Fresh Ambition, Fresh Wood

[04:30] Thinking back to the fights he'd had in the last year, Kirai came to a conclusion: As powerful as he was, as much control as he might have possessed of himself and his battles. He was Inefficient.

The spar with his students, three versus him. He'd been initially overwhelmed by their coordinated assault and been forced to focus them down, one by one, expending energy to debilitate them with a series of blows rather than a single decisive strike each.

His fight against Naki... He'd underestimated the youth and found his attacks missing, wasting more energy than he should have on strikes that never hit their mark. He could have been much more precise...

His match against Caesar, and the ensuing battle against Soma, Flint, Soren and Donny. He'd beaten them all systematically, manipulating the entire battlefield and bringing them down with only a little effort. But he could have done it faster, if he'd struck them all while they were gathered together in front of Caesar.

Kirai needed to develop a new technique... A singular, decisive strike with which he could efficiently and precisely defeat one or more opponents. It sounded simple enough on paper, but in reality? It would be much more difficult...

He'd need to achieve peek levels of focus and control, he'd need to draw out the reserves of his power to put it all behind this technique, and he needed to have the awareness, alacrity, and accuracy to make every movement count.

Taking a deep breath, Kirai considred this...

He'd been training his entire life. He'd taken countless others. He'd seen true masters at work, both masters of the blade and masters of magic. Few had developed techniques so refined...

Kirai smiled, thinking it over. "This should be a fun challenge for myself..."
(Kirai Kurokaiyo)
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[04:35] Yami had collected a nice sum of wood and then he noticed his father coming from the dojo... what was he up to? He watched his father move on his own toward the training field, he didn't believe he was coming to teach him, it looked like he was going out there to inspect something or look for something rather?

The boy didn't know, he went back to cutting wood and then gave a glance over to his father every now and then to check in on what was being done. He felt as if the area around him got heavier, as if he had to meet a certain criteria now when breaking down these trees with his bare hands.

He shook that feeling, or at least he tried, he'd have to just keep at it while his father was there. No way would he ask him to move. He continues as if he weren't even there.
(Yami Kurokaiyo)
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[04:47] Having resolved himself to develop the perfect finishing move... No... The perfect Assassination Technique. Kirai finds himself at the training fields outside of his Dojo looking upon the eight dummies lined up in a zig-zag across two rows.

This would make for a good trial run, to get a feel for what he still needed to hone to achieve a more perfect standard of control. To create the perfect killing move...

Slowly raising his arms to his sides, just above his hips. His hands were open, palm up, his fingers extended and spread apart. Taking in a deep breath, he'd slowly curl them in on themselves, each joint bending at a precise ninety degree angle before he allows the next to bend.

Once his fingers have curled into a white-knuckled square with his palms still open and his fist not fully formed. Almost immediately, the air around him would grow even more dense. Thick like murky waters... Shadows began to swirl and gather to his own from all around.

This was the true form of Kageken, the form the stance took when Kirai had dedicated himself to a goal. This, was the true Assassin's Fist.

Then, for a moment it looked as if Kirai had leaned forward. His muscles tensing. In the next moment there would be the sound of a still pond's surface being disturbed by a single drop of rain.

Then, Kirai would surge forth with as much speed as he could while maintaining the consciousness and control to inflict a blow on each target. To Yami, if the boy was still watching, it would look like a blur of motion which ended on the other side of the dummys.

Each Dummy would sway, the straw that made up their bodies bursting here and there. But as Kirai stood at the other side and looked back, he'd shake his head.

"No.. Tha'ts not quite right. It's still too slow... I have to be faster..."
(Kirai Kurokaiyo)
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[04:50] Seeming to notice the presence of a shiroto for the first time, Kirai frowns. He had finally got the itch to train himself properly and refine a new technique, and this girl was interrupting him?

What a bother...

Relaxing his stance, Kirai walks towards Erika with a quirked brow. "Hello there young lady. My name is Kirai Kurokaiyo, the owner of this land and Kage-Soke of the Dojo nearby... How can I help you?"
(Kirai Kurokaiyo)
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[04:53] Erika offered a polite smile before she folded her hands in front of herself.

"I am Erika cos Salis," She introduced. "A pleasure, I'm sure. I've come to speak with you regarding a matter where you permanently crippled a boy. Do you have a moment?" She questioned with a slight tilt of her head. That smile never faded.
(Erika cos Salis)
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[04:53] Through the corner of his eye Yami notices his father take a strange stance. He couldn't see what he was doing with his hands, but he saw where his arms were positioned. He saw how his legs were set. Yami was chopping wood while this happened, but what he could see was his father going from one position to the next.

Each dummy was destroyed afterward. The boy looked a bit confused, stopping his wood cutting for a moment to better understand what his father was doing. He didn't know anything about this technique. He shook his head... he could've taken out everyone in town with something like this.

How could they think they had this situation under control? He was far too powerful... the boy watched and then went back to cutting trees as if he hadn't seen.

If his father was practicing out here without caring who was around, the body would study his form between trees.
(Yami Kurokaiyo)
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[04:58] Inching closer as he ran out of trees to stalk from, the boy wonders what the woman meant. Was she talking about Caesar? He looked at her for a moment and realized where he had previously seen this woman, in the city moving with some people he knew.

He wondered if they were alright, doing something fun. He was just chopping wood, he'd rather be doing whatever they were doing admittedly. The boy turns to his father to see what he'd reply to her. The young boy went back to chopping trees while glancing at the dummies every now and then wondering what the hell happened when he looked away..
(Yami Kurokaiyo)
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[04:59] Kirai stared at the polite young woman with a deadpan expression, considering her for several moments. His silence rang out like a bell, broken only by the *thunk* of Yami bare-knuckling a tree and the songs sung by the spirits of the lake and river nearby.

It was a rather uncomfortable position to be in, considering.

"So that's what this is about... I see." He'd murmer softly, looking at the girl with an expression of utter disinterest. "I won't lie, Erika Cos Salis. Many have come to ask me about this matter, and I believe you? You make it a dozen, I dare say..."

Letting his voice trail off, he'd sigh and shake his head. "Frankly, the matter grow tiresome and has become something of a chore for me to discuss. So, if you truly wish to take my time for this, then you will have to do so while I train. If you still intend to then..."

Looking over at one of the straw-stuffed sacks that had been the heads of one of the Dummies, Kirai picks it up and then turns to Erika, tossing it to her. "Stand at the other end of the field and hold this while you talk."
(Kirai Kurokaiyo)
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[05:02] His silence was ignored, first off, but Erika was nothing but patient despite her noble upbringing. She would have stood there all day if she had to. When the disinterest arose upon her features she took note of that for the future.

It was only when Kirai threw one of those straw-stuffed sacks at her did she nimbly dodge from it, allowing it to hit the dirt. It was obvious she refused to touch it!

"No, unfortunately this is a matter regarding the law - and one of my own patients. I will need to speak with you about this," She stated with a steely determination. "Additionally, I have heard you have taken up work with a Noble house - is this true?" She added with a faint tilt of her head.

The bare knuckled punching of trees was glanced at, but soon enough her gray eyes swiveled back to the head of the Kurokaiyo after.
(Erika cos Salis)
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[05:05] Seeing as Erika refused to agree to his terms for their conversation? Kirai simply turned away to ignore the young girl, she was no older than his own daughters and lacking even half the sense.

"I trust you remember the path you took to get here, Erika cos Salis. You would do well to follow it back before something unfortunate happened to you. Rumors have it the martial artist that practices in these mountains is up to witchcraft, you know." He'd say halfheartedly. Rumors were just that, rumors. He certainly wasn't a witch, but, if it would help him send away this noble whelpling sooner?

All the better. He had training to get back to...
(Kirai Kurokaiyo)
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[05:08] As Kirai turned away to ignore her, Erika refused to back down. She had to push on - she just knew it! So thusly, she stepped closer,

"I do remember the path I took. However I will not be going back until my own investigation concludes. So you may as well answer the questions. It's a matter of the law, and I doubt you'd wish to speak to Ser Atrosus, as he was looking for you earlier to do just that - over much more than just crippling a boy." She said. Her voice had turned sharp and lost that gentle air about it and it was only now that she looked upon Kirai as something utterly different than her - someone beneath her.

"Unlike some... I'm not afraid of rumors."
(Erika cos Salis)
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[05:10] Yami looked to the two and then realized his father had turned around. He guess he was right, she was in no position to speak to him how she wanted. If she wanted answer, she'd have to do something more right?

Who was this boy..? What were they talking about?

Caesar was no boy.. he was a grown man.

The boy continued to punch the trees, more blood trickling from his knuckles with each strike. He focused to maintain his integrity and mindset with each punch.


"All pain fades." He thought to himself.
(Yami Kurokaiyo)
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[05:16] Cracking his neck, Kirai turns back to the girl before him. She was in so far as he was concerned a no one. Nothing. Her nobility gave her the idea that she was something special, yet, in truth? She was just a fleshy bag of blood and bones that he could spill all over the training ground without a second though.

"I've already arranged to have a personal meeting with The Radiant, and all of the other Exarchs. Exarch Elijah Soliel and Exarch Nemian Sparda have already spoken their ruling on the matter and seen fit to dole out a fine. Soma, the knight I 'harmed' with my magic is willing to testify on my behalf, and frankly? If the Radiant is determined to put my clan to the stake and flame over the punishment of a slum dweller, I don't see why I would have any reason to regret disposing of a mouthy noble whelp who comes to my land to talk to me as if she has any right to breath in my presence."

And with that said? Kirai would cease the nicities. He'd been suppressing his presence the entire time, resisting the murderous urges that were the thoughts he had over a morning piss. Now though, he allowed his oppressive aura to expand out around him at least twenty feet in all directions. A small fraction of his true capability...

And, caught in that aura? Erika would feel it. The air growing thick, like the inky black waters at the bottom of the Ocean's abyss. It was heavy, suffocating... This, was Kirai's bloodlust.
(Kirai Kurokaiyo)
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[05:17] Tired, the boy went to sit down closer to the two. He stared at the girl for a moment trying to get a read on her. Was she really this bold, or did she want his father to think of her as such.

She only knew about this 'boy' he'd hurt... did she not know the risk she took being here? He shrugged and then began to whittle down one log to make a torch for later.
(Yami Kurokaiyo)
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[05:17] Kirai unleashes his oppressive presence, in the hope that he might drive this whelp away.
(Kirai Kurokaiyo)
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[05:26] When he turned back around, she thought she had made progress - that he was going to speak to her. Speak to her he did, but... His words irritated her, even if she hid the feelings perfectly fine. Her eyebrow however did quirk upwards at the end of his words - him calling her a mouthy noble whelp.

It agitated her beyond anything else, honestly.

Caesar's story brought concern, and she had immediately reported it to Atrosus. Since he hadn't been able to speak to Kirai, she figured she would 'assist', so to speak. She was a Cadet, after all. But she was also a noble. She was delicate and it was obvious from her attire, and from her looks that she wasn't used to combat.

It was only when that aura enflamed outwards and surrounded her did she feel that heavy, suffocating feeling cover over her form. Erika naturally took a deep breath, her legs trembling.

Never expect to lose.
Expect to win.
Mind first, body follows.

It was sound advice - honestly the only advice someone had given to her regarding fighting at all.

Erika stumbled back a bit, before a soothing glow manifested itself from around her body, bathing the area around them in that subtle and warm feeling. It was a cloak of holy magic, pure and unrestrained that emanated from her. It helped her at least stand up straight again, though she felt it hard to breathe all the same. It was hard to talk, too but after a few moments of staring at him she did manage to speak,

"I came here to get your side of the story!" She retorted, "And yet now you're threatening to dispose of me? For asking questions? Are you this short tempered, truly? I'm not going to have you scare me away!"
(Erika cos Salis)
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[05:31] Yami stares as his father releases that vile suffocating pressure. The same chill was sent down his spine as always, however his face remained unchanged. Blank, and interested in Erika and her reaction. The boy fed on reaction from time to time, wondering how people would react to things in his daily life.

He stares as a holy glow slowly emits from her and then he shakes his head. He began to draw in the dirt with a twig from one of the trees he took down. He began to draw a picture of a cliff, and trees, and his father with a great dark aura around him. His hand was drawn over the cliff holding Erika over it.

The boy quotes something his father would say. He squints his eyes as he writes out the phrase to mimic his fathers angry face.

"It seems you don't know the way back down, allow me to show you."

The boy wrote above his picture.
(Yami Kurokaiyo)
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[05:44] Kirai would stare at her with the same unimpressed, deadpan expression he'd had before. He had to admit he was impressed that she even managed to stand in the presence of his menacing aura.

Holy magic, and it's practicioners... Were a real pain in his ass.

"You want to hear my side of the story, girl? My children were fools that started trouble where there needed to be none." He'd say with one step.

"I stood by and watched my children be beaten, one by one, by that fool of a man named Caesar. A grown man, mind you. And I was fine with it. Right up until he took my boy's leg." He'd say, his tone still perfectly even, a dangerous kind of dead-calm. Another step forward is taken.

"I was so shocked by it, it brought me back to the days when I served in the armies of Jiang for the siege of Sheng. Watching my own son lay on the ground with an ashen stump for a leg... And when I turned to dole out punishment to Caesar? The City Guards and Knights supported me, at least so far as a fight went... But when I had brought him to his knees and was preparing to dole out justice, they intervened." Another step forward. With every step closer that sensation of being suffocated grew more intense.

"I had to fight through a young knight doing his duty, two city guards doing theirs, and an alchemist trying to protect his friend... Just to avenge my son." And now, Kirai was standing above Erika, his murderous intent radiating from him palpably. It was like standing waist-deep at the shore trying to withstand the raging waves of a tsunami.

"So when I finally beat my way through them, my rage had grown to a point where I was struggling to control it. Control is something I pride myself on, you see. So, I took control of that rage, and took control of Caesar, and I ordered the boy to burn himself alive with his own fire magic. Frankly? He's lucky tobe breathing, much less walking..." Shaking his head, he'd lean in closer to Erika, unafraid of that holy magic. It could do nothing to harm him, a man devoid of the occult.

"So imagine my frustration when I have to explain myself. When I have to justify my actions. Not only to actual agents of the law. The Exarchs. The Knights. But to upstart nobles with no hair below the waist and too little sense to know when to leave well enough alone." He'd complete his rant with that, feeling the power of his hatred and rage flowing through him, yet restrained. Dammed up by his self-control. If it was not, this poor girl would have been a bloody smear on the dirt by now...

Instead, Kirai opted to redirect himself, harnessing the power he felt in this moment reliving all the memories he'd have rather left in the past. In the space of a heartbeat he'd turn in place and simply seem to disappear. The sound of a drop of rain disturbing the still waters of a windless lake would be heard again...

And then? The tree behind Yami would explode in a rain of splinters and shrapnel, all of it flying in a single direction. Into the lake. Before it could even hit the water though, a trail of black illusory rain would be left in Kirai's wake and the sound of a sudden shower over the once-still yet unseen lake would fill the air. And Kirai? Kirai was standing there where the tree used to be, fist extended and black smoke wafting off of it.
(Kirai Kurokaiyo)
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[05:44] Kirai makes a tree explode with his mind (and his fist. Mostly his fist.)
(Kirai Kurokaiyo)
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[05:51] Yami shuddered but he did not move. His father had told the story and it vexed the boy. He wanted to kill Caesar for what he did to his brother. His brother was a child then, and still is now. Forced to live without his leg for trying to protect their cousin.

He remembers the rage he entered, his desire to break Caesar, his power too weak to do the job. He listened carefully to his fathers story and stared at his picture. He drew another one, a man with a fro, Caesar, the area around him on fire. The boy jabbed at the scribbles eyes. He'd gouge them out one day. He was normally timid and passive, not wanting to fight, but this.. this man was unforgivable.

The boy does nothing when his father shatters the tree, he simply watches. This wasn't an outburst, it was the same stance he'd took before to destroy the dummies. This was the technique, Yami did well to watch his fathers initial stance but he could still not see when he moved.

Only the sounds of thunder and splinter wood that came after.
(Yami Kurokaiyo)
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[05:57] The aura flowing over her helped to control that suffocating feeling, as Kirai began stepping forward, one step at a time. But with every step he got to her, the worse it felt. But she'd stand her ground - she had to. She was in the Order, after all.

So she listened, as best as she could, to the tale he wove. It was only when he was standing over her, did she feel her body tremble. Was it fear? Most likely. She had experienced it a few times already and it always manifested the same way. Her mind screaming at her to run, as fast as the wind could take her down off the mountain.

Even with his rant complete, Erika was silent, staring at him with fear stricken eyes before suddenly he disappeared. Just like that. Gone!

Then the tree behind Yami exploded in shards of splinters of leaves. That illusionary black rain that fell was seen right through, Erika knowing precisely what it was - after all, she utilized that magic as well. But even after that, for several moments, the noble stared.

No longer did she feel like she was suffocating, but she understood something important just from that simple act of redirected anger and rage. Eventually, her own aura disappeared from around her form, no longer requiring it just to stand. But even then, it took her a while to compose herself. Where should she even begin?

"He informed me.... They were causing trouble and he was attempting to get them to leave Sudbury, yes. That you had stepped in after he destroyed your son's leg and you forced him to immolate himself... I treated his burns myself." She stated, calmness returning to her. Or at the very least, a façade of it. "The Knight and the City Watch were within their right to try and stop you, however. Attempting to take the law into your own hands is, against the law. So is assault." She paused briefly to give time for those words of hers to sink in - but she continued shortly afterwards,

"But. Caesar was also guilty of assault, and vigilantism. I do not agree you should have done what you did to him - or the Knight, or the City Watch - or anyone who attempted to stop you. That was wrong," She said clearly. "I am glad to know that Ser Atrosus has spoken to you already, and it seems the matter is settled. However I would kindly ask for you to not refer to me in such a manner."

She thought briefly on it for a moment or two, before connecting two dots. Of course - the boy in the park asking her for a kit... It had to have been him, wasn't it?

"I do believe your son came to me regarding a kit for his leg. I informed him if he procures one, I will attach it for him. All that I request of you is to please not assault people again."
(Erika cos Salis)
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[06:05] Looking over his shoulder to Erika, Kirai's gaze
lingers on the girl for a few moments before he simply turns away without offering her an answer. Whether she realized it or not, he was respecting her wishes, at least in that very moment.

For if one of them didn't walk away? He was going to be assaulting someone else.

Her.

Lucky for her, she was too young and inexperienced to even warrant the violence, his murderous force having been spent at least in part on the tree.

He had much to consider.

Nothing involving the petty concerns of the law or the well-being of the slum dwellers. No.. He had a goal to pursue ever further. He had a technique to develop.

He had Mastery to obtain.

And with that, Kirai would just leave.
Would Erika be fool enough to stop him?
(Kirai Kurokaiyo)
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[06:06] No, she seemed satisfied for the time being as he turned away. Exhaling softly, the noble would soon enough leave on her own!
(Erika cos Salis)