Description: Following Johann's indicated roots to the Ryu Zui Ken dojo in Inner Sunshine, Hyo finds the heir to the style hospitalized and terrorized into living bunker style, waiting for a sign - or for it all to go wrong. She can provide little help or insight into the violent descent of Sunshine City, and so it becomes Imawano who assists the White Dragon's chosen weapon; before all balance can be stripped from yet another powerful aspect of the cosmos itself. Still, all of the shinobi's leads are not exhausted, and Lynn opens one promising door...
It's been a long week. A long, partially terrifying, partially...enlightening week. Mostly terrifying though, as the meditations during her hospital stay were only marginally enlightening. And even then, it was more questions than answers. But Lynn is back home. Back in her...empty home. Normally, this time of day, the dojo would be filled with students, either training or just spending their summer afternoon hanging out in the garden or zipping to and from the plaza.
Today though, the Dojo was closed. Obviously, with the lead instructor still injured, classes are a no go, but her parents even made sure to shoo off the usual kids that hung around for their own safety. It took an hour of reassurance and another half-an-hour of arguing and barely restrained parental worry before she was allowed to spend her time alone in the Dojo. Dressed in a pair of jeans and a white tank-top, rather than her usual training outfit, she sat in the middle of the dojo, legs folded, and fists bunched, upturned, and touching together. "Grandfather....something's wrong." Tilting her head up to the ceiling, as if invoking the heavens themselves, she sighed. "Tell me what I should do...." Another sigh. "Where's Billy when you need him. Where's Jimmy?"
It's been.. a week. If there was ever a time where the violence, the death, the conspiracy rattled Hyo, seemed unusual and out of place, jarring to his day to day routine.. the blademaster does not recall it. No, while for Lynn, this might be one of the most forboding, frightening days of her life, for the young shinobi from Justice Gakuen, it is just Thursday, despite spending much of his time hidden within the darker parts of the supposedly sunny city. Dark forces maneuver just beyond vision, veiled in their own powerful wills as the ninja searches for the truth - what allows most people to sleep peacefully is the fact that some know that's the normal state of the world, a pressurized mass of conflicting, selfish interests and their mighty echoes from all of time.
It's not the first time Imawano Hyo has pondered whether the increasing volatility might one day rend that fabric of energy and essence asunder entirely; wouldn't that be an intriguing day. Icy apparent detatchment notwithstanding, the shinobi would just assume prevent apocalypses where he can, and keep them personal where he cannot. Actual truth was rare in his conversation with Johann, but the one element that leads Hyo forward turns out to be Ryu Zui Ken. It's a fascinating lore, really, once the young scholar digs into it a bit; the honing of attuned elements of the spirit in a kind of symbiotic tribute to mirror aspects of spirits as old as the Earth herself.
While his own training and operations have not brought him into contact with more wielders of these ancient dragon blades, that seems to the shinobi to be more a product of rarity, than anything; but now, it's right in his face. It's hard to say exactly when the ninja slips into the dojo proper, but for those curious, it's instants before he speaks. Moments after he adjusts a carefully poised posture of calm politesse, arms folded as he stands otherwise at attention in one deep corner of the room.
"Ms. Baker." The costume has been made famous, infamous over the years, black cloth in this case intersperced with carefully moulded pieces of equally midnight armour, carefully spartan to avoid obstructing movement. There is, after all, that navy-clad longsword resting prominently at his left hip, clear even turned away from Lynn as it is. "Excuse the intrusion, but I believe you are right." Something is indeed sour in Sunshine. Despite being dressed like, well, a ninja, Hyo's head and features are at present uncovered, his hair done up in a high, formal topknot of tightly wound black and gold, the long mass of silver hanging behind him like a silken tassle.
"Do you have any idea who attacked you, or why?" He has information of his own, but it's held back, for a moment; he starts right in on cutting to the heart of hers, assuming she doesn't scream NINJA and run. With all the attendants and students dismissed, however, the picked lock on the back gate, the momentarily unsecure side door, they're likely going /entirely/ unnoticed.
The voice quickly rouses Lynn up from the floor, hurridly bringing up her stance. "Who's there?!" she shouts in the direction of the voice. The black armored stranger gets a firm furrow of her brow and a narrowing of her eyes. "Who are you?" Her voice echos across the dojo, but...hey, considering what happened, it's understandable that she's more than a little on edge, isn't it? And besides, the guy just SCREAMS 'Ninja' currently.
Slowly, she approaches, never dropping her stance, arm outstretched, palm facing the ninja, with her other hand loose at face level. "Why are you asking? Why is everyone coming out of the woodworks for me?" She asks heatedly...before pausing. No...couldn't be. After all, barely anyone knows about THOSE...
"My name is Hyo." The Justice scion will give her that much, at least. He remains stoic, cold in the face of her understandable reaction. A mixture of patience and utter emotionless clarity. He doesn't bother to helpfully inform her 'I'm a ninja', the shinobi wasting little time in making the purpose of his visit clearer. The words remain crisply projected silk, an even baritone as coolly placid as the youth's entire deceptively experienced demeanor. He does indulge her direct question, however. "Forces of light and darkness are in pitched battle throughout the very framework of Sunshine City, the fighters and plots entwining here with energies that many may not even perceive nudging their actions."
It's not exactly the perfect explanation, for most people, but Hyo seems quite certain of the assessment - enigmatic as it may be. He remains poised, unmoving as she approaches, looking politely off to one side and simply allowing her to study him. It seems quite polite, at least, as long as one doesn't question how long the ninja may have studied Lynn before approaching the White Dragon's own divinely charged blade. She's not in a position Imawano envies, all balance shifted decisively against her, her support structure shattered to the four winds. It's almost like Lynn's situation, the dojo's state, might not entirely be a coincidence.
"Until fairly recent history.." as ancient martial arts and their totem demigods go, "Ryu Zui Ken was a formidable legacy, maintaining an intriguing balance in an..." he pauses, searching for the right words, dark eyes peering up as if the dragons peering back might helpfully provide them. ".. unusual harmony with some very potent forces." The words are amusing on Hyo's lips, so specific and yet vague enough to be speaking of his -own- Clan, just as easily. The cursed Imawano dynasty isn't what it used to be, but Hyo does his best to make up for that.
"That's been systematically torn apart, the city is descending into chaos, the balance of chi might as well be threatening to implode, and now the last of your line is being targetted." The young ninja's voice deepens, darkens as he speaks, and by the time he's done, he's /staring/ straight at Lynn. It doesn't matter how close she gets, he doesn't move otherwise, eyes /locking/ in on hers. He's put enough cards on the table, and he's wasted enough time with Johann. "So who wants you dead?"
Well...at least she knows his name now. That much is certain. Introductions on her part aren't quite as forthcoming, seeing as he already knows her name, and she's busy being just lightly paranoid. Seems like there's undo interest in her and the dojo lately, and in light of the Freeman attack and the thought that popped into her head just a moment ago, it just makes her even more worried and suspicious of her currrent visitor.
Keeping her stance up, she slowly creeps closer, watching the unmoving shinboi with eyes that scan his dark form, contrasted by the shock of platinum hair. "What do you know about Ryu Zui Ken?" she asks warily. For all most people in this city know, after all, it's about as potent, physical and spiritually, as any other common martial art. The Legacy behind it is a lot more tightly guarded, especially on this side of the Pacific. And the way the ninja keeps phrasing everything just makes her feel even less at balance than before. "I don't know who wants me dead. This Freeman guy attacked me, but he may as well have been attacking our next door neighbor. He was surprised I could even fight at first...happy I could fight."
Her stance levels off a bit more, not quite as tense or ready to attack, but still live enough just in case....probably for the better too, considering how much Tai chi is meant to be about soft technique. "...he wasn't here by accident though. He said something lured him here."
There's the vaguest twinge of a frown as Hyo weighs Lynn's words. Disappointment, the tug of frustration. It's gone before he even starts to look away from her again, drawing a deep, even breath before releasing it in a soft sigh. The shinobi had hoped the Baker woman was in on this, or at least had her finger on the pulse. The enigmatic and dangerous Italian at the center of all of this indicated -this- dojo was a formative part of his life. With everything that Imawano's allies (and twin brother) had uncovered, everything the Imawano Clan already knew about the forces at play in that elder legacy, Hyo had become /certain/ this was the lead he needed, that Lynn was somehow at the center of this.
Lynn's words ring true to the ninja, however, and annoyance turned stoicism turns sympathy, absent and unfocused, silver hair following a moment later in a flourish as he looks calmly back to her. If she is at the center, the poor thing doesn't know it yet. "Did he give you any indication what brought him to you? Why he was here? From what I've read of Freeman's modus operandi, you may not be safe here." He doesn't sugar coat it, the ninja's words are as sharply precise, as swift as his style, here.
The young instructor's eyes catch a twinge of...some expression on the ninja's face. She's not exceptionally perceptive though like some, so it's just a sense of some expression, rather than a clear sense of the enigmatic ninja's emotion. "No...I don't," she says softly. "If he was brought to me specifically at all, he didn't act like it." Her stance loosens a bit more...before she completely drops it again, shoulders slumped as she sighs. Whoever this guy was, if he wanted to attack he probably would have done so already.
"If I thought I was safe here, I wouldn't have refused my students," she adds. "I'm not going to run from the dojo my grandfather built. This is....I'm his heir. If I run away now just because of some psycho..."
"More layers to the chaotic gyre." Imawano Hyo muses placidly, darkly, shaking his head once as he steps smoothly from the corner and glides on silent footfalls several strides, eyes returning to the dojo's dragons. The city does speak, here, but as Lynn discovered in her own meditations, as Hyo's own foresight and focus has found, its voice, the dissonant cries, they are so disparate and omnipresently muddled by shadow that it's nigh impossible to wring clear meaning from the oversaturation of sound.
The shinobi's black gloved left hand drops to gently rest on the katana through his belt, tracing the burnished fittings thoughtfully. Ideally, he would suggest sanctuary somewhere Freeman would not know to look, while others got to the heart of the matter. In this case, however, Lynn's words shift Imawano's course entirely. The Justice swordsman nods, once, in assent; if anyone can understand drawing a line, it's the white-haired shinobi. "I can assure a measure of security, then." He offers simply, "Without interfering in operations or drawing more trouble upon this place."
The childlike warrior doesn't immediately expound past that, but it's almost impolite to question a ninja who seems so cool and confident. While the same turmoil that distresses him has clearly left Lynn distraught, Hyo attempts to segue smoothly into the question that actually brought him here, the one held back until he found out who Ms. Baker really was. "What can you tell me about Johann Gallo?"
Lynn eyes the shinobi yet again, though not as wary as before. The confusion is still evident on the young woman's face though. "Why are you offering security to me?" she asks, genuinely baffled. "What's so important about the dojo to you that you would offer?" NOt that the Dojo isn't important to Lynn...just the idea that what importance it is to her is obviously not the same it is to Hyo.
And the question about Johann Gallo confuses her even more. "Mr. Gallo? Besides being one of the big investors in the city, not much....why?"
"There is more than one reason." Hyo's patience tinged with with urgency, insistence is a tool that most men don't master until they are much, much older. The tone is somehow simultaneously humoring Lynn, and chastising her. "The opportunity to apprehend Freeman, or better analyze his operations and present intentions is sufficient in and of itself." This, obviously, should have already been apparent to the White Dragon's reflection, as far as Imawano is concerned.
The ninja pauses several steps off, and shakes his head anew; if he weren't Imawano Hyo, he would probably be filled with a tremendous swell of pity, about now. "I suspect the forces that fuel your jutsus are central to the struggle for Sunshine City's very soul, Lynn Baker." She deserves to know that much, at least, "That the descent of your lineage and stewardship are part and parcel, by intent or happenstance, to the ascent of another."
It's not everything, he avoids the details, lets her draw her own lines... can't have the girl getting killed, now. It's an odd perspective to take on a woman who is probably his senior, and at the least scarcely younger than the swordsman himself. Hyo happens to be a rather odd man. "Whatever forces are at play here, I would have it dealt with."
The urgent timetable, and the value of his time, are why aside from at least portions of the explanations Lynn asks for, the shinobi simply moves smoothly on. "Who has trained in this style longer than you have? Who ran this dojo before you were the instructor here? What happened to them?" The missing generation of decidedly scarce dragonmasters. Hyo's steel needs answers /someone/ has to be able to give, and swiftly.
The forces that fuel her...he knows about the Dragons? "How do you know about..." she says, brow furrowing, cutting herself off before she says anything more. Whoever this guy is, he really does know far too much than he should, considering how light-lipped Lee Song was in general about those very forces. A rather perturbed sound comes from her, hands placed on her hips as she stares straight at the shinobi.
Walking back over to the center of the dojo floor, Lynn sighs, folding her legs under her again, though the way she places her hands on her lap instead, it comes off less meditative and much more like the young girl she wants to be. "My grandfather ran it before he...passed. And for style...I've been training since I was young, since the entire family was back in Metro City. I can only think of two people who trained just as long."
How much /does/ he know? How much /has/ he said? The ninja offers tidbits more, "My Clan has kept a beacon lit to protect the world from such chaos for many centuries, as well." It's true, if not the whole truth by any stretch; but with what he's offering for another tangental lead? Lynn may just have to be satisfied with it. "If you want to preserve what you've been trained to fight for..." Imawano runs in a new direction, just as calmly as if on familiar terrain, once more facing Lynn full on with those piercing dark eyes. "You're going to want to help me as much as you can."
The distrust may be understandable, nothing upsetting to the shinobi; but their time /is/ scarce, and his resources limited. Already some will have to be diverted to defending - or utilizing - this particular asset. "Because believe me, this city is headed in the other direction, and fast." Hyo has seen it all go to hell before; more times than he cares to count. "Who are those people? What happened to them?" He reiterates and sub-questions firmly.
Lynn frowns. As much as Lynn doesn't want to leave herself exposed...something does feel genuine about this man, if...more enigmatic than she's really comfortable with. And to be honest, unless the brothers finally pop up after all this time, she's not going to be able to do much alone. "Alright."
She shifts a bit more, her legs not so tightly folded underneath her, hands coming to each knee instead. "...two brothers, Jimmy and Billy Lee. They were some of Grandfather's earliest students after our family moved to Metro City. I honestly don't know where either of them are right now..." She slumps, head hanging dejectedly. "If I did, I'd be doing my best to bring them back here."
It's a somewhat odd dichotomy, really. Hyo has so little time for games, and yet his goals and lot in life demand he play so many of them, so carefully. The lost and confused and terrified heir to an ancient legacy many sizes too large for her /still/ doesn't fully have the ninja's trust; but then, that's a two-way street, and Imawano is abundantly aware of just that. The shinobi files the names she offers away, something for his own team to analyze later. Perhaps they'll find something to go on that Lynn missed, sometimes an outside perspective can work wonders.
Hyo continues his pensive procession around the room, pacing another short path at a right angle from his previous course, never moving too sharply towards Lynn as he walks and thinks about her. Most of the process is silent, little shared, less divulged on the silver-haired shinobi's stoic, austere face. "When I make good on my word, I want to know more about your grandfather's sacred legends." A card is dropped, blank gunmetal grey save a phone number, this one several states over if one tracks the digits.
"Two men will help you secure the dojo." Should Freeman come back.. should Lynn remember something useful.. should someone else's comings and goings prove of interest to the implacable Knight Templar. "Try not to do anything rash and stupid, control your fear." It sounds demeaning, or at least, most people would react as if it were, immediately. Considering her state when he arrived, the nature of her maneuvers and attempts to quell her spirit now, however... Imawano would call it simple, solid advice. Before vanishing in an abrupt flicker ceilingwards, obscured by dragonwork as he launches himself back down the hallway that brought him into the room. ... off behind Lynn Baker.
Indeed, if Hyo doesn't quite trust Lynn completely, Lynn for sure doesn't trust that far either. But for the most part, she has been doing her best to accomodate him to the best of her abilities, confusing as the whole situation is. When he makes the edict about wanting to know about the legends of Ryu Zui Ken, and drops the card, she finds herself filpping the card over several times, as if looking for something hidden first before actually taking the number to memory.
She doesn't say anything else, a wince instead coming as she reaches up to trace the bandages still crisscrossing her chest underneath her tank top. Instead, she slips the card into her jean pockets, standing up and walking to the door. Firstly...she needs something better to meditate in than narrow-leg jeans. And secondly...she needs to call someone. Or at least, try to. "Of all times for him to come up completely missing..." she whispers under her breath.
Log created on 15:17:36 06/21/2012 by Hyo, and last modified on 16:12:44 06/22/2012.