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[SeriousConcentrate]

"Were this any other task, my heart would be as cold and my nerves as still as my gnosis."

"...Never mind. I will be ready."

[IamanElfCollaborator]

"A few....hours?"
It takes Rin a few seconds to process what happened. Her eyes immediately widen and she begins fretting and flailing, looking around worriedly.
"O-oh no! I've wasted time! I'm so sorry! I was so tired last night, you know? I-I'm sorry, that old lady needed some help with her groceries and then that little boy needed to find his parents and...."
Rin continues babbling away worriedly.
"Find anyone you like the look of, Madoka?"
Todoroki inquired, curiously. After all, anyone who could fight Madoka could probably be someone he could test his skill against too. True, their swordmanship styles were very different; she relied on agility and skill, he relied on overwhelming his opponents with sheer power. But skill was skill.

And besides, he had to get ready. Master Tokiwa was no easy opponent.

[Chevaleresse]

The swordsman squinted from under her hood. There weren't many in the tavern that looked like they could put up a fight, but. . .

"Him. Maybe." She pointed at a man across the common room, sporting a missing eye similar to Todoroki's and other scars on his countenance. Madoka thought she spied a gnosis, too; judging by the steely glint and the way he carried himself, he had to be worth something in a fight.

[kj1225]

Daisuke just chuckles at his charge's panic, shaking his head as he patted her on the shoulder.
"It's fine! You can't expect to keep up that pace all the time without some trade offs. Heck, I know a thing or two about those, yeah?"
He points at his missing eye with a laugh as he turns away.... right in time to see someone pointing him out to a large man with one eye. Uh oh.

[RedMageCole]

Kazuki simply gives a little laugh alongside Daisuke, giving a smirk in Rin's direction.

"Hey, hey, don't worry about it. You didn't pay me to keep you on a rushed schedule, I'm a patient guy." Kazuki leans back, only to see Daisuke looking off in a different direction. "Yo, Kubo, what's the matter—" Kazuki managed to look off in Daisuke's direction, only to also see someone pointing at him. He squinted— tough-looking guys, huh? "Oi! Cloaky! Rude to point at someone without saying hello and buying him a drink, yeah?" Kazuki yelled across the tavern— not caring about inside voice or the large man that could potentially beat him in an arm wrestling competition.

[Sirus]

Meanwhile at a side table of the inn, a pair of young adults said a quick prayer over their steaming plates and settled in to enjoy their meal. Their appearances were quite similar despite being somewhat unusual, which made it obvious that the two were close siblings if not twins.

: "I can't believe you broke your sword like that."

: "Aw c'mon, it's not like I let a wagon roll over it or anything."

: "You used it as a prybar."

: "Whiiich lifted that boulder just enough--"

: "--just enough to save that kid from drowning, I know. We could have found another way."

: "Not in time. Besides, it was just a sword. An object. I can get a new one."

: "With what money? Our last gold piece was spent on this meal."

The two sighed, then tucked into the food. Curiously, each ate from the other's plate as often as their own.

: "Tasty meal though. Cheer up, Kara. We'll find something suiting our talents." The boy grumbled in reply, but whether it was the food or his sister's positivity, his scowl did lessen somewhat.

[IamanElfCollaborator]

"I should really go back to check on Miss Shiraishi, but...."
Rin refers back to the mysterious letter that had brought her here to begin with.

My friend needs help. His illness is difficult to cure, and has plagued him since birth. We have tried doctors, alchemists and everything else. If anyone can heal him, maybe one of you can. This is our last resort. Please send anyone you can.

Please, come to Kamihama, and present the badge with this to the right people. We will know how to find you.

-Signed,
K. N.

Rin still recalled her adoptive father counselling her against answering the letter. She reminded him, gently, that she had already been worse places, and in any case, it was the duty of a Mizuno healer to help others when asked. There was just....something about this that made her feel she needed to go chase this, whatever it was.

She pulled out the small seal that had come with the letter, a small badge embossed with the calendar animals. The Juunishi, whose stories she'd grown up with.
"...we should look around at any hospitals in the area, if they recognise this badge. They really didn't give me much to work on...."
Todoroki guffawed.
"Well, couldn't have made yourself less obvious, could ya?"

He waved back at Kazuki and Daisuke.
"Fine day, huh?"

[Chevaleresse]

Madoka stood from her seat, dropping slightly due to the fact that her feet didn't quite reach the ground.

"You have a problem?" Her hand very clearly rested on the grip of her blade, something molded to her from long use. "I don't mind settling."

[ctsun]

Kaori simply nodded profusely in response to Daisuke's words, eyes wide with alarm and hands flailing at Rin's sudden bout of worrisome panic. "Oh, um, yes, please calm down, Rin-chan. You've been doing more than enough for everyone as it is. At this rate, you, um, uh..."

Kaori glances down for a moment, suddenly at a loss for words, before taking a very deep breath and try to calm down. Joining Rin in panic won't do anyone any good. It was better if she'd simply focus on her self-appointed task and not freak out too. All she needed was just a moment to mentally review her companions' orders.

Let's see. Something spicy for Daisuke. That red one with the tofu should do. She'd heard rather infamous stories about that dish's spiciness. Hazuki wanted something that can be finished quickly so something soupless, perhaps? She was sure she can get a better idea when she takes a proper look at the menu again.

From the looks of things, Rin needed something large and warm to calm her down so, uh, chicken broth ramen, perhaps? Once again, she was sure she'd have a better when she gets a proper look at the menu again. And as usual, vegetarian ramen with extra mushrooms for her.

"Alright.", Kaori nodded, a bit more calmly this time. "I think I've got a pretty good idea. Um, everyone, if you'd excuse me, I'd be right back."

So saying, Kaori quietly turned and made her way out of the common room..., nearly tripping over a short, cloaked figure on her way out. She took a brief moment to stare at the cloaked stranger before bursting out with a "Oh, uh, I'm sorry. Please excuse me."

Whoever they were, they might be short but they looked like trouble. And trouble was the last thing she wanted to involve herself with. Oh, and Daisuke and Hazuki both seemed to be getting riled up by the stranger's challenges too. Oh, please let there be a common room left standing when she gets back....

[RedMageCole]

It was fortunate that Kazuki's face had already been quite the smirk, otherwise Madoka would have definitely taken offense to the fact that he felt rather smug about how tiny she was. No straight-up laughing, however— Kazuki knows better than to not underestimate a warrior based on size. Making fun of them, however, is a completely different story. At the very least, the larger man seemed pretty cool enough. With a wink towards Kaori to send her off, he turned back to the other table.

"Fine day indeed, sir!" Kazuki gave a wave back to the large man— completely casual air. His attention was quick to move back to Madoka. "Nah, I'm good! Love a good settlement and all, but I've got kind of an important job going on. Maybe some other time. Hello, by the way, I'll buy you a drink sometime." Kazuki gave a wink and a thumbs up, before pointing his index finger out at Madoka just to be that extra mile of sarcastic. He didn't linger on Madoka long (though he did keep an eye on her just in case); instead tilting his head slightly towards Rin and lowering his voice back down. "Sorry, boss, tavern people? Completely nuts. But we're all kinda nuts deep down— that's why we're fun, right? Anyways, I'm with you on that idea. Tell you what— if we end up backtracking enough in our search that we get back to Miss Shiraishi, we can go check on her and ease your mind. How 'bout it?"

[Chevaleresse]

Kaori heard an outright growl when she nearly tread upon the cloaked duelist; she couldn't see Madoka's eyes, but there was no question of whether she'd been glared at or not. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your view) her attention soon returned to the orange-haired man.

"Don't belittle me." Her grip on her weapon tightened. "You'll regret it."

[Sirus]

The man apparently called "Kara" looked up at the confrontation, one hand momentarily dropping to the tome strapped to his side. He hoped that his hotblooded sister would fail to notice the brewing fight...but no sooner did the thought cross his mind did the woman take her attention from her food and turn to watch with a shine in her eyes.

: "Dori. Don't."

: "Don't what?"

: "Don't do what we both know you're thinking of doing. We just got here, we have no money, and let's not forget that you don't have a blade. Don't go looking for fights right now." After a moment, Chidori returned her attention to the meal.

: "Oh, fine. That one with the hood looks like she'd be a fun opponent though." Even without looking at her brother's expression, she could tell that the one with the hood was the one Chikara was worried about.

[kj1225]

Daisuke's frown deepened at the confrontation getting more heated. He should have kept it to himself in hindsight, but what was done was done, and he wouldn't sweat it if he came out with a few more scars. He gently shot a look back at Kazuki and shook his head once before waving back at the large man and his companion with a smile.
"Greetings to you as well!"
He walks over, his feet dancing between the general bustle of the common room carefully before arriving at the two he'd spoken to.
"Please, forgive my... Companion. He's a mercenary and one must expect some bluster from them from time to time! Especially when mysterious strangers such as yourselves make point one of our party out. That said..." The scaled warrior bows in greeting. "Kubo Daisuke, a pleasure to meet you both."
Perhaps under different circumstances he would have provided one of the titles others were fond of; but he would rather just eat his lunch without causing a scene.

[Chevaleresse]

"Horiuchi Madoka." She paused for a moment. "Or, the Unscarred Blade."

[RedMageCole]

"Don't forgive me and my 'bluster' just yet," Kazuki's smirk stayed as he turned around in response to the apologies. However, he didn't stick with the conversation for long— Rin's plan of action was more important.