Hot Spring Convention! [Plot/Event/Job/Menat/8]

Job Name: A Hot-Springs Convention
Job Rank: B-tier
Job Location: Kina
Job Reward: 200 XP | 15,000 Huang
Chain Reward: Toh Clan Vigor Drug
Job Prerequisites: No Toh-morrow
Job Overview: Having helped some of the village's elderly you've now been tasked to have a simple talk with Toh Abe, the clan leader's younger brother. Meet with the playful spirit in the hots spring. In order to test your vigor, all you must do is sit in the scalding waters for 30 minutes while having a conversation with the young man, sharing your ideas with him. Soon after the conversation, the young man leaves, sharing his desire to help his brother to prosper.

-

Well, the last mission Noir did with both Eight and that Fanalis girl went pretty well it seemed. The messenger of the Toh clan visited her to send a message, informing her that the clan would like to invite her again for another meeting, possibly wanting to give another task. Should she agree to attend the meeting scheduled for tomorrow afternoon, the messenger would quickly take his leave to relay the message. The magician would give a slight nod, giving her respect and thanking the man for delivering her the message. She wondered if both Eight and that girl got the same message as well, it would be fun to do another mission together honestly. Not that she didn't want to do it by herself, but she thought it would be good to bond with other people so she could add some more names to her friend’s list.

It was pretty amazing though that the messenger could find her in the middle of the Kinan’s street, but perhaps they already used to track and find people so they could easily deliver any message they needed to relay. Noir thought that it would be useful if she could learn that as well, but not now, not until she finished helping these clans, she had some other priorities to be done at the moment.

Now that she had time until tomorrow, the magician would take her time to do what she originally planned. “Let’s go, Haku.” She gestured her Liger before taking a step forward, heading to this eatery that one of the Morihana priests recommended. They were lucky it was not that crowded, but it was natural because it was not lunch time anymore, She would quickly order some food for both of her and Haku, but there was one thing that she was really amazed about this eatery, they only need like 3 to 5 minutes to get the food ready… ‘Impressive…’ She muttered as she looked at her food and would start eating it because she was actually really hungry to the point she didn't really feel hungry anymore...a bad habit of her to hold her hunger because she was too focused on doing something.

It was a very good experience although Noir wasn’t that big on food since she would just eat whatever. She didn’t really have anything else to do today instead of preparing herself for tomorrow’s meeting, so she thought to just go back and spend the day reading some books. But as she looked forward, she saw someone that she recognized although he was a little bit too far from where Noir was standing at the moment. It had been a long time since the last time she saw him… so she walked faster, almost running to the man. “Rufus!” She tried to call the man, almost glad that the man turned his back to look behind him but he only smiled before waving towards the girl before blending in with the crowds. Confused by Rufus' act, the black haired girl tried to chase the man by getting in the crowds, looking around. But she lost him… he was nowhere to be seen. “Was that really him…?” The magician, still confused, murmured to herself before deciding to just go back to her room… “I miss him though…”

-

The magician headed towards the Toh clan manor for the scheduled meeting, wondering what kind of task they would give this time. Last time it was to bring this water for the villagers... and Noir didn’t think it was a bad job, but it felt a little bit odd. However, seeing the happy expression of those elders when they delivered the fresh spring water was satisfying, it made Noir feel happy to be able to help. Maybe this will be another task that would help other people again, so Noir was really excited about it. She might be the first one to arrive at the manor, perhaps, since she arrived earlier than the promised time but she wouldn’t be surprised if there was someone who came even earlier than her, she would be happy because she would definitely think that person was also excited to give help.

There was something different though if she compared the Toh clan to the other clan, while usually the other clan would be like… asking them to prove their own capability in the terms of strength or even to help them to solve some problem, theToh clan was more...peaceful? She wasn't sure how to describe it actually, she couldn’t find any right word.

Inside the meeting room, a man with red clothing was already waiting for his guest. Noir remembered he was the same man from the previous meeting. The man's face lightened to a smile as Noir entered the room and the magician would return the favor with a slight bow, “Good day.” She said politely and would sit as soon as the man gestured his hand, offering the girl to sit anywhere on the cushion. “As usual, before I start to give the briefing for the task, I would ask some of your time to wait for the other two guests. In the meantime, please, enjoy your tea.” A maid would serve Noir a cup of tea as soon as the man finished talking and the girl would thank the maid before lifting the cup up, sipping the hot tea slowly while waiting for the other guests.

WC: 909/1500

Eight had slept in, exhausted. His room was blacked out thanks to heavy fabrics lining the windows, allowing to get some proper rest and relaxation. He had no use for alarms since his body had always been diligent, able to wake up at sunrise with his internal alarm clock. But his diligence had run out, his body was fatigued from running all over Kina and doing tasks for his allied clans, while still fitting his new Kogatan allies into his life.

Finding the time for all of this, on this accelerated time line was proving to be a little difficult even for the master schemer and slaver. He was finally able to catch on some rest while he was waiting for the second Toh quest. His body and his mind were exhausted from the constant labor, and maintaining the facade. But this is how he had to work until he was strong enough, this was the only way he could fight. The life-threatening encounter in the plains revealed that to him, that even a single talented fighter who used fire would likely end his life in a single stroke. He was not stupid, he didn't want to die. There were still so many things left to do, but however, the act of dying and pain and no longer having a meaningful and conscious existence, but what had tore him up most about the situation was how easy someone could snuff him out. Not only was he not quite powerful to dominate a battlefield, but a stray attack could easily end his reality as he knew it. These thoughts came from each of his trips to the Plains, and weighed on his mind heavily ever since. Even fighting and proving himself for the Kazeharu seemed to drain his vitality. It was nice to have such easy tasks to pledge his loyalty to the Toh, something simple for the weary warrior.

It was at this moment when a sliver of light shone through a fresh crack in the door. It was Naruto, making an entrance. "Are you okay, Eight? You seem a little exhausted, so I don't know if this is the best time to tell you, but they've requested you once more. Seems like Noir will also be there."

Eight's mental fog cleared up, and his ears perked up. 'Noir...' His mind definitely had his fill of her. Her constant presence, how she would foolishly risk herself to help other, how she would stupidly smile and greet people with kindness and fill other with joy, how she didn't have to work to have a great relationship with her firey beast Haku. This was a first for Eight, he felt a very intense hate for Noir, not able to quite understand her, almost a certain type of jealousy. These feelings lead to a spark in his head, of growing stronger to be able to possess her as one of his slaves...

"You okay...? I said they requested you and Noir'll be there." Naruto called out after watching Eight sit in darkness for nearly a minute without replying to him. The Kogata ninja opened the door wider, letting more light, finally getting a reaction from Eight, interrupting his thoughts.

Eight shielded his optics from the rays, clearing his throat. "I'll be on my way... thanks Naruto." As Naruto left with a concerned look on his face, Eight began to dress himself to get ready for the task. Eight would go without any traditional equipment to meet the Toh leader.

-

He arrived and let himself in easily, staring at Noir as she came into view. He would stand beside her and pour himself a cup of tea, making sure to sit right beside her. "The tea of Kina has a certain difference from the herbs in other countries, doesn't it?" Making eye contact with Noir, not caring for the protocols or even caring if they were waiting for something before they would be told of the following tasks.

664/1500

The generosity of the Toh clan continued to impress young Menat. In her acting role as a foreign diplomat of sorts with no place local to stay Lord Tobinara had been more than gracious enough to have a room prepared for the girl to use for the duration of her stay. The room was as absolutely stunning as the parts of the manor she had already visited. Save for, perhaps, the meeting hall where she still failed to soak in every aspect of the Toh clan's personality she could from the room. Like the rest of the manor she had seen thus far the door to her temporary room didn't swing open but slid out of her way, of course one of the Toh's servants did her the honor of opening the door for her. She took notice, before the door had been pulled aside for her to enter, the ornate detailing on the door itself. Frame was clearly one made of wood yet it seemed some kind of silken cloth covered it, embroidered with elegant flowers and ornate serpents of some kind.

The interior of the room was vastly smaller than that of the hall she met Tobinara in but the aesthetics still held similar enough. Rather than the eight pillars that supported the hall the bedroom was supported by two. The woodwork of the inside of the room was the same crimson color, including the pillars. She was slightly confused at the spread out bundle on the floor before her. Was it to be her bed? It reminded her of the kind of makeshift beds those of in poverty in the slums of Reim often slept on by bundling up as much loose cloth as they could possibly get. Yet it wasn't any kind of depressing sight as that. If she had to describe it then it was more like a thicker version of the blankets she slept under on her bed back in Meridia. Still a far cry from what she had expected such a high standing clan to use as a bed.

Still she would, and could, make do with it. She was "adaptable", for lack of a better word. Sure she had her big sister Bast looking after her for those first five years of her life but she still was without either of her parents. It taught her how to do what she needed to when it was all on her. The night had drawn however, the hours since returning with the other two once they gathered the water and brought it back to the elders of clan Toh having finally ebbed away into the twilight and into the creeping darkness. Finally she began to disrobe, placing her clothing in a single pile on the floor as she stripped completely nude while sparing the questionable bed another uncertain look. But she supposed there was a saying out there, something along the lines of "Do as they do" and, in reality, who was she to complain to a ruler who wasn't her own mother about her sleeping arrangements despite them having been put together for her at basically the very moment they had been offered.

The night passed exceptionally well. Menat had actually been so comfortable she had almost forgotten that she had basically been sleeping on the floor of the room. Morning had broken and for the first time in a long while the young heiress of Meridia had managed to sleep without any unwanted intruders in her bed or her mother waking her early for babysitting duty. She was, however, awoken from her peaceful slumber by yet another of the Toh's servants. Or perhaps they were better classified as "retainers"? Either way one of them had woken her with a message, never once bothering to enter the room until she had given permission. Yet because she had permitted their entrance didn't mean she had been fully clothed by then. The blanket she had covered herself with fell bunched into her lap and over her legs, leaving her exposed from the waist up as she rubbed the sleep from her eye.

The message had been that she was being requested. Not by Tobinara this time but by his, apparent, younger brother Toh Abe. It was, after his brother had described Menat and her companions from the day prior, his desire that they meet. With a yawn she nodded, the retainer stepping outside to allow the young redhead to get dressed in private. A moment or two later Menat exited the room fully clothed and her hair tied once more in its disheveled ponytail. The retainer led her through the manor, down the spacious yet plain hallways, some with openings to view such things as gardens and open plots of sand dotted with some rocks, to yet another set of doors that slid open. Large and imposing with a symbol painted on them of a circle with several wavy lines rising up from it.

She was informed that the younger of the two lords was awaiting her beyond the changing room and instructed that she would need to disrobe yet again when she was beyond the doors before meeting him. With her instructions given the retainer pardoned herself and left the young girl to her own devices. With a shrug Menat slid the doors open and took a step inside. She didn't exactly know what she was expecting to find on the other side of the sliding doors but what she found was just a simply room with dozens of wooden cupboards, each with a small basket in it. All but one of these baskets were empty, save for the exception of a single cloth towel, with only a single one with neatly folded clothing resting under an impressive piece of armor colored azure with golden ropes holding the overlaying pieces together.

Clearly this was the sign of what Menat herself was meant to do. Stripping down naked once again she picked one of the baskets to place her own clothing in, withdrawing the towel from it in the process and slinging it over her shoulder, before exiting through an opening opposite to the doors she entered through. Brushing through some short curtains that hung down about halfway through the frame she found herself walking out into a small rocky area. The humidity was high but the young Fanalis thought it had to have something to do with the steaming pool of water that took up most of the fenced in area. A raven haired man sat submerged within the pool, eyes closed and sitting at the other end of the springs as she approached. "Lord Toh Abe?" She would question, still finding no real reason for modesty or covering her exposed body. He didn't turn to answer her, rather simply lifted a single arm from under the water and signaled her forward with a wave of his hand. This Toh clan really was showing just how laid back and relaxed they were when it came to meeting new people.

But, once again, who was Menat to refuse at a time like this. Without a word she walked forward, pausing only at the water's edge to feel the warmth of the liquid rise up to meet her. Not having put many thoughts of resistance into anything she had done so far in trying to barter an alliance between the Toh and Meridia she simply stepped into the water. The warmth was instantly soothing. Having grown up, at least for the first five years of her life, in Reim Menat was no stranger to the heat and the heat of the spring water was more than enjoyable to her. Her body sunk down until she had submerged herself to her chin, relaxing and allowing the soothing combination of heat and water to work out her stress. Was this was those spa days her mother was regularly talking about like? Perhaps she'd need to actually give it a try some time if it was.

The young envoy opened her mouth in an attempt to begin speaking to the young lord only for another to enter before she could speak. It was the onyx haired woman who had gone with her to the mountain to fetch the elders their water the day prior. Unlike Menat she instead chose to wear some kind of clothing, a single piece outfit that covered her body but left virtually all of her most alluring features on display somehow. It was a good thing the redhead had been just about to speak because it gave ample excuse for her jaw to be wide open as she stared at the beauty approaching. Menat was starting to wonder if she would need to talk to her mother once she was back home about these feelings that had begun to arise in her when she found other women to be pretty.

For now her topic was the young lord in the hot spring with the both of them. Somehow what felt like one of the most natural and casual conversations began. It had led to Menat explaining why she was here in Kina. How she was acting as envoy for her mother who had just brought about the birth of her own nation and how they were looking to form an alliance with the Toh. Yet somehow Abe didn't seem to care about this. What he wanted to know more about was Menat herself, and the beautiful woman that had joined them.

WC: 1,586 / 1,500

As Eight entered the room, Noir would be greeting him with a nod, although there was no smile apparent on her face as it remained stoic as usual. “Yes, I think so too.”

The official inside the room would begin to talk to both of them, informing them that Menat was already on her way to do the task and this task would be a simple one. They only need to find Toh Abe in the hot spring and talk to him. Noir tilted her head, wondering if that was all and it got confirmed when the man smiled at her before saying that it was all they needed to do. So without further ado, Noir would head towards the hotspring, although she would stop herself at the changing room… spotting a piece of clothing on the basket with her name written on the piece of paper. Wondering if it was the custom to wear the cloth, Noir look at the...weird fabric… but it was the custom here right? So she wouldn't really question it.

It was a little bit tight for her actually, but she didn’t really mind, she thought it would be better than just wearing a piece of towel. She assumed it would be a mixed hot spring, so if they forced her to just wear a towel to cover her body, she didn't think she would feel comfortable. Once she was ready with her bathing suit, she would tie her hair up, to avoid it being wet once she got into the hot spring.

As she and Haku stepped into the hot spring, she would see the girl from before, talking to a man she didn't recognize. But she assumed that it should be Toh Abe, so she would step closer to both Menat and the man. “Lord Abe? Greetings, my name is Noir.” She nodded slightly to the man before stepping into the hot spring, feeling the heat of the water begin to spread to her skin while Haku waited near the door. It felt nice though, she always liked soaking herself in hot water. She would wait until Menat was done voicing her thoughts to the man as she looked around to find Eight, the haze made it a little bit hard for her to see her surroundings actually.

20 minutes had passed since she soaked herself in the hot spring and Noir was still okay, she still felt comfortable and could keep going for another minute. Menat’s story and idea was quite interesting, but perhaps it was Noir’s turn to talk now. “This clan seemed different with another clan from what I see, Lord Abe. It might be too early for me to make a conclusion but I think the Toh clan cares more about the people in Kina, on how to make the country prosper, on how to help the people… It made me think that the leader of the clan is a good and reliable man, perhaps a natural born leader?” The magician said as she cupped some of the water with both of her hands, playing with it. “Continue doing this then you will get all the trust you need, I think. Well, I am not really educated in this kind of thing, however trust is very powerful and it will certainly help you to reach your goal, especially if you have a goal that will help everyone to prosper.” Her golden eyes would be focusing on Abe’s eyes as she paused for a second, “And if you or your brother dont mind, I would like to offer my help for the Toh’s clan.”

WC: 1500/1500

Eight was on his own except for his little slime spider, Sling, even if Menat, Noir and Abe were there. He was eager to join the hot springs, while it was supposedly a task to join the Toh clan, in reality it was more like a spa day for Eight. He would enjoy the steam of the hot springs, thinking of how the warmth would penetrate the fibers of his muscles and easing his tension. The most important part of the current assignment was meeting Toh Abe, a higher up of the clan. He would undress fully to enter the springs. Thankfully it was still daytime and no one would be able to see his Black Spider tattoo on his neck, but unfortunately his back was full of scars, nearing a hundred in number. He folded his own attire with precision leaving it on a short table nearby. Eight would simply hop into the springs in a quick motion without splashing or causing much of a disturbance to the waters. He listened to Menat's story, as she would quickly explain about her own life, and she seemed to explain that she was the daughter of a queen for a fledgling country. Eight would have a great time exploiting that fact for his own gain. She was a little simple-minded which made things even easier for him. Then she would speak on her reasons for coming to Kina, and how she was an envoy. A bit young for that level of responsibility, but it didn't matter. Eight hadn't even thought of the undressed underaged body of the young fanalis, seeming like Dalia's opposite in many ways, but still the base structure was there, similar in age Fanalis.

Noir had joined, however she would dress in a bathing suit. Her excessive modesty caused him to roll his eyes, every single one of her actions seemed to aggravate Eight. These sort of feelings were a true rarity to the slaver who would rely on his collectedness to make all of his deals and to deal with any situation. Her next words would frustrate him anymore. She seemed to compliment the Toh clan for its lax policies, of how to Toh clan cared about the people of Kina. Talking of trust and it's power, but if she believed in trust she wouldn't have gone to choose the Morihana clan instead, she would have chosen the Toh clan that she seemed to express more faith in than she did with the Kazeharu clan. It almost felt hypocritical of the magician. Eight knew that these situations required a personal truth and conviction. Not only were these words hollow, they seemed to lack a rigorous experience behind them. Trust was great in theory, but in execution there were many more variables.

He moved closer after his ears were seething from seemingly empty words from Noir. "Yes, trust is great, and I wish for Toh to prosper, and not only Toh but all of Kina. However, a clan like Toh that will not be able to react to the ambitions of the Hinamoto or the Kogata clan. They might have a close relationship with the Kazeharu clan, but will the relationship change when it's not longer between two Daimyous but between a daimyou and a shogun? Can you afford to risk it? Perhaps the Shikizui might follow you in your trust but if that's the case, wouldn't they prove their strength in trust more? They rely on their warriors and their bonds instead of things such as drugs, and finally the Morihana who are the most secretive of all clans, leaving the clan is a death sentence? Their ability to create beast-humans and their ability to create magic weapons and how they rely on their religion... would you ever be able to trust them? They have shared those secrets. Toh can only benefit from a truly powerful leader, which is currently the Hinamoto, a clan that could lead, however they have proven their ineffectiveness and now that I'm here, I believe the Kogata clan has what it actually take to become the Shogun of these lands, and as long as you stay with us, you'll reap the rewards." Eight was confident in his thoughts, he knew he was too important to the Kogata clan to have Toh attack him now, besides if they wanted to seem like an understanding clan, they'd have to allow him to make his remark, and knowing Noir, she wouldn't let violence occur so easily in front of her. She had her own virtues and she wouldn't simply let Eight get killed for something so frivolous, plus between her strength as his own, they would likely be able to subdue the leader of the Toh and even if there were more guards, they would struggle to attack if Eight took the Toh leader as a hostage, but Noir wouldn't allow that to happen either.

Eight was more than satisfied with his saying even if it came out stand offish. "I know you wish to help your brother, as do I, but I hope he can accept this type of support as well."