Description: Mizuki decides to clean up the oft-abused Shrine and ends up running into the infamous 'Stray Dog'...
The shrine that is built just off the road in Southtown -is- in disrepair, this is true; it no longer has regular patrons or occupants, and is most often used as a backdrop for people to fight at, and it shows--flagstones are cracked, piles of leaves are building up... the place looks shabby.
Despite that, there -is- someone here... humming quietly and tunelessly as she sets about sweeping up with a traditional bristle brush. She's dressed rather traditionally as well, perhaps for old time's sake or just because it amuses her; her ponytail bobs as she sweeps the courtyard and the walk, pausing to glance at one of the cracked stone lanterns and shake her head. A sad thing to see.
If there's anyone else here, Mizuki isn't aware of it; the act of dusting and sweeping is very calming to her, who has just left home, and so she seems lost in thought.
While there is someone humming a tuneless song as she sweeps up the shrine, there is the sound of a motorcycle coming from afar. The engines roaring stream through the air, akin to the loin's thunderous call. The sound slowly ebbs itself.
Lower from the shrine's steps is a figure in a green Kawasaki Ninja, who's currently wearing the same brown trenchcoat and grey shirt, but only a helmet on. The helmet's removed, revealing a blond haired young man, who's gazing up at the shrine. "Perhaps the bastard's here." He tightens his knuckles, quickly darting towards the steps as quick as he possibly can.
~ Alright, Dante, you son of a bitch. I'll give you my answer... RIGHT--- ~
He stops as he reaches the top of the stairs, passing the torii in time to see only the crimson haired young lady. He blinks a few times, looking perhaps a bit confused. "..."
~ Here...? ~
He straightens himself, then he looks around the shrine. It's a little awkward, but the boy does look the girl over, "Huh, I don't think I've seen you here before. And I've came here a lot." He rubs the back of his head.
Mizuki's humming certainly is lost in the noise from the motorcycle! She looks up as the motorcycle enters the area, her brow furrowing only slightly... she stands at the top of the steps, leaning on her broom, her expression breaking into a gentle smile.
"There's a reason for that," she says, with an almost-teasing tilt to her smile, as she begins proceeding down the steps.
"And that is that I haven't been here before today. But this shrine looks so forlorn and lonely that I couldn't help but do a little something to brighten it up..."
By the time her little speech is done, she's standing at the bottom of the steps; her head and shoulders incline forward to a forty-five degree angle in a precise bow.
"Kamigawa Mizuki. It's nice to meet you."
A reason for that? Jiro looks blank for a few moments, then he thinks to himself, "New here, I take it?" That's possibly the only reason. She could be from Kyoto or somewhere further from Southtown, right?
The Stray Dog stretches his arms up into the air, then he brings them down to his side while she explains why she's in the shrine. It causes him to shrug slightly, "Well, this place has seen enough carnage. ...Admittedly, I contributed to it, but..." He coughs, then he loks at the woman.
As she makes a precise bow, Jiro ehs a bit, but eventually gives in to it as well. "Jiro Kasagi." He extends his hand out, "Likewise."
Mizuki sweeps the steps a little more, her expression only faltering slightly at the mention of carnage.
"... I see... no wonder she looks sad and lonely," she replies, turning to look up at the shrine.
"This should be a place of worship, not carnage," she continues. "Kasagi-san, I hope you don't intend to cause more carnage here. If what you say is true, then she has seen enough..."
Her tone is sympathetic; perhaps she senses somehow that when Jiro refers to carnage, he means carnage in the past as well as in the future.
There is a pause from the boy, Jiro starts to deadpan with a look about the place being lonely, "You're kidding me, right?" While Jiro has a total empathetic nature towards the animals and somewhat of nature itself. Buildings and other constructs of man is not exactly on Jiro's high to respect list. Religion included.
The Stray Dog muses slightly, slowly thinking back to a place that he remembers. Hotaru's own church. Thinking of it in that prospective causes him to grimace, almost growling at himself, then he gives off a sigh, "Fine. I'll try my best not to contribute any more of it." He shakes his head, "But really, sometimes, it can't be helped, considering the folks we deal with." He tucks his hands into his pocket.
"Hell, some folks will attack others here. And backing down from a fight is not on my to do list."
"I'm... kidding?" Mizuki turns, halfway up the steps, and fixes her most stern gaze on young Jiro Kasagi.
"I'm not kidding at all! Look around you. You can't feel the sadness that is here?" Mizuki closes her eyes, and sighs, holding the broom to her chest.
"I take it from your words that you intend to fight someone, here..." She opens her eyes and looks rather fixedly at her new acquaintance.
"Is it an important fight?" she asks, almost hesitantly. She's not sure what an important fight -is-... but the way Jiro is talking about backing down makes her worry.
A long, drawn out sigh echos from the young man as she gives him her stern reply. Well damnit. This forces him to fold his arms together and glance around him, peering around to inspect the area. But, he supposes that should he think of it in another prospective, he can somewhat imagine it. Mostly, what if Hotaru's church ended up like this, and the memories?
This is annoying.
The Stray Dog gives off a long, suffering sigh, "...Alright, I see the point." The boy looks around briefly, "Not quite. More or less tracking him down. If I was to find him here, it -would- had been a fight."
As for the last question?
"Something like that." He shrugs.
To change the subject, Jiro peers at her, "So where are you from anyway?"
Mizuki seems satisfied with that answer... at least to Jiro's not wrecking the Shrine. For now, anyways. Mizuki descends a couple of steps and gazes at the serious young man.
"I came from..." She frowns, thinking about how to put it... "... my clan has a... a big home, in the forest..." She gestures, vaguely. Can't reveal the location, really.
"But right now I'm going to be living at Justice High School... I've just transferred in there. But I saw this shrine and I felt like it should be tidied up."
With the satisfaction out of the way, Jiro quirks an eyebrow and he blinks as she gazes at him closer. "...Hrm." Her words draw out some familiarity, or at least, something that reminds him of another person. "Interesting." Or, not quite, but she does remind him of someone that has not been seen in a while.
He shuts his eyes, thinking on it. "Hidden clan. Kinda cool." He muses, re-opening his eyes, "Justice High. Nice choice." His personal hatred to Justice High is long since gone. No point anymore. The Stray Dog muses a bit, "Well, welcome to Southtown. Just avoid the few psychopaths we got here and you'll do fine."
Well, physically, she looks nothing like who Jiro might be thinking of. Bustier, and well, taller. And with red hair. But yes... the personality comparison would be interesting. Mizuki smiles at the greeting.
"Well, thank you. It looks like this is a fun place..." She trails off, then hmms, "... I guess more fun for some than others." Jiro seems awfully serious.
"So tell me, Kasagi-san, what do you do around here? Are you going to school?"
Not quite Hotaru, the look of an swordsman. But she's long gone. Bah, damnit.
Jiro rubs his forehead, then he blinks, "Well, the place is fun for some. Really, they have more and better things to do." He snorts at the comment, "Perhaps so, but others make due with what they can to entertain themselves."
The Stray Dog thinks how to describe his activities. "Besides talking to the animals here, giving my motorcycle a nice ride and getting into matches." He lifts an eyebrow, "As for school? I'm Gedo. Or at least, will be graduating from Gedo soon."
Mizuki nods, musingly. "Matches," she says, softly, "I suppose I should... sign up for those as well." She sounds hesitant--one might think she almost sounds afraid, really.
"Have you been fighting long?" It's another odd tack to take, maybe, but there isn't much to really go back over, as far as the information she's just been given--nothing too curious there.
"I have heard that Gedo is pretty... rough."
Shrugging towards Mizuki, the boy responds, "Nothing to worry about, other than that they'll come up with the most humiliating bullshit that I've ever had the displeasure of dealing with." Someone's bitter! "Personally, I'd sign up for the Neo Leagues. It's pretty cool." He pauses, twitching, "But, I suppose I may enter back in the Saturday Night Fight pay-per-views, no thanks to my partner."
The downside of being teamed up with Alma, having to do things one doesn't want to do again. Sigh.
"Gedo is rough, but the folks are cool overall."
"I'm sure you'll get along with folks at your school. ...Maybe you'll tolerate a religious zealot who runs around with a sword as well." Thinking about Gabriel draws him to rub his forehead, trying to recall why he had her join again.
Oh yeah, Alma.
Well. That's certainly not confidence building! Mizuki reflects on that. "When you say 'they', who do you mean? I--" She frowns again.
"I'm not sure about it all... I read up on the Neo League a little but... I'm not sure what to make of it. Oh, you have a partner?"
Mizuki smiles again, having discarded, for now, her worries about fighting. "That must be fun. I've never really fought with anyone like that. By their side, I mean. It wasn't that I was lonely, but..." But she was by and far the best of her 'class'... and she would've been the leader, a role she was ill-suited to.
"A... religious zealot who runs around with a sword?" Mizuki gives Jiro a quizzical look.
"Isn't that dangerous?"
"Saturday Night Fight." He elaborates as far as that goes.
As for the whole thing about his partner, Jiro shrugs, "You may or may not heard of him. His name is Alma Towazu, he's also a model." He shuts his eyes, trying to say that with a straight face, "A mod--ah hell, I can't say it without laughing." He shakes his head once, bringing his hands back into the pockets. "Anyway."
"Depends on who. She kinda knows how to use that thing. She hasn't stabbed herself while running around with that thing -YET-, so... I think she knows how to use it."
Of course, if Jiro saw Mizuki in her normal attire he might note that she actually carries a two foot long baton... which the gohei is taking the place of right now. She -does- look concerned at the thought of a crazy person with a sword.
"... wait.. did you say Alma Towazu?"
She doesn't -quite- go starry-eyed... though for a moment it looks like she might. "I've seen some of his work. He's pretty handsome." And of course there are those in Justice who are absolutely -nuts- over him... which Mizuki is not. But she appreciates a cute guy.
"Yeep. The one and only. Alma Towazu." The Stray Dog pauses at her, then he inspects her expression, then he folds his arms thoughtfully. "Hate to br--.." He pauses for a few moments, rubbing his chin thoughtfully then he shrugs. Eh, he'll let her find out that Alma's gay on her own. But, she can turn him.
Yeah. That's an idea.
"Anyway." The boy offers a grin, "He's my best friend and rival." Then the grin fades, muttering, "And a pain in the ass at times, but he's cool." He stretches his arms up. "You'll meet him eventually, I'm sure. He's around this city, after all."
Mizuki composes herself, blushing a little. How... uncouth of her. "I suppose I will, at that, then..." Mizuki rests her palms over the end of her broom and rests her chin on that. Not really stable, but a somewhat fetching pose nonetheless.
"He sounds like a nice person, anyways." Mizuki suddenly topic-jumps, backwards in fact. It's somewhat abrupt, but the point has been gnawing at her for a bit.
"This person you're looking for, to fight... why are you looking for him?"
The Stray Dog pauses towards her question, furrowing his eyebrows before he shakes his head, extending his hand low. "Eh. Personal reasons." He plans to leave it at that. Not her business, nor should she get involved. Besides, doesn't feel like getting -more- people in trouble, "Anyway, I have to go meet him. I have to answer his request." The Stray Dog waves a hand, running down the stairs.
"I'm sure we'll meet again."
Log created by Mizuki, and last modified on 02:35:57 04/19/2007.