Not so Ordinary World

[Liddo-kun]

"Ventriloquism?  Puh-lease," she snorts out, sounding slightly insulted.  "Give me more credit than that.  The whispers you heard were  actually...  Eh, lemme just show you," she says, figuring this would make for an easier explanation..

Her hair takes on a silvery-white sheen once again.  A small line of glimmering hair extends out towards you and wraps around one of your fingers...

I can use that to talk silently if I want.  It's rather useful.

...allowing you to hear that as clearly as if she whispered it in your ear.  Neat.

[Kwokinator]

"Cool, how do you do that?" Maki nodded in approval of the technique. "And what about the jumping thing?"

[Liddo-kun]

She grins, taking on a lecturing tone.  "It's all in how you apply spiritual energy," she says with what she thought was a sagely nod.

She wraps her knuckles on the floor.  "Just like how this sound travels through air and the vibration through the wood.  I can do the same thing, just using a different medium," she tells you a bit awkwardly, unsure if that made sense.  "Mmm.  How about thinking of it like a telephone line then?  Does that make more sense?"

"And as for jumping.  I just pumped energy through the bottom of my feet to make a cushion.  Sort of like this," she says, opening her hand in front of you.  There's a small, yet steady, gust of wind against your face that ruffles your hair.

[Kwokinator]

Maki nods in affirmation at understanding the explanation.  If sound can travel through wood and walls and water and through a thin strip connected by two paper cups, there's no reason why sound cannot travel through hair.

"So that," he points at the girl's hand, asking about the gust of wind. "Is spiritual energy too?  Are the rest of what you did spiritual energy too?"

[Liddo-kun]

"Yup," she tells you, rewarding your simple mental connection with a nod.  "What I'm doing with the wind is simply pushing it towards you.  The same as if I was to fan you with my hand or blow air on you through my lips."

[Kwokinator]

"Thanks," he nods in gratitude at the small lesson. "All the more reason for me to master spiritual energy.  Anyway, last I heard, there was dinner somewhere, and I want to meet more people.  Know how to get there?"

"By the way, I'm Maki Taguchi," he extends his hand in an offer of handshake."

[Liddo-kun]

She nods with your assessment of the importance of mastering spiritual energy, but on your name....

"Maki, eh?" she repeats, seemingly digesting your name.  "Not a very strong sounding name, is it?" she teases.

The ninja girl clasps your hand strongly nonetheless and in boisterous tones, "Urui Akihime, nice to meet'cha!"  She claps your shoulder like a judge adjourning court, or as if giving you her personal stamp of approval.

"If you have to shorten it though," she pulls you conspiringly, "use 'Rui'."  She punctuates with a nod for emphasis.

That done, she pulls away then stands, crossing her arms across her chest.  "Now that we got that part cleared up, how about we go grab some grub now?"

[Kwokinator]

Maki simply shrugs at the slight about his name, not offended in the least bit.

"Well, Urui," he says, declining to use shorten her name and call her "Rui"  That may be a little too friendly.

"Alright, lead the way," he nods at the mention of dinner.  "Me getting lost is how I ended up here at the mercy of a ninja girl who likes to spook people, so you lead."

[Liddo-kun]

"Hah," she laughs out in reply.  "If I really wanted to spook you, we'd be making a stop at your room to get you a change of drawers!"

It doesn't take long.  A left turn here and walking down a hallway leads you to your destination, the smell of cooked food making itself known to you quickly.

Urui throws open doors, announcing herself loudly, "I'm back!" she calls out, then promptly locks you in a headlock, dragging you in.  "And look what the cat dragged in!"

The ninja girl gets a round of cheerful greeting.  Though what each calls out seems to vary greatly.

"Rui!"

"Ruru-chan!"

"Aki-chan!"

"Hime-nee!"

She stoops down slightly, muttering within your earshot.  "Now you see why I said to just call me 'Rui'...."

It's not a wholly uncomfortable position for you, pressed so intimately against where you are.  You note this earns you a jealous look or three from some of the other men-folk, but she has you held tight and didn't seem to be entertaining the notion of letting you go yet.

[Kwokinator]

"I...see," he answers obligingly.  He guesses that she probably wants everyone, or at least everyone new, to call her by the same name instead of having a million different names, or something.  He smirks inwardly as he spots the jealous look on some of the men.

"Yeah," he waves to the crowd, or at least as best he can while in a headlock. "Hime-chan found me and dragged me here."

[Liddo-kun]

"Oh, so now we're trying to be funny, eh?" Rui rhetorically asks giving you two squeezes for your jab.

She releases you from the enviously soft prison and begins making her way over to where there are some empty seats.  "Let's go rookie.  It's eating time," she announces, tugging you along by your sleeves like a dog being lead by a leash.

Snapping her fingers, she gets the attention of a girl who is apparently taking orders to and from the kitchen.  "I'll have a lot of everything," Rui tells her, talking over the crowd, then in a more conversational tone, "Maki, what are you going to have?"

[Kwokinator]

"A lot of everything, huh?" he turns to look at Urui and makes a point of looking her over, then smirks. "Aren't you afraid of putting on a few too many pounds and end up with thighs the size of a table?"

"And what choices are there?" he asks the girl taking orders.

[Liddo-kun]

"Oh, you're such a kidder!" Urui exclaims, slapping you on the back hard enough to send your head forward to smack against the table edge.  You aren't sure if that was on purpose or not, but the smile she'd been wearing since you met her hasn't faded any.

The serving girl laughs uneasily at the display, but she goes about explaining what's on the menu for dinner like a pro.  "Beef, chicken, or fish?  Rice, bread, or noodle?" she asks you.

"Choose what combination you think sounds good and they'll tell you what they can make with it," Urui tells you, to which the other girl nods in agreement.

[Kwokinator]

He rubs his head gingerly. "Ow... didn't have to hit me quite as hard..., Hime-chan..."

"And what's there for, say, beef and rice or chicken and rice?" he asks, turning to the serving girl.

[Liddo-kun]

Urui sticks her tongue out at you in retort.

"For the beef and rice combination, we have mongolian beef, beef teriyaki, and vegetable stir fry with beef," she tells you.  "Then for the chicken and rice combination, we have chicken fried rice, lemon chicken, and chicken curry."