[Graded][TP] In a Land of Miracles They Shall Meet

[Nick]

SpoilerShow

Three children bound by fate,
Their unlikely meeting can't be late,
A child of song, of dance and talent, tortured by hate,
One born of light, whose parents could not wait,
And an avatar of a goddess, born with her trait.

Their lives are intertwined, without them the world is doomed,
To stop the rebirth of a demon, back to his realm he should be marooned,
Each must fight eachother's battles, and to eachother they should be attuned,
And if each does not play their part, each will surely suffer a great wound.

In a land of miracles the trio shall meet,
Though one's departure shall be bittersweet,
Without all of them, history is doomed to repeat,
In the end, a horrible defeat.

Their journey will continue in a grand center,
Each acting as the other's mentor,
A guide, a bard, a wily defender,
They shall find their foe with the assistance of the weather.

Well, that was really something, wasn't it? Fuhen didn't hold much stock in fortune tellers, in most case, but when one insisted that your fortune be told, and didn't want any money for it, and looked terrified afterwards, you generally tended to listen. He had been minding his own business, doing his usual mercenary work, and was just on his way to find more work when he had been approached, and he thought, well, he had to look into it, right? This was the sort of thing that usually only happened in the plays about samurai that he admired so much, and so an opportunity for it to happen to him for real? Impossible to pass up.

And so he had made his way to what made the most sense based on what seemed like fairly clear instructions, to Miracle country. It wasn't an incredibly long journey, as he happened to be somewhat nearby, but it still took several days travel by foot, and by the time he arrived he was well and truly exhausted. He realized only after he arrived that Miracle country was, in fact, quite large, and just stumbling upon the people  he was supposed to meet was unlikely, but what did he have for hints? Some basic character descriptors maybe, but those sorts of things could apply to anyone, really.

Sighing, and in desperate need of something to wet his whistle while he thought it over, he wandered off the road to a building that he presumed was a tea house of sorts.

[Niro]

Igarashi, Kosuke laughed heartily as Emica, one of the many whores of the 'tea' house, whispered a joke in his ear, her flirty, sultry voice tickling the auditory organ as the young man brought his mug of ale to his lips and drank from it. "I've never heard that one before!" Kosuke went on, getting up off the bar stool and making his way over to another whore sitting with two others at one of the tables. His mother was gone on business so he was free to get into the booze and hang out with the girls as much as he pleased.

"Girls, what's going on? Anything exciting?" Kosuke asked, flashing a grin at the trio before taking a seat on the far left.

"Nothing we can share with you, Kosuke~" Aika teased, her pretty face twisting into a sly smile and her red hair falling over her right eye.

"So mean, Aika! Spill!" Kosuke whined, a smile on his face as he brought the mug back up to his mouth.

"No can do! The Mistress would be so upset with me if I told you work details." The girl went on, twirling her hair around her left index finger while the other two girls, Emi and Hana, giggled at the exchange.

"Fineee!" He went on, finishing his mug of ale and putting it down on the table before he got up and stretched. "I'm going to go check out the front parlor and see if I'm needed. You girls don't get into anything too fun without me!" Kosuke laughed as he excited the back lobby and made his way to the front.

Compared to the back, private lobby the front of the tea shop was boring. It was quiet with several tables and a bar stocked with tea being the main attraction.

Kosuke moved to the bar and took a seat, looking out over the room for any signs of trouble while the bartender prepared drinks for the patrons within the bar. The front door jingled and Kosuke's gaze fell upon the newcomer; the man was HUGE! Easily taller than six foot, his height alone drew the gaze of the entire front section. Kosuke's gaze shifted to the sword sheath along the man's back and his interest piqued even more.

"Hey, Aya!" Kosuke called out to the bard. "Mind taking our customers order? The man looks like he could do with a drink." The young man called before shooting a grin at the man who towered over the other patrons.

[Yura]

OOC: Teashop Layout (We are currently in the parlor). Also, Aya would be in her performance clothes for this thread.

Aya turned and shot the boy an icy glare. She had been in the middle of serving a small group in the corner of the parlor when she heard Kosuke call out to her and noticed a rather large man standing in the entryway. Lady Setsuko had left her personal assistant in charge while she was gone, but with one of the local festivals in full swing until the end of the week, it difficult for one person to manage both ends of the business alone as they worked to satisfy the influx of customers. Knowing that the girl would need help, Aya had stepped in to pick up the slack on the tea house side of the business as she was much more accustomed to its operations than the other side. She worked extra hard to keep the tea parlor spotless and did her best to maintain a steady flow patrons, directing them to tables or to the back room as needed.

And yet, for the last few days Kosuke had been taking full advantage of his mother’s absence, getting into things that he knew full well she wouldn't allow. The moment she was out the door the boy was in back room rummaging through their alcohol storage and flirting with all the girls, though Aya was pretty sure that none of them had any intention of doing anything with the boy. Her annoyance with him had grown over the past several days as he indulged more and helped less despite the growing crowds.

"Of course, Kosuke. I wouldn't you to hurt yourself trying to get up." Aya replied through gritted teeth, her voice layered with sarcasm. Taking a moment to collect herself, tucking away her annoyance for the sake of the customer. Her moment taken, Aya moved towards the visitor, weaving her way through the tables filled with patrons so that she could reach him.

"I apologize for the wait." Aya said, smiling as she approached Fuhen. The closer she got to him, the larger the man looked and when she finally stood in front of him she had to make a conscious effort to look up at him in order to make eye contact. He wasn't the most conventionally attractive man that she had ever seen, his wiry appearance and long hair making him look a little unkempt, but he wasn't the worst looking man she had ever seen either. She took note of the rather large sheath full of swords that the man carried on his back, though said nothing. She wasn't about to pick a fight with a guy his fight over leaving his weapons at the door. "Could I interest you in a table and a glass of one of our full bodied teas?" She asked, "Or, perhaps, would you prefer something 'else'?"

[Nick]

The Frog felt a bit awkward as he drew the attention of so many. He was used to being the odd man out in many ways , whether from his height, his large collection of weaponry, or his odd frog-like traits, and so he was at least able to embrace it, smiling and giving nods to folks who stared in his direction, some of whom would quickly turn back to their conversations at their tables, others might continue to stare. "Aye, nae a worry!" He said as he was finally approached by who he assumed to be staff. "Tea's good! Ooh, somethin' else..." He put a hand to his chin, stroking for a moment, before shrugging. "Whatever ye got that tastes best, sure!"

Fuhen began to follow the young woman in her strange clothes, considering flirting for a moment, before deciding against it. She was cute, but a little young for his tastes, if anything he generally preferred them a little older than himself, but it was rare to find women like that these days that weren't already married. Of course, that didn't always stop him. The building seemed fairly large, and with so many patrons too seemed quite odd for such a small country. "Somethin' special in town...?" The samurai asked as his eyes drifted from one patron to another. In the back of his mind he had the prophecy that had been told by that strange woman, could the two possibly be related? "'Ain't seen a place this packed since the Dragon Country markets..."

[Niro]

Kosuke had ignored the annoyed tone of Aya as she replied, a boyish grin smeared across his face as she went over to the new customer. His gaze shifted to the tables, keeping an eye out for anyone that looked like they were about to cause trouble. It landed on one table filled with several of the locals from the village who were drinking ale and playing some sort of card game. Money was spread out on the table and it was obvious they were playing for keeps. In one turn, the man at the head of the table had wiped out the rest of the group's money and collected it for himself, a sly grin on the patrons face. Kosuke could see the growing frustration on the others patrons' faces but he had also seen how the winner had nonchalantly placed down a hidden card from his sleeve to win the game.

"You damn cheater!" One of the other man exclaimed, shooting up from his seat and grabbing the man's shirt while pulling him up and out of his seat, the commotion bringing the room to a halt as the other patrons waited with bated breath.

'Seems I wasn't the only one who saw that. Rookie.' Kosuke thought to himself as he placed his mug onto the bar and sauntered over to the table.

"I got this, friend." Kosuke reached out to the upset man and placed his hand on the arm grabbing the man's shirt. The disgruntled patron looked at Kosuke for a moment before recognizing him as the shop owner's son and let go of the man who fell back into his chair with a thud. Kosuke smiled at the upset man before shifting his gaze to the cheater, a cold look coming over his face.

"I saw your little trick. Get out of here, leave your money. You're lucky the Madam isn't here or else you'd be banned." Kosuke warned as he reached down and moved the pile of money in front of the cheater back to the center of the table. "The rest of you, feel free to collect your money or continue playing. I'll have a round of drinks sent this way as an apology for having to deal with him." The cheater glared at Kosuke but the young man returned it, not afraid of some petty lowlife. For a minute no one moved before the man got up with a grunt and stomped his way out of the house.

"Sorry about that everyone! Please continue on!" Kosuke called out to the entire front parlor, a happy smile back on his face. "Hey, Mister! Come sit with me!" He called out again, this time to the giant with his rack of swords. The boy moved back to the bar and took his spot on the stool before patting down the bar stool next to him as an invitation to the man.

[Yura]

Aya was immediately struck by the oddity of the stranger's accent. They had had a lot of travelers enter the tea shop over the two years that she had been working, but she had never met one with an accent nearly as thick as his. It wasn't so bad that she couldn't understand his words, it was just unusual. "This week is the village's end of harvest celebration." Aya said in response to the man's question as she led him through the crowd, navigating her way towards the bar in the parlor, "Everyone from the neighboring towns and communities comes to town all week to praise the heavens for their bountiful crops and get one last celebration in before winter swoops in. There's lots of dancing, and singing, and plenty of food to go around." She explained as they finally reached the bar and motioned for the man to take an empty seat. "Some people even partake in some other indulgences as well." She added with a quick glance towards one of the older women walking around to tables dressed in her low cut shirt and high skirt.

Walking around to the other side of the bar, Aya began rummaging through the cabinets before removing several jars and setting them on the counter in front of the man. "So, if you're looking for a tea that's really sweet, this one is the best." She said, pointing to a jar filled with green, pink and red herbs. "For something a bit more mellow, but with a touch of citrus I would definitely recommend this one." She added, motioning towards the second jar with green, yellow and orange herbs. "And if you want somethi-"

'Hey, Mister! Come sit with me!'

Aya was cut off by the sudden shout from the room behind her. Immediately knowing who it was, Aya's eye's rolled up towards the ceiling while she released a heavy sigh before she turned to look back towards Kosuke. "You can ignore him." she said to the stranger, "He's obnoxous when he's drunk."

[Nick]

As the Frog followed the young woman through the bar to his seat, something felt off in the air. There was a kind of energy that he hadn't felt before, hanging there, like a buzz of power, and slowly, it ticked up, getting louder. Figuring it was just the atmosphere of the festivities, after Aya explained that they were entering their end of harvest celebrations, he shrugged it off. He almost didn't catch her meaning with other indulgences, as his lower half seemed to keep moving, and his upper half stayed in place, until he was bent about 90 degrees backwards (though his swords would somehow manage to stay glued in place), clearly staring at someone's butt as he walked past. Finally he would snap back up right, momentarily pulled away from his not-so-subtle glances as he was seated.

Straddling one of the stools, he scooted it back from the bar a bit to give his long legs room to stretch out properly, before leaning forwards to lean on his forearms. As the hostess began to explain the different types of teas, he almost stopped her immediately on the first one, he had a very large, sharp sweet tooth, and he knew immediately it was what he wanted when she offered it, but waitresses in restaurants all over the world did the same thing, continuing to offer specials and sales long after you'd already decided, and nothing would interrupt them, no matter how awkwardly you smiled at them, and so he did just that, waiting.

While he couldn't interrupt her, someone in the background did, and the Frog was thankful for it. The fellow shouted at him to join him for drinks, and, Fuhen thought, if he was going to be stuck here for awhile, he might as well make a drinking buddy. Looking from the bright haired boy to the woman before him, he smiled. "Company sounds like a good idea!" Fuhen remarked, standing up and pushing the stool backwards with his legs as he did so. "I think I'll go sit over there, and eh... If'n ye could bring me a pot o'..." He put a hand to his chin, remembering which was which for a moment, before pointing towards the one she'd indicated as sweet. "Tha-" He'd started, but then the jar shattered as he pointed.

That energy he'd felt in the room overflowed the whole area now, and it smelled, and even tasted like it did right before a storm. Everyone in the room seemed to pause completely, aside from the woman offering to serve him drinks, and the boy who'd invited him over, and of course, the Frog himself. People stopped right in the middle of taking drinks, their mouths filling up with alcohol or tea, and then overflowing to spill down their chins and into their laps, others paused mid conversation, or mid laughter when a joke had been told moments before. Fuhen looked around, looking confused for a moment, and he opened his mouth to speak, when suddenly everyone who was paused moments before began to speak instead.

"IN A LAND OF MIRACLES THEY SHALL MEET." They started, speaking as one while staring dead ahead. The Frog looked even more confused and concerned, as he recognized that as part of the prophecy he'd been told. Suddenly as one, everybody turned to look at the hostess. "A CHILD OF SONG, OF DANCE AND TALENT, TORTURED BY HATE." They intoned, before their heads all swiveled to look at the boy in the seat. "ONE BORN OF LIGHT, WHOSE PARENTS COULD NOT WAIT." Their voices were not loud, but all speaking together their collective words filled the air, especially in what was otherwise dead silence. Finally, their heads all turned to look at the stranger in the room, the Frog. "AND AN AVATAR OF A GODDESS, BORN WITH HER TRAIT."

Fuhen was speechless for several moments, and slowly everyone's heads returned to the positions they'd started in, and... everything seemed to resume. Those caught in the middle of drinking admonished themselves that they'd so clumsily spilled, those in the middle of laughter continued to laugh. It was as though it had never happened. The River Country native looked around again, before turning back to look at the hostess, and then the boy who had called him over, before looking down at the broken jar. "That wasn't me."

[Niro]

Kosuke's jovial expression morphed into one of pure confusion as the jar the tall, sword carrying stranger pointed at exploded and the entire atmosphere of the shop changed. Miracle Country had experienced some bad storms during his time living within the country and the feeling in the air was similar to one of those large storms that drowned villages and uprooted entire forests. The young teen looked around the room, trying to figure out what the hell was going on and noticed that besides himself, Aya, and the stranger the entire building seemed to be in some sort of trance.

"What the hell?" Kosuke muttered to himself before putting his mug down on the bar top and trying to figure out why everyone had stopped. He moved to get up from his bar stool but before he could even push himself back from the bar, the entirety of the front room broke out in a drone of voices all melding together into one tone. Their blank looks focused on Aya first, then himself, then the stranger while spouting some sort of rhyme before the energy in the air vanished and caused the atmosphere of the building to return to normal. The patrons snapped free of the trance and went on as if nothing had happened while Kosuke looked around in great bewilderment before settling on the tall stranger. He slowly pat the bar stool next to him again, waiting for the man to join him this time and gave Aya a look that quite clearly meant 'I need you, please come here.' Upon taking a seat, assuming he would, Kosuke would turn to the man with the look of confusion still etched across his boyish features.

"You can say that wasn't you all you want but...something at least followed you and did it. Any idea what?" Kosuke asked, wanting to get to the bottom of whatever had occurred before his mother possibly returned from her business dealings and made it into a bigger issue than it currently was.

[Yura]

"Ah!" Aya squeaked, jumping back a little as the jar of dried tea leaves suddenly burst and shattered. Her head immediately snapped back towards the odd looking man, a scowl on her face as she thought to scold the man for presumably tossing a projectile at the jar. When she saw the mans face, however, she noticed a look of confusion and puzzlement plastered across it, and in her periphery she noticed that everyone in the room suddenly went still. As she looked around the room at the still faces, she felt the air become heavy, an abnormal feeling emanating throughout the room. She was about to walk up to one of the patrons when everyone began to speak in unison bringing her to a complete stop.

A CHILD OF SONG, OF DANCE AND TALENT, TORTURED BY HATE. The statement sent a shiver down Aya's spine as she stood in stunned silence. Very few people knew of her backstory, it wasn't something she talked about. There was no way that any of these people should know and yet they all made the statement together and it was hard not to feel that it was directed at her. As they all continued to speak, Aya brought her hand up to feel her forehead, wondering if this was all some sort of fevered delusion. When it became clear that she had no such fever, she resorted to pinching herself thinking she might be in some sort of daydream. By the time that the group had ceased speaking, Aya had come to the conclusion that this was neither a hallucination or a dream; it was very much real.

And suddenly, as if nothing had happened, all of the patrons and working girls suddenly came to life again and carried on with their conversations. Aya stood silently, mouth agap for several moments before turning back towards the stranger and noticing Kosuke motioning not only him, but to her as well. "That did just happen right? It wasn't a dream?" She asked as she approached the pair, wanting to confirm that she wasn't crazy, "Who are you?" She asked, her attention turning to the strange man.

[Nick]

Fuhen looked around the room for a moment, going to the man that beckoned him over, trying to process what just happened. With every step he kept expecting everyone to burst out laughing at the grand prank that had been played on him, or perhaps for them all to stare him down and repeat more of the prophecy. It was a chilling prospect. He understood his role, and while the Children of Takiyasha, those born with the frog like traits he had, were not often referred to as avatars of Takiyasha-hime, to him it still clearly stood out as calling him out. He looked to the blonde haired boy that had called him in the waitress over, wondering how exactly the prophecy pertained to him, and upon looking over at the hostess, he had the same thought about her.

"I dinnae think it followed me... Though maybe it was waitin' here all along..." He mumbled out in thought as he pulled a chair up, sliding it around and sitting in it backwards, his long legs splayed on either side of the back. "Isnae a dream neither." He said, putting his chin down on the back of the chair, muddling thoughts around in his head, before sighing, shrugging, and sitting up a bit more straight. "Oi'm Fuhen, from the country o' Rivers and Streams." He wasn't really sure where to go from here. The two people who had joined him in this prophetic calling were complete strangers. "I eh... Who're the two o' ye? Do ye know each other? Well, regardless..."

He sighed again, and took a breath, before uttering the prophecy line for line, from the top, to the bottom, including the portion of the prophecy that they had all just heard together. After finishing, he cleared his throat. "Some fortune teller lady told me all o' that while I was out and about on me travels, and didn't even want payment for the thing, so I found it 'ard t'believe I was bein' jipped. Oi'm thinkin' that we've got work to do, ye ken?"

[Niro]

Kosuke sat in silence on the barstool and sipped the ale from his mug after Fuhen had taken a seat next to the young pair and began to explain what he knew about the strange occurrence which had taken over the shop and its patrons. His accent was thick and at points Kosuke wanted to giggle at it like the immature teen he was but he shoved the want deep down while Fuhen went on.

"River and Streams? Holy shit, that's...all the way across the continent." Kosuke replied with shock as he put down his mug of alcohol. "Just how long have you been travelling around for? You probably got more experience than most of the guys who stop in town to restock on their own adventures." The revelation had Kosuke excited; this here was a man who had probably traveled the entire continent, who knew what the man could teach him?

"I'm Igarashi, Kosuke. My mother owns this shop and Aya here is pretty much my sister in all but blood. She's been stuck with me for a couple years now and will continue to be for even more to come." He explained to Fuhen, a smirk on his face because of his comment of Aya being stuck with him for the foreseeable future.

"I guess we do if this fortune teller lady is stalking you and messing with the shop and the patrons." Kosuke picked his mug back up and drained the rest of the liquid before placing it back down and sliding it across to the bartender. "Sounds like this adventure we've been fortune told into might take a bit. Aya, we should go pack some bags and get ready."

[Yura]

The man's mention of River Country gave Aya a slight start. She knew of the country, even knew it's western regions quite well. Or at least, she had. It was a neighbor of Waterfall Country, the place of her birth, and as such she and her family would occasionally venture out into western River Country when the weather was good. There weren't many people in the country in general, but they had always received a warm welcome from the small fishing communities as they passed through and it was obvious that the people appreciated the songs and dances of the Inji. Makes me sort of miss home.

Aya had zoned out of the conversation a bit as she thought of her life in the past, only zoning back in at the tail end of the man's story of an old woman and a prophecy. It was a bit hard for Aya to believe if she were being honest. Some other worldly force had predicted their meeting and further predicted that they were to have great adventures together? Please. Then again, she herself had a mysterious power of her own that allowed her to bestow marvelous powers onto others so she supposed anything could be possible. Before she could answer the man's question, Aya found Kosuke answering for both of them, elicting another eyeroll from her as he referred to her as his 'sister in all but blood'. She'd like to meet the Inji that bestowed that kind of curse on her. He caught her attention though as he suddenly decided that they needed to pack their bags.

"Are you daft?!" Aya suddenly blurted out as her gaze shifted towards Kosuke, confusion in her eyes, "Some random stranger comes waltzing in here with some story about a prophecy that some random old woman told him about and you want to just pack up and take off with him? We don't even know him!" She just couldn't believe it. They had no reason to trust this man, no reason to believe his story. Of course, they did just witness some sort of strange event, but that was beside the point! Aya knew what this was really about. "You just want to get away from your mother, don't you." She said with a humph, crossing her arms in the process.

[Nick]

A gentle smile spread across Fuhen's face as the two bickered back and forth. It reminded him of his arguments with his own siblings, and in a certain way it made him homesick. He left his home partially for his own wanderlust, but also to continue finding work, needing to bring home money to his family to continue paying rising taxes in his home country. His travels often left him gone for most of the year, often only coming back just in time for tax season, the end of the fish migration that was the primary source of his villages permanent income, aside from him, of course. He felt something deeper between the pair, two. Clearly a kind of tension, and he figured the gods that controlled their actions probably had that same tension between them.

"Oh, I've been travellin' far n' wide fer as long as I kin remember, even made somethin' of a name fer myself in some places, good in some, worse in others..." He said, recollecting his experiences in fire country, and of course, the worse experience in Dragon Country, where gangs still sent folks after him to this day.

The Frog chuckled but kept himself muted, scooting up closer to the table to rest the elbows of his gangly arms on the surface, and subsequently his chin fell into his palms. "A pair o' opposites, aye?" He asked with a smile, still basking in the almost familial glow the two of them shared. "Listen, eh... Aya, aye? hehe I'm's understandin' nae wantin' t'just listen to a stranger on eh... rather serious matters, ye ken? But eh... Well, I dinnae any other way t'put it, really. The fancy rhyme by 'ere seems t'be sayin' doin' nothin' leads to the doom o' the world..." He shrugged, folding his arms down on the table and nodded to himself. "So I dinnae about ye, but even if'n I'm's t'be wastin' my time, seems like somethin' worth checkin' out, ye ken?"

[Niro]

"You bring up good points Aya but it's not just getting some space from her but exploring the world! Miracle Country is great and so is the town but it's awfully small when it comes to the bigger picture. Plus, you heard him. The entire world is in danger! We can save the world! Think of it!" Kosuke countered, his eyes shining brightly like rubies at the thought of being known as a hero throughout the lands. "Yes, my boredom is driving my desire. Even if you don't want to go, I am. I want to see the world and explore a bit." The young man shrugged at the end.

Turning to Fuhen with a wide smile on his face, Kosuke began to speak. "How long of a trip do you estimate I should be packing for? Couple days? Couple weeks?" He asked the man before spinning and turning to face Aya again. "So are you coming or not? Do you really wanna face Mother's wrath upon learning I'm not here?" He teased, a smirk stretched across his face.

[Yura]

"Oh, I'm not the one who will be facing her wrath. I'm not your keeper, even if I do act like it." Aya shot back with a bit of attitude. Deep down, though, she knew her chances were really 50/50. Lady Setsuko's wrath knew no bounds at times. Still, she didn't like this. This stranger seemed nice enough, if not a bit odd, but they simply didn't know him. He wasn't someone that they regularly interacted with, he wasn't someone that was friends with or related to someone they knew, he wasn't even someone that they had heard of before. And yet, she could see the determination in Kosuke's eyes. He was going to go. There was no question of it. The boy who had barely been beyond the boundaries of this village and the country in which it resided was itching for adventure, only seeming to see the potential glory in being a hero without truly knowing the evils that come with it.

"I'll go." Aya said finally. She couldn't in good conscience let Kosuke blindly leap out into the world with only a stranger to guide him, after all. She at least had traveled some, though it had really been years since those days. And she did after all know first hand some of the dangers and evils that existed in the world. If she could play a part in making sure that they came back alive, then so be it. Besides, if the so called prophecy turned out to be true, at least she would manage to do some good in the process. "But, before we leave, I'm leaving a note for Lady Setsuko letting her know why we aren't here in case she gets back before we do." She added, before turning toward Fuhen, "And I'm putting your name an description in it too. If we, well moreso him than me, don't come back from this, you better hope you're as dead as we presumably are because the alternative will not end well for you." She didn't mean for it to sound like the threat that it likely did, but it was a point that needed to be made.

"Regardless of the time length it won't take me long to pack. I don't exactly have a lot of stuff and entertainers learn how to pack light anyways, but I too would like to know what we should be expecting."

[Nick]

Once more he could only listen to the pair bicker, holding back laughter for fear of offending his would be crusaders of justice. As they asked their questions, and made their accidental threats, Fuhen put his hands up in a placating gesture, shaking his head. "Hey, hey! The two o' ye know as much about this as I do now! If'n these prophecy things are t'be believed, if one o' us doenae make it back, there will nae be anythin' for the others t'come back to, ye ken?" He put his hands back down, sighed, shrugged, and folded his hands on the table.

"Ah'm nae the smartest tadpole in the school, so I dinnae know where we're really s'posed to go. The eh... little rhyme said eh... 'Grand Center', aye?" He looked from one of his new companions to the other, putting his hands down on the table. "Mebbe... Center o' the country? What's so grand about the center o' Miracle, eh?" He shrugged again. "Either way, stick to a backpack, aye? Oi ken hunt us down some food as we get goin', but we need t'figure out where we're goin' first!"

[Niro]

Aya's threats went through one ear and out the other as Kosuke blankly stared off into space as she lectured him. Finally he snapped back to reality once Fuhen addressed the pair. "Ah, I wasn't worried about food. I know how to hunt myself, I was thinking more how many changes of clothes and any sleeping arrangements. I'll be back in a moment." Kosuke replied with his eyes shining bright while holding his right hand out flat in front of him and lightly slamming his left hand, a closed fist, into it before he turned and took off into the back of the shop.

Kosuke made his way to his room where he immediately grabbed a knapsack from the floor and began to rifle through his drawers. Pulling out multiple copies of his current outfit rolled in such a way to minimize space he began to stuff the pack with them and undergarments. After he finished with packing clothing and snapping the pack shut, he moved to his bed and dropped to his stomach as he searched beneath it before withdrawing a tent large enough for multiple bundled and folded up. The young man had received it from one of the hunters who had taught him how to use a bow before the man had moved on to another region. Kosuke strapped the tent to the top of his pack before grabbing his own arsenal of weaponry from their resting positions in his room.

He grabbed his sword belt from its hanging spot on his wall before shifting the katana resting on the right to the left side so that both blades were located on the left and began to strap it to his waist. Kosuke next grabbed his bow, a gift from his deceased and never met father, and slung it across his back before tying its quiver to the right side of his sword belt. Lastly, the blond haired teen grabbed the pack from the floor and slung it over his bow and across his back before rushing back to the main room with a large grin on his face, his swords and arrows clinking together as he came to a stop before Fuhen.

"Ready to roll. Just waitin' on Aya."

[Yura]

Aya simply rolled her eyes at Kosuke and took off towards the storage closet in the back hallway, entering the room and then passing through the door in the back and into the secret hallway that led up to the second floor. She didn't own a lot of stuff, a fact made abundantly clear as she entered her tiny closet of a room that consisted of a bed, a nightstand and a half-full dresser that contained nearly everything that she owned in this world. Pulling a travel bag out from under her bed, she opened it up and began to stuff it full of items that she would need: Extra clothes, a blanket, her ocarina, and more. Grabbing her knife holster off the top of the dresser, she strapped it to her thigh and grabbed the rest to store them in her satchel.

With her equipment and travel materials prepared, Aya decended the stairs and returned to the first floor, making a detour into the kitchen where she began grabbing some of the non-perishables that she knew wouldn't be missed (either due to mass quantity or a lack of interest from the girls) and proceeded to stuff them into her bag. They could hunt for food, sure, but she wanted to make sure that they would at least have something if all else failed. She then filled a few canteens with water and stored those away as well before exiting the kitchen. Stopping one last time before she returned to the boys, Aya grabbed a pen and a sheet of paper from behind the bar and began to write the note as she had promised, handing it off to Lady Setsuko's assistant who seemed extremely confused and concerned as Aya hastily explained the situation to her. Apparently telling someone that you and the owner's son were going to take off with a random stranger to save the world made them look at you like you were speaking in tongues and spewing nothing but insantity. Still, before the girl could do anything to stop her, Aya took off and rejoined the boys at the bad.

"I'm all set. We can go whenever, probably best we do it before she finds a way to stop us though..." Aya said, glancing over at the assistant who was now frantically eyeballing them. The trio would escape out the backdoor of the facility in the brief moment that the assistant looked away, off on their adventure to save the world.