Not so Ordinary World

[Kwokinator]

"As little as possible," he answered seriously. "I intend to learn as much as my abilities and potential will allow me, and as fast as humanly possible.  I'm prepared to do nothing but training and only eat and sleep when necessary, if I have to."

[Liddo-kun]

Shia snaps the first-aid kit closed then heads for the door rather abruptly.  She pauses just before exiting, "Other people have made the same vows as you just did.  What makes you think you'll succeed?"

[Kwokinator]

"Because this is more than just an empty vow," he turned to look at Shia, his eyes not showing a trace of humour, just seriousness. "This is my promise to you.  I will either succeed or I will die trying.  And I'll die before breaking a promise to you."

[Liddo-kun]

Shia doesn't say anything in response and her back is to you so you don't know what it is she's feeling.  She turns to glance at you for just a moment, but in that instance is when you see in her eyes a conflicting storm of emotions.  "I don't need anymore people dying for me..." you barely catch her say in a whisper as she exits the room quickly.

[Kwokinator]

Maki grips his fist tightly in resolve, making it his personal quest to never let Shia be sad again.

Then the masked pain flares back up in his hand, and he decides that maybe he doesn't need to have QUITE as hard a resolve...

Knowing there is nothing he can say to Shia at this point, he decides to leave the room and try to find the dining room, as everyone would likely be there too.

[Liddo-kun]

A bit of wandering, a bit of stumbling, a few twists and turns for good measure, and you STILL haven't found the dining room.  However, you now know where the bathroom, the training hall, and the current room you're in are.

It's dark and more than a little creepy since it's only lit by the light of strategically placed, flickering candles that send shadows dancing across the wooden beams and ceilings madly.

But most of all, it's all the photographs of people that unnerve you.

There had to have been about forty photos on the far wall with a long table where incense burned, offerings were laid, and cushions were arranged so that one could gaze up at the faces frozen and captured in time.  Young, old, male, female - the wall didn't seem to discriminate in the least bit on who it took.

"Why are you here...?" you hear a whisper, just near your ear ask, which sends a violent shiver running up and down your spine.

[Kwokinator]

Maki shivers at the voice that seemingly came out from nowhere.  Then he remembered that the temple is supposed to be protected from evil.

Calm down, Maki.  If you're scared at something like this, how are you going to protect anyone?

"Here?  In this room?" he tried to joke to lighten his unease. "I got lost trying to find the dining room.  New kid to the block and all."

[Liddo-kun]

"A new visitor...?" you hear that same whisper ask, this time in your other ear.  You feel a ticklish sensation around your neck as the voice then asks, "Passed the Three Gates and met with Isegami, did you?"

[Kwokinator]

Maki nods, trying to suppress the shiver creeping up his spine.  He is now somewhat certain it must be the spirits of the people being worshipped in the room that are talking to him.  He reminds himself that these are just friendly spirits, because the temple is shielded from evil.  And he also reminds himself that he has to get used to all things strange and paranormal, for a long road lies ahead of him.

"Yes," he answered somewhat politely, as these are likely people who came before him and died before him. "And the delightful little pet too."

[Liddo-kun]

"Well, why didn't you say so sooner!" you hear the voice say more loudly, this time it's followed with a solid slap on your back in greeting that drives some of the wind from your lungs.

Pretty solid body smacks for a ghost, perhaps your assumption was off-target?

[Kwokinator]

As he tries to recover from the slap on the back, he looks around the room to see where the voice and the slap originates from.

[Liddo-kun]

There's a tall girl standing above you, balanced on a beam, and dressed in the dark garb of a ninjitsu practitioner.  "Yo, newbie," she greets you, wearing a wide grin.

You blink as you see some interesting physical changes.  Her hair is in the middle of transitioning from a silvery-white to a dark auburn color and her eyes are doing the same, going from an exotic cat-like yellow to a more natural brown.

She hops down to the ground in front of you with a short hop, heedless of the distance.  "Sorry about that," she tells you, before waving her hand and the brightness of the candles increase, making it more manageable to see.

The odd ticklish sensation from before returns, but that's when you notice strands of hair unraveling from around your neck to recede back towards the girl.  "That too," she adds with a snicker.

[Kwokinator]

"Cool," he smiles, his surprise at the apparent tricks up the tall girl's sleeves outweighing any hostility he feels about having a prank pulled on him.  She probably only sees it as another security measure to screen people or something, anyway.

"How'd you do that?" Maki asked, pointing to the hair, then at the candles. "And that.  And jumping down from so high up.  And how'd you just change your hair and eye colours?  It's cool."

[Liddo-kun]

"Just full of questions, aren't we?" she returns, though the grin she wore showed she didn't mind in the least.  She pulled out a cushion then sat on it Indian-style before gesturing for you to take a seat as well.

She leaned forward slightly, seeming to take pleasure in being able to talk about this subject.  "So, which one do you want to know about first, eh?"  Her tone conveys just how much she's relishing this, almost as if she's loving this situation with a captive audience.

[Kwokinator]

"Actually, how about the jumping down from so high up first?  That could be useful," he asked as he sat down crosslegged. "I assume the whispers in my ears were some form of ventriquilism?"