~+Ying.&.Yang+~

(( If you want to join please send me a note, i want the two main characters to develope quickly before we add in additional main characters ^^ I'll have the HQ sign up ready just as soon as the story has progressed far enough! thanks))

The balance of life and death, chaos and peace, judgement and equality. it all hangs in the balance of a small red string...
two bodies...
...1 soul...
....pieces of the same heart

A new evil emerges from the mist, where has our balance gone? In times of great need gods have sent gifts to those of mortal flesh, but how will they use that power? Will their red string of fate break under the pressure?

Zen: Legend name is Ying
6'2
18
his eyes are a light blue while his hair ever since his birth has been a white with a bit of a silver reflection in the sun. his hair actually goes down to his waist but keeps it in a samurai style pony tail keeping the length to the middle of his back. he wears a tariditional male kimono but at the waist it splits to pants instead of a dress. his sleeves are tucked into braces on his arms and carries his katana with him at all times.
He is very hard to anger or excite for that matter, Zen is near zoid of most emotion, although does seem to perk up when food is around... especially when food is around. he loves sweets and suprisingly is very joyful to have as company despite his choice of weapon.
Zen was born in a rice picking village with his mother and grandmother, his father had left after being recruited during a war, his father never returned. after months of sulking his mother finally came to him to tell him that he was not really their child, but adopted from a monk, the monk had told them that Zen was a very special baby, one that would change the fate of the world to come. This gave Zen meaning to his life again, Aspiring to find out what the monk new of him and his origin, but he never stopped loving his mother. through his childhood he was taught by his grandmother the ways of meditation and by his mother the way of patience. he taught himself the ways of a warrior. spending everyday practicing with a wooden katana he had carved himself. when he was old enough he left his mother with her new husband and newly born little sister. it was time for Zen to find his true meaning in life. so he packed his weapon and a little cash and left just after his 18th birthday. this is where our story begins.

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Zen took a deep breath of fresh mountain air tossing his bangs out of his hair he pulled his small pack tighter on his shoulder and walked into the village just below the top of the mountain wher ethe temples were. he walked into a tea shop sitting down drinking in the warm white tea "all this way up the mountain and without a jacket! you must be frozen!" the tea girl said and he smiled "it is a little chilly out isnt it" he said and rubbed his hands together before placing them on the warm cup "but im on a very important task you see, i must get to the temple." he said and she shook her head with a smile "theres even more snow up there, but i guess you know what your doing! please let me know if there is anyway i can assit you further!" she said bowing and walking away. he sipped his tea before hearing slamming of the door behind him and cursing under someones breath. he turned a little suprised at what he saw.

Name: Hiroki (legend name Yang)
Age: 18
Appearance: 6 feet exactly, longish but kept hair that comes down to just above shoulders, a loose whispy quality to it. Dark eyes to match his black hair that resembles shadow. He wears a regular priests clothing, but instead his is a black and white pattern instead of white and red.

Hiroki was raised in a highly spiritual city, one that esteemed itself for it's money intake from offerigs to its temples and high standing for producing only the best of men and women dedicated to their studies and work for the gods. They lived under the code of virtue, stability, and perfect harmony. Something that the short fused and loud persona of Hiroki just didn't seem to mesh with. It wasn't that Hiroki wasn't cordial, or have a pleasant side, he just was a little bit easier to annoy than most other people. He was constantly reprimanded as a child for his annoyed out bursts, lack of patience and his inability to comply with their authority. The only thing that kept them from forcing the only child studying in their temples out was his extraordinary abilities in the way of magical arts and his determination at perfecting them. However the hard work could only last him so long before his mentor lost it with him. After a rather short discussion, the council of the elders that owned the temples ordered that he be sent on a journey of soul discovery.
~~~~~~*~~~~~~~
It was freezing, the only thing Hiroki could think as he made his way to the midway town, the only place he could think of to escape the bitterly cold chill of the powdery white crap everyone here was so fond of.
It's not so bad up here, just cool breezes and fresh air, nothing to worry about, you'll be fine. He sneered to himself at the thought. Why did he ever listen to Manami anyways? The girl couldn't even bless a house correctly let alone give proper advice for travel. He could see her now giving him that goofy apologetic smile that he'd grown up with. He rolled his eyes, wishing to himself the monks hadn't lost their patience with him and sent him to this frozen over hell hole for 'spiritual renewal'.
"Evil old monks, they'll really get it when I get back." He hissed just as a cart passed by. It hit a pot hole in the dirt road, splashing him down his front with muddy water and more snow. Hiroki froze his eyes narrowing slowly as he tried to contain the string of curses that wanted to stream from his mouth when the old man looked down from his ox cart and said, "I'm sorry, sonny. Are you alright?"
He sucked in a breath and looked up at the man with a bright smile, "Perfectly fine, thank you." he said, but as soon as the words left his mouth his face fell back to it's original dark demeanor as he trudged into the nearest shop he could find. He slammed the door behind him, shaking the snow and brown water out of his hair and clothes. The only thing that left his mouth was a long string of angry curses, an odd commodity coming from someone who was dressed as a priest.
"Screw it! Holy shit it's cold!" He hissed, sitting down at one of the tables. He huffed at the little relief to the cold this place was. Why couldn't he just be back at the temple now, perfecting the spells he'd worked so hard to master? Why would the elders send him here of all places?
"Spiritual awakening, biggest load of bull I've ever heard."

Zen felt this was him time for action. seeing the mans robes he stood and walked to the frazzled man. "hello" he said sitting next to him with his cup of tea handing him an empty cup motioning for the tea girl to fill it.

"i know your a little ... out of sorts, but it seems you said something about a spiritual awakening? does this mean you are from the temple? because i could really use a hand getting up those paths" he said with a warming smile while the tea girl poured the tea bowing again and walking away.

Zen bowed his head slightly "my name is Zen by the way, forgive my manors" he said his light blue eyes resting on Hiroki

Hiroki looked up at the man, who was named Zen aparently, and got ready to blow him off and tell him to leave, that he wasn't in the mood to preach about soul discovery or something stupid like that. Instead though, he really looked him over, noticing first the practically white hair, an odd commodity for someone so young, and that he wasn't there to seek any blessings or anything for his travel. He was just another person who was being forced to climb these forsaken cliffs to find some sort of life changing experience. "Sorry, I'm from farther south from here. This is my first time setting foot on these mountains." He said though his voice wasn't any more distant than if they weren't talking face to face. "I'm Hiroki, I would say its a pleasure to meet you, but this day hasn't been going well enough for anything to be pleasurable." He said and acknowledged the teaand took it to warm his hands.
"So what, were you forced to be here on some kind of life altering experience too?" He asked, guessing he didn't want to be here.

"not forced, but yes im hoping it to be life changing" he said and looked at his tea with a smile "i came here willingly" he said and looked out the window "though we wont get far up those trails in teh dark. it would probably be wise to get a room in town till the sun comes back up." he said taking another drink of tea

he tapped his fingers on the little cup "plus... with your clothes all wet i doubt you would get to far in that snow, you know hypothermia and all" he joked with a smile trying to get Hiroki to smile even a little, that scowl of his was almost depressing

hiroki raised an eyebrow at Zen, his frown sill in place. "The cold is miserable. I wouldn't want to go up that mountain even if I wasn't covered in snow already." He said and took a sip of the tea. the bitter taste made him cringe a little but he didn't exactly hate the added warmth. "I guess traveling alone at dark would be unwise. And rest would be nice...A place to stay in town might be the best option." He thought for a moment as he stared out the one window that was framed by ice. He wasn't sure if he liked this Zen character but would tolerate him till he could get to the temple and out.

((sorry for the wait! I PASSED MY DRIVERS TEST!))

"good!" zen said with a smile taking a sip of his tea "it will be nice to travel with someone after such a long time bymyself!" he said with a slight smile before stopping the waitress

"miss, ahh no the tea is fine! i was wondering if you could direct me and this gentleman to the nearest Inn" he said and she smiled explaining where it was in town

after they had finished their tea Zen followed Hiroki to the inn and looked at the inns prices on a big board by the front desk. for a single bed room it was 70$ and for a double it was 80

he saw the frazzled look on Hiroki's face and blinked "my my how expensive... it would be cheaper to get a two bed room and the two just split the difference" he said pearing over hiroki's shoulder to see he in his rather low wallet

(CONGRATS! Wasn't that hard was it?)
Hiroki flinched a little, internally cursing himself at his low money supply. It was stupid to think that he wouldn't have brought more money with him. Then again he expected to walk up to the temple, experience some kind of life changing mumbo jumbo then head home...wherever that was. He always felt out of place with those heart felt spiritual crazies in those temples back hime and they must have agreed or they wouldn't have sent him away so willingly. He shook his head not really caring about that, or at least telling himself so as his serious look only softened ever so slightly.
"Whatever is going to get me out of the cold faster." He huffed, internally assessing the situation as he was handed the key. He began to wonder if he was making some grave mistake, that this Zen was really the type to rob someone blind and leave them to die up in the mountains. Hiroki actually smiled a bit. What a surprise it would be for anyone that tried to lay a finger on him, especially with his knowledge of spells strong enough to debilitate someone for hours.
He climbed the stairs looking around the hallway for a sign of the room. When he found it he turned the key in the lock but the swelled wood from the cold wouldn't let the door budge. He tried to push it open but the door barely budged. "You've got to be kidding me!" He growled, trying again to force it open by pushing against it heavily but the door only creaked in protest.

zen walked forward and put his hand on the door pushing it open with the greatest of ease "ah looks like it was a little jammed eh?" he said and smiled walking into the room "ill lite a fire" he said walking to the small stone fireplace grabbing the matchbook from the small nightside table and lighting the firewood. he blew on the small flame gingerly until it was large enough to spred on its own. he held his hands out to warm them and sighed. he pulled both of his swords from his side and placed them on the mantel. he turned and walked towards the bathroom "do you mind if i shower first?" he asked hiroki

Hiroki blushed a little in embarrassment at himself and his inability to work the door open. 'You're just exhausted. You aren't that incompitent!' He thought though still didn't look at Zen. He was happy to see the fire started. When Zen headed for the bathroom, he shook his head at his question. "No, go ahead." He said, feeling a little odd at being around someone this long. When he left into the bathroom, Hiroki moved over to the fire and smiled at the warmth. Fire, it was his favorite element. He noticed the swords and looked back to the bathroom door. When no one returned he moved over to them. They were well taken care of, a nice and sleek metal with a hilt that practically seemed archaic but well kept. His fingers lightly traced the blade but he pulled away at how cold the metal felt. 'Like ice...pure and light.' He thought in amazement.

zen poured the bowl of fresh water on his head after rubbing soap through it . he smiled at how nice it felt after such a long trip when he got out he pulled a pair of sleeping pants on and laid the towel lazily over his head rubbing his wet hair that clung to his shoulders and down his back. he walked out to see hiroki touching his blades and his eyebrows went up in a little shock "ah, they are nice arent they? i made them myself" he said grabbing a brush combing through his long hair with the red ribbon in his hand

"i left some hot water if you wanted to bathe" he said noticing slightly how the flames leaned in towards hiroki. it was a little strange... but perhaps he was just seeing things

"and then maybe you'll be able to tell me more about yourself"

Hiroki jumped a little when he heard Zen's voice and pulled his hand away from the blades. The skill and time it must have taken to make those...the patience he just didn't have. He nodded in recognition of the idea of hot water and paused a bit at the thought of telling a person he hardly knew about himself. He frowned a bit and shrugged nonchallantly. "Yeah yeah, but I'm telling you there isn't much to tell." He said and wlaked off to the bathroom in a way a bit dismissive. He walked over to the water and focused a little on its surface. The water formed a bubble as he slipped off his clothes and dantilly floated over to him. It popped and dropped the hot water on his head, making him laugh a little and also curse himself at his lack of full control. His abilities didn't have a certain specification as far as which element to use, but he did find himself unable to control things as well as he did fire. He shook it off as a simple sense of preference rather than inability. He washed off the stains from the major portion of the robe that had caught the worst of the mud and when done, just used the clean dry pant and white shirt that he had luckily place underneath the robe for added warmth. He found it hard to keep warm in this damn place.
He walked out of the washroom and shook out his wet hair with a sniffle. He found a place by the fire again, relishing in the warmth it brought. He remembered Zen and instantly his attention snapped to him. "So," He said when he noticed theere was a comfortable air about him, "what is it you want to know? Maybe I can answer a few of your questions and you a few of mine."

"ah that would be nice, my first question..." he said confentraling on smoothing the kinks from the ribbon out

"why did you come here, if you do not like the cold?" he said his focus still on the ribbon and gently and patiently smoothing the worn kinks out

Hiroki looked at the ribbon and raised a brow at it. "It wasn't a matter of wether I liked the cold or not. Where I'm from, whatever the elders tell you to do, you do it. They said I needed to come here, so..I did." He felt a little stupid, feeling like the entire situation was stupid in general. What could this temple up in this frozen waste land hold for anyone? "What about you? Any reason you came here so willingly?"

"ah, my adopted mother told me the monks from this place know where i am from. im curious enough to brave the cold" he said with an almost bitter smile

"ah elders? sounds fancy, i grew up on a rice farm. maybe you can teach me proper temple manors" zens normal goofy laid back smile spread across his face once again then he opened his eyes and snapped his fingers

"ah! heres another one. how can you not like white jasmin tea?" he said with a blink "i saw your face when you tasted it. i kow its a simple taste but good. ive never met a person who doesnt like that type of tea!" he said in an almost astonished tone

Hiroki was confused by his sudden change from bitter to perfectly laid back once more. He was an odd guy, but Hiroki couldn't help but find him a nice change in his usual company of stiffs. "I like stronger teas, red tea from orange blossoms is the best I've had so far." He said though it was the most common tea he saw around the temples. "Alright, what made you think talking to a random, pissed off stranger was a good idea?" He asked, wondering just why anyone would stick around his normally abrassive aura that he put off.

"well... because, hm" he said suddenly letting out a yawn "well you seemed just about as lost as i was" he said and flopped back on oneo f the small beds stretching his arms over his head

Hiroki frowned a little, not understanding him at all. 'Odd, just odd.' He thought as he crawled into the other bed with a bit of annoyance. Usually he read people so well, but this guy was a whole other story. "You're strange." He said matter of factly but not as something insulting. Zen probably thought of Hiro as being strange as well. He pulled the voers up to his chin, giving a small annoyed frown at the thought. "I'm going to sleep. Be ready to leave tomorrow early, the temples begin their meditation rituals by early afternoon, by then it will be impossible to get through the doors without causing harm." He said with a yawn of his own as his eyes drifted to half mast. He was exhausted and oddly glad to have someone there though he'd never admit it.

zen nodded falling asleep rather quickly. although he had his usual nightmare.

~ Zen was in a black room with his swords sticking out of the ground a few feet away. he took a step but was chained. he felt eyes appearing around him. but something burned in his chest. a black dragon appeared on his skin moving and pulling off his skin it looked at Zen and opened its mouth roaring at him ~

Zen sat up with a grunt then when he realized where he was again he yawned and stretched looking at Hiroki with an emotionless face. the guy was still out like a light. he stood up and went to the bathroom pulling his clothes on strapping his swords in place before he walked up to the bed sitting down and lightly shaking Hiroki

"ahh... Hiroki-san... we should really get going... Hiro...." he said softly

Hiroki was tired, dog tired, something that was catching up with him. Something had been bothering his sleep last night and he couldn't shake the uneasy feeling it gave him. He finally had passed out and now was suddenly being awoken by a soft voice. He opened his eyes and lifted his head from the pillow with a half out of it tired look and messy hair. He blinked and slowly as his vision got better he saw how late he had slept. "Ah damn, sorry sorry." He got to his feet and hurried to the bathroom grabbing the clothes he had set to dry and throwing on the over portion of the robe. He ran a hand though his hair and it fell back into place though was still a bit fluffy from sleep. "I aplogize, Is hould have paid more attention to the time." He said with a small bow of apology before remembering they had less time to get to that temple before the rituals started if he wanted to get out of this cold soooner. "Ah, no time to talk. Lets get going." He said hurriedly and when Zen turned to leave a gave the fire still burning slowly a flick of wrist and it went out completely, before he followed behind him.

"there is no need to apologize"

zen walked out of the inn waitng for Hiro to follow him before they made their way towards the snow covered path to the temple.

he stretched one more time and started walking. "so... did you sleep well?" he asked after a long stretch of silence.

he watched as the sun just peaked over the moutain they were climbing. such a peaceful morning... well... maybe not peaceful... it was just quite.

Hiroki huffed still not totally awake. "Depends on what you mean by well." He said as he was stuck yet again in the thick on piles of snow. "It's like my senses kept bugging me about something. I don't know, the other monks always said it was some kind of spiritual sense. But I think that's a whole load of crap. The truth is they just guess on a lot of that philosophy stuff and those cryptic metaphors are just another way to make them seem oh so wise when they could just flat out tell you the moral of the lesson." He was starting to rant, venting his annoyance towards his suposed superiors. He stopped himself though he still couldn't help being frustrated in all this snow and cold again. "What about you?" He asked not knowing what to say to fill the silence.

"ahh... well its always been difficult for me to sleep right. but i suppose last night was ok." he said and smiled

"ive only ever met one monk. he was kind. but spoke alot of jibberish about me. saying things like 'a lesson of a day is not learned unless one takes the time to learn it' which to me never made any sense. he always seemed to talk in circles. of course a lessen isnt learned if you dont learn it..." he mumbled rolling his eyes slightly remembering the half out of hsi mind monk

"i figuredd he was just nuts, but, all monks are like that? yikes..." he said and rubbed his head

" i bet we will be at the temple in no-" he started and then stopped looking to the side of him

"shhhhhh" he grabbed hiro and stopped him

"look to your side" he whispered in hsi ear. a huge beast with 2 sets of arms and massive legs stood with a dear carcass hanging out of its mouth and 2 others in its hands.

zen had only heard of things like this in scary stories. it was a real demon

'what is a demon doing this close to the temple?' he thought and started to slowly pull his sword from its sheath

"keep moving... but be quite" he mumbled as they tip toed past the occupied monster

"we need to see if the temple is ok." he said when they were far enough away

"a demon being that close to a sacred place is unheard of!!!" he said as they ran up to the temple.

he ran through the gate to see the temple being terrorized by another of the things

"ahhh damn!" zen said and ran forward with hsi other katana in his hand. the blade sliced right through the wrist of the best the hand falling releasing the monk inside it

the thing roared in pain and tried to grab zen with a different hand but zen dashed around him

Hiroki froze at the sight of the beasts till he heard a loud roar behind him and whirled around to see a monks torn open body land infront of him. He loolked and saw Zen attacking one of the demons. In a quick move, his hands formed a free flwoing flame that snake its way into a striking position. It shot forward and grabbed the demon around the neck, burning its flesh under the flaming grip that coiled around its arms and torso. The demon roared in pain and broke from the fire but not with extreme injury. It snarled as an appearance of a seal burned into its forehead. It gave another roar and ran at him with bloody claws ready to spear him through the chest. He threw up a sheild of fire but the force of being hit by its body hitting the sheild threw Hiro back.

zen raced forward infront of zen leaping through the flames himself and up the back of the creature dragging both swords into the chared flesh. he got tot he head and pulled both blades together spearing the creature all the way out to the bottom of its jaw. it graoned its eyes going back and falling. zen walked off the creature and helped hiro up

"we should look for sur-" he started and was interrupted by the monks cheerings as they leaned out the now opening windows.

the head of the monks walked out bowing his head to them both "noble warriors! i wish to bestoy my thanks to you both for-" he stopped when he saw Zen's snowy white hair and the fire that had disappeared from Hiro's hands

"by the gods! youve both returned!!" he said and zen looked at hiro confused then back at the monk
"us?" he said and the monk dropped to his feet bowing "the white dragon!" zen raised an eyebrow and looked at the monk again

"no, my name is-"
"Ying!"
"no... Zen" he said and helped the man to his feet

"come there is much for you both to learn of your true selves." he grabbed his cane and wobbled his way into the shrine in the back of the temple. the other minks kept their distance but gawked following slowly

"eh.. hiroki... you thinking his guy may have gotten knocked on the head or something?" he said placing his blades back into the sheath