endless_scrolls (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
endless_scrolls) wrote2009-08-16 06:56 pm
endless_scrolls) wrote2009-08-16 06:56 pm
Entry tags:
Log: ES Crossing Paths
Title: Crossing Paths
Type: RP log
Fandom: AU!Naruto
Character(s): Tenten, Hyuuga Neji
Pairing(s): None
Warning(s): None
Disclaimer: I own only the part that I played in this.
Note: Log originally started for the![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
eternalsea RP comm, but never finished.
Dedicated to: ...eternalsea. Cuz I kinda miss it. ;~;
Dashing through the streets of the open market, long strands of hair whipping about in the wind behind her, Tenten maneuvered around barrels of and wandering pedestrians that littered the crowded the port city in China. She could feel the edges of her robes snagging here and there, catching on various jagged edges and tearing slowly at the fabric while the young woman continued to flee the scene. Occasionally she would risk a glance back at her pursuer only to regret it moments later when he appeared far too close for her liking.
It was only supposed to be a simple meeting. Her intentions had only to find out information about the supposed island nation that was said to hold the whole of Rahaji's lost treasure, something the young piratess had learned of in the distant sands of India. And if she could barter with him for the needed supplies as well, all the better. The young Pirate Captain was unsure how long her adventure in China would last, and she needed a means of procuring supplies for her crew while they still remained in port. She certainly had not expected to come across a foolish merchant peddling a hidden treasure of his own. Was it her fault that this trader bartered away the most valuable thing in his possession for a mere fraction of what it was worth?
Suffice to say, he had soon discovered the mistake he had made, and by that time she had already left the tavern. But this merchant was stubborn and prideful, refusing to be outsmarted by a woman (more than likely not the first and definitely not the last time such a thing would happen in the man's life, she could tell). And so the chase had been underway.
Tightly, she clutched the scroll in her hands and continued her mad dash through the stone streets, slinking down alleyways and flying around corners in every direction she could think of to lose his determined pursuit. But the man was relentless, and Tenten was running out of places to hide, running out of time. A nice mess you've gotten yourself into, now. And how will you get out of this one?
Neji was bored, and restless.
Sitting out in back of the hotel he worked at and lived in, watching people go by, stretching his legs in a way that didn't involve cleaning and making up beds (who knew people could be so disgusting? Surely they didn't make such messes in their own homes). Others came out here to smoke leaf or to meet a lover; Neji did neither, having nor wanting neither. But he would, in halting Chinese, ask anyone who looked like they were heading to the harbor on any business other than trade if there were any ships heading to Port Royal. He never got a positive response, which made him somewhat morose. He had been reasonably close to his cousin, and even if Uncle Hiashi wasn't in favor of sending anything out to find Neji, he had been sure Hinata would have.
Of course, he thought, the world was a large place. It had taken Tayuya's ship a good six months to get this far from Port Royal. But at least that had passed since he'd escaped Tayuya's ship, and nobody had come. There weren't even rumors from other ships that came in, and at least in his experience with ports and those who sailed the seas, there were always rumors, news from other ports, other cities.
There was that...and the fact that he was little more than a servant in his family. The money was better spent other ways. This brought Neji no small measure of melancholy when he thought of it, which was often. Besides that, he was certain that Inuzuka scofflaw had most certainly already defiled his cousin and then even were he to return home, he would be promptly cast out of the family for failing in his duty. The politics and justice of the Hyuuga family were inscrutable to all those who had not spent reasonable amounts of time with the entire family.
Lost in his thoughts, Neji stood, intending to walk down to one of the vendors on the street and get something to tide him until dinner when someone running at an extremely reckless pace down the narrow street nearly collided with him. It was the sharpness of his reflexes that saved him, and he grabbed the person intending a good shake. It was then that he heard the shouts from around the bend in the street, and quickly came to the conclusion that whoever this person was, they were being chased, and did not want to be found. A cursory glance didn't bring anything that fit the profile of the normal crowd of lawless types that ran through the city. All this was accomplished in the space of a very few seconds.
"Do not make a sound!" he hissed at the person, flung open the door behind him and shoved them through into the food storage area for the kitchen, and shut it to resume his usual posture of pensive repose on the step in front of it. Presently, a man ran past, looked this way and that ignoring Neji entirely, and went on his way down the street. Neji waited until it was safe before opening the door again and considering the person he'd flung inside silently, waiting for them to make any kind of move.
For a brief moment, she felt as if she were flying, so fast were the young woman's feet moving to place any sort of distance between her and the Chinese merchant who was determined to catch her. Small and agile as she was, Tenten was able to avoid running into most who were walking about the streets that day, doing little more than brushing past them like a breath in the wind. She was normally gone by the time any of them even registered her presence or the close proximity of which she had gotten. But the icy-cold clench of strong fingers soon brought an end to that fantasy as Tenten's body was whipped around from the sudden jolt of being pulled to a stop, nearly dropping the scroll because of it.
Her first thought was that this person, this man she would later determine, had been working for the barter and had been sent to catch her by surprise while the piratess' concentration had been on getting away from the other. That thought alone and the suspicious instincts that had developed after years in the profession had Tenten struggling to break free of him, to leave them both in the dust of her escape. But his grip was firm and she had not the use of the other, for fear of losing the scroll in the process. She could not lose it after traversing through half of the port town, not after all this. Even with the prospects of facing the two men, Tenten was determined to keep her prize, one she had earned and gained fairly (to a certain level).
However, the curious glance he gave to the faint shouts in the distance suggested that perhaps her initial thought had been wrong. But there was no time to mull over that thought more as the young woman found herself being shoved through the nearest doors, feeling the night sweep over her while she stumbled into the dark. The toe of Tenten's shoe bumped against some unknown object, and the young captain fell to the ground in a heap, a chain of other objects coming down with her when she had reached out for something solid to stop her descent. The roll of parchment flung from her fingers, the cool slide of paper against stone clearly heard in the din of the room, echoing with a weighted dread as it was swallowed into nothingness that engulfed her. Frantically, she groped around blindingly for it to no avail, though still that did not stop her from trying, over and over again.
"Blasted scroll!" she whispered harshly to herself. But no matter how far she reached or glided her hand over the paved floor, Tenten came up with nothing still. "Where is it?!"
She was cursing herself and her wretched luck when the door swung opened once more, casting a stream of light through what appeared to be a storage room. Shelves and shelves of food, walls of bags piled as high as a man's shoulders were stacked around her. And it was only now that the young woman took notice of the familiar smell of the exotic spices, of distant memories Tenten thought she had forgotten. Yes, this was China, once her home but now nothing more than a stranger. But that did not matter. She had forsaken this country long ago. It would do her no good to remember it now. What was most important was finding that scroll she had dropped.
A quick sweep of her surroundings and Tenten's eyes quickly zeroed in on the parchment, located next to a stack of rice bags in the corner. Fast as lightning, she snatched it up and clutched the coveted treasure to her chest. That secured and back in her possession, the young woman turned to finally regard whoever stood at the opened door, barring her only escape. She had to squint into the glare of the outside world, lifting a hand to shield the light from her eyes even further while she tried to search out the features of their face.
"I traded for this fair and square!" the piratess lashed out, teeth clenched in a menacing sneer, "You're not getting it back, I'll fight you to the death before you do!"
Neji arched a brow as soon as he'd had the chance to take in more about the mystery person. First and foremost, he made note of the gender of the speaker--obviously female, albeit a more rough-spoken one than he'd met since escaping Tayuya. She was pretty in the way that most pirate women were, he thought, and there'd been a fair few coming through the inn and that he'd run into while in the service of the redheaded Siren. This one was slender but strong, obviously, having apparently run through a good part of the city to get this far. Her face was sweaty, flushed, but held that forbidden allure that would have gotten him in trouble had he not already experienced the pain of being dragged off by his hair from more than one woman he'd tried to pass time with. Dark hair bound up away from her face made it clear she was from this part of the world. Out of habit, Neji tried to put this new chit in the finery of the women he would have been introduced to had he been at home, and failed. It would have been like trying to put one of the desert steeds of the Arabs into the armor of the warhorses of old.
And with her fiery temper, that was an apt analogy, he mused, pale gray eyes taking her in with a bit of a smirk on his face. She thought he wanted whatever it was she'd apparently won? It was the ship she'd sailed in on that interested him far more. She represented a way out, a way home. Pirates were notoriously hard to bargain with, but he could handle the captain of her ship fairly easily. He was strong, trained at sea; he could beg passage back to Port Royal or a harbor near it in exchange for working with the crew. He needed to return home.
Any other man in his place would have been overjoyed to be free of his cage, but he flew willingly back to it. The irony was not lost on him.
Unfolding his legs from the crate on which he'd perched, he began moving around, automatically picking things up that she'd knocked over, putting them back in their proper places. What he couldn't salvage he tipped into a bin that would go to the pigs the owner kept. All the while his mind was going, ignoring her until he was ready to respond, and leaned against a pile of rice-sacks when he was.
"If you traded it fair and square," he said, the little smirk never leaving his lips despite the trouble he had still in forming words in the tongue of this land, "Then why were you being chased for it?"
Silently, she watched him move about like a tigress waiting to pounce on a prey. And indeed, this young man -- obviously so by the deep tone of his voice -- was somewhat worth her attention, but only for the possible harm he posed to her. The long years she had spent in the pirate profession had taught Tenten that no one could be trusted, even the closest of your friends, companions you had spent almost a lifetime with. After all, for the right amount of gold, everything under the sun had its price, even lives. So why would a stranger such as him prove otherwise? True, he had helped her escape the clutches of that duplicitous merchant, but one act of kindness meant nothing in the grand scheme of things. The young captain had known men both wretched and cruel who would not be able to redeem their lives in a million good deeds. And one good deed certainly would not grant this foreigner -- because only such would have the slight stumbles of sounds and accents while speaking the language -- the gracious offer of her trust. No, Tenten would not be betrayed again.
At the same time, she could not help but be mildly angered that he would imply that she had stolen the scroll, his question bringing a deep frown to her lips. This man was a cheeky one to make such assumptions about her. But that did not defer the young woman from giving an answer, as fiery and bitting as a cobra. "Because men are greedy, and that fool knew not what he possessed until it was too late. It had passed into my hands of his own free will after I gave him what he desired in exchange. If I was wrong in doing so, then indeed the customs of China have indeed changed since last I stepped foot here."
To a native of these lands, it would have been a risk to her own identity to speak in such a manner. The women here were held under a heavy thumb of power, dominated by their men and taught to be silent, obedient. Any who disrespected such a rule would not only place dishonor on themselves, but to all those they were associated with. Tenten knew that all too well. But this man had not seemed at all affected by the way she had spoken before when she had let her temper slip. If she were to be truthful, he seemed amused by it.And that alone was enough cause to give the Pirate Lord some suspicion about his character.
But from what she could plainly see, this seemingly humble servant held no real threat towards her. In fact, save for the intensity of his eyes -- strange and yet beautiful as they were -- he seemed so very typical of the men who lived in this part of the country. Slender, lithe, and nonchalant to a point of arrogance to some level. Yet it was perfectly clear that China was not his home. The mannerisms and behaviors were too precise, too careful and, for lack of a better term, behaved to be from a port city full of pirates, traders, and fishermen. Curious. What would someone like him be doing here so far away from home? "You...why did you help me?"
Neji shrugged, never taking his eyes off her. "You appeared to need help," he said, dodging the question. "And I needed excitement in my day, beyond what new horrors can rear their head in this place--and I need a favor of you."
Leaning forward, Neji's silvery eyes grew even more intense, flinty in color and in the edge they carried. He had ignored the comment about men, even though it had pricked his ego somewhat, but this he would not tolerate this woman's nature in meddling with. "I need a ship to take me to Port Royal, and you are obviously a pirate. A pirate and a map implies a ship. I need to be on board it when it leaves." He scrutinized her. "My family will surely pay any price you want for my safe return."
Scoffing lightly, she could not help but chuckle in amusement at his confidence. Of course he would have ulterior motives in helping her, they all did. But what amused the woman even more was his belief that any offer of money would assure him immediate access to her ship and a say in where they would travel. While it was true that she was a pirate, -- Tenten would not deny it as if it were something to be ashamed of, but simply as something that was a part of who she had become through the years -- not even the most trusted of her crew earned that right without showing years of loyalty in service to her, and some even to Shirou who had been their captain before took command. The arrogance that came with such a gesture was enough cause for the young captain to simply turn and walk out of his life then and there, content to leave it at that with no intention to ever see his pale face and ivory eyes again. But if nothing else, the request intrigued her, prompting the piratess to regard him with a humourous smirk. There was much more to him than what could be seen on the surface. "That is a lot to ask of someone you have only known for a few spare moments. You're brave to place so much trust in a stranger, or perhaps simply foolish like the rest of the men who reside here."
Shifting her stance, she regarded his stature from head to toe once more, more seriously and in full detail before meeting his gaze evenly. Yes, her initial opinions on him were still the same. Though he did not look it, the young man held a sort of strength about him not unlike the Imperial spies that were scattered about the trade cities of China, trained in the defensive arts that would allow them to move about more inconspicuously without the need of visible weapons. "Tch, you'd have to be a fool to believe that I would grant you anything for the mere promise of money with nothing to go on but your word. You'll find I'm less trusting than that."
"Perhaps bravery and foolishness are one and the same?" he said, watching her closely. "After all, were not the bravest of us called fool for doing as they do? Were not some of the great minds of our time and before called fools for things we know today to be fact?" The smirk was back, a confident and prideful one; underneath it though, he was quite wary of this woman, not foolhardy enough to think for a second she would just take him up on his offer. "Certainly they were."
Leaning forward again, he raised an eyebrow. "What else is it that you would ask of me than money? To work on your ship would be the least I could do for you in return; I have done it before."
"...Perhaps, but not always." Impressive. He was a determined one, she had to admit. Level-headed, and disciplined too; not at all like anyone who had lived their entire lives in the port city. Any other would have lashed out at being called a fool, such was the pride of most if not all men if his smirk was any indication. But Tenten was not that easily convinced. "Bravery is for those who wish to die a young death and that is what makes them fools. And those who take the lives of others with them are nothing more than cowards. Neither one sounds promising to me." Briefly, the Pirate captain peered her head out of the doors of the store room and took a quick glance around for any signs of the merchant. There was no telling the passage of time between his diversion and the discovery that Tenten was not where she should have been. But more importantly, the Chinawoman was stalling for time, for reasons she could only guess.
Turning back to face her savior of sorts, Tenten added as a delayed afterthought. "Besides, Port Royale is on the other side of the world, and it's not exactly welcoming to...one such as myself." With a scoff and a smirk of amusement, she continued on. "You think one act of kindness makes you deserving of such a favor as that? Why not ask for an hour with me between the sheets as well like the other half-wits who find it in their interest to ask favors of me? You'll get the same answer either way."
Here, her eyes narrowed and sharpened to a venomous scrutiny to get her point across. There would be no compromises when it came to the safety of all those serving under her command. But though Tenten was indeed the captain of the Siren, it was no business of his to know that. Her safety rested on the fact that only a handful of people knew the truth, that the 'Spitting Dragon' of Singapore was in truth a woman. "I will not risk the lives of my crewmates, not for any amount of money or service that you or your family could offer. My captain will tell you the same."
Type: RP log
Fandom: AU!Naruto
Character(s): Tenten, Hyuuga Neji
Pairing(s): None
Warning(s): None
Disclaimer: I own only the part that I played in this.
Note: Log originally started for the
eternalsea RP comm, but never finished. Dedicated to: ...
eternalsea. Cuz I kinda miss it. ;~;Dashing through the streets of the open market, long strands of hair whipping about in the wind behind her, Tenten maneuvered around barrels of and wandering pedestrians that littered the crowded the port city in China. She could feel the edges of her robes snagging here and there, catching on various jagged edges and tearing slowly at the fabric while the young woman continued to flee the scene. Occasionally she would risk a glance back at her pursuer only to regret it moments later when he appeared far too close for her liking.
It was only supposed to be a simple meeting. Her intentions had only to find out information about the supposed island nation that was said to hold the whole of Rahaji's lost treasure, something the young piratess had learned of in the distant sands of India. And if she could barter with him for the needed supplies as well, all the better. The young Pirate Captain was unsure how long her adventure in China would last, and she needed a means of procuring supplies for her crew while they still remained in port. She certainly had not expected to come across a foolish merchant peddling a hidden treasure of his own. Was it her fault that this trader bartered away the most valuable thing in his possession for a mere fraction of what it was worth?
Suffice to say, he had soon discovered the mistake he had made, and by that time she had already left the tavern. But this merchant was stubborn and prideful, refusing to be outsmarted by a woman (more than likely not the first and definitely not the last time such a thing would happen in the man's life, she could tell). And so the chase had been underway.
Tightly, she clutched the scroll in her hands and continued her mad dash through the stone streets, slinking down alleyways and flying around corners in every direction she could think of to lose his determined pursuit. But the man was relentless, and Tenten was running out of places to hide, running out of time. A nice mess you've gotten yourself into, now. And how will you get out of this one?
Neji was bored, and restless.
Sitting out in back of the hotel he worked at and lived in, watching people go by, stretching his legs in a way that didn't involve cleaning and making up beds (who knew people could be so disgusting? Surely they didn't make such messes in their own homes). Others came out here to smoke leaf or to meet a lover; Neji did neither, having nor wanting neither. But he would, in halting Chinese, ask anyone who looked like they were heading to the harbor on any business other than trade if there were any ships heading to Port Royal. He never got a positive response, which made him somewhat morose. He had been reasonably close to his cousin, and even if Uncle Hiashi wasn't in favor of sending anything out to find Neji, he had been sure Hinata would have.
Of course, he thought, the world was a large place. It had taken Tayuya's ship a good six months to get this far from Port Royal. But at least that had passed since he'd escaped Tayuya's ship, and nobody had come. There weren't even rumors from other ships that came in, and at least in his experience with ports and those who sailed the seas, there were always rumors, news from other ports, other cities.
There was that...and the fact that he was little more than a servant in his family. The money was better spent other ways. This brought Neji no small measure of melancholy when he thought of it, which was often. Besides that, he was certain that Inuzuka scofflaw had most certainly already defiled his cousin and then even were he to return home, he would be promptly cast out of the family for failing in his duty. The politics and justice of the Hyuuga family were inscrutable to all those who had not spent reasonable amounts of time with the entire family.
Lost in his thoughts, Neji stood, intending to walk down to one of the vendors on the street and get something to tide him until dinner when someone running at an extremely reckless pace down the narrow street nearly collided with him. It was the sharpness of his reflexes that saved him, and he grabbed the person intending a good shake. It was then that he heard the shouts from around the bend in the street, and quickly came to the conclusion that whoever this person was, they were being chased, and did not want to be found. A cursory glance didn't bring anything that fit the profile of the normal crowd of lawless types that ran through the city. All this was accomplished in the space of a very few seconds.
"Do not make a sound!" he hissed at the person, flung open the door behind him and shoved them through into the food storage area for the kitchen, and shut it to resume his usual posture of pensive repose on the step in front of it. Presently, a man ran past, looked this way and that ignoring Neji entirely, and went on his way down the street. Neji waited until it was safe before opening the door again and considering the person he'd flung inside silently, waiting for them to make any kind of move.
For a brief moment, she felt as if she were flying, so fast were the young woman's feet moving to place any sort of distance between her and the Chinese merchant who was determined to catch her. Small and agile as she was, Tenten was able to avoid running into most who were walking about the streets that day, doing little more than brushing past them like a breath in the wind. She was normally gone by the time any of them even registered her presence or the close proximity of which she had gotten. But the icy-cold clench of strong fingers soon brought an end to that fantasy as Tenten's body was whipped around from the sudden jolt of being pulled to a stop, nearly dropping the scroll because of it.
Her first thought was that this person, this man she would later determine, had been working for the barter and had been sent to catch her by surprise while the piratess' concentration had been on getting away from the other. That thought alone and the suspicious instincts that had developed after years in the profession had Tenten struggling to break free of him, to leave them both in the dust of her escape. But his grip was firm and she had not the use of the other, for fear of losing the scroll in the process. She could not lose it after traversing through half of the port town, not after all this. Even with the prospects of facing the two men, Tenten was determined to keep her prize, one she had earned and gained fairly (to a certain level).
However, the curious glance he gave to the faint shouts in the distance suggested that perhaps her initial thought had been wrong. But there was no time to mull over that thought more as the young woman found herself being shoved through the nearest doors, feeling the night sweep over her while she stumbled into the dark. The toe of Tenten's shoe bumped against some unknown object, and the young captain fell to the ground in a heap, a chain of other objects coming down with her when she had reached out for something solid to stop her descent. The roll of parchment flung from her fingers, the cool slide of paper against stone clearly heard in the din of the room, echoing with a weighted dread as it was swallowed into nothingness that engulfed her. Frantically, she groped around blindingly for it to no avail, though still that did not stop her from trying, over and over again.
"Blasted scroll!" she whispered harshly to herself. But no matter how far she reached or glided her hand over the paved floor, Tenten came up with nothing still. "Where is it?!"
She was cursing herself and her wretched luck when the door swung opened once more, casting a stream of light through what appeared to be a storage room. Shelves and shelves of food, walls of bags piled as high as a man's shoulders were stacked around her. And it was only now that the young woman took notice of the familiar smell of the exotic spices, of distant memories Tenten thought she had forgotten. Yes, this was China, once her home but now nothing more than a stranger. But that did not matter. She had forsaken this country long ago. It would do her no good to remember it now. What was most important was finding that scroll she had dropped.
A quick sweep of her surroundings and Tenten's eyes quickly zeroed in on the parchment, located next to a stack of rice bags in the corner. Fast as lightning, she snatched it up and clutched the coveted treasure to her chest. That secured and back in her possession, the young woman turned to finally regard whoever stood at the opened door, barring her only escape. She had to squint into the glare of the outside world, lifting a hand to shield the light from her eyes even further while she tried to search out the features of their face.
"I traded for this fair and square!" the piratess lashed out, teeth clenched in a menacing sneer, "You're not getting it back, I'll fight you to the death before you do!"
Neji arched a brow as soon as he'd had the chance to take in more about the mystery person. First and foremost, he made note of the gender of the speaker--obviously female, albeit a more rough-spoken one than he'd met since escaping Tayuya. She was pretty in the way that most pirate women were, he thought, and there'd been a fair few coming through the inn and that he'd run into while in the service of the redheaded Siren. This one was slender but strong, obviously, having apparently run through a good part of the city to get this far. Her face was sweaty, flushed, but held that forbidden allure that would have gotten him in trouble had he not already experienced the pain of being dragged off by his hair from more than one woman he'd tried to pass time with. Dark hair bound up away from her face made it clear she was from this part of the world. Out of habit, Neji tried to put this new chit in the finery of the women he would have been introduced to had he been at home, and failed. It would have been like trying to put one of the desert steeds of the Arabs into the armor of the warhorses of old.
And with her fiery temper, that was an apt analogy, he mused, pale gray eyes taking her in with a bit of a smirk on his face. She thought he wanted whatever it was she'd apparently won? It was the ship she'd sailed in on that interested him far more. She represented a way out, a way home. Pirates were notoriously hard to bargain with, but he could handle the captain of her ship fairly easily. He was strong, trained at sea; he could beg passage back to Port Royal or a harbor near it in exchange for working with the crew. He needed to return home.
Any other man in his place would have been overjoyed to be free of his cage, but he flew willingly back to it. The irony was not lost on him.
Unfolding his legs from the crate on which he'd perched, he began moving around, automatically picking things up that she'd knocked over, putting them back in their proper places. What he couldn't salvage he tipped into a bin that would go to the pigs the owner kept. All the while his mind was going, ignoring her until he was ready to respond, and leaned against a pile of rice-sacks when he was.
"If you traded it fair and square," he said, the little smirk never leaving his lips despite the trouble he had still in forming words in the tongue of this land, "Then why were you being chased for it?"
Silently, she watched him move about like a tigress waiting to pounce on a prey. And indeed, this young man -- obviously so by the deep tone of his voice -- was somewhat worth her attention, but only for the possible harm he posed to her. The long years she had spent in the pirate profession had taught Tenten that no one could be trusted, even the closest of your friends, companions you had spent almost a lifetime with. After all, for the right amount of gold, everything under the sun had its price, even lives. So why would a stranger such as him prove otherwise? True, he had helped her escape the clutches of that duplicitous merchant, but one act of kindness meant nothing in the grand scheme of things. The young captain had known men both wretched and cruel who would not be able to redeem their lives in a million good deeds. And one good deed certainly would not grant this foreigner -- because only such would have the slight stumbles of sounds and accents while speaking the language -- the gracious offer of her trust. No, Tenten would not be betrayed again.
At the same time, she could not help but be mildly angered that he would imply that she had stolen the scroll, his question bringing a deep frown to her lips. This man was a cheeky one to make such assumptions about her. But that did not defer the young woman from giving an answer, as fiery and bitting as a cobra. "Because men are greedy, and that fool knew not what he possessed until it was too late. It had passed into my hands of his own free will after I gave him what he desired in exchange. If I was wrong in doing so, then indeed the customs of China have indeed changed since last I stepped foot here."
To a native of these lands, it would have been a risk to her own identity to speak in such a manner. The women here were held under a heavy thumb of power, dominated by their men and taught to be silent, obedient. Any who disrespected such a rule would not only place dishonor on themselves, but to all those they were associated with. Tenten knew that all too well. But this man had not seemed at all affected by the way she had spoken before when she had let her temper slip. If she were to be truthful, he seemed amused by it.And that alone was enough cause to give the Pirate Lord some suspicion about his character.
But from what she could plainly see, this seemingly humble servant held no real threat towards her. In fact, save for the intensity of his eyes -- strange and yet beautiful as they were -- he seemed so very typical of the men who lived in this part of the country. Slender, lithe, and nonchalant to a point of arrogance to some level. Yet it was perfectly clear that China was not his home. The mannerisms and behaviors were too precise, too careful and, for lack of a better term, behaved to be from a port city full of pirates, traders, and fishermen. Curious. What would someone like him be doing here so far away from home? "You...why did you help me?"
Neji shrugged, never taking his eyes off her. "You appeared to need help," he said, dodging the question. "And I needed excitement in my day, beyond what new horrors can rear their head in this place--and I need a favor of you."
Leaning forward, Neji's silvery eyes grew even more intense, flinty in color and in the edge they carried. He had ignored the comment about men, even though it had pricked his ego somewhat, but this he would not tolerate this woman's nature in meddling with. "I need a ship to take me to Port Royal, and you are obviously a pirate. A pirate and a map implies a ship. I need to be on board it when it leaves." He scrutinized her. "My family will surely pay any price you want for my safe return."
Scoffing lightly, she could not help but chuckle in amusement at his confidence. Of course he would have ulterior motives in helping her, they all did. But what amused the woman even more was his belief that any offer of money would assure him immediate access to her ship and a say in where they would travel. While it was true that she was a pirate, -- Tenten would not deny it as if it were something to be ashamed of, but simply as something that was a part of who she had become through the years -- not even the most trusted of her crew earned that right without showing years of loyalty in service to her, and some even to Shirou who had been their captain before took command. The arrogance that came with such a gesture was enough cause for the young captain to simply turn and walk out of his life then and there, content to leave it at that with no intention to ever see his pale face and ivory eyes again. But if nothing else, the request intrigued her, prompting the piratess to regard him with a humourous smirk. There was much more to him than what could be seen on the surface. "That is a lot to ask of someone you have only known for a few spare moments. You're brave to place so much trust in a stranger, or perhaps simply foolish like the rest of the men who reside here."
Shifting her stance, she regarded his stature from head to toe once more, more seriously and in full detail before meeting his gaze evenly. Yes, her initial opinions on him were still the same. Though he did not look it, the young man held a sort of strength about him not unlike the Imperial spies that were scattered about the trade cities of China, trained in the defensive arts that would allow them to move about more inconspicuously without the need of visible weapons. "Tch, you'd have to be a fool to believe that I would grant you anything for the mere promise of money with nothing to go on but your word. You'll find I'm less trusting than that."
"Perhaps bravery and foolishness are one and the same?" he said, watching her closely. "After all, were not the bravest of us called fool for doing as they do? Were not some of the great minds of our time and before called fools for things we know today to be fact?" The smirk was back, a confident and prideful one; underneath it though, he was quite wary of this woman, not foolhardy enough to think for a second she would just take him up on his offer. "Certainly they were."
Leaning forward again, he raised an eyebrow. "What else is it that you would ask of me than money? To work on your ship would be the least I could do for you in return; I have done it before."
"...Perhaps, but not always." Impressive. He was a determined one, she had to admit. Level-headed, and disciplined too; not at all like anyone who had lived their entire lives in the port city. Any other would have lashed out at being called a fool, such was the pride of most if not all men if his smirk was any indication. But Tenten was not that easily convinced. "Bravery is for those who wish to die a young death and that is what makes them fools. And those who take the lives of others with them are nothing more than cowards. Neither one sounds promising to me." Briefly, the Pirate captain peered her head out of the doors of the store room and took a quick glance around for any signs of the merchant. There was no telling the passage of time between his diversion and the discovery that Tenten was not where she should have been. But more importantly, the Chinawoman was stalling for time, for reasons she could only guess.
Turning back to face her savior of sorts, Tenten added as a delayed afterthought. "Besides, Port Royale is on the other side of the world, and it's not exactly welcoming to...one such as myself." With a scoff and a smirk of amusement, she continued on. "You think one act of kindness makes you deserving of such a favor as that? Why not ask for an hour with me between the sheets as well like the other half-wits who find it in their interest to ask favors of me? You'll get the same answer either way."
Here, her eyes narrowed and sharpened to a venomous scrutiny to get her point across. There would be no compromises when it came to the safety of all those serving under her command. But though Tenten was indeed the captain of the Siren, it was no business of his to know that. Her safety rested on the fact that only a handful of people knew the truth, that the 'Spitting Dragon' of Singapore was in truth a woman. "I will not risk the lives of my crewmates, not for any amount of money or service that you or your family could offer. My captain will tell you the same."