Just Another Day At Work (NPC/Finished)

[Makuro Shin]

The weather is nice today. The shrine showering warmly in the sunlight, and the wind is just strong enough to keep it from being hot. Some might find themselves dozing off in the comfortable temperature, even. For Shin though, It's a day that's too good to be wasted by getting jobs done.

So he decided to skip his work shift and go wandering around.

He wanted to go fishing, since he hasn't done that for a while, but then he remembers that toying with the koi fishes are considered blasphemy, so he drop that line of thought with a sigh, and decided to see if he could get lucky and catch the statue moving by giving some offerings to it.

The goddess of luck seems to be absent today, since not only the statue decided not to move even a finger today, but he's also found by an anxious miko, who says that there's a client waiting for him.

Smiling, he calms the miko down, and started following her back to the shrine, wondering what kind of job is waiting for him there.

Just another normal day at work. He thinks. Nothing unusual.

[Minor NPC]

Dressing in the old style, the clean-shaven man had the folds of his sleeves tied up for work. He smelled heavily of fish and alcohol, and there was a "working" look to his body.  He waited for the dragon-looking figure to approach before giving a courtesy bow of the upper body. Nerves gave the man a twitch, shifty look to his eyes. 

"You are one of the priests, yes?" he asked while reviewing the humanoid dragon's body from top to bottom. Confusion stood on his face as he attempted to rationalize the two disparate elements that made up his appearance. He shook the look away as the priest-to-be replied. 

"I was told you are good at removing curses," the obvious fisherman said as he cut to the chase. "I live on a lake fed by a river. It has always had many fish, but this season is strange. The fish seem absent, or show up dead for no reason. I worry there is something wrong with it - that something has cursed it with dark magic."

"I would gladly make many offerings to the shrine, if you could come and remove it yourself," he asked with trepidation. 

[Makuro Shin]

"Konnichiwa. (Good afternoon)" The priest in training steps into the 12-tatami-sized room while bowing just enough to be polite.

"You are one of the priests, yes?" The client asked, looking at him up and down. He noticed the confusion in the eyes, but he did nothing to clarify it.

"Yes. A in-training one, if you care about the minor details. Makuro Shin, at your service." He replied, with a warm smile.

"I was told you are good at removing curses," Seems like the fisherman decided to waste no time and speak of the problem immediately. "I live on a lake fed by a river. It has always had many fish, but this season is strange. The fish seem absent, or show up dead for no reason. I worry there is something wrong with it - that something has cursed it with dark magic."

The dragon raised a hand to rub his chin, ruffling his beard as he try to lay out the possibilities. Could it be an expelling curse? Some fish might decided to fight it, but cannot stand it eventually and went dead. That would explain about the dead fish. Well, there might be a chance that the water is just poisoned, but judging from there's still isn't any victims, that might not be the case.

Well, there's also other explanations, and there's the question about what is the form of the magic that's used on the curse - if that's a curse - and different forms usually means you need different tools to get rid of it.

It might be him falling silent suddenly, or it might be the frown when he's stroking his beard. Whichever it is, it seems like the fisherman is starting to get worried that he might not accept the case. "I would gladly make many offerings to the shrine, if you could come and remove it yourself," He added.

"I accept the case. Lets talk more about it when we're on the road. Oh, and Chizuru?" He motioned to the earlier miko to come closer. "Would you mind fetching me my gears? And add some blank ofudas into them, just in case."

Then he turn back to the fisherman after the miko left in a hurry. "Now, I'll need you to tell me all the details that you remember. Any things that are out of normal would be fine. And not just the water, the surroundings as well. Do you notice any runes or symbols that jumps out of nowhere? Or some weird scent, anything?"

[Minor NPC]

"I accept the case. Lets talk more about it when we're on the road," the priestly dragon said, to the fisherman's extreme relief. A wave of tension slipped out of his shoulders and he breathed a quiet sigh of relief as if his work was already half over.

"Oh, and Chizuru?" the dragon beckoned to his fellow priestess. "Would you mind fetching me my gears? And add some blank ofudas into them, just in case."

The woman departed, and the fisherman breathed in again.

"Now, I'll need you to tell me all the details that you remember," the priest-in-training asked of him, and a look of confusion and awkwardness returned. He scratched idly at his left arm.

"Any things that are out of normal would be fine. And not just the water, the surroundings as well. Do you notice any runes or symbols that jumps out of nowhere? Or some weird scent, anything?"

"Uhhh … ummm," the man shied away for a moment, eyes darting to different corners of their sockets as he tried to look back on his memories. The scratching hand went to his cheek instead, a little bit of scrubble fighting his nails. "I … think there was a smell…"

He coughed into his hand, eyes noting the floor as he did.

"Sorry," he apologized submissively. "It's hard to tell that sort of thing."

"Fish smell, uh, overpowers the rest," he nodded to affirm what he'd just said. "Didn't see any special markings ... but, uh, doesn't mean they aren't there or something..."

[Makuro Shin]

It was the awkward and confused look that made the dragon want to facepalm at himself. He didn't noticed that he made that mistake about asking people without basic knowledge of magic about, well, magic, again. It's just a minor mistake, no big deal, but a good priest should never let anyone feel uncomfortable if it can be avoided. "Uhhh … ummm, I … think there was a smell…"

Then the fisherman coughed into his hand, taking the chance to break eye contact.

"Sorry," he apologized. "It's hard to tell that sort of thing."

"Fish smell, uh, overpowers the rest," the dragon nodded at the answer, agreeing with him, as it would only be rational for a man who lives by catching fishes. "Didn't see any special markings ... but, uh, doesn't mean they aren't there or something..."

"Apology is not necessary, since it's only normal that you're unable to register things that you don't know well about. That's why we're here. To help." The dragon reassures the the man with a pat on his shoulder, and try to change the subject to lighten up the mood with a low chuckle. "Though, I bet you'll beat me if we have a fishing contest though. You must be better than I am when it comes to that."

Although the answer was more or less the one Shin had in mind for the fisherman, he still feels a little disappointed for not being able to get any clues from him. It's really a nice weather out there, and he'd like to go through this job as quickly as possible to go back and enjoy it.

Wait a second. He's a fisherman...

Somehow a plan came up on itself, in which might grant the to be priest a chance of enjoying the day while getting the work done.

"Either way, I'll need to take a look before I can decide what to do with it. So how bout we start going now? Chizuru should be back soon anyway."

[Minor NPC]

The trip from the temple shrine was largely uneventful as they left - running into a few people that gave their salutations to the helpful priest(-in-training, not that the rest of the population seemed to care as much for things like who's in training and who's not, so long as someone's helping), but little else of note.

A short ride on a hoverbus deposited them in the next town over, with the fisherman insisting that it was only "a bit further out." It was still another 45 minutes of walking from there, following an old pathway for half the time before branching off along a "path" that seemed little more than where plants had not fully grown over the whole forest floor.

The sound of a river could vaguely be heard in the distance, but the forest seemed rather quiet. A rustle of underbrush could be heard every now and then - probably some animal bumping into a plant, or trying to hide within it. The fisherman seemed to get even more quiet the "closer" they came to his little lake, though he hadn't been very big on small on talk the rest of the way either.

"Almost there," he muttered, avoiding the dragon's gaze and paying more attention to the ground than the forest around or the inlet lake that could just be made out through the trees. A small, old-fashioned home - practically a shack - sat just a bit away from the inlet on the other side of the connected river.

[Makuro Shin]

"And here I am worrying what should I do if you say it's only halfway there." Shin said with a mock sigh.

The walk hasn't really been tiring for the dragon, In fact, it was pretty enjoyable, With most of the sunlight - which is getting hotter as it's getting closer to afternoon - blocked away by the trees. It would be better if he remembered to bring some bug spray, what's with the bugs keep wanting to hide in the gap between his scales.

And the fisherman's tendency to keep quiet bother him a little. The efforts of Shin trying to bring up the conversation had been, well, let's just say it hadn't been going well. Can't blame him though, as most of the people would not be in chatting mood when the supernatural thingy is going around.

"Say..." The dragon asked, looking at the lake through the woods. "Is the water poisonous? To us, I mean."

[Minor NPC]

The fisherman glanced at the water, then at the forest.

"To be honest ... I'm not sure," he trailed off while scratching his head, eyes glancing rapidly around the edge of the water and the shack.

"Stopped drinking it after the fish started dying... That's never a good sign. There's, uh, another river - a spring, where I can get what I need. You could try the lake, if you think it'd help."

[Makuro Shin]

"To be honest ... I'm not sure," the man answered while scratching his head, then went silent for a while before adding in something else. "Stopped drinking it after the fish started dying... That's never a good sign. There's, uh, another river - a spring, where I can get what I need. You could try the lake, if you think it'd help."

Shin nodded, agreeing to what the fisherman said. He realized it just now that the fisherman had skipped right through his own introduction, so he don't know what the man is called yet. He made a mental note about asking him later, since now doesn't seem like a proper timing to do so.

Anyway, back to the business. He figured it will be better if he starts analyzing the situation under the premise of this being a result of material magic. Written magic means searching for the whole area for a rune, and he really don't want to do that while's there's only him and the fisherman around.

Though if the "curse" have to do with the water, it would be easier to examine the water if he'd bring Chizuru along. She is a material mage, and the test tubes she always carry around could be put to good use. She also have the skills to know the substances in any kinds of water, because she claims that the quality of water effects the outcome of material magic.

There's no use crying over spilled milk anyway, so Shin walked towards the lake, lowered his hand to retrieve a handful of water, then lift it to his muzzle to sniff at it. His nostrils flared as he draw in the scents, wondering if there's some thing that's out of place about it.

He have to admit the fisherman was right, since the overpowering fish smell does make it harder to sort the scents out.

So he did the next thing available.

He starts lapping his tongue at the water.

[Minor NPC]

As Shin walked toward the edge of the water, the fisherman stayed behind warily, keeping his eyes up and alert as if he was more nervous of something coming out of the woods then from the cursed lake.

The water was cool and inviting. The adjacent river's flow kept a gentle perpetual spin to the small inlet, preventing the water from becoming stagnant while at the same time keeping it fresh. It was like a small safe haven against the stronger currents rushing out to sea - a fishy vacation spot.

There was nothing expressly wrong with the taste of the water. It wasn't perfectly pristine, but it was hardly bad tasting or poisonous or anything that would give a reason for why the fish kept showing up dead like he said.

In fact, there didn't even seem to be much proof of any dead fish around.

There didn't seem to be any fisherman around either.

The water bubbled for just two seconds before two pillars rose up like aqueous hands, reaching to grasp at the draconic figure and try to pull him under.

[Makuro Shin]

The sound of water splashing surprised the dragon, and before he had the time to react, both of his arms are grabbed, the water coming up at him with the shape of hands, trying to pull him over with such a strong force that he had staggered forward a little before coming to a halt, both of his ankles drenching in the lake water.

The arms glistening evilly under the sunlight as it tried harder to pull Shin forward. It seems to be very powerful as well, since the dragon needs to lean back and stable himself to avoid being dragged down.

And the slippery rocks under his feet is definitely not helping.

Pulling his arms up, he swing them down hard towards the hands. Even though it did no good at dislodging them from his forearms, some Ofuda was flipped out by the sudden motion, scattering into the air between them.

Using the forefinger and middle finger of his right hand, he clutched one of the papers from the air.

A bright light emitted from the Ofuda before it explodes, and Shin tries to pull his arms free immediately after, ignoring his burning sleeves as he do so.

[Minor NPC]

The detonation cratered the surface of the lake for a split second as the water immediately around him was flash-evaporated. Waves spread outwards, crashing against the other sides of the small lake's shores. 

To the right, somewhere in the forest, the faint sound of someone swearing "Damn it!" could just be heard over the excited water. 

A second sound followed, like an explosion of compressed air, heralding a spiral mass of steel wire spreading out into a net. The net arced through the air, weighted ends aiming to pin the draconic figure to the ground. There was a rush of movement inside the forest as bushes shook for the shapes heading left and right, two heading closer to the lake. 

A few of the figures wore steel-colored full body armor, light and modern with both machinery and magic running through the material. An assortment of weapons - each different and unique to the bearer - awaited him in their hands, beam weapons and enchanted blade alike. 

A pin prick of Violet laser-light carved through the forest, centered on the priest-in-training's last position.

[Makuro Shin]

The dragon pulled himself backward, flailing his arms in front of him in an attempt of brushing off the fire that's currently devouring his sleeves, his feet searching dry grounds for safe foothold. Ears perked, tail's up, he scan the area cautiously, Preparing himself for another wave of attack.

A sound of someone's cursing made him turn his head, only to realize a net had been shot at him. Without so much as thinking what he should do next, he grabbed his katana by the hilt and lowered his body into the starting stance of iaijitsu.

He drew his blade out with a sharp voice, and a gust of wind shot out from the sword, heading towards the net with a force so strong that it's blast away back towards his assailants.

Standing up, he swipe the katana sideways, and replace it back into the scabbard.

Focusing his sight back towards the lakeside, he found that he's surrounded by a group of armored soldier. Each and every of them seems to possess at least one lethal weapon, and one of them even have a gun aiming at him.

"This is getting weirder and weirder..." He complained with a deep sigh.

A quick movement of his arm sent a few kunais towards the beam, each and every of them had an ofuda tied at their hilt. The kunais hit the lakeside and exploded with contact, sending another wave of steams into the air.

Then he dashed forward, twisting his body just enough to dodge the beam of light that's coming at him. Then he rush forward, pulling out his sword again and stabbed it straight out as he rushed through the smokescreen he created.

Seconds passed, and the steam is eventually blow away by the wind. A a dragon with his sword held out, inches away from the shooter's neck is revealed.

"So, you mind telling me why all of you want me dead?" He asked.

[Minor NPC]

Diverted by the wind, the high-tech net struck one of the armored figures instead. He fell backwards from the sudden impact, and the chain ends quickly cinched tight. 

The kunai flew to their destination, some intercepted in mid-flight as the gunner tried to defend himself. Blue beams of light struck metal, and ofuda exploded. The small cloud of heated water rose up, a partially obscuring fog. 

The dragon rushed through with his sword out, where gunner and swordsman stood in stalemate - a sword was close to the former; a beam rifle was pointed point blank at the humanoid-transformed dragon's stomach. Steam shifted slightly away. 

"So, you mind telling me why all of you want me dead?" the dragon asked. 

All around them, the "smokescreen" coalesced into fine lines of water, like needles hovering in the air around them, deterring escape with a dome of pointy pain. 

"Running through a mass of water isn't a good idea, when there's a water mage about," the gunner said dryly, not blinking for a moment. "I can pull this trigger faster than you can swing that sword. If you kill me, they pincushion you. Be a good dragon and drop the sword."

In the time it took them to speak, the netted figure was freed and unwounded - save a little pride. The rest had retaken positions around the dome of water needles and its two occupants, just in case.

[Makuro Shin]

"Running through a mass of water isn't a good idea, when there's a water mage about," The assailant's reply was cold, almost without emotion. "I can pull this trigger faster than you can swing that sword. If you kill me, they pincushion you. Be a good dragon and drop the sword."

This time, the dragon did stopped and think for a bit.

He have the confidence that he could escape the troops when it comes to it, though wounds will definitely be sustained in the process. He looks around, counts the heads again, then nodded inwardly in confirmation. Running is not an option. Not when he still have the fisherman to protect with.

Still, they might be a bright side of this. The situation might had gone from being a simple curse removing to conspiracy, but being captured means there is a chance at seeing the manipulator behind all this. But whether he could escape unscattered afterwards, he do not know.

This is looking like a roulette table, and he's the ball that gets throw around. The soldiers stared on, waiting for him to place his bet.

"I doubt that you can catch me just like that, but I surrender." He said, replace the sword back into the scabbard with a clean movement. "Only on the catch that the fisherman is released, though. Or I'll fight until I die."

[Minor NPC]

The gunman smiled a sort of grin that one gets from absolute victory.

"Deal. The fishermen leaves unharmed," he said aloud, and waited for the dragon to sheath his sword before taking a step back. A pair of the armored figures moved in, sheathing their own weapons as they walked toward the dome of magic-levitated water needles. The water opened doors for each of them to enter, and bind the dragon with enchanted restraints.

The sword and ofuda were taken, just in case he decided to get uppity with them. The magic-inihibiting collar was applied to prevent him from using his supernatural abilities, and strength-impairing cuffs were used to weaken and restrain his arms behind his lower back. It was the bare minimum necessary to hold a dragon, in their experience - even if he "agreed" to go with them.

The beam weapon was trained on the dragon the whole time, and the needles likewise remained a constant threat … but their was a noticeable lack of tension in the dragon's other captors at their victory. One pair high-fived. The spear warrior remained on guard, harumphing at their youthful carefree/lessness.

A slap to the dragon's back aimed to give him a little push forward.

"Be a good dragon, and we'll get you something nice for dinner," the figure said loudly and jovially, to the point it was hard to tell if he was being serious or not.

Escorted out of the forest by a bow-wielder, the fisherman looked Shin's way for only a moment, eyes betraying a look of sorrow before they turned down to find the grassy ground so much more necessary to look at. They didn't get a chance to talk. The party of warriors and hunters was already forcing Shin to start moving rapidly into the forest, and away from the lake...

[Makuro Shin]

The dragon turn his head back from the fisherman as soon as he's out of sight. He's still worried that they might be just deceiving him, and will just kill the fisherman off somewhere, but he's unable to do more than feeling restless about it, with his arms tied off and magic sealed.

He looked forward. It seems like there's still a long way ahead.

He sighed, and decided if he's going to walk anyway, he might as well get some fun out of it.

"So this is the part where you strip me off and tell me to part my legs?" He joked.

[Minor NPC]

One of the less armored figures turned to the dragon, and grinned.

One of the more armored figures slapped the grinner upside the back of his head and grunted.

"Don't tempt us," the gunner said loudly enough for all the hunters to hear as they kept progressing further into the quickly darkening woods. "Almost any part of a dragon sells high."

"I love it when they sell high," the grinning archer proclaimed, his face catching a few odd shafts of sunlight from the cracks between branches above.

"And we are being paid high so that all the parts are there," the gunner verbally chastised him, motioning him with the tip of his gun to keep going through the wooden depths.

"And you," he turned to the dragon, addressing him directly, and darkly, "are lucky that is so. Can't tell you how much I'd enjoy sneaking a few quarts of dragon blood for the market, but a contract is a contract."

[Makuro Shin]

"It's always about the money, is it?" Shin sighed.

Something flickered inside him when they mentioned about selling dragon parts. Something dark, trying to overcome him with the painful memories he had. He forced them down with effort, not showing any hint of it as he keep his steps steady.

"Say, where are we going?" He said. He need something else to focus on, something to distract him from this dark feelings, so he tried to change the subject of conversation.

[Minor NPC]

"It's always about the money, is it?" the dragon in disguise sighed.

"Well it's not about purifying the forest, I'll tell you that much," one of the hunters chimed in readily. The gunner shot him a dark glance, and he quieted down again rapidly. It was a few minutes more, before the dragon asked another question.

"Say, where are we going?"

His answer came just a few feet ahead, as the hunters began to slip through a glamour. The air lit up slightly around their forms, like passing through shimmering water. The hunters directed their quarry through it as well.

On the other side, it wasn't that it was a forest clearing, so much as the space was suddenly so much more filled - taken up by people, tents, vehicles, and somewhere around a dozen cages. Ofuda was lined against several, spells designed to keep their occupants contained and restrained.

"We're not going anywhere," the gunner said simply. He motioned to one of the cages, to the side, even as the hunters who had stayed behind at the camp paid new attention to their latest capture. "You, however, are going in a cage."

The other hunters must have heard him, because several went over to one of the steel-barred boxes and began the process of unlatching one end. The metal sang as it opened up to receive its second occupant; the first, a figure like a teenage girl, youthful and innocent. Their were flowers braided in her hair. Her eyes - green, bulbous, defeated eyes - looked up from where she was sitting in the corner, knees pulled up to her chest.

A hunter knocked their latest captive into the cage, without undoing his restraints, and metal clanged shut.

Bars shook for a sudden tap from the gun, as its wielder added in quietly.

"Get comfy," he intoned morbidly. He looked for two seconds longer, then turned to the rest of the camp.

"And there's the dragon!" he shouted in victory, to everyone else's raucous, whooping delight.

"Seven down! Two to go!!" he added louder, to join in the spontaneously developing party.

[Makuro Shin]

"Yeah, and now I wonder who or what the other six is..." Shin mumbled, more to himself then to anyone. He made a mental note of getting it clear before proceeding to tense his muscles, trying to see if he can break out the restraints by himself.

Both of his biceps bulged under the charred sleeves as he tried to pull himself free, but he stopped a few seconds later while realizing his efforts is to no avail. The chains was made to trap a dragon, and it's performance is just as the dragon expected - indestructable. At least, Not by bare hands, let alone a pair that's bent in awkward position like his.

So the conclusion come down to this: He'll need someone to let him out before he can do anything else.

With his decision made, he turned to the only help he could get - the girl that's sitting in the corner of the jail.

"Hey, are you okay?" He asked gently while kneeling down beside her.

[Minor NPC]

The young-looking girl shied away skittishly as the draconic male figure approached - restrained or no. Her large green eyes glinted in a shaft of light, and the shadow of prison bars marked her body, and if her countenance was any indication, her mind as well.

She pulled her knees a little tighter into herself, and her long hair did its best to try and cloak her like a ball.

"Hey," he said. His voice was more gentle than she expected. The slight gulp of her throat seemed to carry with it some of her fear.

"Are you okay?" he asked kindly.

The mostly blank stare back hung heavily between them for a few seconds. Her eyes slowly trailed to the cage bars, then back to him.

"They haven't hurt me … if that's what you mean," she answered very quietly, whispering nervously as if she was afraid one of the hunters would overhear them. Her head leaned in just a little bit, and the drape of her hair shifted forward with the motion.

"Is it…" she started cautiously, tentatively. "Is it true … that you're a dragon?"

Her inhuman eyes trailed down over his form, and her head cocked slowly to one side as she further took in the not-fully-draconic appearance of her cellmate.

[Makuro Shin]

"Is it true … that you're a dragon?"

"The one and only." He answered. "Though this almighty dragon is kinda strapped down at the moment..." The dragon shrugged, the chains clinked loudly with his movement.

"Anyway, who are you? And why would you be captured by these thugs?" Shin asked.

[Minor NPC]

The unearthly young girl's gaze slowly dipped with the weight of her captivity. 

"Konoha-chan," she said in muted reply. "That's what they call me... Or did ..." 

Downcast eyes once more found the bottom of their cell so much more interesting then the rest of the world, much less her new cell mate. His legs were at least paid a little bit of a glance, to recognize she remembered he was there. 

"They're catching a bunch of us," she said in response to his second question. "Magical beings ... creatures ... There's a lightning beast in the covered box over there ... They caught a nekomata after me ..."

She glanced over at another cage, with the pacing, two-tailed feline in clear sight. 

"I think they have a list," she mused, if not with a little bit of resignation. "More than half finished ..."

[Makuro Shin]

"Magical beings, huh..." Shin frowned, wondering why would they need them for.

"They really stir up some hell when they start catching us like this." He sighed, and turn to scan the surroundings, trying to figure out where they imprisons the remaining magical beings.

"Say, Konoha-chan," He asked. "What magical being are you?"

[Minor NPC]

The young girls' eyes breathed wider with her chest, and a lock of her hair shifted across her face.

"Tree sprite …" she whispered softly, self-consciously, as if it was some great secret and it was dangerous for anyone else to know. One hand reached up and pushed the troublesome lock back under the security of a flower, one of the many that dotted her hair.

"I … figured it would not have been hard, for them to catch me," she continued awkwardly, that same note of hopelessness still about her voice. "But … if they … were even able to catch you, a dragon … I suppose I did not have a chance…"

The smallest glint of normalcy, of curiosity, peaked in her eyes for just a moment.

"How did they … catch you?" she asked meekly, submissively, half aware that she could be poking a sore wound called 'pride.'

[Makuro Shin]

"They threatened me." He answered, almost without a pause.

"There was this fisherman, and they've gotten hold of him...I don't have much choice but to surrender, in order to save him."

"Nothing much I can do," He continued, "No matter how strong you are, as long as they got something you cherish - " Somewhere between the conversation, Shin had turned to the girl, then stopped abruptly.

"Wait, is that a...?" He asked, and kneel down beside the girl, only to stare at her head.

What caught his eyes was the flower, a little beauty lying on her hair, still blossoming brilliantlly despite the seriousness of the scene.

[Minor NPC]

The sadness about her seemed just a little bit more heavy, listening to his story. Her eyes, constantly on the verge of tears since before her new cellmate had even arrived, misted a little and glistened further in the light through their prison bars.

The abruptness of the change forced her to blink several times to clear the waters.

"What," she muttered back, looking up above, and failing that, patting her head slightly. The only thing she felt were the flowers braided in her hair, practically a part of her existence as a fey of the forest.

"This?" she patted one, and her cheeks just barely took a hint of pink. "It's nothing, really … just something I found …"

"That … fisherman … meant a lot to you then?" she continued, with less meekness about her now that the potential wound had been passed without response. "You … 'cherished' him…"

[Makuro Shin]

"That … fisherman … meant a lot to you then?" Konoha asked. "You … 'cherished' him…"

"Umm, what?" An escape plan was forming inside the dragon's head, but the trail of thoughts are stopped by the sudden question.

Kinda like a train bumped into a van, if you know what I mean.

"Oh, the fisherman?" Shin asked. "Well, I cherish life in any forms. That's what everyone's usually expecting from my profession."

"Anyway." He said, slowly putting on his serious face, trying to change the direction of this conversation back to where his thoughts were going.

"I have this plan. If this works out, we can both escape. Now, I need you to listen carefully..."

[Makuro Shin]

________

"Hey!" Shin yelled out to the soldier who's on the guard duty. "I need to pee!"

The armored figure puffed out before turning towards the dragon, his face full with annoyance. "You need to what?"

"Uhh, pee?" He tried to shrug, only to pull on the chains, making it clink loudly against itself. "C'mon, there's a girl watching me! You don't expect me to pee here, don'tcha?"

"You're a dragon, aintcha?" he returned, hitting the last note in a slight tone of mockery. "Do it in your pants for all I care."

"Don'tcha forget something?" Shin asked louder. The soldier almost just turned away when he added, "The girl? Do you wanna scar her for life? Do you have no conscience?"

"And why should I care?"

"Bacause you, uhh, just should?" The dragon returned weakly, his wit running out. He sighed before added, "or maybe this almighty dragon here is swallowing his pride up his ass and asking please?" He tried to look innocent for the added effect.

The guard sighed before lowering his gun. "Okay, okay...But if you try something. Anything," He knocked at the cage hard, as if trying get the point through, "You're as good as dead."

Shin have to suppress the urge to roll his eyes for how low he had gone "Yeah, Sure..."

The dragon turn to wink at Konoha before proceeding to stand by the door.

Here it goes...