🌸 || Shisou Rinne, Reirou no Tsui

[HeadlessKoko]

🌸 🌸 Referenced Locations 🌸 🌸

🏯 || The Peak Sun Quarter: Cherry Tree Funeral Parlor

General Information: The Cherry Tree Funeral Parlor has a peculiar layout, even after considering that it's used as an office and residence. Past the front door, there is the reception area as one might expect. Hallways stretch out and follow the walls on both sides of the reception area, leading to more rooms for various business. Stepping straight through the reception area leads to the main consultation room, and behind that room, flanked by the hallways, is an inner courtyard that can only be entered through one two doors: the door in the main consultation room and a door on the opposite end, that leads to the private rooms. A sprawling sakura tree with ink-black wood is planted within, the top of which can be seen peeking out over the roof of the one story building. Its branches fill the courtyard, save for one patch of bare ground that is left empty when the sakura stands bare. Upon the sakura's bloom, a single paulownia tree is planted in this space, as is tradition for the birth of a girl.
Present Status: Burned and charred to the ground. The buildings remains barely remain standing and, as it is considered a crime scene, it has been roped off by the samurai and left untouched save for investigative purposes. The once grand cherry tree that stood in the funeral parlor's inner courtyard has mysteriously disappeared, but the other blackened pieces of the peaceful past that once lived here remain. Of these remnants, there is the still standing Paulownia tree, alive but burnt, scarred, and alone.

🗻 || Mount Minagaroshi

A desolate mountain that reeks of death. Not a leaf can be seen on a single tree and shades of gray reign supreme on the mountain sides. The only color is the blood-like crimson of the spider lilies that line sides of the path. A barren path guides those brave enough to enter, up gentle inclines and steep cliffs alike. Travel far enough, and possessed dolls make an appearance, their number and threat levels increasing the higher one goes up the mountain.

Only the weaker samurai and demon exterminators are ever sent up this mountain as, suspicious as it appears, it does nothing to those towns around it, so the purification of the mountain is kept as a low priority. Forays into it are mostly just meant to cull the numbers of the demon dolls and other evil spirits so that they will never dare come down. There are many tales and news of those that die on their climb up the mountain, but no one can ever claim to know for certain whether or not someone has died upon the haunted slopes.

Those who reach the peak, however, will learn the truth. There is a jovial dollmaker who lives upon the summit with his immortal puppet buddy. The long abandoned village he lives in may be falling apart and barely upkept, but it and his house are both whirling with colorful mechanical life, hidden from the outside with a genjutsu. He is as pleasant as he is ageless, and keeps up to theatrics on the lower part of the mountain in good fun. Fighting and scaring the young ones is a great joy of his in his otherwise monotonous daily life. If the traveler doesn't mind, he would like to kindly ask that they keep this a secret.  

[HeadlessKoko]

Title: Bonds
Information: Call it friendship, call it camaraderie, call it a legal obligation. The nurturing of relationships is one of the most fruitful types of narrative. Helping a friend out in a kitchen, helping keep their business alive, being there for them after a bad break up, building new friendships...building new rivals...building new nemesis's. Confronting those nemesis's and exchanging conflicting beliefs in fierce wholehearted heated debate and getting to know the other through their opposition on a new level.
Every paragraph made strengthening an existing relationship with an rpc, rewards XP equal to one's body rank plus [1], maximum . Those interacted with may also be considered to be running this narrative with you albeit their posts are separate from your own.

Title: Trauma
Information: Experiences which can never be forgotten, experiences which linger in your head in the dark of night and won't leave you be. Traumatic events are some of the most impacting narratives. Having massive changes on the character themselves and how they think, behave, and act. These narratives will effect one's character on the largest of levels often getting their own pieces in that person's history. To truly be a trauma, one must be capable of being triggered when reminded of said trauma. These triggers be they erratic or subtle they are always painful reminders.
Every paragraph made leading up to or experiencing a genuine traumatic event rewards XP equal to one's body rank plus [2], max . These events must have a lasting effect on a character and often times will lead to the production of a new fear.  

[HeadlessKoko]

A bandaged hand lowered a tea cup to the wooden table. The ancient cherry tree besides the table, charred black but no blacker than it had already been, rustled as the veiled man sitting underneath let out a long breath.

The teacup across from him sat empty, finished cleanly and neatly, like the guest who had just left so usually did in other seasons. The guest. To see him again in this season, but with eyes of gold instead of blue. To see those golden eyes at all. Eyes like a bottomless pit closed behind the veil. Was it fortune or misfortune to be sought out by the shogun of the iron country?

In a house charred and broken, barely standing on its own foundation after being ravaged by the golden dragon's influence, a man sat uncertain how to proceed, whether to rage or accept. However, in the end, what ultimately decided for him was the fate that he ultimately could not change. He turned to the cherry tree and reached out with a slender finger to trace the newly created cracks upon the bark. They would not be the last. He would not leave without his other, but if he stayed, he knew his end to be sealed.

"Hanayome. My Hanayome," he called out into the emptiness, voice filled with worry and concern, "What will you do? What should I do?". His shoulders rolled, painfully, the burned skin crackling with the motion like no human's should, but that was what landed them in this predicament, was it not? Because they weren't human.

Should he believe in the gold or the blue of those eyes? In what he saw or what he remembered?

The cup was raised for another sip.

In the end, again, his decision was sealed by the ultimate fate his road led him to. He could not leave his other alone, but he would also die soon. If not today, then tomorrow, or the day after, or the day after that. Certainly before she returned. That was, after all, how the nature of such things worked. Promises upon promises could be made, but they could not defy the base fears of those willing to act. Someone will strike at him, and the rest would all follow. There was nothing the samurai could do to stop their own, not when he felt the same fear emanate from so many of them.

If such was the case, then he should at least try to intertwine what fates he could. Painfully raising his body from the chair with a grace that hid the searing burning he still felt, as if his very being was still bathed in that sea of flame of just a few days past, the ancient yokai moved to make his preparations, until he was stopped. Looking around, he saw the culprit he expected, a black chain of inscriptions layered upon inscriptions, too jumbled and overlapped to make out anymore what they meant or why they existed. They simply were, a chain to the tree he was, but what was so old was also familiar, and what was familiar, routine to dispel. With a wave of his hand, the chain was dispelled, for now, and he was free to move once again.

Passing from the courtyard, the sakura yokai, named for what he was, Saigyou Sakura, stopped in front of a chicken that sat upon the blackened and burnt front desk. Beady chicken eyes stared up into the hidden face.

"Have you come to a decision?"
"Mm. We will accept."
"It took you a while. I thought it would be immediate. It's easy to see, even with his eyes as they are."
"It is precisely because of those golden eyes. I fear what they can do. No, perhaps even will do? If Hanayome is to die, then I would rather she die in my shade than in his arms."
"... You know what? Never say that around anyone else. It's creepy and they'll misunderstand."
A knowing smile. "Oh, I know. They do not understand."
"Anyways, I thought you liked the human."
"... I do."

Saying nothing more, Saigyou Sakura pulled out a scroll from a drawer in the front desk and, with a tap of his finger upon the paper, letters scrawled across the blank canvas. Normally, to convey sincerity, such things would be written out by time and hand, but his body was in hardly any condition for such a task. At the very end, he paused, wondering. He could bind the couple as payment for his services, but then again... His words weaved together for the second choice. Such a matter was better left for Hanayome to decide.

"This scroll and you, I will send to our newest customer."
"Me?"
"Yes, you will be the thread that leads him back to us, when there is only one. Remember, though it will be too tardy, that we will be found on Mount Minagaroshi."
"This has been on my mind for a while now but... aren't you too pessimistic?"
"You know humans as well as I."
"Humans can be just and tolerant."
"No, but even guardian tigers will sleep on evil misdeeds until their den is attacked. Those who rouse for matters wholly separate from their stake in the world are rarer than pearls in the ocean. Shu, you realize this. When was the last time you have felt your nature call?"
"I do not know if he is of the type you describe, but as ever, it was when our guest arrived."
"That is fortuitous that he retains that trait. A wise ruler he will make."

Walking outside, with a chicken now perched upon his forearm, as if he carried a hawk, the yokai stopped just past the frame of the door and beckoned for one of the guards. To his gesture, the lead guard stepped forwards and took the scroll and seemingly common fowl offered. "Please, if you will be so kind, send these to the guest just now."

Visibly perturbed, the guard frowned.

"Cucco."
"Yes, the chicken as well. Please make sure to keep him off the ground."
"Cucco."

In the end, the chicken and message were both taken to the shogun. Saigyou Sakura, seated in his chair beneath the blossoming cherry tree once more, stared into the sea of sparse pink. A petal gently fell down to caress the corner of his eye, landing for but a moment before sliding off the smooth curve of his cheek. His eyes closed as he looked into the future. He will enter the long sleep, and his Hanayome will rage with her grief, but she, too, would fall, for petals without a tree are not long to last in this world. Shu, in these few days, will come to his own judgement of the shogun's character. If he is found agreeable, the phoenix will guide the golden eyes to the dollmaker's mountain and give him free passage to Hanayome for her choice.

There, he was done with his own funeral preparations. There was no pomp and circumstance, no call to tradition or even a ceremony, but he had prepared as fully as he could, nonetheless.
 

[HeadlessKoko]

Scarlet blooms and dying screams. A grief so powerful it charred her entire heart, like the flames that blackened the cherry tree before her very eyes. Why was she still alive when every petal upon it had already turned to ash? Fear, grief, and rage alike burned her own heart alive in that moment. She screamed, laughed, and cried all at once as she rained judgement upon those present. The only thing that could dull the pain was the inconceivable faith that blood shed will bring back the one lost, a fate as impossible as much as it inspired a euphoric hope that tainted each death brought forth with her own two hands with an exhilarating emotion. To do anything to stave away the dreaded emptiness, she would. Guilt? She felt none. She felt none in her memories. She felt none in her dreams. She felt none now, waking as she did from those dreams? Memories? Memories that felt like dreams, but she knew, her body had done all of what felt like a dream. It had killed indiscriminately until it could no more. The blood of the perpetrators on her hands mixed with the blood of the innocents. However, it still wasn't enough. The emptiness remained, a gaping maw within her body, the blank stare in her lifeless eyes. She felt no guilt, only regret that she had not spilled more blood while she could and the fear that accompanied such obsession.

Her body trembled at her own weakness. If she could not kill, then that only left her own blood, right? Somehow, even if she could kill, that idea also sounded better. She lay in the cold futon, no energy to get up, but the image of the birthmark upon her wrist wandered into her head nonetheless. She was not afraid of death. Only that her weak life alone would not bring forth the sakura blossoms once more. Her mind wandered deeper and darker.

Only thinking about the sakura tree could pull her from the depths. She could feel the tree close by and safe, but where was she? Were they safe? Heavy eye lids struggled open to look at the dilapidated wooden ceiling once more, but this time, with scrutiny rather than a far-off stare that envisioned another time and place. Her head turned to the side and saw a karakuri puppet. The delicate details in its expression and brightly colored kimono it wore were all well maintained, a shining toy amidst bleakly creaking floor boards and splintering walls.

Groaning with heavy exhaustion, limbs screaming in the song and dance of overexerted muscles, Sakura turned over to get a better look of the place around her, still confused and uncertain. She felt she was safe, but after seeing the humans turn on her and her other, she no longer knew how to trust. Echoing her own groan, the floorboards beneath the futon she lay on moaned their complaint, catching the ears of one outside.

"Ah, Sakura-chan, are you awake?" a cheerful voice clipped from outside.

The yokai, raised on her arms, fell back down to her bed as she recognized the voice that had spoken. She said no more until he came in to check on her, his question answered by the open blue eyes.

"Is he..." she asked, not bothering to pull her face out of the pillow it was squashed in, "here?"

The cheery greeting smile fell at the question and in a more somber tone this time, the seemingly young man that entered answered, "He is here, but I have not heard nor seen him leave the tree since. I am sure he just needs time to rest, however. When you are feeling better, I'll take you to see him."

Sakura remained still, making no move nor attempt to protest. She only knew how to be obedient, after all.

"There is something he wanted you to do, however."

Sakura turned her head to the side. Listless gaze finally making contact with the bright eyes of her savior.

"While you were gone, he agreed to one last business deal."

A trembling took her body. Face darkening, the yokai asked with venom even she didn't realize she could muster, "What, with a human?". Was this what anger felt like? This? Or was this fear? She was too awash with emotions when she felt them on her rampage earlier, but now in the calm, the feelings themselves sent a different shiver down her spine.

The mechanical entertainer slowly nodded his head.

"Hmph. Wretched creatures." Unable to find words that could express further the violent urges surging in her. Perhaps, even feeling sick at such urges, she simply turned her head away.

The human puppet shifted his weight to his other leg and tried to cajole, "Sakura-chan, the client is already coming up the mountain. He will be here soon. Surely, you would not neglect Sakura-san's duties like this. For his sake, at least."

Hatred continued to brew. With genuine honesty, a bluntness that belied innocence, she asked, "Then will we kill the human to be our fertilizer?".

"The...human is bringing Shu. Shu took him on the safe path. That's the only other thing I'll say, now. I'll leave you to get some rest while we wait for the guest's arrival."

The paper door slid closed with an aged creak. Half a minute later, Sakura turned her head over her shoulder to look at the closed door. Her head ducked in thought. "Shu?" she questioned aloud, confused, "... Traitor." Then, afraid, her head turned back around. Arms clutched the pillow her head rested on as she curled into a ball. "What if... Shu leaves me too?". The thought, so simple, hit like a stab to the heart. As if her very survival was at stake, her thoughts panicked as she worried desperately over the possibility of truly being left alone.

===

Mt. Minagaroshi. Usually, it would at least make a show of living up to its name, but using the hidden path up, an arduous trek that weaved through routes either hidden or too difficult to feasibly warrant taking when a trap or enemy could pop out at any moment, the only thing the guest would risk losing was his breath. Perhaps, also, his patience as the chicken that guided him and granted him safe passage through this path, absolutely refused to walk on his own two legs.

Only at the summit did the guest finally get to give his legs and arms a nice rest with a leisurely walk through a dilapidated town filled with buildings that looked moments away from collapse. Some, in fact, did appear to have recently collapsed and subsequently patched up back to standing quality. Karakuri puppets populated this mock town, each mechanical wonder whirring as it moved through the motions of a towns' daily routine. Compared to the ghoulish and demonic haunted dolls that this mountain was so well known for, it was a true wonder to see something so mundane at its peak.

To the front of a dilapidated little house, nothing that seemed at all like the kind of place the mastermind of these creations would live at, did Shu's guidance take the seeking shogun. There would be no question this was the place, however, for peeking out behind the low roof, upon which melons and gourds grew, was the sakura tree from the Cherry Blossom Funeral House. Though, it was a charred, ruined mess. Not a single flower of the hearty crown that bloomed perpetual remained.

[99 sentences]

Tenshuyami

 

[Tenshuyami]

Ｍｕｓｕｎｄｅ　Ｋｉｎｒｙｕ　鉄将軍
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀

On that fateful day two weeks ago, the act of piercing his father's heart came with a new wave of responsibilities. Musunde couldn't direct his newly-golden gaze towards his fresh challenges with uncertainty despite how sudden it was. It would, after all, be disrespectful to Seizo's final will. So he accepted the gauntlet that was tossed to him when he ascended to the throne and countered his inexperience in politics with the lessons he learned as a shinobi. He acted as a strong wind that pushed Zaishin out of its stagnancy, being careful all the same not to uproot the traditions that made the country his home. The only thing he sacrificed in the process was the "purity" Zaishin enjoyed when it was free of yokai. The discrimination against them came from the unchecked, naive beliefs of men who sat in powerful positions long ago. Seizo raised Musunde with similar negative views, but his encounter with a heroic "monstrosity" shook his tainted foundations. Through Akaran Kaguya's shining moment, Musunde got the idea to meet with others of his kind. After sorting through the distaste that came naturally with years of being oppressed, he met with yokai that imparted a wealth of knowledge, along with a straightforward approach to conversation that wasn't common among humans.

Such meetings led to the eventual change to the treatment of yokai in the iron country. It was a sweeping transformation, one that Musunde couldn't hold back on. Few embraced it, and most moved forward with hesitation. The outliers acted on their resentment, and the samurai punished them appropriately per the new laws. With every step he took towards accepting the Yokai into Zaishin, small regimes of rebels forced progress another step back. The trajectory was still moving ahead slowly but surely, and he expected smooth sailing for awhile following the demise of a recent terrorist group.

After returning to Zaishin to engage his contract with Saigyou Sakura, he saw the gods had something else in mind. Blood adorned the Peak Sun Quarter's streets in front of the recently doused funeral parlor, and bodies were laid out along the building's side, covered with a black sheet. Even if the sight alone was dreadful, there was something particularly bleak about the deaths occurring right outside of such a building. Stepping forward to investigate what was going on, he found himself firmly pushed back by one of his samurai. Right. The black cloak he wore for the recent operation still concealed his identity.

In front of him, the man wore his sandy brown hair in a braid and dressed in typical samurai attire. He had on a steel grey set of tosei-gusoku with a mid-length cape that bore the Shogun's sigil and colors. Slowly, tentatively bringing his hand back, the samurai spoke to the newcomer in an authoritative tone. "On the orders of Dōshin Tatsuo Raiu, we've cordoned off this area. I'm sorry, but if you have business past here, you'll need to move through one of the other districts or come back later." His other hand rested on top of his sheathed blade, not giving the immediate impression that he'd draw it but making the other party aware of its presence. With all the radical activity following Musunde Kinryu's address, one couldn't be too careful.

"I'd like to know what happened here." Was the shogun's soft-spoken response. Before the samurai standing guard could retort, he raised his right hand to show the backside of it. Focusing a small amount of chakra, the golden mark placed there emitted a dim glow. When searching for Musunde's eyes beneath his hood, the samurai saw that they bore the same glowing property and color.

The following interaction went as expected. After stopping the samurai from bowing, the shogun learned about what took place based on several eyewitness accounts. After being told the chilling information, he made his way inside to witness the unwarranted destruction firsthand. Such a peaceful place held out for so long, but not even the samurai stationed could stop a direct assault from the radical group. Brushing a gloved hand over the top of the charred front counter, he inspected the damage. Musunde's overactive mind worked against him, plaguing him with thoughts that made him wonder whether or not he could have done something to stop the bloody outcome. He was glad that justice came to those responsible. Still, the vengeful retribution of the woman the guard mentioned cost innocent lives in the process. Knowing that she must have been a yokai, he wondered if she believed that no human life was an innocent one following the destruction of the parlor. Was she someone close to Saigyou? Did he know about what she did? Was she so far gone that he couldn't grasp a silver lining? A plethora of questions assaulted him, and he knew that he'd only find an answer on the mountain.

Escaping the grasp of his contemplative nature for a moment, the Shogun brought out a blank sheet of fuuin paper and got to work on what he set out to do as a favor for the yokai who offered him tea.

--------------------------------------------

"You know, what you did wasn't necessary."

"Maybe not, but favors beget favors. It wasn't necessary for him to accept my request, either."

"A request from the shogun carries weight, you know. Denying such a thing isn't a simple matter."

"You may be right, but I got the feeling that he didn't see my position when he spoke to me. It was like we were old friends, even though I'm sure we never met before. Then he went and trusted me enough to bestow upon me his talking chicken." Musunde joked towards the end, smiling down at the fowl he carried in his arms. It bristled somewhat but didn't retort, likely figuring that the swordsman wasn't going to give any ground in their conversation. Content with his small victory, the golden-eyed shogun continued walking up the mountain path. There was a quicker, more efficient way of reaching the summit, but Musunde refused to take it when he learned that it consisted of more complicated terrain. Not wanting to climb or hold the chicken through all of that, he decided to take the scenic route instead. After some time of peaceful walking and conversation, they started nearing the summit.

Considering the clusters of blood-red spider lilies that lined the path, he didn't regret his decision at all. "This place is beautiful. I can't help feeling like I've seen it before, though." He softly spoke, taking in the sight of his favorite flower wherever he could. Even if he knew the meaning they carried, he always found the sight of them to be pleasing. His mother used to tell him that he should find interest in other, less foreboding flora. Still, not even the soothing view of cherry blossoms being carried outside of his window by the wind could surpass the sight of a field of delicate red lilies in bloom.

"I'd be surprised if you did previously visit this place. It's unsettling, and it's not like the name "Minagoroshi" is a welcoming one."

Musunde stopped walking after hearing that name, an incredulous look crossing his features. Was it just a coincidence? He didn't know if learning the name made it more familiar to him or if it was all because of his old war title. Maybe both? It could have been that the mountain gave him the idea for the name in the first place. "That's peculiar." His voice came out a low murmur, and he scanned the environment some more with his eyes. Despite being somewhat lost in thought again, that moment of observation let him catch the subtle, telltale signs that something wasn't right. He caught a flash of red movement out of the corner of his eye and noticed something destroyed a small patch of flowers. Quickly and wordlessly, Musunde shifted the way he held Shu to keep him tucked under his left arm. Detecting the channeling of chakra just in time, the swordsman shifted his body 90 degrees and extended his right arm, erecting a golden barrier before the chicken could utter a word of protest for the sudden actions.

The twang of chakra-enhanced metal meeting something sturdier rang out in the area, and he watched jagged metal spikes repel off of his barrier. "I don't know how you found me, but you'll need more than that to take my life. Reveal yourself." He demanded, keeping the barrier up until whoever attacked them made themselves known. Having expected a human or yokai assassin, Musunde was surprised to see a different entity step out from the nearby trees. A construct of wood and metal, covered in slashes and puncture wounds alike but still standing. Flower lilies stuck to its solid body, caught in its cracks and crevices, and there was a large crescent blade where its right arm should have been. "Oh, right. The walk has been so peaceful that I forgot you said this might happen." He said to Shu, dispersing the barrier with a flourish of his hand to replace it with a golden blade instead; his reiken.

"I'm ashamed to admit that we thought alike. Though, this puppet looks far more menacing than the ones I'm used to seeing. Stay cautious, Kinryu-dono."

"I can take care of myself; make sure to stay tucked in tightly, Shu." With that, he prepared to fight, only making his move when the opponent leaped towards him. It extended its deadly arm back, and Musunde used that small opening to clear their distance in an instant, slashing in an upwards vertical strike that severed the puppet's arm from its body before blasting it away in a thunderous roar of chakra. Even though the attack blew the construct several meters away, it ultimately wound up on its legs and prepared to charge the shogun once more. Not giving it the opportunity, Musunde's blade slashed at the air twice, then pointed towards the enemy, unleashing an arrow of Raiton chakra that fired from his soul steel to eradicate its intended target soundly. The force and electric discharge combined caused it to give out, and the puppet crumbled. "I don't suppose they're just offering to guide us the rest of the way there, huh?" He asked cheekily, keeping his blade drawn and shifting his gaze towards the other puppets beginning to make themselves known. He had no issue with fighting but needing to eradicate every opponent to ensure its defeat was an annoying endeavor that didn't leave him brimming with excitement.

【TITLE: Zaishin Shogun & Bearer of the Golden Familiar】▰【RANK: S+】▰【STRENGTH: 8】▰【SPEED: 10】▰【AGILITY: 10】▰【ENDURANCE: 8】▰【CHAKRA: 5,000 || 5,000】▰【STAMINA: 5,000 || 5,000】▰【GOLDEN DRAGON CHAKRA: 1,000 || 1,000】】▰【BUKIJUTSU | BUKIJUTSU | BUKIJUTSU】



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[HeadlessKoko]

From being manhandled underneath an arm to a moderate case of vertigo upon suddenly being pulled forwards with his carrier's dash, Shu was beginning to feel a little queasy. The booms of chakra and steel clashing did not help with the feeling of nausea, and add in that the phoenix had an inborn distaste for conflict, and he was the first to try and flag down the puppets as soon as Musunde made that cheeky question.

"Hold! Hold!" the chicken called out, flailing his wings if his wings could be flailed, "Dollmaker! You really aren't going to fight us, are you? Aren't you paying attention? Hey! Listen! Don't tell me you fell asleep!". His voice lacked its usual elegance and weight, but could he be blamed? After all, it was quite difficult to call someone out of afk with grace and poise.

It took some going through Shu's sentence, but whoever this "Dollmaker" was seemed to have come back in time to stop any further attacks from the puppets. The dolls creaked to a halt then all tilted their head in unison, giving off the distinct feeling that they were thinking, considering something.

Shu paused, trying to understand what this meant before his eyes flat-lined as he reached a conclusion, "Hey, you battle-crazed thrill-seeker, please remember that this is Sakura-san's customer."

A creepy, mechanical laugh rattled forth from each, the shaking of gears and joints adding to the atmosphere. The dolls continued to laugh as they receded, retreating to whatever ambush points they originally had been hiding in. All save for one that remained.

The last doll standing stood on the path ahead of Musunde and Shu. Still laughing mechanically, it turned around with an about face and then proceeded to, despite Musunde's doubts, guide them up the mountain.

===

Musunde was guided through rugged sights and terrain, and yes, the laughing eventually turned off. Every so often, the puppet guiding him would change, the old one remaining in its zone while a new one from the upcoming zone guided Musunde through its zone. It was, without the annoyance and overwhelming threat of chainsaw attacks, quite the scenic mountain, if one could ignore the horror ambience of mist and fog that pervaded this place. The gently sloping scenic took the hiker to quite a few breathtaking vistas, little rewards for getting up so high, and points of interests like abandoned villages or intriguing sculpture formations dotted the path. No doubt, despite the natural appearance of all of these, as if they were ancient relics of bygone eras, knowing the nature of this mountain, they were all artificially manufactured and upkept by the owner of this mountain.

The first real signs of "life" wouldn't appear until Musunde reached the summit, and even then, it wasn't life as he may consider it. A village populated with whirring automatons lay out before him past a torii that was being used as a gate of some sorts, puppets of various sizes going about something equivalent to a normal rural village's daily routine. The buildings and dolls appeared dilapidated, but the structures were sturdy and the mechanisms ran smoothly, without a single hitch.

"It's the little house in the back," Shu instructed as the mechanical puppet guiding Musunde turned around to return to its station. This part of the trip, Shu remembered how to navigate, and with his CPS (Chicken Position System), Musunde would reach the old, run down shackhe was to have his meeting at. An expansive spread of brittle, black branches could be seen towering over the house from somewhere in the the back.

"Guests!" with an excited shout, the creaking paper sliding door would be flung wide open, "Welcome and come in!". There was no expression to be seen, nor any body, with all the layers of clothes and capes that surrounded this eccentric individual, but everything one needed to know could be heard in the exuberance of the voice, anyways.

Should Musunde choose to take the invitation, he would find himself in a whirlwind of a... technically proper reception of a guest. Tea, teacups, snacks, conversation, they were all there, but they were all being readied and given at the same time, and to be fair the "conversation," was mostly just this swaddled individual talking to himself about what he was doing. "Teacups... Where were the teacups?" "Oh! Almost forgot the snacks!" "Anyways, how has you day been?" "Are these still good to eat?" "Um... Oh! You're here. Of course you're here. Haha. The weather lately, amirite?" "Arggghhh. I should have listened to Sakura-san's advice and gone shopping in advance."

With all the noise he was making, anyone else in the house should have been alerted to the guest, but it wasn't until the Dollmaker shouted for the other guest, that any reaction was heard or seen.

"Sakura-chan!" the human puppet puppeteer, with several limbs full of who knew what (one boiling a pot of water for tea, two holding several bags of popular snacks while one with an eye embedded in the palm of the hand-like structure studied them, three of them fixing a karakuri doll?), called to a tightly shut paper door directly behind him. There was no response. His head swiveled 180 degrees and he called again, voice brimming with smiles, "Sakura-chan! Your clients!".

Finally, movement could be heard through the door. The rustle of clothes and the padding of bare feet upon creaking floor boards. The light streaming in from the windows of the room Sakura rested in cast a light silhouette upon the thin door, revealing a slim, feminine figure approaching the door slowly. Perhaps out of hesitation? Shyness?

BANG!

Nope. If the eardrum quaking slamming open of the paper door was any indication, it was neither. Soft features and a softer figure highlighted the cold scowl of the woman who had suddenly appeared, a woman who looked not at all ready to receive guests. Framed by bare horns, white as snow, pink locks rested in the mild disarray of a head of hair that needed only a single brushing to manage but hadn't even been given that much attention. She wore but a single layered white kimono. Though, it appeared she had at least the decency to ensure her pajamas were properly arrayed so as to reveal nothing more damning than cleavage.

No explanation nor greeting was given, only a stony glare at Musunde and Shu, then a hand reached out and a command given, "Shu, come."

The chicken visibly scooted closer to Musunde, beady black eyes staring at Sakura as he shook his head.

In frustration, her cheeks puffed, and she repeated herself "Shu, come."

"Sakura-chan, this is a client," Shu tried to reason, "Picked by Saigyou-san no less. Your presentation as of right now is grossly inappropriate for meeting such a person."

A flash of insecurity crossed pink eyes in a blink, her cheeks going slack with that moment of fear before it was replaced with anger. Biting her lower lip, she seethed before she exclaimed, "Come! Right now! Right! Now!". Her foot stomped impatiently with each punctuated exclamation.

Shu could scoot no closer, so he nestled himself into Musunde, making clear his intentions that he would not leave. Keeping his voice steady and low, like he was talking to a wide animal (or a small child, who even knows the difference?), "Sakura-chan, you are dishonoring Saigyou-san's reputation with your behavior. Do you wish to disappoint him when he returns?".

"How dare!" she started strong, but the beginnings of her curse quickly sputtered out, the volume of her voice lowering, "How dare you use him..." Speaking hesitantly, looking askance, but the glare she directed next at Musunde lost none of its hatefulness. Not for him, rather, but for what he was. A hatred misled to become the very thing that caused it, its bearer yet unaware.


[96 sentences]

Tenshuyami

 

[Tenshuyami]

Ｍｕｓｕｎｄｅ　Ｋｉｎｒｙｕ　鉄将軍
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀

Flipping his stance into a more defensive one, Musunde seamlessly transitioned his reiken into a reverse-grip, running the blade parallel to his forearm. The golden chakra thickened along its blunt spine and continued doing so until it appeared wide enough to work as a shield. Ideally, he'd be able to test out his new tricks received courtesy of his previous opponents, but it was reckless enough to endanger Shu. Even a scratch on the chicken would be a gash on his relations with the funeral parlor and an even worse wound on his pride. The puppets didn't seem powerful enough to pose a threat to a dedicated defense, so he'd rely on counter-attacks.

At that moment, he was so focused - so honed in on the goal to receive no damage that he didn't hear what Shu said. Not until he called out a name: Dollmaker. "Ahh?...Oh." Recognition slowly worked its way over his features, and he visibly untensed. While he doubted there'd be much harm in destroying the puppets while they were distracted from the outburst, avoiding combat entirely wasn't something he was opposed to. Still, he held his stance until they left, bristling with discomfort at the unsettling laughter emanating from the puppets in unison. What...what was even the point in adding that as a function?

Charming...

The voice of the golden dragon sounded off in his thoughts, and he would've laughed at the uncharacteristic reaction if he didn't find the atmosphere just as creepy. He stoically gazed at the one remaining archaism once the others retreated off the main path, watching its movements without a hint of intent. Ultimately, it proved his previous assumption wrong, actually serving as a guide up the mountain.

Ascending the path, Musunde found it disappointing that such a beautiful place was unvisited save for the puppets and occasional Okappiki seeking to prove themselves. While he never took on the rank of samurai before running from home, the repeated presence of his favorite flower and dreary aesthetic reminded him that he tried doing the same once but never made it very far up the path. It was ages ago, but he recalled that his foray with Shu wasn't his first time on Mount Minagoroshi.

As high as they were in the snowswept mountain, Musunde came expecting low temperatures and ice fog. Eventually, the cold was getting unbearable to both of them, so Musunde took care of that issue before it could escalate. Even though it took a couple of tries and Shu may have nearly caught fire during one of them, the Shogun managed to temper one of his newly-learned Katon techniques to a level that would warm but not burn. The Hot Hug technique specifically was his choice, and it served to keep them safe until they reached the summit. The dragon, of course, laughed at the pitiful attempts of the one who attempted to use its fires all the while.

"Apparently, the dragon thinks you're amusing." He broke the silence of their brisk stride without averting his eyes from the path in front of him. The puppets had some sporadic movement, so he didn't want to risk losing it. One slipped gaze, and the thing could (literally) cut a completely different path through the mountain without him noticing.

"Should I be...honored? I don't mean to be rude, but I still have trouble grasping the significance of the Kinryu to the people of Zaishin."

"I had the same problem too, at the start. Obviously, it's powerful and has to do with Kohryu's legend, but the golden dragon has never been involved. A familiar bearing a fraction of his power. It took a while, but I eventually started to see its origins in my dreams. A powerful woman sacrificed herself after being convinced by the Seiryu that the yokai would conspire against the samurai and destroy them. Still, she carried some doubt in her heart and sent the familiar far away from the one who killed her. Apparently, the dragon absorbed more knowledge of samurai history the longer it remained in the Iron Country as if it siphoned it from the ground of Zaishin itself. Through the great power of that woman, Kagami Hari, it is definitely a celestial being of Kohryu." He spoke along the course of their journey, clearly recalling Kinryu's lore from his dreams. Even if they never met, he carried respect for the woman that gave her life, regardless of the kind of person she was before that moment. He carried the final vestiges of the one who destroyed Uzushiogakure and eliminated Utu. Her deeds were astronomical on both sides of the moral scale, but he believed her last act cemented the kind of person she truly was.

"Unfortunately, my father is the one who found the dragon. She sent it away because she was afraid the Seiryu would use it to oppress people. Despite her best efforts, those fears were realized well after her death, just at the hands of another. That man was just as paranoid of an assault from the yokai as Seizo was of the Shinobi. I...hmm. If she can still see the world from where she is, I hope she's content with the one now holding the mark." He finished speaking and continued to walk for almost an entire minute before the gears started turning, cheeks reddening in embarrassment. "S-sorry, I realized I didn't really answer your question. I guess that explains the significance of the dragon to me, but for the general population...well, Ninshu is revered and worshiped freely in Zaishin. If it were the power of Genbu or Byakko, it'd be less eventful, but Kinryu is a manifestation of The Dragon of Golden Scales' power. If I'm not cautious with this mark, the people will start worshiping me like a god. That's why I never show the dragon in its complete state if I can help it." The puppets weren't making much in the way of good conversation, so Shu and Musunde proceeded to spend the rest of the trip there talking about the changes Zaishin had gone through in the time since he took the throne. Less about his rule and more about his people, just as the Shogun wanted it. So it was until they reached the peak.

. . .

"I never thought the top of this creepy place could be so amazing." The words were muttered low enough that only the chicken held in his arms could hear, though the gust of wind blowing through may have gotten in the way. Even if he could only imagine how it all came to be, the dilapidated village was something out of a picture book, and it easily caught his interest. The "why's" turned into "how's," and he grew fascinated with the day-to-day "lives" of the puppets devoid of will yet simulating an everyday picture of life. If his reason for visiting didn't involve business, Musunde would have likely taken some more time before reaching the shack that Shu told him about.

While his host's introduction may have been considered overwhelming to some, it was a breath of fresh air to him. After weeks of being tip-toed around in every interaction as if he would smite them down over forgetting to use their full titles, he appreciated the dreadfully overdone hospitality. It also made him wonder how his father must've treated his subjects for them to act that way, but that was a thought for another time. Amusingly, he hadn't been given an inch of breathing room to introduce himself before the living puppet called out the name of the woman he'd be speaking with instead of Saigyou. Oh well. Perhaps it was a blessing that he had the opportunity to introduce himself directly to her instead of doing it twice. After the second call of her name from the host, he finally heard something on the other side of the paper door. Instead of twiddling around his thumbs patiently, he reached for the scroll inside of his cloak, only to nearly reach for Nuibari instead when the door opened with a slam several decibels louder than expected. He visibly tensed, but the lack of any directly hostile intent quickly calmed him down.

"Oh...I didn't mean to wake you." He started, noticing her state of dress. He pointedly gazed without judgment or disdain back at her glaring eyes, but before he could continue speaking, she ignored him in favor of trying to command Shu by her side. There...was a certain intensity to her demands, sure, but he also thought that she was acting childish to an extent. Sakura was blatantly ignoring Shu's responses, regardless of the points he made. While he was directly involving Musunde by nestling into him to prove his own point, the Shogun was trying his best to view the situation from the outside. It was a good opportunity, at the very least, to examine the woman he'd been so curious about. Despite how disheveled she was, there was a largely normal woman in front of him, with horns that indicated her race. If he just removed the scowl off her face, she could easily be considered pretty, and a glance of her body didn't show signs of being an experienced fighter. It was hard to believe that she caused such mayhem near the market, but he supposed the rage of an untrained yokai was something he had little knowledge in. Once his gaze returned to hers, he caught the hatred being directed to him and him alone. Somehow it carried a similar intensity to even enemies on the battlefield, looking at him like something that needed to be killed. Despite appearances and impressions...no, it wouldn't do to underestimate her feelings. She must have deeply cared for Saigyou.

"Sorry, Sakura-san, but the business I scheduled with Saigyou-san is something I can't postpone or cancel. The deed's been done, and I was on my way to see him when...I saw what happened. Even with everything that happened after the fact, again, I'm sorry." He paused for the briefest of moments, wanting to get his sincerity across but also knowing that if he took too long, there was the risk of her exploding on him. In that instance, he caught sight of the dollmaker again. "When I last spoke with him, we had tea together. It seemed like something we both enjoyed, so I was hoping to do it again since he invited me here. Because we need to speak instead, and since the dollmaker is already making tea, can we sit together when you're ready? I have a lot I'd like to talk about. Aside from business, Saigyou-san's condition is important to me." Even though it tended to come out naturally, he actively avoided letting any authoritative tones slip into his voice, knowing that she already felt like he was intruding enough as is. If she and Saigyou were close, bridging the gap over something he enjoyed was more appropriate than playing the other cards on the table.

(77 Sentences)

【TITLE: Zaishin Shogun & Bearer of the Golden Familiar】▰【RANK: S+】▰【STRENGTH: 8】▰【SPEED: 10】▰【AGILITY: 10】▰【ENDURANCE: 8】▰【CHAKRA: 5,000 || 5,000】▰【STAMINA: 5,000 || 5,000】▰【GOLDEN DRAGON CHAKRA: 1,000 || 1,000】】▰【BUKIJUTSU | BUKIJUTSU | BUKIJUTSU】



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HeadlessKoko

 

[HeadlessKoko]

"You... You... You..." Sakura's hand gripped tightly on the door that had just recently been slammed open. Such a large amount of force it had taken back then that it had bounced and come partway back to Sakura. Close enough for her to grab at the poor paper door's handle-edge and further traumatize it so soon after its first abuse. The weathered paper upon the door punctured easily beneath the pressure of Sakura's fingertips, at the mercy of the imbalanced yokai's temper.

"First he takes Shu, and now he takes Saigyou's name?"

Lost for words, she filled the silence that she couldn't bear leave empty with growls. Growls that gradually grew louder as they stirred the restless emotions inside of her. If earlier she had glared only askance at Musunde, then her full attention was certainly locked and loaded on him now. Brows furrowed. Face contorted with disgust. Eyes wide, and predatory. Her mouth pursed with words she wanted to return. She wanted to accuse Musunde; though, there was nothing he had done that was wrong. She wanted to curse Musunde for defiling Saigyou's name; though, the only desecration done by him was to speak it. She wanted to scream at him for daring to act like he knew him, and that, that was something she could do.

"I won't let... a human defile Saigyou anymore..."

A shuddering breath. A trembling body, as if it was too delicate to hold everything she felt within her moments before the big release. The memories, the revelations, the betrayals, it all erupted with the first words she directed to Musunde since, "You dare?! How dare you speak his name with that filthy mouth of yours, human?! So you knew him? You had a pleasant time together? Hahaha." She laughed, she sneered. "Ha... Haha, what, then if you had known earlier, you would have joined all the other humans that knew him, huh? He's spent centuries of his life assuring that their dead received the proper rites and consoling family members. Centuries watching over the children, occasionally doling out snacks, as a member of the community. So why did they have to take him from me?! It doesn't make sense. It makes no sense at all, but did really you think I would be fooled a second time? You. You and all the other humans. I'll kill you... I'll kill you all..." The wood in her hands creaked under the pressure of her grip, splintering. A pink glow began to gather at her fingertips, a precursor of what was to come, of the determination she held.

"He'll just lie. Like the other humans. I should just turn him into fertilizer now."

With strength unforeseen, not even the bearer of the strength would be able to say where it came from had she even cared to question such a triviality, Sakura flung the door she gripped with a wide swing.

"My door!"

The muscles in her arm tensed and bulged with the effort before she was able to rip the paper and wood structure from where it was installed and sent it flying to Musunde, a high-speed wall... save that to one of Musunde's physical abilities, it probably appeared to move to him at a snail's pace. So simple an attack that he would have no problem even of "seeing" through the screen door via the tattered holes within and the silhouette cast by the crouching then leaping Sakura. Her arm extended to the side right at the start and eye-catching pink "claws" glowed upon her fingertips, making it laughably easy to read the slash that came down upon Musunde from the air, a "surprise" attack after using the screen door as cover.

"My guest!"

Down came Sakura's hand with deadly intent upon Musunde's head, trailing flower petals in their path to rip open his neck. He would, if he cared to notice, recognize that the petals came from her "claws" and that such claws appeared scaled with cherry blossom patterns. No, rather, they were the petals of cherry blossoms, layered closely into each other, hardened by supernatural means, and likewise sharped to be not unlike the edges of a blade.

"My chicken!"

"... ... ...?! Who are you calling your chicken?!"

[60 sentences]

Tenshuyami

 

[Tenshuyami]

Ｍｕｓｕｎｄｅ　Ｋｉｎｒｙｕ　鉄将軍
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Regretting that he couldn't form a response quickly enough before she grasped the folding door with all her might, Musunde found himself swimming in a pool of uncertainty. Sympathy would have left her enraged, and putting an end to her life was out of the question. Worried that her senseless rage already teetered over the border of salvation, he hesitated for a moment but ultimately didn't put himself in harm's way. With a slight shake of his left arm, a glint of steel shifted from his sleeve to his palm before, with the briefest twitch of his hand, the paper door found itself cut into numerous pieces. It would've been nice if that display did enough to halt her advance, but that was very romantic thinking. No, all of her momenta was going into things metaphorically and literally, though that gave Musunde an easy opening. Taking advantage of the fact that she leaped into her overhead strike, he moved towards her instead of cowering like all of those she'd cut down previously likely did at the wrath of an unknown yokai. Shifting too close for her to strike him without ultimately killing her power, the swordsman grasped her overextended wrist with his right hand and her collar with the other. Pirouetting around to the other side of her, he suddenly dropped his weight to send her crashing hard onto the ground. Not with enough power to break the floor, but certainly strong enough to make her think twice before lashing out again.

Regardless of whether or not she managed to break her fall, Sakura would find herself facing a sword made up entirely of golden chakra when she turned to see him again. Historically, a good Shogun should have lopped off her head then and there, even if it had been a fellow samurai who attacked him. One step forward, the pulling of one hand and pushing of another on the hilt of his Reiken to put an end to a bloodthirsty animal. It shouldn't have been much different from him culling the lives of traitorous deserters earlier that morning, but his emotions hadn't numbed completely. He was still able to see a cherished part of Saigyou in front of him instead of a monster, and that was enough for him to stay his blade.

"They took him from you because they were cowards. They were just as afraid of the Yokai as they were terrified of change. After all..." He paused for a moment to take in her appearance, gauging whether or not she was gearing up for another attack before continuing to speak. His blade remained pointed towards her, but he didn't give off the body language of someone who was about to strike. "...who wants to understand the creatures that have hurt the ones we love? It's easier to hate them all evenly than it is to adapt to their ways. To accept change and look at the individual rather than the whole. Do you know where I'm going with this, Sakura-san?"

His eyes would lock with hers, meeting whatever emotion she had on display with an intense, stern gaze. Sincere, but not easily influenced or overthrown. He'd allow her to speak, but if she answered incorrectly or even sat there in enraged silence, he'd continue. "Saigyou didn't do anything wrong, but neither did some of the humans you killed. You're seeing them the same way they saw him, yet you're disgusted in them all the same. Are you okay with that?" He continued, talking to her long enough that he was comfortable with removing his Reiken from view, placing his hand back down by his side. "You'll see me the same way, even if I want to do everything I can to help him after what's happened. He trusted me enough to tell me about this place. In hindsight, I think he did it for you, and you still want to kill me? Again, Sakura-san, are you okay with that? Should I believe that he sent me here to be attacked by the person he was closest to?" Maybe he was trying to appeal too much to her sense of reason for the state she was in, but it would help him get a better idea of where she was, emotionally speaking. He would've liked to ask for further input from Shu or the dollmaker, given that they were closer to her, but he felt like even they didn't know how to handle what she became, after all that happened. No, looking back, the context of the situation helped him better understand Saigyou's letter. It would take a human to try and lower her intensity. Maybe not wholly take her off the new path, but at least make sure that she doesn't hurt herself or others that don't deserve it in the process. Maybe getting the Shogun involved was a bit lofty for the tree's intentions, but he could somehow pierce the haze with his eyes to see how it could work out for the best with his involvement over someone else.

【TITLE: Zaishin Shogun & Bearer of the Golden Familiar】▰【RANK: S+】▰【STRENGTH: 8】▰【SPEED: 10】▰【AGILITY: 10】▰【ENDURANCE: 8】▰【CHAKRA: 5,000 || 5,000】▰【STAMINA: 5,000 || 5,000】▰【GOLDEN DRAGON CHAKRA: 1,000 || 1,000】】▰【BUKIJUTSU | BUKIJUTSU | BUKIJUTSU】



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HeadlessKoko

 

[HeadlessKoko]

Feral growl. Engorged fangs glowing pink, claws shining with the same light upon her hands and feet. The yokai jerked up as soon as she had recovered herself from the unbroken fall. Loose sleeping robes were beginning to become undone. Though, the dollmakers godlike dressing abilities and transcendent tying prowess kept everything together and decent. The floor beneath her had cracked. She could only use one arm to pick herself up, the other refused to move and jutted at an awkward angle after being badly landed upon.

Pain. She could feel the pain of the blade slicing into her neck, and for all of the little she cared, that pain caused her to pause just long enough for her to hear a frantic squawking "Sakura! Dear gods, Sakura please stop!" desperately pull her to a stop through all of her threatening growls.

She could not hear Musunde, but she would always be able to hear Shu whether she liked it or not. Halted by Shu, she remained frozen in place, sky blue eyes blazing fervently straight into regal golden hues. Deep crimson overflowed from the wounded artery and onto the meticulously stainless white.

From a corner of the room, Dollmaker had the good sense to only mouth his devastation at seeing the clothes he'd ironed for dear Sakura just yesterday night get ruined, but Shu wasn't going to be sensible. Jumping from the low table with wings aflutter he brushed right past Musunde to landed upon Sakura's lap, moving her not even a millimeter despite what his chubby chicken form implying otherwise. As much as a chicken could, he paled upon seeing the sword's edge dug into her neck.

When the sword withdrew, glowing sakura trailed from the now disappeared blade, blossoming from the wound and gently enveloping the painful gash to not only heal but also not even a scar remained in its place. They were the same color as the claws and fangs that formed Sakura's terrifying demonic visage, and perhaps Musunde would realize now their true nature.

Shu released a breath he hadn't even realized her was holding. The Dollmaker, too, even if he didn't necessarily need to breathe.

Musunde would get to say his piece. However, a philosophical discussion was really simply poorly timed at the moment, or so one would think seeing the state Sakura froze in. It was only reasonable to assume after but a breath's worth of silence that she didn't have even the capacity to answer right now, yet still equally reasonable to hope that even a sliver of a lesson will be taken from the long-winded lecture.

The true result? Well, Sakura jerked forwards with a growl as soon as the sword was removed, even while her wound was healing, and it was only Shu pressing his own chunky body forwards while spreading out his wings that stopped her. It got her to look down, see that she had regained her Shu, and quickly hug him as tightly as possible, so that he couldn't leave her too.

With Shu back, why should we waste any more time on a man she couldn't even offer to Saigyou? Claws and fangs fading, Sakura stood up with zero disregard of the man before her. One arm entrapped Shu. The other hung loosely at her side. Her expression listless, she felt so drained of energy that she couldn't even muster the power to snap at Musunde for daring to know how Saigyou thought. She could only say this much, "Saigyou is dead now because of your people, whether they be the ones who bared their fangs against him or merely watched from behind. What he meant or intended matters no longer now that he is gone."

Shu, looked back and forth between the two, and continued to look back and forth with increasingly frantic frequency as Sakura walked forwards and, should Musunde permit, past the shogun. No no no. Things couldn't be going this way. With a series of blinks and winks (are chickens even able to wink? well, Shu can), he conveyed a message to the Dollmaker through an over-convoluted signal system, "Don't. Let. Him. Leave," before being whisked away into Sakura's doorless room.

An over energetic nod from the Dollmaker to Shu and then he turned towards Musunde, back hunched over with the effort to ensure Musunde had no desire to leave. If he caught Musunde's eyes, he would mouth, in dramatic fashion, "Please. Do. Not. Leave. Shogun. Sama," so that Sakura would not be able to hear from the other room. Except his was a puppet mouth, so there was not much that could be distinguished other than the open and closing of the hinged jaw.

[50 sentences]

Tenshuyami