3534/A Person of Interest

A Person of Interest
Date of Scene:	16 December 2015
Location:	Kawakami City
Synopsis:	Yari Takane scouts a newly discovered warpgate. It leads to a town of martial artists, and one particularly interesting woman.
Cast of Characters:	691, 928

---

Yari Takane (691) has posed:
A new warpgate, another opportunity for the Confederacy. And no better time to explore than during the holiday truce. Thus, Yari Takane pulled on her finest kimono, and entered Kawakami City. She'd kept to alleyways and generally out of the way at first, until she came across one poor citizen who swiftly lost his cellphone after admiring the 'cosplayer'. No screaming, no pitchforks. A good start.

Walking over to a cafe, Yari spent an hour devouring information about the local area, it's culture, and eventually finding enough for a cover story: a simple traveler interested in the martial arts, and cosplayer.

A few fleeting conversations as she gathers some more information, and her disguise has held up, one or two people even touching her horns and tail!

But then she heard about the local Dojo of more than little fame. Thus she began on the trail to the dojo, following a gps app she found. The Au'Ra steps are light, her eyes sharp, as she approaches the dojo in question after a trek through the city!

Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
     Many matches at Kawakami Dojo were arranged so they would be reasonably safe for the public at large. As central to the culture of this town as it was, and as central a figure the old man known as Kawakami Tesshin was known to it's local culture, it was only natural to allow spectators for training.

    Half the local news you were able to see was already referencing negotiations between the Japanese government, JSDF and the Union with Kuki Corporation lobbyists present. Lobbyists of course being a slightly more biased version of advisors to the Diet and Prime Minister.

    Evidently Momoyo was about to spar with Too Can, a Brazilian native skilled in capoiera, the champion of his country. For all the equally amazing and terrifying stories that were mentioned about her in local news, she looked decidedly... normal. A tall woman dressed in a white martial artist's uniform, the only remarkable thing to be said about her appearance was that she was rather attractive... and her gaze was constantly that of a thuggish glare or a smirk. Her eyes were the remarkable shade of red usually only found among more extraordinary human types.

Yari Takane (691) has posed:
Yari manages to make her way amidst the crowd, even her rather distinct appearance mostly lost. A crowd is good, almost as good as darkness for concealment. She manages to duck under one of the taller people present, in an out-of-the-way section of the front row. The ninja discretely activates her magitek device, already trying to get readings of the pair of fighters. Her eyes pass over Too Can, taking him in. Skilled, well toned, but nothing extraordinary.

It's his opponent that gets her attention. Something draws the eyes, between that thuggish glare, the long hair, and the eyes? It doesn't taking much attention at the crowd to get enough to realize this is the local champion.

But is she just a thug, or something more. More and more, Yari's eyes burrow into the figure of Momoyo as she awaits the match to begin.

Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
     The aura was... monstrous. For such a young woman, there shouldn't be anywhere near the power level of a grizzled veteran Guildmaster, but that power was more than present. The frightening part wasn't her current power level, but what that could only mean for her potential.

    In short, someone like her was only controllable for either faction of the Multiverse for the here and now. There were many who could still defeat her, but the numbers would be dwindling rapidly.

    If you looked up again, she wasn't looking directly at you, but extraordinarily close. She must have sensed something from you briefly, but since you were hiding your presence to start with, and there was a reasonable mix in the crowd of fighters around your level of strength, it was difficult for her to tell.

    Her head turns back to her opponent. They bow, but it was notable that they did so from opposite ends of the arena. There was no respectful touching of fists or anything like that. Given the sheer amounts of aura and magical energy involved, it was obvious why. High level pugilists could barely handle this woman.

Yari Takane (691) has posed:
For a moment, Yari had mistaken the woman for an Eikon in disguise, or perhaps one of the older members of the Legion. But no, she was too young, and Yari doesn't feel that immediate need to drive a blade into the other woman's back. This is, it seems, natural.

Yari can't help but feel her heart skip as that gaze very nearly meets hers. It's not quite fear, something far different, and she can't quite seem to place it. Putting it out of mind, the ninja steels herself and puts all of her attention on Momoyo. If this city comes under Union control, she'd be a threat. A major one. She'll have to find out everything about this monstrous woman.

Shifting positions, she's soon on Momoyo's side of the spectator's area, fading out of the mass of humanity to get a better look. She's a good looking woman, and that doesn't help matters. The rest of the world means nothing to Yari for a moment, her mind running through threat assessments, assassination ideas, but can't help but feel her heart beating a little faster in anticipation before the signal for the match to start goes on!

She leans in to the nearest civilian beside her.

"What's that woman's name?"

Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
     "You must be a tourist. That's Kawakami Momoyo. She was one of the first to show up at that massive dimensional gate Kuki is investigating. She went through and came back, but refused to talk about what she saw..." Luckily enough the bit of Japanese you picked up from similar worlds to this one worked fine, for the most part.

    "GO!!!"

    Were it not for your training as an assassin, you couldn't keep up with her movements. Even then, it was hard, and questionable if you could toe-to-toe. Her fist ended up in the ground where Too Can stood a moment ago, but he only picked a direction and dodged randomly. The art of capoiera was very much like dancing... too bad there wasn't much to see about that martial art with the fighter on constant defense. He was still strong, but the chasm in sheer power was immense. At a glance this woman wasn't capable, or motivated enough, to learn magic, but if she did...

    The fight went on for a tense 20 seconds. She hit the other fighter, but it was difficult to tell if it was full strength or if she was toying with him.

    "Kawakami Style: Musou Seikenzuki!!!!"

    While those that weren't trained to see auras and magic like you were couldn't see it, you didn't need to see the bracelet to tell that barely took any of the roiling red aura about her. It was a simple, straight punch. That should be easily dodged or have an opening from someone strong enough to block it. The problem was it came out with the speed and force of a magitek battleship cannon.

Yari Takane (691) has posed:
Yari Takane offers a little bow to the civilian. "Kawakami Momoyo." She repeats to herself, lips pursed, as the fight finally begins!

Luckily for Yari, she's seen and fought alongside people like this before. But it's never been a person so young. The young woman can't help but remember one of her first commanders, now long retired, that could move so swiftly and punch harder than any of her country's automated defenders.

It's frightening, and the sheer level of that aura sending the man to the ground after immediately putting him on the defense with a single blow is more than telling.

Yari flicks a fan to cover her face as she finds herself breathless, eyes wide, purple and blue orbs locked onto Momoyo. Her body trembles, adrenaline coursing through her.

Forcing herself to take a breath, one hand squeezing her kimono to try to get the tension to stop, she slips for but a single moment. Her aura seems a little brighter, before she forces her aether back within her own body. Falling to a knee, she tries to get her heart to stop hammering.

Not once has she stopped staring at Momoyo the entire time, and she has a feeling the sight might fill her dreams tonight. Pushing herself up, she checks the timer.

"22 seconds...and that man wasn't weak." She mutters to herself. If she were to even stand a chance, she'd have to use everything she had.

The ninja tries to fade back into the crowd, walking along it's perimeter in an attempt to shadow Momoyo should she leave the arena. She needs to know more, and see more of her.

Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
     Momoyo didn't even need to be checked on after the man went down. Most of the monks on standby and all the medical supplies went straight to the Brazilian man. Momoyo just shook her head. She looked terribly bored.

    But for a moment or two she turned back to the crowd, squinting... that was bad.

    She started to mill through where the crowd is watching to try to find you. She caught that flash of aura underneath your kimono but wasn't sure what she was looking for exactly. That was the mark of a reasonably perceptive fighter, and you didn't know the layout of the area yet. However, her pursuit was leisurely. She wasn't trying hard yet, but depending on what you were going to try it was a chance to lure her off.

Yari Takane (691) has posed:
Yari chides herself inwardly, the ninja slipping off, quickly, but not hurriedly. That gives you away. No, she makes her way for the edge of the crowd, senses following that massive aura, and then double backs swiftly towards the side of the dojo proper. It's here that she starts laying out clues. A deliberate slip here. A tap of sound where there's the flutter of a kimono edge for the briefest of seconds as Momoyou approaches. And then she silently leaps towards the edge of the roof of the building just after letting out one more small slip of energy. Flat to the roof, she'll crawl quietly back, waiting to see if her gambit worked.

Should you end up facing towards the area beyond the Dojo, or better yet, at a wall, she'll try to land behind you.

"It's rare that I get to see a competent warrior so easily defeated. You're a very, very strong woman, Miss Kawakami. Tell me. What's the secret to your strength?" There's no malice in her words. Nothing but pure curiousity, and what might be the hint of breathlessness in her voice.

Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
     Since you were suppressing your aetheric aura totally by that point, there were fewer and fewer ways for her to find you other than what you deliberately left. Especially the way you were moving, you could tell that she could probably sense a normal person at about two kilometres... she had to be much closer to find you.

    "Hmhmhm. Nice try..." she tilts her nose up at you, her hair sliding over her shoulders. "You're not one of the girls in my fan club. And no one wears a kimono in that style in this day and age..." She glimpsed enough outside the portal. Not enough to understand what was going on, but enough to be able to tell you arrived sometime today.

    "I'm descended from the Kawakami bloodlike of samurai." she shrugs her shoulders. "The rest is training. I know only fighting, after all~." she raised one hand, keeping it close to her cheek. A focusing maneuver, but this close up it was going to be harder to escape her. "You were watching me pretty closely. There's a few girls who try to follow me around like that, but you're the only one in this area not from around here that can do that... and aren't one of the Big Four like I am."

Yari Takane (691) has posed:
Caught. For a seeming thug, horribly strong or not, you're definitely perceptive. Her eyes close for a moment, and she switches tactics. At first, the ninja is silent, letting you speak. But you drop enough hints. In all likelyhood, this world has already felt the Multiverse's touch, and it may well have been you who first saw it.

"You're sharper than you look. Correct, I am not from your world, Miss Kawakami. Chiyo will suffice for myself. It's a pleasure to meet you." Comes the woman politely.

She offers a bow, and then openly looks you over searchingly. Her gaze lingers, particularly upon those red eyes. They're striking.

The hand is watched, warily. She'd just seen what you're capable of. For all that she tries to project calm, all the signs are there: heightened breathing, a slight tenseness to the face. This woman is ready to spring off, just in case. But something holds her here. Yari is taking risks today.

She doesn't escape, there's too much to learn. "Then I'm glad to know my skills are at least of some note. I'm not from your 'fan club'." She sounds a little amused. Another glance over you. Another flick of that fan she'd bought. She flicks it down when she has a bit of self control. Useful things, fans.

"I'm a traveler with very specific interests in strong women." She says suddenly. It's not entirely a lie, either.

The comment on her kimono has her frowning. She holds out her arm, and does a small spin.

"Is it really that archaic here?" Her voice, so wary before, finds a note of self-consciousness and a bit of dissappointment. She /likes/ the thing.

That tail of hers flicks, trying to stretch the tension out of her body.

"What are these Big Four? The strongest warriors in this nation, perhaps?" This woman is full of questions, it seems. A pause, and then she offers a small smile.

"But I shouldn't be this intrusive. Would lunch for your victory, a drink, in exchange for enlightening a curious travel be interesting to you?" Bribery is legitimate.

Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
     Only this close up does she realize you only have one arm. She was listening quietly, didn't even speak very much. But it was obvious you weren't human looking closely at your horns and tail. "The kimono itself isn't, the cut and fashion are pretty ancient... I really wouldn't have noticed if I wasn't just bored as hell during Japanese History." She was referencing a school, probably not too much unlike the public institutions the Empire had for merchants and upper-middle class soldiers. "People around here don't have horns and tails though... ever. You were in a hurry to get through the gate." she lets her guard down enough to rub the back of her neck.

    "Well, I don't mind lunch." she shrugs her shoulders. Actually, she was almost as excited about a free lunch after that fight as you were meeting her. "...but whose wallet did you steal to get enough yen to offer that...?"

Yari Takane (691) has posed:
A finger pinches the bridge of her nose. Sigh. "...It seems I'll need to find a tailor that doesn't ask questions." She laments lightly, before focusing on Momoyo once more. More information is filed away. She's seen such institutions, both from her home, and abroad in the multiverse.

Really, this place felt like an advanced Doma. It hurts a little to stand here, and yet, it feels refreshing. It might explain her risks and good mood here. This strange fighter before her might be another.

A hurry. Definitely. She should've grabbed one of the illusion devices.

"If I hadn't, then I wouldn't have gotten to see a new land with my own eyes before anyone else." She's honest, here. She wanted to see something new, to pioneer something, rather than just work and steal from others.

That tail is quietly slipped into her kimono somehow. She'd been too excited to think of it. The horns will just have to stay.

Your question has her chuckling just a little.

"I don't tend to ask them who their names are. But I have enough. Lead the way." Seems she fully intends to pay, and doesn't seem too concerned for things like cost right now.

Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
     Stretching her arms lazily, she drops one heavily on your shoulder... then around your waist. Close enough to tell you were excited, but that didn't seem to dissuade her, it seems she was perfectly used to doing that.

    The problem more came touching concealed weaponry near your waist or back. She only paused a moment or two though, but it was close enough to see the oddities in your skin. "You know, the next time you come around here, those weapons are probably gonna cause more problems than not." she chides. But then, her wandering fingers find what she was /actually/ looking for.

    In a playful moment, she sets about wrestling the wallet from your curvy figure, and getting a look at the driver's license... but more importantly how much cash was actually in there. If she took you to the wrong place, it was going to be a problem for both. But the arm pinning you in against her side... not surprisingly, she was inhumanly strong. She was probably exciting you without realizing it, but her grip could crack your ribs using her side if she wasn't holding back.

Yari Takane (691) has posed:
Here, she actually blushes. Yari tries to call upon her soldier's pride, but she's squished against you and well aware just what lengths she'd have to go through to escape your grip, and very aware of the warmth of another person. Despite herself, some of that tension actually vanishes.

She's still very much excited, though. She hasn't yet seen so much of the multiverse that she's jaded, and somehow your superhuman strength is comforting in a very odd way.

It helps when your Mother was a Legatus who knew eighty different ways to kill a man with a marble and piece of fresh fruit.

But at least here she can claim superiority, and the woman tenses back up for a moment.

"I come prepared to trips like this, Miss Kawakami. Unknown worlds lead to unknown dangers. I've seen a few worlds in my short life by now. Never leave your guard down if you leave this place." She adds, a bit of multiversal advice.

That wallet is guarded jealously. Yari's like a slippery snake, moving it /just/ out of reach for a second, rolling it over her knuckles several times, flipping it to her tail and hefting it up into the air only to catch it. There's nowhere near your level of strength in the Au'Ra, but her dexterity is something to behold. Someone give this girl a cherry stem.

But proximity and two hands win out, and it's plucked away when a particularly close wrestle has her hissing!

"...Well played."

The man she stole it from is in fact a local pigheaded jerk. It was probably karma.

She's definitely breathing a little hard after the contest. Thankfully, there's a ramen shop nearby that's just upscale enough to be good, but not /too/ upscale. And they even serve beer.

Yari lets her nose lead the way, and uses her tail discretely to point you inwards. Once meals and beer for Yari at least are ordered, she's eating and drinking away. Her gaze is still firmly upon you.

"So tell me about this town. It's raised on martial arts, or so I've gathered?"

Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
     After she sits down with you, her expression seems to have changed. Even the light tussle where you were surprisingly nimble was entertaining. The problem was she had gone from that hard-edged stare of a warrior... to that of a wry lech. The kind of stare more than one suitor tossed around on miqo'te every so often in port towns.

    "Hmm~. I don't know~. I didn't get a good look at how gorgeous you were until now, you know...?" she was derailing the subject entirely by being honest and blunt. Probably all that tussling had blown your emotional cover at the very least. After all... Momoyo's intuition still tended to be on-point, a necessity for a high level fighter.

Yari Takane (691) has posed:
Unfortunately for Yari, she could name quite a few of said ports. Eyes narrow just slightly and she's handling her cutlery a little bit more tightly. Flashbacks to missions in Aleport run through her head.

But all of her defenses against drunken former corsairs fails in the face of open honesty. In her world, that's an obscene rarity only attributed to her own friends and a few knights she happens to know. No, this doesn't happen in that tone of voice.

The train has just left tracks, and zoomed into outer space. She flushes almost immediately, eyes widening, that killers preparation all gone. Cue another heart-skip.

"...What!?" She manages to choke out, and openly stares at Momoyo. Gulp. Shiver.

She hides her face in beer and ramen until three bowls and three bottles lay before her.

"I am nothing that special! I mean...there's probably human women that make me seem plain." Cough. All ablush, this Au'ra right now.