Welcome to Gaia! ::

Although Shingen tried to empty his mind and rest his body, Kai had called him out on his hunger. At first he began to wonder if she had felt that about him. It was truly amazing to consider the amount of information that she could pick up on. It reminded him of one of his crazier friends and his eye technique but somehow he felt Kai’s could dive even deeper. Opening his eyes and relaxing his posture, he smiled, turning to Kai. ”Actually? Yeah, I’m pretty starved. I figured the hike up would be done best on an empty stomach so all I brought was water.”He pulled up his water sack which was nearly empty by then. He tried to crane his neck to see if he could glimpse at what she might pull from her luggage. ”Did you bring some of your world famous pastries?” He asked, truly excited to feel the sensation of her magic on him again.

Shingen wondered if she could concentrate it and make it so irresistible that it could resemble a drug. Flashes of Deia then came to mind and he shook the dark notion as if an insect had managed to land on his face. Scanning the immediate area, he looked for any signs of life and wondered why no one had thought of to greet him at the gate. He had given quite an early notice that he was coming, after all. ”So, what do you think so far? Miserable enough for you yet?” He grinned as he waited for his culinary surprise. ”Not quite mom and pop's shop, is it?” He swore to himself that he would pull out all the stops for her once they got to their destination, so he knew he’d make it up to her for dragging her up a mountain side. He did often want to know what was on her mind, though. He realized he wasn’t the most talkative at times.

There was a look of utter gratitude on Shingen’s face as he took the tin with both hands. He needed the energy after his mana exertion but he was overall pleased with how he had managed to carry them across space. The cookies were far from a disappointment, a sigh of relief leaving his lips. He closed his eyes as he savored them. As Shingen stood there, enjoying the cookies, something caught his eyes just behind Kai. Something began to fade into sight, a masked figure poised with blade in hand, ready to strike. One behind Shingen simultaneously appeared. Shingen’s increasingly alarmed look signaled something wrong. He barely had time to push Kai down the moment they both lunged to cross-pierce them. ”Get down!” Shingen leaned backwards into a jump. By the time he turned in the air and drew his pistol, the attackers were gone. Shingen landed on soft, bamboo laden ground.

His eyes darted left and right, trying to spot them but one of them had already appeared beside him, slashing across for a decapitating blow. Their blades were so long that it was hard to get out of their reach. Turning just in time to duke the blade and watch a few bamboo stalks hop to the ground from the missed slash, Shingen had turned in the duck and shot under his arm, where the attacker would be. Standing to see he had missed, he kept his weapon trained in front of him and chuckled, clearly having a hard time. ”Hope you’re faster than a bullet. It’ll be one rude welcome into the twenty-first century.”

Bamboo leaves fell in all the commotion, catching Shingen’s eye as they feigned movement. It was then that one of the leaves stopped in the air and Shingen brought up his firearm. Before he fully extended, steel flashed before his eyes and he leapt backwards to evade. Once in the air, the second one appeared, threatening to cut him down vertically. Forced to block it with his handgun, he was sent down below.

Having dropped his weapon and reeling from the impact, he turned on his side from the flat of his back. Coming face to face with a severed bamboo stalk, Shingen took hold of it just as one of them was appearing behind his turned back. He rolled over it, evading a swing coming down on him and got to his feet, holding the bamboo defensively. The masked man stopped then straightened as if to signal there was no threat to him. ”Come on.” Shingen whispered, waiting for something.

Shingen looked up at Kai, who was understandably on edge. ”It’s alright! I think they’re only after me! He shouted over before turning his eyes on the attacker in front of him again.

The crack of a dried bamboo stalk suddenly came from behind Shingen and he turned and swung as he did. The bamboo connected with something, revealing the second man. Shingen dropped the wooden baton and took hold of him by the arms, turned him over by the wrist, flipping him to the ground. Then as the other attacker came at him, Shingen reached to his lower back and swung forward to meet his assailant’s blade with one of his own. A fixed blade combat knife of German construction, polished and single sided. The man locked eyes with Shingen before fading from sight again, prompting Shingen to turn to the one grounded to find him gone. Then, as if in a frenzy both began to appear and disappear, employing guerrilla tactics. Shingen was on the defensive, dodging as best as he could, blocking as they took turns coming through at him.

Once they caught Shingen in a rhythm, they both attacked at once, forcing him to bring forth a pane of blue mana, blocking their coordinated slashes. Reaching behind him, Shingen formed a long spear and swept horizontally. The two ambushers sprung back to avoid it and disappeared again. Shingen’s eyes darted from side to side again as the spear dissipated. Next, he placed his hands together and a faint blue light streamed up from the ground around him in a hundred foot radius.

Just as Shingen’s mana began to surge further, he heard someone speak. ”You always did like to drag things out.” A young man’s voice came from behind him in the bamboo. Walking out from the shadows was a traditionally dressed man, young but well built, denoting a length of physical training. Behind him were the two masked men, propped on bamboo stalks. Shingen swept back his hair, returning locks of hair that had escaped his hair tie. A wide grin on his face, he walked over to the maned named Nobuhiro, one of his cousins. ”You know it’s not much fun otherwise... Shingen replied. Nobuhiro, however, did not look so thrilled. It wasn’t until Shingen neared him that he cracked a smirk. Shingen turned towards Kai and waved at her. “Kai! It’s alright! It’s all over!” They both then exchanged a quick bow and embraced.


The battle was a way to deter intruders and filter out imposters from infiltrating the greater Maeda compound. The trial was a mock exorcism, pitting the subject against two “demons". The three were all part of keeping the gate secure. The masked figures slid down from their perches and came to greet Shingen. ”Welcome back, Shingen-San.” They both offered with more reverent bows of their own before removing their masks in respect. Polite yet hardened faces lied underneath. Nobuhiro glanced up at Kai, curiously then gave Shingen a sly look. ”This is Kailani Zaccheus. She’s a specialist in her magical field.” Shingen said, introducing her. Nobuhiro bowed just as politely as before then held his chin as he inspected he leaned forward, studying her face. ”Hmmm. I hope we didn’t scare you too bad. I figured Shingen didn’t clue you in on what happens here. He’s always been a prankster. Matter of fact, he used to find all KINDS of ways to scare people when we were kids!” He chuckled. It must have been true since Shingen nervously smiled and nodded.

The two were too busy catching up that they didn’t notice Kai slowly beginning to fall under. It was Nobuhiro’s question left unanswered that Shiungen turned to see something was wrong. “Uhh, Shin, she doesn’t look to hot...” He commented just as she fainted. Shingen jerked forward suddenly to try and catch her as she went down. He did his best to handle her gently as he lowered himself to the ground. ”Woah, Is she going to be alright?” Nobu asked. Shingen looked on worried but could tell she was mostly alright as he felt her forehead with the back of his hand and measured her pulse. ”She’s not used to this kind of stress. It’s all my fault. I should have told her what was going to happen. Shingen said regretfully, shaking his head.

“Come on, let’s take her to the doctor. The girl is stronger than she looks. You should give her more credit!” Nobu said as he walked ahead of them and placed his hand on the gate doors. A faint burst of mana seemed to ripple from the point of contact along the rest of the structure before the doors opened on their own, revealing the continuing path. Shingen delicately picked Kai up into his arms and hoped she wouldn’t freak out any further. He knew her abilities were very sensitive, quite literally, but he didn’t quite understand them in their entirety just yet.

“You go on ahead. You remember the way. I’ll make sure no one bothers you until everything is worked out.” Nobu said giving Shingen one last bow. ”Thanks, Nobu. I owe you one.” Shingen said with a half smile. “More than one.” Nobuhiro replied with a familiar smirk before heading out.



The way to the doctor’s house wasn’t far up the path, in fact it was one of the few homes near the entrance. It was more efficient that way. Shingen also didn’t waste any time taking the steps. He made a simple platform under his feet and carried them across the path like before. Through the red wooden gates and up the many staircases that flowed out of the village like rivers.




Once they had arrived at the doctor’s house, Shingen quickly knocked and let himself in. Just inside, Kanna, the village doctor was making medicine by hand, pulverizing ingredients in a mortar and pestle. She looked up in surprise, mostly from seeing Shingen all of a sudden but also because there was someone in his arms that might be hurt. ”Hey, Kanna. She fainted down by the gate. She might be dehydrated. The trial got a little intense and I guess she wasn’t ready for all that so-” Shingen began to ramble and Kanna stopped him raising one hand and then directing it to the open bed at the edge of the room. “ Lay her here and we’ll take a look.” She said softly and entirely unshaken. There was that bedside manner of a mother but a silent wisdom only someone versed in medicine could posses.

Shingen did as he was told and set her down. He was overly careful on setting her down and once he did, he paced over Kanna as she began to check on her vitals. It’s been a bad trip from the start. First I don’t tell her how humid it gets or how far it is. So the poor girl wears something uncomfortable. THEN, I spring a life or death scenario on her at the entrance. I’ll never live it down. He was thinking as he waiting to hear from the doctor.

The exorcist continued to pace the floor behind Kanna, not so much in concern on whether Kai would be fine but rather on having to face the shame of putting her through the ordeal. The village doctor went through the motions, easily coming to the solution and retrieving something from one of her many containers. Shingen had to admit, the smell of freshly crushed medicinal herbs and balms truly worked to calm the nerves. He was very much a person sensitive to scents and aromas, even going so far as to remember them, each one attached to a moment in time where it was held at it’s fondest. Shingen only hoped he could salvage this moment and avoid immortalizing it with mint and aloe.

The smelling salts did their job, jolting Kai awake. Their acrid fumes were far from pleasant but harmless enough. As Kai came to, she was understandably disoriented. Once she saw them, she hid under the sheets. Shingen took a deep breath and spoke. ”Kai, I’m so sorry. I should’ve told you what the security was like.” It also didn’t help that Kanna didn’t agree with his leaving in the first place but he’d never known the doctor to be harsh with anyone except maybe the village drunk. Shingen sighed.”All I can do is promise you that it gets better from here on.” In reality, no one could really promise that, especially with the dark cloud that liked to follow him around. But, there were highlights to the village that he’d like to show her to make it up to her but that was all in the air now.

”If you want to go home, just say the word. Ill get you the first flight back to mom and pop’s, first class.” He added apologetically. Shingen then turned to Kanna, bowing deeply. ”I have to thank you and apologize for us having to meet like this.” He stated. The doctor looked on in an understanding way raising a robed hand and shaking it back and forth. Her smile concise but maternal. “Don’t worry about that. I’m just glad you’ve made it back to us safely.”

Shingen bowed his head gratefully, as Kanna passed by. It sounded like exactly what they needed after everything that had happened. He awaited a response from Kai but as time went on he could tell something was wrong. There was a small trembling, accentuated by the taut fabric of the sheets followed by harsh and suppressed breathing. She’s crying. I really did it now. She finally spoke, apologizing for something that was entirely out of her control and in reality fell on Shingen’s own shoulders. He shook his head as he realized how he must have sounded, trying to send her off or make it seem like she wasn’t such an important part of all of this.

Kneeling by the bedside, he put his hands around hers, being careful that the sheet was between them, but the warmth was nonetheless there. ”Kailani.” He sighed. ”That’s all nonsense. There’s no one else I rather be here than with you. I mean, you don’t realize how important you are.” Shingen realized how everything was sounding as he finally took time to make sure he wasn’t coming off like a monster. ”The mission...needs you.” He said hesitantly, suddenly feeling vulnerable. Looking over his shoulder, he hoped he hadn’t been overheard and let go of her hands slowly. He didn’t stand up or move away until he knew that Kai understood him.

It was the sincerity of her sobs that came deep within her that threatened to break Shingen’s heart. The inhibitions he held tightly in respect to etiquette and proper manners just simply wore away against the tide of pain coming from such a gentle soul. It was near to the point that he’d nearly give anything to ease her suffering. ”Kailani, of course I mean it.” He said, holding her gaze through her stormy eyes. ”I mean, you’re going to meet my family. I don’t just bring everyone around here, you know?” He smiled warmly, that trademark smirk long gone, only sincerity remaining. Kai would feel Shingen’s true affections towards her, a blossom that opened into a desire to take care of her, not as a superior but as a companion.

”I wouldn’t exactly count that as a good thing.” Kanna chimed in as she walked in with a tray holding a teapot and a few tea cups. Shingen gave her a look but ultimately couldn’t say much. His brother would eventually came up in conversation. As Kanna set the small table nearby, Shingen stood from where he was kneeling, letting go of Kai gently.”You want to join me on a cup of tea?” He asked eagerly. By this point, everything surrounding his family, clan and inner problems had slipped his mind, replaced by the simplicity of tea and being good company.