RPG Mystical Ninja: The Dragon Legacy

[Zidargh]

[size=1]OOC: Okay everyone, well done for getting in. Let's keep this RPG alive. For anyone who is viewing this post, the recruitment section is still open as it will not be impossible to meet up later in the RPG. Let's begin the tale.

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[i]Low in the cloudless sky, an eagle shrieks it's morning alarm. Scouring the land below it, the eagle spirals downwards towards a vast, oak, red roof top. After landing, the eagle tilts it's head restlessly to look at the neighbouring life below it. As soon as the eagle shrieks his alarm for a second time, at least a hundred sliding doors open simultaneously and out charge the inhabitants of Nabuto Town.

Maneuvering their way past each other, men and women of all different professions from postmen, deliverers and all sorts, head off to their location of work. However, this was nothing new after the arrival of the famous Ebisemaru's first film, but today, something quite mysterious lingered in the warm temperatures of Japan as the sun gleamed down it's rays, bathing everything in light.[/i]

It was a normal morning in Nabuto Town, every second a scurry of someone's footsteps could be heard outside as the loud voices of cussing and 'excuse me's' awoke anyone who didn't wake in time. One of these people was a very young man, not the most punctual at that, but a lovable one. Here we can find him scrubbing away in his little bath, as the steaming clouds surround him.

Yijo's home wasn't anything spectacular, but it was cosy. With a raised stage-like floorboards of which he sleeped, ate and bathed on. A small table with a two cushions neatly placed was his dining area, a stone basin engraved into the wood connecting to the hot springs was his bath, and a beige futon that would lay there permanently would be his bed. Of course there was a fireplace in the center of the room with a bucket and wooden spoon sitting over the charred wood, this would be Yijo's humble kitchen.

After a final sound of water droplets landing in the bath water were heard, out came a huge pouring sound as Yijo stood up and grabbed a towel to dry himself on. Now the naked 18 year old was cleansed, he found his finest of clothes in his clothes pile and got dressed. Unfortunately, his 'finest of clothes' were that of what he wore everyday.

Shaking his head, Yijo's hair made a stretching sound and then all of a sudden, spiked upwards violently, while the dark blue shades of his hair, changed to a lighter blue as all the water evaporated from the roots.

Rolling up the scroll that informed him of the Emperor's request, Yijo tucked it into his pants and then opened the sliding door of which he stepped outside and closed behind him. Nabuto town wasn't huge, but it was a busy, and quaint little town. Buildings of varying sizes but similar appearances stood in a square donut shape, inclusing Yoji's house, so it was easy to navigate around.

Passing the clothing store, Yijo noticed that there were large posters of the Japan-esteemed actor, Ebisemaru advertising his new film. Making a mental note, Yijo began to run forwards and turned to the right corner of which he passed the local water storage facility which was pretty much a clear spring, until he passed along a little wooden bridge.

Continuing his journey, Yoji passed the fortune-tellers, a police station and finally through the overhanging gateway that led to Nabuto River. Ahead of him was a large curved bridge, and underneath horizontally was a running river filled with all different colours of Koi Karp. Bending down to catch his breath, Yijo continued walking with a nervous feeling in his gut. Suprisingly, Nabuto Town was quite quiet, and the huge wooden gate beyond the bridge had seemed to just been shut.

The gate was of a vast size that was 5 times the height of an average-sized man, both width-ways and height-ways, that was embedded between the Kainoho Palace stone walls. After crossing the bridge completely, Yijo noticed two of Kainoho's palace guards were waiting for him at either side of the gate. Both were armed with green spears, and the blade was a curved shape. Their armour was also completely white, except for the robes that were of a green and red pattern, that were worn over the chest and back of the armour.

Walking over to the guard on the right, the left one seemed to turn in one step to watch Yijo as the right guard spoke.

"Good morning inhabitant of Nabuto Town. I assume you are here for the Emperor's job opportunity. Please can you show us the letter that informed you."

The guard's voice was very gentle, of which Yijo reached into his pants to pull out the creased and tattered scroll. Unrolling it, the guard stepped forward to squint at the hand writing. He nodded, and spoke once again.

"Everything checks out, you are permitted to pass the checkpoint, please enjoy your stay and any act that violates the Kainoho laws will either result in a long sentence of imprisonment, or banishment to the wicked clan in the North."

Both the guards turned to the gate and pushed with all their strength to open it for Yijo. The young man then walked through and jumped as the gate shut behind him. Walking out of the dark shade of the walls, he looked to find himself in a large courtyard, with a large wooden structure in front of him. Inside the courtyard was nothing but beautiful gardens, being maintained by the palace workers.

As he walked towards the palace, he was met by a mysterious red cloud of smoke of which a smartly dressed man, dressed in long white robes with a curly moustache approached him.

"Hello there visitor. The Emperor is awaiting you, if you'd be so kind to follow me." The proper spoken strange said and turned around to lead Yijo inwards.

"But how did y--" Yijo shouted in shock, until he was interrupted.

"Shh, just follow me, sir."

Yijo stuttered and walked gently into the Autumn shaded palace. He heard his footsteps creak upon the floorboards and found himself in one single room. The room wasn't big at all but in the left corner was a mysterious section which was walled off at the front, it was the emperor's dressing room. Inside the palace were many pots with flowers lining the walls, and a golden throne, crafted so the metal work pointed out like tails of some sort.

The butler-like model stopped walking and spoke, "If you'd like to wait here, sir, the Emperor will be with you when all of he guests have arrived, I hope you enjoy your stay here. Oh, it seems they're beginning to arrive, if you'd excuse me."

The man threw up hs arms his hands and throw down a tiny bead of which a poof of red smoke appeared, that then drifted away showing Yijo that the old man had dissappeared. Contemplating whether or not to peek in the dressing room, sat down and crossed his legs as he closed his eyes to try and think about what the mission could possibly be.

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OOC: Just make your character arrive in the palace somehow so I can begin the actual story and be gone of the introduction as introductions are boring. ^_~[/size]

[Raiha]

[color=royalblue]"Senrai Bhan!"

[i]The female in question looked up from her latest heartbreak in process. The young man looked starstruck, and no wonder, but she sadly ignored him while she turned her head to look at her father. He was holding a letter, looking like the world had just fallen in on him. She stood and curtsyed.[/i]

"This is for you."

"Yes father."

[i]He handed it to her carefully and flicked his eyes towards what could only be the emporer's crest on the seal. She folded it carefully and slid it into her pocket for later. In the meantime, she excused herself from both of them and went upstairs to her bedroom. Once inside, she locked the door behind her and sat on the futon. She quietly read over the words, then stood and threw it into the fireplace. The wax on the broken seal fizzled and melted away. Then Senrai Bahn of Windstill town turned and went to her small closet. She picked out her things, extra clothing, a cloak, her teaset and the non perishable's she always had around.

Then she walked over to the cupboard and brought down her beloved knives. Both were strapped to her travelling boots and she smiled. Adventure.

Without another word she swirled on her cloak, picked up her bag and walked downstairs quietly. Her father watched her go from the counter and sighed to himself. He knew she would go. But he also knew that if she was made out of the same stuff as her mother before her, she would also come back. The young man at the table watched her go, mouth agape. She turned just before opening the door and smiled at them both.[/i]

"Goodbye."

"Good luck daughter."[/color]

[Wondershot]

It was just another day in peaceful Nabuto Town, as the usual busy bodies crashed into each other on their way to their places of employment and/or entertainment. Everything seemed to be normal, but among the crowd, one middle-aged man looked down the street the strangely unified crowd was walking dow in all it's crowding glory, and he spotted a huge brownish clowd floating ominously in their direction.
"Tsuchikemuri!" The man cried out in surprise. However, among the hustle and bustle of people, only about five people nearest to him heard him, and looked at the huge cloud.
"HAAAAA!" The five cried out, the rest of the crowd, uncertain wether they were screaming or laughing, stopped to stare. As the small group in the middle began to run in the opposite direction, the mob, being the mob that it is, swayed even by the slightest disturbances and determined to copy the craziest members of the mob itself, did the same, screaming (or laughing) and running in the opposite direction. Within minutes the street was vacant, and the giant cloud arrived just in time to see one of the most amazing sights ever, the town street completely vacant at noon.

"Huh?" Kaizou looked around, befuddled, he looked at the empty streets, when a giant tumbleweed rolled down the street, barely brushing his leg, and rolled off, as though following the crowd. Kaizou's eyebrows arched, that was weird, that tumbleweed, with all it's stereotypical symbolism of loneliness, what in the world was it doing there? Rolling around as though expecting Kaizou's arrival. Kaizou frowned, that damn tumbleweed seemed to follow him around everywhere. Shrugging, he glanced once more around the streets, and decided that everyone was sleeping in. He began humming to himself, dragging his broom on the ground behind him, which seemed to kick up a disproportionate amount of dust behind him. He turned around and looked at the giant brown cloud floating behind him. Suddenly, out of the dust, a small white piece of paper was airborne, and Kaizou, watching it fall, allowed it to bounce off his forehead before catching it in his hand. He glanced at it casually, and saw it was adressed from the Emperor. He then shoved it in his back pocket. A moment later, the tumbleweed reappeared down the street, and bounced it's way up to Kaizou. Suddenly, it made an especially large jump, and landed right in Kaizou's arms, like some affectionate pet. Kaizou stared at it for a moment before letting it fall, and it began to circle him, bouncing with the wind. Kaizou shrugged for a moment before letting the tumbleweed follow him. As soon as he turned and left the street, a small man peeked his head out from an alley, and watched as Kaizou and the tumbleweed left, then he walked out of the alley and resumed his normal business, the huge mob doing the same behind him.

"Good mornining ihabitant of Nabuto Town. I assume you are here for the Emperor's job opportunity. Please can you show us the letter that informed you." Kaizou stared at the oddly synchronized guards for a moment before realizing where he was, and what he was doing there.
"Oh! Right." Kaizou reached into his back pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. The guard stared at it.
"leeks...onions...rice?" The guard read suspicously, Kaizou grabbed the paper back, embarrased.
"Oops, that's my grocery list." He replied before pulling out the other paper. The guard stared at it, and then resumed his habitual mechanical response.
"Everything checks out, you are permitted to pass the checkpoint, please enjoy your stay and any act that violates the Kainoho laws will either result in a long sentence of imprisonment, or banishment to the wicked clan in the North." Kaizou watched as the men opened the huge gates, and then returned to their statue-like state. Kaizou waved a hand in front of the guard's face, but recieved no reaction. Shrugging, Kaizou and the tumbleweed walked through the gate, jumping as it inexplicably slammed shut behind them...

[Xra]

A half an hour after everyone was buzzing about, a little bald man was waking up, among the many jugs of sake and other liquor. He scratched his backside and made his way towards the tub, manuvering past the jugs. After a nice clean wash, he got his white t-shirt and blue pants on. Joog was ready to start his day.

With some sake in hand, he made his way towards the busy people. He was greeted with many ''hello Joog''s and "outa my way shrimp"s like every day. Eventually he found himself talking to Ms. Shin.

"Ahh, Joog. Always helping me out with my errands every day." The old woman gave him a smile.

"Think nothing of it. Its exciting to help out others. It keeps me alive." Joog gave her a wink and she flushed.

"Well then, you wouldn't mind bringing this bag of rice to my son?"

"I'd be happy to Ms. Shin." Joog took a large drink of sake and picked up the moderately heavy bag of rice. Her son was Lou Shin, a very dedicated warrior who lived north of Nabuto. It was a twenty minute trip he could easily make.

He walked through the constant stream of busy people untill he got out of Nabuto. As he got closer to Lou's house, Joog heard violent noises becoming louder and louder. When he got to his sliding door. He heard many crashes and shatters. Joog immeadiately place the rice on the ground and drank most of his sake. He ran inside to see Lou under attack by a mysterious robber.

"Shin!" he called out.

"Help me!" he called back.

Joog went into his drunken position and dashed for the robber. It was drunken arts against ninjitsu. The robber jumped back and came in with his dagger. As flowing as water, Joog avoided the attack and countered with a swift jab, as strong as a cannonball, straight into his stomach. The robber fell.

"I'll be right back." Joog told Lou as he dragged the fallen antagonist outside. The little man pulled the theif into the forest and tied him upside-down from a tree. He made his way back toward Lou's house and picked up the bag of rice. Lou had now positioned himself against the wall and was tieing his leg up.

"Joog, he destroyed my house and broke my leg. I should have been able to defeat him, I guess I need more practice."

"Nahh, he just caught you off guard, but you're going to have to take it easy for a while." Joog took a look a the now destroyed house. "I'll get this place back in order. You better hed to bed, boy!"

"Nono, you don't have to. But there's something else you can do for me." Shin pointed his finger towards a wierd letter on the wall. "You must take my place in helping the king. Take that letter to the palace. You have amazing skills."

Joog, who was still a little drunk, made a hearty chuckle. "Ten years in Nabuto made me so bored I trained in my custom drunken style. I will help the king in your place." Joog took the letter off the wall and was halfway out the door. " Oh yeah, Shin, the bag on the ground is rice from your mother."

"Thank you."

Joog made it to the large gate. It was there where he was confronted by two very official looking guards.

"What buisness do you have here?" The one guard was very suspicious.

Joog tried his hardest to sound authentic, but was still drunk. "I'm here for the kingjob. Here's me letter."

Joog showed him the scroll and the two guards whispered to each other.

"Well, it checks out, be sure not to do anything that Violates Kinoho law or-"

"Yeah yeah, don't worry bout it. I'll be good."

"Alright, enjoy your stay..."

A beautiful place the palace was. With its vast gardens and intimidating guards walking along the path. Joog took one stumbly step towards the palace and bright red smoke appeared, revealing a mysterious man.

"Come, the king awaits..." He told the little bald man.

"Fine with meh." Joog waved the smoke out of his face. They walked though the large cortyard and upon reaching the palace, Joog almost fell over from its towering size.

"Inside this way, sir."

The old-fashioned palace felt a lot more homely than its huge exterior. They walked up the apparent path untill they were greeted by a butler of sort.

"Now then, you must wait here untill all the guests have arrived." The butler gave him a suspicious look. "Aren't you a bit young to be helping the king?"

"I'm very much older than you. Im in my 30's you 20 year old."

The man was shocked by this statement but then retained his straight face, taking back what he had said. As he walked away, and the mysterious man dissappeared, Joog wobbled his way towards a seat next to a familiar blue haired boy...

[Shanghai]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=blue]
Several guards would be seen inside the palace gates, just a bit to the side of the garden rushing toward a young boy who seemed to be calm. They would slash downward at the boy who'd react by blocking their blades with the sheath of his katana. The boy would feel the pressure being pushed down upon him, so he would ease his way back, breaking himself away from the guards and stood a few yards away from them. He seemed to be in a stance, standing sideways from his opponent with hand hovering over the hilt of the katana. It was then that the palace butler came speaking to him.

"Monten "Friedrice" Korabishi?" The butler asked, looking down at the little boy.

Breaking the stance he was in, Monten looked at the butler before blinking," Yes?"

"It seems that people have started to arrive, if you wouldn't mind, come with me."

Nodding to the butler, Monten looked back at the guards who he was help train. With a wave he departed and began to follow the butler, who was walking in a rather quick pase. The little boy would place his arms within his kimono as he followed, having to take long leaps to keep up with the butler every now and then.

"What's the rush?" Monten would ask him after taking a few more leaps to catch up.

"I must show you where you must wait and hurry back to the gates, for more people will be coming. Its hard work ya know. Here you are sir."

Finally, the butler would lead Monten into a room where he would spot someone with blue hair and another guy who had some dots on his forehead. He could tell by the way the dotted one looked that he was probably some sort of martial artist, but the thing that would cross his mind was what type of style this man kept within his skill. Anyway, the butler would nod before disappearing in a white cloud of smoke, leaving the little boy and the other people in the room.
[/color] [/size]

[Sandy]

[color=deeppink]While the majority of people of Nabuto Town rushed to do their daily chores, one remained in his bed. It wasn't until noon that he awoke to a knock at his bedroom door.

Slowly he removed the pink sleeping mask from his eyes, sighing dramatically. "What is it?"

"A message for you, Sandy!" came a cheery voice from behind the door. Sandy recognized the voice as one of his girls, Lulu.

Reluctantly the tall, willowy man known as Sandy Silkmoon climbed up from his king-sized bed full of fluffy cushions and pink silk-sheets, and put on a silk robe - naturally pink as well. He stepped to open the door for Lulu.

"Here ya go!" Lulu said, her shrilling voice torturing Sandy's ears.

"Please honey, don't shout this early in the morning!" he sighed as he took the scroll from the girl.

"What are ya talkin' about?! It's way past [i]noon[/i], you silly you! Oh, one of the Emperor's twinky messengers left that. It said something about recruitment..."

"Thanks for doing me the favor of reading my letters, hun, but it really is too early for me to put up with you. Bye!"

Sandy slammed the door in the confused girl's face.

He returned to his bed and sat on the edge to read the imperial letter. After finishing it, he took a long moment to let his eyes wander around the walls of the room. Every possible place of them was covered in crescent-shaped fans and silk veils of all colors. They were artifacts of his past; they might look harmless ornaments to a casual visitor, but when looked upon more carefully, each would turn out to be a lethal weapon. They were Sandy Silkmoon's Thousand Veils. And it seemed to be time to put them in use again.

An hour later Sandy emerged from his room, surprising his three employees - Lulu and her big sisters Cici and Bebe - with his shiny appereance. His purple hair was slicked up in a physical-laws-defying manner, and the areas around his eyes glittered with... well, glitter. He was wearing bright yellow jacket and matching trumpet trousers, along with a white shirt with flamboyantly frizzly collar and sleeves. He carried a large, folded fan on his shoulder. He made a spin in front of the girls, and ended it by opening the fan, revealing the golden sunrise embroidered in it.

"Jolly good morning to you, lasses! I'm off to a little quest, so I hope you keep this club o' mine up and running? Thank you, darlings, I know I can count on you!"

"But..." the three sisters started, but Sandy was already at the door. He did a final spin, snapping the fan shut.

"Tata!" he exclaimed while exiting his nightclub - unique to the whole wide world.

The main street was as empty as normally, but to Sandy, who lived in nights, it seemed odd. Like the whole population of Nabuto had just vanished... It would mean bad to business, he mused, but then he decided to focus on the matter at hands.

He walked merrily towards the grand palace of the Emperor, whistling on his way. When reaching the gates, he handed the scroll to the stoic guards.

"You are permitted to enter..." the guard he had handed the scroll to started, but Sandy put his index at the guard's lips.

"Say no more, you stud you! I can see you're awfully worn out by this horrid task, so why wouldn't you cheer up a bit - it's a lovely day anyway, isn't it? And if you need some relaxation, my nightclub is open from dusk till dawn..."

Sandy's voice faded and smile vanished slowly when the guard's glare tightened and became more and more threatening.

"Alrighty, I get the point, no need to be hostile! Now if you gentlemen excuse me, Emperor and I have business to attend to!"

Lifting his pointy nose up dramatically Sandy walked between the two astonished guards, and made his way to the palace itself. He stopped one last time at the massive front door, and said to himself: "This is it, missy. New adventures await..."

He entered the majestic building confident in the outside, but nervousness bubbling within.[/color]

[Zidargh]

[size=1][b]OOC: Right, as Piro has yet to post, we will continue and I will post a bit about him aswell to get this started.[/b]

Yijo was suddenly startled when he heard several footsteps becoming closer and closer, but in shyness which was very strange for him, he did not turn around. Instead he lifted his head to look forwards as the old man dressed in robes walked through the center of the hall.

The man, bent over from age, was twiddling his beard as he walked until he stopped in front in the far end of the hall where he clicked his fingers for an odd reason. He then took a deep breath, and spoke.

[b]Old Escort Man:[/b] Thankyou for arriving everyone, we apologise for the delay but everyone must be here. With the exception of one lovely mistress, you all appear to be present so let me begin. I now present to you, Emperor King-ness!

Yijo, feeling it was his duty to stand up and bow, he did so, but as he bent down he looked in the corner of his eye, and it seemed another five individuals had appeared in the room. Lifting quickly, he saw a little, grinning old man appear running from the wooden surrounded room, it was obviously his dressing room.

The Emperor was also dressed in custom robes, embroidered of the same dragon patchwork as the guards, but it was in red, black and gold textures, every part of the robes followed this manner. The man wore a small box shape hat of which his dark black hair was tied up to be in a bun at the back. He seemed to have a very long black moustache, but thin in it's exterior, with a goatee to match the colour. His slitted eyes scanned the room as he was bent over for some odd reason, perhaps due to his small size.

[b]Emperor King-ness:[/b] "AH!" (Everyone in the room seemed to jump in shock) "My chosen warr--, erm, I mean, delivery men. Except for you, I don't actually know what you are!?"

Everyone including Yijo looked around in the middle of the room to see a slim figure dressed heavily in make-up, in fact, resembling a Geisha girl. Gasping, the figure turned his or her head up and looked away, but then lowered the head and opened the mouth to speak.

[color=deeppink][b]Feminine Figure:[/b]"I'll have you know I am a man, but an elegant one at that!"[/color] He then gave a twirl, and regained his previous pose of an upper class stance.

Struggling to continue, but successfully doing so, the emperor cleared his throat and opened his mouth once again.

[b]Emperor King-ness:[/b]"Well it appears our little plan worked, to ask for the finest and most committed of workers, each with their own unique characteristics I hope, I know at least one of us is unique."

The feminine man humphed, stumbled and then tried to avoid contact with whatever eyes were trying to catch her.

[b]Emperor King-ness:[/b]"To the point. Your task isn't a costly one, so there needn't be any worries for your lives, but I need this item you are going to pick up desperately. And you mustn't open the box! Doing so could result in immediate banishment or imprisonment. Why so many of you, you ask? Well I don't know, but I thought it'd be more fun if you had some companions to talk to on the way. Your destination is the majestic Mt. Fuji of which you will climb and enter to meet the famous staff-maker, Nitorobi. You are expected to have completed the task in one day, being this one, not a long time, but I become quite impatient. I will let my assistant take it from here, good luck everyone! Oh by the way, you should meet up with your other companion on the way, she is very beautiful.

With that, the Emperor turned around and ran off very quickly into his changing room, it appeared that deep steps were being taken on hollow wood, perhaps there was a staircase of some sort. The white robed assistant then replaced the Emperor's position and looked around as he called out in a stern voice.

[b]Old Escort Man:[/b] Each and everyone of you will be given 300 yen to spend before you journey out. You will meet with everyone just a few yards outside of Nabuto Town's gate and set out together then, it is only a short walk and shouldn't be too difficult for you. With that, you should do your business and then begin your journey. However, before you leave, I will give you your funds, as I call your name, please take your money and then leave Kainoho Palace.

The old man pulled out behind him a neatly written upon, blue scroll and began to call out the names.

"Zin Caldre!" Up ran a young man, of a very similar age to Yijo's, dressed in all black clothing, his shirt, trousers and his hair, with a white sash tied around him. Grabbing the brown pouch out of the man's hand, he anxiously ran out the opened doors until his quickly paced footsteps faded in the distance. The old man looked further down the list and called out, "Yijo Ricecake".

In immediate response, Yijo walked towards the man as his wooden sandle clicked on the floor, gently handed the jingling pouch full of coins, Yijo wasn't yet ready to be confronted by his future companions so he charged off through the courtyards and tightly through the closing gap. As the guards seemed to have been caught [i]off-guard[/i] they could be seen cluttering around tring to pick up their spears, and as the one to the right began to stand up, Yijo knocked him in the side of the face with his knee, causing the guard to spin around until fallen on the floor.

After running across the red bridge, and alongside the river until he entered the busy shopping district of Nabuto Town, he approached the General Store which appeared to look very similar to his home, but the entrance was blocked by a hanging piece of cloth stating [i]General Store[/i] in Kanji symbols. Pulling the cloth aside, he entered the building into a neatly organised house, where he met a smiling desk clerk moving his head to the outside music performers.

[color=darkblue][b]Yijo:[/b]"Hello, please may I see your merchandise?"[/color]

[b]General Store Clerk:[/b] "Of course, here is the shop's stock item menu. We apologise it is such a small list, our recent caravan containing our goods from Windstil Town were attacked apparentley."

With that, the clerk pointed to a board sitting on the brown, wooden counter...

[center][b]Nabuto Town, General Store Stock-list[/b]

Dumpling Kebab - 100 Yen (Capable of restoring a small amount of your health, a must have for long journeys.)

Dumpling Cake - 250 yen (A large surplus of dumplings, rejuvenating a majority of your health, good for those huge battles that could occur at any time. The world's such a cruel place. This product is also neatly wrapped with a pink bow.)

Bottle of water - 50 Yen (This container of water contains the finest spring water in all of Japan. A necessity to quench your thirst)

Straw Hat - 100 yen (This hat is capable of defending you from one weak to medium blow off of an enemy, or a single arrow aimed at your head. Be careful as it becomes tattered and useless after a blow.)

-------------- [/center]

After a long examination, Yijo reached into the pouch still in his hand and chose to buy a bottle of water, and two dumpling Kebabs, in a total of costing [b]250 Yen[/b], leaving him with [b] 50 Yen[/b].

After thanking the clerk, Yijo rushed home to lock up everything, it was ashame to leave his house but it wouldn't be for long, or so he thought. Reaching for a bag with a long strap, he placed his items inside, placed it around his shoulder and closed the door behind him. Now that he had prepared himself for the task again, Yijo ran on, past the General Store, Weapon Store, the Nabuto Inn and the restaurant, Yijo reached the huge gate that looked very similar to the one outside Kainoho Palace, but it was not guarded. Pushing the right door, he walked outside and sat on the dirt path, a couple of feet away from the gate.

Here he would wait for his companions to arrive. Looking out, the sun was in the middle of the sky, gleaming it's brightest rays over Japan, in the cloudless baby blue sky. Not far away, Mt. Fuji could be seen led from the dirt path that Yijo sat on, as he looked to find his master's enterprise hill and the neatly cut grasslands, static in the windless air.

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[center][b]Statistics of character(s)[/b][/center]

[b]Name:[/b] Yijo Ricecake
[b]HP:[/b] N/A
[b]MP:[/b] N/A
[b]Status Abnormalities:[/b] None
[b]Funds:[/b] 50 Yen
[b]Location:[/b] The Nabuto/Fuji grasslands.
[b]Items:[/b] Dumpling Kebab(s) X 2, Bottle of Water
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[/size]

[color=darkgreen]OOC: Hello everyone, just follow what has occurred and buy whatever items you need from the menu, and I'll see you outside Nabuto Town. Do not worry about the statistics of characters as that is my job, and as far as HP, MP, Status etc, goes, do not worry yet. As there are surprises to come ^_~. See you outside![/color]

[Sandy]

[color=deeppink]Sandy Silkmoon left the Imperial Palace feeling highly insulted. The Glorious Quest To Save The World he had dreamed of had changed to a simple task of fetch-and-deliver. He felt his talents were at waste, and that he ought to return to his stage at the club - the one place where he would be respected!

But as he was heading back towards the club, he saw the other men that had received the same task, all running to the General Store. He felt the weight of the gold pouch in his 1000-yen-pants, and he began pondering.

"Hmm... Who knows what this will turn out to be... Have I become such a wuss that I can't accept a challenge anymore? Is that really me, or the person I'm pretending to be?"

His contemplations were cut by a rude shout from one of his would-be-companions.

"Hey lassie, are you coming already? We sure ain't gonna carry you around in a sedan chair or anything!!"

Sandy's face blushed with anger and determination. How did that jackass dare?! Talking in that manner to a [i]lady[/i]...

"Oh Jebus Scribes..." Sandy finally sighed, giving up and prancing to the general store. When he entered there the others were already leaving. They glanced at him with a grin, as if they didn't take him too seriously. Sandy swore in his mind that they'd see...

"Good day to you, Clerk-san!" Sandy greeted cheerily.

"Good day to you too, Miss - uh, I mean sir! What can I get you?"

"Umm, don't you have Mineral Water? Out of Stock? Too bad, then I have to stick to Water. Let's see, with 300 yen I get six... Here you go, dear!"

"Excuse me, but I got the idea that you're leaving to a quest with the gentlemen who visited here earlier. Surely you'll need Dumplings..."

"Ew, no! Those are really bad for my digestion! I'd crap like a sick elephant for a week, ha ha! This'll be just fine, honey. Toodles!!"

Sandy exited the store, leaving the merchant openmouthed. He followed the Emperor's instructions and headed out from the gate. Under the gateway he turned to take a last glance at Nabuto Town.

"Hope we don't see each other too soon", he said to the bustling town.

He walked a while, swinging his fan back-and-forth, opening and closing it at the same. Nobody was to witness it, but the fan actually changed color each time it opened. From flaming red to seagreen to black-and-white pieds. The weapon concealed a secret only known to Sandy himself.

He didn't have to stroll for long, however, as he soon ran to the group of companions standing at the side of the path.

"We were waiting for you" said a happy-go-lucky looking twink. "Name's Yijo, what's yours?"

This is going to be interesting, Sandy reckoned as he regarded the diverse group he was going to travel with.

"I am Sandy Silkmoon. I am sure you all've visited my nightclub at the center of Nabuto, you can't really miss it..."

As the sincerely curious smile faded from Yijo's face to a barely polite faint smile, Sandy added in his mind that the others didn't necessarily agree with the "interesting"-part...
[/color]

[Wondershot]

"Kaizou Izato...oh, the 'Tsuchikemuri'.." Kaizou's good-natured smile vanished immediately as the guard grinned at his odd nickname. Kaizou, ears flaming, grabbed the loudly jingling bag of yen and stormed off, muttering.
"Whatever, bakayarou."

Moments later, the streets emptied out yet again to admit the humanoid dust tornado himself, muttering bitterly, the same tumbleweed from before was following him again. He stopped and stopped over to pick it up.
"You're not going to leave me alone, are you?" The tumbleweed jumped once, as though acknowledging the statement. Kaizou ignored it and let it follow him all the way to the general store before staying outside like a good pet. Kaizou walked inside, and the clerks voice wavered when he spoke.
"We-Welcome...Is there anything you...." Kaizou thrust his broom forward suddenly, and the store owner screamed and ducked under the counter, arms over his head. Kaizou looked over the edge of the counter, and replied blandly.
"I was only pointing at the wall." The store owner leapt to his feet immediately, resuming his good natured smile.
"Of course, I was only kidding." He replied, reaching high up for the straw hat that Kaizou was pointing at. He looked at Kaizou, still slightly nervous.
"Anything else?" Kaizou slammed his broom hard on the counter, and the clerk screamed and ducked again. The gust from the broom flipped the hat up into the air, and it landed neatly on his head. Kaizou looked over the counter at the cowering clerk.
"I'll also take a dumpling kebab and a bottle of water." He said blandly. A hand reached up from under the counter and dropped the items onto the counter.
"That...that'll be 250 yen...please..." The clerk replied, shivering. Cursing under his breath, Kaizou reached into his bag, and pulled out the coins, slamming them hard on the table. The cleark screamed again, and Kaizou stormed out in an even worse mood.

"Feh, baka everywhere." He muttered as he left the town gate, tumbleweed hopping madly behind him trying to keep up. He stopped and stared at it.
"You really think we have something in common, right?" The tumbleweed jumped again to acknowledge, and Kaizou groaned slightly.
"Unfortunately, I think you're right. C'mon." Kaizou held the giant ball under his arm and continued down the path leading away from town. On his way, he turned to stare at the city one last time, and bumped into someone. Truning, he caught a flash of a bright yellow outfit and a fan, so, naturally, he made the wrong assumption.
"Oh, sorry Miss..." The figure turned around and Kaizou clamed a hand to his mouth, although he wan't sure if it was out of embarrasement or to keep himself from laughing. The man, face full of makeup, turned and stared at him.
"Hey, watch where you're going! I could have been hurt!" He cried in an unusually agitated voice, Kaizou let the hand drop, and he opened his mouth to speak.
"Sorry." A snort escaped him and he clamped his hand over his mouth again. Sandy looked him over.
"Oh, you're filthy, dear, you should get some better clothes!" Kaizou opened his mouth to protest, but before he could, he left, multicolored fan swinging madly at his side. Kaizou, dumbstruck, could find nothing better to do then stare at the tumbleweed at his side.
"Weirdo," he told it.

"Hey!" A few moments later, Kaizou, completely lost in thought realized that he had strayed off the path and disappeared into tall grass at the side of the road. A young man seemed to be calling out to him, and Kaizou ran out to meet him, however, he didn't notice just how close to the road the grass was, and he crashed into the other person.
"Ouch! Sorry." Kaizou said hurriedly, staring at the blue-haired youth before him.
"Eh, no big deal, you here on that job too?"
"Uh huh, my name is 'Tsuchikemuri'..." Kaizou stopped and narrowed his eyes strangely, as though someone else had said it. He continued a moment later.
"Kaizou Izato, but everyone calls me 'Tsuchikemuri', and I hate it."
"Yijo Ricecake." The blue-haired youth replied, Kaizou nodded, and stopped as he saw Yijo staring at the tumbleweed at Kaizou's side.
"This is a tumbleweed." Kaizou said, holding it up. Yijo stared at it further.
"What's it doing there?"
"I dunno, It just started following me around." Kaizou said, shrugging apologetically. Yijo stared and laughed for a minute, before the two of them saw a familliar yellow-clad, makeup-splashed figure striding up the side of the road...

[Xra]

The King read the next name on the list. "Uhh...Lou Shin."

Wide eyed, he had forgotten it was Lou who was supposed to go deliver. He bit his lip trying to think of what to do. This would be the first time he had to lie. But, he made a promise to Lou, he had to accept.

"Right here!" The little man scurried over to grab his pouch of gold, but the king kept it to himself. "Hey, what gives?"

"You are the great Lou Shin? I highly doubt a young child as yourself could be him."

"Sma...SMALL CHILD!?! Listen buddy," Joog took another sip of his sake. "I am Lou Shin, and have the power to take out half your army! [SIZE=1]when im sober and i have half an army of help...[/SIZE]"

"Well then, I guess you are him. Here you go."

The king gave 'Lou Shin' the pouch of money and Joog went on his way.

[center]~~~[/center]

Back in Nobuto town, Joog decided to make another check in with Ms. Shin before he went out on his delivery.

"Ah, sweet Joog, did you deliver my rice?"

"Yep, when I got to Lou though, he had a little trouble. He'll be ok."

"Well alright." Joog was about to dash off. "Say Joog, what are you up to?"

"Gotta make a delivery, I should be back by nighttime."

"Ok then, see you later Joog."

Joog took off for the local store. He needed to buy supplies for his trek ahead. Through the still crowded streets filled with people, he made it to the counter. The clerk greeted him.

"Hello Joog, what can I get for ya?"

Joog scratch his huge forehead, then made his decision. "Ive got my Sake, so...I'll have the Dumplin' Cake."

"Sure thing. 250 yen."

Joog paid the man, and got his dumpling cake. He took a sip of his Sake and made his way foward again. He saw another gate...

"Whats with all these gates appearing out of nowhere all of a sudden, jeeze..." He pushed through the gate to see 3 others waiting there, including that blued haired kid. "You guys also waiting for the others?"

The boy stood up. "Hello, my name is Yi-"

"Nahuhuh, dont worry about introductions, save em for the road."

[Shanghai]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=blue]

From there, the old man read off the next name on the list," Let's see..Uhh..Monten..."Friedrice"...Korabishi?"

"Nani?" the young lad seemed to be the shortest one in the crowd of people who were there. The old man would repeat his name two to three more times before Monten jumped into the air to show himself," I'm right here!"

Landing on the ground now, he would walk over to the old guy only to be handed some yen. Smiling and doing a polite bow, the young boy made his way out of the room and out of the palace. His sandals made little sound on the ground beneth him as he walked, his hair seeming to sway with the wind that would come ever now and then. Approaching the gate now, the guards would let him out and he would wave good-bye to them. But unlike most of the guards, these one waved back with a smile yelling out things such as:

"See ya Monten! Good Luck on your journey!"

Or:

"Thanks for helping us in our training session today Monten! I feel that I could do a lot better in battle!"

The smile on this young boy's face would grow hearing the comments coming from the guards. Now, being in the crowd of people around Nabuto Town, he would need to dodge many of the on-coming people. It's like trying to navigate yourself through a bunch of running horses! Was something that Monten would say to himself quietly. He would be pushed every which-way before being knocked into the [I] General Store. [/I]

His hand would be slide into the sleeve of his kimono before he'd scratch the back of his head, eyes a bit bewildered at how he was transported into the Store.

"Uh..May I help you lad?" asked the Clerk standing behind the counter.

"Yeah, I would like," Monten began but stopped once he reached the counter. Not being able to see the clerk, he'd take a few steps back and order," I would like a Straw Hat please."

"That'll be 100 yen."

Nodding to the clerk, Monten would jump on the counter to reach him and pay him 100 yen. This would leave the samurai kid with only 200 yen. He would acknowledge the clerk once more with a smile before taking the hat and making his way from the fields and into the lion's den! (As in he going back into the crowd) But to his surprize there weren't as many people there, probably down the street maybe. Shrugging while putting his straw hat on, he would make his way pass the Weapon Store and Inn before getting to the gate.

Not even looking back, he'd easily open the gate and look on at the other people he would be traveling with...
-------------------------------------------------

[B]Name[/B]: Monten "Friedrice" Korabishi
[B]HP[/B]: N/A
[B]MP[/B]: N/A
[B]Status Adnormalities[/B]: None
[B]Funds[/B]: 200 yen
[B]Location[/B]: The Exiting Gate Of Nabuto
[B]Items[/B]: Straw Hat

[/size] [/color]