[China Trip]
Sifting through the maps and charts in the Nexus library while using his grandfather's stories as a guide had helped. When they PINpointed onto the scene they were just far enough outside the city limits that someone appearing out of thin air wouldn't be gawked at, but just close enough that it wasn't a terrible walk. The estimate had ended up
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She threw her arms around Ginta and tried to pull him close for a long, deep kiss. "Best to get that out of the way before we go. There is know telling how people in ancient China would react to PDA."
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"Mm, good idea." Aaaand, one more little kiss on top of that. For the road. He fidgeted with the straw hat he was using to obscure his ears before starting to stride towards the entrance of the city. On the way, there was the occasional beggar dotting the way and no shortage of people coming and going: sailors, merchants, soldiers, farmers bringing food to trade, the usual colourful crowd.
Once inside the main area, there were shops and booths all around, some boasting opulent silk, some offering odd and beautiful porcelain crafts, others displaying the celadon pottery, the specialty of Zhejiang.
Ginta had to take a moment to soak it all in before speaking. "Was there anything in particular that you wanted to find?"
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Aya-chan went stiff when she heard a man's voice shouting, "Stop! He's a demon! Get him!" Aya's grip on Ginta's arm tightened and she got ready to run.
A man -- furs, fangs, pointy ears -- raced past them. She blinked. Another man, the big mouth who was still shouting orders, was not far behind. She did not think about it. She stretched out her leg and tripped him.
Big Mouth fell to the ground with a loud thud. The two men following behind him had to stop short to keep from tripping over Big Mouth.
Big Mouth groaned as he pushed himself to his feet. Oh, damn. Big Mouth was a big man with a big spear. He did not look happy.
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How do they know?
How it's possible to freeze again when you're already not moving is an odd thing, and an achievement that Ginta isn't likely to be able to repeat. But when he sees the man, smells what he is, it happened. "Yourozoku? Here?" he mumbled, nearly inaudibly.
With him being as distracted as he is, its a good thing that Aya was so quick on her feet, so to speak. The ensuing pile up snaps Ginta out of it, and he realizes that Big Mouth will probably be a problem.
"Dear, are your leg spasms acting up again?" he asked, making sure the concern was evident in his voice. He then turned to the men that were hauling themselves off the ground. "I'm so sorry about that. It happens sometimes and can't be helped. That's part of the reason we came to this city, in hopes that the doctors here would know how to cure the way her legs stiffen up seemingly out of nowhere."
Man, that was such a load of bull. Would they buy it?
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"You're woman made us lose that filthy demon," Big Mouth barked. "You're gonna help us catch him."
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"It was an accident ...but alright. What do we do, just split up and give a signal when we find him?" Please let there be splitting up. He'd rather not lead these goons right to the other guy.
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One of the other men reached out and hauled Aya-chan up to her feet. She yanked her arm out of his grip and glowered at him.
"That demon is a man-eater." There was yet another rumbling chuckle. "You two get to be bait."
Aya-chan was pushed from behind. "Get moving!"
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Pulling Aya-chan to her feet he could understand, after they'd made a big deal of her fake leg ailment. But the push was a bit much and Ginta made a point to get between her and the offending shover. "That isn't necessary. Keep your hands off of her ( ... )
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"Um, best case scenario is he got away, doesn't show, and we get to go on with our business. If he does show... various levels of running away will be involved, depending on how cantankerous either he or they are." At this he nodded to the small, less than happy group that was going off to hide in the bushes.
To say his smile was sheepish would be an understatement. Thinking up a plan on the fly wasn't one of his best traits and nearly all of those plans involved "run away".
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"Un-uh."
"Hey, no whispering over there!"
Aya-chan took a step forward. "Do you know who I am?" she asked in haughty tone. Aya-chan grew up a spoiled rich kid. She knew how to do haughty very well.
"A brat with a bum leg. Now get back over there and try to look appetizing."
Aya-chan lifted her chin. "I am the granddaughter of the Sun Goddess." Aya-chan ignored the men's laughter, which was loud enough to warn the youkai away had he been in the area. She palmed the PINpoint, but made sure that Ginta could see it. "She will deliver us from you stumbling oafs. Beware crossing us again or suffer her wrath."
Big Mouth was laughing so hard it looked like he was having difficulty breathing. Aya-chan hoped he would suffocate. She reached for Ginta, fingers poised above the button to activate the PINpoint. The coordinates were still set to the same place they arrived.
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When they popped up outside of the city's gates Ginta grinned widely and reached out to pick Aya up and swing her around.
"You're brilliant!" He then leaned forward to rub his nose with her own. "And, just for the record, I'm going to start calling you 'Ayaterasu' now."
While Ginta was displaying his great enthusiasm for the escape, the bushes behind him were rustling lightly. Kind of they way they tend to when a person or a wild animal is using them for cover.
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"Thank you. But lets celebrate later. We have to find that poor demon!"
Aya-chan is less perceptive than Ginta and never notices the rustling sound or sees the yellow eyes peers at them between the leaves.
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"You're probably right. He may be off the hook now, but they could track him down again." He took a deep breath, wondering where to even begin the search when he caught a whiff of something...
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The scene that played out could have practically been choreographed as, almost simultaneously, both youkai jumped back pointed at one another, and cried out, "You!"
"This has to be some kind of trap!" The unfamiliar youkai claimed, scowling at them. "I saw you with that group. Well, I'm not falling for it! I haven't survived traveling across the sea just to be taken down by the likes of you."
Ginta looked at him like he was crazy. "Are you daft? We're trying to help you!" He lifted his hat and pointed at his ears before whispering, "I know you can probably tell I'm Yourouzoku, unless your nose is stopped up." He put the hat back down before gesturing at Aya. "And she slowed the men ( ... )
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