Your head is throbbing and your eyes slowly open.  Everything is blurry, and sounds are rushing at you from a thousand directions.

As you rub your eyes, recollection of what had happened with Vars floods into your mind.  At the same time, you notice that you're in an alleyway.  As you look around, you realize that it must be night.   The buildings have a strange Oriental look to them.

I look around and see if anything that I previously had versed with me, and I also close my eyes to gather knowledge from within myself and think over the current situation and all that has happened and try to figure what went wrong when I fell into a roll...

As you think, you realize that you had time your roll wrong and landed on your head instead of your shoulder.  A fraction of a second mistake, but still a mistake.

You find everything that you owned before (i.e. everything on your items list), plus the tin plate you had eaten your bacon on (with a bit of grease half-frozen and currently melting from the temperature change).

As you sit there, you soon hear the sound of footsteps off in the distance, and a metallic clinking.

Ahh, that one fraction of a second. I might as well record that and make sure I dont make that mistake again.

I take out the laptop, boot it up and type in the data and record everything that has happened so far.

I finish typing everything and pack the laptop back up and look around.  I hear the footsteps and look for a pole of some sort to put the swordfighting skill to good use.(OoC:battojutsu isnt only drawing a sword you learn basics of fighting as well)I find an old pole with a little rust on it and pick it up and put it throught the belt strap thing on my pants.

(figure I am wearing like a variant of semi-baggy cargo pants ^_^)

I slowly walk forward ready to draw my weapon should something go wrong.

OoC: I am in an alleyway, I am sure I would find a semi-rust filled pole or some pole of some sort.  So, don't even think that I wouldnt find one..its an alleyway.

While you don't find a metal pole, you do manage to find a very hard wooden pole.

You walk forward, out of the alleyway, and you turn to look at the sound of the footsteps.

Your heart skips a beat for a second before you realize: it's a group of samurai.  Odd, but there they are.  Half a dozen samurai in full armour with swords.  Upon seeing you, one of them screams out "Ninja!"  And the rest draw their katans and begin charging towards you.

OoC:SWEET!

I am pretty sure the wooden pole that I picked up could hold against and attack, so I meet them by making a charge to the outer side to attack the guy slightly seperated from the group, I aim to make a battojutstu movement taking the pole out really fast to parry the samurai's sword, and to keep charging to lose them.

As you charge in, the samurai raises his sword to swing at you.  You manage to raise the pole just fast enough to allow his blow to glance off of your side.  As you run past, however, another one sweeps his leg out at you, catching you off guard.

Tripping, you fall heavily on the ground.  The samurai whose blow you had blocked walks over to you and puts his foot on your chest.  "You're easier than I thought, ninja.  What will be your last words?"

OoC: I thought you'd like this.  ;)

"Well, first off I am no ninja, second off, for a samurai you don't show much honor charging a bystander unprovoked, and third get off of me!"

I take my pole and I aim to slam it hard in an upard angle in between armor plates (on his ankleish area) and then roll backwards and get up.

The samurai is shocked by your statements, and your blow catches him off guard.  "Not a ninja?"  He yells at you.  "How is that possible?  You are identical to the others!"  The samurai form a circle around you, getting ready to close in.  "Only a ninja is out at night, furthermore!  Don't tell me you're not a ninja."

"I come from a distant land, and I only just arrived, I am looking for a place to saty, THAT is why I am out at night.  I am more of a samurai than a ninja, my sensei back in my village has been teaching me battojutsu and he sent me on an errand so i have only just arrived at night."

The samurai, who appeared to be the leader, sheathed his sword.  "Very well, I will accept that.  However, as the law states, we will be forced to detain you until we can confirm you story with your sensei."

Two of the other samurai brought out rope and began walking towards you, obviously meaning to bind your hands.

"I am afraid that won't work, on my way here senpai told me that sensei died and the village is looking for someone to replace him."

(senpai is japanese for an older student, in the school system older student generally guided along the younger students like a senior-freshman friendship thing, and only in japan were there samurai.)

The samurai drew his sword.  "You should have more respect than that.  To believe such a lie would work."  Raising his sword, he began a charge at you.

A few feet from you, he suddenly stops and opens his eyes wide.  As you look, you see half a dozen shuriken have pierced various spots in his throat and torso.  The other samurai quickly ready themselves, and what happens next is a blur.

Shurikens begin flying from every direction, and two more of the samurai drop.  Before you can realize it, a person wearing all black appears out of the shadows and blows a pipe at one of the samurai.  The samurai yells in agony and begins clawing at his eyes.

Looking at he dead samurai, I walk up and whisper to him, whether he is dead or almost dead, and say ."better luck next time"

I turn look about serching for some ninja, preferrably the on that just saved me

As you look around, you see that two ninja are running down the street.  The remaining three samurai are taking off after them at full speed.

You feel a tap on your shoulder and look around, startled.  A man in black is standing there.  "Brother," he says to you gruffly.  "You should be more careful at night.  You know very well that the samurai are out at full force at this time.  And where are your weapons?"

As you look at him, you see that his left eye is red and his right purple.

"Ahh brother, my weapons were stolen by one ranking in skill equal or better to you, I know it was a foolish mistake and I shouldn't have let my guard down, I am in need of some more"

The ninja pulls a ninja-to from a sheath on his back and hands it to you.  "Be more careful in the future.  You should retreat to the village now."  The next thing you know, the ninja jumps into the air and then dissapears in the blackness.

As I recieve the Ninja-to I place it on my back and say "Thank-you brother" and then as he jumps into the blackness I do so likewise and return to the village.

As you try to jump into the blackness, you raise a few feet off the ground and then fall down.  As you land, you hear a crunch and feel blood trickeling down as you realize you broke your nose.

As well, you suddenly realize you have no clue what the man meant by "the village."

"ahh well that didn't work"

I use what skills i know from sensei. ".. stay in the shadows if you get lost and don't know where you are until you fins out more information on your current situation.." thats what he said and I am finally glad I listened to his advice.  I do my best to stay in the shadows of the dark night-filled city and look for someone or someplace where I can get some info.

As you walk along the city, you notice that no one else is out at night.  From this you gather that there is some sort of curfew.  Suddenly, a hand reaches out and grabs your mouth and pulls you inside of a building.  "Don't scream."  The voice is that of the man who had given you the ninja-to.

"After I left you, I realized that I didn't recognize you, which was odd.  Where are you from, traveller?  I know every ninja in this city, and you are not one I recognize."

"Well, here is what has happened, I come from a land far far away, I have recieved a little training in battojutsu and I wish to learn more in that and more skills that I as a ninja would need.  My training has been few and I know I need more.  Perhaps you or someone back in your village could help me.

You feel a knife push into your back and the man's voice turns slightly annoyed.  "Why would we do such a thing?  What land?  Why should we help you, what can you do for us?"

*twitches slightly to ignore the pain*

"Well I would like to speak to your village's leader, he can bring as many body guards as he needs if he so feels like it, but I would like to speak to him.  Next, I wish to see your village, and I could possibly be an ally.  I have a small skill in persuasion and since I am not of your village perhaps I could gather information for you, your village, and any other allies. Perhaps as being new here I am not yet known to the others and perhaps I can infiltrate enemy bases and aid you greatly.  If you help me and take that knife out of me I can help you. I would greatly appreciate an audience with your village leader, I will go unarmed and he can take as many measures of precaution as he wants.  I will explain to him in full how I got here, and what land I really came from.

"How would you possibly be able to gather information for us?  You look the same as all of us."  He pushes the knife a little harder into your back.  He sighs.  "Very well, I'll take you to my village and let the leader deal with you."  With that, he withdraws his knife and also takes his ninja-to back from you.  "Follow me," he says as he begins walking down a dark alleyway.  At the end of it, you see fields, and you realize that that must be the edge of the city.

I follow and tell him, "yes I do look like all of you, but you can clearly see that I am not from around here, and I know of ways to make me look more like a samurai than a ninja, if needed." So I go and follow the ninja.

You see that the man's stance is more relaxed now that he's out of the city.  He's obviously more comfortable here.  "It's not just looking like a samurai, it's... well..." he takes off his mask and you see that he has semi-long sky blue hair, identical to yours.  "All ninja look like this.  You cannot hide from the samurai in the state you are in."

"Ahh so thats it, we both have red and a purple eye and long blue hair."

"Well, I am very intelligent and am very well with words and plans.."

The man laughs.  "Of course you are.  We'll let the village elders decide that, however."

After half an hour of walking or so, you come to the edge of a thick forest.  "The village is inside," the man tells you.  "Follow me."  He steps inside the forest, not making a single sound on the leaves and sticks on the ground.

I follow him in and make as little sound as possible.

I know I am trying to make as little sound as possible but I must sound like an elephant compared to the other ninja that are clearly around me as I come through here.

The ninja pauses and sighs as you try to move silently.  "Just... don't bother," he says, exasperated.  Quickening the pace slightly, he soon leads you to his village.

It's a smaller version of what the large city looked like.  Many of the houses (which are more like huts) are up in the trees off of the ground.  "Tomorrow morning I will take you to the leaders.  For now, however, I must watch you until the morning."

" You know how I mentioned I was in need of training, I said that for a reason, I wasn't lying.  But if you are going to have to watch me, well tell me about yourslef and your village then, whats happened in this area? like whats the history of  village, you can never have too much information, the more you know the more it can help you in difficult situations."

The ninja looks at you slightly shocked.  "You really aren't from around here, are you?  Well, I suppose I could give a brief overview."

He took a deep breath and then continued.  "Essentially, the soldiers are controlling the commoners.  They're brutal, as you saw yourself earlier.  They wouldn't actually have locked you up; after tying you they would have cut your head off.  We, the ninja," here he swept his arm around the village.  "We are the defenders of the people.  We are the commoners who have tought ourselves to fight and are now fighting against the samurai to free the people.

"This village was created a hundred years ago or so.  The second generation of elders is now running it, and so far they've done a good job from my perspective."

"ok, how are you able to go through the forest and be so quiet its like you are gliding above the ground?"

The man smiled.  "Practice.  Many years of practice.  Do you have any other questions before we retire for the night?  I'm afraid I will have to bind you before we do so."

"Thats ok, I would do the same thing should someone be in my village, I am done for now tie me up now, wake me up later."

The man nodded his head and proceeded to bind you after placing you on a small bed inside one of the huts.  On the other side of the room, he lay down on another bed.

I notice that the ninja finally falls asleep and make sure it is very quiet and try to untangle myself. I will try to move the ropes around and stuff to see if I can get it so that I can untangle myself very easily
This message was last edited by the player at 04:15, Sun 12 Feb 2006.

You work your way at the ropes on your hands, trying to untangle them.  You spend a couple minutes at it, but seem to get nowhere.  The ninja across the room stirs in his sleep, turns over, and is then still.

I slowly roll my way over to my pack and use my teeth to grab a disk from my pack and drop it on my lap, then I will try to grab it with my hands and try to cut the rope open.  Even if it takes a while, I know it is still night so I should suceed eventually.

You manage to get the disl out without causing much noise.  Taking it in your hands, you begin working at the ropes.  You feel you're starting to make a bit of progress when the disk slips.  You feel it push into your wrist and then fall to the floor.  A warm liquid begins running down your hand fairly quickly, and you realize that you cut yourself; undoubtedly more than a slight scratch.

OoC: Sorry, man, bad roll.

:P

I wince from the pain and firmly press my hand against my shirt and lay on my wrist, aplying pressure and eventualyy stopping the blood flow.  I know that I have it almost there I a bring the semi bloodied rope up to my mouth and start biting it to get it off...

You stop the blood flowing from your wrist quickly, and then begin biting at the rope.  You make some progress; a bit in, however, your teeth miss and you bite your tongue... hard.  Blood begins to flow from your cut tongue.

OoC: You just aren't having much luck right now.

XD

I swallow the blood as it comes out and suck on my tongue and it stops eventually, and now I take my teeth, bite on it after getting a good grip and move the rope back and forth, keeping my tongue out of the way and slowly wearing it down.

OoC:DUDE I TOLD YOU THE DICE WERE OUT TO GET ME, M I RIGHT?

The blood stops flowing from your tongue.  The rope is hard between your teeth, but within a couple minutes, you manage to break through it and free your hands.

OoC: You bet you're right.  XD

Eh, this roll wasn't TOO bad... I guess I'll let you pass.  ;)

OoC: sweet, its about time, the dice are out to get me.

k...


I got my hands free and I start untieing my feet, and I eventually get them free.  I silently move over to the wall where his ninja-to is and since I am well rested I go over to my pack and get into my spare set of clothes, atleast a new shirt.  As time passes he finally is starting to wake up and when he does I have his ninja-to unsheathed and am pressing it lightly against his neck... I whisper to him "Move and you are dead"

OoC: that would all happen so dont even say that it wont, cus we are in a small hut like thing so seriously...just post

The ninja's eyes open wide as he looks at you.  A smile soon spreads across his face, however.  "I won't move, but how do you plan on getting out of this village.  Even if you use me as a hostage, my brothers can take you out before you would have time to blink... or bring that knife across my throat."

OoC: Well... ah, fine.  The dice were nice to you this time, anyways.  ;)

" I don't plan I leaving but..."

I take it away from him and back away

"...This is one reason why you should help me, give me some training and let me speak to your leader...You asked why should you help me, you should help me because I could be a valuable ally and friend.  Granted I lost all advantage I had but I know if I tried to leave I would be helpless anyway, but I proved my point, lets go see your village leader...will you give a full report, including what just occurred? or wait till later for that?"

I give him is weapon back and help him up.

The ninja nodded his head at what you said and sat up on his bed.  "All right, you made your point, you have some skill.  That or you just tried for a really long time."  He pointed towards your cut wrist, and a few specks of blood that had fallen on your shirt from your cut tongue.  "I'll go and give my report to the leaders now.  I will be back shortly, and then I will take you to them."

He sheaths his ninja-to and prepares to leave.  "I can't garuntee you anything, though."  He proceeds to walk out of the hut.

As he leaves I tell him, "Oh and so you know, true that it took me abit but I am resourceful, if I had better training...well go speak to your leader I shall be waiting here"

I sit here and wait for his return.

You sit and wait.

And wait.

And wait...

Somewhere between thirty and forty minutes pass, and the ninja still hasn't returned.

!? "he hasnt come back yet, I will continue to wait though  for I am in a village as a guest and shall wait even if it shall take hours."

I take out my laptop and record all that has happened.

OoC: crazy, cmon I thought we should avoid 1 line posts?

After another ten minutes (according to your laptop), the ninja returns.  He appears startled by your computer, but quickly regains himself.  "The leaders have requested your presence.  They're not very happy... you're going to have a tough time convincing them that they shouldn't just outright kill you."

OoC: I count 4 lines of text 3 of space.

XD

I follow him to see the leader and bring my laptop with me to fully explain the story and to use it as a prop.

I bow low to show respect.

"I know that I will die unless I can convince you to not kill me.  Here is my story, you dont have to believe it but atleast listen to it.  I came from another world, and another land.  I was back in a building with a bunch of devices similar to the one I have in my hand.  I got hit on the head with a rather hard object, and it was enough to kill me.  I became immortal and am now what is called a verser.  I ended up in a world covered in snow and this man named vars, explained to me that I am now immortal and whenever I "die" I will be teleported to another world.  We went out to scout the area, and he hopped out and pushed the vehicle off the cliff before I could react and hop out.  As I was falling I jumped on the back and as I got closer I jumped and was going to land in a roll to survive, but I missed my mark and hit my head on the ground rather than my shoulder.  This killed me and then I ended up in this world.  I walked out of an alleyway and recorded all of my data as to what had happened.  After this I heard footsteps and found a wooden pole, it was resembling a sword so I used it as one.  I left the alleyway and there were 5 samurai there and they assumed me to be one of your fellow ninja's.   I charged at them used a battojutsu move and parried the first attack, the samurai tripped me, of which was rather dishonorable for a samurai and I was on the ground.  I made up a story on the spot to explain that I wasn't a ninja but a traveler from a far away land and my sensei sent me on an errand here which is why I arrived at the city during the night.  I told them that, and they believed me until I told them that a senpai gave word to me that my sensei died while I was away, which is why they wouldn't be able to verify it.  They were about to attack me when 3 shurikens flew out from behind me and landed in his neck.  He died and several more died due to shurikens.  One ran away and I met with this ninja..." I pointed to the one that brought me here "...who asked where my weapons were.  I was in a foreign land and considering I look like you and he called me brother I quickly went along with him and told him that an enemy ninja along the way with as much skill or more as he stole my weapons as I slept.  He told me to return to the village but as I was walking around he met up with me again and told me that he didn't recognize me as a ninja, because he knew every ninja in this area.  He brought me here and binded me in a hut and then went to sleep. I un bound my self but in the process bit my tongue, and accidently cut my wrist.  I took is ninja-to and waited, when he woke up I told that if he moved I would kill him.  I really had no intention of killing him because I knew that I would not escape the village alive if I did, but I showed him, why I need training, why I can be a valuable ally and possbily a friend if you permit it, and to show him his mistake by letting his guard down as he slept.  Then he told me to whait and roughly 50 minutes or so later he came and got me.  Then here I am explaining my story.  I don't think I left anything out but if I did and he remembers it, he can fill you in on it later.  This is my story, believe me if you wish but that is the truth."

I bowed again and kept quiet.

The leader, and old man with a flowing beard, listens to your story intently.  When you finish, he appears to go into thought for a minute or so.  At the end he stood up and took a couple of steps forward.  "We shall see about you joining this village.  For now, we will allow you to stay here.  I have decided not to kill you at this instance, but know that one slip-up will result in immediate death on your part."

He stepped up to you until he was within arm's reach and put one hand on your shoulder.  "You said you know some battojutsu.  That is good, it means that you can at least help tonight."

"Doumo arigatou gozaimasu"

I bow.

I say reverently "Ok,

What is happening tonight?

and where shall I go now?"

OoC: I said a very polite way for thankyou very much, and those short lines equal 3 right?

The leader bowed as well, very slightly.  Afterwards he went back to his chair and sat down again.  "Tonight, we have heard rumours that a tax caravan is coming through the countryside near here.  We are planning to rob it.  We know that you do not have that much experience, but the more men we have the better.  If you help us with this, we will be more than happy to fully welcome you to the village and provide training."

OoC: Haha, sure thing, buddy.

"Ok, well I would be happy to assist, but I will need a bit of training perhaps walking or running quietly or something to better aid me later on tonight, is there anything you could provide?"

The leader looked at you, his eyebrows lowering slightly.  "We do not owe you anything yet, but some training would help.  Ozen!"  The ninja who had taken you in last night bowed.  "Sir?"  He asked.  "Take... what is your name?  It does not matter, you will probably die tonight anyways.  Take him outside and show him something which you think will help tonight."  "Yes, sir," Ozen responded.  "Come on," he says to you as he leads you outside.

I

Follow

Him

Outside

Ozen took you to a large, relatively open area of the forest near the village.  "All right, then, I don't believe I know your name yet.  Anyways, for tonight, I think it would be best to work on moving silently.  You were an elephant last night and we just can't have that!"  He points to a section of ground littered with leaves.  "Walk as quietly as you can over that."

OoC: *cough*

"My name is Avahur."

I go over to where the leaves are and step in a toe-heel manner to be as quiet as possible.

You step on the leaves slowly, and you figure you must've hit a dry one because it seems incredibly loud, especially in the state of the air around you.  Ozen shakes his head.  "No, no, no... try again."

I back up, and figure that if I run I will have a better chance due to not stepping on the ground as much as if I were to take a full heavy step.

*tries again*

You run across the leaves, bouncing your step slightly.  They crinkle, but aren't quite as loud as your first attempt.  "Better.  Now again."

You continue training like this until noon.  By this time you're able to move very slowly across (baby steps) and not make any noise.  "You're improving," Ozen tells you.  "Do you want to get some lunch now?"

"No, that is ok, I want to be able to atleast walk across them normally before I eat, then running after that, so I am going to try again."

*concentrates, goes over all that has happened, focuses and tries again*

Ozen laughed, quite hard.  "Run?  You're not going to eat before you can run across dry leaves without crackling them?  You will die of starvation before you get halfway there!"  He stopped laughing and looked at you seriously.  "That is admirable, however.  I am going to return to the village to eat.  I should be back within thirty minutes or so."

With that, he turned to leave.

You continue walking over the leaves.  Progress is relatively slow, unnoticably so.

"There is a saying I know of, 'Even a drop out can beat a genius with hard work' that alone motivates me through the day and I WILL suceed!"

I watched him walk back to the village and kept on trying.

You continue walking across the leaves.  By the time he gets back, you've mastered making no noise at a pace slightly above baby steps.  Ozen looks shooked.  "You're a fast learner, Avahur.  It takes many a week to get to where you're at.  Do you wish to stop now, or continue?  I doubt you will be able to get much further today, as practice is only one third of the learning process.  The rest is muscle memory, which comes over time."

I wish to try once more, and then get something to eat.

*tries*

You try again, but halfway through you crinkle one leaf slightly.  Ozen nods his head at you.  "Come on, it's about time you get something to eat.  We'll try again in a few hours, and then you should be set for tonight."

"ok."

I go and get something to eat.

Ozen leads you back to the village and then to what appears to be a communal house.  Inside, a few ninja are walking around, cleaning dishes and eating what's left.  "There isn't much left, but feel free to have what you find."

I look around and see the ninja's cleaning and eating, and I go find some ramen and some mochi, I the grab some chopsticks, a bowl to eat it in and replenish my energy...

You begin to eat, and Ozen sits down besides you.  He is silent, thoughtful almost.  About halfway through your meal, he speaks.  "Do you know exactly what will be entailed of you tonight?"

I look at him and say, "No I don't, will you tell me? I am sure you are all hopinh I get killed so you don't have to deal with me, but it takes a bit to kill me... remember I am rescourceful"
This message was last edited by the player at 22:55, Sun 12 Feb 2006.

Ozen laughed quietly and quickly at your comment.  "No, we aren't hoping you'll die.  Lately we've had a lot of casualties at the hands of the samurai, and new recruits are always welcome.  However... honestly speaking... you're probably going to die tonight."

"Face it: you're inexperienced compared to us and the samurai.  You should stay at the back, and help when necessary.  If you charge in too soon, you'll end up dying.  The group of samurai will be at least three times the size of the one that you fought."

"Ok then, I will do what I can when nessecary but I shall stay towards the back as you suggest."

"Good," he replies.  "Be careful out there.  I see that you could become quite powerful given the time, possibly moreso than our leader was in his prime.  Now finish your food.  After that, well... we can start on some other training or you could just walk around the forest.  Either way, it doesn't really matter to me, but we're done with stealth training for now."

I finish my food, and help the other ninja's clean up and then talk to Ozen.

"Ok, I have finally finished my food, can we head back to the forest? Can you teach me to throw shurikens? I would like to learn, I know that they should be done by only moving your elbow, and keeping your hand still, but I would like to train in throwing them, perhaps later tonight, if I see and opening I can throw some and either injure them or atleast distract them enough so that someone else can finish them off while they aer distracted."

Ozen agreed to the idea, and went to get some shurikens.  He came back with a pack full of them, and leads you to the forest clearing again.

Here, he takes a shuriken out and demonstrates the throw slowly.  "Now you try," he says as he hands you a shuriken.

I take a shuriken and aim at the nearest tree, based on what I have learned, and how he showed me I throw the shuriken at the nearest tree.

You throw the shuriken and it flies from your hand.  It misses the tree by a good few feet, but Ozen looks pleased.  "You didn't hurt yourself, and the motion was almost correct.  Try again."  He shows you the motion again and then motions for you to try again.

I try again slightly adjusting my aim like Ozen showed me.

*tries again*

This time when you throw the shuriken, it glances off the side of the tree.  "Better," Ozen tells you.  "Now keep at it."

I repeat exactly as I did before but I changed how I aimed so that it should flow directly at the center of the tree, or atleast near the center.

You continue practicing throughout the day...

By the time the evening rolls around, you're able to consistently hit at least the centre area of the tree.  "Good," Ozen tells you.  "This is nothing compared to what combat is like, though.  Your rate of hitting will be maybe 10% of this, but this is definetely a good start.  Now let's go get something to eat."

I throw one more shuriken and as it hits the senter of the tree I walk with Ozen to go get something to eat.

As you arrive at the food building, you see around a hundred ninja milling around and getting food.  "This is a quarter of what we had 30 years ago," Ozen informs you as you walk in to the smell of food.

OoC: Suuuure it hits the centre... but it wasn't the tree you were aiming for.
<_<
>_>
*cough*

I do as I did last time but only get ramen, I know I will need the carbs for later.

OoC: dude who said I was aiming for the same tree ^_-

I spelled center wrong

Ozen does the same as you, getting mostly ramen.  He also grabs a bowlful of rice and a few pieces of sushi, of which there isn't much.  "You're only allowed five pieces a week," he informs you as you move to your seat.  "It's not that the leader wants to constrain us, but simply that we don't have a great flow of income."

OoC: Haha, you did... wait... yes... no... o_O

"I can still perform at 100% without food for 4 days, so if I eat every other day or so I will be fine."

I then wait for night to come so that I can participate in the mission..


OoC: anytime now...

Ozen looks at you strangely.  "It's just the food like sushi.  Others like ramen and rice you can have pretty much as much as you want."

Night comes...

Various ninja are running around settin things up for the raid.  Ozen leads you to his house, where he has lain clothes (a black ninja outfit) and weapons (a ninja-to and two dozen shurikens) for you on your bed from the previous night.  "Get ready," he tells you.

I get ready first putting on the outfit, then I slip the shurikens inot a puch that is on the back of the waist.  I put ninja-to around my waist rather than on my back so that i can still use battojutsu effectively, despite the strange looks and comments I will get from the other ninja.  I am ready and I meet him outside.

The ninjas are gathering outside.  All of them have the same eyes as you, and you notice a few whisps of sky blue hair spurting out of a couple of their masks.  Most have their sword on their back, but a few have it on their waist like you do.  A few are carrying pipes as well as the sword and shurikens.

"Are you ready?"  Ozen asks you.  When you confirm, he nods his head and the group sets off at a light jog.  "We'd be going faster," Ozen explains to you.  "But we understand your speed and stamina is limited at this point."  He smiles.  "Don't feel like a crutch, though.  Many of us weren't born into this village, and some have joined who are older than you."

"Ahh that is good to know,I am ready, there is a saying I know that my uncle once said, and it has stuck with me in and out of battle.  'May the winds of fate guide you along the path of destiny' that was it and it has helped me in battle and out.  Lets go."

I jog with them...

The group continues in a light jog past the edge of the forest.  Once they're on open ground, they disperse into three groups.  You are with Ozen in the leftmost group.  After twenty minutes or so of running, you come across a small grove of trees surrounding a road.  "The other groups are already in position.  Climb the trees, Avahur."

The ninjas jump into the air, vaulting themselves up the trees quickly.  They seem to dissapear as they reach the top.

My pla is to run at the tree grab the lowest branch and swing and jump my way up as fast and as accurate as possible.  Here I go...

You grab the lowest branch and try swinging.  As you do, your hands rub against it, and if you weren't wearing gloves, you would've scraped your skin quite badly.

Giving up on the more acrobatic approach, you suffice to climbing up.  About halfway up, you meet Ozen, who is putting his mask on.

I too put my mask on,

and get ready to attack

the upcoming caravan.

You sit in the branches, waiting.

After what seems like an eternity, you hear foosteps and the clomping of horses coming from the opposite direction of the city.  "The caravan is coming," Ozen informs you.

A couple of minutes later, the caravan comes into view.  "Ready," Ozen whispers to you.  There are at least three dozen samurai guarding the caravan, all heavily armoured and armed.  One of them hits the ground, blood pouring from his throat.  As you look at the trees on the other side of the road, you see shuriken flying from them.  The samurai on the ground enter a state of panic for a few seconds as shuriken come from all directions.

Three of them drop before the rest manage to ready themselves and block off the worst of the shuriken with more armoured limbs.

As shurikens are flying everywhere, including from the tree I am in, I join in and throw carefully aimed throws, being sure not to waste them all right here.

You throw three shuriken carefully.  Two of them bounce off a samurai's bracers which are up protecting his neck, but the third one grazes along his fist.

Seeing that the shurikens aren't working anymore, several of the ninja drop down from the tree and attack with their ninja-tos.  Them and the samurai begin to get into furious swordfights, while a few ninja remain in the trees throwing carefully aimed shuriken.  Ozen is among those who jumped down.

As I see Ozen jump down, I throw 3 more carefully aimed shuriken at the samurai that he is charging at.  I time it so that they should hit the samurai about 1 second before Ozen gets within range.

OoC: remember my guy is really smart and can time this perfectly dont bother roll for timing, but roll for hits of course.

Your three shuriken hit the samurai, forcing him to block them with his arms and sword.  This gives Ozen the opportunity he needs, and he cuts low with his sword, opening up the samurai's stomach.  Spinning around, Ozen rams his sword into the back of the samurai's neck.

The other ninja continue fighting, but it seems as though more ninja are dying than samurai...

OoC: Smarts doesn't affect timing that much...

I wait a little bit more and see what happens but I throw one of 3 more shurikens over sperated intervals helping Ozen and the other 2 ninja's that were attacking the samurai that I threw at them.

Your shuriken bounce off two samurai's armour harmlessly.

As another ninja is struck down, an unspoken signal sends the ninja down fighting back into the trees.  Three of the samurai pull out bows and begin firing at the trees.

An arrow passes just by you, grazing your arm.

I jump down out of the tree by going slowly making sure the tree is blocking most of my body, but I stop as I near the area between the base and middle of the tree. I wait for the samurai to get closer and when one of them does I will jump out and bring my sword out as I fall hitting the samurai right between his armor.  I should be surprising him so as long as I dont make a sound as I jump down it should save the ninja he is going after and I should kill him by that.  I then plan to run and jump out of the way but before I do that I will throw 1 shuriken at the closest samurai.

As you jump down the tree, you hit a branch heavily.  It snaps, and you're sent to the next branch, which is only a couple feet off the ground.  The samurai sees you, and lunges at you with his sword.

You manage to barely parry his blow, but you end up on the ground on your back.  The next thing you notice, another ninja jumps down and decapitates the samurai.

I think to myself, not as planned...I was hoping that I couldve done that but oh well.

I run off to help a ninja attacking a samurai...They are  about both within 6 strodes from my current position..I go off to attack...

OoC: I'm sorry, but what part of "sends the ninja down fighting back into the trees" don't you understand?

OoC:ok then well lets get back to teh story, eh?

Avahur ran forward to the dead body of a ninja who had been killed by a samurai.  I aim to take his remaining shurikens if he has any left and if he does throw them at some of the samurai if not move on to another one while avoiding any fights possible but throwing some of my own at the neck of the samurai near me (who showuld be fighting a ninja), I will go from dead body to dead body and use their remaining shurikens, putting them to good use, and throwing my remaining 3 to help those around me.


OoC: better? oh and again hope you feel better.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:37, Thu 16 Feb 2006.

You run forward, throwing shuriken as you go.  Your aim is... well... sub-par, shall we say.  One shuriken tinks off a knee pad of a samurai, but that's the closest you come to wounding one of them.  Reaching the closest ninja who had died, you grab his shuriken (18 shurikens, plus yours means you have... 27 shuriken now).  As you look up, you see a samurai charging towards you holding his sword at his side.

OoC: Hah, thanks, but I still feel like crap.

>_<

I've got 3 tests or something to look foreward to on monday...

OoC: OK bear with me on this one.  Due to battojutsu lessons, I am going to assume that my guy has decent enough timing with drawing a sword..I am like medium amatuer so I assume I got the timing down, just finishing the basics.. So...yeah here it goes.

I take 8 shurikens out of my pouch and with 4 in each hand I throw them all at the samurai.  Then I will run at him and using battojutsu skills, draw the sword to parry his blow using the speed from drawing the sword to my advantage for not being physically really strong.  Then if I parry the blow successively, while being careful of my footing so I don't fall like last time, I will turn around and make a slash at a spot between his armor at the netting beneath;  depending on what is closest at that time whether I successively parry it and then turn around and attack his neck, or whether I kinda succeed but start to fall, I will put my foot out and then slam my sword into the back of his knee, crippling him and taking out the other knee  to prevent him from walking. Should I parry then trip I will take out a shuriken or two and throw it at the back of his knees.  If I don't parry it successfully...well it looks like I will be off to another world...

I think I have covered everything, now to put it into motion...

I charge...

You pull out the shurikens, but your fingers are clumsy.  Two of the shurikens cut into your hand, and you drop the others in pain.

The samurai doesn't care, however, and forces you to continue with the rest of your plan.

Your sword flies out of your sheath and meets the samurai's in mid-swing.  Glancing off of the blow, you spin around and swing at his neck.  The samurai's speed surprises you, however, and he blocks your blow deftly.

Your foot shoots out, but the samurai's leg is faster.  He blocks it, and your foot smacks against his shin pad painfully.

The samurai pulls back slightly, obviously waiting for your next move.  He appears to be enjoying fighting you; or possibly even toying with you.

OoC: Woo, 4 shurikens in each hand?  Yeah, that would've been a miracle if any hit, especially with your skill... you're practically still at the lowest level with shuriken, man.

Also, you're going against a samurai in 1 on 1 combat, straight combat mind you.  This guy's life is revolved around fighting.  Don't think this will be easy.  I mean, you got some decent rolls but just barely avoided getting hit yourself.

I get back up and back off a bit, I put my ninja-to back in my sheathe and try the move again except this time go at an \ angle to attack him.  I should parry the blow and after it hits the samurai's sword it should be in place for another blow. The adrenaline I know his courseing through me which is why I do not feel any pain in my hands even though I know it will hurt later.  I go for another try..

OoC: I know but adrenaline rush and I figured it was more to distract him and possibly get him to block with his sword leaving him open.  I knew it wouldn't work but I had to try.

You and the samurai quickly take the couple of steps to each other and both swing your swords.  The samurai easily evades yours, and you feel searing pain as you realize the samurai has cut along your chest.  It isn't deep enough to kill you, but it still hurts a good amount.

OoC: Haha, okay.  Oh, and you got a very bad roll, in case you couldn't tell...

I jump away and take out some shurikens and throw them at the samurai, I aim for the vitals, but I know it would take luck to do that... so I figure that if he runs at me I will start running to the side away from him as soon as he starts his charge and try to gain some ground and then keep throwing shurikens, keeping him busy until either another ninja helps me or until I see a weakness in his defenses, or until I figure out how he will block and use that knowledge to throw a shuriken or two and then attack knowing I would due to his defence lowered. That is what I will do and not to try this...then get healed up later should I survive...

You jump away from the samurai.  As you do so, his sword comes out again and slashes your legs mid-air.  When you hit the ground, you hit it hard and fall to your knees.  The samurai walks up to you slowly, pointing his sword at your head.  "Any last words, ninja?"  His voice comes out from behind his mask.

"Yeah, well first off I am getting deja vu, last time I was in this position Ozen saved my rear end... and umm *looks around* that probably wont be happening.  And if you are going to kill me, let me die in battle, I know you are toying with me so what say you be serious and kill me as we charge at eachother? Atleast give me an honorable death."

OoC: cmon if you are going to kill me atleast do it in battle, or something.  dude I know I have no chance so if I am going to die, just end it, die honorably or if not atleast let me verse with my treasured weapon and stuff, and the stuff  back at camp.. so yeah if you are going to kill me...do it honorably...or if not just end it man... I know you have been dragging it out, so cmon already.

The samurai raises his sword and brings it down sideways across your neck, and blackness shrouds everything...

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