Starring:
Ryuusei, Shuuren, Sachiko, Imire
Date: February 2, 2016
Summary:
Daimyo Shuuren and his bodyguards find Sachiko, and search for a village's prime athlete, only to find out that a dark wedding is about to occur. Shuuren must choose between the plea of help of one village, or to side with the village whom the law was behind.
Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.
"Right to Rule: Wedding Crashers"
Between Degarashi and Tea's Capitol
The Tea races are an important time in the land of tea. People here used to prepare since they were born to run in the Tea races and be awarded for their speed. When the races ceased, due to turmoil, there were still a few people that had hope that the tea races would continue. A certain fillage near Degarashi actually was completely geared towards training rather fast runners, but their culture is under attack. There was an individual in this small town who was elected to run the Tea race, unfortunately a rival village has done a terrible thing. They have captured him and hid him! "So you see, my lord, he has been taken from us by force because our rival village had not prepared for the Tea races as we have. This race is important to our people." Around a large circular table in the village's government, the town's council was appealing to the Daimyo who were flanked by his two bodyguards.
These people and continuing to screw around in Tea Country. No matter how many demons, yakuza, or other would-be destroyers of this place are fought off, more seem to always be stupid enough to crop up. Every so often they're even within the country itself… Sitting at the table with his chosen bodyguards and guest for this mission, the Daimyo of the country listens to the plea of the people. A simple nod is given to the words of the one speaking. "We will recover your runner. First, we'll need to know the general area your rivals hang around, any place you suspect they might choose for a hideout. We'll also need something that belonged to the one who was kidnapped so we can pick up his trail."
Sachiko had made her way to Tea after quite the interesting exchange at the docks in the Land of Lightning. Now she was here and was wandering around some at first. It didn't exactly last long before she figured it would really be best to get right to Shuuren, if she could manage, and ask for some training as she had planned. She, of course, had no idea something important was going on as she made her way toward the palace…
Imire stands next to the Daimyo. He had forgone his sword for the time being, preferring to wield … His fists, admittedly. The sword got in the way one too many times at this point. Imire would glance over to Shuuren as he spoke, surprised that the man was able to sound so calm. He would have been fuming… If he were actually in charge. Guess that's why the Daimyo is Shuuren and not Imire. The teen would look back to the people who are in front of the Daimyo, then, studying them curiously to try and see if they had any commonality between them. He wasn't a dog or snake or anything, so he couldn't track that way. But maybe he'd be able to find a piece of clothing to lead them in the right direction?
Ryuusei would turn and exit the building after the Daimyo agrees to help the villagers. After all, she knows that he will wish to get this over as soon as possible. It's a shame that sensor-related techniques are useless with scents. The Daimyo doesn't have an Inuzuka nose, or specific physical sensory powers to help track the individual down. If Imire follows her, she would at least speak to him. "This is another task in which I am not fit. I am not so… good at tracking." Ryuusei might sigh, and might wonder who was. "Something so simple is going to be rather difficult.."
The villagers look amonst each other, before providing Shuuren with the athlete's most personal belonging. "This is his obi. He was taken in his sleep, else he might as very well just run. He's almost as fast as a Yotsuki, they say." Another elder speaks up. "We have more of his belongings, but it would be rude to offer any other of his clothing articles, my Daimyo… We're sure that he was taken to their village, which is south of ours. Closer to the capitol city than Degarashi… If any place is a good place, a short journey there would be a hopeful beginning."
After accepting the obi, Shuuren stands and nods to the villagers. "This matter will be taken care of shortly," he says before turning to make his way out the door. Having assured them, he steps out of the building and peers between Ryuusei and Imire. As he's about to say something, he detects a familiar presence and blinks a few times. "It looks like today is your lucky day… Someone who's a bit better at this may be willing to assist," he states to the two with a smirk before turning to wait for Sachiko to approach on the path so he can call to her.
Imire ghosts after Ryuusei when she disappears from the room they were in, hovering a bit before frowning. "I'm not all that good at this kind of thing either. But I can do what I can to help. So … I'll just focus on that." He shrugs lightly, then turns when Shuuren appears again. "Huh? What d'you mean, Shuuren-dono?" he asks, puzzled look on her face.
The redhead wasn't exactly hesitating as she walked, so Shuuren and his guards come into view pretty quickly. Sachiko is not wearing a blindfold as per usual, leaving her unusual eyes to be seen. She blinks them at the Daimyo in confusion as she walks up. "Shuuren," she greets uncertainly. "Didn't really expect you to be waiting outside for me." Not entirely surprised he knew she was coming, but… dang!
Wow, Sachiko just appeared out of nowhere. Ryuusei had never seen this person before. She had odd eyes, which were seemingly as green as a deep forest with little plusses instead of a normal pupil. Not any worse than Sharingan, but she wondered what these eyes did. Seemed as if Shuuren knew who she was anyways. Might as well stick around and make quick introductions. "Daimyo-sama, you know her? She can help? Oh!" Ryuusei would straighten up and bow her head to Sachiko. "I'm Ryuusei, hello!" That was all she needed to say. Shuuren can ask for her help, and give her the specifics.
"You know me, always aware," Shuuren remarks to Sachiko with a sly smirk, though truly he'd probably only felt her presence coming with his adept chakra sense if his informants hadn't told him she was coming. The fact that the woman only calls him Shuuren with no honorific should likely tell Ryuusei and Imire that these two've known each other for a while, so he doesn't actually answer either of their questions. "It's good to see you again. I'm sure you've come along for a purpose, but perhaps you'd like to help us settle a small matter on the way back to the palace so we can discuss it at a sooner time by completing the task more quickly?"
Glancing to the cloth in the Daimyo's hand, Sachiko squints a little as she looks back to his face. Then she looks to Ryuusei and bows her head slightly. "My name is Sachiko. Hello to you too." Focusing her attention on Shuuren, she nods her head and puts a hand on her hip. "Okay, what is it you're needing help with, then?" Her gaze flicks briefly to the obi again, of course, figuring that has something to do with it.
"Yoroshiku. I'm Imire," the teen would tell the Iga. He bows slightly in greeting before glancing over to Ryuusei and giving her a bit of a questioning look. Did she know this person? Apparently not… Well, it was odd that Sachiko was so informal with the Daimyo… Imire marks that down!
Ryuusei marks nothing down, and screws everything up. Well, at the very least, she is starting to get used to the fact that the Daimyo knows every woman on the continent. Ryuusei does have one really bit question on her mind. It involved Sachiko's Surname. "You aren't perchance an Uzumaki, are you?" She asks with a few blinks. Uzumaki, everywhere. An influx of Uzumaki from all over the world into tea, as if the Daimyo was going to create a lovable protagonist with one or something.
"A guy from this village went missing, assumed to have been kidnapped by a rival village from the old days of the Tea races. Since rumors are circulating of the races happening again once the country's reconstruction is complete, I suppose things are getting tense with old rivals again," Shuuren explains to Sachiko then holds out the obi for her to examine. "This is his. If we can find him by his scent."
Sachiko blinks at the question from Ryuusei and shakes her head. "No… I'm an Iga by blood, Yotsuki by marriage," she murmurs faintly. "Not on speaking terms with my husband currently… Quite possibly no longer even married. I came here to cool off after an argument… and hoped to learn some things from your Daimyo." Looking to Shuuren, she nods her head in understanding and looks at the obi. "I'm not sure how well I can actually track by scent," she admits. Even so, she sniffs it lightly at first (who knew how bad he /could/ smell) before taking a bigger whiff of it. "In what direct do we expect him to have been taken, if any?"
"He's supposed t' have been taken t' the south," Imire tells Sachiko, rubbing the back of his head. The teen was a bit taken aback by Ryuusei's questioning… and her directness. He should come to expect it, though… The boy looks to Shuuren for a moment, then he glances to Sachiko. More information is filed to the back of his mind, and he plans to ask about it later (if Shuuren lets him). "Lead the way, please, Sachiko-san," he requests, figuring she would be their tracker.
Sachiko's senses are easy enough to track the terrible path that the other village took. The track was so poorly covered that when Sachiko managed to find the track, it took an idiot not to be able to follow it. The track lead about five miles south, and lead right into the rival village. The real strange part of this was that the tracks, when found, didn't seem as if anyone had put up any sort of struggle. It was almost as if the athlete was willing. In fact, when they reached the village, a rather grand display was being built.
Ryuusei has never seen a wedding, but she has heard of what a wedding is comprised of. This was definitely that. A Shinto-style wedding, and it was starting soon. "Perhaps it is unrelated to our goals, but we are certainly amidst wedding preparations." Ryuusei would place a hand on her blade and prepare to draw it. "Should we begin interrogating people, Daimyo-sama? Or… Do you think that… the man we are looking for is being wedded?"
As they arrive, Shuuren blinks a few times and peers around. Is this some sort of Romeo and Juliet style story? If these people pulled him away from his work to put a halt to a wedding comprised of willing parties, they're going to get a nice earful… But he still may as well look into it while they're here. "Don't interrogate," he instructions as he peers over at Ryuusei. "At least don't seem like you're interrogating. Just move around and ask normal-seeming questions that get you the information without seeming abrasive."
Sachiko is completely bewildered at what they find… and just idly hands the obi back to Shuuren while giving him an odd look. Then she slips off to find the apparent husband-to-be, following the scent she has as best she can. It's harder with a more packed group, but she's just trying to find this guy to figure out what's going on. She even stops to ask people where she can find the groom. Any suspicion is responded to with an explanation of needing to ask him about dinner arrangements with the family.
Imire would blink a bit at the wedding preparations. "Umm…" he says, feeling awkward. "H… Hai, Shuuren-dono…" he mumbles, trailing after Ryuusei as they seek out people to speak with. He'd mostly ask on the bride and groom in as casual manner as he could.
Or was this a Misery-style story? That is the real question. Ryuusei would ask around, being the kind of innocent person that would best naively ask what was going on. "Hi… We all just passed into town. What is all the commotion about?" To which the person she was talking to would exclaim. "Why, we're finally holding a wedding we've supposed to hold for years now!" Ryuusei would pry further. "What do you mean, for years?" The citizen would not recognize Ryuusei from the other village, so he went ahead and told their somber story. "The village head of the other village made a deal with our village. During the crawler attacks, their village suffered the most. Our village supplied them with crops to help assauge them. In return, their elder promised to marry off his son to our village elder's daughter. It was a decent deal, till they decided not to honor it. That's fine, we've got his son now." This is a real difficult position that the Daimyo will have to take a stance on. It didn't seem like the son wanted to do this, nor did the village elder he accepted this request from. At the same time, a deal was a deal. food for marriage. Would personal will triumph over duty?
Sachiko would be able to follow the scent to a building where it could be seen from a window that the boy was chained to the wall. This was a forced marriage. Romeo and Juliet be darned! Imire would get his own juicy bit of gossip. "The Bride? She is the most hideous creature in all the land! So hideous that it took an entire seasons worth of crops to be able to get her married… Today is that day! Come and celebrate!"
As the information presents itself, Shuuren frowns a bit. This is a bit of a conundrum. While he doesn't want to upset either village under his rule, obviously neither can have their way entirely. His enhanced senses allow him to pretty easily pick up the conversations the others are having. After he feels it's all taken in, he steps forth and says, "I believe you all know who I am… I need to speak with the elder, his daughter, and the groom-to-be in private." While some might expect an anger of some kind or taking sides, instead he seems cordial but firm, obviously expecting his orders to be followed."
Sachiko emitted a soft sigh at the state of the young man. Lies abound… She drops a few sensors from her clothing, letting an eyeball search for Shuuren to get his attention and having an ear and a tongue lag behind to create a very spread-out trail for him to follow back to her. Meanwhile, she'd start looking for a way in… even if that means breaking something to do so, though she'd look for a non-destructive way first.
Shuuren is pretty much a household image at this point, and the villager he demanded to would fetch the elder. The elder would come back alone, without the bride or groom. "Nagamura-sama." He would bow deeply. Apparently, he was an honorable person. "I am honored by your presence! If… If I had known you were to attend my daughter's wedding, I would have spent more money preparing!" A pleasant middle-aged man for certain.
Meanwhile, Ryuusei would happen upon the bride. She was wearing a nice white kimono, but the woman appeared not to take care of herself much. She wasn't… At all marriageable. "Excuse me miss… Do you know anything about the wedding?" Ryuusei asks. "My wedding!?" She replied. "Why, yes! I have the most attracted and gifted husband-to-be in the world! I was running out of hope that the other village would honor their deal!" Ryuusei would bow very slowly. "Oh. I see! T-thank you… Do you mind coming with me?" The elder might not bring the bride and groom, but Sachiko and Ryuusei might be arriving with them soon!
As the elder presents himself, Shuuren bows his head lightly in return then says, "If you had told me of it, I'd have come, but I suppose you were trying to hide the way you were doing this from my scrutiny, hmm? We need to talk, but we'll wait for the bride and groom to be brought to us before we discuss it." Despite the calmness of the Daimyo, the elder likely realizes at this point that this screw-up has not gone unnoticed.
The redhead found the door open, thank kami, and let herself in. She made a point to watch out for any… potential guards, of course. Sachiko goes to the tied-up man and gives him a look. "Rough day…?" She looks at the wall carefully, as well as what he's chained up with, to see what parts are easier to break. Can't keep Shuuren waiting long enough to look for a key, after all… "Don't suppose you know where they hid the key…?"
Sachiko might find the key easy to find. The young man was rather well muscled, and was happy to see someone trying to bust him out. "Gods bless you! The key is over in the corner… Hurry!"
Meanwhile, Ryuusei approaches with the bride. Some women are cursed with bad looks, and unfortunately with terrible teeth and a misproportionate body, and eyes that simply pop out at you (Not literally) it is rather fortunate that this woman hadn't been burned at the stake and called a witch. Yet, everybody needs someone. The elder did make a deal, and that deal was not being honored. "I don't understand. What is this about, Nagamura-sama?"
"It's about you forcing your hand in a deal that wasn't fully agreed to simple because you jumped the gun in completing your end of it and subsequently forcing your hand in dragging this young man here against his will," Shuuren answers with a stern look over at the man as Ryuusei brings the woman over to him. He lifts an eyebrow slightly as he looks her over. My, this woman was beaten with every inch of the ugly stick, but Shuuren does enjoy a challenge, and the guy's a stud, or at least what's considered one among commonfolk.
"I have a solution that should be deemed fair on all sides," he says as he looks between them. "But first I want you to hear very clearly what I'm going to say… The old Daimyo may have put up with this sort of foolishness, but I am not he. Tea Country is better than this. If we are to strive forward, it will be together, not at each other's throats." Looking directly at the elder, he says, "The wedding will not be happening today. Make your arrangements to tell them it has been postponed peacefully to allow the couple to get to know each other better before they rush into such a decision." Then he looks to the man, saying, "I realize you feel like the victim here, but your village is at fault as well. If they didn't want to honor that deal, they should've offered a counterdeal that worked rather than staying silent and letting the other village assume it had been accepted while they risked their lives and had to further ration their own stock to bring your people food in the fallout of the war with the Crawler." His eyes then fall to the bride, the Daimyo pausing a moment before saying, "You've been dealt a bad hand, and I'd like to assist you. He will be released, but you and he should spend some time together and see if you would like to be together. After all, while he originally didn't want to be here and may feel better given time, you could also find that he's a complete bore or someone you don't actually want to be with… Step over here with me." With that he moves over to an empty area and withdraws a scroll from his coat.
Sachiko just nodded her head and went to fetch the key. Releasing him, she grabs his arm. "The Daimyo is here. You don't need to run off, got it?" Then she'd lead him back to Shuuren, either by holding onto him or letting him follow. Either way, she listens to Shuuren and looks around the village with a light sigh. Such ring-awful work he has to do here… When he pulls the woman aside, she watches curiously, eyes squinted slightly.
The elder would raise his hand in protest at the Daimyo's order, "What do you mean? How will you pay me back for what I paid to them? A deal is a deal! They signed that contract! I have it on my pers-!" Ryuusei has to admit, she didn't want to do this, but she felt like she had no choice. She drew her blade and pointed it at the man. "Please have faith." She looks at the bride and nudges her head over towards a more secluded empty area. The elder was still raising a fit. "W-what is the meaning of this!?"
Meanwhile the athletic son of the other elder would sit on the ground and sigh in relief. "The Daimyo is annuling it! Oh by the gods! They answered my prayers!"
The bride would follow, but she would have her concerns. She had a rather beautiful voice, which means the hand wasn't completely dealt poorly. "My Daimyo, I have no other choice. This is the only way I can further my family's ambition. I would never be married otherwise, you have to understand!" Unless the Daimyo had a something else up his sleeve…
"It's about you forcing your hand in a deal that wasn't fully agreed to simple because you jumped the gun in completing your end of it and subsequently forcing your hand in dragging this young man here against his will," Shuuren answers with a stern look over at the man as Ryuusei brings the woman over to him. He lifts an eyebrow slightly as he looks her over. My, this woman was beaten with every inch of the ugly stick, but Shuuren does enjoy a challenge, and the guy's a stud, or at least what's considered one among commonfolk.
"I have a solution that should be deemed fair on all sides," he says as he looks between them. "But first I want you to hear very clearly what I'm going to say… The old Daimyo may have put up with this sort of foolishness, but I am not he. Tea Country is better than this. If we are to strive forward, it will be together, not at each other's throats." Looking directly at the elder, he says, "The wedding will not be happening today. Make your arrangements to tell them it has been postponed peacefully to allow the couple to get to know each other better before they rush into such a decision." Then he looks to the man, saying, "I realize you feel like the victim here, but your village is at fault as well. If they didn't want to honor that deal, they should've offered a counterdeal that worked rather than staying silent and letting the other village assume it had been accepted while they risked their lives and had to further ration their own stock to bring your people food in the fallout of the war with the Crawler." His eyes then fall to the bride, the Daimyo pausing a moment before saying, "You've been dealt a bad hand, and I'd like to assist you. He will be released, but you and he should spend some time together and see if you would like to be together. After all, while he originally didn't want to be here and may feel better given time, you could also find that he's a complete bore or someone you don't actually want to be with… Step over here with me." With that he moves over to an empty area and withdraws a scroll from his coat.
Sachiko just nodded her head and went to fetch the key. Releasing him, she grabs his arm. "The Daimyo is here. You don't need to run off, got it?" Then she'd lead him back to Shuuren, either by holding onto him or letting him follow. Either way, she listens to Shuuren and looks around the village with a light sigh. Such ring-awful work he has to do here… When he pulls the woman aside, she watches curiously, eyes squinted slightly.
The elder would raise his hand in protest at the Daimyo's order, "What do you mean? How will you pay me back for what I paid to them? A deal is a deal! They signed that contract! I have it on my pers-!" Ryuusei has to admit, she didn't want to do this, but she felt like she had no choice. She drew her blade and pointed it at the man. "Please have faith." She looks at the bride and nudges her head over towards a more secluded empty area. The elder was still raising a fit. "W-what is the meaning of this!?"
Meanwhile the athletic son of the other elder would sit on the ground and sigh in relief. "The Daimyo is annuling it! Oh by the gods! They answered my prayers!"
The bride would follow, but she would have her concerns. She had a rather beautiful voice, which means the hand wasn't completely dealt poorly. "My Daimyo, I have no other choice. This is the only way I can further my family's ambition. I would never be married otherwise, you have to understand!" Unless the Daimyo had a something else up his sleeve…
As the old man throws his fit, the Daimyo cuts a look back that rather cordially tells him to pipe down unless he wants real consequences for his actions. "Keep the groom here for now. He's free to go afterward." He then turns his attention back to the girl, saying, "I understand your predicament. I'm going to help you." He opens the scroll then, creating a puff of smoke that fades away to reveal a medical tent. They would be in there for quite a while before they step out from the tent, but not as long as one might expect by the change due to a combination of Masquerade Jutsu and Nano Chakra Scalpels to make it a much faster process. What's revealed is a woman who looks a LOT different from when they went in. Her physical deformities have been corrected, and her shape and look have been molded to perfection as if the Daimyo had sculpted her by hand, and she's even been given a lovely blue kimono with a floral white pattern and had her hair fixed.
Sachiko grumbled to herself at the tent, but waited patiently… Mostly. Her arms were crossed as she stood there beside the would-be-groom. Mostly to make sure he didn't try to run, but also to keep any of the villagers getting any smart ideas… Once Shuuren and the woman reemerge, the redhead reveals a smug smirk and looks over to see the look on the face of the kidnapped man. She expects utter bewilderment, dumbfoundedness, and probably a slew of other things. So amusing.
Sadly, the reason the athlete might not wish to marry a woman are for more personal reasons, but he was indeed confused and bewildered. "That isn't her…" The man dumbfoundedly states. The village elder was a bit more appeased. "I see… So… You've made my daughter a bit more easy on the eyes…" Of course that made the bride growl at her father. That father seemed rather satisfied, "She will definitely not turn away any more suiters in the future." Bouquet, he'd accept this as payment received… The groom, sadly, would deny her. "I am sorry, while she has become a stunning woman, I still cannot accept her hand. There is another in my own village that I love dearly. A childhood friend… I am… Free to go now?" He'd ask.
"I've made her more appealing, yes. She should find her responsibility a bit easier now," Shuuren says with a nod to the elder. "But you should allow her to choose as well rather than holding her and another captive. I am giving you a second chance to do things a better way. For all your sakes, get it right this time." His eyes then turn to the would-have-been-groom, saying, "You are free now, but do tell your elders that I will be having a discussion with them about the way they handled this situation since it was just as under-handed as what was done to you… Now go." Finally he turns his attention back to the bride and her father, saying, "I understand having a legacy to uphold and the stress that comes with it. Rather than letting this sort of mess happen again, come to me if you are in need of assistance."
Sachiko quietly listens to everything and just glances to the man beside her, giving him a nod to prove she's not going to even attempt to stop him. Then she looks to Shuuren. "Always good work…" She looks amused and glances at the remodeled woman. Shaking her head softly, she turns away. "Are we done here, then?"
Seems like everything is done. The elder would bow graciously, before moving off to tell everyone to cancel the wedding plans alongside the groom. The groom himself would likely be escorted along with the Daimyo. The ability to make compromises is a trait fitting of a leader, and it seems having the right skills also helps quite a bit…