444 Cherry Hill Lane (Makuro Shin)

[Kenshin]

The black hovercar set down slowly on the side of the dirt street, a distance away from the temple.

The hooded figure didn't look up from his book. He turned another page of the thick text, Demons of the Darkness, Vol 3. A very large mouse jumped up on his shoulder as soon as the engine was turned off.

"Are we finally here? Are we here, finally?" the impatient mouse flicked his tail behind him. Kenshin didn't bother to close his book as he opened the passenger door and started to climb out.

"Yes, we're here," he said disaffectedly.

The mouse's whiskers twitched, and he sniffed at the air. "This is the right place, isn't it, Momotaro?"

The driver - his only teammate for this mission - got out too, locking the vehicle behind them.

"Of course, this is the right place, Takeru-san," the man in his mid twenties responded to the nickname.

The man beside him had always been an oddity in Kusanagi. The red-orange hair that made up his short hair and beard were unusual enough. The pale, slightly freckled skin and green eyes were even more different. Both he and his dark brown clothing looked like they belonged in a vastly different country than theirs.

The exceedingly average youth had grown accustomed to the differences of his slightly older-looking teammate, but there was still a brief tingle when those vibrant green eyes turned on them.

"This is the shrine," 'Momotaro' answered, striding the way closer to the long stairway. "We're supposed to meet the priest here. Then, the rest of the mission."

"Banishing a spirit," Kenshin stated in as blase a manner as he could. "Goodie…"

The mouse jumped off of his shoulder and took to bounding his way up the hillside instead of using the old fashioned stone stairway.

"Come on, slowpokes!" Takeru loosed his enthusiasm. "You're both faster than this!"

[Makuro Shin]

The priest is standing besides the koi pond, with a bowl of ramen in his hand.

He had a good time last night. He went to the city's casino to tried out his luck, only to find himself winning at the end. Since it wasn't much, he decided to go to a nearby bar and have some good drink, and a cute guy came up and flirted with him because he was curious about dragons.

And since he was having such a good time, of course he will forget about turning in the report about his last job, which Zouken had specifically asked him for the night before.

Which is why he spent the morning rushing it out, and didn't have the chance to eat until just now.

"This is good..." He mumbled to himself while slurping the noodles, apparently enjoying his lunch.

[Kenshin]

A large mouse ran quickly to the edge of the koi pond, where the priest was eating. Almost immediately, he stood up and glared at the dragon-like humanoid.

"Hey! Hey! You're keeping us waiting!" the impatient rodent was quick to complain. The fact that the mouse was standing eight inches tall and talking, while odd enough, was most likely compounded by the ninja-like wrappings on his body, and the wakizashi slung across his back.

"Shin-san!" called one of the miko priestesses, Chizuru, approached in her red and white garb, leading two more figures behind her. "Shin-san! Our escort is here - for the spirit sealing ritual this afternoon. You didn't forget, did you?"

The two young men - the one in dark brown, and the shorter in dark blue - didn't say anything at all as they regarded the priest. The former, the ginger-haired Momotaro stared with robotic detachment. Behind the black shades, Kenshin let hidden mystic eyes examine the dragon's physical form more closely - but he also had a book in one hand, and if he seemed to be doing anything, it was reading.

The impatient mouse grumpily crossed his arms over his chest.

[Makuro Shin]

Spirit sealing ritual...?

Then something clicked inside his head. Chizuru did reminded him about the ritual yeaterday, but he was too busy heading out that he threw it to the back of his mind.

An awkward smile spread across his face slowly.

"Of course I remember. This way please…" He said, turning away and started to lead the trio towards the ritual hall.

"Umm…what am I supposed to do again, Chizuru?" He asked quietly at the miko after they walked out of hearing range.

[Minor NPC]

The priestess leaned in closer to the dragon, whispering back, "You know, the sealing ritual, to draw out and purify the spirit. The ofuda you use, accompanied by my chanting. ... How much fun did you have last night, Shin-san?"

"The elder priest hired these ninja to act as additional protection, since the reports say it's a more malevolent spirit." She glanced back at the trio - including the mouse. "Though they're not exactly what I was expecting, Shin-san..."

[Makuro Shin]

Just a little too much. He thought while letting out a low chuckle, simply to avoid answering that question.

"Do not judge a book by its cover. They may not look like it, but that doesn't mean they don't possess the right skills. Ninjas specializes in covert operations. Maybe doesn't look like it is just part of the work description." He muttered, turning back over his shoulder to steal a glance at the group. "Can't say that for the mouse, though..."

"Hell, I don't look like a priest myself half of the time." He said, a smile spreading across his face. "But I dare say I don't make a half bad one."

To be true, He doesn't know what to make of the trio yet. No one but the mouse had spoke up after meeting them, and if he have anything to say about him, it's that he's impatient. And kinda cute. Probably shouldn't let him know that though.

"Can you take care of this for me?" He asked, handing the ramen bowl over to Chizuru. Before turning back towards the ninjas. "Alright, should we get started?"

[Kenshin]

Kenshin watched from a distance as the priest and priestess whispered quietly to each other, even if he looked nose deep in his book. Momotaro kept perfect pace with him, but his eyes were straight forward on the two they were following.

An impatient rodent of unusual size was busy darting back and forth in front of them, ambivalent to all oversight, like a child playing pretend while all the adults carried on unbothered.

"Kenshin-san, correct me if I am wrong," Momotaro said quietly, while the priests were ahead, "But are not Beastfolk illegal in these lands?"

Kenshin turned a page in his book slowly.

"Beastfolk are, yes," the young ninja replied, glancing over the rim of his glasses for a split second. "But that form is a mask. He has a kind of trace to himself, that I've seen a few times before."

"A trace of what, Kenshin-san?" the red-haired warrior asked in turn.

"Of shapeshifting," the reply was simple and direct.

"… He has chosen this form, then?"

"Seems like, Momotaro-san."

"… A curious selection. I -" Momotaro suddenly stopped talking as the priest and priestess parted, with her taking his empty lunch bowl away.

"Alright, should we get started?" he asked the three of them.

The mouse perked up and did an over-exicted forward flip onto the path between them all before throwing up his tiny rodent fists. "About time!"

Kenshin barely looked up from his text at the display, but one shoe scuffed at the ground beneath him. "We're your bodyguards, right? You and that girl..."

The older Momotaro picked it up there to explain further. "…I believe Kenshin-san is trying to say, that we are ready when you are ready. Unless there is something else you need to do in preparation for the ritual, our services are yours. Our transportation is waiting, unless you would prefer to use your own."

[Makuro Shin]

"Yours is perfectly fine." He said, "Just wait for a while when I go get my stuffs."

He said, scurrying off to get his gears from his room while wondering what kind of evil spirits guarantees the need of bodyguards. He banished spirits before, with and without the company of his colleagues, and it's not exaggerating to say that he might be able to finish the job on his own. He wondered for a second that if the Shrine hired the ninjas because they don't trust him with the job, or they care about his safety.

Probably it's just simply because the spirit is powerful. Yeah, that sounds like it.

He grab his katana and some ofuda and head out to meet the trio after double checking his gears, readying himself for a spirit sealing ritual.

[Kenshin]

The two ninjas waited patiently in the front seats of the hovercar, the one called Momotaro in the driver's seat again. Kenshin had his nose thoroughly engrossed in the next chapter of his book, the large sunglasses covering his eyes even then.

Chizuru was waiting awkwardly in her seat, belt buckle in place and her staff held half in front of her. She shifted side to side, trying to get a bit more comfortable with all the folds of her red and white priest clothes. It didn't help the oversized mouse was sitting right next to her, his small arms crossed over his chest. Beady rodent eyes seemed a little too intent on her.

Kenshin flipped the page of his book. "He's almost here."

The mouse's ears flicked alert, and he bounded from the middle seat, to the car door. "I'll get it. I'll get it!"

Takeru flicked the door handle and gave the door a proper shove, opening it wide for the approach of the dragon. "Come on, come, we're waiting," the most impatient rodent called for Shin to enter. He bounded back into the middle seat, and buckled himself in with his tiny hands. Palms slapped at his legs as he waited for the red-haired ninja to start the car up properly.

"Just a quick flight," Momotaro said to the assembled company. "We'll arrive in thirteen minutes, at regulation speeds."