The day was just beginning, with the sun rising and turning the sky beautiful orange colors. The air was crisp and cool, but nothing unbearable. Catia stood port side if the ship, staring in awe at their destination. After several months at sea it was definitely a relief to see land, especially since she'd be able to spend some time here. She had enjoyed her time at sea, but she was ready to have some solid ground under her feet again.

"Are you ready to head to shore Marco?" It took Catia a moment to realize that the voice was talking to her, but when it did dawn on her she quickly turned to address them. There she saw Brother Rolfe standing, staring out towards the shore. She had grown close to this man, learning all she could of this new place they were heading. He had lived here in Japan for five years, learning the language and the culture, before heading back to Portugal to teach any who wished to learn the local language. Catia had always had a knack for languages, knowing Portuguese, Spanish, Latin, and the language of the Danes. So for the last seven months on this ship she spent as much time as possible learning Japanese and had surprisingly become rather fluent with it. Because of this she quickly befriended Brother Rolfe, looking to him almost as a fatherly figure.

"Mm yes I am quite anxious to go ashore. Do you really think I'll be able to converse with the locals?" She questioned nervously. Although she could pick up languages quickly, this one was very different from any she had learned. She knew she could speak the language, but she definitely couldn't read the language yet. This made her very nervous.

"Yes you will do just fine. Even if you mess up a few words I'm sure you can win them over with your personality. Now go get your things, you'll accompany me to shore." Brother Rolfe laughed as he shooed Catia away. Catia couldn't hide her smile as she took off to gather her things. In the process she double checked to make sure her bindings were secure. She'd already had a few close calls, now she was paranoid with it.

She gathered her two pistols she had taken from her father's shop, these being the two things she treasured most. She also gathered together plenty of ammunition and gunpowder to last her for quite some time along with a string of throwing daggers before joining Brother Rolfe on deck. Soon she was heading for shore, unsure of what was to await her there.

Once her feet touched the land she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The feeling if solid ground was comforting to her. She was permitted to now go off on her own, she was just asked not to cause any trouble. She promised she would do her best before making her way through what looked like a market. She stopped and examined almost every little stand with excitement, conversing with people here and there. Rolfe was right, she was having no problem with the language.

Before long she found herself walking into a shop where there were men seated at low tables. She was directed here when she asked someone for a place to find food. She gulped a little as all eyes focused on her small frame. Many of these men had two strange swords attatched to themselves, one long and one shorter. She quickly found an empty table and sat down, hoping people would stop staring soon.

Before long a young girl approached her asking if she'd like some tea and perhaps something to eat. Catia could only nod as she nervously glanced around at the stares. "Don't worry about them, most are only curious. It's not often we see someone with hair the color of yours." The reassuring smile helped Catia to calm some as the girl left and brought her some tea. She happily began sipping it as she examined some of the items she had already bought.

The tea was quite delicious, Catia thought, and different from any tea she'd ever had before. She wasn't sure what it was about this tea that made it different from back home, but it tasted more...flower like she decided was the best way to explain it. She closed her eyes and inhaled the pleasant aroma and was about to take another sip before she heard a voice. "Are you him?" She opened her eyes and blinked up at the man looking down at her. Catia was dumbstruck for a moment, trying to determine what he meant. Perhaps one of the men from the ship sent him over here to work out a trade deal? It wouldn’t be abnormal for them to do that as they’ve done it before at one of the small islands they stopped at along the way. Either way she knew she needed to respond and soon before she was considered rude.

“Perhaps, I suppose you have to be more specific in order for me to answer that question.” She finally responded, hoping it was the right thing to say. As she said this, though, she noticed out of the corner of her eye another man watching them and he had a smirk on his face. She found this rather odd, but didn’t want him to be aware of her noticing him. So she decided just to silently keep a watchful eye on him in case he decided to make some sort of move.



Kiyoshi had entered the tea shop quite a while ago and was silently enjoying tea as he watched people come and go. He was becoming hungry, but this hunger wasn’t something the rice in front of him could satisfy. It was a hunger that accumulated over the last few weeks since he had his last meal, since he last feasted on the soul of a human. In fact he could go several months without feasting again and survive just fine, but it didn’t mean he’d like it. So he had come into this town two weeks ago in hopes to ensnare another meal.

His eyes had flicked to the door as he sensed quite the delicious soul walking in and when he saw the source he realized not only was he delicious smelling, but quite the interesting sight. His rosey colored skin, eyes the color of the ocean, and hair as yellow of the sun he had come to the conclusion that this was the soul he wanted to lure so he could feast. Now all he had to do was listen to any conversations this man had an determine what he most desired.

Not long after another man walked in and this one's scent hit him like a brick. He was almost irresistible and it took Kiyoshi everything in him to keep from pouncing on him. Patience and cleverness was how he always won his meals and this could be no exception. When he stopped by the yellow haired man’s table a smile grew across his face. Perhaps he could win two delicious meals if these two ended up knowing each other. So he carefully listened into the conversation between the two that was about to follow.