of his blood, or both.

[komachibi]

Surprised, Komachi was turning back to respond to Jenka's mention of her childhood - six? - when the stranger's voice called her attention back to him, and to the rack of swords.

She watched in open-mouthed awe as he sent the blade spinning up into the air, and, with no time to react as he snatched it back and swung it at her throat, was convinced for a split second that she really was going to die this time.
She whimpered slightly as the blade tapped against her throat, but Jenka's lessons had made enough of an impression on her now not to make any greater external sign of panicking, though her heart was pounding as she reached out to take the sword.

She just held it for a while, getting used to the sudden weight of the blade and getting over the shock of the 'attack', and not taking her eyes off the man, even when she stopped standing still and took an experimental swing or two with the sword.

/feels so sorry for poor Komachi right now. XD These two are horrible role models.

[inyourmidst]

Gin had wondered how the woman would react and he wasn't at all disappointed. Fast he approved, feeling just the prick of his nails at his throat and enjoying the rush of a near-miss. They'd both stopped just short of doing any real damage, and those were the sort of games he quite enjoyed playing.

"I'm glad you approve," he told her, eyes glittering and his smile only widening at the sight of her licking the blood from her hands. He didn't bother wiping away the few drops that leaked from the tiny wounds, leaving them there as a visual tease, and not acting at all perturbed at the attack even though he could see the girl was breathing just a little too fast. He patted her comfortingly on the head.

"See? It suits you well," he said, sounding equally happy for her and smug at his own good choosing. "You'll be carving up monsters in no time."

Oh, she'll be fine. Jenka had even worse role models, and she grew up okay! ...WAIT, ACTUALLY, NO.

[causink_trouble]

The tempting red droplets weren't necessary to keep Jenka's attention on the man - the scent of his blood in the air was doing that quite well already - but she appreciated the gesture. He looked good with some red accents on his pale skin. Jenka wouldn't mind adding a few more. Later, though. She definitely couldn't just take what she wanted from this one, like she usually did. No, he was the rare kind that would play dangerous games and give as well as he got. Her smile quirked with a mixture of challenge and anticipation as she held the man's gaze for a short moment, before turning to Komachi with a laugh.

"If hyu'z gettink attacked by complete strangers in public vhile doink some innocent shoppink, mebbe hyu really does need a sword!" The complete stranger's choice of weapon did seem a good one, though she'd have to handle it to make sure. After letting Komachi wave it around a bit more, get used to the feel... and maybe try something more interesting. That was one of the things she noticed about the girl from the first day - if she was told once to just attack without talking, she simply did, with none of the hesitation Jenka learned to expect from most humans. She wouldn't be too surprised if this impromptu lesson was taken in and put to good use just as quickly.

The Jäger was rather proud of her student's reaction to the little scene. The girl didn't look like she had even considered the usual reaction of screaming and running away from the unexpected threat. Jenka grinned at her, showing all her needle-sharp teeth. Yes, Komachi had the spirit all right.

[ooc: given our respective timezones, I think it might be a good idea to switch the posting order - I gather it's Claire's evening first, then mine, then Cy's, right?]

YEAH. JENKA'S CHILDHOOD =/= GOOD EXAMPLE :|

[komachibi]

A pat from someone who had just done a good job of threatening to kill her wasn't the most comforting thing in the world, and Komachi shied away from the hand on her head a little, looking up at the man suspiciously.

"Um. I think I need to learn how to use it, first," she replied - both to Gin's comment and to Jenka, though her shaky smile was directed at the latter. "It feels pretty weird." The weight and balance of the sword, however good they might be, were nothing like holding a knife, and it didn't feel nearly as easy to control. She didn't think she'd be trying anything clever with it just yet.

IT'S OKAY, KOMACHI, THE SAMURAI WILL SAVE YOU...WAIT, IT'S ONLY GORO AND KATSU. SHIII-!

[inyourmidst]

"I'm sure it won't take you long," he told the girl, kneeling down to her level. "A ship like yours must see a lot of action. That was the 4423, wasn't it?"

He winked at her playfully. "Don't tell me I'm in the company of pirates. Should I be watching out for myself? You don't look dangerous, but looks can be deceiving. Although you..." He turned back to the woman, matching her grin with one of his own, and even though his teeth weren't quite as sharp it managed to look equally fearsome. "You do look more like a proper pirate. I'd better be careful, hm?"

He extended his hand fearlessly to her. "Gin Ichimaru. Such a pleasure to make your acquaintance." The way he spoke with an almost purr hidden amidst the vowels hinted at something dark and secretively amusing. "Tell you what, I've always wanted to see the inside of a pirate ship. How's about I buy your little student here her sword and the two of you can give me the grand tour as a thank you? That's a fair deal, don't you think?"