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recountal2014-12-29 09:17 pm
deontological) wrote in recountal2014-12-29 09:17 pm
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Nagumo clan estate.
Tosa, Japan, June of Bunkyū 1.
Tosa, Japan, June of Bunkyū 1.
["I come as a messenger of the Princess of Yase. My mistress wishes for me to see the face of the child under your care with my own eyes."
Technically, it isn't a lie. She does wish to see the ward of the Nagumo clan, and she is acting as a messenger - on her own behalf, perhaps, but on the behalf of the Princess of Yase nonetheless.
Sen is well aware that after so many attempts have gone horribly awry - her messengers being turned away or being entertained within the house but never actually being allowed to see Kaoru for themselves - that this isn't going to be easy. She is prepared to be stubborn with the men who have received her, and so she does. It's a fact that the servants have orders to placate her and send her on her way, but that is something she won't allow.
She had arrived the day before, just after noon. Now it is noon again, and she still isn't gone. Currently she is kneeling on a cushion in the room for receiving visitors, and she thinks that perhaps she has finally succeeded - a servant is dispatched to go and fetch Kaoru. She would prefer a private conversation, but that same servant will most likely be instructed to monitor them as they speak.
That's fine. Now that she's here, she's sure she can figure out a way. Things have been quiet enough lately that she has a little more freedom to act on her own (and she is acting on her own - for once, Kimigiku has no idea where she's gone, though she's left instructions with a child in the village to tell her that she saw the princess going to Tosa if she hasn't returned within two weeks), and she is sure she's up to the task of bringing Yukimura Kaoru home.
She looks up when she hears the sound of a sliding door, and smiles.]
Ah... are you Kaoru-san?
[She swears to god if they've brought some random girl to try and trick her, the Nagumo clan will become very well acquainted with just how much damage Yase can do when she's been offended.]
LMAO WE GOOD... ill save ur viking burial for later....
But to be my friend... [What could possibly come of that? It's not like Kaoru has a lot of power. He has no place of political prestige. The only thing he has that really counts are his looks, but that's not something Sen needs.]
I have nothing to offer you.
god bless......
...that's not actually why she wants to be friends, just so we're clear.
Anyway. Kaoru's bafflement is something that Sen wishes she could banish, but she assumes that after so many years with the Nagumo, such a thing is easier said than done. Nevertheless, she smiles and folds her hands daintily on her lap.]
You don't become friends with someone because you want something that they have to offer. You become friends with someone because you want to get to know them better. [There is a light giggle before she continues.] The Kaoru that I have gotten to know so far is a kind person who has gone out of their way to make me more comfortable in a rather terrifying situation. To be able to do something like that even after having lived here for so long... It is a very admirable thing. I hope that someday I can be as strong as you are.
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He's watching her carefully as she speaks though, and it's because Kaoru is starting to hone people-reading skills out of some sense of necessity.]
I'm not very strong... but you're kind to say so. [Kaoru can still take a compliment without completely turning it down, at least!! He folds his hands together nervously, thoughts of food temporarily forgotten.]
I can't promise you that I'll be very interesting to learn more about, either. Even knowing that, you would still say that you'd like to be my friend?
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Even watching so carefully won't make him notice any signs of deception, because, well, she isn't trying to deceive him. He can take that as he will, but she is hoping that if she continues to be honest it will sink in that he's much better than the Nagumo clan gives him credit for.]
I would. [She says it gently, although she's being rather stubborn about this.] Whether you believe it yourself or not, I think you would make a wonderful friend.
[The question is, will he still be a wonderful friend once he completes his descent into shitheadedness...]
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That said, since Kaoru has yet to fully descend into the pit of shittery, his reaction to this is definitely much different than it will be in a few years (ie rude rude scorn). Instead, he's caught between gratitude and awe, because he really never thought anyone would genuinely want to be his friend, but he can't pick up on any lies, either. It's possible she's just extremely well-versed in the arts of deception, but...
He'd rather hope for the best, even if it's just this once.]
Then... I hope that I won't be a disappointment.
[Which is about as close as Sen's gonna get to a "SURE LET'S BE FRIENDS". On the plus side, despite the nervousness present, Kaoru seems somewhat pleased and excited, too. It's very tentative and faint, but there nonetheless.
After that, he'll finally reach forward for some vegetables to feed his dumb self with.]
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[They're both going to look back on this conversation in a couple of years and wonder what the hell Sen was thinking, aren't they? For the moment, though, she seems happy enough, exchanging pleasant conversation with the ward of her captors in an underground room. Wow.
Once Kaoru has taken some vegetables, Sen helps herself to the same, munching on them and making sure to chew and swallow before she speaks up again, because she's a princess, not some ruffian with no manners.]
When you come to Yase, it will be my turn to treat you to a meal. ["When," she says, full of confidence that she's going to pull this off and Kimigiku is going to show up in a timely manner to carry them both home. If only she knew...] What would you like to eat?
[She's just going to mentally be planning it out... look, she needs something to do to take her mind of things once the family members come back and Kaoru has to avoid this area lest he get in trouble.]
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But those thoughts are shoved to the side, because they have no place in the current conversation. Kaoru focuses on eating, too; it's every bit as bird-like as most of the rest of his movements.
At the question, he looks up, uncertain. At least he'll swallow before speaking too, since he is also not a heathen.]
Ah... Anything that you would prefer would be fine. [He doesn't have any preferences of his own so this is a terrible question?! He at least tries to make it sound a little better by adding:] I'd be happy to share any meal.
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Mm, in that case I'll be certain to have the very best things we have to offer prepared.
[She isn't going to push him on it; she doesn't want to make him so uncomfortable that he either up and leaves or just flat-out refuses to come to Yase once they get out of here. As brave a face as she's putting on, she doesn't particularly want to be left alone in darkness and silence too often.]
I hope it will be to your liking.
[She's a demon of her word, so in a couple of years she's just going to have to sit the shithead down and make him eat, even if he's being passive aggressive the entire time...]
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Oh— You don't have to do that... [THE VERY BEST THINGS. That seems like an awful lot of effort...] Something simple would be fine.
[AND NOT A LOT IS NEEDED EITHER, which is probably pretty clear. Kaoru already seems to be done eating, despite having barely touched anything beyond that first helping of vegetables.]
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[She's still going to make her servants prepare the very best things anyway because it's a simple matter for her to tell them to do it. So there. She'll just have to remember not to tell him that's what she's ordered so he doesn't protest.
Sen starts to say something else, but before she can, a loud thumping noise comes from somewhere above them. She frowns, because that doesn't really sound like a demon's footstep, and looks up.]
...I assume that was an animal of some kind? [Rabbits can be loud when you're right under them. Makes it obvious where Thumper got its name from.]
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[This said decisively. Kaoru wants to put as little strain on her as possible... Though this will probably end up with him being like "oh shit Yase demons live it right" since he'll see all these very best things and think they're still not as good as they could be, because gosh, Sen wouldn't trick him like that!!
But then there's the sound, and Kaoru starts a little on reflex, glancing overhead quickly.]
...Mm, it may have been. I'll go check.
[STANDING UP and moseying to the door already, good work Kaoru. At least he seems to be trying to see through the cracks first...]
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That disturbance aside, there is nothing else to bother them during their creepy underground picnic and the rest of the visit passes peacefully enough until Kaoru heads back to the compound and Sen settles in for what is undoubtedly going to be a very long night. Time passes - how much of it she isn't entirely certain, given that she's being kept underground; has it been days or even a whole week? - and life goes on. Somewhere, she's sure, Kimigiku is on her way here.
Right at this moment, however, there is something that interrupts the routine. A servant on their rounds stops to clean Kaoru's room. This is nothing new - but the fact that the servant is clumsy and manages to trip and dislodge a floorboard is. Privacy is a rare commodity in the Nagumo household, and Kaoru doesn't get much of it. The servant goes rooting through the space under the board and comes away with the pouch Sen had given to him.
Now this is something that, by all rights, shouldn't be here. The very same servant recalls retrieving an identical pouch from the reception room the day they had taken Sen captive, and he is certain it hasn't been returned to him. Which means... well, something sneaky is going on here. The servant abandons his cleaning and exits the room to go turn the pouch in to the head of the family.
On the way, he passes Kaoru and smirks as he nods to the pouch.]
You're in for it now, brat.
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This particular interruption is a very unwelcome one indeed, and though Kaoru is entirely prepared to brush past the man, the sight of that pouch is enough to cause him to freeze. His lungs feel impossibly trapped within his ribcage, refusing to budge as they should, and then there's that smirk and that cockiness and he can feel the weight of all his potential outs crashing down around him--
If he takes that bag, that's it. It's over.
Kaoru is not exactly accustomed to doling out harm at this point, but he's always had a wicked temper and it's only been fed by the years he's spent here. It's a combination of that and pure animalistic fear that drives him from his frozen state, breaking past his reserved reactions and causing him to launch forward with so much frenetic energy that it almost scares him.]
Give that back—!!
[He'll crash into the servant with his unimpressive weight, but his searching hands are a much larger danger, since they reach up and up and seek for his neck to wrap around. No wrestling for the bag itself happens; Kaoru seems fixed on dealing damage to this man, instead, and clearly intends on getting the bag back that way.]
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Luckily for the servant, though, his struggle doesn't go unwitnessed. While he claws at Kaoru's hands with his free hand to try and make him let go, another servant coming out of another room spots the struggle and lets out a piercing yell. This isn't the place for a covert fight; there are loud, pounding footsteps and it's clear enough that in the next couple of minutes the area is going to be swarming with Nagumo clan demons come to see what all the commotion is.
The servant knows that all he has to do is hold out long enough for one of the family members to arrive.]
What were ya— [The words come out strangled and choked, since that's basically what's happening right now.] Hiding this for, huh? You little sneak!
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[Kaoru can feel hands at his arms and back trying to pull him away, but his rage serves as an untapped source of fuel, driving him forward even as his knuckles and fingers are scratched raw. HE IS CHOKING THIS POOR DUDE WITH THE SINGLE-MINDED FOCUS of a future serial killer, basically. Wow. Here's your warning, Nagumo clan...
He isn't even paying as much attention to the bag anymore as he should be, instead using his pretty sizeable strength to slam the servant's head back into the door frame once, twice, three times-- each hit stronger than the last, until the wood splinters. It seems like he'd have kept going too, if it weren't for the fact that enough members show up by that point to forcefully wrench him away, and even then he still struggles forward like a spitting cat, hands lashing out wildly like he could still finish choking the life out of that man if he could just reach. The members unfortunate enough to be closest to him aren't spared either, whoops... With angry shouts and cries of don't touch me!, he violently elbows one in the stomach so hard that they drop to their knees, bringing his feet down on the shins and toes of so many people that he eventually has to be picked up (and then the kicking starts, oh boy!!)
By now, the bag has likely fallen into the hands of another clan member, one who is in less immediate danger of Death By Kaoru.]
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At least most of the wounds he's inflicting on the servants and lower-ranking family members who have to restrain him will be easily dealt with. Many of them are already starting to heal, though the first servant's injuries are much more severe - the crashing of skull against wall has splintered more than just the wood, and there are bits of what looks like bone, blood, and cranial fluid splattered across the ground. He's still breathing and he'll heal, but it will certainly take more time and he may never be quite the same.
If nothing else, Kaoru has at least accomplished that much.
The family member examining the pouch spoons up a small amount of the powder within on his finger and tastes it - his expression sours and he goes to tell a higher-ranking member what he's found. That family member approaches once Kaoru has been properly restrained, and his hand snakes out to grab him roughly by the chin and hold his head in place. Here's hoping the others have his legs grabbed so he can't kick him...]
Why were you hoarding poison under your floorboards? Answer me.
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For now, though, he's been restrained pretty well and after whoppin a few people in the face and gut with frantic pedal kicks, he will indeed be unable to get a good one in on the member that has his chin grasped so tightly. The spark of his ire has yet to fade, even so, leaving him riled and defiant as he stares back. His answer comes swiftly, biting and unpleasant.]
Because I have a rodent infestation that I've been trying to deal with.
[THERE'S SOME OF THE KAORU EVERYONE KNOWS AND LOVES. That's enough sass to have his arm twisted though, which he barely reacts to, fueled by adrenaline as he is. A different member steps forward soon after, speaking in a voice so low that Kaoru can't entirely hear what he says. The man holding his head in place, however, will be able to hear a soft:
And where do you think this came from?]
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His sass is met with a look of absolute displeasure. While some might be amused in the ace of his defiance, this man isn't - he's just annoyed, really. Annoyed at Kaoru for being so delusional as to think he could get away with this, and annoyed with the servants for not catching it sooner. It's probably a good thing the one that found it is knocked out, because otherwise he would be in big trouble.]
I truly hope you don't think you're clever. This little rebellion of yours will only have brought you suffering when all is said and done.
[As it is, the ones in the most trouble are Kaoru and Sen. Particularly when that other family member speaks up; it brings a look of comprehension to the man's face, and he releases Kaoru's chin before brushing off his hakama pants, brisk and businesslike.]
It could only have come from our esteemed visitor from Yase.
[Because, let's be real, no one else has been in contact with their ward.
He stares Kaoru down and takes a step back, gesturing for the pouch to be handed over to him. Once it's in his hand, he looks it over carefully before nodding to himself and glancing briefly at the family member that had spoken up.]
We'll see how she likes a taste of her own medicine. See to it.
[And the pouch is handed off again... it's like keep-away. Everyone gets it but Kaoru.]
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More fondly than this doucheberg handing off the pouch, at least?! Kaoru immediately picks back up with his struggling again, even if it's much less effective now that he's actually been restrained.]
The princess had nothing to do with it! I got it during a trip to town - the medicine seller with the blue sign—!
[He manages to free one hand enough to whop someone in the eye with the back of his flailing fist, which is apparently the last straw for Arm Twister McGee. With one solid move, Kaoru's arm is wrenched back with enough force to pop his shoulder out of its socket. It's not as bad as he's had to deal with before, but the suddenness of the move has him crying out in shock and pain, now more focused on trying to alleviate pressure than escaping.
SEN, ON THE OTHER HAND, HAS A DISCO PARTY HEADING HER WAY. At least five members who know the location of the underground chamber have come along to ensure that she can be grabbed with as little fuss as possible. The one holding the pouch stands near the front but isn't the one to open the door, which is pried back with enough force to cause some of the dirt on the interior walls to shake loose.]
The little Princess has an important meeting to attend today. On your feet!
[It looks like bag carrier 3 is expecting some resistance though, since he holds his Prized Bag aloft to preemptively silence any complaints about what this is for. He shakes it, taunting.]
Looks like we caught a little rat trying to make off with your valuable possessions.
[While he's speaking, two of the men will attempt to enter the enclosed space, intent on seizing her none too gently by the wrists.]
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I won't believe your lies, so save your breath.
[He's going to need it, probably. The man barks out orders to have Kaoru moved somewhere secure and to have him properly restrained - not that he'll be able to do a whole lot with the pain of his dislocated shoulder to keep him at bay - and he goes to oversee it personally; they've already had one breach of security in that Kaoru was able to hide the poison at all; they can't allow another.
Meanwhile, Sen hears the footsteps before the group bursts in, and so she is facing the entryway already when they arrive.
The expected resistance does come; she scowls and does not rise to her feet. A moment later she regrets it when two men enter and grab her by the wrists; she's tugged up into a standing position none too gently, and she glowers at the man holding the bag. She understands perfectly why they've come, but that doesn't mean she is going to take this lying down.]
Unhand me immediately! The only rat I see with someone else's possessions here is you. I don't recall giving that to you.
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He will, of course, be shooting the overseer dirty looks the entire way there, even as the pain continues to grow. He'll sure be trying to make this as difficult as possible.
Sen, on the other hand, will find herself very roughly being dragged from the compound. Her wrists are being held tightly enough to bruise, and the pressure is likely just a few steps shy of being strong enough to sprain. With no regard to her royal status because they're a bunch of morons who are ALREADY BANISHED SO GOSH, SHE'S NOT THEIR PRINCESS, they'll work together to roughly tug her out into the more open main area, but not out of the underground chamber entirely.]
Don't worry your little head off, we're gonna give it back right away.
[VILLAINOUS LAUGH TRACK.
But the man is already opening the bag back up, so it's probably pretty obvious exactly what they plan on doing.]
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Once he is sure Kaoru is settled in and restrained, he'll mosey on off to report to the clan head because that man sure does need to know what his wayward "daughter" is carrying on with.
Sen tries to tug herself free from her captors as they drag her out, but whether it's that she's weakened from her stay here, they're just stronger than her, or some combination of the two, she isn't able to do so; they only have a minimal struggle with getting her exactly where they want her. She doesn't need to hear him speak to have some idea of what he plans to do. The fact that he'd brought the bag along at all rather than just dropping hints that they'd found something of hers in Kaoru's possession had already been enough for her imagination to leap to the worst-case scenario that they might force her to take it.
She snarls as he opens up the bag.]
I do hope you have a convincing explanation for why the only thing you'll have to give any future visitors from Yase is my corpse.
[...but after that, she keeps her lips firmly pressed together. She doesn't plan to make it easy for them to get her to take it.]
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THAT SAID, while Kaoru the shithead can laugh off things like cERTAIN RUDE SHITS stabbing him into a wall with a sword and then twisting it around, Kaoru the sad baby can only take so much pain in one sitting. His struggles lessen every time his shoulder is dislocated, until he's more or less entirely focused on soothing his frayed nerves and waiting for his healing to kick in. He'll feel badly about being distracted so easily when he does figure out what's going on, which won't be too far off.
Back with the disco squad, bag-toting shithead just laughs (very true to his shitheaded nature) when Sen spits that retort out.]
You could take your pick of convincing explanations.
[They probably have a plethora on hand for situations similar to this, after all, even if the Princess of Yase is on a tier all her own.
He approaches with the bag after that though, not keen on wasting any time. Trying to pry her mouth open would take too long and he's miraculously not stupid enough to risk having his fingers bitten off, so even though it may look like that's what he's initially going for, his free hand changes course at the last second to deliver a punishingly strong hit to Sen's solar plexus. While she's reeling from that, that's when he'll grab her chin, grip vice-strong and pressed directly against her jaw joint, and attempt to empty some of the bag's contents into her mouth.]
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Meanwhile the overseer is wondering whether or not to just toss Kaoru in there with Sen once all is said and done so he can see firsthand how badly he hecked up. Wow. Rude.
Sen, on the other hand, sneers at the bag-toting man. Somehow, she isn't surprised - the Nagumo clan has basically been slinking along on their underbellies for so long that of course they must have had some way of covering their tracks, but she also doesn't think any of her subjects will simply accept whatever explanation they give them.
If this goes badly, she won't be alive to find out whether or not her faith is misplaced. She truly hopes it doesn't come to that.
She is watching him carefully, but he moves so quickly and so suddenly when he does change course that she isn't prepared and the strike to her solar plexus hits home. She's left gasping for breath, and it's easy enough for him to grab her by the chin to force-feed her the poison she had so carefully smuggled into the compound for Kaoru.]
Rrghkk—
[She doesn't want to swallow, but first bits of the powder trickle down her throat before she can muster up the strength to stop gasping for air and spit it back out, and the rest soon follows. Her knees buckle and her shoulders sag; if the two holding her by her wrists were to let go, she would most certainly fall to the ground and curl up in on herself as the poison works its way through her system.
It isn't so severe, at first, but as the seconds tick by her body is wracked by tremors and beads of sweat start to roll down her face. The poison is, overall, slow-acting, but it starts from the inside and works its way out, rotting and decaying her from within. Her demonic abilities are going into overdrive in an attempt to keep it at bay.]
Nnrrgh...
[Her hair begins to bleed white, but no amount of purity in her bloodline will be able to purge this from her system. She'll be left in agony for quite a long time, either until someone gets her a dose of the antidote or until she succumbs. The irony that she's being subjected to what she was intending for the Nagumo clan is not lost on her.]
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Back with Sen, the men who are holding her do indeed drop her, because there's certainly no point in worrying about her trying to run now.]
Get her back inside!
[This order comes while the man with the pouch ties the strings back up again. There's still a small amount left to use for various Underbelly Of The Demon World nefarious-type things, after all, so there's no sense in throwing the bag away.
The two who had been holding her before will roughly pick her up by the wrists again, though it's a short stint this time. They only stop long enough to quite literally throw her back into the darkness of the pit, but the door is still left open.
Back with Kaoru, who has finally managed to work his way through the pain long enough to actually think things through--]
—Where did they take it?
[The pouch, obviously; he doesn't bother clarifying, instead focusing on shooting the overseer as much of a nasty look as he can manage.]
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