An Unexpected Visit - Wait, What Do You Have That Big Sword For?

[Anadwen]

The lanterns emitted a warm light, hanging in the corners of Seiki's large room, and they illuminated his tall figure that walked up to one of the wardrobes, lining both its sides. His hands slowly took off the white haori, letting it slide down, and carefully folded it, placing it inside. The soft fabric was gone from his view as he sled the door back to its place.

The next step was the sword. The stand for his soul-cutter, Blood-red Blossom, was set right in front of the mat that he used as a bed. He removed the sheathed blade from his side, setting it into the stand, and started untying the obi at his waist. The black shihakusho he wore was slowly, but with grace taken off, baring the pale skin of his chest that covered his lean frame.

It was folded and set right under the stand with the blade. Then, he took off the pair of white gloves that covered his wrists and the backs of his hands, placing them before the folded hakama. It was just typical for him to perform his evening undressing as some strange ritual. Instead of simply taking his clothes off and tossing them around, he folded each piece and put it onto its appropriate place.

His gaze stopped at his right hand for a moment. It was wrapped in white threads as always, to conceal the large irregular scar, stretched across his wrist on both sides of his hand. He didn't feel it any longer - the bones have grown back, just like the muscles and skin that covered them - but a part of him disliked seeing his past failures. That part was the same one that made him keep his head up and stop him from looking down at the other pair of scars at his abdomen.

He untied the bandages, and folding them neatly placed them beside the gloves. It was time to clean the sword. A katana required everyday maintenance, or at least so he thought. And so, he stood up again, retrieving a piece of fabric from the wardrobe, and unsheathed the sleek, long blade to start cleaning it.

His white fingers ran up and down the steel, over and over till it glistened in the light. A silent sound came from the door, leading straight out onto the rock atop which his room was set. He, however, refused to raise his head from the sword.

Whatever it was, it was not his concern.

[Caerina]

Stealing things always came kind of naturally to Khanna. It was an aptitude she discovered as a young girl, a slave in a rich household. You had to be invisible, silent and pretend you are not breathing, not listening and not looking. You had to pretend you were an object. As much as she hated it then, now it probably represented one of her most useful talents, something she could use always in her thefts, since pesky things like morals and honour weren't on her list of personality traits and never stopped her.

So, as expected honour and morals had nothing to do with the fact that she was currently hanging on a roof in the Draconi Forest in the middle of the night while strange animal sounds could be heard from all sides. Not that animals were something that could stand in her way, mind you, since she was in a particularly nasty mood tonight. But, anyway, as she hanged from the roof, trying to be as silent as she could and failing because of a nasty and large bruise on her left leg (bandits were nasty in this time of the year... like mosquitoes), she let out a string of unladylike curses.

Now, why she was on the roof was another matter all together, because that certainly wasn't a hobby of hers. Stealing precious treasures, on the other hand, was and it was also the reason why she was in that particular position. Thieves don't enter through the door like normal people with nice intentions, because they weren't normal people and because their intentions were quite nasty most of the time. Khanna was particularly nasty when she had a plan and it wasn't working out. Like now.

Finally, she set her feet silently onto the rocky floor. Her spine hurt because of the acrobatics on the roof, but she gritted her teeth and pushed forward. If I were a priceless artifact of immense power, where would I be? She walked through the dark hallway in silence, her black cloak covering her face, her figure and transforming her from a young woman to a dangerous thief. She didn't know much about the family who lived here, her primary interest was the artifact she heard stories about in the nearby village.

Closing in on a door, she carefully looked to her left and to her right, satisfied to see that the hallways were completely devoid of any foreign presence and shadows. She smirked slightly beneath her cloak and slid the door to the side with her confidence peaking.

[Anadwen]

The door opening startled Seiki. He controlled himself and didn't look behind himself. Though, he wondered who it could be - there was no spiritual presence to be felt. Was it someone that was hiding it? But only some of the most skilled warriors were capable of that... Though, who would come to his room at this time?

He slowly turned his head, and gazed at the door over his shoulder. It was opened only to a slight gap... And just a shadow of a person could be seen. He kept noiselessly cleaning his katana, not concerned about the visitor.

However, he hoped that the person would go away. He disliked people seeing him in this state, without his complete gear on. They always asked questions - except for those that already knew. Though, not all did. Just a few were aware of what really happened.

If someone would enter, they would clearly see why - the two lines, running from his ribs almost to his hips were mirrored in the exact shape on his back.

[Caerina]

So, what happens once a door is open? In most cases, it's a sign that a person is about to enter or leave a room, but in Khanna's situation it really meant that she just opened the door to trouble. And trouble is something she'll get, as it was something that usually happened and Khanna was a creature of habits.

The room wasn't brightly lit, it was actually quite dark. It looked like a bedroom but as far as she could see it could've been the bathroom. Her angle was just terrible and she could barely see few inches of the place. With a deep frown she pushed the door to the side a bit more, revealing more of the room to her sharp green eyes.

As per usual, she first looked the room over for valuables, but it looked strangely devoid of any objects like that, it was clean and practical. Masculine, she deduced as she let her eyes pass through the place once more. Deciding she wanted more, and feeling somewhat greedy and impatient, she pushed the door even further until she was able to see the whole room. And boy, what a mistake that was.

There was a person there. She could see his back. A very male person with a very male back who obviously held the a very metal object in his hands. She let her eyes trace over the large scars on his back, slightly taken aback. Khanna felt torn between running away like she was supposed to and staring at the incredibly bewitching scars. Did he even hear her? She cocked her head to the side. And wasn't that the katana she was searching for?

[Anadwen]

That made Seiki turn his head around completely. The door was opened and someone stepped into his room, judging by the sounds currently that person just stared at his back. A sigh escaped his mouth. He disliked being disrupted during his evening routines, as he assigned a special significance to weapon maintenance.

He was just about to send the person away and scold them for interrupting and entering without knocking, but what he saw was no Adachi. Actually, it looked more like... A thief.

A beacon of distaste flashed through his ever-cold eyes. His right hand arose, fully exposing the scar on his wrist, and he turned his chest halfway around, pointing at Khanna, while the left one kept the sword on its place.

"Fifty-three. Steel-rope cage, bind." he spoke, in his usual emotionless voice. Thick ropes of a steel-grey color appeared out of nowhere, fastening around the figure, and disappearing again, but the effect remained. A mid-level binding spell that would keep anyone in a lock, unable to do anything but speak and move his eyes. And a really high level of spiritual energy would be needed to break it.

All the while, he didn't flick a brow, though in fact, he was more than startled. A thief just saw him... Almost naked! So humiliating... How fortunate that he never blushed. Truly fortunate.

[Caerina]

Generally, Khanna wasn't someone who got into serious trouble a lot. Actually, it happened just a few times and she always had a readied route out. This time, unfortunately, she had no way out of the house (it was a house, not a fortress... her way out was supposed to be through the door!) and now it seemed like her host was reluctant to release her too. Precious.

The ropes binding her weren't there... But they were because she literally couldn't move an inch. That was the moment when she felt a pang of mixed adrenaline and nervousness. How was she going to get herself out of this situation? Although the view wasn't all that bad (Katana, she was talking about the powerful Katana he held), to her adept eyes there was no way out. Wriggling out of invisible bonding stuff wasn't an option. Anger slightly started spreading through her body.

Her cloak was still hiding her head and that was something she was grateful for. But, she doubted that would last long. She could just eye the room and think, as she tried to keep her identity concealed as long as she could.

[Anadwen]

It seemed like this opponent is not masking his spiritual pressure, but simply lacks any. That made things much easier... Blood-red Blossom would not be needed, then. He sheathed it again, and carefully placed back onto the stand where it belonged.

After that, he stood up, giving the thief a complete view on his intimidating, but graceful figure, and stepped towards the cloaked intruder. Thieves, robbers and criminals were in his eyes unworthy. He would not bother fighting such scum with Blood-red Blossom. It was not even worth the touch of his hands.

The cape was moved away with the tip of his foot, and revealed a girl's face. Though, that mattered little - she was still an intruder, after all. Something like that was irrelevant when dealing with someone who breaks the law.

His cold eyes pierced her, looking down at her. What a waste of his time...

"An intruder." he spoke coldly. That was all.

[Caerina]

There was an obvious look of dissatisfaction on her face. Khanna wasn't just an intruder, she was a skilled thief feared by rich people all around. Though, that wasn't something she proved tonight and thar made her very cranky and cranky meant reckless and reckless wasn't something that was going to get her out of this situation.

Nevertheless, her face remained passive, and she felt no fear although her cloak was down, just extreme dislike of the man in front of her.

"So, your special talent is what?" she smirked "Stating the obvious?"

Pissing off her captor wasn't the brightest idea of the century but Khanna couldn't stop herself. It worked like a defense mechanism and it wasn't a good one either. It would be so ironic for her dry humor and sarcasm to get her killed.

[Anadwen]

The look of disgust in Seiki's eyes deepened. It was one of the rare moments when someone could distinguish what he was most likely thinking or feeling. Indistinctly even then, though - but it was more than usual.

Like this, she could see him from up close. Though, it mattered little - she was just a thief. In the few years she could spend in a cell within the residence, she'd forget the sight... Or not.

He walked over to the stand with Blood-red Blossom. "I will grant you the privilege of laying your eyes upon my blade. Feast your eyes upon the sight." he spoke coldly, unsheathing the blade. A thief and intruder would most likely receive a death sentence, anyway... Or so he thought. He might just ease her waiting for the ordeal.

And to die by a blade so fair as his was more than any criminal ever deserved.

The steel made a silent screeching sound as the long, thin blade was revealed. He held it before his face vertically, and placed his right palm onto the cold steel. "I promise you you will not regret the sight. You will not have that time." The white hand, placed on the blade, pushed it forth a little.

"Break." he commanded it. White cracks spread from his hand, and the blade broke, scattering into myriads of gleaming shards. Those cascaded onto the floor like rose-white petals, and then, as he raised his hands, still gripping the hilt, up, they arose back up in a whirling current that blew back even a few strands of his hair. They were about to fall onto Khanna in a deadly stream, strong and sharp enough to tear the body into pieces, when the door opened again.

Shinobu's surprised figure froze in the door at the sight. Her brother without his shirt, coat, or gloves... Blood-red Blossom released into its true form and releasing surges of spiritual presence, and this girl on the floor... What was going on?

His ice-cold glance met with hers. What did she want from him?

[Caerina]

It was a nice blade, she had to admit. Even though it seemed she was one foot in her grave, Khanna was still quite enthralled with the beautiful katana. And now she wanted it more than ever. All she had to do now is escape the invisible bonds, kick the person in front of her who seemed to be an incredibly powerful something and snatch the weapon from his hands before riding out to the sunrise.

Snapping out of her crazy imagination, Khanna finally decided to face the reality. She was going to die. Or be tortured so bad it would probably result in death. Yes, the guy in front of her seemed like the type to kill not torture, but with such a passive, expressionless face nobody could really know what was underneath the facade.

If she had any use of her hands she would've used her magic. After all she was a great illusionist and a good elementalist, but without her hands she could do nothing. Psyche enhanced magic was never really her forte.

As she watched the sharp shards of the blade in front of her, Khanna felt incredibly vulnerable. There was just a spark of fear in her emerald eyes as she quickly concealed it. She was going to die, that was it, and she didn't even do everything she wanted to do. There was just a pinch of guilt here and there in her vulnerable moment but she pushed it back. She wasn't going to let guilt ruin her last moments.

Instead of averting her eyes from him and the blade shards she looked straight at him, as if daring him to kill her. Fear was strangling her inside, but a small smirk was playing on her lips. She took a silent breath in and then... The door opened? Utterly confused, she was not able to see who just saved her from imminent death. She also wasn't sure whether to be thankful or not for a few more moments.

[Anadwen]

"Seiki... What is happening here?" Shinobu asked, gripping the door-hinges with her hands, and staring at her brother in confusion. What was he trying to do? Kill that girl? But why? An intruder? Thief? Also, why was he... Just in the bottom part of his hakama?

She blushed as she saw him like that. It was truly a little unnerving to see him shirtless, even though it was sure an intimidating sight. And rather aiming her gaze at the girl, she stepped in, reaching after her own blade.

"There was an intruder. She opened the door and broke in while I was cleaning my sword." he replied calmly. The blade shards ascended back towards the hilt, returning to their original form and reforming the blade, while his sister studied the thief with her eyes.

Seiki was cleaning his sword half-naked? Now that was something new to her. Though, it was nothing that could be neglected if there was an intruder within the house. She walked towards her, and pointing the tip of her own blade straight between her head glared down in a similarly cold way as Seiki before. "What are you doing here? You were not supposed to be within the gardens themselves as far as I know. Speak!" she asked her sternly. The blade did not quiver once.

[Caerina]

Oh, and her hope perished as fast as it came to her. It wasn't a savior it was another of the crazy people who lived here. What was with this family and threatening with blades? Usually rich people screamed or ran away or fainted, some even managed to call the guards before fainting, but attacking the thief wasn't something that they did.

"Taking a midnight walk around the forest?" she said, but wished she didn't when the blade dug a bit into her skin. It didn't pierce it, but it was still cold and hurt. She pursed her lips slightly, looking at the newcomer, pondering on what she should say.

"I was... Curious," she said slowly. The best lies were those which were closest to the truth, so she kept it clean and simple. "I am a traveler and I tend to... Investigate things around, sometimes a bit too much it seems" Khanna said simply, looking the newcomer straight in the eyes.

[Anadwen]

"Don't lie!" Shinobu accused her harshly, barring her teeth as she spoke. "This house's gardens are a private property! No one is allowed to enter without permission from Takuya Adachi. And no one comes through without our knowledge. You were sneaking through the corridors. Only thieves do that. And you are a foolish thief if that is what you are!"

No one with half a brain would break into the residence of one of the most prominent knight houses of Adela, known especially for their skills in swordsmanship and martial arts. Unless they were horribly devoid of knowledge, or just that stupid, no one would do it.

"Tell the truth! What did you search for in my brother's room?" she asked her again. "If you will try to lie to me again, I will bury this blade into your skull!"

[Caerina]

Utterly ridiculous. Khanna just smirked. Oh well, her lies couldn't always pass, could they? And her luck was bound to run out sooner or later, but it was too bad she first didn't get her hands on that katana or any other artifact in this place.

"Fair enough," she said calmly, ignoring the blade "But a thief is such a harsh word. I very much prefer to call myself a con artist." Khanna smirked again. Why did she always have to look like she had a death wish? She didn't, not really. Khanna was terrified of dying.

She underestimated her target, a mistake she now had to remember never to repeat. It was actually quite understandable considering how young she is. Still, her only mistake was about to become her last one, it seemed.

[Anadwen]

"Stop wasting my time! Speak!" Shinobu growled back at her, clenching her fists to control the urge to kick into the thief. The katana in her hands was almost shaking from the strength of her grip, and her eyes were as cold and hard as that steel. This woman... She was trying her luck. And Shinobu was tempted to pierce her skull with the weapon.

However, Seiki's figure, suddenly appearing at her side, made her freeze. She looked up at him, just to meet with a freezing glance. Her brother was one of the few people that would make her halt and stop even in the urge of battle. Somehow, his form always made her calm down, no matter what was happening. The idea of Seiki seeing her so shamefully clinging onto an emotion made her sick and ashamed of her own self.

The grip of her hands around the katana eased almost immediately. She was no longer angry, just calm and merciless. Seiki looked down at the thief.

"Shinobu, put your soul-cutter away, and inform father. I will take care of this." A bitter thorn of disgust could be heard in his voice as he spoke about the intruder on the floor. As always, Seiki didn't consider people other than nobles and warriors worth his time and attention. His eyes did not meet the girl's glance once, he just quickly examined her figure, keeping his head to show how much he disdains her kind.

Shinobu bowed her head to him, and sheathed her sword again. "I understand." she spoke quietly, in complete obedience, and noiselessly hurried out of the room.

[Caerina]

Were they playing with her? Was the game called hot and cold? Because that was how Khanna felt at the time. At one moment the neurotic female threatened to spill her brains on the floor (thought Khanna was sure that spilling her brains around would make the other guy agitated), and in the next moment the ice brick man was trying to freeze her over with his glares. What a nice and welcoming family.

Keeping her mouth shut, Khanna observed the situation. There was a massive relief when the female stopped pointing the sharp katana her way. Seemed like the semi-naked guy had some control over her. Once she was out of the room, Khanna looked over to the ice brick guy, who still glared at her like she was dirt. Riiight, leave the dirt be, not worth your time.

"It's just the two of again, brilliant... So, what do you plan to do? Freeze me to death with your glares?"she asked sarcastically... Because sarcasm will sit just right with this guy. "Or are you up for some negotiations about my release," she smirked slightly.

[Anadwen]

Her constant use of sarcasm almost made Seiki twitch. Almost. But he kept his collected face, refraining from replying to her. Before Takuya would arrive, he would need to put all his gear back on. It would be a disgrace to show himself before the head of the house without most of his clothes, a disgrace he couldn't bear to face. A complete humiliation.

With his usual elegance, he put the top of his shihakusho back on, and fastened the sash around his waist. He picked up the wraps to hide the jagged scar on his wrist, stretched across both of its sides like a spiderweb, and quickly wrapped them over it. After he returned the pair of white gloves back on, he moved towards the wardrobe to retrieve his white haori. That was when the door opened, and Shinobu led their father in.

Takuya Adachi was, in appearance, much like his son - tall, and noble-looking. His black hair was shorter and slicked back instead of softly falling into his face like Seiki, and his attire was, to an extent, the same. Just like all warriors, he wore a black robe with white underlayers, but his haori had long sleeves, unlike the one his heir wore.

Shinobu bowed her head as she entered. Seiki immediately faced away from the wardrobe, and bowed to his father deeply. Takuya responded with a slight bow of his head, and Shinobu got out of the way as those two faced each other, with the thief between them. The head of the house scanned her with his crimson eyes, and then turned to his son with a question, mirroring in them.

"This woman entered my room without permission during the time when I was preparing to sleep." he informed him, appearing as official as it was just possible.
"It is true that I did not give the permission to enter the property of our residence to any one in the past month. Thus, she has to be an intruder." Takuya agreed. His level of officialism was comparable with his son's.
"She entered through the inside door. I immediately bound her, and attempted to carry out the execution right away to spare us all from wasting our time." Seiki explained.

The older man - though, he didn't look that much older - didn't look too amused. Shinobu behind him stepped forth a little. "I noticed a release of spiritual energy, and decided to find out what it was. As I entered, I saw my brother releasing Blood-red Blossom, about to execute the thief. I attempted to interrogate to find out the details instead of killing her right away, then I was sent to find you, father." she spoke silently.

Takuya's glance sled from each one of them to Seiki, an back again, to stop on the bound girl. All of a sudden, the binding spell was released, just to be replaced by a different one, which would allow her to stand up, but not move away from them, and would keep binding her arms completely.

"I am disappointed by the harsh actions both of you undertook." the head of the clan exclaimed coldly, before gesturing the thief to stand up, and his children to follow out of the room.

[Caerina]

Khanna wasn't let down by the fact that the mean guy who just glared at her didn't respond to her question. Well, he didn't really think much of her, did he? Not that she cared, as long as nobody was trying to slash her open or decapitate her, silence was just fine. After ten seconds of silence, she found herself utterly bored. Her captor was dressing up (which was a shame by any standards) and she had nothing to occupy herself with, no one to annoy and no one to threaten her life.

What happened to her exciting, thrilling life? She didn't have a lot of time to think about that, since a small entourage entered the room. It was the neurotic female who already threatened to chop her up and an unknown person, who looked like the iceberg here. They both had their cold and emotionless masks on.

Were they family? Khanna wondered, though she had no reason to. The amount of emotions that came off the two (without the female, the female was somewhat more emotional) could fit into a small ring box. But, their egos couldn't even fit in the room right, she thought with a small smirk while the female and the used-to-be-half-naked guy explained what happened.

Khanna could easily feel a trace of magic and a lot of relief once the bindings were off from the rest of her body. She could live with her hands tied (for now) as long as she can walk and get up from the damn floor. She didn't like people looking down on her, it made her feel small and insignificant, and that was something she never wanted to become again.

As she stood up from the floor, Khanna threw a triumphant look towards Seiki and the neurotic female. There you go, she thought, the big guy is disappointed in you. Then she turned her head and continued walking.

[Anadwen]

They were led into a large hall, lit by a number by red-glowing lanterns. Their soft rosy light fell onto the wooden floor, illuminating a sole low table in the middle, with a single pillow before it. It looked like a cross between a hall and a work room - the huge desk, fit for someone sitting on the floor, was covered in papers and scrolls. Takuya took his place behind it, while Shinobu and Seiki - with the thief in the middle - sat down on the other side. Shinobu gestured her to sit down just as well.

Takuya prepared a clean scroll and opened a flask of ink. "I request from you all to answer nothing but the truth. Lying will only prolong your sentence, and so will any attempts to avoid answering." he proclaimed. He was obviously annoyed by the fact that he has to include his own children in a court like that - usually, he wasn't as cold and emotionless.

Seiki bowed his head low in response. "It would be a disgrace for me to act in a manner other than that." he spoke silently. His thick lashes obscured the dark eyes behind them, and his face remained unchanged, but in fact, he was deeply ashamed of acting in such a rush. He was convinced that he was going to get pulverized just as well.

Shinobu remained silent for the whole time. She didn't want to be involved in this at the slightest.

Takuya's hand that picked up an extremely thin brush, used to write down the date and situation on the top of the scroll, and he put it back down as that was done. Then, he turned to the 'intruder'. "What is your name, and what are you doing on the private property of the Adachi clan, and inside its residence? Do not leave out any details and answer honestly." he instructed her. The scroll was passed on to Shinobu, who quickly moved over to the side of the table to write down and keep track of every important information.

[Caerina]

Khanna sat between the two, feeling extremely out of place as she allowed her gaze to roam around the room they were in. It wasn't as if she did it intentionally, but her nature and the nature of her job was such that even in that moment and in that situation she was searching for weak points and things she could steal. It was instinctive, and while not the most polite of things to do, it was a very handy skill considering that her memory is very detailed.

Finally moving her eyes back to the person in front of her, Khanna straightened up a bit in her place. Everyone was so official looking and serious, so she felt like she should keep up. Wouldn't want anyone to think any less of her than they already did (if that was even possible). Even thieves had some standards to uphold.

Khanna felt some kind of perverted satisfaction when Seiki seemed ashamed by his actions. It wasn't that he showed it on his face, but Khanna was very good when reading people (again, thanks to her line of work) and she could see him stiffen slightly. The air around him was a bit different than when they were alone. It was the subtle things, and to most people he would probably seem as indifferent as ever.

When the clearly-important-guy turned to speak to her, Khanna just kept a straight face. She would answer their questions and with some luck she will be released! If only there was a chance for that...

"My name is Khanna, I am a con artist and an artifact hunter who came here to hunt down his," she nodded towards Seiki "Katana. I entered through the west wing and the roof, so you should probably see to the security in those parts," she advised as she cocked her head slightly to the side.