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[Right][sub] Tags: [@Feyblue][/sub][/right][hr]
As the screeching echoed throughout the valley, Kenichi perked up from his state of half-sleep. He was sitting with his back up against the wall of his room, next to his workbench. His eyes rose to the window, squinting as the rays of light from the early morning sun pierced his gaze. He raised a hand to wipe the sleep from his eyes as he regained his wits. He shifted his left leg from it's position folded under himself, and a familiar sensation returned: stiff, searing pain. His right leg was extended out straight in front of him: a poor choice, as Kenichi could feel his knee was locked in place. Running purely on routine, the doctor's apprentice reached up towards the table, his hand sliding awkwardly along the wood until he felt a a metal box. His fingers slipped between the metal and wood to lift the box, and lowered it down into his lap. He flipped open the latch with his other hand and slowly opened the lid. The box was filled with a dozen vials of an orange liquid resting in wooden holders. Kenichi reached in and quickly plucked one of the vials, removing the cork from the end as he could feel the pain intensifying the more he shifted around. He knocked back his medicine, and grunted as he managed to stomach the bitter taste. He hadn't quite figured out a way to fix the taste. Tumeric was far too overpowering.

After a few moments, Kenichi reached up and used the desk to slowly rise to his feet. He grunted as he bent his right knee slightly to do so, the pain manageable but still rather agonizing. But the apprentice had work to do. He reached out and grabbed his crutch, using it propel him around the desk and towards his satchel. He used one hand to sit it upright and rifle inside, checking to make sure he had a spare vial of his pain reliever tucked into a sewn in pocket. Resting in a pocket beside it was a vial with a translucent liquid tinged with a golden hue. He nodded as he was satisfied with his bag's contents, and quickly closed the flap of his bag. Kenichi walked stiffly towards a chair in the corner of his room that he used to lay out his days clothes, and quickly got to work changing.

He greeted his family for breakfast, but he wasn't particularly hungry. He wasn't much for eating at the start of the day, especially in the past couple years. The bitter taste of spice lingered in the back of his throat, and the last thing he wanted was a full stomach if he felt nauseous in an hour. He had a cup of tea with honey and ginger to help soothe his stomach, before fetching his crutch once more and heading for the front door. His mother walked over to him, licking her palm and trying to fix Kenichi's hair as she spoke. [Color=lightgray]"You mixed another batch of cold tincture. Is that for Sengo or Takamori? Are they sick?"[/color]

Kenichi lifted his left hand up to push away the feeble attempt at fixing his hair, shaking his head and speaking softly. [Color=f6989d]"Ummm... No, no they are in good health. I think. No, I'm just... Ummm..."[/color] He closed his eyes for a moment and let out a slow exhale, centering himself as he constructed his words visually in his imagination. [Color=f6989d]"I am going to deliver this to Tsurugamine. It should last for some time, and I had the spare materials."[/color]

Hanako carefully observed her son's stoic face, before giving a slow nod. [Color=lightgray]"Be careful on the stairs. And be sure to thank her for her work."[/color] She leaned in to give her son a kiss on the forehead before he spun around, shoveling a handful of roasted soybeans near the door into his satchel as he disembarked from his home.

The cold air hit Kenichi's face and nearly sucked out his breath in an instant. He grit his teeth and did his best to bare the cold as it went down his windpipe like pins and needles. He shivered slightly as he reached up with his left hand to pull his jacket collar closer to cover his face. He walked forward, letting his crutch help to support his right leg whenever he had to place his weight on it. Kenichi's left hand reached into his satchel, pulling out a handful of roasted soybeans and scattering them in accordance with tradition. After all, it was best to keep the things lurking in the shadows distracted and satisfied.

Kenichi was so focused on watching his steps as he wandered his way through town that he hadn't even realized that he was standing at the bottom of a rather steep set of stairs cut into the hillside on the edge of the village. He turned his gaze over his shoulder in an acknowledgement of his journey to get there, before his eyes were drawn back upwards to the abandoned shrine. Though... Abandoned was hardly accurate. Kenichi gripped his cane firm as he lifted his left leg up onto the first step, slowly beginning the climb to the top. With each step he would bring his left foot up and use it to help propel his right foot up to meet it.

It was slow and arduous. His right leg ached, his nerves and muscles tensing up the more he climbed. Despite the cold, sweat trickled down from Kenichi's brow and stung his eyes. Each step became an increasingly difficult hurdle, forcing Kenichi to take longer pauses between the steps. Of course, it wasn't just the pain and stiffness causing hesitation. He could swear he was seeing things moving in the corners of his eyes. The creatures and Yokai of the land, perhaps. Or a trick of the mind. Regardless, Kenichi found himself about two thirds of the way up the steps and unable to go any further. His breathing had quickened its pace, an ever shifting cloud of moisture coming from his lips as his eyes were turned towards the shrine. He hung his head for a moment to conserve energy, his eyes falling on the satchel at his side.

He could do this another day.

The doctor's apprentice took a moment to turn himself around slowly, watching his footsteps as he did so, before turning his gaze towards the descent proper. Resting a few steps below Kenichi was a black short hair cat, sitting where Kenichi had walked through perhaps only a minute before. He stared at the cat in confusion, wondering how he hadn't noticed it before. Perhaps it had been following him closely, or he had been too focused on his own walking that he hadn't noticed a cat on the side of the path. Regardless, as soon as Kenichi and the cat locked eyes, it began standing up on it's hind legs, keeping it's eyes locked firmly on Kenichi as it spoke in a high-pitched squawking. 

[Color=gray]"Nya."[/color]

Kenichi jumped back in fright, his right heel catching the lip of the step behind him and causing him to grow unsteady. He tried to use his crutch to help catch his balance, but it was a lost cause. The young man fell back on his ass, subconsciously pushing his left elbow out to help catch himself. Unfortunately, his elbow met the corner of another step, and he let go of his cane to clutch at his funny bone. [B][color=f6989d]"Aaahhh... Ouch. That... That's unpleasant."[/color][/b]While Kenichi couldn't keep his volume down, he did his best to keep from swearing in pain and frustration. And so it was the doctor's apprentice found himself curled up on the steps leading to the shrine, with the mysterious bakeneko nowhere to be seen.