Front gate and driveway

Tesshu's car pulled into the drive by the steps leading to the main temple.



The man exited the rear drivers side door and awaited his guest's presence before he ascended his steps.

Marika Kamimura wrote:

Tesshū Tanegashima wrote:"You know, drinking and smoking so much may interfere with your powers, Marika. I feel I warned you of that risk years ago" warned Tesshu, but his moustach crinkled into a slight smirk as he said the words. He knew his old Captain was not an idiot, which is why he promoted her to the position in the first place. She was the captain and first commander of his first Death Ghost killteam for more than ten years during and after the war. As  the Colonel Osoroshī Fushichō, Tesshu held command of 20 Killteams and Shadow Teams, He held them all to exceptional standards and maintained all the teams equally. He held each member of every team dearly and made sure each team could synergise with eachother so they could work together on specific missions as needed. And Marika managed her team effectively.

Tesshu pressed the buzzer, indicating for the driver to take them back to his temple home.

She was about ready to light her second cigarette, when she glances over to him, the cig hanging off her lower lipe as she raised a brow. "Heh, the contrary... they only add more fuel to the fire." She chuckled, taking her brass lighter from her purse and lit the cig. She inhaled and then exhaled. "...but no, I never drink on the job. Only dumbasses do something that retarded." She replied, before turning to him. "...you're bustin' my non-existent balls again, aint ya...?" She chuckled, blowing smoke out her nostrils again.

She exited the vehicle after him, and looked out to the expanse of the Fire Temple. It wasn't just the Tangeshima home, it was an active temple or so she remembered. "Being one of the great families really pays off it seems." She chuckled, biting her cigarette between her teeth. She glances over to Tesshu and waits for him to make his move.

Marika Kamimura wrote:She exited the vehicle after him, and looked out to the expanse of the Fire Temple. It wasn't just the Tangeshima home, it was an active temple or so she remembered. "Being one of the great families really pays off it seems." She chuckled, biting her cigarette between her teeth. She glances over to Tesshu and waits for him to make his move.

"Not without it's own sense of work and responsibilities though. Nothing worth having comes easily" Tesshu replies as he began to ascend the steps. "So, tell me, what has been happening since we last met?" Tesshu asked.

Tesshū Tanegashima wrote:

Marika Kamimura wrote:She exited the vehicle after him, and looked out to the expanse of the Fire Temple. It wasn't just the Tangeshima home, it was an active temple or so she remembered. "Being one of the great families really pays off it seems." She chuckled, biting her cigarette between her teeth. She glances over to Tesshu and waits for him to make his move.

"Not without it's own sense of work and responsibilities though. Nothing worth having comes easily" Tesshu replies as he began to ascend the steps. "So, tell me, what has been happening since we last met?" Tesshu asked.

She followed after him, her fur boots crunching small leaves underfoot as they ascended into the woodland temple of fire... which was kind of ironic when you thought of it long enough. His question directed at her, she looked at him, then away and up for a moment, as if trying to look for the answer in the trees above. "Last we met... that had to be five years ago..." She says this, not realizing its been the same amount of time for many things. It was when the Emperor was slain by Taizo Busujima, Taizo's death, the disappearance of Prince Takashi Sigara and Yuko Busujima, and it was the start of her journey. It was a dark time, five years ago... She quit the military at that time, a young captain she was, but... she still had not overcome the grief of her boyfriend from two years prior at her tender age of 22. Julius Grieg would have possibly been her fiancé had things been different for them. Poor Eiji Kamimura was only thirteen at the time, and with no parents to count on besides his secretive, depressed older sister who had to step up as the guardian for the duration of their childhood... it was no wonder he wandered off and got himself kidnapped by that coward, Kibara! Everything seemed to line up with that bastard, he seemed to thrive on taking away happiness.

I have to stop by the Grieg ruins... see if August still visits... She thought to herself after gathering her thoughts.

Her bangs covered her eyes, shadowed them from sight as her face went cold. "Lots of things happened five years ago. I quit the military, became a mercenary. I think I stopped by your office once or twice, but found out you retired. I exhausted my efforts trying to find Eiji, but... they were exactly that. Wasted effort." She continued. "I took up hunting demons, hunting criminals, drinking... figured I'd either die with a bottle in my hand, or my throat cut or in the belly of some beast... but, I wised up, got into tinkering with machines. Kinda fun... actually. Refreshes the soul. So now my days are filled with hunting for Kibara's men, pissing Gilex away with booze and cigs. I met some good mercs in the business. There was this kid with a wicked looking arm, and a guy who used this large double sword with red eyes and silver hair that went well with his silver tongue, traveled with him for a while. When the sex got boring, dropped him off a cliff in a literal sense, met with a frogman forger who was talkative and smart for his race. He went his separate ways with me, had to check up on one of his forges in the dessert. There was also a Scardian guy, Justin Grey-something, met him outside Kilwood, helped him on a quest to kill some of the wargs in the woods. Nice guy, he was dating the local red head named Fiona I think. She was almost my Scardian counterpart! I think she got jealous I was with her boyfriend on the mission, heh." She paused, before continuing. "I also did some work with Lady Tsuya Hitotsuyanagi out in Domescadia. Dunno what that Beijionese Noble is doing out there, but she's looking for something. Helped chase away some thieves, before I moved on and did some work for the Elves of Minktail." She says, before sighing. "Otherwise, not too much... and still no luck finding my little brother. He's out there... I know he is. I'm not gonna stop till something kills me, or I find him."

Tesshu's face took on a haunted look as he continued ascending the steps. The war and everything that happened still haunted his nightmares and fears even today.

".... Syo.... Taizo... Julius... Eiji... I had to take over from Syo and Taizo after the Rebel ambush. I am the one Syo saved... I'm the one responsible. I fought for so long to find the rebels that helped Kibara kill my brother and drive Taizo mad. But, in the end, I couldn't find them. I tried to prevent what happened to the Busujima clan in the aftermath, but the Imperial Court would not let it be. They punished them, even though I told them what happened. I left the Military and the Imperial Guard in disgust. After that, I tried to reach out to the remaining Busujima clan members who were not executed, but... Saeko prefers her solitary nature. Her sister went missing not long after Taizo's death, and Shiori prefers her business. I grew worried about them, but there's nothing I can do for them if they do not want it... But now, after all this time, old demons have come back to haunt us, it's unfortunate it coincides with this new demon invasion that has been taking place."

Tesshū Tanegashima wrote:Tesshu's face took on a haunted look as he continued ascending the steps. The war and everything that happened still haunted his nightmares and fears even today.

".... Syo.... Taizo... Julius... Eiji... I had to take over from Syo and Taizo after the Rebel ambush. I am the one Syo saved... I'm the one responsible. I fought for so long to find the rebels that helped Kibara kill my brother and drive Taizo mad. But, in the end, I couldn't find them. I tried to prevent what happened to the Busujima clan in the aftermath, but the Imperial Court would not let it be. They punished them, even though I told them what happened. I left the Military and the Imperial Guard in disgust. After that, I tried to reach out to the remaining Busujima clan members who were not executed, but... Saeko prefers her solitary nature. Her sister went missing not long after Taizo's death, and Shiori prefers her business. I grew worried about them, but there's nothing I can do for them if they do not want it... But now, after all this time, old demons have come back to haunt us, it's unfortunate it coincides with this new demon invasion that has been taking place."

Marika remained quiet as they ascended the steps, Tesshu's voice echoing in her head as she thought of all the things that Kibara had done, the lives he had ruined. "The Beijiosaki have always had a unique way of dealing with anger, even so, there were many who were in support of the Busujima Clan's fall." She replied. "Perhaps... its the best time for such old demons to resurface." she countered. "May as well face them before the horde breath down our necks." She says without looking at him, her eyes still hidden by her orange bangs.

Marika Kamimura wrote:Marika remained quiet as they ascended the steps, Tesshu's voice echoing in her head as she thought of all the things that Kibara had done, the lives he had ruined. "The Beijiosaki have always had a unique way of dealing with anger, even so, there were many who were in support of the Busujima Clan's fall." She replied. "Perhaps... its the best time for such old demons to resurface." she countered. "May as well face them before the horde breath down our necks." She says without looking at him, her eyes still hidden by her orange bangs.

"Easier said than done. If Kibara IS linked to Asura, and thus Shadowlaw by proxy, or the Crimson Knights, then these new demons are linked to his return. Which may put him beyond our reach. Whatever these new monsters are, they are far more powerful than the usual throng of demons, even those directly under the command Everin Faust's command were not like this..." Tesshu explained as they reached the temple gateway. he opened the doors and entered the War Room.

(Continued Here)

Makoto parked her bicycle and slid one long leg over the seat following the other, before her large eyes glanced up and out to the Tangeshima compound. She saw her Uncle's car parked near the entrance and assumed he and her idiot cousins had to be home. It had been a while since she paid them a visit, even though she lived on the same site as them; the compound was huge enough that she could walk around and not cross paths with her Uncle, Aunt or cousins. She rarely seen her own mother at times. She slung her bag wordlessly over one shoulder and began her approach.

(from Nia's shop of wonders)

Justin walked home from Nia's shop, after parting ways with Neko. He had his hands in his pants pockets as he thought about the day's events, and the 'sparring lesson' if you wanted to call that massacre between his brother and father. Neko's blood drinking activities, his teacher's questionable teaching methods...



The impressive explosion rocked the trees, the intense heat flowing from the fire shrine knocked him out of his daze, his arms shooting up, covering his face- the bright golden fire could be felt this far down! "What the hell is that?!!" He screamed, the large booming sound and intense cloud of gold fire shooting upwards could be seen even through the thick foliage of the bamboo woodland surrounding the Tangeshima Clan's compound!

After a few moments, the power dissipated. A stunned Justin stood there, confused. "What the hell was that?" He repeated to himself, sweat rolling down his muscular form... when he felt a sense of dread and worry build up inside him.

"Oh shit..." He says to himself, thinking of his father, his brother... other family members. Granted, he also hoped that whatever it was wasn't Tsubo related, but he didn't think it was. He dropped his slow walk and instead ran up into the bamboo wood, taking the more tedious and overgrown shortcut to the shrine instead!

(to the shrine path)

Energy tore through the upper floor of the manor...

Outside, a lone figure approaches...



One of the maids who attend the manor saw her 'master', bowing her head to her as she left quickly- in case said master failed... which was unlikely given the info she was given.

"Well...well..." The tall shadow says, one hand on her hip, her large, fiery eyes upon the lit up second floor of the estate. A fangy grin spread across her face, her right hand lifting into a fiery fist:



"...time to snuff out that old fart's flames once, and for all!" Xatia Kitsunemeira exclaimed! Xatia the Firecat, Crime Boss of the Kuzuri Yakuza!

She tossed flames to the nearby decoration and walls in a nonchalant manner... returning her hands to her coat's pockets as the flames and the 'eerie light' from the second floor radiated across Xatia's 6'5 frame, her bouncing large breasts, her toned, detailed, six pack abdomen... her dark smile spread from ear to tall ear...! She approached the manor at a slow gait, not needing to make haste... from what the maid told her? She had plenty of time...

[To here]

Lys pulled up her bike in the driveway of her old former home. She tipped her hat backwards to look up the steps towards the temple, the alter, and the burial grounds... She came back to this place only for two reasons, to tend to her parents graves, and to fulfill her part of the duty to the sealed shrine. She knew that, even though she and her family do not see eye to eye, she still knew her duty to her bloodline. She had to come back here at least once a year and fulfill her part of the seal binding ritual.



She frowned at that. But did it anyway, and ascended the steps.

(OOC: To here)