Hiken:

[Akuma Kison]

The capitol of Ounen, Hiken is one of the largest cities in the known world, even surpassing Eisei and Eiyoh in size. It is because of all of those who are considered rejects from the other countries. Located in the northern part of the country, it is a days ride from Mount Tokyoku.  

[Akuma Kison]

At My Command,

"Again!" A gentle voice came after the sound of metal against metal stopped. Fresh cut grass and sweat filled the air as a lone clearing was walked up on. As one looked through the bushes that surrounded the clearing, one could see two forms fighting with blades. They were both taking a break, a small puddle of clear water near one of them as a small bush of roses were near the other. Soon the warriors pushed off from their trees and walked around in the circle that has been worn down from such acts. They gave a gentle and courteous bow to each other before raising dull swords towards the other. Training swords. This was a simple training grounds for the two warriors that paced around the circle watching the other.

"How long have we been out here?" One of them asked, silver hair gracing his head and sweat glistening down his bare chest. It was he who started the next bout, the two swords clashing against each other as their owners danced around. The fight was more like an elegant dance, the warriors more like muscular dancers. As they tried to get into each others defenses, they moved like spirits, their feet touching the ground but their bodies so relaxed and gracious. These weren't warriors, they were dancers. They weren't holding swords, they were holding string that danced off their partner.

"Nearly all day. Since sunrise."The other one stated as they pulled back, again circling. This one had black sweat soaked hair, short and clinging to his face while his partner's was pulled back into a hair tie and riding low in the tail. They were both muscular, only a trained eye could tell that the silver haired dancer had smaller muscles then the black haired one. They both walked on their toes, keeping ready in case the other let an attack out early. Their bodies were either sunburned or their light skin were being strained with this fight. It was hard to tell from where one watched this fight, but their skins were redder than normal.

"It is going to be dark here soon. We should be heading back." The silver haired angel stated as he again charged the other, their blades dancing in the center of the field as each of the warriors moved around a smaller, yet worn down circle. It was clear where they battled and where they relaxed. Yet it was hard to tell who was getting the upper hand in this fight. Even harder to tell who was more experienced. As the warriors danced around each other, even the untrained eye could tell that they both wanted a break or to quit. Their bodies were struggling to keep up with the hard blows and the fast movements, yet doing so despite the fatigue gripping them.

"After this match." The dark haired angel stated before dodging an attack and bringing his blade up to the others neck. "You still have to learn how to block that move. Speed and agility won't always be on your side, Veson." The name was given as the blades lowered, both nodding before backing off and bowing to each other. Each went to a different side, the dark haired warrior going to the rose bush and the silver haired warrior, Veson, going to the water.

"But how, Zaou? You have yet to teach me this one." Veson stated, his light voice seeming tired from the fight. As he lowered himself down against the tree, his fingers danced in the water next to him, the water moving with his fingers. Next to the water was the sheath that once again contained the practice sword, a little beyond that was an open shirt that barely covered his chest, covering his belly button where the sides finally connected.

"I have taught you everything you need to know. It is up to you to figure how to live that one. Its the one move that the warriors on the true battle field will be using to kill. You need to learn how yourself, I can't always be there to save you." Zaou, the black haired warrior, stated as he settled in the ground and against the tree, his fingers caressing the rose bush next to him. His eyes scanned the other before the eyes locked, a smile gracing both of their lips before they reached for their sheathed swords. The battle didn't pick up, but they were both testing each other. A warrior always had to be ready for a fight at all times.

"Lets go. My advisers are probably wondering what kept me so long. Let alone why I have so many bruises. This will be a fun story to tell! I got beat up by a celestial warrior who works under me!" Veson stated as the two got up. The truth about these two were reveled, even if it was in a slight joke and riddle. The raven haired male was a Celestial warrior while the silver haired male was the Prince of these lands, Pangu to be exact. The two were the only ones so far, the only ones who have been spotted with the mark of a warrior who serves under their priestess. Even though they were both Celestial warriors, one had a higher rank due to birth. Even if rank was considered in their friendly almost brotherly relationship.

"Yes, and then they will look towards me and blame me for nearly killing their leader!" Zaou stated with a laugh, making both the angels chuckle. They were working their way through the forest back to the castle, the plants making way for the two warriors. Zaou controlled the nature around them, even without thinking at times. It was a part of him, the nature. Just like water was a part of the Prince next to him. It came to them like a savior, keeping them both alive and letting the two become masters of the elements that saved them.

Not only did they share the ability to control certain elements around them, not only were they warriors, but they were the closest friends that any had ever seen. They were like brothers from another mother. When they were both young, after they both got their marks, they found each other. They were both teens, one slightly older than the other, and became the dearest friends they had ever had in their lives. Since that day, one was teaching the other how to fight and the other was teaching his friend how to deal with public and how to keep alive in a crowd of people. The war and people, that's what they shared as well. Both things so important to their current lives and something that they would need later on in life. Prince Veson and Zaou, friends to the end and dear brothers for eternity. And this is what they have been doing for the last five years, even longer than that if they truly counted years.

Unleash Hell!

 

[Kaivi Silverwing]

As the two warriors headed back, another came towards them, coming up the path they were taking back to the palace. Though, given the older gentleman didn't have any sort of Celestial power, it made a harder trek for him. Though, to be honest, Jun Li-liang was used to this sort of thing. He was also used to the fact that he was the one to keep the Prince and the young Warrior in check.

The General had long since realized that the Prince was much like his father, and thusly was known for getting himself into trouble which he would have to get him out of. Thankfully, however, the only thing the Prince had been doing was sneaking off like this. He had to give the boy credit, despite it all. He atleast chose days where he wasn't required in the Imperial Court to go off and train, unlike his old man. The problem was, he didn't let his advisors know where he was running off to. Not to mention staying out rather late doing so. Had something happened to the Prince, no one would know.

Catching a glimpse of the two heading back, Li-liang moved to a spot to where he could intercept the two. Once in position, he merely stood there, waiting for the two to approach, his arms crossed over his chest. The General was a rather imposing looking man, even more so when he was aggravated like he was now. He was rather heavily muscled, his jet black hair pulled back into a high ponytail which was nearly on top of his head. He waited, rather patiently, for the Prince and the Celestial Warrior to approach.  

[Akuma Kison]

At My Command,

Like his father, the Prince was following rules that he himself had set down. If he was free, he would go out and train. If he was busy, he could always catch up on the next day or do some personal training. Zaou was always keeping him in line, however. It was a very interesting fact, the Prince being kept in line by a celestial warrior. Yet, they were friends and were there for each other. Like now, when the Prince had 'time limits' given to him by his advisers. Zaou never did leave Veson's side for these confrontations that Jun Li-liang, for there was always questions that only Zaou could answer.

"This looks interesting. Wonder what it is this time." Veson stated softly before looking over the adviser. he always did hate the restrictions of the area. He had to be the Prince, yet he was also a celestial warrior, wasn't he? Thanks to his father, he never did get the proper training. It was Zaou who came to his assistance for this. It was the warrior next to him that had taught the Prince everything he needed to know at this stage.

"You left without telling him, again? I can't believe you." Zaou stated teasingly, smiling and even letting a soft chuckle out. They both laughed at this, knowing that advisers never did like letting their prince out. Either that, or they wanted to make sure he was 'behaving' himself out there in the woods. "They didn't want their Princey getting hurt by an ant!" Zaou teased softly, again making the two laugh. At times, it felt wonderful to laugh.

Unleash Hell!

 

[Evangelisa]

It felt like she was at the edge of dreamland, where you feel like your falling and then your body jerk and you wake up. Keiko hoped that was all it was and she would soon wake up in her bed.

.........

She woke up face down on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere, or at least that was what she thought. she sat up on her knees and brushed the dirt off her face.

"Hibari, Takeo, Tatsuko, anyone here?" she called out "Where ever 'here' is." she muttered

Standing up, Keiko dusted dirt off her clothes and bag. She slung her bag over her shoulder and started to walk wherever the road would take her.

"I wonder where I am?" she asked aloud as she looked around at the scenery.

Not that was much to see, just a few houses that seemed have no one home and all the taller building that she could see looked like they were from ancient china. She knew she was no longer in the library but had hoped that this was a dream when three men that looked like body builders eyed her from an alley way wall. They wore strange clothes, but them so did she. They all carried whips and swords.

They slowly approached her and she pretend not to notice them hoping that they would just leave her alone. She kept the same pace but they still came at her and closed in on her. She was cornered and had no way out but to fight.

The men chatted about how much she might be worth in market, weather or not they should keep her to themselves. The men reach to capture her but Keiko ducked and jumped up kicked her legs out kicking the two on her sides away from her. She kicked the one in the front out of her way and she ran as fast as her legs would take her. Wake up Keiko wake up... she called to herself still hoping for all this to be some bad nightmare.

 

[Aleyn of Farronbrook]

She hadn't wanted to come here. She really hadn't. Usually she'd hit the country, where there were less people to deal with. But she needed money, and so she needed a job. Of course, finding a job in a city that had "beat men to a bloody pulp" on the list of requirements was about as likely as finding a needle in a haystack.

As she wandered into the slums section of the city (they all had one; no matter how grand or prosperous a city or a country was, there were ALWAYS slums) she heard the shout of men and the pattering of feet. The area behind her ear scorched with a sudden heat and Mei-Li caught the gleam of her mark. Immediately she clapped a hand over, her hazel eyes snapping over to the alley she stood before. Something was calling her to go. Alright, let's see where my instincts lead me this time.

It wasn't hard to locate the problem. The men were about as quiet and as graceful as a herd of stampeding oxen, and it just so happened that it seemed whatever - or more rather, whomever - they were chasing was headed in her direction. To her shock and outrage, it was a young girl. She was dressed oddly . . . Is she . . . the cause of my mark going off like that? Could she be . . . But that wasn't her concern right now. The Nyosein woman waved her arms, hoping to gain the girl's attention.

"Here! Over here, girl!" she called. "Get behind me! Now!"  

[Evangelisa]

Keiko heard a voice that seemed to be calling to her as she seemed to be the only girl in the area that she knew of and that was in this situation.
She ran in the direction the voice was coming from and hoped that the men would not catch her before she got to her.

Keiko felt the sharp pain of a whip striking her back. She screamed out in pain and fell slightly forward. She some how managed to stay on her feet and reached the one that was calling her.

Keiko fell to her knees behind the girl just as she was asked to. She worked on catching her breath and staying focused in case she needed to run again.
Blood trickled down her back from the gash the whip made when it struck her back, but she showed no signs of being in pain.  

[Aleyn of Farronbrook]

That did it. As the girl collapsed behind her, Mei-Li's temper snapped. Her mark glazed golden in testimony to her indignant anger, and she moved forward, planting herself firmly between the girl and the slave traders.

"Heh . . . been a while since I got to do this," she smirked darkly.

One man lashed out with a whip. Mei-Li ducked, pooling her chi into her legs. Only Miko, Seishi, and those with well-maintained chi would have seen the purple qi glowing around her leg, seen it extend out from her limb as she made a low sweep.

"You stupid men . . ."

The man closest to her went down, only to be trampled by a couple of his comrades. The man wouldn't die (unfortunately, she thought) but he wouldn't be partaking in the fight any longer. Another man got close enough, and brandished his sword. Mei-Li dodged, but snarled softly when she felt the tip bite through the skin on her cheek. She sent him and his broken sword flying with a well-aimed sock.

". . . never . . ."

It was clear the men were completely out-classed, but they were foolish, and they were intent on getting the girl that was on her knees behind Mei-Li. The Nyosein woman noticed a cart pulled up on one side of the connecting alleys. It wasn't the greatest, but she was starting to get bored of these losers. Feinting, she snapped another guy's sword in the process and grabbed the cart. With little effort, she heaved it over her head.

". . . LEARN!!" Mei-Li roared as she lobbed the cart.

Just in time, the slave traders figured that maybe the cute little girl with strange clothing wasn't the best target to go after. They turned heel and fled, though one man was unfortunate enough to be crushed by the flying cart. Mei-Li brushed herself off as she watched the ones who had lived run off as if demons were after them.

"Geez . . ." turning, she strode up to the girl and knelt down beside her. The girl would have seen the golden light still shining from Mei-Li's neck. "Hey, you okay, girl? One of them gave you a nasty lash over your back. Let me see."  

[Evangelisa]

Keiko was shocked at the sight of the purple glow around the girl's legs. She thought it was a trick her eyes were plying on her so she put in the back of her mind.

She watched the girl fight off the men that were chasing her. She breathed a sigh of relief as the men ran away from the fight. Keiko stared at the girl as she walked back to her. There was a light shining from behind the girl's ear. Keiko was unsure as to what it could be but the girls words broke through her thoughts.

"Yes I'll be fine, but ok" she said and turned around so the girl could take a look at her wound.

"My name's Keiko."  

[Aleyn of Farronbrook]

"Keiko? Cute name," the older woman said, albeit slightly distracted as she ran a check-up on the girl's wound. "Hmm . . . It's not too bad, but we should get that bandaged up anyhow. Gods knows what's in the dust nowadays."

Removing her satchel from her shoulders, the Nyosein fished out a folded cloak and wrapped it around the girl's shoulders. It may be unreasonable in this weather, but it would cover the girl's strange clothes and her wound. Two birds with one stone.

"Name's Fan Mei-Li. Shiho will be fine." Mei-Li stood, smiling as she held out a hand for Keiko to take. "Come on, Keiko. I've got a room at an inn. I'll take care of that lash there."  

[Evangelisa]

"Thank you " Keiko replied to the comment.
Keiko winced only slightly in pain as the girl checked out the wound on her back. She grabbed the ends of the cloak and wrapped it fully around her as she stood up.

" I am glad that it is nothing too serious." she said softly.

Keiko tied the cloak loosely around her neck and threw the hood over her head.

"Pleased to meet you Shiho" she said with a smile.

Keiko nodded to Shiho and followed her to the inn that the woman spoke about. She had questions but they could wait till they got to the inn as she did not want to draw too much attention to them.

 

[Aleyn of Farronbrook]

The inn where Mei-Li stayed was in a more prosperous but quiet area of Hiken. That meant that it gave the Nyosein woman the minimal foreigner contact she wanted while still benefiting from good food and cleanliness. The innkeeper so happened to be at the doors when Mei-Li arrived with Keiko in tow, and bowed to her in greeting as she entered. She had free board here; her seeming attraction of fights had found her here, and after some stress relief she'd sent the hooligans packing and found herself with a pair of very grateful owners. As she passed, a few people gave her sidelong glances, but didn't dare challenge her or her strange cloaked companion.

The room was obviously meant for a single traveler. Though the table had two chairs, there was only one bed. A sword with a purple hilt and scabbard leaned in a corner. Mei-Li tossed her satchel onto the table and gestured Keiko over as she pulled out one of the chairs with her slippered foot.

"Sit down and take off your shirt," she instructed as she pulled her cloak off the girl.  

[Evangelisa]

Keiko followed closely behind Shiho as they walked down the dirt road to the inn. She got so strange looks from the villages but none dare approach or ask any questions. All that she heard were whispers about who she could be and where she could be from. Keiko came to terms with the fact that this was not a dream and all that has happened was real.

Keeping her head low, Keiko entered the inn. She noticed the look the inn keeper gave her but she let it pass. She followed Shiho to the room. She nodded and sat in the chair. She winced slightly as she pulled the shirt over her head to expose her back to Shiho so that she could tend to the wound.
 

[Aleyn of Farronbrook]

Mei-Li let out low whistle as she saw Keiko's back.

"Dang, just who'd I pick up?" she asked, more to herself than to the younger woman. The Nyosein fixed the girl with a stare. "Keiko, you some kind of foreign princess or something? I've never seen a regular country girl with skin like yours. Dang."

Mei-Li concentrated on treating the wound, still muttering. First some water from a jug on the table, and she cleaned the wound out. Once that was done, she opened a small container of what looked like mint cream. It smelled richly of herbs, but though not entirely unpleasant, was still sharp.

"Alright, this might sting a bit," she warned as she scooped some of the substance with her fingers.

With that, she applied it gingerly over the open cut. She quickly finished by wrapping bandaging, circling around Keiko's body under her bosom, to cover the paste. Tying that off, she grinned and gently patted the girl's back.

"There we go all finished," she said. "But seriously, where are you from?"  

[Evangelisa]

"A foreign princess?" she questioned, "I don't even know where I am right now, but thanks for the complement... I think." she added

Keiko was puzzled by the question. Could I really be in another land? Keiko thought to herself. She winced in pain as Shiho cleansed her wound. The pain soon subsided as the wound was wrapped.

She pulled her shirt back over her head. She stood and straightened her shirt out. She turned the chair around and sat back down.

"Thanks" she said with a smile "Well I am from Tokyo, a city in Japan. But simply I guess you could say I come from another word since I was pulled through a book. Sounds strange, right?" she told the older woman.