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 Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2015 10:07 pm
Suzume Kirihara  "Sai..." The girl looked up at her companion, looking at his crimson eye, almost trying to figure out just what was going on inside of his head. Even when she could read his signs, there were still so many thoughts that were only his... even in his most open, Sai wasn't ...well, an open book. Far from it. But, Suzu could see that the memories were haunting him, and it was taking a lot out of her crimson-eyed companion. Even so, that laugh just now had made her smile just the tiniest bit. Perhaps her silliness was helping...Perhaps she was able to just keep the tension not as...tense? Oh, she didn't know! She just wanted to help Sai so bad! And she would have asked him to stop telling her about his past if it made him feel so tense, but... it was...also true that there was a part of her that wanted to know. A part of her believed... if she knew more about Sai...she could help him more. She wouldn't be on the dark about his past. She would... be able to be there to stand beside him, to take some of the burden. To let him know that...he didn't have to go through this on his own. She was there with him now! She...she...
So, the girl sat and listened to the words intently, her eyebrows furrowing as the tale continued, almost as if she was trying to click together the ideas in her mind. "Kiri-ojii had a daughter? I didn't know." The brunette trailed off, trying to grasp the idea that sometime not so long ago, the Lin Kuei hadn't been as bad as they were right now. That once, when she was a little girl, the group hadn't tormented the city as they did now. A group that scared the people of Oshu city so much...
Even then, Sai was showing her he was nothing different that what he was now... he wanted that peace the old leader had dreamed of... even if had done some...bad things... he did them to change for the good. So...that wasn't so bad, right? She knew Sai... and Sai wasn't bad. He had never been... "Was he different? Didn't he want peace as well? Why would he want something different?" It was so difficult for the petite brunette to understand why someone would rather search to terrorize and destroy everything... to stand above everyone else... Her gaze followed Sai's to the window, before turning back to him, her head tilting just slightly. "Sai..." Her hand squeezed his lightly, big, round eyes turning to look at his crimson one with a worry that was strange on her...but also a determination that was just as strong.
She frowned when he mentioned the jobs he had to do; furrowing her eyebrows at the mention of the more violent ways of his former friend. She tried imagining a younger Sai and this stranger that had been such an important person to him... and how he had broken that bond with his ways. The girl grew paler, her eyes wider as the narration continued... "He...killed them?" Her voice came out as a squeak, eyes falling to their linked hands.
Suzu wasn't dumb...she wasn't blind to the horrible things that happened in the city... what the Lin Kuei were capable of. She wasn't unaware... of what could happen. Her brother had been hurt like that before. Her brother had almost died... two years ago.
But... "Sai, you couldn't have known! You believed in him and he let you down. Sai, don't..." the girl bit her lip, trailing off for a second, before turning back to her companion, "Don't blame yourself." She looked at him for a moment...not saying anything, though her gaze was troubled, thinking over everything that had been said. In her mind, Sai was still Sai...there was nothing changing that; now she knew, though, what had happened before he had met her. She knew now...why he had been so quiet and reserved back when they first met. She knew why he had been so guarded to her cheery hugs or silly words... But she...
Without warning, the girl threw her arms around him in a tight embrace, her cheek nuzzling into his chest. "I want you, Sai! Nothing will change my mind!" her tone was almost reproachful as the words came out muffled, the girl's face buried in his chest. "What happened in the past won't change anything... I know you, Sai...and I like you just as you are. I... lo-"
A black shadow on the corner of her eyes made the girl to stop mid-sentence, turning to the source of the movement. A black cat moved gracefully from the opened window to the floor of the apartment, making its way to the couple in the couch. It brushed against her companion's legs, purring, before it jumped to his lap and nuzzled against his hand, seeking for attention. Suzu blinked, having sat upright when the fluffy interruption settled on Sai's lap. "A...cat?"
"You have a cat?!" The excitement was almost palpable in her voice.
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Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2015 9:28 pm
Sai Sakurazaka, the Urban Legend of Oshu City
"...You can trip as many times as you want; I will never let you fall...""Suzume, I might not have participated in what Jian did that night, but I am not blameless," the young man sighed aloud and took her hand in his, lifting it carefully, as if studying the soft contours of her skin and memorizing what was like to hold something that was so dear and fragile within the palm of your hand, "My time with the Lin Kuei was far from innocent. There was things that he and I did together that were far from virtuous, and I knew people who participated in much worse. Though I dreamed of changing things, I became aware that the family I was in was different from what the Old Man, the Boss, and I hoped it would become. People who heard my name back then feared what would happen if they met me. Even now, you know that my reputation in this city inspires suspicion and fear and hatred. Those are not accusations made without reason. I made more mistakes back then than I care to admit, and I would rather leave them buried in the past than bring them up again. But I will not hide the truth from you any more. You deserve to make your own choices, just as I have made my own choices to lead me here and now.'
'I am only with you now because of the path I walked back then, and only because of that night when I fell from the grace of the Lin Kuei I was able to see you in that hospital and come to know you. I want you to understand me, Suzume. The things that I did back then were wrong, but I no longer regret them. I do not regret them because they lead me to you. And Suzume, I have come to love you more than I ever believed I could love anyone or anything in this world," his voice was low, but the meaning behind them was intense, his eye on hers so that she could see the sincerity, the feelings that he almost never showed...but she somehow managed to cut to the heart of in spite of that, "The work that I have done since that day, for the Old Man and this city, has been focused on healing a city that I helped to wound. I want to repay the people of Oshu City that I hurt, in whatever way that I can. I will protect the people who are being hurt. I will clean up the messes that the Syndicate leaves behind. I will help the old man and keep you both hidden from their eyes for as long as I can and as long as I have breath inside my chest. I want you to understand, that this is the weight that I carry...my guilt and my determination. I cannot put either of them down. Not even for you, Suzume. So if you want to stay by my side, as I want you to be here, then remember that I said this, here and-..."
His words were interrupted by the faint sound of purring. And the brush of soft fur against the fabric of his pants. And then the sudden weight jumping up into his lap and nudging its head gently into his hands which stroked the friendly creature automatically, as if an instinct. He barely had the time to register what had happened before a telltale light suddenly sparked in the eye of his companion that he knew would be impossible to put out. Oh, Suzume...
"He comes and goes as he pleases," Sai answered her excitement with the tiniest of curls at the corner of his lips at her energy, in spite of himself...and though the creature was likely as aloof in its comings and goings as he said, there was an obvious measure of affection between them, "He really is a selfish cat." His hand settled onto the creatures back gently, as if to calm it for reasons that likely she wouldn't understand immediately...before said the words that no doubt were just waiting to be broached...and would put the more serious conversation on at least a temporary hold.
"You can pet him if you want to, Suzume."
He didn't bother asking. He already knew the answer to that...
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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2015 1:03 pm
Suzume Kirihara "That is why you are amazing, Sai! You really are a good person. That you are fixing what you did, and that you are helping others... it is really nice. Never giving up, and doing things to fix what we did wrong...it's what makes us better. O-or well, that is what my parents used to tell me when I was younger. Whenever I made a mistake, they said it was never too late to fix it. Mistakes makes us better people." The girl said sheepishly, but she poured her heart in the words. She truly believed everyone had good in them... she believed that there was nothing that couldn't be changed if someone wanted to... she believed there was nothing impossible. Perhaps she was naive...she certainly was considered naive to some, but... she wouldn't let that stop her from what she did and what she was.
Her gaze fell to the black cat in Sai's lap for a moment, a smile on her lips as her fingers itched to pet its fur. With permission, she brushed her fingers over the cat's back and scratched behind its ear lightly, a giggle escaping her. The feline looked a bit tense though, almost as if it wasn't used to the touch of someone else but Sai, but the brunette didn't stop to think this was the case. "Selfish? He looks really cute. Does he have a name, Sai?" For a moment, the conversation was in pause...perhaps the cat had come in the perfect time. The air had been tense and sad, but...it was something she needed to know.
Sai had made his decision of telling her about his past. He had said he didn't regret anything...that he was who he was now because of what he was back then...and now he was making up for the mistakes from that past. He said he didn't regret anything...because he had met her. He said he loved her. ... ...
...
Her hand stopped the petting, as her hazel eyes shifted immediately to look at his crimson one, bright and big as stars. She looked at him surprised, but also lovingly, excited, extremely happy. All these emotions swirled in her burning gaze, the words just sinking in after being said a few moments back. "Did you...say... you love me?" she asked in a murmur. Her heart was pounding hard against her chest, like a bird fluttering in an attempt to free from the cage, and the girl felt her stomach tying up in thousand of knots... and her her smile then was the brightest and happiest she had ever shown. "Oh, Sai! I really love you too! Youaresoimportanttome! AndI'vebeenwantingtotellyouforawhile! But! Ithoughtitmighthavebeenalittleweird? Because! Idon'tevenknowwhyIbelievedthat! Butit'ssomethingIreallyreallyfeel! Likethattimewewenttothebeach! Andweplayedalittleonthesand! Andthenthatseaweedmonsterattackedme! Andyoucameandsavedmeanyways! Andyouhuggedme! AndIknewthatIreallywantedthis! And, and..." Nothing would stop her now.
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Posted: Tue Nov 24, 2015 4:25 am
Sai Sakurazaka, the Urban Legend of Oshu City
"...You can trip as many times as you want; I will never let you fall..."He had never imagined a time would come in his life when he would find the little things about a person so endearing as he did with her; not since his sister's love of pancakes when he was little or the old man's habit of misplacing things back in the apartment when he was young had he ever felt warmth at the recognition of a person's quirks and imperfections. And with Suzume, it was something much different than even the two before...it was a warmth born in affection, it was endearing in a way that made him want to see them more, over and over. Her optimism gave him hope for the world in a way that he simply hadn't imagined he could hope for anything; her love of pudding made him almost irrationally want to surround her with swimming pools full of the mushy dessert, or at least keep a few cups spare in his refrigerator for the rare occasions that she came to visit him at his Shirahama Apartment Complex. There were several more than a 'few' of those stored in the icebox right now, too, that he could only reason he had put there because he imagined that she would come by some time, and her pout when she found out he didn't have any pudding would only be surpassed in enchantment by the way he face lit up when she opened a new cup. And then the way that she glowed when she petted the black furball sitting obediently on his lap despite casting a wary eye at her, the way that she beamed at him and made him see the simple goodness in the things that he did that he couldn't always see through his own shame and guilt over the past...they were the little things, the little things that reminded him what made her so precious an existence in his otherwise darkened life.
And none of that compared quite to the way her eyes absolutely sparkled with happiness and life, the way the words left her mouth in such a rushed jumble that she could barely speak, when she caught the confession amid his own confession. Despite the mess of jumbled words and thoughts he could hear her almost clearly, though, and a softness lit upon his features that was impossible for anyone but her to incite, his right palm curled gently up and touched her cheek as his eye caught her own, thumb padding gingerly over the skin...hesitant, but sure. "I meant what I said, Suzume. All of the good that I have done, anything good that lives on inside of me...I am not certain any of it would be possible if I hadn't met you on that day. You make me want to be the best version of myself," Oshu's Urban Legend told her softly, seriously, "Because I met you, I believe that there is something worth protecting in this city...that there are people, there are ideals, that need to be defended from the Syndicates and others like them. So thank you, Suzume..."
It was at that moment that the obtrusive little cat that had curled up in his lap suddenly flexed his claws and tugged at the fabric of his pants just once, almost as if to steal back his attention...and with a little release of breath caught inside his throat he let his left hand brush at the space between its ears casually, attention drawn once again from divergence too far in any one direction.
"I was thinking of calling him Kojuro," Sai admitted after a brief moment of looking the cat over, and the name hung in the air a moment so that she might perhaps grasp the significance of the name. The faithful retainer and best friend of the One-Eyed Dragon Masamune Date, Katakura Kojuro...the man upon whose legacy the city of Oshu and this entire region had been built. It was a fitting name, perhaps, if a bit amusing given like Masamune, he appeared something of a 'One-Eyed Dragon' to many. An urban legend...trying to create a true society out of the mess that this city had become. But then, who could ever really live up to the legacy of such a man as him? It was just a little clever title for his cat, at any rate. But maybe, just maybe, Suzume would like it.
And yet despite the lightness of this moment, the joy between the two of them and their feline companion, there was still at least one major question remaining to be answered...
How...and why...did Sai leave the Syndicate in the end? What happened to the ideals of the Boss, Liu Bei Lin Kuei? And what ever became of his twisted son, Jian...Sai's former partner and friend?
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Posted: Sun Nov 29, 2015 4:05 pm
Suzume Kirihara It was funny how something so simple as a caress could stop her brain from working. How easily she could melt with a touch, with his soft gaze on her. The girl stopped blabbering the moment his fingers brushed her cheek, his touch gentle, tentative. A breath got stuck on her throat, and the softest smile curled at the corner of her lips, her head tilting towards the fingers, her own hand brushing over his. She nuzzled her cheek against his hand, a giggle escaping her lips. "I am so happy I met you that day, Sai."
"I am so happy you are here now. T-that we are here together. And...and I want t-to be...with you. I want to fight with you. To support you. W-well, I don't mean fight-fight. Because I am not really that strong, but...you understand what I mean, right?" She looked at him with big, chestnut eyes...full of wonder and love and perhaps just a little bit of nervousness. The girl tilted her head just slightly, nearing her violet haired companion, closing the space between their lips slowly...
And then the cat asked for attention, and his gaze shifted to the feline, and she was pulling back with her cheeks flaring up, nervously laughing. Her hands once again moved to brush over the black fur, her hazel eyes on the cat. "Kojuro is a nice name..." Suzu replied after a moment, "He is always looking over you. Protecting you." She giggled. "That would make you...Date Masamune, right?"
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Posted: Tue Dec 01, 2015 2:45 pm
Sai Sakurazaka, the Urban Legend of Oshu City
"...You can trip as many times as you want; I will never let you fall...""Date?" his eyebrow raised in some small measure of surprise when Suzume giggled and called out the connection between his looks and the cat's name. Sure, he had put the pieces together when he had named the cat, and maybe even a little piece of him had liked the idea of looking at the name like that...like the cat was his ward and he was the Dragon himself. But he hadn't really thought about it beyond that nor thought that she would call it out like that. Of course she would, though...she was far smarter than anyone (but him) gave her credit for, an excellent student in spite of her airy nature, and she had a way of seeing to the heart of things like nobody else. And so she said it and perhaps would be surprised to notice for what had to be the first time since they had known one another...Sai Sakurazaka rendered temporarily, for but a second at the absolute most, a little bit sheepish. His cheeks pinkened eeever-so-slightly but his lips curled into the faintest of happy smiles, like a man compared to his idol but not willing to show how much he appreciated the compliment. "Don't be ridiculous, Suzume," he spoke in a clipped tone that had not a trace of venom, softened by the warmth and affection he felt for her right now, "I am no Dragon. And he is certainly no samurai...more a wandering ronin, if anything." Still, he petted the cat and it paid no mind to his faint teasing, more interested in soaking up his warmth and watching the girl warily as she petted him, begrudgingly accepting that she wasn't the worst human in the world. And Sai let his mind turn instead from the passive care he laid upon the cat towards the girl's honest affection...a care and a desire to be near him that he never imagined himself worthy of receiving. She didn't care about any of that, in the end. She just...liked him, loved him even. And he, well...he had already told her just how he felt, hadn't he?
And she was right, of course. They were together here and now, and that feeling of happiness that she felt was similar to the way that being around this bright ball of sunshine that she was made him feel whole...like the person that he wanted to and with her help, could be. Knowing that she was beside him made him confident in his ability to make a difference in this city, it made him believe that he could truly put the gifts that he had once used for other purposes to use for something better. He never quite turned his attention away from her even as the cat jockeyed to gain some of his focus, and as one hand stroked the feline's ears and thought idly on its name, his other casually settled at the back of her head to gently keep her until his lips met her forehead in a chaste but affectionate gesture. The way that he cheeks flared pink and her nervous laughter echoed when the cat eyed her warily had only lured him in...it was her consideration, her innocence and bright smile and everything that made her the way that she was that made him care for her the way that he did. It made him treasure her and want to show her that small, affectionate side of him that he hadn't known was real until only recently. And just as he would go to any length to ensure that nobody, not the Lin Kuei or Titus Martillo or anyone who tried to taint that innocence or use her in any way to get at him, would ever go unpunished...so would he do anything simply to continue seeing those smiles and to steal what few moments like this he might one day earn by being that better person.
"I couldn't do any of this without you, Suzume," he assured her as he pulled back from her forehead and nodded solemnly, but with that faintly warm expression still there. But there was a concern beneath it that was hard to ignore. After all, thinking of the Lin Kuei, of Titus, it reminded him of why this talk was important in the first place. It couldn't be avoided anymore...she had a right to know what being around him meant for her. "...I will always protect you, Suzume. I will keep you by my side as long as you want to stand there. But in doing so, our lives may become more dangerous from here on. You should understand that, before anything else. There are still consequences that I must face for the things that I have done. And the people you met tonight are only the beginning. Do you understand? Titus Martillo and Kimiko Lin Kuei; they were members of the Lin Kuei...two of the best. Thankfully, even they know when they're out of their league. But if they found us, there will be more. Jian...he won't let me live in peace. Not in this city, or any other, as long as I am alive. And anyone who stands with me will likely be in danger as well. That is why I promise I will keep you safe, no matter the cost. This is my burden...my fight. And one day, I will end what he started on that day..."
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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 6:35 pm
Suzume Kirihara The girl giggled as she caught Sai's slight change in expression. He looked almost embarrassed, or well... it looked like to her, but it would be difficult to any other to actually notice anything different from his sharp eye and hard lines of his face. She knew better, though...the way his eye shifted to one side, or how his lips pursed just slightly, just barely moving up into a ghost of a smile...and how cheeks seemed a shade pinker. She loved he would show this side of him to her. She felt special... that he would open up just for her. That he could...let go of his stern persona and just enjoy. Suzu giggled again when he replied, her gaze turning from him to the black cat, her smile growing. "Wandering ronin. Oh Sai, don't be so mean. I am sure Kojuro would protect you always!" her fingers brushed the soft fur, before pulling her hand back to her lap, fidgeting with her fingers. "And... I...think you are as great as the Dragon." her voice was softer then, a bit sheepish, before big eyes turned back up to look at him.
He was looking back at her with a soft, affectionate gaze, and Suzu couldn't help the color creeping to her cheeks. She felt giddy, and she shifted on her seat, unable to help the butterflies fluttering in a frenzy inside of her belly. His hand reached over, settling on the back of her head, and the petite brunette felt her heart thumping on her chest. When his lips pressed to her forehead in a feather-light kiss, Suzu smiled warmly, her eyes closing to enjoy the moment. Sai wasn't overly affectionate...but that made moments like this one just the more special. Every little kiss, or brush of their hands...or how he had just said he loved her just now... it made her the happiest girl in Oshu.
He pulled back, and she listened to his words quietly, attentively. Her eyes lowered, being lost in thought. She didn't want him to be in danger...the thought scare her so much. Knowing that there were people out there wanting to hurt him... scared her. His past was still out there, trying to bring him back... and Suzu couldn't let that happen. She didn't know how, but...she wouldn't let it happen. "I will be careful, Sai. I will pay attention to everything from now on! I promise!" And still, when her eyes looked back up at him, she couldn't help the small frown curling at the corner of her lips. "Sai..." she spoke softly, her voice barely above a whisper.
"What...happened afterwards? After...the warehouse? How did...you escape?"
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