The End of Gan Ning - The Menace of the Sea (Noh)

[Kang Ren]

Gan Ning turned around the corner of the building in Chai Sang. He and his pirates docked in Chai Sang to resupply and go further up the river. However, he turned and saw his boat, Chi Lang, on fire with his pirates dead all around.

Gan Ning stood shocked. He grabbed his bells and took them off, hiding them. He walked up to a old man and asked, “What is going on here?”

“Corporal Tzi Hao is killing those damned pirates” the old man said, “Bout time too. Those people have been terrorizing our waters for months now. Ever since he proposed the Pirate Eradication plan he has exterminated three pirate groups so far. Good bye Gan Ning’s pirates.”

Gan Ning stood there speechless. His ship. His men... Gone. His energy drained. His face grew white. His men... His life... He fell to his knees. His head dropped. The sky crackled with thunder. Rain poured from the sky. He knelled there in the street. Rain pouring on him. The streets were now empty. Tears rolled down his face, but no one could tell. He lost everything. Everything he hoped for.

((This was originally going to be the opening to my Shadows quest but I decided to give that up.))

[Nohime]

Nohime had returned from Nan Pi, feeling glad to be away from there for the time being. She had returned to Jiang Dong, originally intending to go to Wu, but chose to make a little side trip to Chai Sang. As soon as she arrived, it was raining heavily. Deciding against getting wet, Nohime quickly bought an umbrella as she advanced into the town. Eventually, as she walked along a road, she saw a ship on fire in the distance. Well, it was now beginning to smoulder due to the rain. Not too far from a dock, she discovered a man kneeling out in the open.

Her first instinct was to let the man be, but something inside her made her want to help him. She struggled with herself for a moment before she finally walked up to the man. She held the umbrella above both herself and him. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Excuse me, are you feeling alright?" she asked him, unaware that this now broken man was Gan Ning, not that she would have known that he was a pirate anyway.

[Kang Ren]

"No... Nothing is right anymore." The rain poured down on him, soaking him to the bone. The pain of losing everything was great. The tears that dripped down his face mixed with the water as he looked up into the sky. Lightning struck nearby and he whispered, "If the heaven's were to strike me down, I would not care, nor would it matter. The Menace of the Sea is no longer. He has died... Along with his crew..."

He turned and looked at Nohime, taken back that it was a beautiful woman that come to him. He smiled weakily, he was glad someone came to help. But he doubt she would be able to help. The pain... It was almost unbearable. He tried to stand up but went right back on his knees again. He was weak. The shock... He asked, "Could you help me up? My legs... aren't working right."

[Nohime]

It suddenly didn't take too long for Nohime to put certain pieces together. Burned down pirate ship and a devastated man? This man was obviously a pirate, but that was okay. Nohime didn't mind a bit of riskiness. Slowly, she tried to help the shocked man up to his feet. It took a little bit of time, but she managed to succeed. After she was sure the man was steady now, she handed the umbrella to him.

"I think you might need this a little more than I do," she stated. "Do you even have a place to stay?" She knew he didn't really have a permanent residence, but she felt it would be common courtesy to ask.

[Kang Ren]

Gan Ning nodded as she helped him up, "Thanks." He slowly stood on his feet. As she held out the umbrella he shook his head and pushed it back into hers, "No. I wish you not to get wet. I am already soaked. I need not for this. I do not wish for you to sick my lady." He said respectfully. He was truly depressed.

He shook his head, "No I do not. My home..." He pointed at the reckage, "is gone."

[Nohime]

Nohime sighed as she looked at the umbrella then to the soaked man. She rolled her eyes as he seemed to be sinking into a more difficult depression. She linked her arm with his and started to take him deeper into the town. She didn't really know her way around, but she could figure it out. She looked up at the broken man before speaking again.

"You know, you sure do seem to be acting a bit strange," she mentioned. "You're acting as if you were...the..." Suddenly her eyes lit up again. She may not know much about the seafaring life, but she knew that there was only one kind of a man that would take the loss of a ship so hard like that. She leaned a bit closer to him before she whispered "You were the captain, weren't you, pirate?" She looked back up at him, not showing the slightest bit of fear or disgust. In fact, she looked more intrigued than anything.

[Kang Ren]

Gan Ning let her take him along, glad that someone cared. However, when she asked him if he was the captain he recoiled and his head fell, "Yea. I was Gan Ning, the Menace of the Seas... Or was. We had bells. We were the most feared pirates in this region." Gan Ning said, "Now... We gone..."

Tears rolled down his face. He didn't know why it was hitting him so hard. He looked away from her and said, "I'm a disgrace and pathetic."

[Nohime]

Nohime couldn't help but roll her eyes. One of the most feared pirates and yet he's acting like this? She quickly lured him to an alleyway and pushed him against a wall. She looked at him straight in the eyes, looking somewhat flustered with him. "Get ahold of yourself, captain," she said to him harshly. "Time for a bit of tough love, sailor boy. If you're as strong as you say you are, why don't you put your strength to good use? This land is in turmoil and just about any kingdom in this country would be more than willing to accept you, I guarantee it. Now stop feeling sorry for yourself. You're lucky that you have a second chance, I hope you know that."

She hoped the young pirate wouldn't be offended by her high and mighty speech, but she wasn't trying to act like she fully understood his situation. All she knew was that a man like him didn't need to be beating himself up for something that was beyond his control, especially when he could be using his strength and knowledge of the sea to assist in the unification of the land.

[Kang Ren]

Gan Ning was surprised at the woman's rough and powerful approach. However, Gan Ning's pride finally kicked in he pushed her up against the wall and said, "I am Gan Ning! They called me the Menace of the Seas. I am one of the most feared men in this region. I plundered the rivers and seas and made a haul. I may not have a ship but I still got a sword." He said with his nostrils flaring. She ignited a fire within him. Something not even the rain could quell.

He backed off and rubbed his neck, "Thanks. I needed that." He looked up at the sky and the clouds were darker than ever. He opened his mouth and the rain poured on his face. A few moments late he looked at her, "Come on. Let go to the tavern... I'll pay." Gan Ning said picking up the umbrella which had fallen while he pushed her up against the wall.

[Nohime]

Nohime gasped as suddenly Gan Ning lunged forward, knocking the umbrella out of her hand. He pushed her against the opposite wall and held her there firmly as he finally tapped back into his pirate spirit. She had to admit though, as he was shouting at her and had her in such a position that he could have easily killed her, she couldn't help but find it...for lack of a better word...charming. Soon, the young man was able to calm himself down. She smiled when he thanked her then handed her the umbrella. He then offered to take her to an inn, to which she replied in the most sultry tone of voice "I would be...delighted"

She couldn't believe her reaction. Here she had been trying to set her sights high on the upper levels of the Sun family and yet she had quickly become attracted to a renegade pirate who had lost his ship and crew. Still, she was set on joining Wu at some point. She had to convince him to join her. She smiled as she linked arms with him again. "Lead the way, Gan Ning, Menace of the Sea."

[Kang Ren]

Gan Ning smiled slyly as she replied to him in the tone, "As you wish my lady." He led her along and into a small dirty tavern. The outside would have turned most people away, but as soon as they walked in they saw something different. It was relatively clean and not many people. However, the people in here were in good spirits and laughing loudly.

"This is where my pirates used to come and stay while on land." Gan Ning explained, "This place looks like crap on the outside, but it is a diamond in the rough."

The establishment yelled to Gan Ning, "Hey Ning! What you want?"

"Two rooms. One for me and one for the lady." Gan Ning looked at his money and frowned, "Well... one room." He turned to Noh and asked, "I'll sleep on the floor."

[Nohime]

As Gan Ning led the beautiful Lady Nohime to the tavern, she couldn't help but be somewhat hesitant by the outside view, but as Gan Ning described it, it was nice on the inside. She smiled to the barkeep as he asked Gan Ning what exactly it was he wanted. When she heard the pirate eventually say 'One room', she couldn't help but smile to herself. This was almost too good to be true. Then Gan Ning said he'd sleep on the floor...total letdown...still, she knew she could get him to change his mind.

She looked to him with her alluring gaze. "Why stay on the floor? I'm sure there's plenty of room in the bed." She let her free hand glide over to gently grasp Gan Ning's hand that was in the confines of their linked arms. She didn't understand why he would possibly hesitate about sleeping in the same bed with her, so she hoped he would oblige.

[Kang Ren]

Gan Ning's eyebrows raised and he smiled slyly, "Of course. Why not?" Sleep with her on the bed? This girl was a beauty! Gan Ning smiled again as he lead her up stairs and into the room.

The room itself was nice and quaint. The bed was of medium size, probably built for two people, or one fatass, Gan Ning thought. The room was clean, a table stood in the center of the room with two chairs, and a chest for clothes if needed.

The first thing Gan Ning did when he walked into the room was take off his shirt, "Gotta get out of my wet clothes." He said throwing his shirt and later his pants into the corner of the room. The only thing that kept his crotch from being exposed was some small short that he wore underneath his clothes. He looked at Noh and asked, "Ya know, I don't even know your name?"

[Nohime]

Nohime smiled. Her plot had worked...well, it wasn't really a plot, just something that she really wanted to happen. She followed him closely to the room. When they got there she observed it. It was fairly nice; it could be worse. Gan Ning then claimed that he needed to get out of his wet clothes. Her eyes widened a bit as he removed his shirt then the rest of his clothing, tossing it into a corner in the room. Her eyes observed every bit of rippling muscle the pirate lord had. The only thing that blocked her view was that bit of undergarment. She bit her bottom lip and almost didn't here Gan Ning's next statement.

"Oh, right," she began. "Well, my name is Nohime. I'm from Japan, I escaped and was escorted here, yada-yada-yada." She didn't feel like babbling on about her life story, especially to him...unless, of course, he was curious...actually, that would probably be something that they should discuss: their pasts. Slowly she made her way into the room a bit more and discovered a set of dressing screens. There was a candle behind them that made them seem luminous...and this gave Nohime an idea. She quickly headed over to behind the screen and set down her umbrella and clothing bag, the candle projecting her shadow as perfectly as could be. "So, Gan Ning, how is the pirate life?"

[Kang Ren]

Gan Ning was geniunely intrigued about her being from Japan. He had heard much about the island across the sea, he even sailed to it once when he was younger. However, the land and the language was different, "I've been to Japan once." As she asked him about him being a pirate he sighed, "Well, it was great. You got to ride all the ocean, without laws. There was only three rules on my ship. Don't diss me. Don't diss the ship. Don't drink my wine. Other than that it was a carefree ship."

"It was like a family sorta. Like a... murderous, ravenous family" Gan Ning chuckled, "We looked out for each other and helped each other out. But the best was the raiding." Gan Ning was looking at Noh behind the screen. The sensuality this woman put off. She was a mystery to him.