Hanako Herupa

IC: (Kino Iho) My eyes slowly opened to see that Angel's face was now level with mine, a contented sigh escaped from my smirking lips. I ran my hand down the side of his face, then tracing his jaw with my index finger, giggling softly. "As much as I would love to see what you'd get up to in my kitchen. I think a light breakfast would be great," I playfully tapped my finger against his nose.

IC: (Hari) I hadn't been to Onu in a long time, and I regret it a little. Each city is beautiful in its own right, and Onu-Koro's main draw was it's industry. As much as I wanted to admire the sites, drink in the atmosphere of the city of industry I couldn't. I was here because the closest thing I had to a lead on my parents, was some guy around here by the name of Roth. To be honest, I was never skilled in the world of detective work. My job was to be a Po-Koro Sentinel, a figher, a protector, and a rock for people to lean on and yet with all these niggling doubts. All these unresolved issues, I felt unease. I didn't do much, didn't accomplish much of anything, and I started to feel. Like when I was around, nothing ever got accomplished. They were my friends, Skyra, Tillian, Onuzek, and the rest of the our team and yet I just felt like the girl riding their coattails. So maybe it would do good to put some time and space between us. There was still the matter of my parents, and what fate had befallen them. Part of me wanted to believe they were alive, that for some reason they had lived. My friends would call me an optimist, but I didn't feel optimistic about this at all. If they were dead, I wanted to know what or who killed them and why. I wanted a close to this, I wanted to be able to think with one less burden on my mind.

IC: (Kino) "Mmm, sleep more." I muttered sleepily, and wrapping my arm tighter around Angelus. We could afford to be just a little bit later to work. I nuzzled my face against his chest. It felt safe here, comfortable I did want disrupt any of it. I felt far away from the burdens of reality, and if I keep my eyes closed, the dream wouldn't dispel.

IC: (Kino Iho) "Who says the night has to end here?" I smirked, placing another kiss at his neck, the heat in my cheeks became less pronounced, and I felt a little more confident. Angelus looked back at Kino and slowly leaned against the wall again, something in his smile growing a little sharper. "I suppose I don't have anything set in stone for the rest of the night." "Well then, I can think of a few things we can do to occupy ourselves for the rest of the night." A small chuckle escaping my lips as I leaned against my doorway, twisting the door handle. "Come on Angel."

IC: (Hanako) "As much as you were, you should be a little more about yourself," I replied. Seeing Desde in this state, how dark her eyes were, how weak she seemed as she embraced me. I was worried about her, and her health and were was Yumi in all this. She may be a Rora now, unwilling of course due to circumstances, but her sister needed her and she couldn't see her sister was about to fall to ruins. I contained the fire, letting it burn red hot inside of me, instead choosing to hold Desde tightly, but without hurting her. I might not be her sister by blood, but I thought of her as one, as the young sister I never had, and right now she was burning both ends of the candle, driving herself exhausted all in a desperate attempt to solve the problems that arose. Well, not today, today I'd make it about her, first thing Desde needed some food. "Desde would you like to join me for lunch?"

IC: (Kino) I could see Angelus leaning in to kiss me, but he wasn't leaning down and I could just let it happen like this or.... I tilted my head just to the right position, and then I felt it. The feeling of his lips brushing and then pressing against mine and it felt soft, wet, and warm but most of all it felt perfect. I could feel my cheeks heating up again, but I tried not to think about it, this night had been so much more than I ever hoped it could be and I wanted to savor every second of it. As we broke away from the kiss I chuckled sheepishly, and looked aside. "Heh, um sorry if I shocked you, it was kinda spur of the moment you know?"

IC: (Kino Iho) "You have to give yourself some time, you know. Being a leader doesn't mean running yourself ragged, focusing solely on your work as Captain. You need to be relaxed, and happy so that you have a clear head to lead the Guard. These days give you time to refresh to thing, to slow and enjoy things, and for a man who works as hard as you do, I'd say you really earn those vacation days," I said, smiling. I dug my spoon back into the ice cream, fishing out more peanut butter and chocolate chunks, savoring the sweet flavor and creamy texture of the ice cream. I didn't just think Angel was cute, he earned my respect twice over and he deserved it. However leaders like him needed to take their breaks to relax, to relieve stress, otherwise the stress inside would spread like a poison. He didn't wear his problems on his sleeve, but you could seem them in his eyes, how he spoke, at times he seemed a little lost, alone. It was something I understood all too well.

IC: (Hanako) In the days following the Rora's death, things were...tense to put it lightly, not many people got sleep, and while I had late nights I still got my rest. With everything that was going on, including the expedition continuing as planned my time was short and to be honest I think Yumi should be staying on Kentoku. Not to mention I had heard about Desdemona's breakdown, the poor girl had been doing everything she could to help and it was pulling her apart and given Desde's frailty putting her through that much stress wasn't healthy, as soon as I got time I went for her, as much as Yumi needed me, Desdemona also needed me, I had headed straight to her room, only to see her leaving and heading straight my way, I picked up the pace, seeing the dark circles under Desde's eyes and wrapping her tightly and yet gently. "Desde, I'm sorry...I should have been here earlier."

IC: (Kino Iho) "That is probably among the cutest and funniest reactions I've seen for anyone eating ice cream," I chuckled, dipping my spoon into my chocolate ice cream, fishing out a chunk of chocolate and peanut butter, letting the ice cream melt on my tongue, before chewing it down. "Oh really? Good! Glad that my taking a chance there paid off. You don't take days off much, do you? Because I'd say you really deserve the break."

IC: (Kino Iho) I squeezed Angelus' hand gently to reassure him, others might have found his confusion hilarious, but I didn't (it was cute in its own way though), and that wasn't why I brought him here. Gently smiling I turned to look at him fully and spoke. "Tell you what, I'm going to get you the one with cookie dough, it's not a completely strange topping and is in fact really tasty. I've had it a few times before myself." The line moved forward and Angelus and I were now at the front. Angelus continued to look through the menus confused. the Ta-matoran girl behind the screen gave me a confused look. "Umm, what's up with him?" She asked. "There's a lot of choices, he's having some trouble picking, I'll be making the choices for both of us anyways," I grinned. "Okay, so what'll the two of you be having?" "Handsome here will have vanilla with the chocolate chip cookie dough and I'll have the ones with the peanut butter and chocolate ice cream." I replied. She responded with amount of widgets needed. It took her about five minutes to mix the toppings into our ice cream, I paid her, leaving her a nice tip and walking with Angelus over to an unoccupied table nearby the ice cream establishment. I dug my spoon in for a couple of bites and then looked at Angelus. "Hmm, what's up Angel boy?"

IC: (Kino) I tried to conceal the blush when Angel and I's fingers intertwined and he squeezed my hands. I lead Angel back through the alleys and through the paths, passing through the main market. It was it's usually hustle and bustle. As we moved through the throngs of mostly Matoran, and Toa. The Molten Turtle was a relative small parlor located on the northeastern end of the market and to be honest as much as I liked getting ice cream from there with all the stuff mixed in, the fact their ice cream didn't melt immediately kinda creeped me out. I'd tried not to think about it too much, worried I'd go insane contemplating how they made it work. I lead Angelus right up to the business, we were third in line and I pointed out the stuff for Angel. "Well there's your menu, there's all sorts of things they can mix into your dessert, also a few specials if you want to try them out. What are you thinking?" I smirked. OOC: This preceded the whole Piraka attack about a day, so yeah our characters will catch up eventually just at different point in time.

IC: (Kino Iho) "Well there's this place just around the market, giving how hot it is normally I wouldn't recommend getting ice cream, there's even this thing where they mix in a candy with it. I'm sure you'll love it." I chuckled, pulling out the widgets for the bill and the tip, and setting them down on the table, the bourbon was finished between the two of us, seemed both of us could hold our liquor wasn't surprised with Angel though, struck me as a man who could. "Yeah, there's also sorbet among other things, so I'm sure we'll find something you like." I moved over to him, reaching for his hand, hoping that he'd let me take it.

IC: (Kino Iho) I went to spear another part of my dinner, when my ears heard the sound of my fork striking the plate, I looked down and sheepishly came to the realization that I had been so caught in my conversations with Angelus that I finished my meal without realizing. I couldn't help but giggle when he talked about one of my favorite choices in my wardrobe, and how I kinda pulled a complete one-eighty on him earlier. "Haha, well you know just because I like to wear that around doesn't mean it's the only thing in my dressers. Besides I was at home, I like to chill like that," I chuckled. Part of me was worried that Angelus would have rejected my proposal for a date, and yet he showed up and it was just hard to contain that feeling of elation. All that energy that bubbled up in me and it was a feeling that I hadn't felt...since I met Pae all those years ago, somebody that just felt right, a day that just felt right, and Angel was so perfect tonight, I don't think I could have had anything better. "Sooo, I'm thinking we might bail on dessert here, pick something up on the way back to my place," I said.

IC: (Kino) "Hmm, I don't know about that, sometimes not all of them are that bad. They can be stiff but I'm good at working out their kinks, " I winked, before spearing a piece of shrimp and munching on it. I finished and sipped the rest of the whiskey in my glass, before pouring another for myself. "It really is, and I think can I do some good here, my house is pretty nice too, wouldn't have thought the Guard payed well enough back when I was just a merc. I like being a detective more, more cushy but also it feels good, you know. Thank you Angel, it's nice having someone to talk to and share a dinner with."

IC: (Hanako) "You could still travel to Mata Nui milady. While we still have many allies, we'd be able to expand our horizons and gain more, stifling those who would try and oppose you back home. Your sister can serve the Realm in your stead until your return. You standing there are the forefront would be good for us, you know your sister Desdemona is cunning and focused, nothing would get past her while you're establishing new ties. Perhaps we might even be able to find those Chaotic Six with the help of them, as well as broker deals for resources. It's up to you Yumiwa." I didn't show it, I had merely spouted off knowledge about Korae, I wasn't trying to question his loyalty, but he seemed to take it as such, I took a note of that, but said nothing, didn't express it though.

IC: (Hanako) "There hasn't been much in the way of unrest. Whoever did this is probably trying instill political chaos in attempts to make a power play or something along those lines. We had the attempt that was foiled not too long ago, it's possible that the two were intertwined." I replied, grim but focused, my lady needed me, I planned on moving to comfort her, all I could do was move closer, but I couldn't do much more. We needed to focus on the matters at hand. "The question we have to ask, is who stands to gain the most from...from Yusanora's passing? If you want my mistress I can return to the floor and aid in the investigation." My eyes were downcast, and I moved my hand to touch hers and rub it, letting her squeeze it if she needed. She wasn't my Chojo anymore, She was my Empress.

IC: (Hanako) I had keep my distance from Yumiwa, even during the fireworks, I was fuming, trying to collect myself with each sip of wine. I slowly did, and as I was finally coming to terms with what happened. I heard screams and saw my Rora's body crumple to the ground, I moved to Yumi, securing the safety of her daughter is the first thing Yusanora would have wanted in a situation like this. Once they were secure, we could look into this. My heart broke though, lightning had struck twice in the few short weeks, I had lost my mother and aunt, and Yumi had lost their mother, and it hurt to see this happen to my friend, but i was also her protector, and her sister's, even if I was officially Yumi's handmaiden, I would always be a friend to both and they need me right now. "I'm right here. We'll figure this out," I said. What could I say, her mother had been killed effectively in front of her, my mother had died faraway, and to natural causes. It wasn't the same, someone had it in for them, and my first thought was the Fursics, but what if that is what the assassin wanted. Wanted us to believe it was them? Either way speculation wouldn't help much here, with Ayiwah and her fellow Menti securing all entrances and exits, the Hogos keeping order. Medical personnel already checking on Yusanora. We'd find these killers and for the pain they had put my two best friends through, the price of pain for this assassin would be high.

IC: (Hanako) I returned to the party, dipping another glass into the wine fountain, and did my best to try and not down the whole thing in one gulp. Another followed, I couldn't really focus or think straight anymore. Not after everything that happened, to be honest I just wanted to return to my chambers for the night. Yumi would know though, I didn't feel like mingling, or talking. I got another glass of wine, I felt a little more woozy after this one, it helped to numb my mind to all the bad things that had happened tonight. OOC: Hanako open for interaction.

IC: (Hanako) Standing at the epicenter of Jiyu explosive mental release had caused a pain I had never felt in my life, I crumpled to the ground as the mental current charged through my mind. As much I tried I couldn't help but let out a yelp of pain and surprise. A few minutes had passed and I felt numb, empty. I struggled to my feet uneasily, Jiyu's outburst had dulled my senses. "Brother I think it you should return home to rest. I wasn't the only person struck by your pain, some people might be angry about it." It was time for my brother to leave, time for him to recover. I needed to recover too, there was a lot of grief, a lot of problems that needed to be dealt with. Besides Yumi being happy about her party going well, this party had been nothing but grief. I was glad to see my brother, but immensely frustrated to see him so hurt and broken and how casually Yumi had done it.

IC: (Hanako) "I won't let you be anyone's pawn. You don't have to do this, we'll figure something out. Jiyu you're my older brother, you're my family. I don't want you to hurt anymore and this isn't the way. Just please don't do this. We'll find a way brother, together." I pleaded, I knew Jiyu was depressed, but I didn't...didn't think he would consider killing himself...this was my fault. I should have talked to him sooner...I couldn't lose him, I couldn't lose any more family.

IC: (Hanako) "Here just..." I lead my brother towards somewhere away from the party, somewhere where he could release without fear of looks, without any more pain than he had to endure. I wouldn't let anyone hurt him anymore, he's my older brother and he's already been hurt enough. "I'm...I'm sorry Jiyu, I'm sorry that...that you cannot be Toroshu."

IC: (Hanako) "No I don't judge you, you were just following tradition, I can't hold that against you. Even though I know how you feel about him, I know you didn't do it because of that. You're only doing what's best for the Realm and the Clan. I'm sorry but as much as I'd like to stay, my brother...isn't doing well. "Thank you." With that I turned on my heel and moved to follow my brother he needed me. It took me a while to find him, and although the handmaiden that was sent after us was following me I turned. I still kept Jiyu within eyesight. "Tell Yumi the situation will be handled, she doesn't have to worry. I'll fix it. Please respect that this is my family and he's my responsibility." I turned around again, and follow Jiyu. "Jiyu please can we talk in private?" I asked as I strode up to him.

IC: (Hanako) "Well then, do you mind if I join you?" I asked. Inwardly I was worried about how things would turn out for my older brother. There had been no male Toroshu in a very long time. My brother wasn't moronic, he knew that there would likely be consequences for this decision and attempt at leadership. I was worried for him though, he had already suffered much. What if he was shot down? What if wasn't allowed to lead the Herupa? What then? Who would lead the Herupa, my elder sister? Me? I shivered at that possibility. Rank of Toroshu might have been a prestigious position for many, but for me it would change my responsibilities. If I had to do something like that I would, I wouldn't enjoy it, but I understand that leadership is needed. I just hoped so much that my brother could have control, for all the anger, the bitterness, the standoffish nature. He was a good man and he could lead the Herupa. It was just unprecedented, something that would cause quite a stir. Personally I think our society needed a little bit of change-ups like that. Didn't mean the majority of nobles agreed, some held on tradition so hard they became blind to all the other possible routes for our people. I continued to sip my wine as I awaited my brother's response.

IC: (Ripple) Asa had left the group for a few minutes, removing her leather catsuit, and putting it into the wash, after a relatively short shower she returned to the game room wearing a pink tank top, and her favorite pair of jeans. "Hey there," She whispered into Daken's ear, wrapping her arms around his waist before slipping away with a mischevious chuckle and circling back around the bar. "So got anything, you'd like me to make?" She grinned. Perhaps they'd get a few moments of relaxation again before they shipped out on another mission, or maybe it was straight to another job. She was enjoying herself, and Daken was looking out for her, she felt safe around him. She still didn't like their new recruit, the guy who shot a hole through Daken's cheek, sure he healed. Didn't mean she had forgiven the assassin for it.

IC: (Hanako) "Alright, and who would that be?" I asked, pulling back, scooping up a glass of wine from the fountain as we walked past it.