Post by Seiko Yahagi on Oct 30, 2008 19:37:06 GMT -5
Contact Information: PM, and we'll go from there.
Roleplaying Experience: Approaching seven years now
How did you find us?: Linked by another member
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Is He/She a Canon?: No
Nationality: Fire Nation
Location: Somewhere in the Fire Nation
Alliance: Herself.
Is He/She a Bender?: Firebender
Character's Name: Seiko Yahagi
Gender: Female
Age: 31
Height: 5'7"
Appearance: While it's highly unlikely that anyone will clearly see her face these days, Seiko has the typical amber eyes and black hair of her Fire Nation comrades (though, "comrades" is used very, very loosely). Standing at roughly 5'7", Seiko's in surprisingly good physical shape, and while she's not exactly brutish, she's just as skilled at an all-out brawl as she is a bending battle. That's not to say she's perfect in a scrap, and she's got quite a few scars to show for most of her shortcomings and miscalculations in life, most of which are easily hidden by the sort of clothing she wears.
The ones that aren't, or at least aren't covered as often, are certainly enough to ensure no one mistakes her for a woman trying to make an honest living. In the center of her left hand is a scar approximately an inch or so long, an a few fractions wide...the result of a botched counter against a dagger-wielding thug, and even today she finds fine motor skills somewhat difficult in her left hand. She has numerous small scars covering the right side of her face as well, caused by shrapnel and debris sent her way after her clan's camp was attacked in the dead of night and detonating the three barrels of blasting jelly stored near the camp. There's also a scar in the shape of a small vertical slash, again appearing to be from a dagger, crossing her lips, though this scar she refuses to talk about (asking is very, very unwise).
When her face is actually visible and her hood is down, one can usually see her hair kept back in a bun and held there courtesy of two long gold [plated] hair pins. Two long, sharp hair pins. Both to ensure her hair doesn't obstruct her vision, and of course because it ensures she always has at least two weapons on hand at all times (and yes, she's used them as such before).
History: Seiko is not the first in her family to earn themselves a particularly unsavory reputation in the Fire Nation. While she was certainly the first to turn to such murderous means of gaining that reputation, her parents managed to do so without having to kill anyone. Well, not directly at least. Her father was a well-to-do merchant in the Fire Nation city of Ru Hui, and he was notorious for working those beneath him to the brink of exhaustion, if not death. Those who couldn't keep up with his backbreaking standards were promptly dismissed and a replacement found, a policy that ruined more than a few lives over the years.
While she was young, and once her daily studies had been completed, Seiko often tagged along with her father as he oversaw his hired help. Everyone from the men and women who worked in the shops and market stalls to those who transported the goods to market received the same treatment (namely, "poor" treatment), and it was explained to Seiko as the only proper path in life. In society, there were the strong, such as the Yahagi family, and then there were the weak: members of the lower caste, who only existed on this earth to make the powerful even more so. Once they failed to do so, what use were they? Seiko took these lessons to heart more so than those she received from her tutors...
As she grew older, young Seiko took the lessons in another route and began to relentlessly push herself to be stronger phsyically, not just mentally. At age fifteen, she had to be forcibly seperated from a neighbor boy, and not for the reason most would expect for a girl her age. He'd made the unfortunate decision to tease her after she happened to trip walking up the steps into the family home, and she promptly attacked him. By the time they were pulled apart, the boy had sustained a broken nose, two black eyes, three broken fingers, a few missing teeth, too many bruises to count, and a fractured skull courtesy of a spur-of-the-moment improvisation by Seiko involving a nearby rock. That wasn't to say she escaped unscathed either, as not only did he manage to give her a black eye, a bloody nose, and a few bruises, but also a bruised rib.
Still, her father managed to sweep the matter under the rug (though it didn't prevent him from severely punishing his daughter, not for shaming the family, but for costing him so much money), and so long as Seiko never went near the boy again, the boy's family wouldn't ask the soldiers to arrest her for assault. This was, arguably, the most important point in her life, as if the family had instead pursued justice over her father's apologies (read: bribe), Seiko might have been stopped before she turned to far more violent methods. Or at least, prevented from enrolling in the city's fire bending academy for girls once she showed signs of bending ability. At the very least it could have made it clear she lacked the proper restraint to learn such a dangerous art...
Of course, that didn't go undiscovered for long, either.
After numerous incidents of unnecessary and unwarranted violence in the academy, Seiko was finally expelled after three years. This was the one incident her parents couldn't make go away, and since she was of age, enlisted her in the Fire Nation army in an attempt to teach her proper discipline. This was about as big a disaster as one would expect, though she did manage to go five years before being dishonorably discharged. Her parents disowned her not long afterward, largely to save face, and a furious Seiko went off on her own to try and forge a living for herself, one way or another.
Not surprisingly, she chose a path well outside the realm of law and order; the life of a bandit and a thief. At first she operated with some measure of stealth, simply breaking into a home under the cover of darkness and attempting to make off with any valuables she could carry, but after a year of this, she grew bolder. She recruited others to her cause, other individuals who were just as comfortable as she was when it came to operating outside the law, and within two years the Red Sabre bandit clan was formed. It operated outside Ru Hui for quite some time before Seiko's brashness resulted in the town guards taking action and launching a night raid on the camp, inadvertantly detonating three barrels of blasting jelly and killing eight of the bandits. A dozen more were captured, but a wounded Seiko escaped along with some thirty or more of her fellow bandits into the wilderness.
This defeat, the first the clan had endured, prompted a brief challenge to Seiko's authority as the clan's leader. Seven months and three dead would-be usurpers later, the clan was once again unified under Seiko's command. It's numbers were still depleted, only 43 members strong, but stronger for the trouble. After all, the men (and women) now had experience dealing with fire nation soldiers, and as such, weren't likely to be caught off-guard again. Armed with both new confidence and knowledge, Seiko set off with the Red Sabre clan and set up a more permanent base of operations in the wilderness. While the days of boldly operating near a city as large as Ru Hui were gone, Seiko began to raid both merchant caravans as well as small, rural Fire Nation villages...
Inventory:
While Seiko is a proficient bender, sometimes firebending alone isn't enough. Sometimes outright brutality is needed to properly instill fear, and as such she's taken to training with a few blade weapons.
The Daggers: While they lack the sort of utility a sword does, as well as a great deal of defensive capability, Seiko's grown quite fond of her two daggers. For one, they're easier to conceal than much larger weapons such as swords and spears. Another advantage is their lighter weight; she can attack with far greater speed than she could with a much heavier blade. And while the short blade length means she has to put herself in harms way to stand any chance at landing a killing blow, it's something she's grown accustomed to. She can parry most lighter blades so long as she's quick enough (and strikes in the proper place), or a far easier method is to simply dodge and cut the tendons in her opponent's wrist and cause them to drop their weapon. No matter which strategy she chooses (and there are several more), Seiko has grown quite proficient with the blades, and is not to be discounted in combat simply because she's not carrying a large weapon.
The daggers themselves measure 18 inches in length, the blade making up approximately 13 inches of that length. Additionally, she has two significantly shorter daggers (a total length of only 10 inches, the blades measuring 5 inches) that she keeps hidden on her person. These aren't meant for the same sort of combat that her larger daggers are, but do well in situations where she has the element of surprise on her side. Additionally, they're far easier to conceal (usually in the sleeves of her robe, so they can be accessed easily).
As mentioned before, her hair pins can also be used as weapons, as the metal isn't quite as soft as pure gold, and is thus capable of actually killing an individual without bending after the first strike.
Personality: Sadistic, malicious, and downright unpleasant to be around, Seiko almost appears to go out of her way to make herself the pinnacle of human brutality. Even amongst her fellow bandits, her tolerance for what she considers "weakness" is incredibly low, second only to her tolerance for any acts against her or the bandit clan. Her idea of proper punishment (not to mention ways to gather information, bring about obedience, etc) is Draconian at best, and she often delights in carrying out the sentence herself. Her aggressive nature can be observed best in combat, as she's taken the overwhelming offensive style of the firebenders to an extreme, and so long as she's capable of moving, she'll never stop attacking. Obviously, this can be a detriment, as it can result in foolishly rushing into a trap with no defensive strategy, and should someone ever manage to put her on the defensive for a change, she would be noticably out of her element (and in all likelihood, easily defeated).
And while she's chosen the life of a bandit, oddly enough it is not motivated by greed. Rather, by a nigh insatiable lust for power, and not merely that offered to a ruler or nobleman. Real power, the ability to do as she sees fit, whether it be robbing a man blind, robbing a blind man, or anything in between. But what's the motive behind such behavior? A whole-hearted belief that people are no more than glorified animals, and that for society to function the strongest must exert power over the weak. And, in times of hardship, even cull a few of the weaker animals from the population.
For those few individuals who somehow manage to get close to her, more often than not in an advisory role rather than anything remotely resembling intimacy, Seiko...isn't much different, sadly. She's incredibly untrusting of other people, and even second-guesses the few people who manage to get close to her. In fact, her paranoia has reached such extremes that when she does go to sleep, it's not uncommon for her to do so in a concealed area (whether it be a cave, or a large tent camoflauged with leaves and debris) surrounded by both traps to maim anyone trying to sneak up on her, as well as plenty of debris to crunch under one's foot (a primitive alarm system, but its enough to wake her).
Strengths: Highly skilled firebender and warrior (with some exception, see weaknesses), unrelenting in her determination to get what she wants, intelligent and capable of "thinking on her feet," and ruthlessly efficient.
Weaknesses: Poorly suited to defensive strategies in combat, and will often lose any fight that forces her to stay on the defensive for a prolongued period of time. Her determination in combat straddles the fine line between bravery and foolishness, and she makes enemies very, very easily (allies, not so much).
Sample Roleplay:
((Note: since it's been shown that carriages exist numerous times in the episodes taking place in the Earth Kingdom, I'm going to assume they aren't terribly uncommon in the Fire Nation as well))
All told, the attack had gone rather well. Only one of the dozen raiders was injured, and quite frankly, that wasn't any of Seiko's concern. If he lived, so be it. If he didn't, he could be replaced. The same could be said if his injuries slowed the group down, he'd simply be finished off at Seiko's command, and his body left for the scavengers. That's what Seiko had been taught early on in life, and it was one of the few lessons from her father she was still grateful for. Now, as for the armed escort for this particular group of merchants, well...they hadn't fared quite so well. Seiko would lose no sleep over their deaths, nor that of two of the three carriage drivers. One met his end in the sights of Li Mei, struck down from his seat with one arrow, and finished with a second to the throat.
The second...well, he hadn't been put out yet. But then again, Seiko was known for going a little overboard with her bending. All that was left now was to gather up the survivors, get the valuables, and...well, the possibility of survivors had yet to be determined. It would all depend on Seiko's mood after the valuables were found. She left Li Mei to her work, which just so happened to be rummaging through the clothes of the carriage driver and two escorts she'd slain for anything worth stealing, and rather than begin her own looting, Seiko walked confidently toward the rest of the raiding party who were gathering the survivors through any means necessary. Some were smart and did as they were told, others had to be run down and dragged back to the scene. One in particular had to be shot with an arrow and retrieved, but when he wouldn't remain silent, there was soon one less survivor to interrogate.
"I'll keep this short, as I have many more exciting things to busy myself with. We know you're not on a leisurely wagon ride, and we know where you came from..." Seiko stated impatiently, her gaze eventually coming to rest on a brown haired man who looked to be only a decade or so older than herself. Not that he could tell of course, the shade from her hood, coupled with the dim light of sunset, interfered with any attempts to accurately guess her appearance. "You are of particular interest to me. You two, stand him up."
The two bandits guarding the rear of the group moved quickly to pull the man Seiko pointed to up to his feet, something that guaranteed their survival for at least another day or so, and then stepped back and let her go about her business. Mostly because if the man did anything foolish, they didn't want to risk injury by staying close to him. Injuries that, in all likelihood, would be inflicted by an irate Seiko.
"Your little wagon belongs to Tai Yang of Mazaki, does it not?" Seiko asked, and although something about the way she asked the question hinted she already knew the answer, the man apparently decided it was worth lying. Doubly foolish, considering Seiko had lied herself; even if he'd agreed, he'd be in dire straits.
"You're mistaken. I'm on an errand for Chen Fong of Zihao."
Beneath her hood, Seiko smiled before suddenly tossing the man against the back of his carriage, quickly drawing and thrusting one of her daggers through the man's left shoulder, effectively pinning him to his own carriage. She didn't retreat either, instead remaining close enough that he'd be able to see her face, and know for a fact that she was capable of far worse if he lied again. Quickly wrenching the dagger upward, further widening the already painful wound, Seiko addressed the man again; apparently unaffected by his whimpering.
"Did you expect me to believe a little fishing village would have an errand important enough to require three carriages and an escort of armed guards? Though, as you were stupid enough to try deceiving me, perhaps you've really forgotten who sent you, so allow me to refresh your memory..."
Another sudden jerk of the dagger, and another cry of pain from her foolhardy victim.
"You were on your way to a man in the capital for Jun Chin, a gem cutter in Ru Hui. You're carrying a shipment of such gems to deliver to said merchant. And..."
Seiko paused, producing another dagger from her robes, this one much smaller, and holding it up between them for the man to see.
"...And you're going to tell me where you've hidden them, or I'm going to cut you up piece by piece until you do tell me. And since you were cruel enough to attempt to mislead me with that little lie earlier, I'm inclined to start with your eyes..."
Roleplaying Experience: Approaching seven years now
How did you find us?: Linked by another member
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Is He/She a Canon?: No
Nationality: Fire Nation
Location: Somewhere in the Fire Nation
Alliance: Herself.
Is He/She a Bender?: Firebender
Character's Name: Seiko Yahagi
Gender: Female
Age: 31
Height: 5'7"
Appearance: While it's highly unlikely that anyone will clearly see her face these days, Seiko has the typical amber eyes and black hair of her Fire Nation comrades (though, "comrades" is used very, very loosely). Standing at roughly 5'7", Seiko's in surprisingly good physical shape, and while she's not exactly brutish, she's just as skilled at an all-out brawl as she is a bending battle. That's not to say she's perfect in a scrap, and she's got quite a few scars to show for most of her shortcomings and miscalculations in life, most of which are easily hidden by the sort of clothing she wears.
The ones that aren't, or at least aren't covered as often, are certainly enough to ensure no one mistakes her for a woman trying to make an honest living. In the center of her left hand is a scar approximately an inch or so long, an a few fractions wide...the result of a botched counter against a dagger-wielding thug, and even today she finds fine motor skills somewhat difficult in her left hand. She has numerous small scars covering the right side of her face as well, caused by shrapnel and debris sent her way after her clan's camp was attacked in the dead of night and detonating the three barrels of blasting jelly stored near the camp. There's also a scar in the shape of a small vertical slash, again appearing to be from a dagger, crossing her lips, though this scar she refuses to talk about (asking is very, very unwise).
When her face is actually visible and her hood is down, one can usually see her hair kept back in a bun and held there courtesy of two long gold [plated] hair pins. Two long, sharp hair pins. Both to ensure her hair doesn't obstruct her vision, and of course because it ensures she always has at least two weapons on hand at all times (and yes, she's used them as such before).
History: Seiko is not the first in her family to earn themselves a particularly unsavory reputation in the Fire Nation. While she was certainly the first to turn to such murderous means of gaining that reputation, her parents managed to do so without having to kill anyone. Well, not directly at least. Her father was a well-to-do merchant in the Fire Nation city of Ru Hui, and he was notorious for working those beneath him to the brink of exhaustion, if not death. Those who couldn't keep up with his backbreaking standards were promptly dismissed and a replacement found, a policy that ruined more than a few lives over the years.
While she was young, and once her daily studies had been completed, Seiko often tagged along with her father as he oversaw his hired help. Everyone from the men and women who worked in the shops and market stalls to those who transported the goods to market received the same treatment (namely, "poor" treatment), and it was explained to Seiko as the only proper path in life. In society, there were the strong, such as the Yahagi family, and then there were the weak: members of the lower caste, who only existed on this earth to make the powerful even more so. Once they failed to do so, what use were they? Seiko took these lessons to heart more so than those she received from her tutors...
As she grew older, young Seiko took the lessons in another route and began to relentlessly push herself to be stronger phsyically, not just mentally. At age fifteen, she had to be forcibly seperated from a neighbor boy, and not for the reason most would expect for a girl her age. He'd made the unfortunate decision to tease her after she happened to trip walking up the steps into the family home, and she promptly attacked him. By the time they were pulled apart, the boy had sustained a broken nose, two black eyes, three broken fingers, a few missing teeth, too many bruises to count, and a fractured skull courtesy of a spur-of-the-moment improvisation by Seiko involving a nearby rock. That wasn't to say she escaped unscathed either, as not only did he manage to give her a black eye, a bloody nose, and a few bruises, but also a bruised rib.
Still, her father managed to sweep the matter under the rug (though it didn't prevent him from severely punishing his daughter, not for shaming the family, but for costing him so much money), and so long as Seiko never went near the boy again, the boy's family wouldn't ask the soldiers to arrest her for assault. This was, arguably, the most important point in her life, as if the family had instead pursued justice over her father's apologies (read: bribe), Seiko might have been stopped before she turned to far more violent methods. Or at least, prevented from enrolling in the city's fire bending academy for girls once she showed signs of bending ability. At the very least it could have made it clear she lacked the proper restraint to learn such a dangerous art...
Of course, that didn't go undiscovered for long, either.
After numerous incidents of unnecessary and unwarranted violence in the academy, Seiko was finally expelled after three years. This was the one incident her parents couldn't make go away, and since she was of age, enlisted her in the Fire Nation army in an attempt to teach her proper discipline. This was about as big a disaster as one would expect, though she did manage to go five years before being dishonorably discharged. Her parents disowned her not long afterward, largely to save face, and a furious Seiko went off on her own to try and forge a living for herself, one way or another.
Not surprisingly, she chose a path well outside the realm of law and order; the life of a bandit and a thief. At first she operated with some measure of stealth, simply breaking into a home under the cover of darkness and attempting to make off with any valuables she could carry, but after a year of this, she grew bolder. She recruited others to her cause, other individuals who were just as comfortable as she was when it came to operating outside the law, and within two years the Red Sabre bandit clan was formed. It operated outside Ru Hui for quite some time before Seiko's brashness resulted in the town guards taking action and launching a night raid on the camp, inadvertantly detonating three barrels of blasting jelly and killing eight of the bandits. A dozen more were captured, but a wounded Seiko escaped along with some thirty or more of her fellow bandits into the wilderness.
This defeat, the first the clan had endured, prompted a brief challenge to Seiko's authority as the clan's leader. Seven months and three dead would-be usurpers later, the clan was once again unified under Seiko's command. It's numbers were still depleted, only 43 members strong, but stronger for the trouble. After all, the men (and women) now had experience dealing with fire nation soldiers, and as such, weren't likely to be caught off-guard again. Armed with both new confidence and knowledge, Seiko set off with the Red Sabre clan and set up a more permanent base of operations in the wilderness. While the days of boldly operating near a city as large as Ru Hui were gone, Seiko began to raid both merchant caravans as well as small, rural Fire Nation villages...
Inventory:
While Seiko is a proficient bender, sometimes firebending alone isn't enough. Sometimes outright brutality is needed to properly instill fear, and as such she's taken to training with a few blade weapons.
The Daggers: While they lack the sort of utility a sword does, as well as a great deal of defensive capability, Seiko's grown quite fond of her two daggers. For one, they're easier to conceal than much larger weapons such as swords and spears. Another advantage is their lighter weight; she can attack with far greater speed than she could with a much heavier blade. And while the short blade length means she has to put herself in harms way to stand any chance at landing a killing blow, it's something she's grown accustomed to. She can parry most lighter blades so long as she's quick enough (and strikes in the proper place), or a far easier method is to simply dodge and cut the tendons in her opponent's wrist and cause them to drop their weapon. No matter which strategy she chooses (and there are several more), Seiko has grown quite proficient with the blades, and is not to be discounted in combat simply because she's not carrying a large weapon.
The daggers themselves measure 18 inches in length, the blade making up approximately 13 inches of that length. Additionally, she has two significantly shorter daggers (a total length of only 10 inches, the blades measuring 5 inches) that she keeps hidden on her person. These aren't meant for the same sort of combat that her larger daggers are, but do well in situations where she has the element of surprise on her side. Additionally, they're far easier to conceal (usually in the sleeves of her robe, so they can be accessed easily).
As mentioned before, her hair pins can also be used as weapons, as the metal isn't quite as soft as pure gold, and is thus capable of actually killing an individual without bending after the first strike.
Personality: Sadistic, malicious, and downright unpleasant to be around, Seiko almost appears to go out of her way to make herself the pinnacle of human brutality. Even amongst her fellow bandits, her tolerance for what she considers "weakness" is incredibly low, second only to her tolerance for any acts against her or the bandit clan. Her idea of proper punishment (not to mention ways to gather information, bring about obedience, etc) is Draconian at best, and she often delights in carrying out the sentence herself. Her aggressive nature can be observed best in combat, as she's taken the overwhelming offensive style of the firebenders to an extreme, and so long as she's capable of moving, she'll never stop attacking. Obviously, this can be a detriment, as it can result in foolishly rushing into a trap with no defensive strategy, and should someone ever manage to put her on the defensive for a change, she would be noticably out of her element (and in all likelihood, easily defeated).
And while she's chosen the life of a bandit, oddly enough it is not motivated by greed. Rather, by a nigh insatiable lust for power, and not merely that offered to a ruler or nobleman. Real power, the ability to do as she sees fit, whether it be robbing a man blind, robbing a blind man, or anything in between. But what's the motive behind such behavior? A whole-hearted belief that people are no more than glorified animals, and that for society to function the strongest must exert power over the weak. And, in times of hardship, even cull a few of the weaker animals from the population.
For those few individuals who somehow manage to get close to her, more often than not in an advisory role rather than anything remotely resembling intimacy, Seiko...isn't much different, sadly. She's incredibly untrusting of other people, and even second-guesses the few people who manage to get close to her. In fact, her paranoia has reached such extremes that when she does go to sleep, it's not uncommon for her to do so in a concealed area (whether it be a cave, or a large tent camoflauged with leaves and debris) surrounded by both traps to maim anyone trying to sneak up on her, as well as plenty of debris to crunch under one's foot (a primitive alarm system, but its enough to wake her).
Strengths: Highly skilled firebender and warrior (with some exception, see weaknesses), unrelenting in her determination to get what she wants, intelligent and capable of "thinking on her feet," and ruthlessly efficient.
Weaknesses: Poorly suited to defensive strategies in combat, and will often lose any fight that forces her to stay on the defensive for a prolongued period of time. Her determination in combat straddles the fine line between bravery and foolishness, and she makes enemies very, very easily (allies, not so much).
Sample Roleplay:
((Note: since it's been shown that carriages exist numerous times in the episodes taking place in the Earth Kingdom, I'm going to assume they aren't terribly uncommon in the Fire Nation as well))
All told, the attack had gone rather well. Only one of the dozen raiders was injured, and quite frankly, that wasn't any of Seiko's concern. If he lived, so be it. If he didn't, he could be replaced. The same could be said if his injuries slowed the group down, he'd simply be finished off at Seiko's command, and his body left for the scavengers. That's what Seiko had been taught early on in life, and it was one of the few lessons from her father she was still grateful for. Now, as for the armed escort for this particular group of merchants, well...they hadn't fared quite so well. Seiko would lose no sleep over their deaths, nor that of two of the three carriage drivers. One met his end in the sights of Li Mei, struck down from his seat with one arrow, and finished with a second to the throat.
The second...well, he hadn't been put out yet. But then again, Seiko was known for going a little overboard with her bending. All that was left now was to gather up the survivors, get the valuables, and...well, the possibility of survivors had yet to be determined. It would all depend on Seiko's mood after the valuables were found. She left Li Mei to her work, which just so happened to be rummaging through the clothes of the carriage driver and two escorts she'd slain for anything worth stealing, and rather than begin her own looting, Seiko walked confidently toward the rest of the raiding party who were gathering the survivors through any means necessary. Some were smart and did as they were told, others had to be run down and dragged back to the scene. One in particular had to be shot with an arrow and retrieved, but when he wouldn't remain silent, there was soon one less survivor to interrogate.
"I'll keep this short, as I have many more exciting things to busy myself with. We know you're not on a leisurely wagon ride, and we know where you came from..." Seiko stated impatiently, her gaze eventually coming to rest on a brown haired man who looked to be only a decade or so older than herself. Not that he could tell of course, the shade from her hood, coupled with the dim light of sunset, interfered with any attempts to accurately guess her appearance. "You are of particular interest to me. You two, stand him up."
The two bandits guarding the rear of the group moved quickly to pull the man Seiko pointed to up to his feet, something that guaranteed their survival for at least another day or so, and then stepped back and let her go about her business. Mostly because if the man did anything foolish, they didn't want to risk injury by staying close to him. Injuries that, in all likelihood, would be inflicted by an irate Seiko.
"Your little wagon belongs to Tai Yang of Mazaki, does it not?" Seiko asked, and although something about the way she asked the question hinted she already knew the answer, the man apparently decided it was worth lying. Doubly foolish, considering Seiko had lied herself; even if he'd agreed, he'd be in dire straits.
"You're mistaken. I'm on an errand for Chen Fong of Zihao."
Beneath her hood, Seiko smiled before suddenly tossing the man against the back of his carriage, quickly drawing and thrusting one of her daggers through the man's left shoulder, effectively pinning him to his own carriage. She didn't retreat either, instead remaining close enough that he'd be able to see her face, and know for a fact that she was capable of far worse if he lied again. Quickly wrenching the dagger upward, further widening the already painful wound, Seiko addressed the man again; apparently unaffected by his whimpering.
"Did you expect me to believe a little fishing village would have an errand important enough to require three carriages and an escort of armed guards? Though, as you were stupid enough to try deceiving me, perhaps you've really forgotten who sent you, so allow me to refresh your memory..."
Another sudden jerk of the dagger, and another cry of pain from her foolhardy victim.
"You were on your way to a man in the capital for Jun Chin, a gem cutter in Ru Hui. You're carrying a shipment of such gems to deliver to said merchant. And..."
Seiko paused, producing another dagger from her robes, this one much smaller, and holding it up between them for the man to see.
"...And you're going to tell me where you've hidden them, or I'm going to cut you up piece by piece until you do tell me. And since you were cruel enough to attempt to mislead me with that little lie earlier, I'm inclined to start with your eyes..."
