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| - Because her corner of the northern portion was so isolated, news was difficult to come by, a fact that bothered her occasionally. However, she found ways circumvent that, often using the survivors of her tirade as messengers of sorts, carrying news of the Iron. Flame, as she called herself now, often met them at a rendezvous point, knowing that they would have difficulty finding her current home, as well as wanting to keep it a secret for as long as possible. Tired of the safety of the home she had built among the trees, Hiaka jumped down to the forest floor, finding a small clearing where she sat down and began to meditate. It was one of the few things that calmed the Ghostly Flame while she thought of the seriousness of what she had done, how much families she had shattered with the sharpness of her blade. She knew that it was enough to make most people sick, as they wondered why they would waste so many samurai on recapturing one person. But such thoughts disappeared as she emptied her mind and fell into a deeper meditative state, calmly listening to the whispers and promises of the coming spring. With their training finished, a Shogun and a girl walk through the Land of Iron, searching for anyone who might be injured from blizzards or any other hazards that surround the Land of Wind's frigid grasp. The Shogun in question is named Tokihakiri Taisei, renowned throughout the land as the Centurion of Iron for her ancient, western tactics of combat. The winds, even at their calmest, could cut bare skin against those who weren't hardened by the cold. The girl she was training is named Tsuji Musei, who was separated from her brother and has been trying to find him. Tokihakiri wanted to train her so she could survive whatever threats lie where her brother was at. The winds die down as the two walk deeper into the forest, as if nature itself was stopping them from blowing. The deeper meditative state that Flame had delved into opened and strengthened her other senses, enough for her to recognize the very faint sound of footsteps. Her mind that had been emptied before filled once again. The decision came down to what she should do within the people coming. Part of her hoped that they would avoid her little haven and continue into another portion of the vast forest she had taken residence in. This portion of her conscious was the one that had wearied of killing so often, despite it be the safest way from preventing her location from being known. The more sadistic portion of her psyche wanted to greet the travelers personally, and leave their bloody halves along the trail. However, Flame's rational portion knew there could be many more behind whoever was coming, and that should their death be discovered, she could have an ugly situation on her hands. So she chose to wait in the clearing that she sat in, wondering who indeed chose to visit this forest in the last part of what had been a horrid winter. With each step they take, the two come ever closer to the clearing. Tokihakiri's senses begin kicking in, a sense that the two were not alone. As they venture deeper into the woods, the clearing was in view to them. Tsuji's Byakugan activates, sensing her surrounding terrain for any injured samurai that would be ahead. In the distance, she detects a faint chakra signature. Believing it to be someone injured, she runs towards the chakra signature, with Tokihakiri following behind her. Having reentered her meditative state, Flame had noted the footsteps had changed, indicating a rush or change in speed. They were also growing louder, hinting that destination was the spot she currently resided in. Flame sighed, deciding she felt merciful today, or at least sympathetic enough not to try greeting the running pair with death. Gripping her hand on her sword and its' scabbard, she whipped out a backwards slash, felling the large trees behind her. Yet to a person viewing the situation, it was as if the tree had fell on there own. This was a warning to the people for them to stay away. If she had any experience with samurai though, it was that they didn't listen. Grumbling, Flame stood up while thinking Well, I tried, they decided to make their bed, so now they will lie in it, Looking up towards the tree that falls before her, Tsuji reacts quickly, forming chakra around her hand. Placing her hand over her head, the tree falls over the blade, slicing it in half, the halves of the trees falling precariously on both of Tsuji's sides. Looking towards the trunk of where the tree stood, she sees that the stump was cleanly sheared, no marks indicating it fell naturally. Feeling like what may be ahead could be a threat, Tsuji slows down her pace to appear less threatening. In the distance, Tokihakiri catches up to her, relieved she was unharmed. "You have to be more careful, Tsuji. The snow has made a lot of these trees weak." Tokihakiri speaks. Looking down at Tsuji, she sees a look of concern in her eyes. "That tree didn't fall naturally. It was cut down with a powerful force. I may have unintentionally revealed myself as a threat." Tsuji replies. Putting her arms behind her back, she continues to walk through the direction where she determines the slash came from, her Byakugan continuing to track the chakra signature ahead. Tokihakiri can't help but be paranoid about what Tsuji may have caused, remaining alert to her surroundings. The continuing footsteps told her that despite her deftness, they had managed to remain unscathed, or at least not injured to the point of no return. Flame sighed, having long since discarded her samurai regalia for a lighter variation she kept near her at all times. Why must they be so persistent? Flame thought as she stood facing the portion of the forest where the approaching footsteps were coming from. Her sword lay strapped to her side, her hands flexing as they itched to reach the blade. It was only her willpower that prevented her from utilizing it, as she began to develop a mild interest in these stubborn people who refused to be warned away. Part of Flame wondered what she would do when they finally came into view. The decision began to bother her as she waited somewhat impatiently for there arrival. Having took her place back to lead, Tokihakiri approaches the location of the chakra signature with Tsuji behind her. As she sees the individual ahead, she puts her arm out to stop Tsuji. With a slow breath, she keeps her movements as normal as possible, trying to reduce their threat potential enough to where they wouldn't be attack. Tsuji follows suit, her movements more normal, less wary as they approach her. "I can see your hands resting towards the hilt of your sword. You see us as a threat. I'm here to assure you, we're not. I can assume you retaliated to Tsuji's running, but we're not here to fight. We're looking for those who might have been injured down here. Tsuji mistook you as someone who was injured, so she wanted to hurry to the clearing. To prove we are not here to attack, I'm going to disarm myself." Tokihakiri speaks out. Unbuckling her katana, she drops it to the snowy grounds, her two spears and bow following suit. Tsuji follows by dropping the dagger she keeps sheathed behind her back, the two slowly continuing their approach. Flame noted both of them had dropped their weapons, in particular the young woman that was currently addressing her. The attire they wore quickly marked them as samurai, something that set her on edge. Part of her was incredulous, as she thought, Don't they know who I am? If they did, they would realize what a foolish thing it was to disarm themselves. she paused, Then again, I have been attempting to keep off of the radar, and most of the Iron does not know what I look like, Noting their non-aggressive stance, she chose to drop her weapons as well. "I'm surprised that you are willing to disarm yourselves, considering you are facing a stranger that just tried to drop a few trees on you a few moments ago," Flame commented dryly. She motioned for them to sit down before she did as well. "So to what do I owe this visit?" she asked, her pink hair rustling from the small breeze while her lime green eyes remained impassive. It had been a while since she had come into contact with other people. Choosing to sit down, the two sit down upon the snow. "I am Tokihakiri Taisei, Shogun of the Akeyuki, and this is Tsuji Musei, who is searching for her brother. Until then, she's being trained under me. We were searching this area for injured samurai, due to its notoriety of being very unforgiving to the unprepared, especially those who are young and still just starting out as a samurai." As the wind blows, the snow that kicks up seems to be hidden within Tokihakiri's hair, which was as white as the snow upon the ground. "Tsuji detected your chakra signature with her Byakugan, which prompted her to try and get to you in case you were injured. You can never know in this climate if someone might be resting, or injured. Too many people lost their lives in this neck of the woods due to unforseen threats and poor preparation, so we try to help prevent that by finding those who might have been injured in any way while traveling through this part of the forest. We didn't want to make ourselves appear as threats, which is why we promptly disarmed ourselves to try and talk things out." Hirei nodded her head as she registered all of the information given to her. It was at that point something clicked in her head, as she recognized the name from the small portion of news that would come her way now and then. "Ah, so you're the young ambitious Shogun that everyone in the Iron seems so abuzz about recently. I've heard in the current hierarchy are nervous about how quickly you have expanded your holdings with our "great" country," Hirei said. It was clear from her tone that she held no love for the current nation. However, it was refreshing for her to meet another "mover and shaker" as she called it. Part of her wondered how long the current leaders would remain idle before choosing to attack the emerging power that was the young woman in front of her. It made her glad she hadn't killed the two earlier. "Since you have had the kindness to introduce yourselves, I shall as well. I go by the alias of Hirei or Ghost Flame, as unfortunately my birth name has been lost to the sands of time," Hirei commented, "I would offer you something to eat or drink, but it has been so long since I had guests that I'm very much unprepared," Her mind drifted back to being chased by samurai into this region a few years ago, a bleeding young teenager dragging herself to safety while brutally slaughtering the samurai who pursued, all of which happened before she blacked out. "I've heard that name being whispered around as well. Quite the Ronin for your age. Regardless, I don't see people for the things they have done, rather for the person they are and the potential they have. Tsuji here can attest to that. She's no stranger to killing, having once done work as a killer for hire. But the separation from her brother has pretty much broken that will from her. I want to give her a chance to turn her life around, have her use the skills that she knows, and the ones I'm teaching her, for good. It's a gradual process, but I'm hoping that when she continues on the search for her brother, she'll be able to find him the right way." Looking around, Tsuji sees a tree with fresh, ripe snowberries. Requesting one of Tokihakiri's pauldrons, she walks up to the tree and picks them from the branches, using the pauldron as a bowl to carry them with. After filling the pauldron with the berries, she returns to their spot, setting the bowl down in the middle. "There should be plenty for all of us to get our fill in, with plenty more in case any of us have a big appetite." Sitting back down, she eats a few of the berries, which have a cold, but sweet flavor to them, with Tokihakiri following suit. What a pleasant conversation, Hirei thought, I didn't realize how much I've missed these, As Tsuji set down the pauldron, Hirei dug in, enjoying the sweet taste of the snowberries. "So besides the kindness of your heart, your ambition, and your taste for reformation and redemption, what else do you have as hobbies to occupy your time? I could tell you mine, but of course you already know the rather infamous results of my dominant hobby..." Hirei pondered aloud, "To think you would bring aboard a very experienced and well-known assassin and now be in the process of conversing with a infamous rōnin. What interesting company you keep Shogun," After hearing who the girl was, Hirei was interested in joining her; for if she was being honest with herself, the time had come to leave this place that she called home. However, Hirei wasn't sure how to bring up her interest in joining Tokihakiri's little band, though if her sources were correct, it was much larger than that. "Well, they say you really have little choice over the company you keep. One of my patrols had found Tsuji unconscious in the snow and I helped tend to her frostbite while she was recovering. It was a rough start at first, but after a little spar to help Tsuji kind of let her anger out, I could see the kind of person she wanted to be, the emotions she initially kept hidden. I'm sure her brother has some emotions he has been hiding, as well, but had no reason to show them, since their emotions kind of sync with each other. Perhaps allowing them to show their true emotions would allow them to sync those emotions together, instead, help kind of make their will to do good even stronger. They have the potential to help shape the world for the better, if they just help people." Tsuji, after finishing her berries, takes a look into Hirei's eyes, getting a sense of her personality. Despite the contrary to Tsuji's personality, she was more observant than she would let on. "You see most samurai as delusional, stuck in the past. You believe there is more they could learn from their shinobi counterparts. You're more open to change, more willing to embrace it than most samurai are. It's why you made yourself a Ronin, an enemy of the samurai. You fight the samurai not out of hatred alone, but to survive, first and foremost. You see the most important aspect in an individual being their connection to their family. And with that, you kind of get an idea of one of my hobbies. I analyze people based on their body language, the emotion in their eyes. I may not look like it, given my rash decision making, but I'm more observant of the people around me than I let on. It's why I have been able to be reckless in combat, because I have an idea of what they're capable of based on their emotions. I lost to Tokihakiri because I let my own emotions cloud my judgement. It was something of a pivotal moment for me, to be honest." Tsuji speaks out, her breath slowing down as she wonders how Hirei would react to her hobby. "Well well, I see you have done your research Tsuji. I suppose I should feel flattered," Hirei stated wryly, though she was in fact impressed. This girl knew quite a bit about her, something that made her feel just little bit happy on the inside. "I guess it is always good to be observant, particularly when people don;t expect you to be based on your past behavior or actions," Hirei pondered aloud, "It adds an element of surprise if you will, befitting your reputation as a highly capable and rather successful assassin for hire. Though there are other genres where your observation skills would be just as effective. It's interesting to see that you are without your other half however. No matter, I know from your history that you are just as effective without him as you are with him, a scary prospect for your targets indeed," Satisfied with what she had gleaned from Tsuji, Hirei ate a few more snowberries, staring at Toki in a thoughtful mannner. In doing so, she remembered a question that had been bugging her for a little while. "So what is your endgame, Shogun? It is clear that you have ambition for the title of General, our equivalent of the Kage or Village Leader designations used in the countries below. Yet beyond that, your goals remain shrouded in mystery. It is rare that I come across a person who is as young as me with a reputation that instills fear within the current elite. So, if you would be so kind as to give a general idea of what your plans are, I would no doubt appreciate it. In doing so, I'll decide whether or not your cause is worthy of my time," Hirei stated flatly while waiting for Toki's answer. It would no doubt be one that was worthy of interest, but the question was would it be worthy of her dedication. "Well, I have to agree with what Tsuji said of you that a lot of Saumrai here seem a bit too stuck in the past. I've recruited many walks of life, those who are pure blood samurai, and those who are just looking for a second chance, Ronin like yourself. I want to rule the Land of Iron with the goals of providing an equal opportunity for all forms of warriors, those who want to join the cause but were ostracized purely because they weren't "pure" samurai. Even I am a bit different. Rarely have I had to rely on my sword in combat. I've used my bow and spears far more than I have my sword, which in that regard makes me a lot more different than the usual samurai. I've always had this belief that everyone has the potential to become a great warrior, no matter what kind of combat style they follow. To this end, my order, the Akeyuki, is composed of all sorts of warriors just looking to either redeem themselves, or get another chance to follow their goals but couldn't because of their non-samurai status. You seem like the kind of person who'd fit the former. Regardless, you're more than welcome in my order." With a smile, Tokihakiri eats the last few snowberries, picking up her pauldron and setting it back onto her shoulder. "Interesting," Hirei said as she stared Toki once more her gaze unfocused. "How unique indeed. I've heard that you assembled quite the following but to have such a wide ranging aspect implies some sort of charisma. I'm surprised you're capable of maintaining camaraderie among such a diverse group of people," Meanwhile, Hirei thought internally, She is quite an impressive person indeed, definitely someone worth my time, She shifted as she stood once more, before sheathing her sword. "I'll be right back," she said simply. Out of space she summoned her other weapon while scaling one of the nearby trees. Quickly she located her makeshift home, in the nearby forest, before grabbing all of her things, which had been boiled down to some extra samurai armor and some spare clothing. Stuffing it in a pack that she had made herself, Hirei strapped it to her back, before leaving the house that she had called home for the past two years. Skillfully, she navigated to a medium sized branch before jumping and landing on the forest floor below. With both her naginata and her pack strapped to her back and her sword in its sheath by her side, she was ready. "I would like to see what you're talking about for myself. Besides, I've grown tired of seeing the same place for the past few years," Hirei said, returning the smile.
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