No-one could possibly have attempted such a thing as a lie, even if they were one who knew the unbelievable sounding stories were often an effective defense. Kohaku contemplated the situation and then he walked fowards, short sword sliding out of his scabbard.

Kohaku cut the bindings tying the net ot the ground, allowing Falcon out from beneath the net's weight. A wave of his sword at the ninja guarding the cavern, signalled a command, If she attempts to escape, kill her. His other hand lifted the net's edge up, helping Falcon get out.

Kurama watched the girls as they came back onto the boat, and turned to the other guys near him.

"......everyone, have good manners. VERY good manners."

There was a drumbeat in Iori's head, which soon sharpened into the staccato rhythm of water droplets endlessly pooling on a stone floor. He opened his eyes to the dimly lit interior of what appeared to be a natural cave carved into a hillside. The faint light was enough to sting his adjusting pupils however, evidence of the fact that he had been unconscious for quite some time.

Iori was prone on the cold cave bottom and so he attempted to prop himself up on one arm. Tendrils of pain shot through his body as he repositioned himself, his reason said to lie back down and die. It took an extreme force of will to lean himself against the rock wall behind him.

He thought on what had happened before he lost consciousness, he remembered in vivid detail the two greatest battles of his life. He recalled every movement, every sword stroke and pounding fist, as did his aching body in a more primal manner.

Sitting there in a pathetic state Iori came to a singular conclusion. His life was meaningless up to this very point in time. All the strife of his youth, the endless succession of pointless battles with lesser men and the aimless wondering that constituted his existence had been a mere childhood dragged out far too long. His life began with his next step.

And so Iori stood, his battered body screaming in protest as pain etched uncontrollable lines in his face. To his left he saw the shattered remnants of Shinkaze, the two pieces of the blade had been placed within its sheath and set upon the ground near where he had lain. His first step was toward this heirloom, a symbol of his sundered past as well as his newly crafted fate.

Iori bent to retrieve the blade and placed it back between the folds of his belt, though with one glarind error in its placement. The edge of the blade now faced down.

As Iori had slumbered fitfully in pain and confusion, a dream had come to him. He had spent so long as a mere observer of death, it was always he who had peered into the shadowed depths of oblivion as some other unfortunate soul tasted it's bitter flavor. In this new vision it had been him staring upwards from the strom wracked sea of death, upwards to where he saw his past looking down at him from the jagged precipice of ignorance. He had tasted death this day and found a truth so elusive before...

Life was worth living.

His reversed blade signified this revelation, as the edge represented death which could only look below, while he himself was now looking above.

Iori knew that he'd becoem embroiled in something far more important than his own life, something was in motion that would shake the Heavens themselves. He knew much death would result if he didn't take action immediately. He knew all this and felt compelled to change the world, something he had never once considered.

And suddenly he remembered her face.

He could change eternity for another moment beside Her.

Step by agonizing step Iori made his way from his resting place, working out the stiffness as he travelled. He saw some distance away a the remants of what must have been a great conflaggration, as smoke pooled and eddied in the dusty sky above. He began to walk as fast as he could towards the source of this sign, evenutally breaking into a run as his body fell back in line with his will.

Iori came across a clearing where it appeared, contrary to all logic, a ship had run aground. Of course so far inland such a thing was impossible, but until today a man flying on the winds itself had been impossible as well. So Ioris wasted no time in coming to grips with this impossibility and instead went about searching for clues as to what had actually happened.

ooc: OK, so I've had Iori wake up and travel to the downed airship, he's looking for Koyuki or anyone involved in the melle where he went unconscious, feel free to interact.

Ayako stumbled through the airship's wreckage with an agitated gait, and despite the demoness' agility and dexterious build, the airship was still in horrible condition. Weaponsmaster Ayako held beneath her right arm a mere seven of the tama scrolls, all of which had survived the conflaguration and explosion leading up to the airship's fateful demise.

As she made her way outside the torn-open side of the ship, Ayako ducked her head over a low-hanging blackened plank of hull, as not to sully her fine, light blue hair, and looked up to see much to her suprise, a mortal.

As the ice-demon's cold blue eyes ran from the mortal's feet to his face, she noted by his physique that he was indeed a powerful warrior. He was also a mildly attractive warrior, but Ayako was not one to assess mortals for such things.

"Well... What do we have here?" she asks lazily, coolly regarding Iori in an attempt to assess his alignment, "Looking for someone?"

Iori responded evenly to the woman that suddenly appeared from the rubble, saying "I would say that it is not who I seek but the manner in which I seek that is most important here. This is a scene of great devastation, a battle raged here not long ago, and you emerge from this monstrous carcass of a conveyance seemingly no worse for wear. What sides or passions were involved here I do not know, and yet I must either be your foe or friend, battlegrounds exist without a center one might say, and so I seek as a friend that which fulfills my purpose. I seek life and all it's joys, and as such I seek an end to wanton destruction such as this." He stopped to ponder this newcomers face, until this point he had simply been orating into the hazy gray sky above, a far off glint in his dark eyes.

"Though perhaps in such immediate cicumstances I should resort to immediate answers," Iori spoke aloud as he addressed her, smiling warmly "I am looking for a woman known as Koyuki and a man known to me as Lord Arashi, demons both as I assume you must be, as well as a man not much younger than myself called Genkai Kurama. Would you happen to know any of their whereabouts?" His demeanor was calm and serene, the pain in his body dying away quickly as his focu returned. Despite the signs of carnage strewn about this place and the obviously deadly nature of the woman before him he spoke as if playing the part of a courtier.

There was no doubt in Falcon's face that she had assumed the sword was for no other purpose but to cut through the net and free her. She gratefully accepted the figures hand, but cried out in pain and fell slightly as she was pulled up. Her other hand reached about her ribs. They were still cracked.

Gasping, Falcon tried to cover herself as best as possible while sinking to a graceful kneeling position.
"I--I'm sorry I can't be of anymore use, sir. Do... do you have anywhere I can find some clothes?"

"Hm. Philosophical one, this one." Ayako thought to herself as her face curled into a wry smile. So, he came to a demon walking out of a destroyed airship, and wanted to stop wanton destruction? How quaint. Maybe he wasn't a very bright mortal, Ayako pondered, but that wasn't her place to judge.

"Both Lady Shimokaze and Lord Arashi are in the company of Kirakiri-san." Ayako replied with the typical mildly-interested deepened tone she used when adressing mortals she didn't know. Her eye fell upon Iori's sheath, and how it was angled to signify he wasn't looking for a fight.

"If you want to see them... Follow me." She continued, gracefully turning away from Iori and leading off toward the group's latest headquarters.

Kirie was tired, but more importantly, she was impatient. Deciding that she would get a decent rest on the gunboats, Kirie ventured into the hideout to try and find out when the others were ready to depart. The first thing she noticed was the naked Falcon.

"I--I'm sorry I can't be of anymore use, sir. Do... do you have anywhere I can find some clothes?"

Kirie reflexively gazed at Raikotsu's kimono that was bundled in her arms and looked to the Air Demon himself. Her expression was easy enough to read as "Give this to her?"

Suzume walked up to the railing of the ship, looking out into the water. He'd missed the show, and he was actually disappointed. It looked like a fun fight, judging by the damaged on the ship.

"What the hell is with my timing lately?" he thought, noticing the demon's soul emerging from the water, slowly being drawn to Suzume's body. "Oh well, free ammo."

Walking along, he passed Tayuumi, looking angry again, and then he heard Kurama yell something about being polite. Whatever had happened after the fight, it didn't look like it was helping anyone's mood. Hopefully, the boat ride would calm everyone down this time instead of making them pissed off and loud.

"Huh... So, boss, any idea when something's going to happen?" Suzume asked, trying not to sound like a broken record, considering he'd asked that same question before. "Gotta know how long I get a break."

Iori saw a look of appraisal in Ayako's eyes, and judging by her reactions the appraisal wasn't anything special. This suited Iori just fine, being underestimated was an advantage he seldom held. He walked slowly behind her as he spoke.

"I sincerely appreciate your offer, and I would accept it, yet I feel there are things I should tell you before we continue on." Iori said. "My relationship with both lord Arashi and lady Shimokaze might not be a friendly one, I myself am not quite certain where either stands. It may come to pass that they desire my death upon seeing me." He stated matter of factly.

"I also must admit a certain affection for lady Shimokaze, one might call it love yet I do not know what terms demons use." he said again, his voice fading into uncertainty as he finished.

"If you've no qualms about either of these facts then let us continue, though I would ask one more favor from you my lady." He addressed her back as she walked on, seemingly unnaffected by his admissions.

"What might your name be?"