[attr="class","dilyrics3"]You ever love a man then he gone? I have, I have I put that thought inside of many songs, drinking by myself again
[attr="class","dilyric3"]"Drink until the Henny's gone"
[attr="class","dibody3"]During her travels, Gatsby has made her way to all sorts of areas and all sorts of people. Some of these were nice, others not so much. Today, in particular, a rumor has directed her into the forest, her naivety taking the reigns of her life for today. The rumor spoke of a pink-haired ghost that would travel in the woods north of the empire. They were stealthy, so many only got a glimpse of its hair or its clothes, but most could remember one thing about them: the sword. Being the weird sword fanatic that she was, hearing this rumor had immediately piqued her interest to the point that she pretty much forgot why she was even in the area and wandered into the forest looking for this ghost.
It seems to have had totally gone over Gatsby's head that this was still close enough to the Empire's territory that she was in some actual danger. So most of the sounds she heard were not taken as warnings, but rather as leads to her target. The enthusiast would search for hours before stumbling upon nothing, as was expected. As sort of a final plea, she would call out:
"Hello? Pink-haired ghost lady? Are you out there?" Not one of her finest moments.
There was a lot of work to be done in these woods. Forests were never exactly Tsubaki's strong suit, which meant that if she was going to fight against the empire that would have to change very quickly. While she could maneuver them as well any shinobi, that wasn't enough for what she had in mind. No, she needed to navigate them as if they were her own personal playground. That meant learning every trick to move with the forest, using the natural sounds of the environment to mask her own. The rustling of the leaves, the movements of the wildlife, the singing of the birds, all these things could be put to use. And lucky for her, she was free to play around in Sound territory with much less threat of danger than the not too far of Taiyou turf.[break][break]
And at this moment, Tsubaki was sat up in a tree, single eye remaining alert as she looked up to the canopy. Her ears were tuned for the sounds of the local animals, specifically the songs of the various birds who called the place home. She found herself listening for them to call out, and then attempting to mimic the sound with enough accuracy that the other might respond. And so far, with her limited practice, there were a lot of very confused birds out there who had no idea what the hell she was talking about. Whatever the case, she was confident these would come in handy. Whether for cover communications and sending signals undetected by the enemy, or for covering her tracks by sounding like nothing more than a bird if she happened to make a sound in the trees. It was a niche thing, but it certainly seemed useful to her.[break][break]
But the songs of the forest would be interrupted by the same thing that always stifled nature. A human. Tsubaki let out a soft sigh, her eye turning to her surroundings at the sound of footsteps. She could tell already that they weren't shinobi, the lack of caution or precision resulting in much more noise than even a genin would make as they trounced through such an environment. But then the voice reached her ears, immediately bringing a broad smile to her face. Pink haired ghost lady? Some of the locals must've seen her practicing before vanishing without a trace into the trees. How adorable.[break][break]
Part of her wanted to try and mess with the girl, give her a good scare for all her troubles. But the last thing she needed was for her to go running off and tell stories of the strange ghost haunting the woods. That would only bring more attention to these rumors, and she didn't need them getting to any ears that might recognize the description. And so she let out a sigh and dropped down from her branch, intentionally making enough noise to catch the other's attention. "Oh curious traveler. The one one eyed witch of the woods has heard your call. Step forward and make your request of her." A broad grin crept over her features as she spoke in a grandiose, yet teasing tone. Her steps slowly moved toward the younger girl, her right arm resting comfortably in the folds of her loose kimono while the other hung lazily at her side. "I hope you're not here to try and dispel me, girl. Cuz you might have your work cut out for ya."
[attr="class","dilyrics3"]You ever love a man then he gone? I have, I have I put that thought inside of many songs, drinking by myself again
[attr="class","dilyric3"]"Drink until the Henny's gone"
[attr="class","dibody3"]To be honest, most of Gatsby's bewilderment came from the fact that rumors actually turned out to be true. When walking out into the forest on a whim, she pretty much made peace with the fact that she was going to find nothing. So, when the woman proved to not only be real but also spoke directly at Gatsby, she sort of fumbled her introduction.
"I-I-I... no. I'm actually here because of what people have been saying. The...uh... rumor! Rumor has it that you're pretty crazy with a katana and I've been looking for a teacher." She stopped abruptly, assuming that what she said was basically a given to where it was going to lead, not seeing how anyone couldn't align with her train of thought. "So... that's why I'm here." Awkwardly, Gatsby's eyes began darting from tree to tree, really just scanning her surroundings to look at anything except the person that she was talking to.
The "ghost" was intimidating, to say the least, and by appearance, they didn't seem to be the most approachable either. Which, at least to Gatsby, explained why they were just hiding out in the woods away from any signs of civilization.
Her shoulders shook as she let out an amused laugh at the poor girl who had stumbled upon her. She was already proving to be an adorable little thing, so cautious and timid in her introduction. But at the same time, she had to admit the girl had guts. Going out of her way like this to seek out a mysterious, ghostly figure in hopes of learning how to swing that sword of hers? It was definitely a curious decision made by a girl who was either desperate to learn or foolish enough not to realize how much of a risk she was taking. Or maybe she would be nice and call it bravery. Whatever the case, the girl had her attention.[break][break]
"So, you're looking for a teacher. And you thought the best way to learn was to seek out a ghost and see if it might give you some pointers. You're real cute, I'll at least give ya that." She took a step back from Gatsby, her left hand sliding into the loose folds of her kimono and vanish from sight. "But you really should know better than to take risks like this. The world's a dangerous place, especially for a young lady like yourself. You better already know how to wield that blade of yours before approaching someone like me so far away from safety."[break][break]
The moment she stopped speaking, the gourd hanging from her belt would pop open, a burst of water gushing out from the container. The liquid rapidly took a shape identical to the one eyed woman, though in a much different stance. Her legs were bent as she bent at the waist to lower her profile, left hand gripping the hilt of the katana sheathed at her side. This brief moment was the only window Gatsby would have to react before the clone would burst forward with a sudden surge of speed. It drew the blade in a single fluid movement, aiming to slash across the young woman's midsection.[break][break]
In the heat of the moment, it would seem as if the clone was aiming for a deathblow. But even if the target remained completely still, the blade would not strike her. It would instead pass harmlessly in front of her, albeit a hairsbreadth away from cutting slicing skin.
