It was a rather tiring day so far despite the fact that Nadine had only just arrived in Nisshoki and its surrounding area just a short time ago. Getting to the beautiful, culturally rich city was easy enough, but finding where it was she needed to go was much less so. All Nadine knew is that she had a patient to tend to somewhere on the outskirts of the city near the in/famous bamboo forest. She had the gift of Prediction, thanks to Angela, but she was no navigator, and Prediction only helped with situations, not directions. In any case, Nadine found herself wandering around the scattered, yet admittedly beautiful, farms and clearings about the area.

With no sign of her destination, Nadine grew increasingly frustrated, but her exhaustion from the fruitless meandering about trumped her frustration, and she found herself in need of some rest and respite before continuing. Certainly, thoughts of a warm inn or tavern, or perhaps a place that sold some form of energizing meals filled Nadine's thoughts. Her presence was direly needed in the home that was her destination, but she knew she was no good to anyone if she was down and out from exhaustion and a lack of energy.

"Besides," she mumbled to herself. "Perhaps someone around here could help me find what I'm looking for.."

It took some searching, but Nadine eventually stumbled upon what looked like a very homey - very quaint - little shop. Smells that pleased Nadine's senses wafted from within, and she guessed that the establishment sold some form of food to those who managed to find it. The place was quite out of the way, to be sure, but Nadine had a good feeling about the place, and wanted to partake of the proprietors' hospitality.

"Goodness," she quietly exclaimed. "What is that absolutely agreeable aroma? I simply must find out."

Decided, Nadine quietly walked through the front door of the establishment so as to not be rude to those within. As she entered, Nadine's senses were bombarded with myriad experiences at once. Smells, sights, warmth - wonderful bliss.

"My, my! How wonderful!" Nadine gently clapped her hands together in excitement and simply had to experience more of this lovely place. It wasn't the largest, or most grand, of places. Certainly, it seemed as though this place got little more than enough business to stay afloat with a little extra. Of course, for Nadine, this didn't matter. The fact that this place stuck around despite hardships was endearing to Nadine, and she wanted to give them her business as a token of admiration.

The place seemed rather quiet at this time. It seemed as though Nadine was the only customer at this time, as she couldn't see any other seated patrons, though neither could she currently see any of the staff.

"Quiet time of the day, perhaps?" she mused.

Instead of making whoever might appear uncomfortable by standing awkwardly, awaiting seating, Nadine decided to grab the initiative and find an empty sit to sit on (not that this was hard). Upon doing so, Nadine felt a little warm, and so she loosened up her robe to allow her body to breathe. Her lush body was easily hot, but seldom uncomfortable, though she needed to adjust her light dress to feel more proper. She did so by grabbing the fabric above her admittedly quite generous bosom and pulled it upward. After doing so, she gently fluffed her bosom with her hands to help it settle into the adjusted fabric better. Satisfied, and a little red as thoughts of the possibility of one seeing what she did surfaced in her mind, Nadine rested her hands on her soft lap and laced her fingers together as she waited - a slight smile on her face as she looked around.

It was a bit slower today than usual. Usually by this time a few of the regulars would be in sipping on sake and talking about their families or what ever the latest gossip was. A girl around the age of 16 sighed and looked over at the chef of this restaurant.  "I think I'll go on break early."she said and made her way put as she got a nod from the chef. Now that he was alone in the shop he stared blankly at the half curtain separating his kitchen from the rest of the place. His oddly pink colored eyes scanned over every detail on the fabric. It was red with white flowers. It was a medium quality but a lot of care had gone into it's creation. Normally these slow times didn't bother him in the slightest, but for some reason he was restless today. He ran his hand through his black hair with a sigh and closed his eyes. Something was coming, he could feel it in his blood. Just as the thought passed through his mind lazily he heard a feminine voice from our front. Looks like his little break was over. With Nora gone he had both cooking and waiting duty. He grabbed a menu from the small stack and with his silent steps headed out. He froze as the curtain fell back into place behind him. The patron had seated herself and he had walked out just in time to see her adjust herself. His eyes widened as he took in the woman before him. Her beautiful long blonde hair that seemed to shone like sunlight as it cascaded around her, her skin pale skin that looked so smooth and soft as the finest silk, her her green eyes that held an intelligence deep within, her cheeks that blushed from her actions when she felt she was alone, and her lips, so soft and perfect, so kissable. He had been standing there frozen for quite some time before he shook his head to clear his mind. Never had he been so dazzled by someone as this woman. It was like he had been shot through the chest with an arrow, one from the goddess Angela, he was in love at first sight. That was a dangerous thought to have. He cleared his throat and looked off to the side awkwardly. He approached her wearing his apron and handed her a menu. He couldn't seem to make eye contact, fearing that he'd be sucked into those eyes and hypnotized by her once again. "Welcome to The Sakura no hana noodle house. Despite the name we serve more than noodles. Can I get you anything to drink ma'am?" Despite his attempts to stop himself his eyes were drawn to hers like a magnet. The moment he made eye contact his expression was one of shock. He just couldn't get over how beautiful she was, and seeing her up close fillled him with an urge to touch that delicate looking skin, and made him wonder what her perfect lips would feel like against his. He took a step away from the table, trying to regain control of himself. This was madness. He was always in control of himself but then this woman walks in and it's like all his years of training went out the window in an instant. He had to pull himself together. 

When someone came up to Nadine, she jumped a little because her mind was wandering elsewhere. Blushing still, she looked up to see a particularly good looking man looking down at her. Nadine had never really felt a connection to men like most women did at her age, but he was definitely easy on the eyes, and she was surprised to feel her blush deepen. Hastily wrapping her robe around her slightly, as she was suddenly conscious of the lightness of her dress, Nadine smiled up at the man as she replied.

"W-well, I would appreciate a fine glass of wine, if you have any. If not, I would be fine with some water."

Taking the menu from the man with a smile, Nadine looked at it. It was quite a well made menu. If they had multiple copies, Nadine had to wonder how they made them all. Did someone make each one by hand? Were they magically printed? This idea fascinated Nadine, and she nearly forgot she was looking at a menu in order to decide on something to refuel her body.

"Oh. Curious.."

Nadine didn't really know what the different choices on the menu were. Looking at the man once more with an apologetic smile, Nadine addressed him.

"Wh-what would you recommend, good sir? I simply can't decide. I've had noodles from Nisshoki before, but I don't recognize any of these dishes. Do you like any in particular?"

The man stepped back suddenly, which sort of surprised Nadine, since she hadn't done anything, nor did she think he had done anything to merit such an action.

"Are you okay?" she asked - concern in her voice.

Nadine gently took the man's hand in her own in a gesture of comfort. She thought he might have been troubled by something.

"Is something wrong, Sir? I hope I do not offend you?"

He nodded as she asked for wine and was about to leave to go get it when she spoke again then asked him for his recommendation. "Um, ah, everything is good since I cook it. If you haven't tried much of anything then how about a sampler plate? It's sample sizes of what ever you would like." he replied. Technically a sampler plate wasn't on the menu but he couldn't seem to think straight to give a good answer with her around. What was wrong with him? He had to get control again, to remain calm. 

The look on her face when she voiced concern for his sudden step back only drew him to her more. He didn't know how much longer he could stand it. Her touch was like fire to him. Her skin was even softer than he had imagined. His heart raced in his chest and he struggled to not say something stupid that might scare her off. For several moments he just stared down at her bedore he broke and finally admitted his thoughts. "You are just…." his cheeks started to go red and her averted his gaze "…the most beautiful woman I've ever seen and it's throwing me off a bit. I apologise for my rudeness. I'll go get your drink and start preparing your food." With his cheeks still burning he reluctantly took his hand from hers and rushed off to the back room. He returned moments later, cheeks still red and set a glass on the table. Doing as he had been taught he showed her the label of the bottle and said, "I hope this will do?" And then he poured her a glass. He set the bottle on the table and gave a slight bow before rushing off back to the back room. 

Once alone he felt his cheeks, they were burning. His eyes widened in surprise. Was he…. blushing? Him? The man who was known to be an emotionless man? A master of keeping his cool? One of the top assassins in his family losing it over some girl he had just met? This was really messing with him. He quickly started cooking, centering his mind once more.

A few minutes later he emerged once more with her food. He was acting particularly shy. He wasn't used to dealing with normal people, especially ones he seemed so drawn to for no reason at all. He walked over to her and set down the food gracefully, his every action was completely silent except for him saying, "I hope you enjoy your meal, if you need anything I'll be right over there in the kitchen." He turned and walked towards the kitchen with silent steps, glancing back at her once before his eyes flickered to the doorway. The server girl had returned. His shy look became that of complete neutrality as the girl entered.

"Kiryuuuuuu I'm baaaacckkkk." The girl said loudly as she entered. She paused when she saw Nadine. "Oh, I'm sorry I didn't realize we had a customer, my apologies." She bowed to Nadine and continued, "I'm Nora, I'll be taking over as your server now. Sorry if Kiryu there was a bit dull, he's not really a people person."

When the man went back into the kitchen, Nadine unstably sat down into her seat again. Her face felt really hot and she was sure it was as red as a stewed beet.

"Oh m-my…" she whispered to herself. Nadine hid her face in her hands. Her heart pounded with embarrassment and she shook in her seat.

"Oh my my my my….." she repeated.

She was rather bothered by what she had been told; her meal sat rather forgotten on the table as Nadine could scarcely manage to calm herself down. No one had ever made her feel such a way before. No one. Not even all the lovely people she used to interact with on a regular, friendly basis.

Shortly after the nice looking man disappeared behind the cloth in the back, a young teenage girl walked into the establishment from the front door. She was rather loud, Nadine thought, but she was polite, at least…. as far as the Oracle knew, anyway. The girl bowed and introduced herself nicely, and Nadine smiled.

"H-hello," she said quietly and sweetly. "I'm Nadine. And he's been quite fine, I assure you. Really nice. His food does smell really good, too, I must say."

As she spoke, Nadine's stomach rumbled and growled in hunger as if it was fully aware that there was a perfectly good meal before her still untouched and ready to be enjoyed by her in particular. Blushing once more with a smile at Nora, Nadine decided to dig into her meal, though she was still distracted.

So, his name is Kiryu, then…. Sounds intriguing. I'd like to know more about him.

She ate with her thoughts to herself, striking up a quiet conversation with Nora, who seemed to take to being Nadine's waitress quite well. The two talked well enough, and Nadine didn't struggle to continue speaking with the girl, who did a majority of the talking - not that Nadine minded much at all. Soon enough, Nadine finished with her meal, quite satisfied, and rubbed her full belly which looked a little more full than usual.

Blushing, Nadine stood up with a smile.

"That was really lovely," she said. "I shall have to make a mental note to come here again when I am not in as big a rush as I am at the moment because that was honestly some of the best food I have ever been fortunate enough to have in my life."

Nadine smiled again, and moved towards the door a little uncomfortably due to her full status. She wanted to say goodbye to Kiryu and thank him personally, but she was certain he would be busy with something. Even when it was a slow day for a business, there was something to busy oneself with. Hesitantly, but with intended politeness, Nadine left the lovely little establishment wondering why it seemed as though it barely got any business despite being quite good with food and company.

 Heading down the nearby road towards the Northeast, Nadine continued on towards her destination.As far as she knew, the patient she was going to see was a rather successful businessman who suddenly came down with some rather terrible illness that completely debilitated him. While it wasn't the bamboo forest, there was a decently forested area nearby, and it was in that area that Nadine would find her patient. The man had a decent sized home in a beautiful forest clearing. At least, that was what she had been informed with. She thought it sounded like a wonderfully beautiful place and was eager to see.

Entering the small forest, Nadine was careful not to trip over the wood and rock debris that was so common in forested lands. The ground was unusually wet, so Nadine felt there might have been a small brook or stream nearby. Sure enough, after some travel through the forest, Nadine could hear the bubbly babble of flowing water, and she eventually found a small stream. The sounds the stream made were soothing, and Nadine took it as an omen for something good to happen soon. Maybe the stream was encouraging her for the task at hand. Surely, she would successfully treat the man's illness and help him return to good health.

Nadine managed to continue along through the forest without incident or event for a while. She was quite happy, and she still felt most satisfied from the meal before. Thoughts of Kiryu - how nice he was and how gorgeous he looked - rushed to Nadine's thoughts as she thought about him. She surprised herself with how thoughts of him so easily came to her mind after thinking about food, and she blushed to herself.

"Well, well, well! Looks like the nice lady's really a blushy little girl!"

Nadine's face turned pale, and her demeanor startled at the sound of the raspy, deep, mocking voice. Turning around, frightened, Nadine caught sight of two rather unkempt men. One of them was tall and lanky, and had a nose that'd make a gnome proud. The other was short, but more than made up for his lack of height with a generous waistline. He seemed as though he was hit in the head a few too many times as his eyes were looking in two different directions.

The fat one addressed the taller one.

"Think the pretty lady is here to help the man you poisoned, Charlie?"

"Quiet, you big oaf!" The taller man thunked the shorter one on the head with his fist in anger - Nadine suddenly got the suspicion that this man was why the other looked so brain-torn.

"Why'd you have to go and spill something sensitive like that?!"

"Sorry, Charlie, but I thoughts it would be okay since, if she is here to help that guy, we'd kill her, or at least do something to keep her away."

"We are, but that doesn't mean you should go spouting things you aren't s'posed to! Now…"

The tall man turned to Nadine; a look of sinister pleasure was on his pocked face.

"Is what my partner here says true? You here to do something about the poor sap that's been stuck belly aching for the past few days?"

Nadine gripped her staff tightly.

"I-I don't know if it's the man you speak of exactly, but I do have business here."

"Is that so?"

The tall man stepped closer to Nadine. He drew a small, yet nasty looking cudgel from his side and slapped it into his open palm menacingly.

"I think you are here to help that man. Now, see…. We can't let you do that, Lady. We went through a lot of effort to make that man quiet like, though we couldn't do nothing so obvious as gut him rightly, you know? So… gyeck!"

In desperation Nadine had summoned mud using her earth magic knowledge and hurled it at the talking man. The mud smashed into the man's face with a wet spludgy noise and took him some time to clean off.

"That does it! I was going to be nice and let you leave with just a few 'superficial' injuries, but now I'm really going to make you hurt!"

The man advanced quickly towards Nadine, who didn't have much in the way of offensive magic to protect herself, and little more than the staff to help.

He had been busying himself with cleaning up when someone entered the kitchen. He looked over to see a female version of himself staring back. "Mira." He said simply to his twin sister. She didn't speak but handed him a piece of paper and vanished. He opened the paper and read it closely. A new job. It was different than his usual jobs but still a job. Normally he'd be sent to eliminate a target. This time it was to make sure a target didn't get eliminated. Some healer come to heal a business man that had fallen ill, or rather been poisoned by his rivals. He sighed and edited the kitchen. "Nora. Close up. No one else is coming today. I've got a family emergency." He said and didn't listen as the teenager started to complain. He made his way home quickly, but not too quickly and changed into his preferred work uniform. It was a black leather that was easy to move in and definitely made him look the part of the assassin. There was just one last thing he needed. He put the mask upon his face. He then vanished from his home. 

He was running silently through the shadows of the trees that made up the slight forest that surrounded the business man's gaudy house. Apparently his target would be coming through these woods on the way there. The most logical path would be the one that went by the stream. He made his way there and hid in the shadows as he heard some men talking. He hid his spiritual presence as well as he listened in. That's when he heard her voice. It was the woman from earlier. He was not allowed to make his presence known unless absolutely necessary. She sent a mud ball at her would be attacker and he couldn't help but smirk under his mask. She was a strong and capable woman. It didn't stop the man for long though as he yelled out that he was going to kill her, to make her hurt. He felt an overwhelming need to protect her at that moment and he didn't fight it. The man raised his weapon to strike her and that's when he made his move. In a flash he was standing behind Nadine and wrapped his strong arms around her, his cheeks going slightly red as he accidentally grabbed one of her boobs in the process, they were hard to miss. With another flash of speed he had pulled her back several yards. Before he had a chance to really let go and take care of the men her staff came smashing into his mask. She's stronger than she looks. He thought as he heard the mask crack, a piece of it cut into his forehead. He almost fell over from the surprise of it but remained calm, and silent. His inner rage at the men for daring to threaten this woman was pacing beneath his skin. He motioned for her to stay and walked forward glancing back at her for a moment with his oddly pink eyes. His cracked mask started to fall away from his face but with his back to her, hopefully she wouldn't notice who he was. 

The two men were startled at his sudden appearance and capture of their prey. The rage on their faces was enough for him to realize they didn't recognize him even when he had that mask. But as the seconds dragged on the one named Charlie went pale. "Wait, that mask! Run!" He said and turned to dart away. The mask completely broke and fell away from his face. He stood for a moment with a neutral look on his face before he vanished in a flash only to reappear in between the two men and faster than the eye could catch he had drawn his blade and slashed both of their throats. He stood up straight and watched as they fell to the ground twitching and gurgling as blood filled their lungs and they bled out. Once he was sure they were dead he put his fingers to his forehead for a moment then looked at them. They were covered in blood. His mask had really done a number on him when it had shattered. He couldnt help but to half glance back at Nadine through the blood dripping into his eye to make sure she was ok.

"K– Kiryu?"

Nadine - hands to face in shock - stared in astonished awe as Kiryu, the kind chef guy from the shop she had just finished lunch at a little while ago, stood before her, bloodied, after having dealth a fatal blow to the two men who had so rudely and terribly accosted her just before. Gently running as quickly as she could without tripping or falling over anything, Nadine moved up to Kiryu to make sure he was alright.

"My! You're hurt!"

Nadine looked upon the cut on Kiryu's forehead that was bleeding fairly well, but wasn't serious in any regard. Moving some of the bloody matted hair from his forehead, Nadine smiled gently as she pressed her thumb lengthwise upon the cut. She kept it though only briefly, and upon removing it, the wound was gone completely.

"There," Nadine mumbled quietly in satisfaction. "I was able to heal it completely and without much hassle since it was so light, but you will still need to clean yourself up soon - especially if you have plans for going back to work later today. Oh!"

Nadine remember that, in Kiryu's sudden and unexpected attempt to get her to safety, Nadine had, in defensive impulse, ended up hitting him rather hard in the head with her staff. Her action in that regard might have been in part because of where he had grabbed her, but she understood that it was a little silly of her to do that.

"I'm sorry for hitting you… Here…"

Nadine gently placed her hands on the back of Kiryu's head and pulled it towards her bosom in kind civility. She was careful not to hurt his neck as she did so, but she wanted to hug him in thanks for protecting her, and the man's head was soon rather smothered in her large bosom in thanks. She head him firmly, but comfortably against her and gently rocked as she held him.

"I really appreciate you coming to help me. It was rather unexpected. I never would have guessed that you were someone that skilled in combat as you were. Although, I suppose I should have guessed considering the impressive physique you have. I–"

Realizing what she just said, Nadine blushed and shook her head.

"A-anyway. I again thank you. I'm in a terrible rush, so those men were rather unsavory and unlucky to run into. Why were they here. One of them mentioned that they're behind the reason the one I'm here for is ill. Poison… I'll have to prepare an antidote. Shouldn't be too difficult."

Not realizing she still had hold of Kiryu's head in her suffocating cleavage, Nadine hastily let go of him and took a couple steps backwards in bashful self-consciousness.

"S-sorry. I-I didn't mean to…. Sorry.."

An embarrassed smile was on her face, but Nadine could still feel the sensation of Kiryu's face on her body. It was pleasant, and she wanted more.

Whoa, girl! What are you thinking?!

She said his name, and he could tell she was shocked. This is what the mask was supposed to prevent. People weren't supposed to know who he really was. He was just supposed to be Kiryu the cook at a quaint little restaurant. He kept as neutral of a face as he could and held his silence as she approached. Her touch as she brushed his hair away to heal him, then the feeling of her touching him, he closed his eyes and held his breath, her touch was almost too much to handle. He opened his eyes when she was finished. He nodded to her comment about needing to get cleaned up a bit. What really surprised him was when she was suddenly pulling him towards her and smothering his face in her chest. He couldn't breath, but he didn't care. It was heavenly. He was surrounded by the scent of her and he could just barely hold himself back from doing something stupid as she held his face there and spoke to him. His hands were shaking with effort. His interest was peaked as she complimented his physique, maybe she had a thing for him? Who was he kidding, they weren't teenagers, that's not how he should be thinking. When she finally did let go of him he gasped for air looking a bit dazed. He let the silence between them grow as he stared at her. He then sighed and shook his head, speaking for the first time, "I was only doing my job, my real job. Someone was concerned for your safety and I received the request to make sure a healer headed to that place" he nodded his head towards the business man's mansion "didn't die. I didnt know it was you until i got here. No one is really supposed to know our identities so if you wouldn't mind not saying anything it'd be appreciated." He couldn't keep his eyes from drifting down her body, lingering a bit longer upon her chest, his eyes seemed to five away his thoughts, and that they were the same as hers. He wanted to be touching her again. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath to center himself. When he opened his eyes he seemed in control again. He walked the few steps to the stream and splashed water on his face to clean off the blood. Once it was gone he turned his attention back to her. "Seeing as you already know I'm here, following you is a bit useless. I'll escort you to where you are needed and make sure you get there safely." He said and offered his hand to make sure she didn't slip while crossing the stream.

"Goodness." Nadine thoughtfully put her hand to her chin as she thought about what Kiryu told her. She never would have thought she'd end up in a huge mess that might have been much deeper than she thought.

"I wonder who hired you. I don't know of any connections I have that might cause such an action. Nor did I think my patient was such a big deal. Someone must really want him alive. And at the same time, someone must really want him dead as well. Just who is he?"

Nadine felt concerned about her task at hand now. She wasn't second guessing or reconsidering, of course - she would hate herself if she decided to back out of helping someone who direly needed her assistance just because her own life was threatened and could potentially be threatened even more in the future by unknown unsavory characters. Just what was going on here, exactly? Who was she on her way to see? More importantly, who was it that wanted her to be kept alive so much that they would hire someone like Kiryu to keep her as such? And who would want her patient dead enough that they'd prevent anyone from so much as trying to whisper a prayer of healing for the man? The many unknowns unsettled Nadine greatly, but she was determined to continue. She wouldn't be able to consider herself a proper healer, nor a proper part of Angela's clergy, let alone an Oracle, if she were to be mentally defeated by something like this before she even knew what was going on, or managed to complete her task.

Kiryu interrupted Nadine's self-thoughts when he requested that she not say anything to anyone about who he was or what it was he did when he wasn't cooking up a storm at that noodle shop.

Nadine noddly with an easy, reassuring smile.

"I'd never do such a thing, I assure you. I'm certain it would compromise your daily life, and it would be remiss and ungrateful of me to do such a thing as to expose who you are. Besides, you saved my life because of who you are when you aren't being an adorable noodle boy."

Nadine giggle with her hand on her mouth. She noticed that he was staring at her body - particularly her bosom. Understandable, as she had been holding his face against it until now, but all the same, she was very self-conscious and blushed more. She wasn't particularly against having him look at her, though. The way he blushed meant he was fully aware he was staring but felt a little bad about it even though he seemed to really like what he saw, and Nadine thought that was really cute. She caught herself smiling about it and coughed forcefully.

"U-um… C-can we continue? I really can't delay much longer. Every second I'm not there, the poison courses deeper through that poor man's body. I'm loathe to think what that might mean for him should I not arrive shortly."

Nodding at Kiryu's words as he mentioned escorting her - a sentiment that mirrored her own quite well - Nadine was eager to move on. Taking Kiryu's hand to cross the stream with a shy smile, Nadine managed to make it over without getting her outfit wet. While she was not a very vain or fashion-focused woman, Nadine didn't want to be traveling in an uncomfortably wet outfit. Plus, any trip on the stream would be likely to delay their advance even more, and she really couldn't afford for such things to happen any more than they already had. Luckily, the directions Nadine had been given said that the patient's home was not too far away from the stream. Were it not for the rather violent altercation with those two unlucky, uncouth men, Nadine may very well have already managed to arrive. As it was, that was not the case, obviously, and so, with time pressed, Nadine, with her seriously good looking escort, continued through the woods. Despite not being part of the intriguing bamboo forest, this woodland was quite ominous itself. Perhaps it was the complete lack of wildlife in the area, though Nadine was certain that any animal within hearing distance of the fight she and Kiryu just went through would have been frightened off anyway.

Eventually, the forest opened up into a sizable clearing, and sure enough, Nadine could see a rather impressive looking homestead in the middle of it. The home was not a mansion, so to speak, but it was large and very well kept for the most part. The area around it was clean and full of flowers, trees, and other plants otherwise unusual to find in a forest. Nadine gasped in awe as she saw these gardens, and could scarcely contain her giddy self as she walked towards the house.

"This place is absolutely stunning!" she said excitedly. Many of the tended plants were common around Ataiyo lands, but some of what was there, as Nadine noted to herself, seemed to have been imported from abroad. The owner of the house seemed to be very fond of nature to have had so many types of flowers and other flora planted and taken care of so thoughtfully around his home.

Arriving at the front door, Nadine rose her hand to knock, only to have the door opened before she could.

"Oh!" she said with a startled expression.

"Sorry! I saw you coming down the front and wanted to let you in as quickly as I could!"

A young, feminine voice could be heard from behind the half opened door, which quickly became opened completely to reveal a young woman - unlikely much younger than Nadine - standing before the two visitors. This woman was quite pretty, and had long black hair that cascaded down her back like a jet waterfall. She smiled at Nadine and Kiryu, and beckoned them inside with a hand.

"Thank you for coming, Lady Oracle," the woman said. "I am Asara, and my father will be happy to see that you arrived safely."

Nadine nodded her head politely with a smile as she walked inside. She extended her hand to Kiryu, to let him know she wanted him to come with her. Turning back to Asara, Nadine turned serious.

"How long has your father been ill exactly? I believe it was glossed over in the request I received, but I would like more details.

Asara nodded with a solemn look in her eyes.

"It's been a couple weeks. We've tried everything we could short of hiring someone from a clergy such as the one you are part of. Local healers, tonics, herbs. Nothing seems to work. None of it has stopped the strange, painful convulsions and release of stomach contents my father experiences."

Nadine nodded.

"It does certainly seem like your father might have been…"

She shook her head. She didn't want to frighten Asara with the prospect of poison just yet.

"Take me to your father, if you would be so kind, miss Asara. I should like to meet him and see if I can't figure out exactly what ails him."

Asara nodded.

"This way."

Asara led Nadine, and probably Kiryu if he followed and didn't go off somewhere - Nadine was occupied with the task at hand to notice either way - through the halls of the house towards her father's room. After a while, she stopped in front of a polished door.

"Here," she said. "My father rests in here. Lady Oracle, please do what you can. My father is all that I have left since my mother died."

Nadine nodded with a smile meant to try and reassure the young woman.

"Of course," she said kindly. "I am confident I will be able to sort this out without much complication. I have to ask, though… Why does your father have cotoneaster plants? Such a strange plant to have in the middle of Ataiyo."

Asara shrugged.

"My father has imported many varieties of plants from all over the world. My mother was a gardener and loved to plant things. I believe my father keeps her garden alive as a way to remember her."

Nadine nodded.

"Cotoneaster plants are highly toxic - the berries especially - and can cause severe troubles. While they aren't lethal themselves, they can cause convulsions, weakness, and other symptoms your father seems to be experiencing. If my theory is correct–" Nadine turned to Kiryu, whom she just remembered was there, "then those men who accosted me in the forest were no mere hooligans hired. It takes a fair bit of knowledge to know what cotoneaster is and what it can do to the body when ingested. I doubt those men were allowed on the property directly…."

Looking at Asara briefly, Nadine closed in on Kiryu to whisper.

"I believe there is more to this than meets the eye. Be wary. I feel as though more trouble may appear when we least expect it."

Turning to Asara again, Nadine smiled gently.

"Let us see to your father, then. I would like to see if I can't find anything that might prove that cotoneaster is involved."

"It started after a meal," Asara said. "Out of fear for myself, I haven't touched the dishes that were used. You are free to look at them."

Nadine nodded in thanks.

"Would you mind grabbing them for me? You should be fine as long as you don't consume any of the contents yourself."

Asara nodded and hurried off. Nadine entered Asara's father's room. It was dark - no doubt to allow the utmost quiet and sleepy environment. Stepping further into the room, Nadine caught sight of the bed, and could hear some rustling upon it.

"Ah… You're here…."

A weak, strained voice came from the bed. No doubt it belonged to the man Nadine was here to see.

"Thank you for coming, Lady Healer. I see Asara was able to assist you in finding my room. Such a good girl, though she hasn't been as cheerful since my wife died."

The man struggled to sit up as his body felt pain and illness throughout, but he was not wont to be rude.

"Forgive me. Whatever ails me has not been kind."

Nadine stepped up to the bed and placed a gentle, comforting hand, on the man's shaking arm.

"Do not worry yourself over that, good sir. I am here to help."

The man nodded with a weak smile.

"Again. Thank you. I do not know much about what could have caused this. All I know is that I have been down for a couple weeks after it suddenly came upon me during dinner."

"I believe you may have been poisoned."

"P-poisoned? Truly?"

"Yes. By cotoneaster."

"I….. I see… You know what cotoneaster is, then?"

Nadine nodded.

"Yes. A high toxic berry plant. I thought it strange that you had some here."

The man smiled again.

"Asara had it brought here. She said she thought it would go well with the other plants her mother had planted. I saw no harm in it. The plant is not toxic if you only look at it, right?"

"I see…"

Nadine looked at Kiryu with serious concern. After her silent message of "Keep watch on the window" was purveyed, Nadine set her pack down on the nearby table.

"I am going to make a concoction for antidote. However, I would like to make sure that it is cotoneaster that is causing this. Asara should be bringing the dishes that had your fateful meal in it for me to inspect."

"Well… for the sake of speed, you could inspect my….. ahem…. bucket over here…. surely my stomach's contents might hint at the cause?"

The man chuckled a little in an attempt for good humor.

Nadine smiled.

"Quite. That will do nicely. Do not worry, I am used to strange smells and bodily functions, so your sick won't bother me."

"R-right…"

Nadine went and grabbed the bucket the man referred to. Sure enough, a rather pungent odor wafted towards her nostrils. The obvious stench of stomach acid working on consumed goods was there, but she could definitely make out the odd odor from cotoneaster berries. These berries didn't usually give off an aroma, but when cooked, boiled, or otherwise messed with, this changes quite quickly.

"So it was cotoneaster, then. The antidote will be quick to make, then."

While she was part of Angela's clergy, Nadine was originally an herb and plant-based healer. Her knowledge of flora and fauna and their uses and dangers when it came to their involvement with people would be useful here. Pulling her herbology tools from her pack, Nadine went about mixing an antidote.

"Asara is certainly taking a while. I wonder if she might have gone off to do something other than what I requested."

"W-what do you mean?"

"Is Asara truly your daughter, good sir?"

"O-o-of course s-she is…."

"Right…"

Nadine continued mixing the antidote. Heating water. Mixing herbs. Steeping them into a tea. All these steps were necessary, though it did take some time. The one thing Nadine hated about herb-based medicine was that it took quite a while longer than magic, and wasn't always effective, though it was capable of much more than magic in certain cases. After a while, the antidote was mixed.

"Here," she said as she proffered the medical tea to the ill man . "This will start working immediately, though it will be a couple days before you are completely cured. I can use some magical healing to speed it along, but I don't want to completely deny your body's nature healing process as that would make you more susceptible to similar cases of illness and poison in the future."

"Of course, Lady Healer. I give you my thanks."

Nadine leaned over the bed as she placed her hands on the mans cheeks. His skin felt coarse and sweaty from illness, but they were warm, much like Kiryu's. These thoughts made her blush a little bit, but Nadine continued her process. As she whispered her magics specific to this case, the man's body became less tense and his shaking subsided as his breathing became more regular.

"Ahh," the man sighed. "I feel much better already. Truly, you have a gift, Lady Healer."

"Thank you, but I give some of the credit to Angela."

"Angela? Ah… I see. Forgive me for my strange words, but I feel that she is lucky to have one such as you in her care."

Nadine smiled kindly.

"Thank you, again, but I feel like I am the one lucky to have found a purpose through her."

Standing up, Nadine cleaned up her kit and moved to stand next to Kiryu.

"How do things look? And how are you doing?"

"A-adorable noodle boy?" He responded out of reflex as his assassin mask of neutrality was broken and he stared wide eyed as red strained his face. He cleared his throat and did his best to regain his composure.

As they walked he said, "Just to be on the safe side, my appearance will change, it's the rules, no one is supposed to know who I am. The o my ones who are allowed to see our faces are those who are going to die." He hoped his meaning got across to her, that he was breaking the rules for her,  that she was special. His features seemed to grow fuzzy for a moment before solidifying once again. The person walking with her now looked to have the most unremarkable, forgetful features. His vivid black hair was a dull brown, his eyes a forgetful grey. Everything about him now seemed to almost make someone's eyes just drift over him like he wasn't even there. 

Once in the clearing Nadine seemed to focus on the plants,  but Kiryu's focus was on rooting out any danger. His senses were peaked as his eyes scanned every inch of the woods surrounding the clearing. He saw movement, someone trying to hide themselves. This wouldn't be as easy and just going in, her getting her healing done, and leaving. He could feel it in his blood, this was a bit bigger than just healing some random man.  

The door was open before Nadine could knock and he remained silent. The woman who introduced herself as Asara barely even looked at him, her eyes drifted over him as if barely registering that he was there. He listened to every word that was said carefully, something wasn't right here. 

He entered the business man's room with Nadine. As the conversation went on he narrowed his eyes slightly when the man said his daughter had the plant brought here. The daughter had just said he had the plants all brought here. He was more inclined to believe the man, especially seeing as it was taking too much time for her to return from gathering the food he had eaten. She was up to something. He nodded at Nadine as went silently over to the window. He looked out and carefully looked over the surroundings, he saw movement I  the shadows of the trees, he opened his mind and could sense the energy of those who were there, malicious intent radiated from them. This may be a problem. He kept watch out the window until he heard Nadine mention healing he couldn't help but turn and watch as she worked. A slight blush crept up on Nadines face and he wondered what she was thinking about. He knew what he was thinking of. He thpught of when she healed him then shoved his face in her chest. Gods, she looked so sexy when she worked. He suppressed the urge to take her in his arms and make her his right then and there. Thay would be very unprofessional, and he was here on a job.

When she moved over by him, what he was thinking was written clearly in his eyes, but as she spoke he quickly suppressed it returning to his default setting on neutrality. In a quiet voice he spoke, "There are fifteen to twenty people hiding outside in the forest cloaked with I'll intent. That woman Asada, she's got a similar aura to her though she does well to suppress it. I'm sure you noticed already but their stories don't add up. She said he bought the plants for her mother, yet he says the specific plant in question that would have brought his demise was brought by her. Judging from his reaction to your questions, that woman isn't really his daughter and is here to kill him." His eyes flickered from her to back out the window. "So it begins." He said and quickly pulled Nadine to him, holding her close as an arrow crashed through the window where she had been standing. He pulled a something quickly out of one of the back pouches on his belt and flung it out the hole in the window. Three shuriken with glowing runes upon then flew through the air finding their marks in the trees. Three men fell from the trees. They all clawed at their necks. He frowned, the distance had been too far to get a good hit for an instant death, if he could feel at this moment, he would feel pity for the mwn, he had tried to make it quick, but it would be over for them soon. A few of their comrades approached then men and with a snap of his fingers the runes on the shurikens flashed red and exploded, taking out the three men and the comrades that had approached. 

With the threat of a ranged attack taken care of at the moment he led Nadine over to the bed. "I want you to stay here." He tipped an expensive looking table over and faced it on its side towards the window, creating a small safe space between the bed and the windows. "Stay under cover until I come back. Here, take this." He handed her what looked like a throwing knife with a rune etched upon the handle. "If there is an emergency, channel some magic into this and I'll come for you." He looked to the man and said, "If you want to stay alive, stay in cover." His eyes gravitated towards Nadine and he said softly, "Stay safe." In the blink of an eye he was gone.

He made his ways through the halls of the man's house in silence, he was both invisible and staying in the shadows just in case they had someone with them who could sense magic. He heard footsteps approaching. "This way, that bastard is up here with that healer, we can't let him live." From the shadows he drew some throwing knives and threw them amidst the group. There was a laugh after the initial staring cries of the men. "Ah hahaha what bad aim! Whoever it is didn't hit any of us! Pathetic." There were too many of them to just take on like that. They were thinking too much like those who fight out in the open. He fought in the shadows, and this was one of his crowd control attacks, very hard to counter unless you were extremely skilled. To save on energy he let his invisibility end. And in the blink of an eye he was amidst the crowd. He was using his throwing knives as a more simple, less magic consuming form of teleportation. Each knife had a rune on them thay served as waypoints. He flickered here and there appearing at each knife using it to kill someone then appearing at another after quickly throwing the used knife to another location. The men were panicking as they tried to figure out what was happening. It was like a ghost fluttering among them, slaughtering them mercilessly. Once the crowd was dealt with he picked up his knives, wiping the blades off on the dead men's clothing. As he wipes off the last one he quickly rolled to the size as an explosion went off where he had been standing. Asara was glaring at him. "You just haaad to ruin everything didn't you! Why couldn't you just let him die. No matter, I'll be fixing that soon. You all will die and I'll get what I want!" She said and there was a silence, as if she was waiting for him to say something. His silence seemed to throw her off a bit. "A-arent you going to ask what it is that I want? Proclaim you'll stop me? Anything?" She asked getting more disappointed at his continued silence. She then raged, "You can't do anything right can you!" Her rage seemed to empower her magic and she started flinging fireballs at him. He dodged them easily. This girl was powerful, but she lacked experience in fighting a moving target, that was what made her weak. He gradually grew closer to her as he dodged her fireballs. The closer he got the harder it was to dodge but her panic at his approach was used to his advantage. "I won't let you any closer!" She screamed and hurled a massive ball of fire that he couldn't dodge. He the one of his knives toward her and teleported to it. He was to the left of her and hit her on the back of the neck. She crumpled to the ground. 

From out of the shadows his sister appeared in a mask And said, " Jeora was monitoring. I'll keep watch. Complete your mission." He nodded. His mission was to keep Nadine alive. He disappeared.

A moment later he reappeared next to Nadine. He had splashes of the enemies blood on him as he looked at her and the man, making sure both were uninjured before he said, "Time to go. Things are safe now, and you've healed him." Without waiting for her response he picked up up and jumped out the broken window with her. He ran off into the woods with her in silence. Once he made sure they were far enough away and the coast was clear his appearance returned to normal. He set her down on her feet and for a few moments just stared down into her eyes. He couldn't control himself any longer. It was too hard to be around her and keep his cool. He pulled her close and kissed her, letting his inner fiery passion for her explode, letting his loss show just what she did to him, how he couldn't seem to resist her.