Welcome to Gaia! ::

It was mid-afternoon when a duo of travelers passed through the gates into the East Section of Edo. They were both wearing cloaks, both about the same height, as well. The main difference between the two was that one clearly had a katana under his cloak and the other was seemingly unarmed. The unarmed one also kept a couple steps behind his companion, as though following his lead.

When the pair reached an inn, the one in the lead lowered his hood to reveal a head of violet hair. His eyes matched the color of his hair almost exactly, and he glanced around the lobby of the inn, clearly looking for someone or something. As he looked, his cloaked companion stayed silent and still, his hood remaining in place.

The violet-haired man seemed to find what he was looking for, and he immediately made his way to a table near the back of the room. A brown-haired and green-eyed man was sitting there, his legs stretched out casually under the table so his feet were resting on the chair across from him. He didn't move them when the two approached him.

"This seems like a decent place for us to stay," the sitting man stated, looking up at the other two. "I've gotten a couple extra rooms. Told the owner some friends of mine were going to be joining me for a few days. Glad to see that you arrived, Mikage-san. Shigai-san."

"Wakastuki-san, what have I told you about mentioning my name?" Kurei Mikage remarked, taking a seat at the table. Certainly not at the chair that was occupied by Takumi's feet. "Where are the rooms? Has anyone else arrived in the city that you know of?"

Takumi Wakastuki shook his head. "Not that I've seen. The rooms are upstairs. End of the hall. Adjoining, no less. I spared no expense to make sure we'd have what we needed. You owe me quite a lot."

"I'm certain you'll make up for it within a day or two," Kurei said, raising an eyebrow at Takumi. Considering how much time Takumi spent pickpocketing passersby, he was sure the thief would have gotten back his money very soon. He wasn't going to pay Takumi a single coin. "Keys?"

"Here." The thief tossed a key to Kurei. "I figured you'd want the one at the end." Kurei nodded before making his way upstairs, the cloaked Shigai following behind him.

About the same time as the shogun took a seat at his desk again, someone else entered the room. Albeit this newcomer was invisible to the shogun at the moment, held within the light in the room. He drifted through the room, settling down on the desk before reforming into his solid human form, lounging on the surface of the desk as he did.

Ryoku Mikage was wearing his usual white attire, looking somewhat bored as he observed the shogun with his brilliant golden eyes. Despite the boredom, he seemed to be in a decent enough mood. Which was fortunate, because he was prone to rather dark periods.

"Your efficiency when it comes to dealing with potential threats is quite inspiring, my lord," he remarked, still practically laying across the desk. "I can only imagine how much damage a child like that could have done." Sarcasm? Oh yes. Ryoku might be ruthless in his own regard, but he wasn't the type to kill a child.

Ryoku's eyes widened in surprise when the shogun cut through the desk, causing the pretty blonde-haired man to fall to the floor with the pieces of the desk. He was back on his feet in mere moments though, seeming unbothered by the little tumble.

"My lord, allow me to apologize," he said, giving the man a small bow after the shogun seemed to calm down a bit. "I did not mean to criticize your methods..." Oh yes he did, but the shogun didn't need to know that.

He glanced down at the man's bleeding hand with some concern before moving forward with a few smooth, graceful steps so he could take hold of the man's hand. At Ryoku's direction, the man's hand began to vanish into the light little by little, instead appearing to be a yellowish glow. It was painless, but it would feel warm to the shogun. Ryoku put the man's hand back the way it was supposed to be a moment later, healed and good as new.

"Have I made it up to you?" he inquired, patting the shogun's healed hand lightly before releasing it. Such healing tricks were second nature to Ryoku by this point. That irritating light spirit within him had made sure of that.

"I have nothing to report about them, I am afraid," Ryoku stated with a shrug, leaning casually against the wall by the window. Very close to the shogun, in fact. Hinting, much? Oh yes. "I will certainly have my eyes and ears open. I would do anything to protect you, my lord..." He gave the man an almost coy smile.

He had nothing to report about the Yami mostly because he didn't care about all that much about that group. They were trying to kill the shogun, yes, but he saw no reason to chase them down. Let them get into Edo. Let them start making their moves. Then when they think they have things under control, show them what fools they all are and destroy them. He was more interested in their leader. Rumor had it that their leader was one with the darkness. That sounded an awful lot like a certain Mikage to Ryoku. That certain Mikage that he had still to dispose of. He had managed to have Kurei's sister murdered by the shogun's soldiers. The brother... Well, it was only a matter of time before Ryoku saw to his termination.

Ryoku was not pleased when the shogun quite literally shoved him out the door. As soon as the door was closed, he vanished into the light and slipped back into the shogun's office. Though when the shogun went over to the window to shut out the light, Ryoku very nearly got caught in the dark. And in the worst way possible. He'd experienced what it was like to be in the light when suddenly there was no light to be in. It was a horrible experience. One of the most painful things he'd ever felt, and that pain lingered for a while.

Thankfully, he'd managed to reform just before the light was shut out. Though now he was in the dark and feeling none-too-comfortable with it. Firstly, he couldn't see. Secondly, he was in pain.

He tried to keep himself calm as he felt for the door. The sooner he could get out of that room, the better. Hopefully the shogun hadn't noticed he was there. There were many things that Ryoku disliked greatly, and one of those happened to be being caught in a vulnerable position. Like this one.

Ryoku was taken by surprise when the shogun held him against him and wrapped his arms around his waist. He hadn't expected such a reaction, and it honestly scared him a bit. Excited him a bit too, but he wasn't about to admit that. He only acted like he was attracted to the shogun in an attempt to get some control over the man. Signs that the shogun might be attracted to him always shocked Ryoku quite a bit. Though his own enjoyment of the man's attention made him quite concerned that he might actually be falling for the man. It certainly wasn't what he intended.

He was relieved when the shogun let some light back into the room. Obviously the man knew of Ryoku's main weakness, but he often wondered if the shogun was aware of the extent of his weakness. How the darkness could kill Ryoku in a matter of hours? Probably not.

"How very merciful of you, my lord," he remarked, a hint of confusion in his voice. He really hadn't expected that kind of a reaction from the man. It was tempting to close some of the distance between them, but he opted to stay sitting on the floor for now. Though his clothes would likely get a little dirty from it. Oh well. Sacrifices must be made sometimes. He knew that better than most.

He looked down at his hands for a moment before pressing his palms together. A bit of light gathered between his palms, warming them slightly before he opened them, revealing an intricate butterfly made of light. The butterfly seemed to test its beautifully shining wings before taking flight, circling around the room while Ryoku watched it in silence.

Kai watched the butterfly move a little before catching it in his hands and opening the window, letting it fly out if it had the desire to, not sure if it had it's own wants or was merely under Ryoku's control. He shrugged the thought away and continued to look outside, sighing to himself. He was on edge ever since he heard of his future, and he wanted to eliminate that threat permanently.

He sighed and sat down once more, saying "I can't keep going like this. If I do, then I might just go insane from the fear of it all. Hopefully I can end this soon by killing the b*****d that leads "Yami." With him dead, they'd never be able to continue their plot.

Himora knocked on the door and Kai opened it, letting her in. She was just doing her rotuine checks for any possible openings in the office and found none, then she noticed the cut desk and sighed, saying "Shall I get another desk for you sir?"

Kai nodded and said "Something sturdy enough to withstand a few blows from a nodachi, alright Himora?" Himora nodded and left to go and place the order to a craftsmen to make a new desk for him.