A True Kage [Invite Only]

Holeman didn't do too well when people complimented him. He wasn't the type to have a big ego, or let it inflate when people raised him up on a pedestal. Marquetta said that Alec could come by later to discuss things in more detail if he wanted, and that he was free to stick around. Holeman didn't think he was going to set out right away anyways; many of the guys from his ship were either in the bars around the village, or within the well-known brothels down by the docks. Holeman didn't care to know what was going on inside, so he didn't look.

Holeman gave a wave to Marquetta when she left, deciding to keep an eye out for any suspicious characters himself. "If I see anyone... funny looking," he said to the Kage as she left. "I'll make sure you know about it."

He turned to look up at Alec, and at his kids. "So Alec, you don't have to leave right away, do you? There's more than enough room at our place if you want to stay a while; all of you. You can stick around, there's some stuff I wanna show you... or, if you wanna walk around the village and go on a tour, that's cool too. The clinic is not far from here, it's the big building connected to the big house in the north. Our name is on the front, you can't miss it..."

Holeman, Joy and Bart started walking, with Holeman looking back to see who would follow them.

[Exit]

Marquetta agreed to the terms Holeman offered up. Alec nodded his head with a grin. This was turning out better than he thought it would. Marquetta went on to say that she had her hunches that Holeman was a special kid, and that he'd proved it by healing someone named Kouten. She said they could stay if they wanted, and if he wanted to get into more detail they could meet later on, when their matter was settled.

She said to keep the girls close, since this guy had a thing for little girls, and no problem enslaving and kidnapping them. "I'd have to worry about Jynx, sure," Alec responded, putting a hand on top of her head. "She's not as... seasoned... as the rest of us, she's getting there. But Artemis? Hunh, I worry more about the kidnapper when it comes to her. She knows how to take care of herself..."

Alec too waved when Marquetta left. Holeman asked them to stay a while. He said there was more than enough room at his place, and that there was something he wanted to show him. He gave directions to the clinic in case someone wanted to go on a tour. Alec knew that he had better get all of the rest he could; the journey to Mori was longer and he would probably be up on his feet for an extended amount of time.

"Alright, no problem," he said. "I'm going to the clinic with Holeman, the rest of you can go tour around if you want, or come with us. Jynx, I don't want you alone though. You can either come with us, or stick by Artemis or Konran, but either way it goes I want you with someone. Some moron is wandering around out there, so let's not take any chances... and all of you try to stay out of trouble if you can avoid it, yeah?"

Alec started walking with Holeman and his siblings.

\Exit\

The Sabakukage agreed that a trade agreement between their villages was a good idea, and also said that it would be a good idea to open travel between the two villages: Kurayamigakure people were more than welcome in Sabakugakure, and the same was said about Sabakugakure villagers being welcome in Kurayamigakure. Artemis grinned from ear to ear hearing this, figuring that it would be cool to get a chance to visit again someday and now she'd be able to without worry.

She also said that she knew Holeman was something special when she first saw him, and that he had helped Kouten when the girl had needed it. Holeman seemed to take the compliment in silence. Marquatta then mentioned that perhaps her and Alec could discuss things in more detail later on if he stuck around, which they were more then welcome to do so. Artemis figured they would: the crew was likely rather drunk right now, and it probably wasn't a good idea for them to try and run a ship like that.

And then Marquatta was warning Alec to keep an eye on herself and Jynx because whatever problem had arised had a thing for little girls: especially little girls who could fight. Artemis could only giggle, albeit a bit sadistically. She wasn't worried about getting into a fight with an old pervert: she had taken over an entire district simply by talking the people there into killing themselves. She wasn't worried about having to get into a real fight if it came down to it, but she wasn't going to go looking for trouble. Her father vouched for her skill, which made Artemis grin more. Marquetta then left with a wave, which Artemis returned before looking towards Holeman and her father.

Holeman said the were welcome to stay with him if they were sticking around for a while, and that there was more than enough room. Artemis wanted to hang out and get to know everyone better so she turned and followed after Holeman, his siblings, and her father. She knew Jynx would either follow her or stick by Konran, so she wasn't worried about her: someone would be keeping an eye on her and keeping her safe from the creep wandering around. "I'm coming! I'll go explore later on."

Everything seemed to be going smoothly from what Jynx could tell. Marquetta agreed with both the idea of setting up a trade agreement as well as the idea of opening travel between the villages which would allow people to come and go freely without issue or concern. She mentioned that she knew Holeman was special, just as Alec had said, though she noticed that Holeman didn't say anything about the compliment. Marquetta then warned about someone who was nearby, a criminal, who had a thing for little girls and that Alec should keep an eye on herself and Artemis. Alec placed his hand on her head which made her smile, and said that while he would keep an eye on Jynx since she wasn't as seasoned as the rest of them, that he didn't need to worry about Artemis. Jynx couldn't help but to agree: Artemis had told her how she had taken over the district Alec had assigned her simply by talking people into taking their own lives, so she could only imagine how powerful she'd be in an actual fight.

Jynx had no intentions of straying away from someone; she had no intentions of going back into a bad situation. She was quite happy with the way things were, and had no intentions of meeting this old pervert that seemed to have Marquetta so pissed off.

When Holeman and his siblings turned and left Alec followed and so did Artemis. Artemis said that she'd go explore later, and Jynx figured that would give Marquetta or whoever a chance to find this old guy and get rid of him. With that thought in mind she turned and followed after them. "I'm hungry..", she commented, figuring that there'd be food.


Exit.

(#16)
Everything was looking good so far. Marquetta agreed to Holeman's suggestion. She said she knew Holeman was special, and he didn't respond. A humble guy. The Kage said they could stay if they wanted, and she and Alec could get together later to discuss things in more detail. She then warned Alec to keep the girls close, because whoever this guy was out there had a thing for little girls. Konran may have only just met them, but since Alec and his people didn't seem like the bad, evil guys he'd described them to be back in the "Dark" era, he wasn't going to let some creep get his hands on Artemis or Jynx.

Marquetta left, and Holeman invited them all to his place, a medical clinic with their name on it north of here. He said it was cool if they wanted to go on a tour too. Alec said he was going, and it was cool if they wanted to walk around, just try to keep out of trouble if they could avoid it. Artemis and Jynx were going with them all.

Konran, however, wanted to walk around, to explore. It would be his first time off on his own, and since escaping that underground lab, he was feeling adventurous. "...I sorta want to walk around for a while," he said, staying where he was while everyone else walked away. "I won't get into trouble, and I won't be gone long either. First time in the world... I'll catch up with you all in a little while."

Konran, excited for the first time in his life about anything, turned and began heading in the opposite direction, towards the town's center.

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[Exit]