The Day of Thunder

"A pleasure," she said to the two of them, rising. "It seems that Otaku-sama has heard my reputation. I forget sometimes that I have one of those. I'm just one of the ones who follows the little teacher around and tries to keep him out of trouble. I'm terrible at it." She looked over at the Ryoshun ...

She frowned. It deepened. "I probably would have told her that she was deluded by dreams of finding a place in a changing world, when she already had one. I'd also tell her that dwelling on her fears only gave them power. The more she feared them, the more they ruled her. Accepting them helped a lot...

She snorted at his comment. "Our foe is only subtle because it enters our dreams, a place we cannot easily defend. It does not know the meaning of shadow, if its endeavors thus far are any indication. It brute force tries to assault us in our dreams. Effective, but as subtle as one of those clubs yo...

She nodded at first, considering his words. At least he was able to admit he wasn't at his best. That was something of a first under the circumstances. She was not sure it was wise to be reassured by that fact, but there she was. Folding her arms again, she considered the question. "How far I would ...

She nodded. "Knowing you are not alone is a help for one. But..." She frowned after a moment and then raised that eyebrow higher. "One of the others has asked something that I think might help you with that troublesome little task of finding ways to help. We both know that some of us aren't the nine...

She barked out a yip of a laugh and motioned for him to follow her to an open area. "We're not at the mouth of hell quite yet. I have more than a little bit to spare at a time like this, so don't think of this as an imposition. As for recognizing me? I tend to blend into the background compared to s...

Nozomi settled herself into a comfortable spot, grunting once and resting an arm up and on her knee while she sat casually, considering that she was a monk. She had a small bowl of barley in one hand and was eating and pecking at it at a measured pace. Even if she wasn't turning down the food, she w...

"It would shock the lot of them to hear that man be called foolish, but even the wisest has his moments," she said with a shake of her head. "Part of me thinks that you being more ... you than usual has the advantage of not drawing attention. Part of me, however, thinks that the threat we're dealing...

Nozomi isn't one to avoid a good meal. Whatever is going on, though, they made the children of the mountains of tough stock.

Earth Roll: 33. Hah, ok, she had to spend a void to beat that. She's not Spider/Crab tough.

Her expression softened a fraction, though she was still clearly annoyed... or perhaps worried. "The path is something you get to walk alone. Each of us do. This is not the path. This is destiny. That doesn't have to be walked alone. It can't." She grunted, knowing she was stating the obvious. "You ...

He was ... in luck? As he approached the medical tent, he would happen to see someone who was visiting there, her eyes looking among those who were present in case anyone seemed to be injured or in need. When she caught sight of the Crab, she made her way over. her countenance was etched with a mixt...

She sighed in frustration, one hand moving to her hip. "There are days when I think you spoke with the Emperor's Brother with how gifted you are at it," she said with a rumbling murmur. "None of this changes the fact that you are attempting to shoulder all of this alone. Again. Like always." "We bot...

Oh, those eyes rolled as he did that. Why did he always do that? He just turned her words on their head no matter how simple they were. There was a hint of a smile even if her foot tapping was getting worse and the eyebrow raise had a bit of a warning edge to it. "No, I was actually talking to the c...

There was a grunt in the midst of the mists while someone emerged from it. It did not matter if she had other senses that she could rely on to not stub her damned toe. This mist was still irritating. Still, the garden was much more to her tastes right now. A little away from everyone. Nozomi was fin...

Nozomi was walking along the village streets, coming to a stop there in the Market. Nobody was exactly there at the moment besides her companion, but that didn't mean that this wasn't a perfectly visible location. The feeling that she was constantly under observation, constantly being watched, it wa...

The sight of Shinsei standing there without a face was certainly awful. The mere thought of it was distracting and horrifying. It haunted her nightmares from time to time, as it had for years upon years in the past. There was only one problem for whatever force seemed to be drawing upon the worst fe...

"Ukyou or myself can let him know of the invitation, if he hasn't stumbled upon it himself already," Nozomi said with a nod after vigorously confirming that, yes, indeed she did belong there. In her mind, everyone who was here belonged here, but that was not immediately important to state. "At the v...

Nozomi had remained quiet. Ukyou and Ai were doing a good job directing the conversation thus far, and there was no need for her to interject, at least not just yet. As it started to sound like she was taking some of the thoughts to heart, she reached up and scratched her chin aa little. "I think Uk...

She smiled sympathetically at ... uh... was this Shiba's... nah, she wasn't going to think about that. She reached up to scratch her chin for a moment before hitting on something. "You describe the Emperor well. I think if he had a choice, he'd be at the front of the line. I don't doubt it. But that...

Nozomi blinked for a moment and then sighed, laughing once very softly. No, she was used to getting the 'you hang around him all the time. You must know what he's thinking.' It came up with enough regularity that it was sometimes a little funny, even if it always made a tiny part of her quail in wor...