It Takes All Kinds [private]

Kimi only nodded her head to what Sugary said. When he turned to pay attention to the attendant, Kimi would look at the back of his head, pondering just what it was he wanted to ask her. Well she could come up with a multitude of questions, but how should she respond. There are thing's she really can't say, whether or not she was in her world or not, something's should just not be spoken about and she wasn't about to betray her own village by expelling her secrets. Well in due time she will deal with that, for now, just go with the flow.

Now she was required to sign something. She arched a brow and looked at the lady, and then at Sugary and then back to the quill. you got to be kidding me?! she thought to herself, while keeping a stoic face. Normally in her world shinobi's didn't have to worry about signing anything, unless it's dealing with politics if you're the village head, but even then those went to specific places that were constantly monitored.

x...Lotus

Of course she would have written it in her own language, but that would be a bit suspicious.

The attendant read the names, though she seemed to eye Sugary's name twice as she tried to read it in her head, but there was no particular issue otherwise as she allowed them to pass. "Alright, now remember your cabin number is... 13. That's the 8th car which you'll find further to your left once you enter. Please remember that cars 7 and 3 contain the bathrooms, while car 5 has the showers. Cars 1 and 9 contain the dining areas. Car 10 is the security and storage area if you have need of an emergency or need to put away or receive storaged belongings. Some of the staff in car 5 have medical training in the event of an emergency. And please, refrain from walking towards the Staff wagon, wood wagon, and the train cabin without proper authorization after the train departs. With that said, enjoy your ride~<3"

Sugary would urge Kimi to follow him, first passing by a common male unicorn security guard in the same area as the attendant. Further along the way, a few more of the passengers could be seen getting comfortable in their rooms. Among the passengers were also younglings. One of them, a little unicorn filly in a frilly white and pink dress wearing a red bow, was almost in their way until she turned around and saw them both. She stared at them both as they stopped, and then placed her hands on her muzzle as she gasped and realized she was in the way. "Oh, do pardon me!" She moved to the side in a skip and hop, and then gave a classy curtsy to them both while holding her dress with both hands. "Good afternoon. Carry on."

Sugary felt his cheeks get rosy as he smiled and chuckled; He found the filly to be all kinds of adorable. He also, in turn, gave a refined gentlecolt's bow to the filly that was properly executed in speed, poise, and balance that was a much more complete version of what he did at Steppette's, if less practical. "Likewise, Lass. Thank you very much."

As he began to move again, giving a chance for Kimi to follow as well, she might notice the filly quietly staring at her with immense childish curiosity, particularly her face, before her mother pulled her away into their room and scolded her in a mild and hushed manner. "I thought I taught you better! It's rude to stare so much at someone!"

"But mommy, she's really pretty! I want eyes like her too...!"

Sugary didn't hear the mare too well, but he certainly heard the filly. He couldn't help but chuckle some more as he kept walking...

That was quite a bit of information to process, though, she replayed it in her mind over and over so that she didn't forget them. Kimi would follow after Sugary as he seemed to know the direction to go, which was nice, because it gave her the opportunity to look at her surroundings and observe them as much as she could. I'ts become quite a habit for her over the years, due to her line of work, to observe things. To watch every detail as much as possible and ingrain it into one's mind, so as not to forget it.

her eyes scanned over the security guard as they passed by and then looked right back to the back to looking around the area. Then they halted for a moment, Kimi wondered why and looked around Sugary to see why they stopped and noticed the young little filly. Kimi would blink and watch her a moment until she moved out the way. At this point Kimi lifted a hand and passed it through her own hair allowing for her pink hair to fall shaping her face nicely. That reminds her, she needs to buy a comb.

The filly was cute to say the least and from how it appears was taught well in being respectful and kind. Least that's what Kimi was able to gather just from the sentences she said and how she said them along with the added curtsey. Kimi gave a gentle smile to the young filly and followed Sugary when he stared walking, though she felt eyes staring at her again, Kimi only turned slightly to look at where the stare was coming from, but still kept following Sugary as she looked back in time to see the young girl get pulled away and hear the comments. Her ears perked up and twitched and she, like Sugary, gave a chuckle. "That was cute." she commented.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=y2kxrGds76I

Sugary nodded lightly as he spoke in a gingerly tone. "Aye. That it was." He'd keep walking from car to car, looking at the cabin numbers, the passengers, the occasional staff member, the decor and items lying around, another guard, and whatever he could see out the windows for good measure.

Eventually, their cabin number would be seen, and he'd stare at it and chuckle lightly at it. "This better not be an omen... Anyway, we're... here...?" As he opened the sliding door to their respective cabin, he saw that the mattresses were a bit plush looking and meant to be folded for sleep with ample size. There was also a fold up table for use and a few small storage compartments, and a small ice box. While it wasn't as spacious as he would have preferred, it was fairly cozy and inviting. "Hm... This is very nice." He smiled lightly and picked the mattress on his right as he lay down upon it and stretched as he got settled in. "Very nice indeed..." He looked towards Kimi, waiting on her to either settle down as well, or just plain join him in the room. "... Been a while since I took a train... How about you?" He really had more to say, but he wanted to wait till the train got moving. Shortly afterwards, the warning for the passengers to prepare for departure would be announced by the same mare that took the tickets earlier. The powerful steam engine of the train was being prepared as well as the fire was greatly ignited.

Kimi continued to follow Sugary and like him, she'd look at the things and ponies and non-ponies they'd pass by. It was a colorful place, filled with colorful creatures. The train itself, especially the upper-class part of the train was handled with great care and decorated with the, as the rich say, finer things. Of course it were thing's that were well placed onto the wall that wasn't just going to suddenly fall off because the train stopping suddenly.

There were a few paintings hung on the wall opposite of the cabins. There were nice lovely scenes of vast sceneries around Equestria. Something soothing and kind on the eyes to look at with calming colors. There were a couple passengers she could see through the cabin doors window. They held passing glances, but it didn't last long since Kimi and Sugary were just passing by to get to their cabin. Thing's appeared fine to Kimi, peaceful even, she honestly didn't like it. It bothered her and made her slightly paranoid, but then again, she's not exactly use to this sort of world yet.

they arrived at their cabin and Sugary made a comment about the cabin's numer. Seem's that there are similar superstition's in between the worlds. She looked at the cabin and walked in after Sugary did and closed the door behind herself. Seeing that Sugary took the mattress on the right, so she took the one on the left and sat down. "Never pleasantly enjoyed a train ride, there's not that many where I come from, so i'm more accustomed to walking everywhere I need to go.

He took a deep breath and sighed softly, thinking back on his earlier days. "I hear ya. Used to be I'd walk a lot starting out, even before I became a Mercenary. Not that I still didn't get plenty of legwork, mind you... But while we're here, we may as well enjoy the ride... And if I were you, I'd take advantage of the scenery once we get going. Get a good look at where you are and all, right?" He then looked at the closed door, and right back at her, observing her and her current demeanor. "... She seems... Like she's got a lot on her mind... Guess I do too..."

Very soon after, they'd hear the sound of the train whistle going off, and the train would finally start to move; At first slowly with the occasional light tug here and there of the train, and then increasingly faster as speed and stability was a normal part of the rides as a few voices of farewells from the train and the platform could be heard.

It was at this time that he chose to ask what needed to be asked for a while. "... Kimi... I need to ask you, and please be very clear... What did you mean you weren't used to seeing wings, horns, and hooves on creatures like us. Especially when you got a good pair of hooves of your own. What are you used to seeing?"

Kimi's eyes darted to the far window that showed the outside and she kept her eyes fixed on it. She crossed her legs and settled her hands upon her lap and merely waited until the train started to move. Her ears perked up to the sound the train was making and twitched every so lightly to the sounds. So they were finally starting to move. She'd get to see first hand the comforts of being inside a train would be like. There were a lot of thing's on her mind, but it's to be expected, new world, new things, one would normally want to ask millions of questions, but trying to sort it all out was the difficult part.

After the train started to move her attention turned towards Sugary who called her name. After being asked the question she rose a brow and tilted her head. "I thought what I said was clear enough." she pondered on exactly how would she explain it. "Don't know how else to explain it, we just don't have those appendages."

Sugary perked up right there and then, and sat up while resting on the wall of the mattress while giving Kimi a curious look. "That's just it. You make it sound like you have other creatures you see normally that you don't see here. That's what I'm curious about..." He then eyed her, trying to think of one comment in particular that he felt still needed explaining. "... For that matter, did you always looked like you do now? You made it sound like you were different before... Or did I misunderstand something?"

Kimi stared at Sugary and blinked a few times. "I was different, how are you not understanding it?" she stated as she figured it probably would be best to show him rather than tell him. She brought her hands together and form a single hand seal with both her hands, with her index and middle finger extended out while the rest clasped over each other. "henge no jutsu." she stated and suddenly a puff of smoke would occur and Kimi sat there before him in a slightly different appearance. Her skin remained to be porcelain white, and overall everything looked the same, except that this time she didn't have a coat of fur, and the long fluffy ears she had were no loner there, instead there were smaller ears on either side of her head. Her muzzle reduced in size as if disappearing completely, and a human face was in it's place, no protruding muzzle like the rest of pony kind, a human jaw, human lips, and overall structure. Her hooves were gone also and in it's place were feet. "Does this make everything clearer?"

He watched closely at her use of hands, and got a familiar feeling as he saw the hand sign. The feeling of familiarity was immediately boosted once she showed herself as she truly was... Or rather, as she was meant to be. A form of a creature he had not seen in a few years, which surprised him given he had seen none else so far in this land. "Oh! I see!" "A hume!?" He was also briefly stunned as he looked at Kimi's original form in quiet admiration.

However, the admiration would soon take a back seat as he began to feel out something in the air around her. "... And yet..." He stood up and began to look around her as he got a bit closer and felt out the flow of energy in the room. "... Something... added upon...? You say that's your real form... But you showed here like that, or as a mare?"

Kimi watched his reaction carefully. He did a decent job at attempting to keep his composure, but the way he reacted didn't seem like someone who had seen a form like this for the very first time. This led her to have some suspicion's about the stallion before her. She arched a brow as she watched his stand up and feel out the air. She wondered exactly what it was he was trying to feel out as techniques like this lay over the body itself and not a field around her.

"Upon waking up in this world, I woke up in that pony form you saw me initially." she paused a moment thinking over her words. "So, to put it bluntly, i woke as a mare." She hadn't moved from her seat, but she watched Sugary carefully. "What I did just not is a basic academy level technique. It's probably one of the first technique many young ninja-in-training learn at the academy." Soon after she explained that, she canceled her technique and in a 'poof' the technique disappeared and she reverted back to the form she was before, her anthro-pony appearance.

Sugary was now once again in a deeply thoughtful pose as he processed what he was being told. "... So you... Okay, I definitely got the experiment gone wonky... But..." He spoke more softly, practically placing his face inches to her own as he looked to her snake eyes. "... Why as a mare...?" He then pulled away and paced left to right while mumbling. "... Doesn't know of Ivalice... Knows how to perform Jutsu, but from elsewhere... Looks like a Hume... But is she...? Ability to Morph... Those eyes..." Again he felt like he was staring at a familiar portrait that was left tilted. "So strange..." He then raised his voice again while staring at her. "... Do others like you have eyes like yours? I mean really, as fascinating as they are, I just can't figure that out."

Okay, now he was getting a bit too closer, she curled a finger as she was about to flick him on the forehead and send him through the cabin wall, but he pulled away before she could even try it. She watched him pace and arched a brow listening full well to his mumbled. There he goes mentioning Ivalice again and basing on his sentence structure, it has to be a place. Though she kept quiet and just watched him. Waiting. "No." was her answer, she was the only person in her world with the specific kind of eyes she had, and it was the truth given that she worked on her eye techniques for years, aside from the fact it was also a side effect due to the path of summon mastery she had gone on. It was more than simply just her eyes that were affected by the snake summon path. She then brought her legs in and sat indian style on the mattress and just looked at Sugary.

At the straightforward and short answer, all Sugary could do was to slump his shoulders, sit back on his seat, and stare back at Kimi. However, despite what she might have thought of him earlier, he was genuinely looking at her with concern. "I see... I take it there's a story with those eyes then? But... This is something I need to know right away... Have you been feeling any particular pain or discomfort since your... Transformation after arrival and ever since? Aside from the obvious visual changes."

Kimi would stare back and her tongue slithered out and flicked before disappearing back into her mouth. "There's a story behind everything you see." While her sentence could have been taken in a vague manner, she meant what she said, there was indeed a story behind everything he saw of her. All in all with the way her body has already been messed with, even if the transformation was suppose to cause her pain, the experimentations upon her body practically made it so that the transformation of her body wouldn't hold any negative side effect that would be detrimental to her health. "I don't understand why you're so concerned, but I'll humor you, what other question's do you wish to ask. I can tell you want to ask more."

Sugary's ears flicked as he plainly saw the slithering tongue, though his gaze would then go to her legs specifically. "... My concern is that you apparently got affected by quite a bit of magic on your way to this land... I'd like to make sure the effects really are harmless to you." He looked at the joints of her legs specifically and then back at her. "As for you, you're right. I do want to learn more about you. It might clue me in on how to help get you back... But, if I have to be entirely honest..." He smiled slightly, tapping his knee with his fingers. "... I just plain find you fascinating. I had a good hunch you're exceptional in many ways. I'm curious as to the depth of that hunch... But really, and I mean this, are you sure you feel fine? Do your new joints really not bother you? I know a thing or two about magic, so maybe I could help if you have a problem... But you have to let me help and observe you."

Kimi felt like she was being looked at like some sort of prized test subject. It sent shivers down her spine and she for one didn't like it. There was only one man who looked at her that way, and she'd have him killed if he ever came after her. Her eyes shifted to his fingers that were tapping his knee. She held up her hand and balled it up and began to uncurl her fingers. "I've been crushed under boulders, slice in half, decapitated, chomped on, burned, electrified, delimbed, and tortured." The look in her face was devoid of emotion as she stated this. "oh and I've had cellular transformation's happen before. So there is no pain." It's not like she couldn't feel anything, remember she had her arm dislocated earlier this day, it's just she's been through so much, she has an extremely high tolerance for pain, but on top of that she really didn't feel any pain. "and I highly advise against observing me." the tone in her voice shifted to one that didn't sound too happy. There was a reason for this, but whether she'd share her personal reason that is another story.

Sugary was quick to perk up as Kimi spoke of her past trials. "Uh oh. Have I struck a nerve?"Even more so as she was practically giving him a threat. He would stay composed of course after a mild sigh, but his gaze to her was a stern one as he crossed his own legs and placed his hands over his lap as if holding a cup. "... Noted... However, I don't know why you feel as if I've done you harm. I said I'd help, and I mean it. I didn't pretend to care for you when we first met, nor when you hit against a tree, nor when you spoke of your children and duties that you were forced out of... Part of my training involved lending and performing restorative aid on others in need of it. That includes you if there is something wrong. It would be irresponsible of me not to care... So I strongly advice you not to raise an angry fist against me, unless you really want to find out how I've put up with pain."

For a brief moment, his stern look became slightly more serious, signaling that his own warning might not actually be a bluff, but a quick closing of his eyes and slow shake of his head put an end to that as soon as it appeared. "... Bah... This isn't right... We started off so well..."

Once he opened his eyes again, his stare was much less stern. "... Kimi, I am not your enemy."

Kimi stared at him, and really looked at him, still the look on her face remained unchanged. She didn't flinch, she didn't back down, she remained as she was. Sitting there with her legs in indian style with a stoic look on her face. Her hands returned to her lap as she listened to him. While she was perfectly comfortable with handing out threats like no one's business, she never took kindly to receiving them, though she never did react violently like an unintelligent buffon, that would be very un-ninja like if she did. She had patience and knew well to bid her time, and how to strike. It's what she was trained to do, attack when the opportunity is right, there is no pride, there is no honor is basically the sum of it.

So the question was, how exactly should she attack? Several thoughts and option's coursed through her mind, it was nice to face off against someone like this, it gave her a chance to think and ponder the best course of action. Replaying his action's, his movements, his dialog all in her mind to help her come to the decision. Yes, this was the best course of attack. Kimi stood up and walked to the door. Her back to Sugary. "You seem to have a misconception about ninjas." she opened the door. "The one's where you're from seem to have an odd reputation if someone can think they can easily become a friend." She held suspicions of him not being from equestria either, though the biggest give away was the fact that he didn't seem surprised about her human appearance. Though she really was just taking a stab in the dark for all she knew there could be human's here, just a very, very tiny minority. With that she left the cabin and disturbingly calm she closed the door behind herself and walked down the hall.

Kimi's words stung, to be sure. What really bothered Sugary though was that she walked out on him after turning her back. He quickly stood up, and opened the door as soon as it was closed. He looked side to side to make sure they were the only ones in the hall itself, though he was fairly certain there was another occupied room. So he did his best to keep things neutral and professional when addressing her. "That was rude!" Or close to professional at least as he felt mildly insulted. "Do your peers and subordinates have no sense of camaraderie then? I didn't say you had to be my friend, I just wanna help because I feel like it... But I intend to do it as if it was my job. I might not have worked with you before, but I am willing to try anyway. Are you?"

Kimi continued to walk down the hall, heading towards Car 9, she didn't stop even when Sugary spoke out to her. Though it would be evident that she did listen to him as her ears shot up and twitched and swiveled in his direction. She gave his words some though, but she didn't answer. If he was expecting one from her, well he wasn't going to get it. Her ears lowered and she arrived at the door at the end of Car 8 that led to car 9 and like she did with the cabin door, she opened and closed it in the same way without turning around to him.

She had left the backpack in the cabin with Sugary. Once in the dining car area, she glanced about the car taking in it's elegant appearance. Several tables, bolted to the car floor with freshly, clean, white table cloths on top of it. Lovely cushioned booth seats surrounding each table. It was just so that they would be sure that nothing just randomly slide or flipped over if the train ever had to make a sudden stop. Only thing's that weren't there were the plates, slat and pepper shakers and other condiments, mainly for the same reason the tables are bolted down. all the loose items would be brought out. Kimi went and found a booth by a window and sat in it. Propping her elbow's upon the table, she rested her chin on her hands and gazed out the window. Annoyance drawn upon her face. "asshole." she muttered under her breath.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lXIQu4ohI6A&list=PL112DB550DF200604

Sugary's ears drooped a bit as Kimi just kept going after what he though was a moment of hesitation out of her. "... I guess that's a maybe...?" He deeply considered going after her or not, but decided to sigh and go back into their cabin as he closed the door so that the two of them could get time to cool off.

He lay down on his mattress again with his arms crossed, alternating between looking at the door, Kimi's backpack, and the ceiling as he tried to remember what was said and done up till that point between them. "... I know I'm not perfect, but what's eating her...? I really wish she'd stop being a stubborn mule and tell me already..." For the time being, he'd just spend some time in relative peace as he thought about how to proceed, and wait for Kimi to return... But he might just go after her eventually instead.

And so the train moved along, chugging and steaming while the other passengers began to move about more...

Kimi sat there and gazed out into the darkness that sped by as the train moved to its regular speed. For the moment the sound's in the car were minimal, there were very few other ponies in this car as they were more than likely sleeping, but there were few that were in here having dinner. So she heard the sounds of utensil's and plates, idly chit-chat, the usual in this restaurant-esque setting. Time for this moment just felt slower. She wasn't sure why it did, it just did. As the second's ticked by she sat there. Thinking, contemplating, planning, what would she do after all this was done?

She mostly tried to push away the thoughts that were eating at her, mostly those eyes that burned into her. Those snake like amber eyes. It made her upset to think about the time's she shared with that man and how, in the beginning, she had once looked up to him. That was until the experiments had started and his growing 'kindness', but she found out eventually when she overheard him speaking with his assistant, Kabuto.

Speaking about the preparations for his new body being ready soon. How they were just using her because of her bloodline ability and how it would be the key to his everlasting life. Though she ran from him not long after that and had been running since. She knew he wanted her for her body, to use it as a substitute for when his own body rots away.

"Excuse me, Madam." spoke a young gentlecolt, adorned in the train's waiter uniform. Kimi turned her gaze to him and he continued. "Would you like a menu?" Kimi shook her head. "No, but water would be nice." she answered. The waiter nodded his head and left to fetch Kimi a glass of water.

Kimi sighed to herself and reached into her sleeve and pulled from it a photograph. Contained within the photograph was a picture of her in a hospital bed holding her two newborns. She stared longingly into the picture and sighed. "I'll come home too you guy's, I promise." she muttered as she looked at the picture a little while longer.

Meanwhile, alone in his room, Sugary was dealing with a few demons of his own; Mostly, the fact he might not see his ship again. "... I need to make contact again with the Guild. Any chance of rescue is slim enough as is. I might not get the chance to go back for a long time... If ever... Ma... Cocoa... I miss my great wings too much already..."

He'd toss and turn and tire from his sour mood and thoughts to the point he jumped out of the mattress in a huff, opened the door, and... was now being stared by very familiar eyes and short stature in frills. "..."

"..."

"...?"

"..."

"... What is it, Lass?"

"Um... Good evening." said the filly while doing a full curtsey, with Sugary following with a full bow of his own. "I lost my bow. Have you seen it?"

"Your bow...?" As Sugary looked at the filly's head, he noticed she had no bow. "Sorry, haven't seen it since we last met."

"Okay."

"..."

"..."

"...??"

"..."

"... What is it now??"

"Can you help me find it?"

"Eh!? Why are you asking me!? Can't your mother help you!?" asked he incredulously.

"Um... I... I forgot to ask her..." The filly's ears drooped.

Sugary sighed softly as he rubbed his brows in thought. "... Don't you think the she or the train staff might help better instead of me?"

The filly looked back at him with a tilted head. "Train staff...? Is that like a walking staff?"

He gave her a blank stare. "... I mean the workers on the train... "

"Oh. Mommy said I should always ask true gentlecolts and ladies for help."

"... And you think I'm a gentlecolt because...?"

"No one else greeted me with a bow like you. So you must be a gentlecolt, right?"

It was at that moment that his mind froze for the most part. "Pretty sure that's not how it works." And then the brain worked in full again as he stared at the filly, then the door he last saw Kimi take, and then back at the filly. "... Tell you what, Lass. I'll help you look for your bow for a bit. But first, I'm getting you back with your mother. Understood?" The filly nodded. "Good lass... So where is your mother?" She pointed in the direction of the other door, but said nothing. "Of course..." He rubbed his head again in thought. "The boys back home aren't gonna believe this... And Kimi-... Hell if I know what she's thinking... I really need to try and talk to her again..." He closed the door to his room, and held out his hand for the filly to hold. "Okay, let's go." And so the filly grabbed his hand and they both began to move about just to right a minor wrong...

Her children, both with bright head of pink hair like her, but the trait they got from their father also showed as well. Their father had this trait since he had become the twin tail Nibi's jinchuuriki, it's host, he had cat ears in place of his regular ears as a side effect of being the jinchuuriki. Though with the many years of having such a beast within it, it had become apart of him, apart of his very coding and that trait leaked into the children, so when they were born, they also had cat ears upon their heads as well and had some similar cat-like features. Though the cat ears were the most prominent the rest weren't all that noticeable unless you were actually looking for them.

It softened her heart knowing that they had some features from their father, but at the same time it broke her heart as well as it brought back some rather unwanted memories. "Never again..." she said to herself as she closed her eyes and focused her thoughts, pushing away the negative thoughts and focusing on the more positive ones. Her reason for living, her reason for surviving now a days and that reason was really just to see her kids grow up and live.

The waiter soon returned with Kimi's glass of water. "Here you go, Madam." Kimi put away her picture back into her sleeve as she looked at the waiter who brought her drink. She nodded her head and grabbed the glass. "Thank you."

Just before he left he said "If there is anything else, just let me know, I'll be right over there." he pointed towards the back of the car where a counter was at and couple of waiters and waitresses as well. Kimi nodded her head and watched the waiter leave. After that she looked at her glass cup and stared into the drink.

She dipped a finger in the cold water and swirled it around as she looked out the window again. "At least, for now, I don't have to worry about Orochimaru coming after me." she whispered. She sighed again and lowered her gaze to the drink she was swirling. The cold water on her finger felt nice.