Shimazu Teahouse

Jay stood apposite of Kinjou, hearing the conditions he nodded Sounds good moving his left foot forwards and his right foot back, his clenched fists held up around his shoulders, the stance was very basic but he had the strength and speed to fall back on. After waiting a moment he burst forwards, not too fast though as his right fist pulling back slightly, as he was a mere foot away the fist shot forwards with a jab. It was a very light blow but it still had a good bit of speed behind it, it was aiming for the man's right shoulder

Kinjou's trained disposition had him easily able to spot the jab, so he'd chosen to catch it outright; using his left palm to grab the man's right fist before drawing it down. After a small grin, he sent a return jab of the man's right side with a low body palm aimed for his side. Figuring that the man would show some off some of his talents in the close range at this point.

His fist had been caught, a little surprised his eyes quickly darted down looking at the other fist about to connect with his right side, his right side twisted a bit trying to minimize the damage of the attack Not bad. As he talked his left fist swung back, being careful as not to put too much power into it his fist swung downwards to hit at the left side.

Again Kinjou's instinct had guided his forearm to elevate on second nature, raising in an adjacent manner to careful make use of the curve in his arm to shift the blow slightly to the side of his waist; while in the same motion his right knee rose and aimed for the man's right side; this advance having used his slight movement momentum in order to generate the semi-light blow from his knee-kick.

The hook wasn't hitting its mark, this man was good probably out of Jays league in such a close fight.  Things would have changed if Jay had his spear but such things couldn't be pondered at the moment because he had a knee smacking into his right side.  A small smile appeared on Jays face as he stumbled back Gah, been a while since I met someone like you his side wasn't really hurting too much, but realizing he was outclassed he wondered if he should try a different tactic. Stumbling back about a foot, he tucked in his shoulder, in one burst he charged forward with his shoulder.  The attack its self looked worse than it was considering there wouldn't be too much force behind it, probably just to push him back a little rather than actually trying to do any real damage.

"Well thanks for that." was all he'd say in response to the compliment, it was nice of course, but he knew better about losing his focus and he refused to do just that. His eyes never left the man as he repositioned his shoulder for an attack, he was surprised by his sudden take off.

While the speed was surprising, the attack itself was surprisingly obvious, while he turned to the right, even in the alley's lack of space the kinkajou was able to move forward and avoid the speedy rush of the shoulder charge; deciding that it'd be best to end this, he'd kicked his left foot out in a quick arc; drawing upon a low range to force his right foot essentially drop him flat on his face. Though if the kick would succeed, then the kinkajou had already made plans to keep the man from falling flat...this was a spar after all; not something that required sincere pain to end.

Jays shoulder charged was a bust, his opponent kicked away his footing causing him to tumble, then fall on his back smacking onto the unforgiving ground. Laying on his back for a moment he simply grunted then sat up, a smile on his face as he chuckled Ahhh guess I should stick to my spear he said without thinking as he stood up, dusting himself off.   Taking off his jacket to make sure it wasn't torn which luckily it wasn't he put it back on Looks like you won this one, I really thought I would have stood a better chance. Holding out his hand for a hand shake his smile grew The names Jay.

Well the man had recovered and that at least was something that he was pleased with, he'd politely taken his hand and shook it, this was one of the few humans he'd met that was not outright rude to him; so he felt he could do with returning the gesture. "For this I am thankful for the spar, Jay. I am Kinjou, pleased to meet you." he offered his name in turn, he did trust him on some level, even if only slightly.

Kinjous name was one Jay wouldn't forget and he certainly wouldn't forget the lesson he learned from this, never fight without his weapon. That really should have gone without saying but hey, you seem to forget some simple stuff form time to time, after the hand shake was done he his right side Those were some impressive moves you got, the words he said as he walked back towards the teahouse Hope to see you again some time

He went back to his chair to finish up his tea.

Nodding to him, Kinjou returned to the teahouse and reclaimed his apron, happy to have gotten a bit of exercise, he was at least sure that he'd be able to keep it in mind. He had some interesting moves if not some unusual ones. As he returned to the curtained doorway, he returned to tell his grandmother of the result of their brief spar.

Sitting at his chair sipping the still warm tea he was thinking on that spar, he was out matched without his spear, he knew fighting with out it wasn't really his forte but still there wasn't many people who were able to keep up with his speeds.  Tapping his finger on the cup gently he wondered if he should look into branching out and trying to learn something new to at least defend himself without the spear, he got the feeling he would be needing such skills.

After finishing his cup, he sat there for a moment thinking before he seemed to change a little to a more serious expression I may need to try and learn something from here or atleast find a place I could learn similar skills. Sitting there for a moment he wondered if he had forgotten anything, like if they come out get payment.

Well as expected though some time later, both elder and grandchild emerged from behind the curtain, with Kinjou's grandmother approaching the table briefly, she'd lay a small piece of paper down; something simple of course in light of his service deducted the already decently priced goods, the tab had shown the original price and then revealed the reduced price. It was around 5 platinum dollars originally but had been dropped to 3 for his kind act on the spot, she had not minded a simple glass breaking as Kinjou had long since replaced it and cleaned up.

"Thank you for your patronage kind sir, I hope we see you here again." it was a nice favor she'd felt, he was at least decent; she didn't know him well and wasn't going to judge someone badly who was kind enough to assist beastkin.

For a moment he was still in thought wonder if asking to learn would be too much, the small piece of paper brought him back out his thoughts looking up and seeing the old woman, he gave her a light nod and a smile The tea was amazing. His hand went into his pocket as he properly read over to recite blinking for a moment, he wanted to just give them the three platinum pieces but something in him told him to give the five pieces, listening to the more charitable side of himself he put down five platinum dollars, feeling this was the right thing to do.  

Getting up he grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder realizing that he forgot his sunglasses that were just laying on the table. Picking them up he walked off, thinking about if he should go after a bounty that could hopefully let him show off his spear skills, walking quickly he had decided that he would come back again some time, hopefully next time would have less thugs.

--> ???

The Elder kinkajou smiled at the words and nodded to the man as he left, though upon picking up the bill and finding the extra platinum dollars, she could not help but be pleased. He was certainly a nice person to have left the extra tip. Turning to her grandson who was cleaning the table and removing the dishes, she spoke very briefly to him.

"You see child? Dignity has its place, even if the perseverance is hard to deal with. In the end it can be worth all suffering." The beastkin woman well knew what her grandson struggled with day in and day out, the simple fact he could hardly contain himself at one time or another was no surprise to her. But she knew that if she and his parents kept him on the right path, he'd stay true to it.

"I'll go off, I had some bounty hunting to do today, Oba-chan. I'll come back later!" his brief endearment was much to her liking. He showed his respect every time, despite the darkness that strode behind his every word now an again as it seemed. While he finished the dishes and had cleared his duties for the time being. The youthful vigilante was off on a mad dash with his ji-halberd in hand, since it was about that time to find a fool or two to help pay the bills.

(Exuent) ~~~~~~~~~~>

---------------(From the NOL Branch)------------------------>
Erring in the lower areas after her defeat, Youna stumbled on the roads of Orient Town. Everything looked so feisty and vividly color... except her, walking lividly like a zombie, and seeing everything much darker than it really was... I can't succeed... no matter how hard I try...
Suddenly, a voice called out to her: "Youna-chan!"
The white-haired girl turned her face around to see one of her friends, draped in a very traditional-looking green Japanese dress with lots of leaf motifs drawn upon them. It was one of her school friends: Kaname Takamori. But what was she doing here at that exact moment? There couldn't have been any worse moment for them to see each other, except probably Youna's death bed... The green-haired tall girl continued speaking "What brings you here in rugged knightess cosplay..?
- Nobody told you..?" Youna sighed. Of course her parents never told anybody the kind of job she had taken. "There are some things I have to tell you..." Noticing the monotone in her friend's voice, Kaname started worrying. "This is true: we need to talk. Mind if I invite you to take some tea? I know a fine place for us to go to..." That said, she headed towards the Shimazu Teahouse. "The company isn't the finest, but there is have a brand of wisdom to it. Please, come with me..." Youna lacked words, but followed her friend to the place. "Greetings. Could we please have a table with two seats?", Kaname said upon going inside, minding her manners and waiting for someone to assign them to a table, keeping Youna at her side. That was Kaname, assertively taking everything in her hands and knowing what to do: the opposite of Youna, who was a poor lost insecure klutz who just failed at everything.

"Welcome to the Pale Lotus Teahouse, please if you two will have a seat at any table that you wish to." The elder beastkin woman gestured to the right, while she stood up to guide the two over to a table near the center; she'd set down two napkins and two menus. "Here you are, honorable guests, if you'll make yourself comfortable I will return with water." she had intended to serve these two well. With Kinjou gone it would be just her and she was fine with that; having been a veteran in any of the service present.

The elderly beastkin woman returned with the water on a tray and of course despite her age in appearance, she'd seemed to be quite normal; she'd leaned over rather carefully and set down the two waters on the table between the two girls. Just while she flicked her tail tip lightly, just offering her two guests a smile and a small word. "Your water ladies, please take your time looking over our menu." still the look on her face was nothing but pleasant, she was sure that something was going about between the young women; experience if anything could help her see the look on one of their faces was enough to let her know it was time to return to the kitchen.

While Youna headed towards the rest room, the elderly beastkin emerged from the backroom and had come to her side for a moment. Clearly concerned by the look upon her patron's face, she offered a simple hand. "Begging your pardon, Is there anything I can do for you, young one?" she left this open ended and vague, since she was troubled by the appearance of the young woman's face, which seemed to have gotten much worse since she arrived here. Certainly she did not know what was bothering her, but the sadness would have been hard to miss for anyone who would be empathic.

Hearing the girl's dismissal of her did make the beastkin frown, the problem was a deep personal one and without a doubt had to do with her friend. Upon hearing the girl's loud wails of pain and anguish, the matronly side of her wished to comfort the girl. It was not her business in passing, but it was within her shop; if it persisted then she would try a more forward approach to helping her. Sometimes a complete stranger could help in a situation they knew nothing about.

"Young Patron, I'm coming in." it was not her business, but this situation was a little too much for her not to respond, while the elder generally respected privacy the sound of the ring pattering against the wall and the wails from earlier had weighed in on her mind. Against her better judgment, she entered the bathroom and spied the girl slumped down against the wall. "You owe me no explanation, but goodness be, I cannot leave anyone in such a state." the beastkin woman knelt down before the younger woman and embraced her, in a very motherly fashion, her arms curled around her back and drew her into a warm embrace. It was just not in her to leave suffering where it lay.