Yoshi and Jian - Dreams and Curses

[02:11] <@Deedles> That night on the boat Yoshihiro found himself waking up, though he knew he wasn't truly awake, in a room of pure white. Walls, floor, ceiling, all the furniture, everything; even the view from the large windows is of a white landscape. Standing in front of one of those windows with her back turned to it was Mizuki, same as she was in his previous dream, her lips curling into a faint smile at the sight of him.
[02:15] <Zero_Atma> Yoshi looks around the blank room as his eyes open, though he quickly realized that it couldn't possibly be realy, his attention swiftly turning to his childhood friend upon catching sight of her. "Mizuki?" he addresses her. "But...how?"
[02:19] * Earthflame (Earthflame@A8FDF5F1.18A3496C.4D3B658C.IP) has joined #mei-lifa3
[02:21] <@Deedles> She opens her mouth, her lips moving as if she speaks, but she stops abruptly, a hand coming to rest on her throat as she looks distraught and frustrated. Her eyes close for a moment as she focuses, an aura of white and black swirling around her for a moment before she tries to speak again. "Y-yoshi... hiro..." Her voice comes through, echoing weakly as if she is miles away and not right across the room.
[02:24] <Zero_Atma> He doesn't seem to care if it's a dream or not, the drunkard pulling her into a tight hug. "It's good to see you again." he tells her straight away. "Haru told me what happened, I'm sorry I asn't there for you..."
[02:27] <@Deedles> As he grips her he finds his arms sinking into her, as if her form isn't entirely solid, but she still tries to hug him back. She speaks again, her first words too weak to hear even from up close, but the last comes through as a soft echo "...fine." by her expression she is trying to be reassuring, but whether she is being honest or not is an entirely different question, considering the tales she spun as a child.
[02:31] <Zero_Atma> Yoshi pulls back, his hands instinctively moving to her shoulders. "What is it you were trying to tell me before?"
[02:36] <@Deedles> Mizuki's image flickers as her hands move to grip onto the front of his gi. Her eyes close again, letting go of his shirt so her hands can rest on each side of his head. He hears her voice inside his mind, but it comes through patchily. "You... Yumu... Hurry!"
[02:38] <Zero_Atma> "We're already on our way, my friends and I are traveling by boat to Yuma." he explains.
[02:40] <@Deedles> She sighs in relief at that, though the action is silent before she smiles slightly, that look of focus returning before she tries to speak again.
[02:42] <@Deedles> Once again all he hears is a few of the words she speaks, though they still hold their echoing quality. "White...Jasmine...careful... "
[02:44] <Zero_Atma> "Be careful of the White Jasmine?" he repeats back what he can hear, just to make sure he had the more important details correct.
[02:45] <@Deedles> Mizuki looks conflicted, but after a moment she nods.
[02:47] <Zero_Atma> "I don't know what that means, but I'll definitely keep my eyes and ears open." he assures her. "Is there anything else you can tell me?" he wonders. "I know you're trying, but, I'll do anything I can to help."
[02:53] <@Deedles> She lays a hand on his cheek before she leans in to peck his cheek, just like she had when he'd told her and Haru he was leaving. The room darkens, as does the aura around her, becoming a black smog, her expression straining as she forces through the last couple of words. "Beware... poisons... T-take care... Yoshihiro."
[02:59] <Zero_Atma> "Wait, don't go!" Yoshi pleads with her, though as the room darkens his own voice begins to sound noticably distant, the dream world turning pitch black. "Mizuki!" he awakes with a start, eyes shot open, looking around desperately for his childhood friend only to find his companions and the old fishing boat around him, his last few words uttered openly during his sleep.
[03:03] <Earthflame> Jian seems to snap out of a light daze, staring off into the distance, his view snapping to Yoshi. At first, his voice is a sharp whisper. "Quiet!-" It softens quickly, as he sees his friends distress. "...Rei and Shen are sleeping."
[03:06] <Zero_Atma> Yoshihiro just sighs, one of his hand reaching up to cover his face. "Another dream..." he mutters. "Sorry, I guess I've got a lot on my mind." he admits, though Jian didn't know the half of it.
[03:08] <Earthflame> He gives his friend a sad smile. "We live in interesting times... Mizuki was that friend of yours? I remember you mentioning the name to Haru."
[03:11] <Zero_Atma> "Heard that, did you?" Yoshi asks, then nods his head in reply. "Yes, she's Haru's sister, I've been having strange dreams about her for the last few nights." he admits. "The first time she was trying to tell me something, but I couldn't hear her. This time was different."
[03:13] <Earthflame> "Dreams can carry important messages from the spirits... what did you hear?"
[03:17] <Zero_Atma> "I didn't catch everything, it looked like it was taking a lot of effort for her to tell me what little she managed to get out." Yoshi tells him. "First, she said I should hurry to Yumu, I told her we were on our way by boat. Then she said "White Jasmie, careful" I'm pretty sure that was a warining, though given her expression I can't be certain..."
[03:28] <Earthflame> "Hmm... I can't think of much about white jasmine... I think it's used in tea? You would know more than me."
[03:29] <Zero_Atma> Yoshi just shrugs. "It didn't sound familiar." he admits. "There was one other thing, though, she said to beware of poisons."
[03:29] <Earthflame> "Poisoned tea? We should stay cautious..."
[03:31] <Zero_Atma> "That's a distinct possibility, guess it explains the part about white jasmine." Yoshi shakes his head. "I think I'll be making everyone's tea when we get to Yumu, just to be on the safe side."
[03:32] <Earthflame> "Just be careful of your ingredients..." Jian gives Yoshi an odd look.
[03:33] <Zero_Atma> "Relax, I won't put any wine in the tea, that would be a terrible waste of wine." Yoshi grins. "When I make any sort of food or drink I do it right."
[03:34] <Earthflame> "I meant White Jasmine." Jian says in an exasperated tone.
[03:36] <Zero_Atma> Yoshi's chi was bright and warm, much like a flickering flame, reflecting his high energy and jovial, optimistic nature. As he pulls up his gourd to have a sip the flame of his chi seems to jump and increase every so slightly in it's intensity.
[03:38] <@Deedles> There is also traces of chi that does not belong there, the soothing sensation of Water chi, and a touch of the wrongness of the Corrupt.
[03:39] <Earthflame> Jian's eyes widen. "Come here, Yoshi..." He sounds troubled.
[03:40] <Zero_Atma> "What? what is it?" Yoshi looks down at himself, as if trying to locate the problem. "Is it a spideR? get it off!"
[03:41] <Earthflame> "Just get over here... I need a closer look."
[03:43] <Zero_Atma> Yoshi still looks rather confused, but doesn't argue any further, pulling himself upright to close the distance between them. "Alright, alright..."
[03:44] <Earthflame> Jian shifts to grip the rudder in the crook of his arm, reaching forward to rest his fingers against Yoshi, closing his eyes and focusing on the unexpected Chi...
[03:48] <@Deedles> It is weak, but as Jian gets a deeper feel of the chi inside Yoshihiro he can feel some of its origin. It's distinctly female, for a moment the swordsman swears that he sees the flickering image of a pale skinned, young, woman with long white hair that almost seems to shimmer a blue shade.
[03:49] <Earthflame> He frowns, but looks deeper... Seeing if he can feel anything in the lingering foul trace of corruptiom.
[03:50] <@Deedles> Both the Water Chi and the Corrupt Chi lead to the same feeling, the same flickering image.
[03:51] <Earthflame> "Oh no..."
[03:51] <Zero_Atma> "What? what is it?" Yoshi asks. "Don't leave me hanging, what did you see?"
[03:52] <Earthflame> "Her Chi... Somehow, it has reached you, despite the distance..." Jian bites his lip, and looks up at Yoshi... Blinking back a tear.
[03:53] <Zero_Atma> "wEll? what does that mean?" Yoshi grips Jian's shoulders. "Tell me!"
[03:54] <Earthflame> "I don't know how she did it... I don't know how it's possible. But it means that the words really came from her. And..."
[03:56] <Zero_Atma> "Spit it out!" Yoshi insisted, wanting to know the truth despite how bad it might be. "I have to know!"
[03:57] <Earthflame> Jian hangs his head. "...It's corrupt, Yoshi. Her Chi is tainted by darkness.... not entirely, I felt Water Chi too, but..." The tears flow freely, and he moves his hand back to the rudder. "...I am so sorry, my friend."
[04:00] <Zero_Atma> Yoshi releases his grip on the swordsman, his expression conflicted with a flurry of emotion, slumping to the deck with his hands covering his face. "Mizuki..."
[04:01] <Earthflame> "...We can still save her. If her heart is pure, her faith strong... If she seeks redemption, she may recover..." Jian is rsmbling, none of his words spoken with any certainty.
[04:04] <Zero_Atma> "I will save her, I swear it!" Yoshi insisted. "It's my fault this happened, I wasn't there to protect her, I have to set things right..."
[04:05] <Earthflame> "I will help you, Yoshi. In any way I can." Jian's voice hardens. "...And we will take vengeance on those truly responsible."
[04:07] <Zero_Atma> "You're damn right we will!" Yoshihiro pulls himself to his feet, refusing to sit there looking so pathetic. "My cousin, the Black Lotus, that Black Helm bastard, all of them! We'll make them pay for everything they've done!"
[04:08] <Earthflame> "Quiet!" Jian hisses.
[04:10] <Zero_Atma> "...right, sorry." he sits down once again, this time beside Jian.
[04:12] <Earthflame> "...She is trying to reach you, Yoshi. And somehow, perhaps by the will of the spirits, she is reaching you. Have hope..."
[04:13] <Zero_Atma> "Hope is about all we have right now..." Yoshi points out. "I just wish I could hear her better, I'm sure there's a lot more she would like to tell me if she could."
[04:14] <Earthflame> "...I could open your senses. Or try to, at least... But it might leave you open to things you would rather not see."
[04:16] <Zero_Atma> Yoshihiro lifts his gourd. "Nothing a little wine won't make me forget." he says with a slight smile. "Do it."
[04:18] <Earthflame> Jian shakes his head with a growl. "Hold the rudder a moment." He raises his hand to rub his eyes, blinking furiously. "I need to focus..."
[04:21] <Zero_Atma> Yoshi takes the rudder, for the time being, letting Jian concentrate on the task at hand.
[04:23] <Earthflame> He centers his breathing, and then takes the rudder again. "...I can't open your senses easily, Yoshi... I hoped to give you some increased sensitivity... But I think the only way to do it is to blow your senses wide open. You would need to learn to close them, or it could overwhelm you eventually."
[04:26] <Zero_Atma> "I'll cross that bridge when I come to it." Yoshi tells him. "If I could just hear what she is saying we might learn something important."
[04:28] <Earthflame> Jian reaches up, touching Yoshi's forehead... And then the world explodes. The light from above is blinding, the warmth of the air burns him to the boin, the wind is an unending gale and the water around a violent maelstrom of crashing white waves...
[04:32] <Zero_Atma> "Gah!" Yoshihiro shuts his eyes tightly, placing a hand on either side of his head, thrashing from side to side. On instinct he pulls up his gourd and gulps heavily from it, which seems to calm him down considerable, slumping against the back of the boat.
[04:33] <Earthflame> Jian looks at him. "...It will get easier."
[04:34] <Zero_Atma> "Heh, just like drinking..." Yoshi reflects, looking down at his gourd. "Hopefully it will help."
[04:35] <Earthflame> "You should find it helpful..." He sighs. "...But try to gain control of them. For my sake."
[04:37] <Zero_Atma> "I'll try." Yoshi assures him. "Thank you, Jian..."
[04:38] <Earthflame> "I have given you a burden, as well as a boon..."
[04:41] <Zero_Atma> "A double edged sword, kinda fitting considering where it came from." he says, flashing Jian a knowing grin.
[04:42] <Earthflame> He smiles softly. "...I am the Yin Yang Blade."
[04:43] <Zero_Atma> This brings something else to mind. "Speaking of which, that night we were attacked, your blade was doing something weird..."
[04:44] <Earthflame> "...What?"
[04:44] <Earthflame> He looks up, confused.
[04:45] <Zero_Atma> "You didn't see it?" Yoshi blinks. "It looked like it was absorbing the blood of those Dancing Blade guys, or something..."
[04:46] <Earthflame> "..." He blinks. "...I was a little distracted."
[04:47] <Zero_Atma> "Oh, right, the arm thing..." Yoshihiro runs a hand through his hair. "Has it ever done that before?"
[04:49] <Earthflame> "Not as far as I know..." He frowns. "...I still don't entirely understand it. I know deep power lies within the blade, but I have yet to release much of it."
[04:54] <Zero_Atma> "Hmm, you think it has something to do with your clan?" he wonders, not really sure what to make of it himself.
[04:56] <Earthflame> He frowns. "...Maybe. There is iron in blood... The essence of metal."
[04:58] <Zero_Atma> Yoshi nods. "That makes sense, I guess, hmm..." he shurgs. "Guess we won't know until we find out more about the sword."
[04:58] <Earthflame> He nods. "I haven't had much free time to try and learn more about it."
[04:59] <Zero_Atma> "You've got a point there, we've been on the run since we left the Capitol." Yoshi reflects.
[05:00] <Earthflame> He rolls his shoulder. "On the run, perhaps. but we move towards out goal, not away from our foes."
[05:03] <Zero_Atma> "Got that right!" Yoshi agrees. "Part of me wishes we could go back there just to cause the Black Lotus more grief."
[05:04] <Earthflame> "After we save the heir. We will have to go back to Jinlong, anyway... We will decide what to do after that. Part of me thinks we should escort them to the village, to keep them safe. The White Peony may have other ideas."
[05:10] <Zero_Atma> "Hmm, might not be a bad idea." Yoshi admits, then shakes his head. "But, we're getting ahead of ourselves, first we have to fine the heir."
[05:11] <Earthflame> Jian looks up, into the distance ahead of them. "From the sound of it, if we don't find them soon something will have gone terribly wrong."
[05:18] <Zero_Atma> "Well, we're going as fast as we can." Yoshi points out. "We'll just have to search really hard once we get to Yumu."
[05:18] <Earthflame> "And pray for the spirits to guide us."
[05:19] <Zero_Atma> "Here here!" Yoshi agrees, lifting his gourd to his lips.
[05:19] <Earthflame> "...Not Those spirits." Jian chuckles.
[05:20] <Zero_Atma> "But this is the best kind of spirits." Yoshi persisted. "If those other spirits want a drink I'd be happy to share...if they show themselves."
[05:22] <Earthflame> "...That's blasphemy, Yoshi."
[05:24] <Zero_Atma> "Spirits don't like wine?" he inquires.
[05:24] <Earthflame> "I'm sure some of them do, but that isn't the point... Surely your mentor venerated the spirits of flame?"
[05:28] <Zero_Atma> "Leewan was more about the spirits of wine and cooking than the mysterious kind...or maybe that's all I can remeber..." he shrugs.
[05:30] <Earthflame> Jian frowns. "...I thought the others would all attend to their duties of faith..."
[05:36] <Zero_Atma> Yoshi rubs the back of his head with a nervous laugh. "Heh, sorry, I was never very good at understanding that stuff...maybe you could teach me?"
[05:37] <Earthflame> ...Jian smiles, at that. "I would like that. I was talking to Rei about it earlier... In her homeland, the spirits walked among them."
[05:38] <Zero_Atma> "Really? that's good, isn't it?" Yoshi asks, taking another sip from his gourd.
[05:40] <Earthflame> "It Was good for them... But I cannot recall ever having spoken to someone who has seen a spirit. Can you? What could have deiven the spirits away like that? Do they no longer wish to dwell amidst the corruption... Or has it stopped them, even if they wish to help?"
[05:42] <Zero_Atma> "Good question..." Yoshi admits. "Maybe we should go there?" he suggested. "I mean, when this imperial heir thing blows over of course..."
[05:43] <Earthflame> "...It's gone now, from what she said. The pirates left nothing behind."
[05:45] <Zero_Atma> "Great..." Yoshi mutters. "Leave it to pirates to spoil everything." he grumbles.
[05:46] <Earthflame> "Corruption is at the heart of it... If we do not stop it, our whole country will fall, and it will spread beyond our borders."
[05:52] <Zero_Atma> "Yeah, seems like everywhere we go the corruption has already been there, every town brings a new mess we have to clean up." Yoshi shakes his head. "I hope this corruption has a face so I can punch it..."
[05:52] <Earthflame> Jian laughs at that. "One can only hope, Yoshi."
[06:00] <Zero_Atma> "We'll get to the bottom of this." Yoshi seems pretty sure of himself. "We're gonna be heroes!"
[06:01] <Earthflame> ...Jian tries not to look at his arm. "...We will fight with all our strength."
[06:05] <Zero_Atma> Yoshihiro nods in agreement. "Not just our's but the people around us." he points out.
[06:06] <Earthflame> He smiles at that. "We are not without help... The hand of fate is on our side."
[06:12] <Zero_Atma> "I hope so, we're going to need it." Yoshi replies, trying not to glance at Jian's missing hand, taking a swig from his gourd.
[06:13] <Earthflame> "Rei found her way into our room, out of all the rooms in the city."
[06:20] <Zero_Atma> "Guess you have a point there..." Yoshi admits. "It was pretty fortunate that she did, for both of us."
[06:21] <Earthflame> "I do not believe in coincidence. Just as with Chiyoko and Shiina, and your old friend Haru... We meet people for a reason."
[06:23] <Zero_Atma> "Can't argue with that, they needed our help and we delivered." Yoshi recalls with a smile.