Out of the Frying Pan...

[Corria Firegrass]

Tariq held up his hands, he could see that Shinobu felt imposed upon, and he didn't want to make her feel threatened or accused, still, he was not going to retract his comment. Tariq valued honesty above much else.

He remained silent, but the gears in his head were turning, he felt almost presumptuous to be working through all the messed up parts of information he'd been given and making a coherent picture. The more he thought the more it seemed to come together into a tragic tableau.

[Anadwen]

"Besides, I am only wasting time with you! You're just an ordinary human..." she almost spat out the words, and turned on her heel. "Change yourself and eat. Starving won't help you."

She walked away in a similar manner as Seiki. What did this guy think, really? She was far above him. She was a warrior, and he was a mere prisoner... He went far enough to even speak to her.

[Corria Firegrass]

Tariq simply shook his head, Shinobu's arrogance was nothing like Seiki, she only arrempred to make herself seem larger when she felt threatened. Seiki simply seemed to view himself as above Tariq, Shinobu felt like she had to be.

Tariq debated for a second whether to call after Shinobu, he liked her, she had drive and heck she had compassion. Still, Shinobu would likely be back tomorrow with food, so that was that. Tariq ate in silence before stripping naked and changing. The clothes were light, airy, pleasant, he almost felt comfortable.

And yet the air of loss still hung heavily over the house.

[Anadwen]

In the evening, a different person brought him food again. Young Isako, appearing a little comical in the black robes, typical for the Adachi house. She carried a tray with food, and her hair was unusually pinned up. Unlike her siblings, there was a broad happy smile on her face.

"Hey, mister prisoner! Dinner's here! Even though they didn't give you sushi, there's some... Dumplings!" she cheered, and put the tray down - so abruptly that a bit of the water was spilled out of the glass. She was just in the middle of a difficult Kido training with Seiki, and leaving - even if to bring the prisoner some food - was easing.

[Corria Firegrass]

Tariq returned the smile, brightly as always, and stood up from his chair "And you would be the youngest, then?" It was nice to see a face that was genuinely friendly "My name is Tariq, Mister Prisoner is cute though I suppose"

He looked down at the food, it actually looked pretty appetizing despite the fact that one of the dumplings had gotten soggy from the water, before flashing Isako another grin "Sit and talk with me?"

[Anadwen]

"I don't have the time to sit, but I'll sure talk gladly before brother finds me and makes me learn Kido again!" she laughed, and sat down - inside the cell. Isako was nothing like her siblings, but to make sure, she still closed the door.

"Yes, I am Isako, the younger sister of Shinobu and Seiki." she nodded at him, and smiled again. Isako's smile was so wide and warm it was contagious. "But I'm not, you know..." She made a face, faking Seiki's and Shinobu's expression, "Learn Kido, wield your Zanpakuto with honor, and be prepared to lay your life in battle." she exclaimed with an overly monotone voice, and burst out with laughter.

[Corria Firegrass]

He gave a small laugh at Isako's quite good impression of her siblings "I can tell, your brother doesn't like me and I've angered your sister, though I don't think she quite dislikes me" he shrugged "They both seem like good people though"

Tariq sat on the bed, allowing the girl to take the chair, he looked rather out of place in the kimono and hakama he'd been given, he missed the fine arabian silks he was used to but it was much better than the prison rags and he did have some of the regal air he possessed sitting on his bed like a sultan.

[Anadwen]

"They're drier than three days old rice." Isako muttered, hiding her mouth with her hand as she chuckled. "But they're pretty awesome. Seiki's amazing with his sword, and Shinobu can bring you back from the dead with her Kido... Well, almost." she shrugged.

"But they're all kind of... Well, you tell them a joke and they stare at you like if you just cut their spirit chain. They just don't get it! If you made them angry... Then I guess you must joke a lot, cause they hate it." she explained him.

She stood up, and moved closer. "But please, don't make a lot of noise. Seiki's planning to teach me Kido all night and I don't want him to find me!" she whispered.

[Corria Firegrass]

Tariq grinned and nodded "Don't worry, I wont be too loud. And well... I suppose I'm not very likely to take everything all too seriously, but still I don't think I made too many jokes with Shinobu. Did she send you down here or was that Seiki?"

He smiled at Isako "Kido is some form of magic then I would suppose? It's linked to your spiritual powers, the ones your familly possesses? Like Chakra, or Qi?"

[Anadwen]

"I offered Shinobu to do it instead of her so I could get away from Seiki." she winked at him, hugging her knees with her arms as she sat down.

"Kido means spells. Yeah, it's about our spiritual energy. You channel it and you heal, or attack, or shield with it. Heck, you can even teleport or... Stuff!" she threw her arms up in a wide gesture, and smiled. "Us three - me, Seiki and Shinobu - have big spiritual potential, so we can do a lot with Kido. Mine and Seiki is said to be even so high it's dangerous! Sometimes it blasts off and wrecks stuff if I'm not careful."

[Corria Firegrass]

Tariq chuckled slightly at this "Big bro workin' you too hard eh? He probably just wants you to realise your potential."

He paused for a second "So you have more potential than your big sister? Even though she can... What was it, save people from dying? That's impressive" He paused again before chancing a joke "You're not gonna blow me up are you?"

[Anadwen]

"Yeah. He drove himself to the point where he fainted out of exhaustion from training so much and he thinks everybody should go that far." she made a sad face for a moment, but soon returned to her usual happy self. "But that doesn't matter. He's awesome, and I know he does it for my good. My spiritual potential really is said to be big... But in a little different way. I can do Konso, you know? Lead spirits out, to the other side."

She gave him another kind smile. "Only four people including me that are now alive in the Adachi clan can do it. But no, I won't blow you up! I learned to control it." she assured him.

[Corria Firegrass]

Tariq's eyes widened "He passed out? That's... Extreme to say the least" He watched the girl intently, her momentary flickers in mood and attitude, it was the first time in a year that he was around someone he felt actually appreciated his company.

He smiled at her "That sounds really impressive. You must really be something then"

[Anadwen]

"You're born with it. You can't really decide... It's difficult to awaken." she shrugged. Konso wasn't a power that could be just learned, like spells...

"Seiki got the whole family worried when he was young. I wasn't alive back then, but mother told me about it. They found him on the ground countless times, sometimes even bleeding. He didn't sleep and he held his sword so much that he scratched the skin off his hands. I've heard that he wasn't really good at fighting when he was young, and so he trained and trained and trained."

This guy was funny... It was so fun to talk to him. If there wasn't the stupid Kido lesson, she'd stay here for a long time. Who cared that he was a prisoner?

[Corria Firegrass]

Tariq nodded "I see, it sounds impressive either way, whether natural or learned it's an impressive feat" he noted the mixed emotions in Isako's voice when she talked about Seiki's youth "Sounds like your brother was obsessed with being the best, or at least living up to his name, it's impressive as hell but still, sounds like he could use a break"

[Anadwen]

"A break?" she raised a brow. "That word's not in his vocabulary. He almost killed himself for real, and two weeks after he wanted to train again... Two holes, each in one side," she pointed at her abdomen, indicating the places Seiki has stabbed himself at, "and he thought he could fight."

She shook her head. "But sometimes I wish I didn't have the ability. I have to guide the spirits out all the time." she sighed.

[Corria Firegrass]

Realisation dawned on Tariq, one piece of the puzzle had come together "That's what your sister meant when she said your brother was ready to die to save you both... I see" he wasn't surprised, Seiki was clearly a man obsessed with honour and devotion to his family, and the incident in question was probably just an element of that

"I can understand that, it feels like your being relied on? It's stressful for you I'd imagine" he began to raise a hand to rest on her shoulder but after a pause decided against it

[Anadwen]

"Exactly." she nodded. "When something's stuck in this world, I have to get it out. Konso this, Konso that..." She sighed, and opened her mouth to talk again, when someone else appeared in the corridor, dimly lit by lanterns.

Seiki.

[Corria Firegrass]

Tariq looked up from the bed, and saw Seiki coming towards them, he thought little of it, Seiki was just coming to take Isako back to training. It was a shame but that was that, he would miss the girl but he was sure she'd be back again.

He turned to her with a smile "Guess it's time for you to get back to training"

[Anadwen]

"But I don't want to!" Isako wailed theatrically. Seiki didn't say a word, just waited by the door. His expression was completely blank again.

When after a while Isako still didn't stand up and go with him, he sighed. "Isako, it's time you return to the Kido practice." he reminded her.

Isako bowed her head down, stood up, and waved Tariq goodbye. "Bye bye Mister prisoner! Maybe I'll return tomorrow." she cheered at him, and ran out, locking the door, and following Seiki out. The place went silent again.