Unexpected Meetings In West City! New Arrivals!

[Midori]

Rain spattered the streets and the young woman that walked them in a steady patter. The young woman merely ducked her head, her pale green locks dampening and darkening as it dropped down onto her head mercilessly. She wasn’t even wearing a jacket but then again she hadn’t expected it to start raining when she’d left the next town over. She didn't exactly watch the News to see what West City's weather was going to be. Her jumpsuit was splattered with wet spots but she wasn’t soaked yet, her skin rippled into goose bumps as the cold drops hit her bare skin and rolled along to drop off of her or soak into her clothing. Her top was soaked as well and she brushed at some of the water on her with her gloved fingers her dark green eyes showing nothing but mild amusement, mother nature was sure a fickle woman.

She rushed quickly towards an overhanging alcove outside of a building setting herself on the bench under the hanging marquee outside. The roads were dampening and she watched them either glisten or turn to mud based on their material. All in all it was sort of a melancholy setting. She couldn’t help but reach around to the back of her belt and grabbed the smooth red leather pouch attacked there. She flipped open the clasp and reached in pulling out the thin harmonica, it was a pretty thing in her opinion and she admired it for a moment. It had always been the thing to calm and lift her spirits, and she could use it right now.

Not having very much money meant that she couldn’t exactly go drown herself in alcohol or something like that. She needed to be able to eat and find a place to stay for the night if she could. She brought the small instrument to her lips and pressed it against their pale pink surface before playing at first softly and then simply letting it flow, the sounds around her working as her beat. She was enjoying herself immensely and her dark green orbs glittered as she tapped her foot slightly not paying much attention to any stares she might have gotten.

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Thread Status: Incomplete ; Open
Harmonica Music: Clickeh

[dorian]

Oh rain.

It was pleasant to Dorian. The constant patter of raindrops calmed him. It was regular, like a heartbeat. A direct connection with the heavens and the Buddha, and life itself. The martial artist in him was at peace here.

That's not to say that he still wouldn't carry an umbrella, of course.

The former dojo master had been caught in the rain, walking back from the grocery store. Three large bags were piled into one arm while the other held his umbrella high, making sure not to get the bags wet. the last thing he needed was for all of his food to fall out onto the concrete.

Dorian smiled pleasantly at each person he passed, and they smiled back. It was only natural, and in such a downpour, the young man knew some people just needed a smile to get through the day.

As he walked down the streets, he heard a few notes ring out through the rain. He peered further down the street, over the many tops of umbrellas, and saw a young woman playing a small instrument. He'd never seen one before, and the small device intrigued him. Using his martial arts training, Dorian slipped through the crowd as easily as a fish swims through water, and stood before the woman playing.

She'd been caught in the rain, and it didn't seem like she dressed for the weather either. He set his bags down, then slipped took off his fighting gi's outer jacket.

"You must be cold, it's no good being caught out here without a jacket." he said, smiling kindly.

While Dorian would've called it mere chivalry, offering his overcoat, there was no denying he'd noticed more than the woman's harmonica. He'd always had a soft spot for green eyes anyway.

Harmless right?

[Midori]

Small splashes of water flew up on her boot as she tapped it further soaking her pants but she ignored it. The same as she ignored the sight of peoples feet shuffling by, all she really heard was the rhythm they provided her. A small grin tugged at her lips as she played but before she could reach the end a voice cut through her playing and small bubble she had created collapsed around her in her mind. She stopped and slowly lowered the mouth organ to her lap without looking up, her smile was still in place. The brilliant flash of color in front of her though made her look up too see the man offering her a jacket, out of kindness or something else?

She studied his eyes closely but found nothing but benign interest there and instead of shunning him she simply shook her head. "It is kind of you to offer but I'll be fine, I've dealt withe worse, besides I'm all wet anyways" she said holding out her arms so that some of the water on her dripped off. A gloved hand moved to her hair and pushed some of the soaked locks away from her face so she could see him better. Her other hand had already moved to put away her harmonica in its pouch, it would have been rude to keep playing, she wasn't rude if she could help it.

"Though I do thank you, my name is Midori, and yours would be?" she asked curiously. In her mind she had a while to sit here before she found somewhere to go so she might as well get acquainted with one of the locals. Ties like that could be useful later if she needed to find her way around, or find out where the best shops were. She smiled and scooted over offering the man a seat next to her if he wanted. She didn't expect him to just stand there, besides the overhang gave a little shelter from the rain.

[dorian]

Dorian smiled, taking the seat beside her happily. "Dorian. Dorian Midorikawa."

He chuckled, "Hah, interesting coincidence with the names eh?"
His eyes flickered over her quickly. She held herself with confidence, a confidence someone only knew with some fighting experience. Her face was polite, but she was guarded. Dorian smiled happily, "So, I take it you're from out of town. Too bad today is such a dreary day to visit. The city's beautiful in the sunlight."

The martial artist stretched his legs out; his feet, left bare by the wooden sandals he wore, were immediately set upon by the continuing downpour. "So," he said again, "I hope I'm not sounding forward but have you found a place to stay yet? I only ask because it's so late in the afternoon already. My brother and oldest sister own a dojo not too far from here, I'm sure they'd be willing to put you up."

Dorian stole a quick glance at her wardrobe. A jumpsuit, still unzipped a ways down. She hadn't zipped it up, despite the elements. That meant she was used to most climates. A soldier maybe, but she didn't have that brashness. She was polite. To a T. Solider's weren't like that. But killers were.

He laughed, "Ah, but you probably want to stay at one of the hotels. I shouldn't have insulted you like that. I'm sorry, I was being presumptuous."

[Midori]

He took the seat next to her without hesitation and she was secretly glad of it, at least he was much friendlier than she expected in a big city. People in cities tended to be more cold than friendly, most likely because of their rush through life. She was in no rush despite how short her life span was, she felt no need to move any faster towards death than need be. She smirked at her thoughts before glancing over at him with an amused smile on her face, "Perhaps it was fate?" she said and then laughed. "I kid, I can't say I don't believe in fate but I doubt names are anything to base its interference off of" she said with a shake of her head spraying a few droplets of water in the process.

His immediate pick up on her being from out of town wasn't completely alarming but at the same time it irked her. She had though maybe he wouldn't have drawn that conclusion immediately since this was a rather large city. She preferred anonymity and being the new person in town didn't exactly give her that, "More or less" she said shrugging her shoulders, a half truth would suffice then. "I think it's rather beautiful this way, everything glitters when its wet after all, normally not everything shines" she said raising a brow at him. She had noticed his scrutiny but didn't comment on it, she wondered what he saw in her that was so interesting. It could have been simply her looks but she doubted it was that, his gaze was more calculating then that. Hopefully he wasn't too smart for his own good.

His offer caught her off guard but instead of surprise she smirked and looked back out at the rain washed road and buildings pondering it. A hotel would grant her more freedom but the dojo would give her the opportunity to save some money most likely not to mention get some time in training if she asked their permission. "Hmm, don't be so quick to think my pride outweighs my smarts. I'd most likely be stupid to turn down your offer and I'm not stupid Dorian" she said still looking away from him. "I'll take that offer later perhaps, but I'd like to know more about who I would be staying with" she said slipping her eyes sideways to look at him.

"This dojo of yours what does it teach?" she asked curiously.

[dorian]

She wouldn't look him in the eye. It wasn't uncommon in the city, Dorian knew this, but that's usually because everyone was hiding one secret or another. It didn't mean anything though. Everyone had secrets. Best not to think too much about it. He was confident that any trouble, should it arise, would be manageable.

Besides, it felt good to the young man to think the best of people first. This woman hadn't hurt anyone, and she seemed genuine enough so far. Of course he hadn't yet asked and scary questions to incur scary answers.

"Kalarippayattu," he said, smiling, "It's a mouthful, I know, but it's really a lot of fun."

Dorian had taken to childishly swinging his legs, one after the other, "Some would say that it was the origin of martial arts, predating Karate, or Kung-fu even. I'm no expert on the history of it, but it's a peaceful art. Peaceful, but full of power. The dojo is instructional, we don't really compete in competitions, most have forgotten about our style I'd think, and many of the moves aren't necessarily sanctioned in sportsman's martial arts. My brother and oldest sister have learned from me and some of the older masters before they retired, and in turn they now teach anyone that comes calling. Men, women, children, the elderly; we try to embrace the true feeling of martial arts: Peace, confidence, that sort of thing."

He chanced a look at her eyes, "Why, were you interested in learning perhaps?"

[Midori]

His answer really left her non plussed as to what he was talking about, she knew a lot of styles but some she wasn't aware of. It was however an obscure art from what he was saying so she didn't feel as disappointed in her own knowledge as she would have if it had been well known. A slight bump had her glancing down to see his legs swishing back and forth, like a kid with too much energy made to sit still by his mother. She almost chuckled but instead just smiled briefly before looking up, her eyes still not quite meeting his for a moment. It was sometimes hard for her to look others in the eyes, some people could see the killer in you no matter how well you hid it. It was a gift for some and always a nuisance for her. She finally rested her green eyes on him and she looked slightly bemused at his explanation, but interested none the less, at least now she could say she knew of the art.

She held his gaze unwaveringly despite her trepidations and shrugged with a half smirk. "I can't say I'd pass it up if I'll be there for a a little bit" she said, her demeanor was nonchalant but her tone held an edge of excitement to it. This could be fun and it had been longer than she liked since she'd properly trained or even practiced for that matter. "So do you just run the dojo or do you work somewhere else? I ask because I might need to find myself some extra work, funds are a little low" she said with a chuckle. She supposed she'd have to reveal a little of herself to this man but nothing crucial. She could find the dirty jobs herself, it was the clean jobs she had trouble with, "I'm pretty good with machines of any kind, and weapons" she hinted glancing over.

"I'm not against straight manual labor, a girl has to do what a girl has to do to eat" she said with another shrug. The rain was finally chilling her and she grabbed the zipper to her jumpsuit and tugged it up to give her a little warmth. She was sure her body would thank her later if she kept it warm rather then let it freeze in the rain.

[dorian]

The martial arts master saw her zip up, and without another word tossed his gi jacket on her lap. When she'd met his gaze, he knew then that she was a killer. But she didn't seem evil, or have ill intentions.
Dorian held his gut feelings in high regard, so if she wasn't evil, it meant that it was a job for her. A hired gun.

And he understood appearances for appearances sake.

He smiled, "Well, I don't actually run the dojo anymore, I just check in from time to time. I live with my mother and youngest sister, and work a delivery route each week. It pays the bills for the most part."

He looked up thoughtfully, "Hurm...if you're looking for work, I couldn't promise anything at the delivery company, but the dojo has been looking for a live-in groundskeeper. We've amassed enough students now that both of the dojo's keepers have to teach, and there's not much time left to tidy up after lessons. I don't see any harm in looking into that."

He wanted to keep her as close as possible. It was true, he didn't think she would purposefully go out and harm innocent people, but it was still a comfort. People that killed for money, it was always hard to tell when they might lose control of themselves. But if he was lucky, and she was really invested in learning, maybe the training would bring her some peace.

[Midori]

As soon as she'd zipped her jumpsuit up a soft but warm weight landed on her lap. His jacket again. She smiled slightly but picked it up and slipped it on anyways, if only to appease the mans sense of chivalry. The look he gave her set her on edge, it was too understanding and she almost wanted to shake her head. Too smart for his own good. She only smiled pleasantly back at him and let him complete whatever analysis he was doing of her. Probably wondering if she was going to kill him on the spot, she wouldn't, mostly because there was nothing in it for her. If she killed him she'd lose her place to sleep, a nice person and not get paid to boot. Not beneficial in any way.

It seemed it wasn't a complete loss however when he spoke up about what he did for a living. She was curious about him not running his own family dojo but she let the questions unasked, if she didn't pry perhaps he would do the same. She merely nodded silently at his offer to check into the grounds keeper deal at the dojo, it wouldn't be a bad gig until she found something much better and more suited to her skills. "I definitely won't say no, I thank you for the heads up and the hospitality, it's unexpected in a big city I have to admit" she admitted with a chuckle at him. She wasn't sure if it was all hospitality now, if he was noble he could be planning something but she was confident enough not to worry.

She was a shadow when it came to escaping and this would be no different, at the mere wind of a double cross it would be all too easy to leave this place. She'd hate to dispatch of him but you had to do what you had to do in her line of work, killing people was a necessary evil. The rain appeared to be lightening up and she glanced up at the sky quickly before deciding it was best to chance it, she was getting hungry after all. "Your dojo wouldn't happen to have food? I'll pay of course, I'd just like to get in before it gets dark and late. I've walked a long way today" she asked raising a brow at him.

[dorian]

Dorian smiled, and stood up, staring at the fading storm clouds. He kept the same warm smile on his face and extended his arm to the green haired woman. "You don't need to be so formal. My siblings love having visitors and when they here that you're interested in work, there'll be no way they'd allow you to pay for your dinner."

She was a little cold, he could tell, but he had no reason to believe that'd she'd be insistent on paying. It did the martial arts master's heart good to at least do one good deed a day. He was fairly confident that some good would come out of this, beyond just providing a woman out of sorts with a hot meal and a place to stay. There would be long term good from this, he just wasn't sure what yet.