;; white bitterness (p)

Her silver eyes traveled to a couple feet from her side as she was still deep in thought. She had almost missed what Shizuka had naturally. Her eyes had caught onto something that she knew she shouldn't have and would probably regret quite certainly. Though she had a passion for fighting; had a renewed passion for allowing the metal blade of her katana to slit across her victims' throats, she was not amused at the sight she was seeing now. It was simply that the body of this man, who had obviously been killed had not died from her hands. She looked at the limp, motionless and lifeless being of what used to be an alive and well individual. For a moment she was not quite sure if she wanted to walk up to it and find traces of who had killed him. What was she going to do that information anyway?

And then she noticed that her companion was speaking to her and decided to finally turn her head from the dead body and actually stare at him. There seemed to be something amiss about him; something that she couldn't quite pinpoint. What was it? Of course she noticed some blood stains on his face and began to question on the inside how he had managed to get blood on himself for a mere short time span. But she retracted her question. The two of them had just met each other and it seemed a little too personal to ask some of the questions that ran in her mind. Instead, she would just listen, as she mentioned that there was another person joining their group. what was this, a party? The atmosphere around them had continued to give off a chill that she felt relaxing but was noting that it was somewhat not the case for Shizuka.

A small smile played on her lips as she saw someone joining the group. She guessed that it was the person the red haired boy was telling her about. She studied the figure closely. His blond hair was what caught her eye and there was a look of mysteriousness surrounding him. And that was when she would give the new person a curt nod. So Shizuka had managed to meet a friend already? Of course she didn't know all that had happened between them while she had wandered off and had dreams which made no real connection one from another but she found it rather surprising that he had met someone here in Tetsu no Kuni so quickly that this person was going to join them. She didn't have a problem with it, but it was surprising nonetheless.

And now, down to serious business as she walked with Shizuka down the path to an inn he said he saw. Apparently he had a plan and she was quite interested. There wasn't much for her to do here in Tetsu. She was an outsider in a mysterious country with no destination, no focus and basically nothing to do. A plan sounded like such an exciting thing. She had traveled solo for so long that any sort of plan had become a part of her imagination. She liked plans; organizing things would certainly be beneficial to doing anything small or big. She nodded her head and smiled back at him; walking alongside him with the new person in the group trailing slightly behind.

They would reach the inn shortly, a distance that was made easier for her because she was used to walking on snowy plains. He would get two rooms for them but she would insist that she paid for her own. She was not a person that was seen easily to take advantage of others. They would settle down at the inn, and Sayuri would wait patiently for the plan that her companion had mentioned. All this time she had not noticed a presence who would be watching them. She was an acute observer but still wouldn't have known that there was somebody following them on the snowy grounds.