FujiwaraPhoenix

The Jade Stream

"Trust me, you won't be disappointed."

The 'old' Mr. Zhang arrived with a platter of bao in hand, a cocky grin plastered onto his face. Even if he wasn't the most "refined" cook in Mingdu, there was no reason not to cook and serve as he did. It was a shop meant for the locals and not tourists, after all; people would have long since stopped coming if that was the case.

The bao, were, of course, fresh out of the pot; with steam still rising from their peaks, the smell of the pork wafted around the room, pervading every nook and cranny of the shop. Well, specialties were as they were, after all.

"Hope you all like them! I took the liberty of preparing another batch, so if you're still hungry, just ask!"

Liu smiled; that hospitality never seemed to fade, and the energy he seemed to exude gave life to what would otherwise be... Well, a peaceful shop. He liked that. It wasn't forced, not in the least.

"Thanks. Today's on me." Liu said, dropping fifteen silver pieces into the owner's hand as he carefully placed the platter in the center of the table. "Any left over, just save it for my next time by."

"Appreciated."

And just like that, the old man moved swiftly back into the kitchen to continue his craft.

"So... Yeah. I'll let you guys take the first ones; common courtesy and all that."

The Jade Stream

@Grey Star: Seems good to me; accepted. You can post whenever.

The Jade Stream

Given Kyang's actions, Liu was fairly certain about her financial situation now; it was no wonder, then, that she had requested that information a moment earlier. As things were right now, she was likely about to start scraping the bottom of the barrel for money, if she hadn't already. But the giant bag of coins that Xin pulled out... Now THAT was an entirely different story.

"No problem. I know the shopkeep; he's quite friendly, and the stuff's great for the price he makes them for. Don't think you need piles of money to purchase most of what he's got."

With a smile, Liu came to a stop near a small, rustic-looking shop nestled in between a tailor's store and a blacksmith's forge. The exterior was worn, likely due to the effects that time usually had on things, but it remained as sturdy as ever. There was no door, but there were a few flaps of cloth covering the entryway from wind or rain. It was certainly no rich man's restaurant, but the old-timey charm that this place had was ingrained in his memory. Even as a child, Liu had found the shopkeeper to be as nice as ever, often offering to sell to the students at a reduced price or even on the house if they accomplished something beyond expectations.

Might have been because he was purportedly an acquaintance of the old headmaster, but rumors would always remain rumors.

"Come on; let's head inside. I haven't come by in a while, so I need to catch up with old man Zhang."

With that remark tossed out as unceremoniously as the rest, Liu casually stepped into the shop and called out.

"Mr. Zhang? You in here?"

"Always have been, always will be! What do you need, little Fengxian?"

The voice that resounded sounded like it came from a strong, robust man, and ESPECIALLY not one as old as he was. The wrinkles on his forehead and his white hair made clear his old age, but his body seemed to have been toned just as well as any one of the teachers back at the school.

"Table for four, please! And bring us the usual: thirty bao, fresh steamed!"

"Certainly! Just sit right over there-" the man responded, pointing to a table off to the side- "And I'll call you up when they're ready."

"Thanks!"

With that settled, Liu took a seat off to the side, his back against the wall as he waited for the others to slip inside.

The Jade Stream

The red-haired fighter had decided not to help him, but thankfully the headmaster had managed to arrive in the nick of time. Despite his somewhat-senile and often eccentric behavior, Liu could always rely on his miraculous appearances to resolve incidents like these. At heart, it seemed he was still responsible... Probably. The old man's offhanded comment about him being 'popular with the ladies,' though, caused Liu's face to turn red from the realization of what he was referring to. Right. He had led those two girls over here to resolve the issue back at the Blue Dragon, but that effectively meant that he was to be their guide for the time being.

And then he was saddled with the responsibility to show this man- Dai Xin- around as well. By no means could he ever refuse a request from the headmaster, though; that sort of disrespect was unthinkable to its most logical extreme and more. With that in mind, Liu turned to Xin and, with the crowd fully dispersed, bowed his head in turn.

"Hello. My name is Liu, family name Fengxian. It seems I'll be guiding you around for the day."

With those formalities out of the way, Liu wiped the sweat off of his brow and straightened himself. Even though they had just come from a restaurant, he was essentially told to bring them to a place to eat. By no means could he go back, or the staff would be at his throat... Or cowering in fear again. So where would work...?

"Ah!" Liu exclaimed, the moment of realization involuntarily causing him to perk up. "I know the perfect way to settle this. Follow me, if you would."

With that said, the young hunter led the group out of the temple's gates and to the eastern section of the town. It wasn't as fancy as the Blue Dragon, but the cha siu bao sold by the old man running the shop in question were tasty and more importantly, cheap. Hopefully, these three wouldn't end up eating through his pay for today, or he'd be in a bit of trouble...

The Jade Stream

Liu had to hand it to the challenger; beating old Zhang was certainly an impressive feat. He himself had only managed to best him after taking him on countless times, and even then it was only by a stroke of luck that he did so. As he was about to applaud the fiery-headed martial artist, though, everyone in the room suddenly turned to him and asked him to best the man who did in one try what he took ages to do.

"...Er... I'm... Not exactly... A barehanded combatant, if you guys haven't forgotten." Liu laughed nervously, eyeing the crowd carefully. They seemed disappointed in him, but... Well, damn, he definitely wouldn't come out unscathed if he jumped into this headfirst. "Remember, I've always been more of a weapons person; when it comes to martial arts, things usually don't end up well for me."

The way he spoke made the crowd even more agitated, and one man even shouted that he was 'nothing more than a coward with no balls' or something to that extent. Okay, now that was just rude.

"Look. You wouldn't set in an archer into combat against a swordsman, right?" Liu appealed, worriedly trying to calm the crowd. "I know everyone's got the village's pride to preserve, but that doesn't mean tossing whatever you have at him will fix anything! Furthermore, I have no reason to point my blade at anyone here; nobody's life is in danger, after all!"

The shouting and jeering seemed to grow even worse, and Liu could only stand there and sigh. These people and their persistence... Honestly...

"...Maybe it was a mistake coming here..." Liu said, sweatdrops forming on his forehead as the crowd grew louder. Turning to the red-haired fighter, Liu's eyes were almost pleading for assistance in settling the rowdy townsfolk. Preferably without conflict.

The Jade Stream

The relaxed voices of Kyang and Torako coming from behind Liu meant that, at the very least, they weren't straying too far off from their intended path. It'd have been quite worrisome if they ended up... Well, the mayor's personal house, for one. Though it was extravagant and could very easily be mistaken for a hall of some sort... Well, it wasn't, for one. Plus, the around-the-clock guard duty wasn't exactly the most forgiving group...

Yeah, that wouldn't have been easy to explain. Or deal with. or both.

As the three of them approached the gates to the school, though, Kyang asked the two of them an... Interesting question. Their association with the school, was it? Well, he had no reason to conceal that information...

"I graduated from the place, actually." he said nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders as the crowd seemed to slowly slip inside the gates. "Even as a former disciple, I'm allowed to come and go as I please and train with their equipment as I wish. It's... Convenient at times, I guess."

That being said, Liu slipped inside and beckoned for the other two to follow; it seemed like the master had taken up today's challenger.

"...Seriously, though, that's one serious ball of fire he's got for a head..." Liu joked quietly as he watched the spectacle unfold in front of him.

The Jade Stream

Hm...

Well, Glowing auras, yes. Brighter wherever it's more concentrated up until a point where it just kinda... Well, stops getting brighter.
Color's usually determined by specialization, if at all; unaffiliated (purely physical) is translucent, lightseekers are blue, soulbinders are red, and naturalists are a mix of yellow and whatever is the color of the soul they're bound to. Else, if it can't be manipulated, it's usually this mishmash of light across the spectrum. Really faint.
And... Well, yes, strength can be eyeballed to a fault. Depends on the strength gap or something to that extent. Like how you can't tell the difference between a termite and an ant from a human's objective viewpoint.

I'll get more details hashed out tmrw, if necessary.

Synchronization Overdrive: A school-based supernatural RP with a twist

James Zhen

"So... Whatever works; that's what you said, right? In that case, Akiya it is!" James stated, hoping that he had at least understood some section of that last sentence. "And... Yeah, okay, you can speak some English. That's a relief for me."

A slight laugh escaped his lips before he heard the 'yes' coming from Akiya's mouth. So... Was that a yes to the whole name thing, or about the dorms?

His partner's subsequent actions, of course, spoke more than enough for him to understand. Dorms it was, then.

"Okay, that's much more helpful that I anticipated." James said, weaving his way through the crowd in order to keep up with Akiya's pace. Man, the kid could certainly move, couldn't he? Though... Now that they were on the move again, James reminded himself that neither of them were proficient in the other's primary language... Well, moreso him than his partner, but at the very least he could read the signs to some extent!
...
Granted, only if they were in kanji, but it was still better than nothing.

"Hm... Well, I'd normally say that we should start with some kind of... Well, introductions, but it might be a bit hard to do without... You know, making both of us look like complete fools." James chuckled as their pace slowed down in front of the dorms. "Maybe we should get settled before we start on any of those... Formalities, I guess?"

---

Mari Kougami

Mari caught her tongue before another snarky remark popped out of it; her partner already looked like a lost puppy, and saying anything else might irreparably damage his self-esteem before anything else. Now that would be a disaster. Now was probably the time for some damage control, else the situation devolve any further.

"...Better." Mari sighed, unable to hold herself back any further. When she came to this school, she had certainly not expected any development like the one that was unfolding in front of her. But... Well, if this was the hand that fate dealt her, then she'd be damned if she folded right here and right now.

"So... In regards to your new question... I tend to stay at home and play games. Puzzles. Strategy. Board games. Video games of all sorts. Peculiar, yes, but it's more entertaining that mindlessly staring at shop displays for hours on end trying to figure out what new set of shoes goes with what outfit. Quite silly, honestly."

Oops. She had gone off on a rant of her own. Well, at least this time she'd get to see how he reacted to her. If he continued to act as meek as he did, then, well...
This wasn't going to be very entertaining.

The Jade Stream

Liu looked back and forth between the two women and nodded his head before glancing over at the (now seemingly-relieved) staff and personnel handling the place. Were these two really disrupting business that much just by being here? That wouldn't do if they wanted to make money; no, not in the least.

With that matter settled, though, Liu finished up the remainder of his meal and beckoned one of the waitresses over, having confirmed that everyone present was ready to pay. Liu, of course, had no need to do so, but the other two...

"Well, that's fine by me. I'll head on ahead; just catch up after you've paid." he said unceremoniously, casually getting up from his seat and walking out the door. As he did so, though, he could hear the rumors about him already starting to float up.

"...People will be people, I guess." he sighed, casually making his way to the school near the base of the mountainside. Hopefully, he wouldn't have to backtrack and find those two before they caused any more of a commotion...

The Jade Stream

"Liu. And... Er... Work? Like... Clerical work?" Liu asked, eyes flicking between Kyang's weapon and her appearance fitting that of a traveler more than an aide. "...You sure about that? All this way for a dingy old job in some musty old building? I mean, from what I know, we've got enough capable personnel working the city, so if you really are looking for a job in that field you'll probably have a better time elsewhere."

Shrugging, Liu brought another piece of venison to his mouth before Torako's (incredibly) noisy slurping caused him to pause for a moment. These two were really breaking all expectations he'd have of them otherwise, wouldn't they? It was interesting, for sure, but... It still threw him off pretty hard. These two were eccentric to their logical extreme, Torako moreso than Kyang. There was no reason to pry into their lives, honestly, but there was nothing stopping him from doing so anyhow.

"Well, I don't know if you two are appreciating all of this extra attention, but I certainly don't." he stated, glancing at the crowd that continued to gossip around them before turning back to his half-finished meal. "So... I don't know about you two, but I think I'm going to check out that ruckus at the school. Half curious as to what they're planning to do with that challenger. If you're wanting to check the place out anyhow, then there's no reason not to follow. It's pretty famous, after all."

With that, Liu continued to calmly eat his food, forcing himself to tune out all the people buzzing like flies. Really, now... Didn't they have anything better to do? Like... Eating, maybe?

"Ah, but honestly, though... If he's gotten himself a challenge, then there's bound to be a spectacle. Making them cede on a challenge is huge. And if he wins..."