#hisanobu mifune

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CIGARETTES & FIREFLIES DRABBLE MASTERPOST -- - -

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FIGHTING PITS ARC -- -

TOO LITTLE - Ghoa's Perspective MENTIONS: Ghoa Mankhad, Nabi Kharlu, Elam Grave, Lehko'a Nhali.

TOO LATE - Ghoa's Perspective MENTIONS: Ghoa Mankhad, Nabi Kharlu, Elam Grave.

EXPECTING THE WORST - Ghoa's Perspective MENTIONS: Ghoa Mankhad, Elam Grave, Nabi Kharlu.

CROWDS - Ghoa's Perspective MENTIONS: Ghoa Mankhad, Elam Grave.

THE PACKAGE - Hisanobu's Perspective MENTIONS: Hisanobu Mifune, Saya Mifune, Ghoa Mankhad.

GARDENIA - Ghoa's Perspective MENTIONS: Ghoa Mankhad, Hisanobu Mifune, Saya Mifune, Elam Grave.

WEAKNESSES - Ghoa's Perspective MENTIONS: Ghoa Mankhad, Elam Grave, Hisanobu Mifune, Nabi Kharlu, Anchor Saltborn.

DEAREST NABI - Ghoa's Perspective MENTIONS: Ghoa Mankhad, Nabi Kharlu, Elam Grave.

INDISPENSIBLE - Ghoa's Perspective MENTIONS: Ghoa Mankhad, Elam Grave, Nabi Kharlu, Anchor Saltborn.

OPPORTUNITY - Saya's Perspective MENTIONS: Saya Mifune, Hisanobu Mifune, Ghoa Mankhad.

DOUBLE OR NOTHING - Ghoa's Perspective MENTIONS: Ghoa Mankhad, Elam Grave, Nei Uzuka, Saya Mifune, Shael Stormchild.

ESCAPE - Ghoa's Perspective MENTIONS: Ghoa Mankhad, Elam Grave, Nei Uzuka, Musa, Hikomoro, Nabi Kharlu, Anchor Saltborn, Shael Stormchild, Tserende Valqirelle.

NEVER BEEN BETTER - Ghoa's Perspective MENTIONS: Ghoa Mankhad, Lehko'a Nhali, Elam Grave.

FAREWELLS, PT. 1 - Ghoa's Perspective MENTIONS: Ghoa Mankhad, Nabi Kharlu, Elam Grave.

FAREWELLS, PT. 2 - Saya's Perspective MENTIONS: Saya Mifune, Hisanobu Mifune, Ghoa Mankhad, Elam Grave, Nei Uzuka.

FAREWELLS, PT. 3 - Hisanobu's Perspective MENTIONS: Hisanobu Mifune, Saya Mifune, Ghoa Mankhad.

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FLOWER ARC -- -

LUCKY - Ghoa's Perspective MENTIONS: Ghoa Mankhad, Lehko'a Nhali, Batuhan Kharlu.

PROOF - Ghoa's Perspective MENTIONS: Ghoa Mankhad, Akhutai Khatayin, Arasen Kharlu, Batuhan Kharlu, Nabi Kharlu, Bayanbataar Kharlu.

NIGHTMARE (TW) - Ghoa's Perspective MENTIONS: Ghoa Mankhad, Lehko'a Nhali, Ino Ghostwalker, Batuhan Kharlu, Nabi Kharlu, Anchor Saltborn, Shael Stormchild, Bayanbataar Kharlu.

COMFORT (TW) - Ghoa's Perspective MENTIONS: Ghoa Mankhad, Lehko'a Nhali, Nabi Kharlu, Batuhan Kharlu, Anchor Saltborn, Shael Stormchild, Otsuyu.

STARLIGHT - Ghoa's Perspective MENTIONS: Ghoa Mankhad, Shael Stormchild, Anchor Saltborn, Batuhan Kharlu, Nabi Kharlu.

FAVOR (TW) - Ghoa's Perspective MENTIONS: Ghoa Mankhad, Lehko'a Nhali, Arasen Kharlu, Nabi Kharlu, Tugan Kharlu, Bayanbataar Kharlu.

BENEATH THE WAVES - Ghoa's Perspective MENTIONS: Ghoa Mankhad, Arasen Kharlu, Anchor Saltborn, Batuhan Kharlu, Nabi Kharlu, Shael Stormchild.

CRUX (TW) - Arukh's Perspective MENTIONS: Arukh Mankhad, Ambaghai Mankhad, Ibakha Mankhad, Ghoa Mankhad, Chakha Kharlu.

MUSTER - Arukh's Perspective MENTIONS: Arukh Mankhad, Ghoa Mankhad.

SWAY - Ghoa's Perspective MENTIONS: Ghoa Mankhad, Arasen Kharlu, Batuhan Kharlu.

ANSWERS - Ghoa's Perspective MENTIONS: Ghoa Mankhad, Arukh Mankhad, Ibakha Mankhad, Ambaghai Mankhad, Unegen Mankhad, Galdan Kharlu, Tseren Kharlu, Maa Kharlu, Chakha Kharlu.

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CORRUPTION ARC -- -

REFLECTIONS - Ghoa's Perspective MENTIONS: Ghoa Mankhad, Arukh Mankhad, Ibakha Mankhad, Ambaghai Mankhad, Unegen Mankhad, Arasen Kharlu, Batuhan Kharlu.

NOSTALGIA - Ghoa's Perspective MENTIONS: Ghoa Mankhad, Anchor Saltborn, Naseem Malakar, Farrah Malakar, Bashir Malakar, Leila Malakar.

MISTAKES WERE MADE - Ghoa's Perspective MENTIONS: Ghoa Mankhad, Nabi Kharlu, Egil Nylor, Estrid Nylor.

CROSS - Ghoa's Perspective MENTIONS: Ghoa Mankhad, Nabi Kharlu, Egil Nylor, Estrid Nylor, Luri Kai.

CHANNEL - Ghoa's Perspective MENTIONS: Ghoa Mankhad, Luri Kai, Nabi Kharlu, Estrid Nylor, Egil Nylor, Anchor Saltborn, Shael Stormchild.

YAWN - Ghoa's Perspective MENTIONS: Ghoa Mankhad, Luri Kai, Nabi Kharlu, Egil Nylor, Estrid Nylor.

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BACKSTORY, AU, ETC. DRABBLE MASTERPOST -- - -

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BACKSTORY DRABBLES -- -

BOND - Ibakha's Perspective (The Steppe) MENTIONS: Ghoa Mankhad, Arukh Mankhad, Unegen Mankhad.

NOT A WEAPON - Ghoa's Perspective (The Steppe) MENTIONS: Ghoa Mankhad, Arukh Mankhad, Unegen Mankhad.

ATTRITION (TW) - Arukh's Perspective (The Steppe)MENTIONS: Arukh Mankhad

CLOSE - Unegen's Perspective (The Steppe) MENTIONS: Unegen Mankhad, Baidu Mankhad, Bayanbataar Kharlu, Ghoa Mankhad.

CHOOSING, PT 1 - Ghoa's Perspective (The Steppe) MENTIONS: Ghoa Mankhad.

CHOOSING, PT 2 - Ghoa's Perspective (The Steppe) MENTIONS: Ghoa Mankhad, Unegen Mankhad.

RUNAWAY (TW) - Ghoa's Perspective (The Steppe) MENTIONS: Ghoa Mankhad, Yisu Kharlu, Togene Kharlu, Bayanbataar Kharlu, Tugan Kharlu, Sechen Kharlu.

HEARTBREAK (TW) - Ghoa's Perspective (The Steppe) MENTIONS: Ghoa Mankhad, Togene Kharlu, Bayanbataar Kharlu, Tugan Kharlu.

PRAYERS - Ghoa's Perspective (The Steppe) MENTIONS: Ghoa Mankhad, Cota Kharlu, Togene Kharlu, Yisu Kharlu, Bayanbataar Kharlu.

OFFERING (TW) - Ghoa's Perspective (The Steppe) MENTIONS: Ghoa Mankhad, Bayanbataar Kharlu.

ARUKH - Arukh's Perspective (The Steppe) MENTIONS: Arukh Mankhad, Ghoa Mankhad, Bayanbataar Kharlu.

SURVIVAL - Ghoa's Perspective (The Steppe) MENTIONS: Ghoa Mankhad, Saran Kahkol, Muunokhoi Kahkol.

THE CRATE (TW) - Ghoa's Perspective (Kugane) MENTIONS: Ghoa Mankhad, Saya Mifune.

UNNOTICED (TW) - Ino's Perspective (Kugane) MENTIONS: Ino Ghostwalker, Ghoa Mankhad, Hisanobu Mifune, Saya Mifune.

MISS THE BOAT - Ghoa's Perspective (Thavnair)MENTIONS: Ghoa Mankhad, Dinesh Sutar, Sarasvati Parikh.

CONFLUENCE - Ghoa's Perspective (Thavnair)MENTIONS: Ghoa Mankhad, Sarasvati Parikh, Dinesh Sutar.

TEMPER (TW) - Ghoa's Perspective (Thavnair) MENTIONS: Ghoa Mankhad, Ino Ghostwalker, Sarasvati Parikh, Naseem Malakar.

CUTTING CORNERS (TW) - Ghoa's Perspective (Thavnair / Eorzea) MENTIONS: Ghoa Mankhad, Sarasvati Parikh, Unegen Mankhad, Bayanbataar Kharlu, Hisanobu Mifune, Ino Ghostwalker.

ONEROUS - Arukh's Perspective (The Steppe, Post-Flower Arc) MENTIONS: Arukh Mankhad, Ghoa Mankhad, Baidu Mankhad, Unegen Mankhad, Bayanbataar Kharlu.

TEPID - Arukh's Perspective (The Steppe, Post-Flower Arc) MENTIONS: Arukh Mankhad, Unegen Mankhad, Baidu Mankhad, Yesui Mankhad, Ghoa Mankhad.

HISTORY - Unegen's (?) Perspective (The Steppe, Post-Flower Arc.. sort of) MENTIONS: Khenbish of the Final Tempest, Sorocan the Stormkeeper.

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AU & MISC. DRABBLES -- -

ECHO - WOL!Ghoa's Perspective MENTIONS: Ghoa Mankhad, Unegen Mankhad.

FLING - Ghoa's Perspective MENTIONS: Ghoa Mankhad, Lehko'a Nhali

ROW - Ghoa's Perspective (Pre-Corruption Arc) MENTIONS: Ghoa Mankhad, Shael Stormchild, Anchor Saltborn, Nabi Kharlu.

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OPPORTUNITY: Drabble (Ghoa)

Saya Mifune had no idea what manner of business that her husband’s whore of a lover had left on this time, but she could only assume that it had been delicate by the relief that flooded Hisanobu’s face when one of his men brought the news to their bedchamber in the middle of the night. The bedchamber where she currently lie curled against him, content. Yet one glance at that face of his caused her rare buoyant mood to sour like curdled milk, even before he had ordered his man to bring Ghoa to him – and for his wife to leave her own marriage bed.

Her temper burned hot at that insult, and though she had left in an irate storm of hissed curses and slinging of robes as she dressed, she had complied. It served her none to disobey his orders, especially where that vexing siren of a woman was involved. The only thing to be gained from argument were bruises, if past experiences still rang true.

Besides, there was something more for her to gain by leaving. Much more.

Her steps carried her down the hallways, to a side room of her own. Each side of the room was filled with dressers, shelves, and racks of clothing. These she passed, moving to the very back of the room to a large, elaborate vanity packed with boxes and bottles untold. Taking a seat atop the stool, her hand reached for what seemed like just one of many jewelry or makeup cases strewn about. Yet nestled within the container were three lines of linkpearls, each one a different pastel color. The beginnings of a smirk tugged at the corner of her lips.

When a merchant had gifted these odd contraptions to her some moons past, they had told her that she might put them to use in the Mifune family’s business. The drug trade could be treacherous, as he said, and it would benefit the family much to know what truths people spoke when they thought that no one was listening. He had asked her to pass the gift along to her husband, that he might take a liking to the devices and order more from him.

But the one-way linkpearls had never made it to Hisanobu’s hands. Instead, his wife had kept them hidden amongst her things. She had thought that perhaps she would use it as a means to keep tabs on Hisanobu’s womanizing ways. Unlike the way he flaunted Ghoa in her face, the rest of his lovers he at least had the decency to try to keep secret. Not that it ever stopped her from rooting them out and finding ways to chase them off. The pearls would only make it easier, and so she had hidden them about their home in all the places she knew he was likely to take his trysts. One such place? Their own bedroom.

However, it now wasn’t the identity of his lover that she wished to know, but the reasoning for her even being here. In the past few years after she had left, Ghoa had only turned up on their doorstep when she needed something. Usually, that was money for her next jaunt across the world or to use their business connections to get her hands on some sort of reagent she needed. But this time was different. She was sticking close, for far longer than she had in times past. Not only that, but they were going to great pains to keep Saya out of whatever they were doing. If it were only money or sex or simple business, they had never been so shy before. No, there was something more..

Her hands plucked a peach-colored pearl from the box, activating it and raising it to her ear to listen. At first, there was only silence, with the occasional sound of movement. After a few moments, there were distant footsteps, growing louder. A voice – that of the man who had brought the news to begin with – announcing his return with Ghoa in tow. Permission was given to enter, and there was the sound of the door sliding open then shut again, and more footsteps. Only once they were gone did the voices begin.

It began as one would perhaps expect, with teasing flirtations and relief at having returned safely. Yet not long after such pleasantries were exchanged, as well as a few tender embraces that the Hingan woman couldn’t help but picture in her mind’s eye much to her displeasure, the topic swiftly turned to business.

And merciful kami, what business it was..

Saya’s heart raced as she listened to the hushed exchanges, quickly come to realize exactly why Ghoa had tried to be so secretive. It would seen that the Auri woman was in serious trouble with this dangerous new business partner of hers and the illegal Doman fighting pit that they had become involved with. Even Hisanobu hadn’t seemed pleased with her as she recounted the happenings at the fight she had attended. Part of her hoped to hear the all too familiar crack of his hand hitting her cheek as his temper spiked, though it never came. Such irritated her, of course, that Ghoa so easily escaped his hand when used it so readily against her. But even still, with the wealth of information that she was picking up from her spying, even that bitter thought didn’t bring her down from her high.

Eventually, the conversation began to lull away from business and with it went Hisanobu’s annoyance as they returned to lover’s talk. When she had heard the first wanton gasp, Saya reached up to deactivate the pearl. No more information of worth would be had for now, but she had plenty to think on as it were.

Once before, she had tried to rid herself of Ghoa’s presence in her life. She had had her captured, stuffed in a crate like a dog while one of her own family’s business associates come to collect on his new purchase. Only at the last had the plan fell apart, and fallen apart spectacularly at that. And yet while the Xaela had had every chance to reveal to Hisanobu what she had done, knowing as well as she did that he would’ve killed her for it, Ghoa had kept the secret and chose to flee instead. It was a decision that had vexed her more than relieved her, in a sense.

But now, the whore had backed herself into a dangerous trap of her own making, and she had unwittingly given her all the information she needed to see that it was sprung. Of course, such would have to be done carefully to ensure that no fingers came back pointed at her. This couldn’t be like the last anger-fueled attempt at disposing of her. But if ever there were a real opportunity to be rid of this annoyance for good, it was now. She doubted a more fortuitous chance would ever come her way.

There was much for her to think about.

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Came home and loaded up ye olde character creator because the only thing I apparently like more than writing about Ghoa’s backstory NPCs is making their beautiful faces.

So here you go:  Hisanobu Mifune, the quiet and cunning leader of a small but successful crime family with a finger on the pulse of the Hingan drug trade, and Saya Mifune, his hot-tempered and vindictive wife who has absolutely no fondness for Ghoa after discovering that she was sleeping with her husband. And then quite literally tried to make good on a threat to get rid of her permanently. Whoops.

As mentioned in the drabble I posted earlier today, and who are likely to get mentioned more in flashback drabbles and potential current drabbles.

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UNNOTICED: Backstory Drabble

Had a slow work day and decided to spend it writing up a backstory drabble for Ghoa that I’ve had rolling about my mind for the past.. while. Nothing too important for current plot purposes, but it was cathartic to get it written down finally!

Trigger warnings for suicide mention. Nothing too explicit or detailed, but it’s pretty unambiguous what’s being referred to, so it might still make you feel uncomfortable if you’re sensitive to such content. It’s in the paragraph right under the cut, so if you wanna skip it just skip over that and you should be alright! Read with care, friends! ♥

[ SEVERAL YEARS AGO :  Kugane ]

For almost all of her life, Ino Ghostwalker had excelled at going completely unnoticed.

Her apparent invisibility had started with her childhood, the middle child of three to two modest Hingan produce merchants. Her father had always focused wholly on her elder brother Takehiro, who would one day take over the family business in his stead. Her mother's attention had been devoted to her younger sister Chifumi, a sickly and frail little thing that had come into the world well before her time and had seemed to stay in poor health ever since. Acknowledgement had been scarce, and affection even moreso.

She had thought that things might change in the summer of her tenth year. A shipment had come in from Yanxia and with it had come a swift and powerful sickness that claimed the lives of her mother and both siblings. As if such a loss weren't heavy enough to bear, the Sekiseigumi had come to their home upon learning of what had happened to confiscate the goods. The sickness had to be stopped from spreading, naturally. Yet they hadn't stopped with only the goods in question. Anything and everything that they owned which they suspected of contamination had been put to the torch. Goods, clothes, personal effects.. Almost all of it had been burned to ashes, leaving them with next to nothing and only the barest compensation for the loss.

But there had been a morbid sort of silver lining in it all, or so Ino had thought. Even if it struck her with guilt to think so, she had thought that perhaps now someone would finally notice her. After all, her father no longer had a business to pass on and no heir to prepare even if he did. No more late nights would be spent nursing a sickly toddler to sleep. There was only her and her father, so surely he would finally acknowledge and cherish her.

She had been wrong, so very wrong. Her father had never recovered from the loss, only continuing to drift further and further from her with each day. Not even a full cycle later, Ino had returned one day to find him hanging in their home. She hadn't even bothered to report it to the authorities. Eventually a debt collector would come for one of the many bills they owed and it would be discovered. The note that he had left behind about "longing to return to his beloved wife and children" would make it apparent that there was no foul play involved. Even if they did suspect it? She had doubted that anyone even remembered that he had another daughter, or that they would recognize her face or know her name to search for her if they did.

Life on the streets had been tough, but had gotten a touch easier when she had found a new home of sorts. She had fallen in with a small gang of other orphans and misfits, banding together to make a life for themselves in whatever way they could. She had learned skills there that would serve her well for the rest of her days: how to sneak about, how to pick locks and pockets, how to sell the items she had pilfered. And for once, for the first time in her life, she had thought that being invisible could be a good thing.

Then Ino had met her. 

Newly arrived in Kugane, the doe-eyed Xaela woman had clearly been out of her element. The thief had stalked her through the streets, silently observing her. She had seemed more civilized than the rest of her kind, at least, and she had some money on her person. Ino had watched the Au Ra barter for what seemed to be reagents for some manner of herbalism, and had rolled her eyes when the ignorant woman had allowed herself to be taken in each step of the way by the city's more predatory merchants. Like the sharks of the Ruby Sea, they could smell naivety like chum in the waters and hesitated not to seize upon it.

Ino could have made her move at any time, either "bumping into" her and snatching her purse or cornering her in an alleyway with a knife in hand. She doubted that she would have had to actually use it to get her to turn her coin over. This odd Xaela didn't seem half so cocksure as the others of her ilk that the sneak thief had met, more akin to a quivering little bird than a blooded steppe warrior. It seemed like only a threat of violence would be enough to cow her.

But she hadn't. Even if she had had every chance in the world to rob her blind and go on her way, she hadn't. Instead, she had just kept watching with growing annoyance and dismay as the woman let herself be taken advantage of by each greedy merchant. She gritted her teeth every time she had given them a tentative smile and thanked them before heading onto the next. By the time she had reached the last stall and handed over her last bit of coin, Ino had been positively livid. The final straw had come when she had followed her all the way back to the quiet street corner that the Xaela had decided to claim for herself, no longer having the money to afford even the most meager of lodgings.

Yet when she finally left, she couldn't get the frustratingly foolish woman out of her head. So she had retraced her steps, sticking to the shadows as she went from booth to booth that the woman had visited, swiping however much coin that she could. More, even, if the merchant had been especially vile in their swindling. And once she was done revisiting them all, she had returned to where she had left the Xaela and dropped the full purse in her lap along with a lecture and a demand for her to find a proper place to stay before some ill fate befell her.

It should have ended there with the same stunned, tongue-tied look people usually gave her when she spoke up and they finally noticed her. But it hadn't. The girl had followed her.

At first, it was innocent enough. Despite her exasperation with her, Ino had taught her new hanger-on about the city. Mostly she taught her the most general manner of things, like what was what and who was who and what was where. Now and again, she found herself teaching the other bits and pieces of the tricks that had been taught to her. How to survive in the shadows of Kugane, how to make a life in a city of people that would eat a person alive if it meant they could get even a single step ahead.

Eventually she became oddly accustomed to the company, and every day she would wonder if it would be the last. The girl was growing smarter than she had ever expected, taking to the lessons more quickly than she would have thought from that initial impression alone. She finally seemed to have her bearings about her and enough of an understanding of how Kugane worked that she could have easily made it on her own. Soon she would leave her, Ino was convinced, the same way that people always left her when she was no longer useful to them. The Xaela would be gone, and Ino would be back to being invisible.

Yet days gradually turned to weeks, and still she lingered. Weeks turned to months, and somewhere along the line, Ino had stopped expecting that day of her departure to come. Their being together seemed as natural and inevitable as the sun rising over the waters of the Ruby Sea each morning. Eventually, the months turned them to lovers and that foolish Xaela herbalist had somehow become more precious to her than anything she had ever stolen. With Ghoa, for the first time, Ino was no longer invisible. She felt she was no longer like a ghost, but a living and breathing person.

With her figurative return to life and the odd sense of exhilaration that it had brought with it had come new ambitions. No longer was she content to drift aimlessly and scrape by, but within her was a newfound desire to rise. With that desire came a want -- no, a need -- to finally be seen in earnest, to be acknowledged and respected by not only her lover, but by others.

And so, she had constructed a plan for them to make it big, for both her and Ghoa to rise from petty street crimes to something greater. The opportunity had presented itself when rumors began rippling about the Hingan underbelly of the death of the well-known and respected Hisakawa Mifune. With the man’s death, his family's once prolific drug business had passed on to his eldest son, Hisanobu. Yet no sooner had the mantle passed than had the family begun to fall upon hard times. Rumors swirled about suppliers failing to deliver and customers defecting. Competitors were beginning to barge into their markets and put the long-time staple of Kugane’s drug trade to ruin.

It was only natural that such organizations would rise and fall over time, but there was more to this particular story. After all, Ino had had firsthand knowledge of how said competitors had strong-armed their way in. Those she knew from the street had been running shipments from old Mifune suppliers to this new group in place of their usual porters, to try to keep the move hush-hush. If anyone knew that these weren't simply natural fluctuations in the market but a carefully manufactured power grab, it was her. And she knew how to prove it.

With the help of her lover's potions, she had crept unnoticed into the home of one of the family's prominent suppliers. The man had bemoaned problems from piracy to poor yields, but the ledgers that she had stolen and taken to Mifune Hisanobu had shown the truth:  there was no shortage, and that all of the product that he had once sold under agreement only to their family for generations was now being sold at a premium price to their competitors.

The betrayal had been dealt with, and the new head of the merchant's family had seemed much more willing to honor their former agreement. In fact, he had even lowered their prices for a time as a way to show his deepest apology for his predecessor's greed. Once that example had been made, other suppliers that they had had trouble with slowly but surely seemed to be resolving their own issues. The Mifune family’s problems weren’t wholly fixed, of course, but it was a promising start on their return to glory.

But most importantly to Ino, she had accomplished exactly what she wanted. Hisanobu had been grateful for their work, and In exchange had offered them not only great compensation but a more permanent position among their business. The family could always use another set of eyes and ears in the shadows, he had told her. Even Ghoa would have a place among them, helping to produce and develop new drugs for them to peddle.

Things had seemed so perfect at first. Ino finally had everything she had ever wanted:  money and success, recognition and appreciation, and someone to share both her bed and her secrets. But she should have known that nothing perfect lasted forever. That wasn't the way this cruel world worked.

It started with her own work for the family taking her away more often, to further places, for longer times. In her absence, Ghoa had been taken under Hisanobu's wing. With him guiding and teaching her as Ino herself once had, the Xaela had begun to develop quite a knack for the more intricate aspects of their business. Under his direction, she was cultivating a cleverness and charm about her that had helped him win over no small number of business allies. 

It was clear that she was flourishing, and for that Ino should have been happy. But she couldn't stop the jealousy that swelled inside her like a rising tide every time she thought about it. Every time she came home to find Ghoa in Hisanobu's company. Every time she heard the rumors, passed about too often and too openly not to be true, of the pair of them sharing company as more than simply business partners.

Slowly, that feeling of invisibility had begun to return and Ino had embraced it out of spite and hurt. She took on more jobs and only returned to Kugane when it was necessary, and only stayed for as long as she had to. It gave her the chance to see more of Hingashi, of Yanxia, even going so far as the Azim Steppe on occasion. But it all felt so hollow, like she wasn't even there at all. Once more she was totally unseen, scarcely more than a shadow with a pulse. The name she had been given by the Mifune family as a badge of honor -- Ghostwalker -- now seemed more a mocking insult.

Months more had passed, and at the end of a long stint in Yanxia, Ino had once again returned home. Time to make her reports, get her next assignment, make her preparations, and leave again. Yet this time when she arrived, she had found Ghoa missing. Apparently no one had seen her in a week or so, and no one had heard mention of where she was going. Even Hisanobu was in the dark, distraught at the thought of his precious lover leaving him. That alone would have given her some measure of satisfaction had the whole thing not struck her as strange. Ghoa had it so well here. Why would she leave without a word to anyone..?

So Ino had delved deeper into the mystery and found the truth. She had learned of Hisanobu's viciously jealous wife's plan to have the interfering Xaela captured and sold off like chattel. She had learned where they held her, waiting for her buyer to make landfall and take her far away from them all.

And Ino had decided, for kami only knew what reason, that she couldn't let that happen.

Finding them in the small village outside of Kugane proper had been easy, and sneaking past the first guards at the perimeter even easier. Yet dealing with the last man stationed at the small outbuilding in which Ghoa was held was much harder. Ino was a spy and a thief, not an assassin and certainly not a fighter. But still, after a lengthy struggle, she had managed to kill him.

Upon prying open the crate, the Xaela inside had first pressed herself to the very back of it, cowering in fear. Only when Ino crouched down and cooed words of reassurance to her did Ghoa seem to realize who she was. Those silver eyes widened and instantly set to watering when she saw her, and that look had her chest feeling like someone had wrapped their hand about her heart and squeezed tightly.

Quickly, she ushered the weak Auri woman from her confines and set to their escape. It was slow-going, but eventually the pair had made it out of the village on the road back to Kugane. They hadn’t quite made it even halfway there when Ino’s shaking legs finally gave out from under her and she could go no further. 

She had succeeded in killing the guard, but it hadn’t been without serious injury. The man's knife had sunk into her flesh a handful of times in the scuffle, and now the blood that had steadily been leaking from the wounds was too much to bear.

"No, no, no.."

She could hear the panicked whimpering of the Xaela as she dropped down next to her, could feel Ghoa’s trembling hands feeling for her wounds. Her eyes closed for a moment once she felt the twinge of aether washing over them, dim and weak, only for those hands to pull away with a hissed string of curses and sobs. The other had to know as well as she did that she was far too weakened from captivity to even hope to heal such grievous wounds.

"Shhh.." Ino tried to soothe her, reaching up to brush her hand against her cheek. "It's alright."

"Ino," Ghoa gasped, her voice cracking. "But you're--" Another gasping sob wracked her as she crumpled forward, leaning over her. She could feel the warmth of her tears dropping down, landing on her cheeks.

She opened her mouth to try to murmur some sort of comfort, but it was so difficult to summon forth the words. Even if she could, she didn't know what to say. Any time Ino had ever imagined what her final moments would be like, all she could picture were solitude and silence. She was prepared to go as quietly as she lived, to be unseen even in death. She hadn't prepared for this.

Further down the dirt path, she could hear the quiet, distant sound of voices calling out to one another. When she turned her head towards them, she could see the light specks of what she assumed were lanterns. A grimace settled onto her lips as she looked back to Ghoa.

"Go," she rasped.

"I can't," the Xaela sobbed. "Ino, I can't just leave you here. This is my fault. I have to--"

"Ghoa."

There was so much she wanted to say. Don't blame yourself, she wanted to tell her. I feel more alive right now than I ever have because of you. But that was too much. Too many words. She didn't have the strength for them all. There were only a few left in her, and so she had to choose them carefully. She had to make them count.

Ino reached up, carefully pulling the other down until their foreheads were pressed together. She sucked in as deep of a shaking breath as she could manage.

"I love you," she whispered, her hold loosening. "Now go." Her hand gently fell back to her side, and her last word to the other was pleading, desperate. "Please."

For a moment, it seemed like Ghoa would continue to stubbornly linger. But finally, she began to pull away. Though her eyes were losing focus, Ino could see the other’s lips moving. Vaguely, she could hear that she was saying something, but she simply couldn't discern the words. It gave her only the vaguest hint of annoyance that she would leave this world never knowing what she had said. But she suspected that she knew what they were all the same. That was enough. It would have to be.

As Ghoa finally rose to her feet, Ino closed her eyes and listened to the sound of her hurried footsteps growing fainter and fainter. Only some time later did she hear more approaching from the opposite direction, from the men in pursuit of them. Yet steeped in the shadows as she was by the roadside, not a single one stopped nor even slowed. The corner of her lips just barely pulled into a wry smirk at the ironic realization.

For the final time, Ino Ghostwalker went completely unnoticed.

[sea-and-storm]

FAREWELLS (pt. 3) ;

Hisanobu sat as still and quiet as the moonless night sky beyond his bedroom window, the silence of the room broken only by shallow, wheezing breaths and the occasional stirring of movement. A few fulm away in their bed, Saya lie struggling for each gasp of air. At her bedside was an older hyuran man, a physician who had been tending to the ailing woman since she had taken a turn for the worst some four suns prior.

Tirelessly he had worked to ascertain what manner of illness had taken hold of her and to cure it. Yet each treatment he had tried had been as fruitless as the last, and each sun she seemed far weaker than the previous. Now, as he finally turned his age and fatigue lined face away from her and back to Hisanobu, it seemed he was at a loss.

"Whatever this foul sickness might be, it is unlike anything I have ever treated," the man admitted with a grimace. "I fear that I know not what else to do other than give her relief from the pain. At this rate.." He paused to look down to Saya, before stepping a bit closer to Hisanobu and dropping his voice lower. "At this rate, it seems doubtful that she will see the morning."

At first, there was no reaction. Then as the seconds continued to tick on in silence, Hisanobu finally looked away to his wife and bobbed his head in a slow nod of understanding. Wordlessly, he started forward to move past him, only for the older man's hand to find his arm and stop him.

"Perhaps it is for the best that you not stay here, my lord," the elderly physician whispered. "We still do not know what caused this, nor if it is contagious. It--"

"I won't be leaving her here to die alone," he interrupted, eyes narrowing.

"That is.. very honorable," the man sighed. "However, my lord, if the sickness should spread to you, I cannot--"

"My place--" Hisanobu cut him short again, and this time his low voice was as hot as the coals smoldering in the nearby fireplace. "--is at my wife's side." His eyes narrowed as he quietened for a moment, as if challenging the man to speak again. When no more words came, he lifted a hand to motion dismissively to the door. "You've done all that you can, I understand, and for that you have my gratitude. Leave us now, and let us spend what time we have left in peace."

"As you wish," the doctor answered with a respectful bow of the head. "I will stay nearby should you call for me."

He received a grateful nod in kind before he turned to gather his things and then make for the door. Once the door had shut again behind him, Hisanobu's eyes flicked forward towards the bed again, and slowly he stepped forward until he was standing at its side.

Truth be told, he had never thought Saya to be any sort of great beauty. She had always had a plain sort of look about her, in his opinion, and he had always had a taste for the unique and the exotic. If he hadn't had need of her family's trade connections to supply his own business, he wouldn't even have given her a second glance, much less have agreed to marry her.

But now as he stood over her, he couldn't help but feel a slight ache in his chest to see just how awful she looked. In just four short suns, the illness had left her ravished. Her skin had always been light in color, but its rosy glow had faded and left her ghastly pale. Her lips had started to take on a blue-purple tint, the same as her hands. Her eyes were ringed with dark circles and her cheeks were beginning to sink. If it weren't for the shaky wheezing breaths, one could've been forgiven for thinking she was a corpse already.

"Hisanobu.." Her voice was a hoarse, strained whisper, and the effort it took to speak sent her into another dizzying coughing fit. When it finally passed and she settled again, blood stained her lips and chin.

"Don't speak," the druglord murmured as he pulled a chair close and sank down into it. Once settled, he reached out for one of her frail, discolored hands. Even on her deathbed, she seemed surprised at the sudden and unexpected show of affection. When the surprise melted away, what was left behind was a shaking smile and tears shining in the corner of her eyes.

She looked so innocent then, that girlish vulnerability almost beautiful in its own way despite the awful failings of her body.

Almost.

As the memory came back to him, his expression darkened again. The hand wrapped around her own began to slowly tighten.

"After all, I've heard that you've been doing a great deal of talking lately," he scoffed. Saya's brows furrowed together in a look of confusion then.

"What.. are you--"

She had barely managed to squeeze out the words when that grip on her hand suddenly tightened to a painful, vice-like grip, pulling a cry from her.

"I said," Hisanobu snapped venomously, his voice a threatening growl. "Don't speak."

Saya's bloodshot eyes searched his face for an answer to the sudden shift in his temper, until finally, the realization seemed to dawn upon her. When it did, those eyes began to widen in horror. Only then did the man let go of her hand with a sneer as he pulled away and began to reach inside his haori.

"A package came for me this morning," he explained as he pulled a small box free from an inner pocket, holding it up for her to see. "There was a letter inside, and in it I learned a good deal about what you've been up to lately. And, as a matter of fact, what you've tried in the past."

He paused to watch her reaction. From the look of pure panic in her eyes, he could tell that the letter's contents were true. She knew exactly of what he was speaking even without having to name specifics. Kami take her, this vexing woman had always been pathetically easy to read. If only he had cared to pay her a bit more attention and thought her capable of anything more than petty spite, perhaps he would have stopped her plots before they had even come to fruition.

As he felt the anger bubble up in his chest, Hisanobu's hand shot out to grab hold of her other hand. This one, however, he held firmly but carefully. Careful to avoid touching the ring of gold and sapphire still perched on her finger.

"Smart," he muttered under his breath, before letting her go and returning his gaze to her face. "She knew you wouldn't be able to resist a trophy like this." Her expression seemed to only grow more agonized by the moment, with each and every word, and now he was relishing in it. "She poisoned her own ring and sent it to you, knowing you'd do the hard work of killing yourself for her."

With another scoff, he returned his attention to the small box, pulling the lid from the top and reaching inside. When he pulled away, it was with a small vial held gingerly between his fingertips.

"This was also in the package:  a single dose of antidote. Even though she could have just let you waste away, she sent me this to let me decide what happens to you." He started to hold it out to her, watching as one of those shaking hands tentatively began to reach up for it. But just as her fingertips brushed the glass, he jerked it away again.

"Do you know why she didn't come to me all those years ago, to tell me that you'd tried to ship her away to the highest bidder?" Hisanobu paused for an answer he knew he wouldn't get, and shook his head. "She was concerned for me and my business. She thought that if she told me, that I would've killed you. She assumed that I would've strangled the life from your neck and ruined the Mifune's business when your family learned of it and withdrew from our arrangements."

The Hingan suddenly pushed himself up from his chair and to his feet, starting to wander slowly but purposefully across the room. His narrowed eyes never left Saya and hers never left him, until he stopped at the fireplace.

"She was right. I would have ruined it all to make you pay for what you did." His voice was as cold and sharp as bared steel. "But this time, I won't have to worry about ruining anything. Everything thinks an illness has taken you, and that I'm a husband stricken with grief. Your family will suspect nothing foul and so our arrangement will continue, and they'll supply me with all the things I need to start production on the formulas that Ghoa shared with me." His lips twisted up at the corner into a dark smirk. "And doing this will be almost as satisfying as killing you myself."

His hand, still holding the vial of antidote in his grasp, started towards the fireplace. A ragged cry came from the bed, stopping him just short of releasing it.

"H-Hisanobu, please.." Saya pleaded breathlessly, fighting for every breath and every word. "If you.. have any love.. for me still.." She swallowed hard, suddenly lightheaded from the effort. "Don't.. do this.."

For a moment, he lingered there in silence, seeming to consider the plea. What was only seconds seemed like hours passed in tense silence between them, until finally what broke it was a harsh, humorless bark of laughter.

"If I have any love for you still," he repeated her words with derision. "I never have."

His fingers loosened and the vial tumbled down into the fire, the thin glass shattering and the chemical concoction causing the flames to surge and dance with flickers of pale blue-green sparks. He watched as Saya collapsed back onto the pillow in a fit of sobs and coughs, until finally he turned and marched silently back to the window.

Once more, Hisanobu's mood turned dark. He had lied once more, just to wound her further. In truth, there was no satisfaction to be found in listening to the dying woman's sobs and curses. Whether or not Saya died, it wouldn't change the fact that the lover he longed for was now hundreds, if not thousands of malms away. It wouldn’t the final lines of Ghoa's letter to him.

"Whatever choice you make, know that this is farewell for us. I'll treasure the memories, and keep the lessons that you taught me close at heart." And it ended as no other letter he had received from her had ended before. "With love always, Ghoa."

[sea-and-storm]

WEAKNESSES : Drabble [Ghoa]

MENTIONS :  Elam Grave, Nabi Kharlu (@afreesworn), Anchor Saltborn (@anchor-management).

Every time that Elam Grave had called upon her in recent weeks, Ghoa had found herself more nervous than the last. Since the fire that had illuminated the fact of just how dangerous and ruthless her new business partner’s dealings truly were, there had been a voice in the back of her mind whispering doubts to her. Doubts that caused her to question herself while nurturing the fear taking root in her chest. Fear that told her to run but kept her planted firmly right where she was, doing just as she was bid, to keep that dangerous wrath from turning on herself.

This meeting had been no different. Though she had met with him in the Hostelry in the same calm and buoyant mood she carefully cultivated around him, she felt no small amount of unease on the inside. After all, she hadn’t been entirely obedient to his orders. Careful though she had tried to be, and though the message she sent had clearly been received, there was still a part of her that still worried that – somehow, some way – Elam had learned of the package she had sent to Hisanobu Mifune. Yet more than the letter itself, she worried that he knew that she had offered to a potential competitor the formula for one of the drugs she had been making for him in exchange for an assurance of protection.

And in the beginning of their chat over dinner, that fear had only continued to grow. The welcomed news of Nabi’s freedom as well as Ghoa’s own release from her interim duties with the delivery of a new alchemist had quickly become overshadowed by a shift in topic. Elam had sought her opinion in that vague, yet pointed way of his that made her skin crawl and her heart race, knowing not if she was being spoken to as a likeminded co-conspirator or as a person being tested under pressure.

Had she ever witnessed a person in their line of work succumb to the weakness of sentimentality, he had asked her. What drove such a foolish thing, and what would she choose to do to a person who had betrayed her so?

It had almost seemed to her as if he were handing over the rope and asking her to tie her own noose.

Tread carefully, the Xaela had told herself, so very carefully. And so her answers had swayed to the value of mercy, to logically capitalizing off of a victory rather than submitting to pride. Given no option but cooperation or death, she had argued, and even a proven traitor would become the most loyal of pawns. 

Did she believe that in earnest? Not in the slightest. A smart traitor with their head resting on the block would be doing everything within their power to escape their shackles, not making amends with their would-be executioner. But such hardly made for a compelling plea from the gallows.

He had agreed with her assessment, and onward their conversation had marched forward with talk of new business. Talk of the fighting pits that he had set his sights upon and the sponsors funneling coin into it, which he wished for her to charm and win over to his side just as she had done with Aritake Yumishi. Though he had phrased it as an offer to return to their former arrangement – “If you want to at least entertain those responsibilities?” – she had taken it that ‘No’ was not an option. Whether or not she was indeed the traitor he spoke of, she felt that the timing was too poor to step away from the table safely now.

But then, what had started for her as a tense exchange had suddenly become much lighter with the revelation that her betrayal wasn’t the one to which he had been alluding. Relief had flooded over her upon learning that there had been another, one who had risked Elam Grave’s wrath for Nabi’s sake. A braver person that Ghoa herself could claim to be, at least, considering that she had shied away from the same thing despite the guilt she felt for the hand she had played in the whole debacle.

As soon as that initial flood of relief hsd washed over her, her mind began to work over the possibilities of what this could mean, of how this could be turned around and manipulated. Perhaps she could use this somehow to secure her own safe and clean break from the business she found herself entangled in? More than that, a part of her – however deep down – felt some degree of indebtedness to this other unknown traitor for fixing a problem that she had helped to create, that she had been too fearful to try to resolve herself, and who had ultimately taken the fall for it.

Nor could she have asked for a more opportune time for Elam to show even the slightest chink in his usually untouchable armor. All it had taken was a couple of glasses of sake too many and a bit of flattery, and he had fixed her with the same long lingering looks that she had prized from the Doman nobles he had paid her to charm and seduce. Even more, he had all but admitted it aloud.

“Petite and beautiful, just like her. But where I want to tear the throat of the doe to see how it bleeds, you, I’d rather–”

Though he had cut himself short, he hadn’t needed to finish the sentence for Ghoa to know exactly what was meant. He didn’t need to spell it out in detail for that very important piece of information to sink in. To practically place a weapon into her palm, and to show her right where she could bury it if only she could get herself close enough for an opportunity to present itself. 

Sentimentality wasn’t the only weakness that those in their business would often succumb to, after all, and those were foolish mistakes that Ghoa could exploit all too well.

[sea-and-storm]

THE PACKAGE :  Drabble [Ghoa]

The rapid tap, tap, tapping of wooden sandals against the hardwood floor announced the arrival of his wife long before the door slid open. From how quickly they came and how sharply they echoed off the walls, Hisanobu could tell before even laying eyes upon her that she was incensed about something. Already he could feel a headache building up behind his eyes, and he hadn’t even heard the first word. His hand rose to his face, eyes squeezing shut and fingers pinching the bridge of his nose in anticipation.

When the door finally did open with a rattling of the shoji screen, Saya’s pale cheeks were already flushed deep red in indignation. Between her hands was a small, nondescript package – one that she all but threw at him.

“You’ve a letter–” She spat the words like they were bitter poison upon her tongue. “–from that whore.”

Scowling as he bent to pick up the box where it lay, having bounced off his chest and to the floor, it took all of his self-restraint not to goad her further out of spite. Which one? he wanted to ask. There was no shortage of women that his jealous wife hated. Most of which were justified given his habit of letting his eyes and hands stray, but that did make her reaction any less grating to him.

Deciding not to pick that fight for now, he simply opened the package. Saya had opened the box, but the letter packed inside with his name written on it had remained sealed. She knew better than to open his letters. All it had taken was one transgression on that front and a handful of bruises for that lesson to stick.

She hadn’t had to actually read the words to discern the sender, however. There were numerous other clues. The distinctive script his name was written in, the small white and grey seagull feather, the scent of rich and luxurious oriental perfume. Last and certainly not least, and perhaps the most telling, was the small bottle of some unknown substance.

“What does she want?” Saya demanded, her cheeks only growing darker red with impatience. “You ought to just throw it in a fire and–”

“Silence, woman,” he groaned as he lifted a hand, a gesture that he would endure no further argument. When she quieted, however reluctantly, that hand fell to open the envelope as slowly and deliberately as he could. The quiet aggravated huff from his wife almost caused the corner of his lips to tug upwards into a smile. But for now, he was much more interested in the letter’s contents than antagonizing her.

His eyes took their time gliding over the single page of neat, familiar handwriting.

Hisanobu,

First, I must apologize for writing. I know that this package will probably cause you no small bit of unrest with your loving wife. I apologize even further for what I’m about to ask, as I’m sure it may just turn your marriage bed into a battlefield for a time. However, I’m afraid that I have nowhere else to turn.

It would be dangerous to share all the details by letter, but suffice to say that I find myself in a delicate and potentially dangerous situation in Kugane. Even sending this package is a risk if the men who are keeping watch of me catch wind of it. But I fear that I may have gotten myself in over my head with the man that employs them, who is currently employing myself as well. There may come a time, sooner or later, when I need to take wing.

All I ask is that if my business with this fellow goes awry and I require a hasty escape, that I know I have a place to flee to and friends to shelter amongst with the Mifune family. Mostly, I  want the reassurance that Saya will not have me gutted like a fish the second that I dare cross the threshold. Even worse, that she won’t gleefully deliver me up to my employer herself.

I know it has been quite some time since I saw you last, and I do not know if you regard me with the same fondness you did when I left. However, should sentiment alone not suffice to persuade you, I’ve included a sample of something that I’ve been making for my current employer. I believe it would make you a nice profit if added to your family’s own offerings. I would be more than happy to share the secrets of its formulation with a dear friend whose doors are open to me.

Please do let me know your decision as swiftly as you can, though don’t try to contact me directly. My minders certainly won’t take kindly to it. But I’m currently staying in a rented room at the Bokairo Inn, and I’m sure you’ll find a way to get the message to me just like old times. You always did have a creative flair, Nobu.

“What?” Saya demanded, unable to hold her tongue any longer. “What’s that look about?!”

In truth, Hisanobu hadn’t been aware of exactly what his expression was doing. Yet now that she had pointed it out, he could feel the grin on his lips. It only grew all the wider when he realized how much it must have angered her.

“Kami take you, Mifune Hisanobu,” she raged, “What does that bitch want from you this time?”

His grin grew even more, relishing just as much in the reaction as the package itself.

“A bed to sleep in,” he quipped. “And someone to keep her company.”

[sea-and-storm]

💝 What was their most recent serious relationship?

Depends on exactly how you wanna frame ‘serious relationship’.

In one sense, that title would probably belong to Hisanobu Mifune, which is currently an on-going relationship that was only recently rekindled after considerable time apart. It’s definitely an.. unconventional relationship, though. For starters, Hisanobu is married and has no plans to actively change that. And even if he did, Ghoa would persuade him against it. That said, there is definitely still caring and affection between them. Maybe love, if not the sort that often goes unsaid. They’ve been through a lot together. Both of them know, understand, accept, and are okay with there never being any sort of ‘endgame’ to it, so to speak. It just is what it is, and they’re okay with not trying to force it into anything more.

But if you’re talking romantic love the likes of which that actually made Ghoa consider making a serious commitment, that was Ino Ghostwalker. Though they became estranged from one another shortly before her death when Ino’s growing ambitions took her away for long stretches of time and increasingly often, leaving Ghoa hurt and lonely and ultimately turning to Hisanobu for comfort. That indirectly led to the events that got Ino killed as a result, and there is a part of Ghoa that blames herself for it. The years have dulled that pain somewhat, but it’s still left plenty scars left that affect her and her relationships in the present.