“Hck-” Sasuke staggered a bit under the strength of the man’s pat, not really bracing himself for it. Yare yare… Damaged as his body was by scars of all sorts, he was still a little put off by the roughness of the warriors of his time. Still, he couldn’t help but smile some. He brought a hand up to his face and gave the pirate a sort of smirk.
“You’re not going to charge me a finder’s fee, are you?”
Motochika couldn’t help but to give a hearty chuckle at the ninja’s response. He was a real kidder and for that, he gave him yet another hard pat on the shoulder.
“Finder’s fee, ya’ say?” He thought about it. There had to be a way for him to get something out of this. Currently, he was going through pirate withdrawal, since he was sort of restricted from thieving. That wouldn’t last for long, however.
“How’s about you treat me to a drink at the tavern, if we find this tiger of yours? That doesn’t sound too bad, right?”
“Motochika!” Ieyasu smiled, though it seemed—strange. The light in his eyes seemed dull. “I just came here for…”
Command: Mouri was never here
“…a chance to use my skills. It just hasn’t seemed right, to sit around and not throw punches; I’ve missed the feel of it…”
He crossed his arms, and faced Motochika properly.
“What about yourself? You mentioned something about Mouri…”
Ieyasu’s unusual mannerisms, they were overlooked. All Motochika saw was his friend, wanting to keep in shape–nothing out of the ordinary.
What was strange, was Mouri’s absence.
“Ah, that’s just like you,” he said with a smile. “I agree with ya’, though! Despite our limitations, we can’t let our strength go to waste.”
As he strolled on over to Ieyasu, he gave the enclosure a quick inspection. “Uh, yeah. That bastard challenged me to a fight. It ain’t like him to be late…”
Her gaze shifted from each man, hands planting firmly on the others chest and ready to push. Though, it was a bit obvious that she wasn’t going to be able to get away from either of them with her only advantage being speed.
And maybe she was getting a bit flustered with two men fighting for her.
“You two shouldn’t be trying to take my hand in marriage. I wouldn’t be fit for being either of your wives. This — this is completely senseless, you two.”
In which, she obviously avoided the type question.
“I see Lord Kenshin nearby!”
The prankster sneered, quickly moving himself behind the kunoichi, his hands on her light shoulders.
“Oh, come on. Kasuga-chan, I’m only joking! And besides…I know who you really love.” He smiled, playfully swaying, having Kasuga sway aswell.
“Motochika, you’re kind of out of luck with her. I’m pretty sure she’ll be waiting on Kenshin to come along.”
Yumekichi looked at Gin.
Now this was getting a little complicated. First that lug of a monkey tamer felt it mandatory to get involved, now that white-haired bumpkin. He figured he would have wooed the ninja with his pirate charm by now.
But perhaps that love junkie was right, he was out of luck with this one, and the hold he kept around her waist withdrew.
With that final push, Ieyasu’s will snapped; his knees connected hard with the ground as he fell, and he doubled over, holding himself. The forcible bonds of Motonari wracked his body, commanding him to stay still; only after the lord of Chuugoku left the room, was he free to stand.
Wait. He must wait now. He had to stay and wait, for the man he was supposed to meet. He must not move, must not think, must not…
He stood frozen in place, with his eyes facing the entrance.
“–A duel against you in the training room. I’ll be waiting.” He repeated the words from the note he found on his door, just moments ago. “And it’s signed by Mouri… tch.” Typical Mouri. Typical, typical Mouri. Was paradise not enough for that guy? Motochika vented a sigh, feeling somewhat disappointed. He had hoped the change of air would rid Mouri of his manipulative, war-bound thoughts. “Fine.” After crumpling up the note, he tossed it right over his shoulder. “If it’s a fight that bastard wants, it’ll be a fight he gets!”
And off he went, his destination: the training room. If the training room’s whereabouts weren’t in his own house, he’d have to do an awful lot of walking. It was a shame, though. Motochika wasn’t all too familiar with the House of Strength’s surroundings. You could say, in a sense, that the pirate got lost, lost to the point of having to ask for directions. How embarrassing.
After much backtracking and turning a few corners, he finally found himself at the entrance. “Let’s get this over with…” A mutter. Both his hands were placed against the doors to the training room, and with a forceful shove, they opened. As always, he trudged in unmannerly, his mouth beginning its usual barking of provocative words. “Alright, Mouri. You’re gonna regret messin’ with this demon, ‘cause he’s gonna kick yer’ ass–”
The doors closed behind him and he paused, paused at the sight of someone other than Mouri before him. “Ieyasu…?” He blinked, definitely surprised by this turn of events. “'The hell you doin’ in here? Don’t tell me you got to Mouri before me?”
“My name’s Hawke. How about you?” She replied, still smiling but not in a creepy way. She didn’t really know what else to say. Still so very awkward at starting conversations. Always. Always awkward at starting conversations. She really needed to work on that. But, learning on the job is what Hawke did best. So that’s what she was going to do.
This lass was rather forward, guess it couldn’t be helped, since everyone here seemed to be strangers. “Hawke, eh? ‘Tis nice to meetcha’, Hawke.” He extended a broad hand out to her, in hopes of a handshake. “Name’s Motochika, Chousokabe Motochika. You new around here?” It was an assumption. He wasn’t familiar with everyone around this sea-lacking paradise, but he hasn’t seen her around before.
