[color=4682B4][h1]Susano Hidari[/h1]

[i]If the prophet cannot come to the mountain,[/i][/color] Hidari thinks to himself as a long-legged thing plonks her way down the supply caravan toward him. Perhaps his mind went to courtesans because, frankly, that's where it always was but her dress had a lot of that about her. So impractical for the journey, long and elegant. Dressing to impress, and with how long it takes to get all dolled up like that she knew exactly what she was doing. Certainly a far cry from him with his ratty topknot, his thin facial hair, his sea-tanned skin and sturdy, practical clothes. As if he didn't hear any of her comments, he reached over and broadly slapped the wood of the cabin directly next to him. [color=4682B4]"Sit, sit! We'll share the pipe."[/color]

It was at this point Hidari apparently became the most popular person in the world, the centre of attention and relished in it. Holding an arm out to the geisha in a "come here so I can put my arm around you" sort of manner, the other arm tapping out the soaked resin and putting in a new daub and lighting, as if choosing to politely ignore that the geisha had molested his person with magic, he was suddenly onset by a barrage of questions by an oni that looked like some sort of infant, with a fat face and impetuous manner and, to his credit, the pirate was firing back in kind. [color=4682B4]"Whores? Who said anything about whores? It's about elves, our gracious friends! Are you calling elves whores? Hoi, madam, you hear the mouth on this young one. She says elves are whores."[/color] If the idea of a point-toohed smile smile was supposed to be scary, it was clearly aimed at the wrong human; Hidari knew exactly how to kill oni. The same way he killed everything else. [color=4682B4]"Who thought it was a good idea to bring their baby along? Is she yours?"[/color] He turns to the geisha. [color=4682B4]"She's not yours, is she? No, you look like you'd do a much better job at raising children than whoever had her. You'd have beautiful, respectful children. Sit, sit. Maybe play along with the biwa?"[/color]

He sucks on the pipe, which was like putting it out but a bit slower, and let a low steady stream of smoke flow out from his rips like a river flow, or the coiling of a dragon. He seemed to enjoying the elf's take on the song but then suddenly, sharply yelled [color=4682B4]"Hoi there, what's the point of wasting a century learning to sing if you just forget the words? What a waste of immortality. Go back to whoever taught you music and tell them that they taught you wrong, it was a funny joke, but you'd actually like to learn for real this time, hah?"[/color] He cackled sharply at that. The pipe's back in his mouth now, still humming to the melody as he fills his lungs with scented smoke. As he lets the next lungful out, he ponders at how it seemed the female oni were flocking to him but the males were staying away, or had their eyes on the road. [color=4682B4]Maybe the song really is about how oni are "man-eaters",[/color] part of him cackles internally, [color=4682B4]though obviously some would be better at getting their 'prey' than the baby. Well, I guess she could catch a certain [i]type[/i] of man..[/color]

He cups a calloused hand to his mouth and calls up ahead to the caravan. [color=4682B4]"HOOOOOOI! HOW MUCH FURTHER?"[/color]