A good day! }{ PM me first please

[WolfEnchantress]

Sian finally laid back after eating enough to quiet his stomach for the time being, covering himself with his cloak and letting his eyes wander before letting them close. Now that he'd eaten and he wasn't doing anything, he found himself tired.

"Why wouldn't you be honorable anymore?" He asked. "Unless you did something wrong, of course. I would consider you honorable." He contemplated this. "I think everybody has some kind of honor, unless they forfeit it by doing something wrong - like lying, cheating, murdering, the like." It was like the way criminals were tried by a magistrate- everyone was innocent until proven guilty (at least, that's how it was where he grew up), but with honor. Everyone had honor until you did something to lose it.

He explained the concept to Nanashi, scooting a little bit closer to the fire and prodding it with a stick to keep it hot. A few flames crackled back to life from where they'd died down, no fresh wood left for it to burn. He could feel the demon's presence, but faintly - he was almost warm enough, after sitting practically in the flames for a while.

"I think you would be able to rest with your ancestors," He said after a moment of thought, and laid the whip close by at his side (as it was really rather uncomfortable to sleep with if you were lying down).

[Talwyn]

A deep sigh escaped from Nanashi's mouth. He had tried to explain this all before, but no one had understood then. True, he did understand the language better know, but he doubted his ability to accurately explain everything to Sian.

"I know wat yuu say. Buut... I nanashi. Nanashi not part of class. Not warrior. Not nobul. Not mersjant. Not craft-person. Nanashi has no clan. No name. No onnor." Was his conclusion. Looking at Sian from underneath his hat, he tried to see if the other understood what he was trying to say.

"I lif... well... not very guud lif. Buut, I do wat I dink is right. If I cannot rest wit ansestor... dat seems not fair. Oh well... shall see when I die yes?" Grinning he lowered his hat again. "I hope I explain right. Is hard to tell in dis ranguage."

[WolfEnchantress]

Sian listened quietly to Nanashi's logic, which, even if he could see what he meant, didn't seem very logical to him.

"In Nippon, then, you need a class to have honor?" He said, mulling over this in his head. It seemed strange. Not everyone could have a class... but anybody can have honor. But he just nodded., unwilling to continue pushing his own point of view on him.

"You explain it right," He said, not wanting to try to turn him from what he grew up knowing. "It's just so different than what I'm used to, so it's a bit hard to go along with" He grinned. "I've never met anyone from far off," He continued, "So it's really interesting to hear about Nippon." The most he'd heard is what he'd read in books and stories, most of which were probably false, told to him by his father.

"Either way," He said, "I still say you're a very honorable person, even if you disagree." He stretched, finally scooting a few feet back from the fire. "After all, you're far nicer than most of the people I come across." Which was few, to be fair, but those few were always rather short tempered, as though they had other things to be doing than chatting with an adolescent who, because of his avoidance of people, came across as rude.

[Talwyn]

"<Thank you>." Was all he said as he closed his eyes and slowly drifted into sleep. His dreams were peaceful, and the sleep refreshing. After waking up, he gathered some more firewood. When Sian finally woke up, he could see the swordsman sitting opposite him, trying his hardest to pull several splinters from his hand.

Cursing in his own language, he glanced at Sian and gave a wan smile as he held up his hand to show what he was doing. Finally getting one out, he moved on to the next as he told Sian to catch some more fish for breakfast.

After they finished eating, he got up and started walking, while once again making Sian walk in the pattern he had explained the day before. As he observed Sian, he suddenly stopped him. "No, no, no. Rong. Rook." He took a step and immediately took a second step. "Is rong. Like dis!" Taking a step, he remained in the crouched position for a second or two. His body in complete balance.

"Yuu take step. Yuu stop. If no balance, yuu do rong. Balance! Balance! Rook!" Taking another step, he remained in perfect balance once again. "If hard, take smaller step. Yes? Go." Nanashi gave Sian a break every 15 minutes or so, but it was most likely still exhausting and thus after a while, Nanashi told him they were done for the day.

During the rest of their walking, two things became apparent. First, Nanashi was interested by just about everything Sian could tell him about their surroundings. The names of certain trees, flowers, animals. The second was that it seemed the spill of bad luck hadn't ended after a good nights sleep. Either the man was just accident prone, or extremely unlucky.

[WolfEnchantress]

Once Nanashi fell asleep, it took Sian less than a few seconds to do the same, after not sleeping so long. He slept deeply, unmoving the whole night, and was only woken when he sensed that it was light outside and that the other of the two of them was awake. Fighting drowsiness, he sat up, muttering about nights needing to be longer under his breath.

He rose and went off to catch the fish for breakfast, splashing some of the water on his face to wake himself up. He stretched. He was still tired, but not as much as yesterday. He'd been running on less than empty then. He returned and cooked the fish, splitting the amount between them and waiting impatiently for them to cook impatiently, then eating them ravenously.

When they set off, he resumed walking in the correct fashion, losing his balance a few times but otherwise doing all right. He took to naming things around them because Nanashi enjoyed it, and found it took his mind off of the peculiar style of walking.

He did begin to notice just how much bad luck Nanashi seemed to run into. The more things that happened, the more he noticed it. He didn't say anything, however - after all, what could it be besides just a run of bad luck?

After a while of walking Sian looked around and realized he had no idea where they were.
"Where are we headed?" He asked. Not that it was surprising he didn't know, he was mostly just curious.

[Talwyn]

The walls of a town could be spotted through the trees by now, and Nanashi pointed at it in response to Sian's question. "Town. Need sword." Grabbing the hilt of his own, he chanted in his own language. "<Oh blessed Kyoujikami, this humble servant of yours is in dire need of some good fortune.>" Upon finishing, it seemed like a faint glow flashed from the blade, as if it responded to whatever he had just said.

The guards let them through without question and Nanashi smiled and nodded politely. Strolling to the market place, the first merchant they spotted, was a man from Nippon together with his bodyguard, also from Nippon. As if this wasn't a big enough coincidence, it seemed the man carried a rather large assortment of wooden practice swords.

The three of them bowed to each other while saying the same thing at the same time. "< The honor is mine>." Looking at the merchant, Nanashi smiled and grabbed a few of the wooden swords, testing their balance while making small talk in his own language.

If Sian could understand the language, he would learn that the merchant was from the Kohzuke province and that Nanashi praised the people from there as brave and honorable. The warrior however, remained silent, keeping his eye trained on Nanashi as if recognizing him.

"<You are Takeda Heihachi, the Red Tiger>." No introduction, just a blunt statement. As he looked up, Nanashi shook his head. "<You must have me confused. I am but a simple nanashi.>" He tried to say more, but got cut off. "<Don't lie Red Tiger! I recognize you. I was there at the battle of Honshu, when you earned that name. I saw you fight. You were ferocious, but you had unquestionable honor. Even we, your enemies, respected you and it always saddened me I never got the opportunity to test my skills against yours.>"

At that the merchant seemed delighted. "<How about a fight with wooden swords? Right now. As payment for the ones you want. Even I, a simple peddler have heard the name Red Tiger. I am curious to know how good you are>." Figuring there was no way out of this, Nanashi merely sighed and at long last turned his attention to Sian and explained the situation as best as he could.

"So, dat is story. Yuu watsj, yes? Watsj guud. Is training." The merchant quickly made room for the warriors, as Nanashi tried out a few more of the practice swords until he found one he liked. "<I, Asura Yoshiro, call upon your honor to face me in single combat.>" Receiving the customary greeting and challenge, Nanashi bowed. "<And I, Takeda Heihachi, will gladly accept. Let none interrupt this sacred and honored moment.>" The last sentence was echoed by Yoshiro.

Getting in a ready stance, the merchant suddenly told them to start. But, neither of the two men was moving. It was strange though, as the tension in the air became almost tangible. The slightest bit of movement from Nanashi, caused his opponent to burst into action.

Catching the attack with the flat of the blade, he deflected the attack while side stepping. His opponent's momentum caused him to keep moving, but Nanashi immediately followed. Waiting till the other was turning, he launched an attack of his own. Catching it easily, Yoshiro laughed as Nanashi crashed into him and the two were locked together.

Pushing the hilts together, Nanashi suddenly used a push from the other to let himself be thrown backward and at the same time, he launched a swift attack to the wrist. Skillfully dodging it, Yoshiro pursued.

A succession of quick blows followed, each getting parried and countered. Only to have the counter parried and countered as well. Until, at last, Nanashi found an opening. Catching an attack aimed at his head with the flat of the blade, he made a swift motion and struck his opponents stomach.

Running past him in such a way that a real sword would cut his opponent stomach wide open, he turned around and remained in a battle ready stance. Unmoving, perfectly balanced.

Clutching his side, Yoshiro relaxed and nodded. Dropping his stance as well, Nanashi started panting. Bowing to each other, the two warriors grinned as the spectators started applauding.

The merchant loaded him with gifts and Nanashi was allowed to pick two wooden swords for free as well. Thanking both Yoshiro and the merchant, he and Sian were finally under way again as Nanashi pushed the package he had received in Sian's hands.

"Is better if yuu carry." Was all he said with a grin. Grabbing the hilt of his sword, he chanted something and the blade onces again seemed to flash faintly. Almost immediately, a bird dropping landed on his shoulder and he shook his head in disbelief.

[WolfEnchantress]

Sian was fairly amazed at the next sequence of events that followed - they got inside without a hitch, and then found a stand that carried wooden practice swords. And to make it even more convenient, they were all from Nippon, like Nanashi was, so communicating was easier. Well, at least for him it was.

He had no idea what anyone was saying, but he saw the merchants grow somewhat excited and exchange a few more words with Nanashi. Sian stood back, head tilted slightly, until Nanashi sighed and explained the situation. Sian was surprised, but he nodded. He, too, wanted to see the fight - as long as it was a practice fight.

And he wasn't disappointed. The fight left him staring in obvious awe, eyes wide. The rest of the spectators were just as appreciative, clapping and cheering once the fight was done. Nanashi seemed to take them on like he was a trainer and they were beginning students. When the fight was over, he shook his head in disbelief as they walked away as though it was nothing.

"That was amazing!" He said. He grinned enthusiastically, missing the slight glow of Nanashi's blade. He grabbed the hilt of one of the wooden swords, pulling it free from the other things he carried.. It felt bulky and awkward in his hands, not really natural. He swung it, no doubt incorrectly in every form of swordfighting, and smirked. "I have a lot to learn, don't I?"

He maneuvered with it a bit more, not really trying anything, mostly just testing the feel of it, before returning it to his other hand to be carried with the other one.

"Why were those merchants so intent on fighting you?" He asked curiously. He'd never seen merchandise determined by a fight before - sure, he'd seen haggling, but never over skill level. And they hadn't even seemed surprised when Nanashi beat them so easily.

((XD mine is so short compared to yours))

[Talwyn]

Sian's enthusiasm made him grin as he nodded appreciatively at the compliment. When asked whether or not he still had a lot to learn, Nanashi remained silent, eying his new friend with the knowing stare of one that knows what will come a mischievous smirk could be seen on his face.

Walking in silence, his attitude seemed to change slightly when Sian asked why the bodyguard had been so intent on fighting him. Deciding it could do no harm he sighed and pointed at a comfortable looking spot. "Taim for lunch, yes. I tell story." Sitting down, he grabbed one of the boxes that the merchant had given him and pointed at the symbol on it.

"<Rice ball>. Is guud." Removing a sticker that sealed the boxed, magic could be felt flowing from the box. "Box sealed, keep fuud fresj." Holding out the box, he smiled. "Come, try." Grabbing one for himself, he took a bite and seemed to revel in the taste.

"Yuu want story, yes?" He asked before going on. "Yoshiro, the <bodyguard>... uhm... warrior. He think I have lot of onnor. Like I, he once part of warrior class. But after war... no more warrior class. Yoshiro not able to give up old way. Defeating enemy with lot of onnor gives lot of onnor. Yoshiro wanted to be person that beat Red Tiger, Takeda Heihachi."

Grabbing a lock of brownish red hair, he sighed. "He think I am him. But, Takeda Heihachi not here... I am only nanashi... And nanashi has no name, no class... no onnor." He wondered if Sian understood what he was saying, but remained silent as he took another rice ball from the box while glancing to check Sian's reaction.

[WolfEnchantress]

Sian caught the smirk and grinned. "I figured as much. Hopefully I won't be totally hopeless with a sword." He chucked lightly. He's never tried a sword, but he had a feeling that it would be harder than he was thinking it would be. After all, it was diferent than what he was used to in every way.

He obliginly sat down next to Nanashi, accepting the food with interest. He tasted it, and was pleasentely surprised - it was realy good. He grinned, taking another bite.
"You're right, it is good," He said, taking another bite.

Sian listened to the story, putting it together in his head. He was often a bit over-analytical of things, and so it was a few minutes before he said anything.

"So, there is no more warrior class.." he said, almost as though to himself. "You were art of it once, though. And now... you're Nanashi?" He looked over to him to see if he was getting it right before speaking again.

"Then... Nanashi isn't a name? Or, not your name, at least..?" He paused, a thought dwning on him. "then... did you used to be Takeda Heihachi?" He asked, stumbling over the foreign name a bit.

[Talwyn]

Looking at the younger man with a strange mixture of sadness and amusement he nodded. "Yes... used to be." He looked away, sighing. "But was long ago. Takeda Heihachi was warrior. Becoming nanashi was choice. And yes, nanashi is not name. Is what I am. Nanashi... no name."

Taking another rice ball, he slowly faced Sian again. With slight hesitation, he explained the concept of a "nanashi" to him as he found it difficult to describe in words the other might understand. Class, honor and one's name, or more specifically ones reputation, were everything in Nippon. A nanashi had none of these things.

"When I come here, people ask name. I say I nanashi. They think nanashi is name. I think is fine. Is better then 'person from other country', yes?" He concluded with a grin. Offering the last rice ball to Sian, he got up. "Come. We need room for practice. Maybe can pay room at inn with work."

Scouring the city, they did eventually find an inn that would do just fine. It wasn't the biggest or nicest inn, but it looked clean enough. And it had a nice backyard that could serve as an excellent place to practice. The clientele looked a bit rough and the innkeeper could use a bouncer.

In exchange for a place to sleep and meals, Nanashi was happy to do just that. Dumping his few belongings in their room, he took Sian outside and once again concentrated on walking. This time however, it was a new exercise. He showed Sian the basic ready position, and how to move back and forth from there.

As he went forward, his front foot was simply sliding over the ground as he rear leg propelled him. Going backward, it was the same, except his front leg was now doing the propelling. After showing, he say down and watch Sian step back and forth, endlessly correcting the younger man's form.

[WolfEnchantress]

Sian didn't get the chance to argue before he was told to follow to train. Not that he would have - even if he didn't agree. It fascinated him, how different other countries were from their own. He wondered what Nanashi... Takeda? He wasn't sure what he should call him anymore, Nanashi seemed like too much of a put down- what he thought of Valear's culture. It was normal to him, but to someone from Nippon, no doubt it was wildly different.

He found the next practice difficult, and was being constantly corrected. It looked easy enough to do, but when he actually tried doing it, it seemed as though everything he did was off in some way. He watched how it was supposed to be done again and again messed it up. It was frustrating, but he laughed at his mistakes, figuring that somewhere in the world, someone would be doing poorer than he was. Probably.

"I'm sorry, I'm probably a pain to teach," He said, only partly jesting and correcting his steps. "But I'm trying." He corrected himself again, switching his posture to match what he was shown yet again, trying to be precise with his movements but slow enough to get them more correct than not.

If this is the basic ready position and I'm doing this bad, how will I manage to do anything more? He asked himself, but he persisted, determined to do it right. The more he practiced, the fewer mistakes he made - but he never managed to get it quite perfect.

[Talwyn]

"I'm sorry, I'm probably a pain to teach." Nanashi couldn't help but laugh at this. And laugh he did, long and hard. "Yuu think is easy? Yuu stupid or..." Pausing, the swordsman racked his brain for the correct word. "Naive." Still laughing he got to his feet. "No worry Sian-san. Even when I got much onnor in war, father still think I was terrible."

Patting the younger man on the shoulder, he walked away. "I return soon. Keep trying." With that, he left his new friend to his own devices. When he returned later, covered in bruises and scrapes, he carried a chessboard with him.

He told Sian to stop and join him for dinner. "I been thinking... what is big problem for yuu is lack of culture. As warrior in Nippon, everything is for improving sword skill. Yuu can learn from everything." Putting down the chessboard, he started preparing the pieces.

"This is excellent practice. Lot yuu can learn from... how you call this? In Nippon is called <chess>. Pieces have different name. But game is same. Come, we play." Giving the white pieces to Sian, he waited for him to make the first move.

He quickly defeated the younger man. His eyes didn't focus at anything in particular during the match, it was like he saw everything in a single glance. His moves were calculated swiftly and with care. If he was unsure on how to proceed, he created time to think by backing up in such a way, that Sian could do nothing without losing a valuable piece himself.

With a grin, he looked at his opponent. "See what I mean? Or yuu still not sure what this has to do with sword fight?" Already, he was preparing the pieces for a second round as he waited for Sian's answer.

[WolfEnchantress]

Sian laughed too. "Naive or stupid? Probably both." He grinned, and kept practicing as Nanashi wandered off. He was fairly certain he was doing it at least partially right, but it was harder without being instructed when he did something wrong, so he wasn't sure. But he kept going anyways, a frown of concentration on his face, until Nanashi returned. He raised an eyebrow at the cuts and scrapes, but didn't question as he was shown the game.

"I've played this before," He said, grinning. "Though, I'm awful at it." and that was evident as he was beaten effortlessly, though he had tried his hardest. He re-set his pieces also and answered the question.

"Um..." He started, thinking about it. "It has to do with swordfighting because Chess - that's what it's called in common - has to do with strategy... Right?" He said, looking up to see Nanashi's reaction. "In chess, you have to see your opponent's moves before they happen and prepare accordingly to avoid losing pieces. And while you're swordfighting, you have to do the same, but instead of losing a piece of a game you'll lose an arm. Or worse."

He waited for an answer, not sure if that was what he was supposed to say. It seemed to make sense - Chess and fighting with swords both seemed to need the same skills, just used in a different way. He set up his last piece back into it's starting position and shifted the way he was sitting, again meeting the other's eyes with a quizzical look.

[Talwyn]

Staring into Sian's eyes with a serious look, Nanashi suddenly started laughing. "I thought yuu wouldn't guess. Ha ha. <Excellent>. Yuu are right Sian-san. Both sword fight and tjess make yuu read opponent. See what opponent does before he does. One mo... guh."

A flying beer pitcher cut Nanashi's sentence short, hitting him on the side of his head. Looking dazed he raised his hand to excuse himself as he got up. Shaking his head, he cast a glance at Sian that told him to watch closely as Nanashi moved to the epicenter of the current chaos.

The two men that were fighting, both dwarfed Nanashi by quite a bit. Not only that, his sword was still standing against the wall next to the table he had been sitting at. As he stepped in, he drew their attention away from each other and onto himself.

"What do you want shrimp?" One of them asked sounding gruff. The other didn't even have that amount of courtesy and leveled a blow towards the annoying foreigner interrupting his fight. With an elegant move, Nanashi stepped out of harms way. "No fight inside."

Both men laughed and the background sound dropped. Everyone looked at the foreigner that was provoking two men they'd rather leave alone. "Yuu fight, yuu go outside, yes?" There was not even the least bit of authority in his voice and the friendly smile on his face wasn't helping his case.

The aggressive one laughed and punched once more. This time however, Nanashi didn't even move. Instead, he deflected the blow and grabbed the man's arm, pulling him along by using the force of the incoming attack. Now behind the man while still holding his arm, it was clear to all that one quick move on his part would dislocate the man's shoulder.

Using this subtle threat, he directed him outside. Dropping him in the dirt, a smile appeared on his face as he turned to face the other man. "Fight go outside. Yuu can behave yuu can stay, yes?"

As he returned to his seat, the dumbfounded brawler wasn't sure on how to respond. "Need to..." Interrupting his own sentence he looked at Sian. "Sian-san, what is word? Gaide? Gaide him out?" Before Sian could respond however, the man decided he'd be better off leaving now.

[WolfEnchantress]

Sian again watched in obvious admiration. The atmosphere in the room had grown so tense that it seemed any action would trigger it to snap, but he leaned forward eagerly, having no doubt that Nanashi could handle it. He almost laughed as the men's attitudes changed from smugness and contempt to surprise and fear, especially since Nanashi remained perfectly pleasant the whole time, the smile never leaving his face.

"that was awesome" He said, grinning, when the last man left. The mood in the room changed from tension to bewilderment, and low chatter began at the tables, all of it revolving around what had just taken place. People cast glances at their table, but Sian hardly noticed.

"I'm not very good with dealing with people," He said, a bit sheepishly. "But I want to be able to do that. Some day." He couldn't see it happening - he always avoided people. Forceful encounters never ended particularly well - if he was unfortunate enough to be involve in one, it almost always turned violent. He wasn't sure how to deal with it any other way without getting the snot kicked out of him.

"But you didn't even draw your sword..." He shook his head. "You must be a person of too many skills to count for. I'm glad to have you as a teacher."

He grinned again, ignoring the voice in his mind that spiked up again that said it was a bad idea to associate with anybody, especially to be taken as a student of someone. Ignoring people had served him well enough, and it should remain that way - but he couldn't bring himself to leave. It was too good of an opportunity. Plus, it was warm outside during the day, and warm enough at night, even outside.'

And he found, to his own surprise, that having the company of another person wasn't such a bad thing to have. He liked being able to talk to someone. especially someone human.