The Fox and the Dragon

"Miss Kim, would you PLEASE reconsider this record deal? You could greatly benefit from this expansion into western marke-" Mi-Hyun clicked a button on her Bluetooth, cutting the connection with her agent. Why these people were so desperate to have her attention all day was baffling, she had said no, what else was there to discuss? With a soft sigh, the red haired woman turned onto Shattuck Avenue, and continued her drive down the street.

Mi-Hyun had been in California only three days, and already her producers, agents, and business directors were crawling down her throat, trying to get her to sign record deals. Unlike many of the submissive singers back home, Kim Mi-Hyun insisted that she had the final say on all financial matters, small or large. It angered her when they tried to do things under the table, and many producers had found themselves out of a job for just this reason. With a frustrated grumble, Mi-Hyun parked her car, and then stepped out. She needed a walk, a drink, and a smoke, anything that would get her mind off business.

It turned out that walking through the streets of Berkeley, you could find many of these things, and much more. When she walked into a bar, heads turned, a lady dressed in white furs and expensive boots walking into a ratty college bar was quite the rare occurrence, and it helped that this particular lady was also quite pretty. Stepping up to the counter, Mi-Hyun spoke. "Hey there! Could I get a martini? Apple would be great." The fox smiled widely at the bartender, anyone who could get you alcohol was worthy of kindness. "Uh yeah miss, sure, I can get you an apple martini." Mi-Hyun sat down, waiting for her drink, aware that the bartender was more than a little flustered. A wide smile crossed her face as her drink came, and she quickly downed the martini. What the hell, she would liven this place up. With a shout of "Drinks on me!" a round of shots went around the bar, and people started drinking.

As the night of dancing and drinking wore on, Mi-Hyun found herself at the center of attention, being the one buying. This was the perfect kind of situation for her. The fox just loved attention. Turning down men left and right, drinking herself silly, Mi-Hyun was having a great time.

As the time for last call neared, people began to disperse, and only a few folks were left in the bar. Mi-Hyun was standing around, giggling to herself as she hiccupped a little, clearly quite drunk. It took more for her to get drunk than most people, years of practice after all, but even for her, after about six shots, she was drunk. A guy over at the bar was obviously feeling lucky, and walked over to her. The man gave her a grin, and was about to try and cop a feel, when suddenly, he felt a lot dizzier than usual. And in a lot more pain. In fact, he felt suddenly devoid of any sensation in his face. Mi-Hyun wasn't THAT drunk yet, and if anyone tried to get lucky with her, you could expect them to get punched in the face. She was showing a lot more restraint than usual, a full force punch from her probably would have shattered this asshole's skull. However, this light punch was only enough to knock him out. With a huff, she spilled her drink on him, and walked out of the bar.

Far too drunk to drive, Mi-Hyun made her way down the road, deciding to take a late night walk. As she walked, she saw something quite strange. A man wearing… traditional samurai garb? And wait; was that something at the edge of her vision? She blinked, and then staggered. What she saw where the man was standing was a dragon. Well, it wasn't an actual dragon, just the flickers of a dragon spirit. That was certainly… something. She was about to attribute it towards her current state of inebriation, when she remembered that her second sight never lied to her. Mi-Hyun shrugged, and decided to walk up to the man.

"Hey there Mr. Dragon, what are you doing out here? Don't see many samurai in California myself."

Anata wa, jitaku, supiritto kara nagai michinoridesu. (You are a far ways from home Spirit.)" Shi said raising an eyebrow from behind his mask. He looked over the woman, who was obviously not human if she could see his soul without making eye contact. What surprised Shi even more was the woman's lack of fear in him.
The woman was obviously intoxicated, which with spirits meant she needed to have spent a pretty penny. Shi would first assess what type of spirit he dealt with. She stood about five foot six, beautiful orange-red hair cascading flawless skin and entrancing black eyes. Her petit and angular face would have been the picture perfect woman in his culture. Unfortunately he soon noticed that the woman hardly reacted to his native tongue. The cost to intoxicated ones self as a spirit had to have been better off than most. Her forward personality eventually gave her away.
"What is your purpose in this world, Kitsune?" Shi said, glaring at her. Shi was not a trusting person even when dealing with other spirits. He knew all too well that even the most kind-hearted spirits could fall to the corruption. He placed a hand on his sheath, placing his thumb under the seppa of his katana, ready to strike if the overturned hostile.

The man started speaking in an unfamiliar language, although she could tell it was an Eastern tongue of some sort. The man spoke again, this time in a familiar language. "What is your purpose in this world, Kitsune?" Ohoho, so he knew what she was? Well, not really, Kitsune was a bit off the mark, and quite offensive really. Japan and Korea were two different places, with different fox spirits.

"I will have you know, I am no kitsune. I wasn't born in Japan, nor was I born to Japanese fox spirits. I hail from Korea, where the Gumiho roam. We are much more… direct than our Japanese cousins." Mi-Hyun shook her head a little, and then laughed again.

"You ask my purpose in this world, yet I’m sure you don't even know your own. If you must know, I’ve lived here for my whole life, well, not HERE, but in this plane of existence. Living among old spirits can get quite stale, don't you agree? I have carved out a niche for myself in this modern world, and I have fun toying with humans." Mi-Hyun felt the inebriation slowly recede as she spoke, it took a hell of a lot to get her drunk, and even more to keep her that way.

"Oh, and that little sword of yours is cute, but could you please put it away? I happen to be worth a lot of money, and my employers would hate to see a damaged product." At this, Mi-Hyun laughed, it was a foolish endeavor on this man's part to try to threaten her, a 120 year old fox spirit wouldn't be scared of something so mundane as a blade. If she wanted to, she could release her fury onto this man, but for now, she was strangely curious about him. "Now that you know my story, would you care to share your own?"

"Ah, I see, you are Gumiho. Many apologies. You see the only Fox-spirits I'd met on this plane of existance were The Sons of The King of Fools, which are Kitsune." Shi explained, letting his sword drop back into it's cozy sheath. L.A semed to be a place Shi had frequanted, due to the high rate of supernatural pressences and other spirits. This was the place where he met Sailerya, Void, and now he's met a Gumiho. This place was all sorts of insanity, and there was a tugging in his spirit that said that this woman seemed to enjoy that.
"Now that you know my story, would you care to share your own?" The pretty woman asked. Shi's eye raised. The first rule of Fox-spirits, no matter the culture, was to not trust them. They were incredibly cunning, they had more mischief stored in their pinky finger than any other spirit. Shi would not trust her with precious information.
"I'm here to preserve the world." Shi said to her. He looked at her and sighed. "I am older than you, older than your father, and his father. In fact I have met your father, and his father. I called them by name, and they came to me. You know I am a dragon spirit by form, but do you know WHO I am? I respect the fact that you are a wise woman, and even for a spirit to recognize me and see me for what I am is most unsusal. But until you look me in the eyes you will not know WHO I am, and until you know WHO I am, you cannot hope to understand my story. I can only hope you understand that I mean no disrespect by not sharing my own 'story' as you call it, but It simply is what it is." Shi concluded.
He watched the spirit eagerly. He knew that fox-spirits were tactful, and if even he himself were not careful, she could trick death. Shi was ever watchful, were the spirit to inquire more he might be firsat considered slow for a delay in response, but he knew that he MUST be careful with the infomation he disclosed to a Fox-spirit. Especially one whom's motives are unclear.

The fox giggled again as the man explained his reasoning. Kitsune being the children of someone known as The King of Fools, what the heck was that about? Mi-Hyun had never met such fox spirits, and that was certainly an interesting bit of information, certainly something to remember for later. "Well, that is certainly interesting, although you seem to have a bit of an inflated ego. Ah well, if we don't partake in a little narcissism now and then, life is wasted."

Mi-Hyun really looked the man over now. He was certainly imposing, a bit taller than she was, had a sword at his side, was clad in armor, and that dragon spirit was certainly of interest. She could potentially have a lot of fun with this situation, if things worked out well. If not, she foresaw being chased across California by a sword-wielding maniac. Either way, it would be really fun!

"You say you are here to preserve this world. My question is: why? These humans dig themselves deeper into a pit of despair and death everyday, and don't even have the common decency to admit their wrongdoings, disguising heinous acts as justice or some sort of virtuous crusade. At least I’m willing to admit that I care little for the concerns of mortals, and hold distaste for order. Any attempt to save these foul creatures is folly at best, and suicidal at worst. But one cannot judge a man by his actions, rather his intentions. I suppose you have some sort of reason for this, but I find myself caring less and less." Mi-Hyun smirked at the swordsman, his type were the kind who had no idea about the order of things. Corruption and evil pervaded this world, and you either went against it, subsequently dying, or you went with it, subsequently having a lot of fun. Oh well, it wasn't like what he was doing would ever negatively impact her.

"So, you say you want to preserve the world, are you up for beating the shit out of some thugs? That always calms me down, and I suppose it would ultimately help you in your goal. And also, I never did get your name Mr…? Mi-Hyun looked at the man, a curious glitter in her eyes. This could prove to be a great opportunity for fun, and to see what he could do.

"Shi Ryurou." Shi said. His 'human' name was more than enough for now, considering that if the woman understood japanese at all she'd know his name means Death, The Son of the Dragon. Shi smirked at the concept that the woman confessed that she had no like in order. He himself had no love for order either, the onlly good 'Law' these humans possessed was to not kill one and other. Everything else was just useless and pointless. What intrigued him however was her offer. Beating up thugs...not bad. But Shi was wiser than most, a Fox simply did not HELP, that would be like one simply walking into this 'Mordor' place Shi had heard about in his time on Earth. What is the woman's angle?
"I'll make you a deal..." Shi said. Knowing that Fox-spirits LOOOOVE secrets, and his desperate need to uncover the source of tthe unnatural energy in California they had something to each gain. "If you help me bring closer to my goal by the end of the night, I'll show you who I am, which is something that only one other person has ever known." Shi offered. He was most interested in what the girl had to say to him. In truth Shi himself was being as cunning as the fox. She had no idea what his GOAL was, he simply wanted the chance to assess the strength of the Gumiho so that he may better understand the spirit's from another culture. By doing this he would gain the advantage of fighting off more...'corrupt' Gumiho spirits than her, while she would only gain his true identity, an identiy that only Rai Nagataki and Sailerya would believe her with. As far as the Spirits were concerned, death was in an eternal hibernation. Shi smirked under his ornate mask at the beautiful fox-spirit. Spirits who entered eternal rest were believed to nevert awaken. 'Wait till she gets a load of me...'

The man, who she now knew was named Shi, made her a proposition. A very interesting proposition. "If you help me bring closer to my goal by the end of the night, I'll show you who I am, which is something that only one other person has ever known." Oh boy, it seems that this man knew how much fox spirits loved a good secret. "Well, I think that is a very pleasant arrangement. Oh! Before I forget, my name is Mi-Hyun. But you can just call me beautiful." The fox spirit gave a wink at the samurai, most men were putty in her hands, and she hoped that was true in this man's case.

Before doing anything else, Mi-Hyun took a small mask out of her purse. It was a kabuki style fox mask, and protected her identity. She threw off her fox fur scarf, revealing a white long-sleeved shirt. It wasn't her usual combat attire, but it would do. White pants and white boots completed her outfit, now she looked like a proper hero, all in costume. The only thing missing was her cape, which sucked- she loved capes. "Well, let me just have a second, and I will be ready to go." Mi-Hyun needed to "change" before fighting. With a quick breath, and a twirl of her finger, fire surrounded the fox spirit. As the fire dissipated, Mi-Hyun's change in appearance became evident. Fox ears, nine tails, and small fangs extending from her mouth, now she really looked the part.

"Shall we go then?"

"Shall we go then?" The spirit asked. She almost gave of an aura of confidence, an aura of innocence. 'She' a fox spirit...' Shi reminded himself silently. 'She's about as innocent as Michael Jackson in a childrens hospital...' He smirked. Many people would have said that the joke was too soon...but as far as Shi is concerened be is death itself.... he doesnt gibe a damn what others think.
Fox spirits were always an exotic type of spirit. And in truth Shi recognized her superior attractivness and her allure. Shi had to wonder however if the fox had ever encountered a Dragon spirit before. Most likely not considering dragon spirits very much enjoy eating foxes and fox spirits. And from the way the woman seemed to be trying to alluring him he didnt think they had te same conceot of devouring in mind. She was attractive enough, but there are only two type of people who allow emotion to overpower their wisdom, fools and dead men. This would prove most interesting for Shi. If nothing else his company woukd prove as a test. He would not only have to be able to keep up with the spirit, but RESIST the spirit as well.
"Very well then." Shi said to the woman. He held out an arm and lowered his head a bit in a sign of respect. "By your lead...Beautiful." He said, accomidating the Gumiho's wishes. Shj felthis stomach tense up as she led the way. This evening was going to be very.... very trying.

"All righty then Shi~" Mi-Hyun giggled a little at the man, he called her beautiful, obviously missing the little joke, such a strange fellow. The Gumiho dashed off at full speed, calling out to the swordsman. "I hope you can keep up!" As she made her way up the street, Mi-Hyun noticed a fire escape. That would lead up to a rooftop, and with luck, should let her see a bit better. The fox scampered up to the rooftop, moving quickly and quietly. Ghost Fox looked out over the city, as she stood perched on the small apartment building, not noticing anything too horrible. She gave an annoyed huff, and then moved over a little. When she did this, she saw something funny. A few thugs were hanging around in the alleyway, peddling drugs. Tsk, tsk, this wouldn't do. Any other night, she wouldn't have cared, but tonight? She needed to impress this man.

"See those idiots over there? I’m going to give them a little talking too." Mi-Hyun grinned, then jumped off the rooftop, onto the next one, and so forth, until she reached the ground. The thugs hadn’t noticed her yet, but she was watching them. With a quick look around the corner, she counted up their numbers. About seven of them, she could take three or four and leave the rest to Shi.

She leapt out of the shadows, moved towards one of the thugs, and punched him in the chest. She felt his ribs crack, he would be in a lot of pain, but he wouldn't be dead. As the man curled up and groaned, the other gangsters turned around to face her. "Not another fucking superhero! Jesus Christ man!" "Hm, not really a superhero, I just love beating the shit out of humans. I hope you have a lovely day." The fox pulled out one of her knives, having hidden it in her boot. She had only thought to bring the one knife, deciding that the others could stay at home.

With a mock bow, Ghost Fox jumped at one of the criminals, sinking the searing hot blade into his abdomen, and then punching him in the face. The wound instantly cauterized due to the flames coming from her blade, the man was lucky, he wouldn't die just yet.

Mi-Hyun then felt a sharp pain in her back. One of these assholes had hit her in the back with a pipe. What a little bitch. The fox spun around, cracked him in the face with a kick, and then manifested a fire in her mouth. With a simple exhalation, she blew the flames at the thug, knocking him backwards and setting him on fire. The flames were extinguished with a snap of her fingers, and the thug was left on the ground, slightly charred, albeit alive.

"You want a turn Shi?"

The Fox spirit could fight, Shi had to give her that much. While she was not exactly able to take a bullet, She could throw a punch. Her fire, Fox-Fire as Shi had known it, was also incredibly powerful. Despite her quick nature and her cocky attitude, she was still slightly intoxicated. Shi watched as a mad hit her in the back of the neck. She turned and she proved that Hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn. The fox woman looked up, her mask glaring at his own. What she hadn't noticed was the gangster behind her aiming the gun at the back of her head. Out of sheer reflex, Shi shadow-stepped and before the fox girl could even inhale he was behind her. Hardening his resolve he began rotating his katana in his left hand, like that of a helicopter blade. the gun fired eight times, prompting eight sparks as the bullets met the inhumanly fast blade. The gun stopped and Shi sighed. One of the bullets was at his foot and when he stomped, it jumped up into the air. Shi tapped the back of the bullet with the broadside of his blade which quickly sent it right in between the eyes of the gunman. Shi shadow-stepped again and grabbed two other men by the throats and pulled them behind him. The last gang member pulled out a gun of his own and shot. Shi drew out his blade and split the bullet in half. the bullet went into the shoulder of the men Shi just pushed behind him. Shi lunged against the wall of the ally and pushed off it. When he landed, his knee had crshed the final gangster's trachea. He stood up and let out a sigh. Killling people depressed him, and though he was Death, he still did not condone the actual process of reaping life. He simply shrugged it off and looked back to the Gumiho.
"Well this is a romantic setting...The moon, the beaches not so far by...the sound of the ocean...the sticky feeling of blood in my sandals...the seven corpses lying eveywhere." Shi said sarcastically. He wasn't sure if the fox woman would get his humor, but he didn't particularly care. "The last time I was in such a romantic atmosphere I had a little friend...sweet little girl...name was Anne Frank or soemthing like that...never really did find out what happened to her...She was sent to a concentration camp...i guess she needed help with her homework or something...I don't remember." Shi confessed.