|
Post by tsuru on Dec 10, 2012 0:01:15 GMT -5
Tsuru watched, at a very distant place, the men gracefully yet powerfully release the arrows from their bows and heard the joyful voices of the men who were also watching. She twirled her long hair in boredom, silently cursing court protocol that all women must behind bamboo screens and men must be far away from them as possible. This made watching the archery very, very hard. She looked around to see the women around her not even paying attention. They were either eating seasonal spring sweets, playing go, composing poetry or sleeping. Tsuru was very disappointed. The young girl, wearing a pink 12 layered kimono with sakura patterns with golden streams, slowly walked towards her mother, a young woman of 40 and whispered in her ear. “May I be excused? I need some fresh air.” “Alright but don’t be long, Lady Aoi is about to read the Tales of Genji aloud!” “I can barely contain my excitement.” Tsuru said sarcastically. The girl walked into the hall and out into the garden; she is far away from the ruckus of the women, and even more far away from the men. Tsuru smiled as she saw the cherry blossom petals fall, like snow and started dancing around it.
|
|
|
Post by Uesugi Norimasa on Dec 10, 2012 1:55:57 GMT -5
"A-and no one saw you?" The pudgy, middle-aged man looked nervous, and fidgeted the with ends of his kariginu's large silk sleeves. Before him was a wrapped parcel. Sitting across from him in the otherwise vacant sitting room was Kazuki. His clothing was plainer, a standard black kimono, made from cotton, with a white sash and scarf. But they were comfortable, and more practical for roving about. He shook his head, and said reassuringly, "No. I wasn't seen picking up the package, nor while bringing it here." He had no idea what it was, having resisted the temptation to take a peek inside, but he assumed that the courtier must have some kind of embarrassing hobby. The other man breathed a sigh of relief and produced a coin purse, which he passed over. "Good. Now begone, begone. And tell no one of this!" Kazuki stuffed the purse in his sleeve, bowed, and silently withdrew from the room.
'Well, that was an easy job,' He thought to himself, 'Now, how do I get out of here again? This place is huge...' The next several minutes found Kazuki wandering through the separate buildings, all connected by a maze of long corridors, intersecting roofs, and various courtyards. It wasn't long before he was hopelessly lost. "Okay, next person I see, I'm asking for directions..." He muttered to himself, stepping off a veranda and entering what appeared to be a garden. It seemed empty at first, and he intended to simply cross through it. But then he heard a rustling noise, which made him stop. Glancing ahead, he spotted a pretty woman dancing among the falling blossoms. It looked like a scene out of a painting or woodblock print. He couldn't help but stop and watch, rude though it might have been.
|
|
|
Post by tsuru on Dec 10, 2012 2:07:34 GMT -5
She closed her eyes and started to spin around and around; the silk robes twirled around her feet, causing her to tangle and, bam! She tripped. Tsuru let out a yelp and felt winded from the fall (and dizzy). She gave out a small giggle and then saw a man in a black kimono. One can see, even an idiot, can tell, that he did not belong here. The young girl stared at him (though her vision was spinning) and then she realised… “Oh my gods, a stranger!” She exclaimed and was about to run for until but she tripped, again. Tsuru giggled despite herself and slowly stood up and faced the stranger, her hair now in a mess and her fine, pink kimono, muddy.
|
|
|
Post by Uesugi Norimasa on Dec 10, 2012 3:34:28 GMT -5
'Ouch,' Kazuki thought to himself when she tripped. He instinctively moved forward to help her back to her feet, but then she shouted, and he jumped back. She tried to run, tripped again, then got back to her feet. He put out his hands in a nonthreatening gesture, and to show that he was unarmed. His swords had been left at the entrance, as custom dictated. Well, he did have a hidden shuriken on him, but she didn't need to know that, as he meant her no harm.
"Ah, my apologies for startling you, Ojou-sama. Are you all right? And, um, please don't scream or anything." He gave a small laugh, rubbing the back of his head. "No, wait, saying that sounds bad, doesn't it?" As she stood facing him, he looked back at her, seeming not to mind that she didn't try to hide her face like other upper class women. She was rather pretty, he thought. But this situation could turn bad though, if she did raise a fuss. He wasn't here in any official capacity, and he was indeed a stranger. Nor could he say anything without betraying his employer's confidence, which didn't sit right with him. So, he went straight to the point. "Maybe, can you help me? I'm looking for the way out, but I'm lost."
|
|
|
Post by tsuru on Dec 10, 2012 5:39:55 GMT -5
Tsuru looked at the black clad stranger with scepticism and curiosity in her eyes. She wondered how such a man got into a place like the palace and why was he here in the first place. The young girl tilted her head, her curiosity more obvious in her facial expression. Then she reached a decision. “Okay, I’ll help you out but can I ask why you are here? And don’t lie or I will call the guards here. I’m sure they will be fascinated with whatever you have to say.” Tsuru said with a bold voice and devilish smile. In her childish mind, she thought she had backed him into a corner and he has no choice but to spill the beans. Poor girl doesn’t realise that most people can worm their way out of this blackmail. This would often become her source of frustration. Tsuru slowly walked towards the stranger and crossed her arms, waiting for his answer.
|
|
|
Post by Uesugi Norimasa on Dec 10, 2012 22:42:23 GMT -5
"Aha, well, I suppose I had better tell the truth then." He feigned a nervous chuckled as she stared with folded arms. Curse his horrible sense of direction, if only he hadn't gotten lost he wouldn't be in this sticky situation. He wondered briefly what he should say to her. He didn't like lying, but he didn't want her to call the guards either. He just wanted to find the exit. After a moment, snapped his fingers and sighed. "Drat, it looks like you've trapped me. See, the truth is that I'm a ninja, and just completed a secret mission, but you can't tell anyone, all right? Ahaha." He laughed out loud, playing it off as if it were a joke, hoping that she would laugh as well. Then, quickly changing the subject back, he added, "But if Ojou-sama would be kind enough to tell me the way out, I'll trouble you no further."
|
|
|
Post by tsuru on Dec 11, 2012 3:16:55 GMT -5
“A…Ninja? I’m sorry but do ninja’s really exist? Sure I know demons exist; we get demonic possessions every week but ninja’s? C’mon, I’m sure you can make up better lies than that.” Tsuru said with a giggle. The young girl, now run dry of witty remarks, became bored and decided it was time to be a nice person and give the poor man a bone. “Alright follow me but there are strict rules here! One of them being that I cannot be seen with a man unless they are my family. So I am going to lead you into one of the secret places.” She said with a matter in fact tone. Tsuru stepped onto the veranda and motioned the stranger to follow her. The girl popped her head around the next corner, checking if there was anyone there; absolutely none. Tsuru hitched up her skirts to the point the male stranger could see her ankles (not very lady like) and ran across the slippery wooden floors and slipped into a corridor. She motioned the stranger to follow.
|
|
|
Post by Uesugi Norimasa on Dec 12, 2012 0:17:44 GMT -5
'Phew, it actually worked.' Kazuki thought while keeping a straight face as the girl made her retorts. Inwardly, however, he was sighing in relief when she agreed to lead him to the exit. "Ahh, you're a lifesaver." He thanked her earnestly. Following her to the veranda, he couldn't help but grin. If would be a lie to say he wasn't a little intrigued at getting to see a secret area of the palace. "Don't worry about being seen," He said casually, with a wave of his hand, "I'm a ninja after all." He wasn't one to stand on ceremony, and so said nothing when she raised her skirts to run better. Quickly he followed her down the corridor, keeping an eye and ear out for other people.
|
|
|
Post by tsuru on Dec 12, 2012 2:11:18 GMT -5
“Hehe, this place is actually abandoned. Ever since Lady Fujitsubo died in this very wing, no one wants to come here anymore. In fact they say it’s haunted by her ghost.” The young girl said in a low voice, lowering her skirts to the appropriate level. She started to walk down the darkened corridor and started to lead the stranger out. At the end of the corridor was a drawing room, then the exit of that was a labyrinth; apparently the late Fujistsubo had secret lovers. But Tsuru did not worry; she explored the wing numerous times and marked out the exits and entrances of the labyrinth with red rouge. “So how does a ninja get lost? If I were you, I would’ve gotten hold of the blueprints and memorised it. But then that you make you look bad huh?” Tsuru said, opening the sliding doors that revealed the drawing room. There was blood on the floorboards; no one had bothered to properly purify th place.
|
|
|
Post by Uesugi Norimasa on Dec 12, 2012 3:52:35 GMT -5
"Ohh?" Kazuki was intrigued by ghost tales. His partial yōkai blood lent him a window into the spirit world, and he sometimes acted as medium. The dead could have interesting things to say sometimes, old lore or forgotten secrets. Most stories were fake, however, but some were real. He asked, "Do you believe it's haunted?"
"Well, see, I never said I was a talented ninja." He said with a small grin. When Tsuru opened the door, his eyes quickly spotted the blood, and his expression became somewhat more serious. He glanced around, mentally feeling for any possible presences.
(Aha, so, if you wanted, having a ghost show up for real could be an interesting direction to take this thread.)
|
|
|
Post by tsuru on Dec 12, 2012 4:13:33 GMT -5
“I don’t believe it’s haunted. I’ve been here lots of times and never seen her ghost.” Tsuru said simply as she closed the doors behind them. The young girl edged around the blood stain wanting to step on it; it felt wrong, possibly disrespectful and well…unsettling. She walked towards a large closet and opened it. The closet had a false wall inside. “We might want to leave this open. I kind of want to get back without taking the long way haha.” Tsuru said cheerfully whilst pulling out the false door, revealing a door inside. She opened it to find another set of intertwining hallways, lit by paper lanterns. Under the paper lanterns were the markings she had left. “See those red marks? They will lead us out and before you know it, you’ll be in the outskirts of the palace! Cool huh?” With no further ado, Tsuru stepped inside; but not before taking off some layers of her kimono. Now she only had 3 layers of outer robbing. It was much easier to move around anyway.
|
|
|
Post by Uesugi Norimasa on Dec 12, 2012 19:24:29 GMT -5
"You're a brave person to come here by yourself, you know. Most people would be put off by the whole death thing." Kazuki likewise stepped around the blood, while looking around the room. His natural curiosity had been piqued. "I wonder why no one came to purify the area..." He mumbled to himself, then asked, "How did Fujitsubo die?" This was a potential recipe for ghosts to emerge.
"Hm?" He looked up when Tsuru spoke, watching as she removed the fake wall, revealing a hidden door in the closet. He glanced at the lanterns, then the marks on the ground when she pointed them out. "That is nea-Uh!" He looked a little startled when she seemingly began to disrobe, but then sighed in relief when she stopped. She was only shedding some of the layers to move better. He quickly followed her into the hallway, awkwardly looking down at the floor.
|
|
|
Post by tsuru on Dec 12, 2012 21:08:04 GMT -5
“Oh it’s nothing! I went into the outside world once, how scary can an abandoned wing be?” Tsuru said with a giggle. The young girl jumped through the doors and waited for the stranger to follow suit. She checked the markers under the lanterns and was satisfied that it was clear. “Her husband, Fujiwara no Michinaga, my uncle, found her with one of her lovers. He had killed her in a jealous rage. This happened before I was born. I think my uncle didn’t want this part of the wing to be purified; he didn’t want her to rest in peace.” The young girl said in an ominous tone of voice, starting to walk through the maze. She then felt a chill up her spine and quickly turned around; nothing. The flames from within the lanterns flickered back and forth, making Tsuru’s eyes widen. “Ghosts do not exist.” She thought in her head.
|
|
|
Post by Uesugi Norimasa on Dec 13, 2012 2:32:51 GMT -5
Kazuki moved through the door, keeping it open as she had requested. "How tragic." He said, shaking his head, as Tsuru related the cause of Fujitsubo's death. Adultery, jealousy, and murder. That was a potent combination for causing an angry spirit to linger.
"Hm?" He glanced from side to side as the lanterns flickered, feeling a tingling sensation. There was presence here. "Are you sure it's not haunted? Because I don't think we're alone."
|
|
|
Post by tsuru on Dec 13, 2012 2:48:34 GMT -5
“Oh c’mon! There’s no such things as ghosts! There is a logical explanation for everything in this world! Ghosts are fairly easy to explain; there isn’t any because they don’t exist!” These words seem to be directed to the ninja but really the words were used to convince Tsuru and reassure her that ghosts do not exist. She then turned her back to the ninja and started leading the way out of the seemingly endless darkness. The young girl checked to see that the markings were underneath the lanterns and as she looked back more often, eventually the entrance disappeared. Now they had to rely on the markings. “By the way my name is Fujiwara no Tsuru; betrothed to the Emperor. I think.” The young girl introduced herself in the most interesting way. A few minutes into the journey, Tsuru noticed that the marks were getting fainter and fainter and the air ever so chilly. The young girl became more alert; she felt the cold sweat on her skin. There had to be a way to get out of the maze; Fujitsubo managed to navigate around it, so how did she do it? Tsuru was worried that the marks will disappear eventually…
|
|