[IC] The Jade Stream

[Zeroth]

"Very well. As long as you are both okay with the risks." Dai Xin didn't take being outvoted personally, since there were still good points for that strategy over the other. "Young master Fengxian, it is likely the bandits will move as a group, yes? How many opponents are you confident in defeating at once?" It would likely be up to the two of them to rush in and deal with the bulk of the opposing force. If Torako and Kyang were to act as bait, Dai Xin thought that would mean that they might be placed in a compromising position where they couldn't fight right away. But, just to be sure...

"I ask the same of you, ladies." he said to the girls. "Especially without weapons, how many enemies can you fight and win against?" He didn't want to seem like he was looking down on them, but considering that they seemed more adept with their blades than without--and that he had not yet seen them demonstrate any overtly powerful Qi channeling techniques--he had to admit to himself that he was not expecting much.

[Muttonhawk]

Kyang leaned her chin onto her hand and gazed at the wall. "Hmm...hand to hand? I could maybe defeat one, depending on their skills. Anything more and I would be on the defensive. With this, though," Kyang smiled and tapped the flat of her glaive blade with her fingernail, "I could keep about three in check. The longer they fight me without help, the more blood they'll lose. Needless to say, if I get the jump on one, he's out of the fight."

Kyang then diverted her eyes to Torako. She was curious to see if Torako was going to keep her act up now that the subject went to querying her skills, if it even was an act.

[VitaVitaAR]

"If I'm unarmed, I make things up! I dunno how to fight hand to hand so I just improvise!" Torako said, cheerfully. Internally, she wondered why this skill was questioned. After all, they did both clearly have weapons. Even if they didn't think she knew how to use her katana and that it was just for show, the plan was for her to signal them to attack, wasn't it? If it went well, then they would assume she wouldn't be fighting at all. Right? Maybe she actually wouldn't have to at all depending on how things went... but part of her truly wanted to. These bandits, well... the way they were taking advantage of people. Hurting them for little more than their own gain. This was what the worst kinds of scum did, nothing more and nothing less.

They weren't there yet, however.

"Why do you ask?" Torako added, cocking her head to one side, her hair swishing as she did, "I don't think the plan involved fighting them all hand to hand."

[FujiwaraPhoenix]

"Handle on my own, you say...?" Liu pondered, moving his right hand to his chin as if thinking to himself. "Two, three at most without my sword. With, I think four or five seems like a reasonable estimate. Any more, and I feel like things might go downhill for me."

Shrugging his shoulders, Liu calmly drank the remainder of tea in his teacup before pouring himself another cup soon after. The bitter taste of the tea leaves, though not one he liked very much, had a way of soothing his senses. If a battle was coming in the near future, then it'd be really bad if his nerve was rattled before anything actually happened. Though, to be fair, this was the first time he was going out with this kind of intent...

"So... What exactly will the teams be for this, then? We could go with what I proposed earlier, with Torako and I acting as bait. I know for certain that you'll be staying behind, given your reputation, but... Are we really going to put both Kyang and Torako at risk like that? If Kyang stays behind, she can use her polearm without alerting the enemy. Otherwise, there's a possibility she'll have to try stalling without it until we can reach them..."

[Zeroth]

Dai Xin nodded expectantly at Kyang's answer, blinked slowly while listening to Torako, and when Liu gave his own reply the martial artist finally let another half smile show through his stoicism.

"Then between the four of us, I feel confident that a band such as this won't be a problem." he said. "As for who shall accompany who, I shall leave it to the rest of you. My own style and many of the others I have taken skills from include methods of Suo Di. I am confident I can move quickly and stealthily, and will be close at hand when the enemy arrives." Suo Di, also known as Shukuchi in Rikokan, was an umbrella term referring to methods of walking, stepping, and lunging in martial arts. There were also legends of magical sages or hermits who had mastered such arts to the extent of seeming to teleport, or walk on air, or other such outlandish things. Even leaving out the more exaggerated claims, someone who knew what they were doing with such techniques could balance on thin tree limbs, leap between walls to climb a building, and close the distance between themselves and an opponent with frightening speed.

[Muttonhawk]

"Nnyeah...I ain't exactly a shadow warrior, but I've had some practice with sneaking," Kyang grinned, "Anyway, I like the idea of Liu and Torako being bait. If Liu looks like a student and Torako like a princess, I'd wager that these bandits will come like moths to a torch."

Kyang felt as though matters were resolved, so with no further food, she finished her tea with a gulp and stood up from the table. Her fingers still leaned on the wood as she looked to Liu, "You've got the bill, right Liu? Let's get hunting!" Kyang took a step and snatched up her glaive. "Thank you for the food and tea, sir!" Kyang said to the door that the proprietor had disappeared behind.

[FujiwaraPhoenix]

Liu looked at Kyang's rapid leave with a bit of amusement; she seemed particularly more motivated to get moving and killing than he'd have expected her to. Well, it wasn't as if she was alone; if he could get rid of those, then the security of his hometown would go up. Of course, rabid beasts aside, groups like these tended to cause too many disruptions and losses of life. That was never a good thing.

"I still have to retrieve my clothes, you know..." Liu trailed off as Kyang disappeared out the door before sighing. That eagerness of hers might backfire on them soon enough, though he wasn't quite sure if any of them (save for himself) were the... 'Stealthy' type. He had to do it as a hunter all the time, but with nary a clue as to how the other three conducted themselves, Liu feared that the other two might be caught off guard. Though, by that same line of logic, he and Torako could be caught in the same sort of mess...

"Ah, I'll just go and retrieve them now," he shrugged, finishing his own cup of tea before shouting out a thank-you to the owner before walking out the door, where Kyang was waiting.

"I'm going to head to my home to change into my training outfit, alright? Wait for me by the main gate to the city; I won't be long," he stated, walking off back to his home to get what he needed.

[Zeroth]

"Very well." Dai Xin nodded as Kyang and Liu both left to make their preparations. He looked over at Torako, and gestured for her to lead the way. He would follow for the moment, unless she also needed to do something before they set out in search of the bandits. "Miss Torako, if you would like I can carry your sword for you. I will return it posthaste once we have identified our targets; I've no skill in using weaponry myself."

As they walked towards the main gates of town, Dai Xin looked around at the buildings and, further beyond, the types of trees and fields outside the gates. His eyes moved back and forth across different paths he could see, not upon the ground but through the air, from rooftop to tree branch. Once he had identified what he thought would be the most efficient route to follow the road out of town, he exhaled through his nose and nodded to himself. Now all there was to do was wait.

"Miss Torako," he began, "What Rikokan martial arts have you witnessed in your travels? I have only traveled here in Yunzhou, but have heard tales of the warrior-class called "samurai" in your homeland and their skill with blades. Does Rikoku also have empty-handed martial arts?"

[VitaVitaAR]

"Of course! There's all different types!" replied Torako brightly, hopping from one foot too the other excitedly as she did. Her sleeves flapped as she stretched, and then folded her arms happily. Her home country was where her heart would always lay no matter what, and therefore she always loved discussing it. After all, even after the most lengthy of travels, she returned to Rikoku unquestionably. "There's basic karate, jujutsu, which is for taking on people with armor and weapons when you have none, and then sumo, which is when two really big, fat guys get into an arena and shove each other around!"

Torako gave a wide grin. "I dunno how to do any of them, but I know what they're like! I didn't learn anything about practicing them is all! ... And I'm not a huge fat guy so I can't do sumo even if I wanted to and I really don't!"

After a few moments of silence, the girl felt necessary to add a very important detail.

"Sumo's just for entertainment by the way!"

[Zeroth]

"Kara-Te..." Dai Xin stroked his chin with one hand as he mulled over the words. He knew that Rikoku and Yunzhou actually shared many concepts in their languages, but the harder consonant sounds and the fact that words or symbols might be written the same, but pronounced differently, left him with no idea how to begin deciphering the words that Torako used. Defending oneself from armored and armed opponents sounded useful, and while the "Su-Mo" seemed less like a real martial art at first glance Dai Xin knew that many martial arts had concealed their techniques through "entertainment" such as dancing or ceremonial rituals. But what interested him the most was something that was considered "basic," yet had been the first thing to come to mind when asked about "Rikokan Martial Arts."

"Can you describe Kara-Te to me in more detail?" he asked, looking thoughtful. "What do the words mean in Yunzhan? You describe it as basic, but if it is a well-known style it can't be that simple, can it? Are there family variants, or branch styles? What are the signature techniques? How do they train?"

He practically bombarded the poor girl with questions now, unlike his generally reserved nature before...and surprisingly enough, his eyes were starting to become a little more animated as well. He was looking at Torako with an expression not unlike an inquisitive child on their first trip to the library.

[Muttonhawk]

Kyang was a little relieved when everyone followed her outside. She thought for a moment that she may have overstepped her social presence by applying that kind of pressure. Well, it wasn't as if she could take her time anyway. The sooner she could get some coin, the sooner she could start sorting her new life out.

Unfortunately, Liu had some things to retrieve, making them wait even longer. At least they had a walk to the main gate to entertain them for a few minutes. "Alright, just hurry up! We don't need to fight in the dark," Kyang said as Liu took his leave.

While Kyang lead the way to the gate, the more martial artsy pair started to hit it off. They reached the gate in time for Torako to start talking about fat people pushing each other, which noticeably lifted Kyang's eyebrow. Kyang leaned against the wall flanking the town gate with her arm around her glaive, listening on. When it was geared to entertainment, Kyang actually saw how it could be fun to watch, but in a comedic ridiculous way.

Somehow, the talk of Rikokan martial arts unlocked some kind of obsessive tone from Dai Xin. Kyang couldn't help but laugh and try to save the beleaguered Torako, "Easy, mister Dai, not all of us have travelled the land learning every way to punch."

[FujiwaraPhoenix]

With a quick jog over to his home, Liu found it a tad strange that both of his parents were out, even at this time of day. He reasoned that they could be at the market, yes, and to be fair it was the middle of the day, but he still felt that something wasn't quite right...
...
Well, it was probably nothing. These premonitions came and went with the wind, so there was no big reason to fret anyhow. With that in mind, Liu slipped into his home and, in a swift series of moves, changed out of his regular hunter's garb and into his old training clothes. The loose-fitting outfit was still comfortable on him, luckily enough, and hadn't gathered too much dust since the last time he had used it. Stuffing his spare sent into a big, Liu slung it over his shoulder and reaffirmed the existence of his jian to his side before leaving for the main gates.

The walk back took a bit longer than the walk there, given the the gates were both farther away and that he had taken a less conspicuous route to get there. After all, if anyone knew it was him wearing these clothes, his cover would be gone... Well, almost instantly. Arriving just in time to witness Xin acting like a child in class for the first time, Liu smiled and, after a quick snap of his fingers, motioned to the road with his head, as if to say 'let's get a move on.'

"If we're lucky, we'll get someone before evening hits. Just gotta hope that the goddess of luck is feeling happy today."

[VitaVitaAR]

"Uwaah..."

Rather dramatically, as Dai Xin questioned her, Torako began to sway slightly on her feet, her head lolling back and fourth s if she truly had been somehow mentally impacted by the speed and number of his questions. To be honest, she didn't know most of these things. While she certainly knew about the barehanded martial arts to some extent, she did not possess all the knowledge that he was asking of her. She almost did feel rather unbalanced by the sheer number of intent questions about a subject she did not have all the answers for being thrown at her. Theatrically, Torako shook her head.

"I said I had basic knowledge, I don't know all that!" she said, desperately, waving her arms in a rather frantic fashion, causing the sleeves of her kimono to flap rather like wings. However, she swiftly noticed that the other two had arrived.

"Oh, Kyang-dono and Liu-dono have come to rescue me, let's go!"

[Zeroth]

Dai Xin frowned, and folded his hands into his sleeves. With a sigh, he bowed to Torako and Kyang.

"Forgive my rudeness. This one became overzealous. But, if it pleases Miss Torako, I would dearly like to learn more of the arts of your homeland. Perhaps we could continue this at a later time."

As he straightened his back he nodded to Liu, and turned towards the trees at the edge of town.

"Miss Kyang, I have discerned what I believe to be the most efficient way for us to move without being seen. Please follow me." he said over his shoulder. "Good luck to you, Miss Torako, young master Fengxian." And with that, he took a deep breath. A slightly translucent aura, like fog rising over frosted glass, began to form near his navel and traveled down his leg in wispy spirals, until it reached the soles of his feet.

"Fist of the Sky, Eight Directions Method - Compression Step."

His legs flexed like he was going to skip, like one might frolic through flowers. But instead he soared in the blink of an eye and landed, catlike, atop the village gate. He looked back at Kyang and pointed to a nearby tree.

"Make sure to bend your knees and relax your core when you land, lest the branches' movement give us away." Again he leaped, and this time landed at the end of a branch a bit too thin for anyone else's comfort. Yet his feet gripped it through his shoes, the slippers bending as he flexed his toes and soles, and in a flowing movement he began running along it the way only a master tightrope artist could. Soon he'd disappeared into the canopy, and the only sign of his passing was a bare rustling that could just as easily have been the wind.

[Muttonhawk]

Kyang pushed off the wall she was leaning on and was prepared to follow Dai Xin, right up until he jumped in the air more than five times his height. Kyang had narrowed an eye when he announced his technique and observed the visual effects of the ki moving about, but she was taken by surprise at his leap.

At first, Kyang stood agape, but it swiftly curled into annoyance as she pulled off her knapsack, taking a large leather sheath out. "Alright, fine!" She projected to him, sounding almost offended. She took a moment to wrap the blade of her glaive in a leather sheath and slung it over her shoulder with a strap that she looped around both ends. Her gait was a grumpy stomp as she made her way to the trunk of the tree Xin stood perched in. With her belongings on her back, she began to heave herself up, branch by branch, showing surprising strength.

"Apologies..." She heaved up another branch, "...if I..." and another, "...forgot..." and another, "...to tell you..." She heaved up two branches while taking a breath. "...but I ain't..." yet another branch, before she reached Xin's height, "...some fancy ki warrior!" She put on a forced, purse-lipped smile and gave a sarcastic nod with her head angled to one side. Notably, she was not out of breath, but breathing a little heavier. "You might have to cut me some slack with that cloud walking routine, okay?"

If Xin was the wind, Kyang was an armoured ape. She took a leap for another tree, trying to follow Xin. She was not nearly as graceful or fast as Xin, but the forest was dense enough to accommodate her by the looks. She could at least keep up with a brisk stroll from below.

[FujiwaraPhoenix]

Liu opened his mouth to forge a response towards Xin and Kyang bounding off to monitor them from the treetops, but wholeheartedly decided against that fact. To be fair, he should've seen Xin's proficiency in using his ki come from a mile away, but there was a tad too much on his mind to worry about that for the moment, anyhow. Kyang, though... It wasn't much of a stretch to say that she looked quite silly following after the fiery-haired man amongst the lush green leaves of the trees above their heads. With a nervous laugh, and a half-smile, Liu turned to Torako and nodded before walking out into the forest, nonchalantly letting fate dictate where he was to examine... Somewhat.

---

Though his guard was more or less nonexistent at first glance, upon careful examination it could be seen that Liu was almost always in a position to jerry-rig a weapon on the spot if his sword wasn't immediately available to him. After all, animal bones and plant fibers were everywhere; what would stop him from using those in a pinch?

The soft rustling of leaves overhead signaled a few birds to take to the skies, immediately putting him on guard. A few moments passed as nothing came of it, save a cool breeze whistling through the trees.

"...I should've expected as much..." he sighed before moving to examine a nearby area rife with brush and other miscellaneous plant matter. Though most of the plants were in natural condition, a few here and there seemed to have been trampled on, likely by an animal.

So it wasn't here, then...?

"We have to keep looking. There's a chance we might be searching the wrong area, but a comb-over wouldn't hurt,"
he stated to Torako, hoping that his slightly louder-than-usual speech might attract the more... Unsavory guests that the group was in pursuit of.

[VitaVitaAR]

Really, it appeared that Torako had somehow managed to zone out while they were searching. Her eyes had a rather blank, glassy look to them, as if her mind was absolutely, entirely elsewhere. And yet, when Liu spoke louder than normal, Torako seemed to instantly snap to attention. She turned immediately to face the boy, giving him a wide, cheerful smile as she did. The pale-haired girl's kimono sleeves flapped as she stretched, laid both arms at her sides.

"YEAH!" Torako belted out, loudly, cheerfully flapping her sleeves as she did. Her voice was so loud that it would be utterly impossible not to hear her. Just why she had shouted out so loud would be seemingly a mystery to anyone but herself, possibly. "WE'VE GOTTA FIND THOSE GUYS REALLY FAST! SO LOOKING AGAIN IS A GREAT IDEA RIGHT?!"

[Zeroth]

Dai Xin looked at Kyang in confusion as she huffed and puffed her way along. He himself hadn't broken a sweat yet. But eventually they found a perch where they could stop for a moment and get the lay of the land below them; from here they could see quite a long stretch of the road, and all the undergrowth around it. They watched as Liu stopped to investigate what seemed to be an animal trail.

"Miss Kyang, from here we should be able to see any trails or runs that travel alongside the road." he whispered. "I believe a group of bandits who knew what they were doing might find it more tactically sound to attack from there." He pointed to one of the many winding, narrow paths. "What is your opinion?"

Again the slightly misty aura appeared, only this time it flickered like a flame within Dai Xin's eyeballs.

"Fist of the Sky, Scrolls of Transcendence. Eye of the Bull." He whispered that too, for who knew what reason.

A group that attacked from a forest like this would be wearing camouflage. Recognizing them among the foliage would be difficult. Their movement would be what gave them away. Rather than a predator, who could see far and sharp, Dai Xin needed the eyes of a prey animal, always wary for an attack.

The flow of Qi to the eyes, focused. I do not need the perception of color. Dynamic vision, to track movement. Depth perception, to gauge the distance most accurately. Open, pathways of the mind and eye. I must see faster, as if time were slower...

His field of vision widened, then became more clearly defined in three dimensions. Everything turned shades of gray. His perception of time slowed--his brain was processing the information received by his eye much more quickly than normal. If he moved his own body, this disparity between what he was seeing and what was happening would have made it impossible to coordinate. But as long as he was observing like this, every tiny movement--the rustle of leaves, the head of a curious rabbit poking out of its hole--was clear to him...

[Muttonhawk]

It was precarious and clumsy at first, but by planning her routes and moving carefully, Kyang was able to get the hang of travelling through the tree branches behind Xin.

It was quite the workout as their search was fruitless for a while. Kyang thought she had regained her patience, but even she closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose when Torako took the idea of luring the bandits out a little too seriously. Nonetheless, Xin's question made one of her eyes shoot open. She let go of her nose and examined the area from the perspective of an ambush force.

"Mmwell, I guess you could hide a good number of people up that way," Kyang murmured, referring to the trail Xin spotted, "That's just one route, though. There would have to be another hiding place behind or ahead so that they could easily surround whoever came by. Of course, if they did that..." Kyang realised something just in time to see Xin's eyes widen and splay with some other ki power. She didn't feel the need to ask what he was doing this time. Instead, she spoke quickly, with eyes flicking around the trees themselves, "Xin, keep an eye on the trees as well. There may be a lookout ready to give a signal. Or more."

[FujiwaraPhoenix]

Liu flinched when Torako's overenthusiastically loud voice pieced through the forest, causing him to freeze for a moment before turning to her in complete confusion.

"Wha- Why are you being so loud?" he retorted, fully baffled by her actions. Yes, he was loud, too, but... That was a bit far, wasn't it? Torako's lackadaisical nature was a bit... Crippling at times, but if this gave away their plan--!

The soft sound of rustling leaves immediately caught his attention as he turned to the trees above. The slight rush of wind as an arrow grazed his face caught him off guard, but Liu immediately glared in that general direction and drew his sword. The cut on his right cheek was now bleeding, but it seemed that they had caught someone's attention. Immediately after, though a few more arrows flew his way. This time, however, Liu was ready.

The quick motions of his blade were enough to block a good three arrows, the fourth lodging itself in his right shoulder and a fifth missing completely. Damn, there was more than one?

"There!" Liu shouted at the top of his lungs, pointing his blade at the sudden shift in movement from the trees above. "Don't let them get away!"

Gritting his teeth, Liu began to move off in the direction of the now-fleeing assailants. Removing the arrow right now could prove dangerous, even if there was a chance it (or any of them, really) could be poisoned.
...
Hopefully, that wasn't the case.