The apprentice. (Inoko x Tumu)

Jigokugakure Tavern. A magical place where the oddities of Pandora come together to indulge and share in the substance known primarily in these parts as piss. It was quite traditional in style, much like the rest of this village, with a wooden decor and old fashioned bar. Made solely from large wooden support beams, stone walls and rock tiled flooring, it wasn't ever the most enticing place in the pandorian empire, yet to many it could be considered a second home. Regulars of varying species, shapes and curses were always flooding its tables regardless of the time of day or night. After all, the undead need to spend their eternal days somehow, right? Of course, the bar was at the front, filled with both kegs and taps alike, offering the very best from both new and old ages in terms of liquor, with the old fireplace not far away from that. Tables were scattered randomly around both the bottom and second floor, with candles as the main source of lighting in all those hard to reach places. All in all, its nothing special, more a shithole if anything, where all the scum of the empire come to drink, fight and love.

Tumu sat at his usual spot at the back, a table to himself despite the hole being as busy a ever. Arm wrestling at the front, drinking games in the middle. A fight at the front door. A man laying dead in the corner with no one playing any notice. And gambling and random banter spread throughout the entire area. Scum the lot of them. Tumu's age changes often. Although he is most likely younger then all these men in here, his timeline is distorted, his current form actually well into his mid twenties. Dressed almost like an old fashioned bounty hunter, with the hat on the ground, the scarf around his neck, rifle resting on his chair, and all that leather strap'y stuff. Tumu's table was empty, excluding the three empty bottles, a half filled mug of who knows what, and his head, resting on its side, while he poured a bottle of rum into his mouth, spilling half of it, before continuing to sing his song.It was an old pirate song often sung before attacking an innocent ship. It would sound quite jolly at first, however if one was to take their time and listen to the words carefully, they'd notice it was a dark story of death and betrayal. No one else joined in. No one paid him any notice.

Ever since she'd arrived in the empire of Pandora, Reihe had been enjoying the sights so to speak and to a slightly lesser extent, the locales. She'd seen people that otherwise she wouldn't have even imagined to have existed back during her life in Kaosgakure, the undead, immortals, people like her with special jutsu and abilities. Not only did they exist but they seemed almost commonplace around here, able to be seen even in the local taverns. Originally she'd followed the commotion to Pandora as a means of attaining personal freedom and freedom from monotany but she now needed to supply herself with the funds for survival. Due to this she came up with the idea of becoming one of the empire's so called "Knights", she did have some training in combat already after all, even if it was kind of half-assed. But to become a knight, she'd have to find a knight to take her on as an apprentice, much as a ninja had a teacher as well.

At the moment however she wasn't too concerned with such things and was more interested in having a little fun so she had gone to the Jigokugakure Tavern, the village being a little too warm for her liking, at least had a few holes in which she could find herself having some enjoyment. The people there were all kinds of interesting even if some of them had less than likable personalities, she could be entertained by merely seeing their unique bodies, some more so than others. Reihe headed to the back of the bar where she was most comfortable due to their slightly nicer seats but many of said seats were full. No matter, she wasn't opposed to asking to join someone under the conditions that they weren't already busy with someone else as interrupting like that was rude. There was only one person there like that at the time, the bounty hunter looking guy, so she walked up to him and asked, "Hello, err sir? Would you mind if I joined you?" She put on an act of having a more reserved body posture as to make herself seem shyer. For some reason a bunch of people thought that was a cute or attractive feature, she didn't really get it herself.

My apologies for taking so long to post. I have been quite distracted. Tumu would finish the three dark and cold words of his verse, the sound drowning out to a crisp, before he'd push himself off from the table's face in order to view the girl. She seemed somewhat attractive, however, with the piercing eyes from one of the barmaids burning holes into his seemingly oblivious head, he may need to pass up his rooting attempts for the time being. No need to ruin a sure thing with a chance, that would be foolish. "Machakw Dichali Tumu Inakamono." He would say, in response to her first question, regardless of whether she intended it to be one or not. "Tsitsaduliha" He would say, making the motion for her to join him at the chair nearest her. He was native of course, one of few humans, descendant from those whom were native to this land back before those from The Imperial Continent came and brought their way. It shone through both his appearance and words, yet his attire and indecent behaviour was more then enough to display a forced removal from his original home.

Beyond having invited the girl to sit, he didn't really have much more to do with her. I mean, if she wanted to talk, by all means he shall go for it. But in general, he was here to do as he always does, drink until he cannot see, sober up and drink again. He was a master now, or some crap like that. Tutor? Sensei? I don't really know the word to use, but that was what he became, when a young girl waltzed in and almost pressed him into taking the role. Her loss really, Xander would have been far more appropriate if she wanted automatic fame status. After all, that was how he originally became well known, simply through a series of events that led him into his former sensei's shadow, and inevitably here in this shit hole. And now his sensei has forsaken the drunken fool after accidentally dragging him across the Sea and into a world of nightmares, all for a new apprentice that actually gives a crap about kenjutsu and all that stuff. Actually fuck it..."I'm gonna be...a great...mentor~" Post sluggishly blurting his thoughts out loud, Tumu would begin drinking more of his rum.

Reihe was utterly confused when he started speaking his native language, she wasn't even aware it was a language let alone one native to this land, so she gave him a slightly unsure look. However when he motioned to her, she just assumed he'd understood what she'd said and was just too drunk to form a proper sentence. "Thank you very much." She bowed before taking a seat, it would make her seem politer than she truthfully was and once she was seated she figured it'd be easier to just relax and show her real self without being turned away. As a bartender came to their table, she ordered a round of peach schnapps mixed with dark rum, not a particularly usual request but not overly unorthodox. She watched Tumu as he sluggishly drank, he wasn't particularly lively or sober seeming in the least but she also had to wonder what his special factor was.

"I'm gonna be...a great...mentor~"

Not only was she surprised to hear him speaking the same language as her now, but he was also a teacher? This was pretty much exactly what she'd been looking for since she arrived. Maybe she could get him to agree to be her mentor while he was drunk, taking advantage of his impaired decisional process, and stick him to it when he sobered up, assuming he ever sobered up. "I'm sure you'll be a wonderful mentor, I mean, just look at you." She gestured, attempting to sound as sincere as possible, the dude kind of looked like a wreck at the moment. "The name's Reihe. Pleasure to meet you." She beamed at the man, he might be her one way ticket to food on the table. Perhaps if she flattered him enough, she'd be able to get on his good side and get an opportunity to pop the question.

OOC MESSAGE: I'm sorry this took a few days for me to get up for you. I don't have much of an excuse, but I assure you, it won't happen again.

This girl was proper, far to polite and rigid to be in a place like this. Something didn't add up, but then again, majority of them people here were mental. Deranged so far beyond insanity, that the very idea of self induced alternate personalities couldn't faze a soul. That was Tumu's solution to her behavior. She was not aware of her split existence, and stumbled here by some leakage from her inner self, distorting the line between the actions of one individual and the desires of another. As the bartender came by the table in order to take this unknown girl's order, he would ensure Tumu, one of his most loyal customers, was given the look. The look asking whether he wanted more, his hand already moving to write the answer that was sure to come in return. As their eyes met, Tumu would lift his torso off the table by a few inches, shooting his right hand forward, bottle within its grasp, performing a silent cheers to the air between them as he half shouted; "More Rum~!"

Soon after the tenders departure, Tumu continued his rise off the table until his shoulders slugged up against the backrest on his chair. Getting a proper look at this girl before she began talking, introducing herself and buttering him up. She must be a spy. He would think to himself, observing her from his position, thinking that there was no possible way she was local to the nation. As he pondered other reasonable avenues, he would take not one, but two large slugs of his drink, finishing it off before tossing it into the bars corner, joining the rest. Surprisingly however, the glass wouldn't smash, bottle were strong back then. "Ah, I see. A Sadvdi!" He would say, hitting a palm with his fist as if a lightbulb had suddenly appeared over his head. Sadvdi was a word used to represent a trap. In this case referring to this sadistic woman, leading him into a kind emotional state of security and warmth, leading him back...oh, it seems Tumu will be explaining it himself. "I get it now. Yer plan on leadin' me back to yer place, before revealin' that yer a succubus, using my better nature teh get what you want before suddenly..." Both his hands would slap the bench, making a nice BLAM sound. "I pass out. I wake, hanging by meh feet in some dungeon. Drained of lifeforce and semen, with no liquor in sight. I ain't fallin' for this again. Nope."

Clearly there had been something a bit too pure in the air of Reihe's presence and attitude that made her seem suspicious. In all fairness, she hadn't been with the Pandora Knights long if you could even count what she was doing as being part of them so she wasn't really sure how to act around them. She sipped from the cup she was brought as she listened to his exclamations. However she hadn't expected him to respond with such suspicion and distrust to her kindness, by the end of it she found herself shuddering, her eye twitching, and beginning into hysterical laughter before it soon died down. "Ummm, sorry but ew. Oh sweet satan no, not a chance. I guess you could call me a succubus and no offense but you aren't exactly what I would refer to as 'my type', you have as you said...ugh, semen. And not to mention the thing between your legs as well as your entire figure type....Okay, you're probably going to take offense to that but I was just trying to be nice because...."

She debated whether she'd ask now or see if she could butter him up some more but after her last attempt she weighed against it. "It's just that you said that you were a teacher or mentor or whatever. Long story short, I need a mentor and I think that you'd be a good enough fit for that. Come on, what do you say? Ya mind helping me become a Pandora Knight, old man?" She'd nearly dropped the entire niceties jazz aside from the bit at the beginning of her sentences. By the end she'd went into a relaxed poster with her arm on the table, leaning back, and with her left leg crossed over her right. Perhaps dropping all sense of manners would be better than  putting on an act of kindness with him

"Ummm, sorry but ew." Sigh, another fucking lesbian. Its literally impossible for a straight male in this day and age. Tumu's head would roll back, allowing him to look up at the roof, pondering what he will do later tonight as the girl kept up her "Sorry...not really" insults, his mind still paying attention in the background while his consciousness focused on the more pressing matter of a cockroach on the ceiling. "...that thing between your legs..." "Penis." He would reply automatically, still not moving from his watching position, ensuring that disgusting insect doesn't fall like an Australian Dropbear moving in on its kill. So, she wants to be a knight? Who doesn't here though, if your not a knight, then in this society, you are below the week old, scrapped mud beneath their feet. She did say one thing that got his attention however, causing the drunk to shift around his seat, reach across the table and grab a cork from one of his previous bottles, flicking it with his thumb and index finger for a direct hit at the bug, blowing a nice hole where it used to be.

He'd turn to properly face his guest, eyes meeting her for the first time tonight."Old man? In this world hun, I'd be much younger then yerself. No'one respects a kid. Sacrifice yer future to live presently. Thas what knights do." One of the bargirls would come around with their drinks, placing them on the table, before hurrying away to the next task on her list. The drunk would reach out, popping the cork with just his thumb before continuing his soon to be ended lecture. "So hun, you need me. Why would I want you? Aditasdi." The last word appeared to be a cheers as he began to drink more, lightening his head up. The point in between receiving drinks is always a dangerous period when your body sobers in an instant, one much be quick to re-dull their senses before it was too late.

She heard him out and in all fairness, he had some rather valid points, she could have in fact shortened her dialogue by using the word penis and she took that to heart, to be used for such reasons the next time. "Fair enough, I recognize that my youth will yield no respect but I can worry about that some other time. Right now, I'm not asking for anyone's respect, I'm asking for your help." With the end of his response however she had hit another point that she hadn't even considered at that point. This wasn't like a village where higher ups were just given students and tried to the best of their abilities to train the little shits. They had every right to refuse to give people a chance around here and could just pick and choose as they pleased, even if some were less picky than others. "Huh. What I can do for you. What can I do for you. Oh, how about this?" She said to herself initially, the latter piece obviously towards Tumu, what she had just thought of was absolutely a shot in the dark but maybe her silly, dumb idea was just what was needed here.

"Okay, just hear me out here. In compensation for you training me the shit up, I will buy your next round of drinks and if you act fast my good sir, I'll even help you pick up chicks if you ever need it, I got an intuition for that sort of thing. Sounds pretty decent, eh?" She more meant that if he had any questions, or needed her to play out a part, she'd be willing to help but unless he asked her for clarification on how she planned to do it, Reihe would just keep quiet about it. She was pretty good in the financial department for now so buying another round of drinks was no problem. However if he didn't accept it, then she would be fresh out of ideas and open to suggestion.

"No, no, no...I don't think yah getting me point, love. Me and you, we're like...the same age...roughly." He didn't mean to be all metaphorical and shit. He was just saying that he isn't an old man and that the only reason he took this form was so people would stop bothering him. He was an immortal, unfazed by the test of time, what age he looks no longer matters, what age he is no longer matters, what does matter however, is booze. "i was gonna accept yah anyway. But now yer gotta pay my drinks." As if by reflex, Tumu would raise his hand and call over the waiter, asking for two bottles of his finest rum before pumping down his current one all in a single attempt. "Gah. You be lucky you asked me, otherwise you'd be led around topless by a chain fer weeks only teh have half a chance. Not te'mention the stuff that happens in private. Ain't no backin outta a pledge. If yer don't stick to yah terms, Ima be forced to kill yah." Yes it was a harsh world, Pandora. But can you really expect anything different. The good people are generally playable characters...I mean people with large destinies, while the rest are the earths scum. Generally. "Tch...So you want meh to train yah. What kinda style do you know? Why are yah here? Tell meh all yer secrets." If she does, He'll do the same.

"Ohohohohohoho. I wouldn't have guessed you were being literal, you must be one them ageless types, something messing with how you look I'm guessing?" She began gulping down more of her drink as she listened, however she nearly choked hen she heard the next bit. "Wahahaaahaha, thank Luci. It's a relief to know that you planned to regardless and of course I'll keep my promise. I admire that kind of opportunism, nice move on your part." Reihe laughed more than just pleased with the situation, she'd be grinning and moving side to side in glee for at least the next three minutes. Well, she would have if it weren't for his next comment about if she'd asked anyone else. "Yes, yes, thank you very much. Though....depending on the person that doesn't sound like it'd be too bad either...Anyways, no backing out, got it." She had attained a slight blush thinking about possible scenarios that could have occurred, some more favourable than others. Notably she had thought about a strange bondagey/sm scenario with a dominatrix but it was most likely just wishful thinking.

"Hmm....I wouldn't normally.....but I guess this is a reasonable scenario. Okay! Like I said, I am a Mikaboshi, Reihe Mikaboshi. So my repertoire mainly includes shadow release techniques. She slipped her left glove off, revealing a square-like design on her palm, "And this is a little secret weapon I carry, with this mark I can drain chakra out of a person's body to replenish my own supply, I don't have it no but in like a few years I'll be getting a Secondary Chakra Pathway System to bolster my current one, my physical abilities are increased at night and I can see chakra sources then. I'm able to steal the shadows from inanimate objects. Also I guess I can use earth and wind style on top of potentially using dark style in the future, my clan is pretty great if I do say so myself....Or they would be if they weren't always so focused on increasing their numbers and strengthening the bloodline." She began to start grumbling by her last sentence. "And what about you?"

Them ageless types. Sheesh, how rude, she must be one of those aging types. Yeah, doesn't feel to good does it? Actually, no, its really not a bother at all, He was half listening at least. "Nope, this is how I look. Just myself from a different time dimension, with the thoughts of this one. Or something like that." He seems to have completely sobered up in the space of a minute. His eyes were now narrow, alert, his body posture strong and empowering, words no longer slurred, and the accent was hardly recognizable. How? Lets just say he is a special case in that instance. "You got it? Good, because I don't enjoy killing women. In any case, its no uncommon to see a Mikaboshi trying their hand as a Knight, I'm glad you don't share the same mindset as the rest of your clan though. I mean no offense, but they are arrogant, rash and extremely cocky. Its all too annoying for my tastes. My advice is that you don't annoy me." Good, his head. So aware, so much information being processed at once, it was such a pain in the ass. How long has it been since he was last sober? Five Months? Six? Whatever the case, each time he did it, he was reminded of why he drinks.

"I will not lie to you, I know very little in the way of Ninjutsu, nor do I have any idea on how your chakra draining works. However It has caught my attention, and I plan on doing some study. As for myself, I am involved in the art of infiltration. Phase release is one part of myself, but Pulse is another possibility I have yet to explore. I am adept in Kenjutsu as i was once a student of Xan Ibwa, as well as being strong in the Genjutsu, utilizing a pre-storage formula in order to preserve chakra. I do have a few chakra based techniques which I can show you later, however they aren't normal. Acrobatics is another strong point." He would look at his weapons beside him. "I'm also strong from a range. Actually, if I have to fight, that is where I'd prefer to be. Does this sound appealing to you? Regardless, you no longer have a choice in the matter." Geez, so many words, so much talking, and most of it made sense. God this sucks. "I have other terms you must follow. I am a drunk, I am useless. I am nothing more then a man with a reputation. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"I think I get it, though to be frank, it really doesn't matter what your age is as long as the goal is accomplished, hmm?" She watched as he visibly sobered up to her amazement, so far his opinion of her seemed fairly positive all things considered, she'd been unintentionally firing backhanded insults this whole time but she was already better than most of her clan. "I'll take that into account errrr, what should I call you again?" She just realized that she didn't know his name yet despite him having said it even though it was amongst other words in his native tongue. Her mind now away from the lecherous concepts of a minute ago, she was trying to figure this guy out, he was drunk and chilled out one minute and now he was articulate and if it wasn't too much to say, a bit grumpy seeming.

Reihe listened to what he had to say about his own skills, it was good to know he planned on researching something she was highly focused in currently, the bit about infiltration was interesting to as she assumed it would be possible to learn some jutsu that were especially useful for such a task with her shadows. As for the rest, she wasn't too big on genjutsu but she did feel that learning how to break them would be important and the acrobatics peaked her interest. "Got it, most of that sounds pretty good actually, I may have just made the right decision in finding a mentor after all. Also, preferably I'd like to fight mid to close range if possible, so you being a long range combatant gives us an almost complete coverage right?" She laughed a bit, relieved that she'd finally found a good mentor to help her rake in the cash she would soon enough need. "Aye, I understand. Also, I'm a pun-toting man-eater with a thing for universal pain. Hope that won't be an issue, Hehehehahahaha. She went back to laughing a bit by the time she was done as the next round of drinks arrived.

"Hmm? Oh yeah sure, that can be a lesson I suppose. The name I go by is generally Tumu Inakamono with Machakw Dichali being my original native heritage, however considering I am too diluted to put two words together, you may call me what you wish, as everyone else does." He would grab his new bottle and take a strong swig, hoping to dull himself as soon as possible. "I suppose that is true. And if that is how you wish to be labeled, that is how I will make you appear to everyone else." He would take another large gulp, before placing it on the table and standing from his chair, faking a perfect stagger. "Your first task is to find me tomorrow, after noon. Even among your own teammates, make sure no one knows this conversation went down as smoothly as this." He would take a minute to strap on all his various weapons, fix his hat, retie his scarf and grab the bottle before zigzagging towards the exit, say a few last words over his shoulder as he went. "Until next time, Reihe."

Exit

stuff i forgot to put into my last post:

"Hahaha, trust me, there's no need to make me out to be anything, it'll only take a couple minutes for people to get the gist after meeting them myself." Reihe chortled, hearing out her mission, quirking her brow in entertainment that apparently his other encounters with student's hadn't been so peaceful, now she was really curious on how the other's went down. However, that could wait for another day. "Aye, I'll keep quiet on the situation, see ya later Tu-sensei." Reihe relaxed in her seat, gulping down the rest of the drinks she'd ordered, lounging until the bill came. It was a bit more than she'd hoped to pay that night in the establishment but well worth the payoff that came because of it. After that she made her way back to her living quarters for a night of entertaining herself, something she'd have to have done quite a bit lately without knowing all that many people personally in these parts.

-Exit-