Koga

Koga stepped out a bit before Ghost, his own apparel much easier to take on and off than her. Leaning against the wall he waited until she stepped out again and the man's eye grew wide, blinked and then grew wider. "Uh, that looks...good on you..." the man stuttered as he struggled to keep his eyes on Ghost's face. A struggle that took all of Koga's willpower, every single second, just to succeed. Yes, it was a bikini, and yes, they were meant to show off a little skin and what not. But for some reason, that fact didn't really make it any easier to take in Ghost's current appearance. Screw mak

Koga kept pace with NIGHT, walking at her side as they followed the worn path towards the distant structure. Dull red tufts of grass, or more likely weeds, sprouted every once in a while along the road's edge, small testaments to what little life actually existed on this floor. "Mostly bits and pieces," Koga admitted to his companion as they went. "I know that this vamp lady is supposed to be practically immune to anything but a holy weapon, although I'm not actually sure if they mean Holy like the enchantment, or holy like, blessed by in-game God or something. Possibly both. Anyways, tha

Meditation. Yeah, that was definitely new to the quest. Koga could not recall any mention of meditating the first time he'd taken this quest. Admittedly, that part sounded nicer than hours of pounding a stone into sand, but the man knew that that trial still lay ahead. Turning back to Ghost, the man shrugged his shoulders. "I mean, I guess? Seems like a shitty attempt at 'wise old master' mixed in with 'fucking creep'. But hey, if it gets you the skill, that's all that matters, right?" the man said, before mussing with Ghost's hair, and then walking towards the door. "C'mon, let's go see

"Take a look in there!" their captain said. "Yes sir, great and powerful captain sir!" the two replied back, saluting, and holding their position until their captain rolled his eyes and walked away, before the two stuck their tongues out at him and turned to investigate the room the man had just indicated. A crashing sound came from behind the great wooden doors as Bozho and Glebu approached. The sounds gave the two pause, as they looked at each other and gulped in unison. Were there guards behind those doors? If so, how many? Was this the end of the great chronicales of Bozho the Gr

Though Koga was most certainly annoyed that Cro was so quick to blow their cover and get them thrown right into the thick of things, he also was fully aware of what all of the man's strange quips and taunts were achieving. He was throwing their foes off balance. Prone to mistakes. Not exactly how Koga did things, but he sure as hell wasn't about to complain about having that advantage. Well, he wasn't going to until the floor opened up between them and the man nearly fell into the black void. The ground beneath him suddenly gone, Koga flailed his arms for a moment until he found something

What happened next, no one expected. Or more precisely, everyone but Koga expected. In some Herculean feat of speed and hand-eye coordination, Ghost went from being at Koga's side, to halfway across the dojo, the just thrown teacup in her hand. Koga blinked twice in surprise, staring at the girl as she walked past Koga, filled the tea cup, and then walked back over to him. The pale girl took a small sip from the cup, thin tendril's of steam still wafting up from the top of it, and then held it out to him. Koga looked at the cup, then at Ghost, then back at the cup, before taking it and al

A curious eye watched the two as they exchanged what Koga surmised to be greetings of some kind that seemed to have a strange effect on Nari, a slight tint coloring her cheeks. Was...Jomei trying to flirt with her? This day was only becoming more and more confusing as it went on. The man closed his eyes, shook his head, and once again moved on, not having the energy to try and decipher whatever was going on. There was a fight to be had, after all. Nari dashed forward first, each foot step heavily clanking against the ground before she launched herself in the air, drawing a violet arc

Koga crossed his arms again as the old master began to chastising him for his poor 'tea throwing etiquette'. As if that was actually a thing. And just to prove a point, the old man threw his own tea cup, the small ceramic object whizzing just past Koga's head like a bullet, missing the man by just a hair's breadth. While Koga wasn't surprised, he was still annoyed. This time by the fact that the old man was clearly just showing off. Master YunXiang snatched the other cup from Ghost's hand, who stared at her now empty hand in shock, disbelief, a mere shell of the woman she was before. The

Blow after blow met only empty air as the old man bobbed, weaved, flowed around Koga's attacks like water. Untouchable, the geezer actually seemed to be having a good time as he chided to the younger man. Then, in a flash, the old man had disappeared from Koga's sight, leaving the man looking around him for his target, at least until the voice called down from up above them. And though the man's explanation made some sense (in the most loosely associated way), it did nothing to settle Koga's grievances or annoyance. While Ghost was able to show some restraint, Koga's general disdain for t

The lilting sound of Nari's voice singing some song in a foreign language. Though the words held no meaning for the man, there was no denying that it was a pretty song. Maybe not knowing the words made it a little more pleasant to listen to. A mystery only Nari knew the answer to. The man looked over to Ghost as she began to sign to him, the words she created pulling a sheepish chuckled from the man's lips. "I'm not good people, Ghost," he said softly, turning his eyes back to the road ahead. "I'm just people." Good people were far and few between. Unshakable moral center, and sense of ri

Koga blinked in surprise at the cups of tea arrayed across the small table before the master as he sat down. Koga couldn't recall getting anything of the sort on his arrival, and for a moment he felt a tinge of jealousy. Not that it mattered. When told that Ghost must first perform some task, Koga stood behind the girl, crossing his arms to watch, his neutral expression perhaps falsely indicating displeasure. Reality would have it that the man was more confused. The swordsman knew that the quest had changed since Shadow, but this was...odd. Touching your elbows wasn't difficult by any mea

With their objective assigned the party split up and...wait...what? Koga stared at NIGHT and DAY as they...or really, just the one, exited the room, heading straight for the Master Bedroom, their intentions made perfectly clear. "You have got to be fucking kidding me..." Koga said, visibly deflating, his shoulders slumping forward as Okami let out a low whine beside him. Signing the man returned his gaze to President Brienne and nodded. "We'll get it done, ma'am," he assured her before turning and exiting the room, careful to close it quietly behind him before unrolling the map and examin

@LessaI'm shocked! Also sign me up for powerposter apparently?

At NIGHT's declination to the unspoken invitation to join them in stone punching, Koga gave the woman a slight disappointed look. Though he hadn't been planning on asking, having NIGHT along would have sped up their progress. Not having the extra body there to help, not ideal. "You wound me," he said to her, deadpanning. When Ghost decided take his request quite literally the sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, a quiet groan escaping his lips. "Alright, so we're doin' this, I guess," he muttered before NIGHT tossed the girl a teleporter crystal. The man nodded his approval. "Better

NIGHT's disgusted remark earned her a short derisive look as the man dusted off his clothing. "'Cause good pie is good pie?" the man stated in a matter-of-fact tone. What kind of question even was that, he wondered. The nerve of some people. Picking up the tin again at NIGHT's behest, the man quite literally shoved the remaining pie into his mouth whole, chewed once, twice, and then swallowed in a terrifying display of gluttony that left even him looking slightly pained. "Who the hell do you think I am?" Koga coughed, beating his chest once or twice. Maybe that wasn't the best idea.

Upon being greeted so exuberantly, Koga couldn't help but sigh. "My complexion is always clear, old man. It's called 'being Korean' you should give a try one day." Though Koga doubted that the elderly master had any clue was a 'Korean' was, Koga took what little pride he could in rebuffing the old man's insults. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like Ghost was to be spared the old man's intricacies either, as he almost immediately dubbed her 'Dandelion'...on account of her hair...because that somehow made sense on account of the color alone. Ghost cast a worried look back at Koga, and th

Koga rolled his eyes at NIGHT's typical jests and jabs as he tried to simultaneously read the script appearing before Ghost. Though multi-tasking was not the man's strong suit, he made do. "I didn't even know she was looking for me until about-" Koga pretended to check the non-existent watch on his wrist, "thirty seconds ago. By then she was already here," he said crossly to NIGHT. "She's looking to pick up the Martial Arts skill, and I offered to help since, well, you and I both know the special kinda hell that particular quest is, NIGHT." So much punching that stupid rock...so much... "

As the two climbed the final few steps, the dojo finally came into full view, with it's red painted walls, and intricately carved windows. The wooden double door were thrown wide open, allowing the pair to easily peer into the space within. As expected, Master YunXiang sat within, legs crossed beneath him with incense burning into front of him and a lone fly buzzing around his head as the old man ever so slowly lifted a pair of chopsticks to nip at the fly's wi- SMACK! Oh...never mind...Koga let out a long, quiet, exasperated sigh as he watched the old man flatten the fly against the wall

Before Nari could finish explaining what (little) she knew about the rumor, the bloom of bright light from the teleporter drew Koga's attention. Expecting NIGHT to materialize before the stone pillar, the man looked towards the pad only to stare, wide eyed at the one person he had not wanted to see on this floor. Ding! Koga didn't even need to look at the message to guess at it's contents. "Ghost?!" "Uh…someone you know? A fan, or something? She…seems to be either terrified of, or in love with you?" Koga's head slowly turned to look at Nari, a dull look of indignation and w

Though Koga spoke two languages, he had absolutely no understanding of the Gaelic language. The way letters seemed to make completely unrelated sounds for absolutely no reason at all confused the hell out of him, and frankly, his interest died right there. While the other two waxed lyrical about their shared tongue, Koga took the time to cast another line into the water, in the hope that something, anything, could be fished up. Before even the lightest tug could be felt on the thin line arcing into the water, Koga looked behind him to see the other two eagerly eyeing another group of mobs

To say NIGHT was visibly discomforted by the President's rather forward greetings (at least towards her, in Koga's case, backwards might've described it better), would be an understatement. The woman could hardly string together a coherent thought. A look of pain fell over the man as he listened to NIGHT attempt to explain why they were here. And even more pain when the President seemed entirely unbothered by NIGHT's lackluster efforts. Well, nice to see that feminism was alive and well somewhere, Koga supposed. The man's silent torture would only go on for so long though, as before NIGHT

At Ghost's inquiry Koga lips pulled back into a disgusted scowl. Thinking back on what little he could remember about the quest, the man in question had been markedly unlike any instructor Koga had had in the real world. He was...a different beast altogether. "Uh, you'll see..." the man answered mysteriously, unsure of how best to answer the question. Their walk then proceeded with relative quiet. It wasn't exactly an arduous journey, but it surely was not easy. The path, though well-trodden, sloped upwards, climbing high towards the distant building, steadily drawing closer. The last tim

"If I said I got lost, would you've believed me?" "Not a bit," Koga answered back as he sliced off another bite sized piece of pie. "You never get lost. And you're never late. Took a detour?" The battle seemed to be coming to a close slowly in the distance as the Red Cloak's numbers dwindled to only one. If Koga recalled correctly, that last one was the one they were supposed to talk to, but only after he dealt a 'devastating' blow to the lady he was fighting. Or something like that, he didn't really pay attention to the quest brief too much. Koga glanced down at his lunch (dess

A brief moment of silence (well, silence sans sign) as Ghost looked down at her outfit, then back up at him, features softened in some approximation of a smile as she began to gesture to him. "Oh, uh, thanks," the man chuckled in response, rubbing the back of his neck. "You're fine for this quest though," he went on as they came upon the well worn path, lined with smalls stone statues of various animals. "Only thing we're fighting today is a rock, so nothing serious. Either way," his hands retreated to his pockets, "as long as you have high evasion or a good tank on your side, you'll be fine."

Nothing happened though. Just the noises of the street, cars passing by, some grackles noisily calling out to each other. Everything was just...normal. Koga looked down at his clothing, fully expecting to be in his regular street clothes, and yet, he wasn't even surprised when he found that he was still in his coat, with his katana hanging at his waist. Well that confirmed it. He was still in the game. Just...some kind of simulation or vision, like the tavern. A swell of anger at the violation of his mind swept through Koga. "Fuck you!" the man shouted into the sky, at Cardinal, at Kayaba