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

[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.”

[spannertime]

Souji's reasons for being out and about in Trewe were exceedingly simple. He'd completely burned through his reserve candy supplies when they all thought they were being sent to certain death in Ivona. He simply couldn't let the candy go uneaten, after all. That would have been a true tragedy.

Thus was the reason the young mechanic was wandering happily down the street with a large sack in his arms and a smile on his face. He might have gone a little overboard, it was true, but after the scare they'd all had, he felt justified in splurging a little, even if Mister Hijikata would scold him for it later. Right now, he just didn't care.

But it was getting late now, and time to get back to the ship. Which was where he was headed when he spotted a very familiar figure.

"Mister Shimada!" He called out cheerfully, shifting the bag so that he could wave enthusiastically as he practically bounced over to the older man. "Hello!"

[fuhenteki]

"Souji?" A light smirk appeared on his face as he spotted the mechanic. It did him some good to see that Souji is feeling better these days since the last he spoken with him. Considering all of the trouble the 4423 has been getting into, it was easy to forget how to smile as of late. Luckily for Souji, it doesn't seem he has that sort of problem.

"Heading back to the ship, correct?" The old samurai asked.

[spannertime]

Souji smiled and nodded at the older man's question. "I had a little shopping to do, but I've finished that up, now." Granted, he'd set out with more in mind than just buying candy, but he was going to have to go back and talk to some people tomorrow about the mechanical side of his shopping list.

"How are you? Enjoying be back on Vohemaro soil?" He asked with a laugh. It seemed that everyone had started to relax a little, now that they had been exonerated, though, he admitted, it was somewhat hard to tell whether Kambei was ever relaxed.

[fuhenteki]

Despite how tense he may seem, the old samurai actually feeling much better now that the 4423 and its crew has put some distance between themselves and Ivona. Like many others who've deserted the military ranks, Kambei was sure he would be doomed if the Ivonian Parliament ever found out he became a pirate. In fact, probably every pirate upon the 4423 would have been sentenced to death after being blamed from the poisoning of Doma. Luckily for them all, they managed to avoid such doom thanks to help of their newest mechanic.

"Hm, yes." Kambei replied with a slight smirk. "I am grateful to still be alive, I am sure that sentiment rings true for the others."

[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.

[seventh_hero]

Reserved though he was, there was something inexplicably theraputic for Cloud to be out and about, amongst thriving masses of people going about their chattering routines. He didn't know a single soul in Trewe, but he didn't need to. He didn't need to be a part of anything in particular, but the sounds of their conversations, the earnest warmth of their laughter over old stories, and the understated passion of their lives was all he needed to gain a sense of comfort, as if he had been isolated for years and this was the only cure. For most of the time he spent in town, he simply sat around on a rickety, wooden bench inside the bustling market and allowed himself to relax. The weather had been pleasant, thankfully, giving him a good opportunity to let the anxiety of their near brush with the law fade away from mind. Any other time, he made his way among the stalls and booths, glancing at the wares on sale, even sampling a bit of the local cuisine, much to his simple delight

[fuhenteki]

Cloud Strife, one of the new members of the crew who joined the 4423 before the crisis in Doma, is certainly a peculiar individual according to Kambei’s observation of him. The old samurai remembered Cloud from that day, seeing the swordsman gossip with Anko as he trained Daisukenojo with the help of his former pupil, Katsushiro. The only reason why this blond haired former solider stuck out to Kambei is because of the enormous blade that Cloud uses

[seventh_hero]

Indeed, Cloud was scarcely seen without his sizeable weapon. He wore it around to and from work, only removing it when he set himself to begin his hands-on repairs to the ship, and he wore it simply when going about the 4423 in general, only taking the weight of it off of his strong shoulders when sitting, as in the mess hall. Even now, it remained in its holster, running down the length of his spine and beyond like an edged extention of his body

[fuhenteki]

There was something about the young warrior that definitely caught the samurai's intrigue. Kambei honestly doubted that this young man could be Vohemaro, simply because of how subservient Cloud seemed to be. The blond exudes a militaristic persona about him, his actions and movements far too similar to an actual soldier rather than of a average mercenary. He could tell all this just by watching Cloud, Kambei would be shocked if his observations were wrong for he felt very confident that he was correct.

Smiling faintly at Cloud's attempt of humor, the old samurai spoke.

"Anything that is caged for whether a day or for years, can appreciate the freedom that lies beyond its cage..." Kambei began. "But once freed, such appreciation dwindles as the memory of that former cage slowly fades." An old saying that is probably older than Kambei himself…

[goromical]

Things had been going slow for Gorobei lately. Very slow. He had been uncommonly tired, though this probably stemmed from all the stress he had went through during the entire prison ordeal. Whatever the case, he had not left his quarters much. This did not bode well for the extremely social Gorobei.

His intention had been to simply get off of the ship and roam around the town for a few hours, but he was pleasantly surprised to see his good samurai leader out and about as well.

Kambei looked like he was brooding again, but, really, when didn't he look like that?

"Kambei!" He trotted along a little quicker to catch up with the older man. "It's been a rough week; I'm glad to see you out enjoying the town."

[fuhenteki]

Glancing over towards Gorobei once he heard his voice, a faint smirk appeared upon his face as the other samurai trotted over towards him. Kambei was mildly surprised to see Gorobei up and about, especially since he seemed rather out of it as of late. Perhaps the latest series of events drained whatever energy Gorobei had left to spare. Whichever the reason, Kambei was certainly glad to see his energetic friend lively and refreshed.

"It would be silly if didn't at least try to enjoy this moment of peace." The old samurai quickly replied.

"We may not get another moment like today for awhile."

[goromical]

It was a smirk, but it was something. Gorobei returned Kambei's almost-smile with a big grin of his own.

He patted Kambei on the back, just like he had always done. To his surprise, it felt like they were falling back into an old routine instead of the awkward silences that might follow a few weeks of confinement and stress. It shouldn't have been that surprising. Kambei was always easy to talk to.

"You don't look like you're enjoying it too much, Kambei. Are you thinking about something important?" That was a rather stupid question. Did Kambei ever let his mind wander to matters that weren't important? It was doubtful.

[fuhenteki]

Glancing over at Gorobei from the corner of his eyes, Kambei honestly wondered if he should say "No." just to catch the other samurai off guard. However, he decided not to do that in case his little joke would have turned against him. Therefore, he decided to answer Gorobei's inquiry honestly.

“We may still have traitor among us.”