Match of the Millennium

Description: Geki approaches Chizuru for advice at the beginning of his quest to save the souls of Ryu, Ken, and Dan, before they succumb to Akuma's fate.

[CHIZURU]
It was refreshing to return to her roots, to ground herself and find the inner peace and serenity of this secluded shrine in Kyoto. The business empire Chizuru spent the last few years building made it easy for her to stray away from her main purpose. The oppulence and the wealth she had accumulated were just tools in the end to serve a higher purpose...

Returning to the Yata's shrine and perform some of her duties as a priestess here was a nice change of air compared to the artificial life she had most of the time. After she spent the last few hours doing chores around the shrine, Chizuru settled down inside to meditate, a couple of scented candles punctuating the room with a lavender scent to help her reach her trance. She sits on her knees in the middle of the room in her traditional miko outfit, arms resting in her lap.

[GEKI]
Before the child left for the mountains, he had been anointed by a Shinto priest, necessary for the child's apology to his clan elders for failing to become a priest. Years later, all the pain and anger of rejection by the pacifist villagers, for his surly and glib nature, had been forged into a sharp sword by the shinobi of the nearby ninjas, those who had sealed the youkai that took the form of rats having turned him into a living weapon.

Now, given the name 'Geki', as many had for centuries, the ninja had a first task. He had to consult the Yata.

Geki approached the shrine on foot, belaying the instinct to move through the cover of trees, and instead walk the pathway through the forest, until he reached the clearing. His third eye was ablaze with power and rage and fury, the senses that the ninja of the mountains had granted the villagers with their demon-tainted blood only controlled through war. He could not close his eye and find peace, hence he was here as a warrior missionary, not a guide priest.

Geki stepped into the shrine, lifting his left foot and placing his boot-clad toe on the lip of the entrance and lifting his right foot to plant second, but right heel first upon entry.

Silently, Geki stood at the entrance, watching Chizuru, his arms down in a disregarded ready stance, his lack of threat signalled by his cuffed hands.

[CHIZURU]
Few visitors came to this shrine : it is lost in the forest, hidden from the rest of civilisation as if it dissimulated a foreboding secret. Geki's presence in this place was certainly not fortuitous. Whether or not Chizuru had heard Geki remains a mystery, but somehow she felt his presence as he stands in the entrance.

The woman slowly opens her eyes, stirred from her trance. She remains calm and turns her eyes in Geki's direction, taking a moment to assess and gauge the man that stood in the entrance. Visitors in this place were hardly a good sign, but everything about this man was unsettling as he showed no hint of hostility.

"Rarely do we have visitors," Chizuru finally speaks up after a long moment of silence, "And those who comes always come here seeking something. Tell me, what is it that you are pursuing?"

[GEKI]
Geki's hands go straight, and there is a deep, low bow, before he straightens his posture.

"I am the one called Geki." His voice is cool and controlled, with a faint bit of softness that is not intentionally, and from the bend in his throat, is clearly a constant shape of the windpipe, not a particular show of any emotion. Merely a personality trait.

"I seek the Yata. I am beginning a journey, and I wish to have a sage light my lantern."

He steps forward, having begun his consultation, and moves to sit on the ground, right knee up with his elbow propped, left leg bent on the ground, with his feet touching, his left hand touching the ground. He arranges himself to Chizuru's left, with his right side facing her, giving her the preferential show of persuasion.

"I have set out to battle the demons inside war, that come from warriors."

[CHIZURU]
Geki... For some reason, that name evoked fleeting memories of her old tales lost to her. Chizuru seems to consider his request for a moment as she scrutinizes the man for a moment. The woman sweeps her hand in front of her, her palm upward, "Please, come in..."

Her lips curl into gentle smile and Chizuru nods her head, "You have come to the right place... And I can only hope my wisdom will be able to give you the enlightment you seek..."

Hearing the man's quest, Chizuru arches a brow, "Everyone has their own inner demons to fight," Chizuru replies, "Warriors or not... You cannot fight them for themselves, merely guide others to overcome their demons,"

[GEKI]
"When one seeks perfection in themselves, a demon always wins. When one seeks perfection in others, a demon can be purged. This is the belief of those who have come before me."

Geki lowers his eyes. "It is our way, to perform the latter, by preventing the former. If one is alone in a battle, perfection means loss, does it not?"

Geki raises his eyes balefully, to Chizuru's. "I seek to know of the one they call..."

There's a low whisper.

"Akuma."

[CHIZURU]
"Speaking in absolute is a very dangerous philosophy, perfection does not necessarly lead to corruption," Chizuru warns the man, though her voice was still soft and calm. Chizuru was not here to judge or condemn Geki's beliefs, nor his decision to fight, though there was something in her voice that hinted about her disapproval.

A shiver runs down Chizuru's spine when she hears the name given by Geki. In her searches for warriors with potential, she had a glimpse of the one Geki sought. The woman's expression becomes more solemn, her brows furrowing into a frown.

She remains silent and stares at Geki for a long moment, lost in inner deliberations. "This man is beyond solace. He has chosen his path,"

[GEKI]
"I am aware," Geki replies with a fine voice.

"But are there others?" Ansatsuken. Geki's goal, the practicioners of Ansatsuken.

[CHIZURU]
The Yata mirror could tell her : Chizuru's ancestral gift could allow her to discover what Geki desires, but would it be wise to give hi the information? The woman considers for a moment.

"Like this man? There may be... Few who would succumb voluntarily to their demon like he had," Chizuru replies, "None that I have seen whose heart is as dark as his," Chizuru says with a slow nod.

[GEKI]
"You have not succumb, yet you are far from that particular perfection, Yata," comes Geki's reply.

"You are wiser, than to place your own path above the road. That is why I am here."

"If you will not tell me about the others practicing the Assassin Fist, then I will ask another question."

"Do you feel that I must be alone in my journey?"

[CHIZURU]
"I will tell you," Chizuru concedes. The woman takes a deep breath and she closes her eyes. Then... nothing.

The priestess remains silent in deep contemplation. It takes her a moment, but it all comes to her in brief flashes like distant memories that she couldn't grasp. Images of various unknown faces in distant places like a bunch of puzzle pieces as she receives this vision through her trance.

Her body relaxes when the vision finally fade away and Chizuru opens her eyes, "... I had visions of five of them. One consumed by his rage and bloodlust, the second unknown to the others, and the third thought long dead by the two others.."

Chizuru glances at Geki, "Alone, you do not possess the strength to defeat the one you call Akuma,"

[GEKI]
"I do not wish to defeat a foe that is already defeated, Yata," comes Geki's solemn reply.

He rises to his feet, slowly and poetically.

"I wish to save a foe from defeat, by defeating them. It is not within my code to follow the simple ways of the world."

He looks to his right, showing his left cheek, hidden beneath his blue mask.

"If the world were not so simple, there would be no need for me. Then I would merely be diving for oysters."

He returns his look to Chizuru, placing his palms together and crossing his fingertips, a mudra to show devotion. He closes his eyes and bows his head.

"I am merely a single pearl."

He opens his gesture, and turns about, looking sidelong.

"Thank you for your help, Yata. I do not fight to be a warrior, or a soldier, or a philosopher. I fight to save people from being consumed by their own ambition."

He turns about, slowly walking out.

[OOC] Ch'zuru says, "Now you know how many people you can harass, heheh. :o"

[OOC] Geki says, "Thank you. :)"

[CHIZURU]
His words left doubt in Chizuru's mind about his ways ~ extinguishing fire with fire felt like it could make matters worse.

"May you help them find inner peace and solace," Chizuru whispers as he heads away. While her visions about Akuma had shown her the worst of its art, she had also seen the other side of the medal as well. She can only hope this man will be able to see it for himself as well.

Log created on 09:32:02 11/23/2018 by Geki, and last modified on 11:12:47 11/23/2018.