[IC] The War for Baji (open)

[Xartarin]

Metou was a bit unsatisfied with Gin's response, as he didn't really confirm or deny Metou's plan as a good one, and the old lady didn't think Gin's suggestion was very practical either. Metou felt guilty about dragging Gin around everywhere, but if he wanted guidance, Metou had no choice but to provide some. "If we rely on the observations of anyone we pass by, we'll be asking random people all night," Metou said, "We know where two of our fellows went, so I think we should start searching there, even if I'm sure they've left by now. Just give me a moment to look outside."

After exiting the inn, Metou looked at the sky to see how much time they had left in the evening. It was already late enough in the day that merchants were calling it quits when they got to the town square, and that was before they walked down a few streets to get to an inn and look for the musician. Not only was it too cold for Metou's comfort, and would only get colder, Metou didn't really want to be out on the streets at night when it was just her and Gin. Metou stepped back into the inn and walked back to Gin and said, "On second thought, I think we should just stay here for the night, and look for them in the morning." Metou was about to ask Gin for his opinion on the matter, but figured he'd just give a neutral answer again. "I'm going to go ask if they have any free rooms," Metou declared, and she walked up to the front counter to do so. Even after buying that cheap bauble to win the merchant's favor, she figured she had enough money for a room and some food at least.

[Vena Sera]

Maybe doing this alone was a better approach, at least then he didn't have to hear people argue over things. There was probably strength in numbers or something like it, yet where he'd managed to go and speak to Lady Ru alone he didn't see any need to go and visit her yet again. Maybe he was thinking too much into things, but he worried if they pestered too much they might lose what little support they had. If they lost support then they failed Lord Shima, and that was the one thing Tetsuya absolutely refused to accept. Watching as Yuudai and Jiang went back and forth for a bit he couldn't help but groan, wondering if it was at all possible for them to cooperate. How were they ever going to chase down the criminals responsible when they couldn't stop fighting amongst themselves?

Tetsuya might have been a bit naive in hoping that these two could work things out, and so he was disappointed to see Yuudai leaving the room. Just because he didn't want to be coddled by the Oni didn't mean he disliked her, and he rather hoped she would stay and at least go over the plan with them. The comment she made about his groan made him feel a little guilty, even if it hadn't been made solely in her directions. Ears folding down he frowned, lowering his gaze as Yuudai left them alone, taking a bit of air out of the room with her. A fine start to this group of theirs, he couldn't even imagine what the others must be like. Looking over at Jiang as he spoke, the young Neko let out a sigh, kind of wishing they could just drop the matter now. "If you won't condemn me or judge me then don't press for information. If I felt it was necessary to tell you then I would," Tetsuya replied, frowning as he looked up at Jiang. If this one thought he was going to be the leader in all of this just because he liked to talk then he was wrong.

It seemed there was more of a story to share, and Jiang was only to happy to be the one to do so. He had no idea that they had been attacked on their way in, or that anything quite that foreboding had happened. Sure, Shima losing her relics was foreboding enough, but hearing other villages might be at risk too only made the situation even worse. Though Jiang surely meant no harm by his words the Neko still felt offended, like he was being slighted in a way. It was a childish thing to think, but in his mind it was almost like this man was trying to look better in front of their Lord. "Don't talk to me like I'm just some child, I know what we'll have to do. And we can't well leave the villages alone, not when we're asking them for help. If something happens we'll help them in turn, we have to." It's what Lord Shima would want them to do, he had no doubts about that.

As if it weren't troublesome enough that Jiang was preaching to him, now Kenji saw reason to do so as well. It felt like he was being undermined here, and where he had been working alone up until now that wasn't a very fun feeling. Expecting more of the same out of Kenji, Tetsuya was pleasantly surprised when it seemed the argument was being made for him, not against him. It was a tad odd being called 'mister' seeing as he was probably the youngest one here, but then he wouldn't make a fuss about being shown some respect. Smiling gratefully he nodded his head to Kenji, turning his attention back over to Jiang. "Look... We kind of got off on the wrong foot there. I am happy to work with you, but I don't appreciate having someone trying to push me aside for this. If you really want to help then you can, but we're doing it together. No one is going solo here." At least, not anymore, that had ended when these three had shown up.

[Wei Phoenix]

Baji was going to respond to Kenji and tell him that he trusts Tetsuya's reasons for lying to them just as much as he trusts his own for doing the same to him, but it seems like the person in question completely mistook his words. Jiang simply sighed deeply as another person became hostile and misunderstood him. Tetsuya didn't know the severity of the entire situation that they were in so he kept himself calm by repeating that in his head. He didn't recall treating Tetsuya any less than the next person.

"I have nothing against you, I can even see why you're so defensive, but you have misunderstood my words. I have nothing but respect for you and those that I fight beside. How about we go to sleep on this and you meet me by the town gate at the crack of dawn, because there is something that I want to show you. There is something that I want you to understand and something that I need to understand." He thought about it some more and figured now was also a good time if the neko was more up for it.

[Mogtaki]

Gin hoped they weren’t going anywhere without them, even if there was no real reason for the others to leave them behind. He did wonder if the others went on ahead and they were left to head back to Shima just how much trouble there would be whether for them or the ones who left them behind. They were supposed to be working as a team, after all, but who knew if they actually wanted them along. Gin hadn’t made any companions so he did worry he might get forgotten about, even if he slept in for too long. Maybe it was just anxieties building from the possibility of being alone and left behind because of how young and ‘inexperienced’ he was.

Watching Metou head on out he let out a disappointed sigh, feeling terrible that he was essentially making it difficult for others. He just wanted to feel useful. Sighing as he rubbed his neck, waiting for Metou to return as he stared at the people, watching them all interact with each other and how strange some of them got in the process. This was probably why he never went to this kind of place before, too many strangers for his liking. When Metou returned he gave her a hopeful smile, but when she spoke of her decision he frowned, looking down with a sigh. ”Stay here? But what if…uhh…” He couldn’t say much, at least not when Metou suddenly declared her decision to be a good one. ”Wait, but it’s only a little bit of darkness! I’m strong, I can protect us in the dark”, he spoke quickly, following on after Metou, ”Have a little faith in me, please? Yuudai has a particular smell, maybe I can pick it up…”

[Xartarin]

Gin brought up an objection to Metou's new decision, and Metou immediately paused and turned to hear him out. Getting stuck out on the streets late at night was still a very unappealing possibility to Metou, even if this town didn't seem too bad. However, Metou respected Gin's abilities and decisions, or at least felt obligated to respect them despite not knowing him very well yet. More importantly she would hate for Gin to think he wasn't taken seriously, and bring down his confidence even lower than it already seemed. "I suppose I might be giving up too early, and we'd want to give Kiko a prompt response," Metou said, though with the slightly frustrated tone of someone who just had an early night's sleep ripped away from them for the sake of the greater good.

"Two of our companions went to see Lady Ru, so I know of a place they've been, at least," Metou said, "But Yuudai ran off to get food, so I have a fairly good idea of where she went too. If you're confident in your nose, we could try and track her down first."

[Mogtaki]

Gin was sure he could use his senses to help find the others, or at least one of them if they got unlucky. He didn’t want everybody to split up like this and with the group all in different places it seemed as if they were going to have trouble communicating with each other to where they were going and when they were going to head out. They had to pick up this musician too on the way out which could be a problem if they were all properly split up. The musician could wander off or get impatient with them and decide to strike off the deal which would be a disaster.

Staring at Metou with hopeful eyes he smiled slightly when she admitted the danger wasn’t too much of a big deal quite yet. He would do what he could to protect her and was fairly confident he would do a good job too. He had practiced for a long time and did manage to slice up that strange stony man’s legs so he couldn’t be that bad at fighting. Sighing happily when Metou gave him some direction to look for he nodded quickly, looking to the door. ”I won’t let you down! If we follow a trail from where we last saw her, it should be easy! Right?” he spoke quickly, looking back to her, ”Then if we can track down the other group, we can stay at the inn together, right? Or maybe even sleep under the stars…like adventurers!”

Heading quickly to the door, Gin couldn’t help but feel excited and anxious about doing this, hoping he might achieve this difficult task. He was fairly good at smelling out others, even for a half-Oni. He figured it was his hunger that made his sense of smell better, but using that to track down people shouldn’t be a problem. He wondered if he should be looking for the group that went to Ru first just to see what the place they had the Lady in was like, but that might be a little suspicious at this time of day. Heading out the door he looked around, his first thought being to head back to the marketplace where all the people were before once Metou was ready to go.

[Vena Sera]

Tetsuya really didn't appreciate a stranger being in his room and insulting him like this. Even if Lord Shima had indeed sent Jiang that didn't necessarily mean he was going to personally like the man. For his Lord's sake he would cooperate, or try to, but that was about the extent of their partnership. His position softened a little when some of the uncertainty was cleared, yet the Neko still held some reservations. Just who was he exactly, and what reason was he here, handling Shima matters? Far as Tetsuya could recall, Jiang wasn't a resident of Shima, so did that make him a hired sword? Leaving a job so sensitive and important to someone like that didn't seem right, and he became naturally wary of anyone from outside his home; trusting Jiang wasn't impossible, but for the time being he wasn't exactly going to befriend the man.

Looking at Jiang curiously as he proposed a meeting tomorrow, Tetsuya bit his lip uncertainly and glanced over at the door. Should be bother? It would probably be more of the same, with the man trying to convince him to go and see Lady Ru. He couldn't see much purpose in it if that were the case, but if they were to be cooperating on this mission of theirs he figured he should at least make an effort to get along. "Well... Alright then, I guess I can do that much," the Neko mumbled, looking back at Jiang with a slight frown, "As long as you agree that you won't go and see Lady Ru by yourself. You're helping us in Shima's affairs, so it's only right that someone from Shima come along. I've already spoken with her, so it'd make sense for me to go with you since I know her at least." Hopefully the Princess wasn't there tomorrow, he wasn't so sure he could take more of her odd behavior.

"Whatever you decide, let me know in the morning. I've been walking all day and I'm tired, I need sleep," Tetsuya added, stifling a yawn with one hand as he stretched the other up over his head. His armor didn't really contribute to his exhaustion, at least not anymore as he was used to the added weight. Actually being on his feet all day, coupled with not eating much had taken its toll and now that the day had winded down he was really feeling the effects. Shuffling over to where his bedroll lay he took a seat on the floor beside it, again stretching his arms with a big yawn before rubbing at his eyes, glancing up at Kenji and Jiang curiously. "Unless you two plan on sharing a room with me I'd appreciate a bit of privacy. Just come knocking whenever you're up Jiang, I should be awake plenty early."

[Xartarin]

Metou followed Gin to the door, but he was so excited that Metou couldn't keep up easily. Going out this late for because he wanted to sleep outside was the last straw, though. "We'll have plenty of nights under the stars on the trail, I'm sure, let's savor our roofs while we have them!" Metou said half-angrily and half-jokingly as they exited the inn. Once they were outside, Gin seemed to be indicating towards the marketplace where Yuudai ran off to. Despite how large her nose was, Metou didn't have a great sense of smell, probably even worse than a human's, and she was completely reliant on Gin to trail the others. "Lead the way," Metou said, hoping he wouldn't lead too quickly to keep up.

[Wei Phoenix]

Baji stood there in the door, nodding his head up and down as Tetsuya spoke to him and laid out his terms for tomorrow. He was going to go and get some sleep of his own after he was done with the neko. "Well, if you go along then that will make two vassals of Shima attending, that will be fine." Jiang didn't clarify his words nor did he wait to see if Tetsuya fully understood what he was saying. He simply strolled off downstairs to rent a room for himself and go to sleep.