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

[Anadwen]

With a long and very clearly disappointed sigh, he opened his dark eyes wide open. They glimmered in the dim, distorted light, seemingly reflecting the white of his gown, and they were like a couple of almost-black orbs, lined by thick, dark lashes. Their dark color was surprising, considering how pale his skin was, and one would not expect someone so cold and emotionless to have eyes that reflected emotions like mirrors like that. Yes, they were beautiful, but they did not seem to be fit for him.

"Don't you think I know the best what would do me good?" he asked silently, in a voice nearly devoid of any emotions. His hands slowly clenched into fists, and pulled the chains, connected to the walls, down. To the surprise of anyone unfamiliar with the chains in these cells, they grew longer as he pulled them towards himself, sliding off the chair. He stood up to his full intimidating height, revealing his graceful, slender frame, and turned his back to her, keeping his arms crossed before his chest to keep them from tangling the chains. With a few long steps, he walked around the chair, and towards the window. The chains extended themselves, while other seemingly grew shorter to avoid putting unnecessary pressure on the cuffs (and prevent the person wearing them from strangling themselves).

Like that, he seemed even more unearthly, truly closer to a pale, wind-blown illusion of a ghost, bathed in pale starlight, rather than a living, breathing man. He stood there, facing the window, in an uncannily calm manner, only disrupted by the wind that blew into his hair and garb, picking it up in slow waves.

The sight beneath was beautiful to his eyes. Endless gardens of sakura trees, blossom after blossom, stretched around the residence. Truly beautiful... Their petals were carried by the wind up in the air above them, illuminated by moonlight.

[Caerina]

Khanna was rather surprised to see that he was able to move around and that his chains didn't present an obstacle to him. She quickly hid her utter shock behind a calculating mask as she resumed observing him. To most people, he wouldn't seem like a person who needed observing or someone who needed to be understood. They would see a person who is cold and utterly merciless with his words. But, Khanna had some reason to believe that was not the reality. Actually, she found him quite interesting to observe. His movements, his words, everything he did seemed so measured and in her head it just didn't add up right. Figuring him out, she concluded, would be her mini-quest of the week.

She continued watching him as he turned his back to her and went towards a window. He seemed like a very puzzling piece full of contrasts and dead ends she couldn't figure out. And, to be honest, he wasn't helping her cause in the least with his dismissive behavior and callous words.

"Nope," she answered easily to his question but decided not to move from her chair. Khanna continued in a nonchalant tone "You don't seem like the kind of person who does what is good for them. You seem like the self-sacrificing kind, always seeking for a higher purpose and honor in the world. Tragic, really." she smirked just slightly.

[Anadwen]

For a long time, Seiki was silent, gazing at the white trees beneath himself. What she said was not far from the truth, and that made him a little angry, even. She was striking fun of something she couldn't understand... It was too far from a criminal's mind to ever grasp the very concept of something like that. To him, his own self was not important. What was prized higher than his safety and comfort was law, order, duty, and honor. That was the sole purpose of his life, to be an example to the following generations. If he, as the heir of the head of the clan, would not, then who would? Who would create an example to follow to show how important it is to keep the law and orders?

"You call it tragic. Yet, I doubt you fully understand what you speak off. Your kind is too selfish and lacks the pride to grasp it." he spoke, raising his right hand and placing it onto the edge of the window. "You lack the understanding of duty. Without that, you cannot understand self-sacrifice. And without the understanding of self-sacrifice, you will never grasp even the slightest concept of honor and pride." As he spoke, his voice grew colder and harder, but when he turned his head to the side to shoot a glance at her, the sight of his face didn't fit to it.

The wind blew in a few petals of sakura blossoms, which landed in his hair and on the floor around his feet.

[Caerina]

Khanna crossed her arms at his words. She knew enough of self sacrifice to know that could never be the road she would choose. It was reserved to people different from her, people who had different fate and different histories from the one she had. She didn't want to show people that she could be good and honorable, because when people see good they expect good, and Khanna didn't want to have to live to anyone's expectation. Not again.

"Oh, but you are wrong. I've known a lot of good people, honorable people, people you talk about in that high and mighty tone," she tried to keep her voice as far from bitter as she could "Most of them are dead now. Their honor and duty did nothing to save them, they had been buried and forgotten. This is why neither of the two matters. Only survival matters in the end, otherwise you would now sharing this cell with a knight, not a thief,"

So many good people she knew were now dead. Those were all people who deserved to be alive much more than she deserved it, but life didn't seem to matter. In the end, a thief and a liar could never disappoint you, they can never really surprise you with their actions. The self sacrificing people are the ones to look out for, because they were the ones who managed to hurt her much more. She shoved her bitter thoughts back in the darkest depths of her mind and locked them. She had no right to feel bad, she was who she was and she couldn't change that now that she was so deep in. In the end, she didn't even want to change it.

[Anadwen]

Only survival mattered? The very words were like hot iron, pressed to his skin. They boiled all of his blood inside his veins, and made it want to rise and burst out like a boiling stream of rage. How dare she...

Keeping his stone mask on, he slowly turned away from the window. "How dare you insult them by such words." he said silently. "What you speak of is just something all of those that have no pride and honor think. There is no reason in survival if nothing will remain after it." Death will claim them all, but when he leaves, he will embrace it without fear, knowing he lived for a good cause. Her? What will she leave that will survive the ages as a memory of her? Nothing but an empty pouch and a cheap coffin, rotting in the ground! But his memory will be remembered. Honor lives even when the body is dead.

"Survival of trash like you has no reason at all." he added then, in a perfectly calm tone, but his eyes were flashing with fiery rage. And what he said was what he believed in. To hold onto life and throw away one's pride and honor, just clinging onto naked survival was the pinnacle of distasteful manners, worth disdain. And every word he said, every glance he gave her was radiating with this disdain.

[Caerina]

Khanna wouldn't dare admit it right now, but she had this strange, perverted satisfaction every time he lost his cool. He wasn't what you would call fiery or angry now, he was even scarier because he was even colder than usual (yes, he just proved that it was possible). But, she wouldn't do anything to show him his words meant anything to her. He learned his ways through his way of life, which was obviously different than hers, and she learned her own lessons and followed them diligently.

"I refuse to have to live up to someone's expectations," she said casually "Good or bad, honorable or not, I've seen so much of all those people, and I can tell you that the line is sometimes so blurred  and thin that you don't even notice when you cross to the other side," Khanna smiled to herself "Besides if you truly believe that honor lives on even after the body dies, why do you even fight? Want it or not, the wish to survive is something you are born with, while honor is something superficial, produced by the environment, the way you grew up and with whom."

Khanna's words easily slipped off her tongue. A few years back she would've screamed them in anger but now she knew better, she learned that there was no way to change someone like Seiki was. Not that she wanted to change him, he was quite a refreshing sight in her life.

[Anadwen]

He raised a brow. Slightly. Her opinion was definitely not shared by him. She completely misunderstood what he said... But it was a waste of time to argue with her about it. After all, she was not a noble, or a warrior, he reminded himself. She couldn't possibly understand - it wasn't in her. She simply didn't have that sense of honor that he possessed.

And so, he made a step back, sitting down onto the chair in a motion that bordered with unnaturally smooth and fast. For a moment, he was a flash of white, and in the next blink of an eye, he was sitting on the chair again. The chains clinked softly as they locked back in their original position, and he closed his eyes, the black lashes fluttering like the wings of a butterfly as he did so. Hopefully, she would now let him sleep.

He slightly bent his head back, and several strands of his black hair sled out of his face. His mind finally had its calm. The wind in the desert settled, and the dunes of sand stopped their endless travels through the vast emptiness of his mind. Now, he could embrace sleep. Finally. The morning would awake him soon, anyway.

[Caerina]

Unexpectedly, Khanna found herself quiet for a while. She wasn't necessarily tired or sleepy, but she just didn't feel up for furthering this discussion. It was getting too personal for her liking and she was happy to get as far away from the subject before it awakens the pain back. After spending half of her life shoving everything in the darkest corner of her mind, a ridiculous discussion with someone who not only had completely opposite ideas from her own, but was also an insufferable git was not where she wanted to spill them back into her life.

She closed her eyes and sighed deeply, praying for the sunrise to come as soon as possible and for the nightmares to avoid her for a few more nights. Nobody needed to see her thrashing around about the things from her past, especially not him. She relaxed as much as it was possible in her current situation and steadied her breaths.

Think of pretty things... Bunnies, kittens and small puppies, flowers, butterflies, Seiki, mone- Wait, what? Shaking her head with her eyes closed she made a disgusted face. He wasn't pretty, he was a horrible person. Stop it, stop it, stop thinking about him. Aggravated byher situation she gave up and surrendered to the darkness.

[Anadwen]

Sleeping deeply wasn't a habit Seiki would practice. He slept lightly, and usually shortly, too, awaking with the rising sun to train. Day by day, he trained and trained. And as he closed his eyes, the embrace of this light sleep indeed did greet him, taking him away from the barren inside of his cell.

Though, the sleep wasn't much of a relief. Finding himself inside the gardens around the residence, drenched in a glowing white fog, his gaze was locked before himself as he ran forth. All of a sudden, his dream self halted, stopping in a circle of trees. A girl stood between those, garbed in a black kimono, with long white hair, reaching almost to her feet. She walked towards him, and drew a long soul-cutter from the sheath at her back. His hands immediately clenched around his own weapon, and he leaped into the air to avoid an incoming strike.

The swords clashed, and his weapon broke in his hands, shattering into dozens of shards. They turned into blossoms, whirling towards him and locking him in a column of death and destruction, beautiful and horrible at once. They radiated a pale rose glow. The sky went dark.

The body of his dream self was shredded by the shards, and he covered the ground with blood. The woman arose her own weapon, and he saw the blade of Blood-red Blossom collapsing at him. But right before it would deal the death blow, it faded and became naught. The girl changed. She was no longer Blood-red Blossom...

Instead of long wisps of silver hair, she had a halo of fire around her head. The little thief.

And then, he woke up, drawing a sharp breath in, and opening his eyes abruptly. The rose light of the rising sun was filling the room, shining straight into his eyes from the window of the other cell. Morning... How peaceful and beautiful it was. The strange sensation of the dream soon disappeared, and was replaced by the usual cold calm that reigned over his heart.

The first sound he heard was silent clicking of wood. Someone was coming up, most likely in wooden sandals... And the second sound was humming. An eerie sound of a high-pitched voice, hauntingly echoing from the walls.

Isako.

He would have recognized his little sister anytime, anywhere. Even despite being bound, he could feel a faint feeling of her spiritual pressure, drawing closer. Yes, it was definitely Isako - the silhouette of which he caught a glimpse, moving through the corridor, was an evidence to that. And he was not mistaken, for it was her that appeared between the halls, carrying a tray with two glasses and two bowls of food. She looked like a doll, with a short dress, distantly resembling the shihakushos of warriors, bound by a thick sash. There was a large bow at her back, elegant, and her long black hair was pinned at the back to her head, all except for her bangs and two thin wisps, framing her face and falling over her shoulders. Her pale skin and small mouth, slender figure, silky black hair, all resembled both Seiki and Shinobu. Only her eyes were different - they were a bright crimson, like Takuya's. Such a blood-colored scarlet they were unnerving.

She gave a curious look at both cells. No one told her there were two prisoners here! And now she didn't know who to give food to sooner...

[Caerina]

After a strangely calm night, Khanna was rather annoyed that the first thing that popped into her mind was her annoying cell mate. She groaned slightly remembering where she was and how she got there. Khanna reprimanded herself once more for getting caught. She had a certain reputation to maintain and making mistakes wasn't how she was supposed to keep herself so high stationed and independent from other thieves. Gods know she couldn't join the Thieves Guild, not after that incident.

Opening her bright emerald eyes, Khanna looked around and sighed when she realized her surroundings hadn't changed at all since yesterday. The same floor, same chair, same chains that were now causing her neck to feel slightly sore. Nothing better than certainty, and she was certain that her chances of teleporting somewhere far, far away from here during her sleep were slim to none. She was rather annoyed to see that there was no hair tie anywhere near her, so she deducted that this family just loved torturing their prisoners good.

She threw a look at her cell mate. His eyes were closed but she really didn't have the strength to start up a conversation with him. What if he was a cranky morning person? Well, he was seemingly always in a cranky mood, but what if he was in a specially cranky mood in the mornings? She decided she didn't want to test that. Khanna will give the the satisfaction to test him to someone else.

There was a sound of someone nearing their cells. Khanna straightened slightly in her seat and prepared herself for another disaster. Could anything good even happen at this point? Somehow she doubted it.

[Anadwen]

Isako's red eyes widened into an inhuman standard after noticing that the red-haired girl woke up. Her jaw dropped, opening the small mouth with slightly pointed teeth, and she skipped towards the door. Seiki was most likely still asleep, anyway... 

She put her palm onto the door, and it opened, without any key required. The doors of the cells recognized family members - those could open them, and no one else could. Her own spiritual presence was pretty unique, and so the door opened immediately, letting her enter without any restraints. She gave the chained girl a warm smile, putting the tray down. "Good morning, Miss Prisoner! I brought you food!" she greeted her cheerfully, picking up the bowl. "Here's some rice, and I got water for you to drink, too! You know you can move in the chains, so you can eat, right? So I don't have to feed you. Just don't go near the door, cause it will snap you back, and that hurts!" she warned her.

Her voice was a little like the chattering of a bird as she quickly talked, holding the tray in her hands with a perpetual smile. She seemed nothing like her ice-cold brother, though her physical form spoke clearly in the favor of their blood relation. This prisoner girl had one wild hair! She immediately got the urge to play with it...

And so, she put the tray with food before the girl, and took off one of the thin white threads, bound around her upper arms, tying Khanna's hair up. "You don't mind this, do you? I really like your hair! Besides, my name is Isako. What's your name?" she asked, her face appearing right beside hers, above her left shoulder. With the same wide, cheerful smile on.

[Caerina]

For whatever reason, Khanna had this theory that the entire family she was the prisoner to was an emotionally disturbed bunch with crazy tendencies. So, it would be an understatement to say that this girl, Isako, surprised her beyond anything she saw since she came into their house. Except perhaps her cell mate's blade, which was pretty surprising and majestic thing, though now so painfully out of her reach. Oh well you get some, you lose some.

Food made Khanna's stomach grumble slightly. She couldn't remember when she ate last. A day, two, perhaps even three days ago. It didn't even matter what was on the platter as long as it was food. Taking the bowl happily she started eating as she watched the girl spoke in some super fast kind of way. Was that her talent? Not too useful, but charming nonetheless as Khanna found herself smiling - not smirking - at her.

"A pleasure. My name is Khanna," she said amicably. Her love for the girl rocketed sky high as soon as she got her long, red locks up. Khanna instantly decided that she liked Isako and that admitted to herself that she was perhaps to fast to condemn the whole family based on the action of her frozen hearted cell mate.

"Please do," she said happily "I've been begging for a hair tie ever since they left me here."

[Anadwen]

Remembering her manners, Isako bowed as Khanna introduced herself. Prisoner or not, she was not that kind of a rude girl. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Khanna! My whole name is actually Isako Rui Adachi, but you can call me Isako. Or Isa. And glad to be of help... I couldn't help it, I love your hair!" she giggled, further toying with Khanna's fiery hair in an attempt to pin it in a manner similar to hers. "It's wild and red. Everyone in our family has smooth black hair... I never got the opportunity to do something with hair like yours!"

All along, she had a warm smile on her face. Isako was one of the most amicable members of the clan, and she had her cheerful mood even so early in the morning. The silky strands of her hair were springing around her head as she walked around Khanna while making her hair, every step making her jump up a little. This girl seemed to be fun! She didn't know why she was in a cell, but she didn't care much. Khanna didn't look like a criminal... She appeared just a little bit older than Isako herself (who, despite being already half a century old, still appeared to be no more than sixteen or seventeen).

What was Seiki doing in the opposite cell, she didn't know, and she didn't ask for now. But as she glanced over Khanna's head at his figure, garbed in white, set at the chair, the glance of her scarlet eyes met with his midnight blue, and she stopped the seemingly neverending stream of words. Her jaw dropped. He was awake!

"SEIKIIIII!" she squealed, quickly grabbing the tray and kicking the door of the cell out. She burst out of Khanna's cell like a cannonball, and ran straight into his, followed by horribly loud clattering of her shoes, and the high-pitched sound of her voice. He was awake! She bashed into the door with her shoulder, and it opened under the pressure, letting her stumble in, almost immediately dropping the tray down (and pouring half of the water out of the glass). Her arms entwined around him, squeezing him tightly. "Seiki! I didn't know you were awake already! I didn't wanna wake you up so I didn't come to see you first... Sorry!"

He didn't give her any reply. He didn't even flinch as she hugged him, remaining cold and stern as always, but at the sight of his sister, there was no disdain, no cold disgust in his eyes. Compared to the bursting rage they mirrored last night, they seemed almost calm. "Good morning, Isako." he greeted her silently. Truly, he didn't seem angry - only distant as always.

[Caerina]

It was nice to finally have someone who didn't look at her like a common piece of garbage, so Khanna was very entertained with the presence of the young looking girl beside her. She didn't seem like the rest of her family in the slightest, well at least not in the mental sense. While her cell mate and almost all of his family were giving her a cold shoulder and long, hate and disdain filled glares, Isako's eyes were filled with amusement and adventure. And those two were something Khanna could definitely relate to.

As Khanna ate her food slowly, relishing in it and hoping it wouldn't be her last (which was very possible considering the small disagreement she had last night with Seiki), Isako was happily working with her hair. Khanna felt relief as more and more of her stray curls were moved from her face and from the nape of her neck. It was pure satisfaction she felt. Interestingly, Khanna didn't see her new hairstyle but it seemed like the girl did more than just pull it up in a casual bun as she did, Isako seemed to work on something much more elaborate. This was fine with Khanna, she didn't mind being pampered from time to time - in other words she enjoyed it.

Snapping Khanna from her relaxing, her new best friend (yes, Khanna makes friends very easily, especially when they are as useful and fun as Isako) who squealed at her cell mate. Shifting her emerald gaze over to the place she knew she would find his figure, Khanna realized he was awake. Perhaps it was the genes or something else, but he didn't look as if he spent a whole night in a cell. He looked as hands--rested as he looked last night. Even his cold, uninterested eyes were just calm.

As she watched Isako jump in his cell with a surprising amount of energy and hug him, Khanna smiled slightly. It was interesting seeing him in such a situation, since Khanna found it hard to imagine otherwise. His demeanor didn't change, but Khanna could swear he seemed at least a tiny bit more approachable in that moment than in any other moment ever since she met him last night. It was a curious sight for her and she suddenly didn't feel like intruding. A small smile was tingling on her lips, but she said nothing and just observed, as always.

[Anadwen]

Isako kept squeezing her brother for a nice while, till she finally let go off him - accompanied by a clink of the also released chains, returning to their original positions - and she squatted down beside him. Surprisingly, he didn't protest against her putting her arms down onto his lap, and resting her head on them. He was calm as always, but no longer hostile. It was a calmness similar to that of the gardens beneath the cells they were in - tranquil and serene.

"Seiki, I was wondering if something is wrong... You weren't at breakfast, and I was worried. How long do you have to be here?" she asked, turning her bright eyes up at him. They were just as if small fires burned in them, reflecting the view, perfect mirrors and burning torches. "You know that I'm always worried if you don't show up somewhere." she added silently. He kept gazing forth, but he let one of his hands rest on her back. "Seven days." he answered.

She let out a sigh. "That's so long..." she muttered. "You know, I don't have anything to do if you don't train me, Seiki. I don't have to practice and train so hard, but still. I miss you in the house. I don't feel so safe as when you're around." she explained, gazing somewhere into the distance. He didn't answer for a while.

"You should return to your Kido training instead of being here." he reminded her then. She sighed. "Why do I always have to train? When will I finally not have to do it?" A thorn of irritation could be heard in her voice. He closed his eyes, holding his head somewhat higher. "That's an irrelevant question. There is nothing like stopping training. You have to practice until you reach the absolute peak of your abilities." he answered. That was what he was doing all his life - and even despite being an extremely skilled warrior, he still believed he was capable of more.

Isako sighed audibly. "You're always all about training."

[Caerina]

(ooc: I can't believe I left you hanging for this long, I am such an idiot. Sorry for the long wait, real life got the better of me xD)

Khanna cocked her head slightly as she watched the two siblings talk. She never really had anyone so close, something like a family or such, so she was taken aback by the friendly and loving look in Isako's eyes, her words, her mannerisms. She looked like a  sister finally finding her long lost older brother. But, Khanna had to remind herself, Seiki was hardly a normal sibling, and Isako seemed just as different to Khanna as he did. Still she kept her mouth shut and instinctively listened in on their conversation, mingling slightly with her chains, her food sitting long forgotten next to her.

For a brief moment, Khanna tried to imagine Seiki as a kid. It proved rather difficult. He was one of those people who looked like they've spent their whole lives fighting against something and pledging their swords for someone, people who were honorable no matter the price and were always working their way up to perfection. And by the words they exchanged last night, she knew he was certainly all of that. In other words, he was the type of man that was completely the opposite of her.

And the look in his eyes, although distant and cold ninety-nine percent of the time, was very driven. Perhaps he found something Khanna's been searching for ever since she escaped from her life as a slave - a purpose. It was probably the only thing Khanna had no way of stealing from anyone, something that left her very alone and very lost in the world. She could have all the treasures, relics, hunt down anything from an animal to a man, read ancient runes and understand many languages, and yet she still could feel very useless. But, being the wild card she was, purpose was something that would probably avoid her forever.

Khanna took a deep breath before tuning in back into their conversation. She disliked reflecting on her life and thinking about her rights and wrongs, it made her life and job very difficult, but there was little she liked more than hearing about other people's rights and wrongs. She smirked slightly at Isako's words.

"Oh, he is." she confirmed Isako's words and nodded "And he's also all about honor, family, blood and serious stuff like that. But, what he needs is to look up the word fun in a dictionary." Khanna spelled out the word and smiled "It's a very easy skill to master." she joked.

[Anadwen]

"Oh, but so do all the other warriors, Khanna! But you know, you can't have fun when you're hunting spirits. It's a very, very dangerous matter. At least that's what Shinobu told me." Isako, springing back up to her feet, was soon chattering like a bird once again. Her shoes clapped against the floor with the hollow sound of wood. "And father said that family and honor is very important. Our clan is the only thing that will always be here to take care of us. And our pride and honor is what we fight for."

Before she could finish talking, she was frozen by Seiki's cold glance. "Do not bother, Isako. She is not of the kind that would understand the mere concept of honor and pride, the less why is it worth fighting for." he spoke silently, in his coldest voice. She raised a finger to her lips in hesitation, but shut up, frozen.

Unlike Seiki, Isako didn't understand what he saw as a grave difference between them and common folk. She, almost like a child, saw everyone the same, based only on what she felt. Still innocent... Little Isako.

Maybe that was why she was never that serious, or that uptight. Seiki simply closed his eyes, and further rested in the hold of the chains, like a statue of white marble, crowned by a wreath of raven-black hair. Isako had yet to understand a lot - about them, about pride, about why to defend it and about the difference between an Adachi and a common thief. And maybe one day she will understand why he was so cold and emotionless.

Dropping her head, Isako walked back over to Khanna's cell. "All warriors are serious." she whispered to her. "Maybe spirit hunting sucks the fun out of them!" she giggled.