Kurogane stepped off the elevator and onto the floor of Pocket D. He took a seat at a table and opened up his cell phone, reviewing the message he had received from Yuri. She had asked him to meet her but didn’t give a reason. Just as he leaned back in the chair to relax, someone came up behind him and placed a large bottle of sake on the table.
Statesman walked along the forest path slowly as he kept an eye on his surroundings. He had traveled to a remote part of Japan following a lead that Lord Recluse may try to expand his influence by finding allies in an ancient Yakuza group that dealt heavily with old magic. Statesman knew if he was able to at least disrupt the meeting, the Yakuza group would lose faith in the agreement and call the whole thing off. His attention jerked to his right as he heard a sound from the woods. He turned his direction towards the sound and stepped off the path.
Shirogane ran through the streets of Cap Au Diable clutching onto the sheath of Zetsumei. Yuri had vanished from the apartment during the night and Shirogane’s instincts told him that she may have ran off. He stopped and looked around, the heavy rain had made it hard to track anyone and impossible to track another Stalker. He looked down at his sword as he felt it pulse, “This is all your fault.” The sword shook in anger and began to glow, an apparition of a Japanese woman in a white kimono appearing before him.
Shirogane growled as he put his phone away, “Baka...” Yuri had just hung up on him while he was telling her to come to him. He looked down at his sword and place his hand on the hilt. He had a bad feeling and his sword reacted to it by shaking in its sheath. He pulled his phone back up and opened a line to the contact Yuri had just visited.
Kurogane opened his eyes and shifted a bit in his seat. He found that he couldn't move much and smiled as he looked at Shayded sleeping on one side of him, clinging to his arm, and Yuri sleeping on the other side of him with her head leaning against him. He looked out the plane window and began to think about his mother's reaction to Alex and Kate wanting to move in with her. She was surprised at first, but her face softened and smiled as she agreed to let them live with her. She told them she was wanting to travel every now and then to do some research and the two of them would be perfect to watch her home.
Hiroko walked quietly through the Misty Woods of Croatoa and looked around, tightening her grip on her bow. The air was saturated in a thick fog that made it hard to see into the distance. She had come to this place in search of some knowledge on old magics that could be useful in her research. As she made her way past some bushes, she came across an Adept Cabal and a Red Cap Hooligan fighting. She stopped and lifted up her bow and an arrow materialized in her right hand. She notched the arrow and pulled back on the string, taking careful aim before releasing and striking the Hooligan in the chest. The surprised Adept stepped back and before she could turn around to fight, Hiroko teleported behind her with her bow drawn, “It's alright, I just want to speak with Mary.”
Kurogane sat quietly in the men's side of the baths and looked up at the sky. He was glad that everyone was happy to hear the news of his engagement to Shayded. He was happier at the fact that Alex and Kate saw and treated Shayded as if she was their own daughter. He closed his eyes and poured the warm water over his face. When he opened his eyes, he saw Shayded flying above him and smiling down at him. Kurogane blinked with a surprised look on his face as he talked in a hushed tone, “Shay?! What are you doing on this side?”
Shirogane tapped quietly on his glass as he sat at the bar. With the recent Valentine's celebration, Pocket D had been busy and Shirogane found amusement in the interaction between Villains and Heroes. Despite the two groups being enemies of one another, DJ Zero made a successful effort to make both sides cooperate with one another. Shirogane couldn't help but smile out of respect for the man, DJ Zero's influence was probably greater than Lord Recluse's or Statesman's. He pushed his glass forward and was about to order another drink before he was suddenly jerked from his seat. He turned his head to look behind him to see Kurogane clutching onto the back of his shirt and dragging him along the ground. Shirogane got an irritated look on his face, “What the hell are you doing, Kuro?! If you wanted a rematch, you could at least challenge me in a proper way!”
After lunch, Kurogane and Shayded went back out and began to walk up the hillside path to the town's shrine. A cool breeze flowed through the air and caused the trees to cast constantly moving shadows along their path. Shayded couldn't help being amazed by the simple beauty of the mixing shadows and sunlight and felt at peace as they neared the top. When they finished their climb, Shayded stopped in awe and suddenly felt like she had traveled in time to the past. All of the buildings on the grounds were done in traditional architecture and looked as if they had been around for many generations. Kurogane smiled at her and began to give her a tour.
Kurogane woke up and yawned as the morning sunlight touched his face. He made a quiet groan and turned on his side, his arm moved across Shayded's sleeping body and rested along her waist. The jet lag from their trip had finally caught up to him and he wanted to sleep for a bit longer. Before he could fall back asleep, he heard his sister knocking on the other side of the door.
Kurogane looked out the window as the cab slowly came to a stop in front a large house. It had taken about thirty minutes for them to reach his mother's house from the airport. She lived on the outskirts of a small town at the base of a tall hill that led to a shrine. The house itself had two floors with a deck on the upper level where clothes could be seen trying in the cool breeze. From the side of the house, a wooden walkway could be seen that extended to the beach two hundred yards away.
Kurogane unlocked the door to the apartment and came in quietly. It was 6:00am and the sun was slowly starting to illuminate the curtains of the apartment's windows. Over the past couple of days, Kurogane and Shayded had finished unpacking and the once disorganized apartment was now a comfortable looking home. All of the furniture that Hiroko had sent them gave the apartment a Japanese feel to it. Kurogane placed his sword against the wall and went to the bedroom quietly.
Shayded giggled as pulled Kurogane by the arm towards a large elevator, "Come on! It's going to be fun! There's supposed to be a big party here tonight."
The morning sun had just begun to illuminate the room as Kurogane walked over to the window and sat down on the sill. He looked around the room, noting each of the unpacked boxes scattered about before looking to the bed where Shayded shifted in her sleep. He and Shayded had moved into the medium sized apartment on the eastern side of Steel Canyon a week ago and were still unpacking. The first day they moved in, all they had were a few personal belongings and a bed they had bought the same day. The following morning, they were both surprised when a large shipment of packages came in from Japan. His mother had sent them all the furniture they could think of needing.
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
coh_kurogane's journal
