# Gekokujo, A Tales of Strangers (Action Thread)



## emporershand89 (Jun 11, 2010)

* Gekokujo, A Tale of Strangers*

It is the Sengoku Jidai, the Age of the Country at War. Across the land of Nippon mighty warriors called Samurai clash back and forth for control of the most powerful seat in the kingdom: the title of Shogun. The rulers of these might clans follow the teachings of the Jōei Code, the social rules that govern the economy and the flow of power between the Emperor and the Shogunate. They lived a violent, and often short, lifespan and train themselves to master the Way of the Warrior; Bushido. These Samurai are born into a time where war and violence govern most aspects of life and whose skills define the distance one may rise within the society. Their mighty Armies clash across the island, laying waste to village and city alike, killing thousands in their bid for power. 

But now that order has changed, and new men have risen to challenge the order of their time. Men once considered commoners now rise from the ashes and become valiant warriors of their own. No longer does one have to be Samurai to carry a Katana; the symbol of the Warrior. Deep in this conflict is you, the stranger from an outside village that is simply on his way to whatever objective he has to reach. You come into this deepening tale as you walk into the village of Ono, a small village outside of Ichijodani in the central Echizen Province. Let the Adventure Begin!

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Yaganimoto Gonnosuke jumped from the tall tree branch down onto the rock; letting his momentum carry him into a roll. He sprinted off towards the small him in front of him, intent on regaining the lost ground that he had been trying to make up. He remember the words of the Ji-samurai that had given him the mission he currently pursued. “Kare wa shinde iru ka, ikite maja jisan(Bring him to me dead or alive),” with the most intense face Yaganimoto had ever seen. Clearly if the dedication to catching this particular criminal wasn’t enough the purse of ringing Ryo had definitely convinced the poor hunter. While Gonnosuke had never liked money, he realized the advantage of being able to afford the smiths repair of his beloved yari, or the finely made arrows he occasionally bought in Azuchi Castle back near his hometown. ‘No time to think of this, I must catch him before he makes it to the village ahead,’ he thought as he raced on.

He looked up in time to see a patched road ahead….and his quarry on the ground. Quietly sliding his bow out he slotted an arrow and approached; weapon drawn. As he did a man standing across from the slumped criminal looked up in his direction. “Sore wa dailobudesuga, kokode shika sonzaina yujin sa(It is alright, there only friend here now).” Gonnosuke inched forward till he could get a better eye on the man across the road. Besides being unusually tall he was well built, and had a strong upper body. He also noticed his age, the lines creasing the mans face, and the age old experienced look of a warrior in his eyes.

“Anata dare (Who are you),” Gonnosuke yelled back. The man cocked his head and smiled, “Why I am Hiroshi, and you are boring me from behind that tree.” 

Meanwhile on the outskirts of the village of Ono, near Ichijodani in the Echizen province of Japan, a man stumbles down the road with a jug of sake in his hand. He wears silk clothes and enjoys the sandles that keep his feet cool in the hot sun. His trusty wshizaki hangs loosely from the fabric belt around his waist. As he walks we notices two men, one a few feet behind the other, walking down the road towards him. Thinking he will be smart with these travelers he approaches the first one and calls out. “Baka, baka, baka. Anata wa, o shiri no yo ni mieru. Tabun! Anata wa yoriyoi-fuku o konyu suru hitsuyo ga arimasu(You look like a ass. Maybe you should buy better clothes.” Even while laughing at him the first stranger continues to walk down the road oblivious of what he had just said to him. 

“What are you to cowardly to even take an insult. What an idiot.” The man goes to pull his sword when suddenly he feels the cold sting of a metal blade on his neck. Slowly turning his face lights up in surprised to find the second traveler had crossed the distance to him and had drawn his sword in mere seconds. “I ask that you not make insults so lightly friend, you may find that your death is waiting for you soon.” Daichi Shinmen looked down his blade at the drunken fool who had just harassed the traveler in front of him. He was unhappy with this man, having enjoyed the peaceful trip with the random stranger who had not even introduced himself. 

For his own part the other traveler kept walking strait ahead and into the town. Ashikai Miyamoto had no intention of acknowledging either of these men; as his mind was focused on something else. Something he had hunted down to this very village and was intent on finding; damned or not.


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## RoleplayKutu (Jul 25, 2013)

Yaganimoto Gonnosuke inspected the man ahead of him.

The man looked friendly enough for the state he found him to although he realized he should approach with caution. While the arrow was ready to be fired he understood that there was no reason to be offensive, yet at least, since the man didn't seem to move with any aggressiveness. He could glimpse the pouch of gunpowder in the man's clothes so he knew that he could retaliate from range while the bo Hiroshi carried would not make him easy to fight in close combat. Thus, Gonnosuke decided to try and approach him in a friendly way just as he had approached so many more. He took one step closer, rising from his crouched stance since the man had spotted him already and did his best to sound friendly:

"I am Yaganimoto Gonnosuke and its good to see a friendly traveler in these places. What brings you here and how did you end up fighting this man?"

Waiting for a response he didn't dare to lower his bow, he was experienced in such instances and it would not be the first time a seemingly cheerful fellow would try to attack him while traveling. Not a week ago while he was out hunting for a merchant did he encounter a traveler who helped him set up a campfire and kept him company only to realize he was a vile ronin who only valued the company of a stranger's purse and weapons, and ended up with the company of an arrow between his eyes. He was tired from chasing the criminal in a fast pace and would want nothing more than to sit back with a friendly face and cook the green pheasant he had shot down earlier(the carcass still hiding tied from the back of his belt) but he knew this was no time for carelessness.


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## Cleanser (Jul 27, 2013)

Hiroshi had hunted this man for months now, relentlessly tracking him down, looking for any clues to his whereabouts. The man he was looking for was a notorious bandit, who had murdered more than a dozen innocent villagers. After long days of carefully following his target's footsteps he finally found him. In a few moments, his quarry was lying in front of him, completely unconscious from a swift strike to the jaw. As Hiroshi was about to finish the bandit off, he noticed someone else was there. Someone pointing a bow straight at him. They exchanged a few words, with Hiroshi giving out his name to the man with the bow.

"I am Yaganimoto Gonnosuke and its good to see a friendly traveler in these places. What brings you here and how did you end up fighting this man?"

The man didn't seem like he was going to lower his bow, so Hiroshi took off his straw hat and smiled at the man. "He attacked me, so I simply defended myself. Now would you mind lowering the bow before one of us gets hurt?". Hiroshi lowered his hat to the ground and lifted his hands into the air to show that he was not a threat "As I said earlier, there are only friends here"


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## SpaceTank (Jul 26, 2013)

There seemed to be some sort of quarrel going on near him, but he wasn't interested in that for the moment: all his years of travel had taught him that if there was any sort of trouble, the best course of action was to always be as inconspicuous as possible if the choice to do so was available.
That wasn't why he was here anyway: he had heard a rumor about what had happened many seasons ago, when his Daimyo had been murdered. He still had no idea about who the culprit was, and he wanted to finally have closure, so any clue about that was absolutely worth investigating.
He wanted to talk to a man in particular: the man who had served them sake that grim night.
After the Daimyo had been killed, the servant was nowhere to be found. 
When the rumor of this myserious man's disappearance spread through a city he was in, Ashikai decided to track him down.
He didn't like making assumptions, so he wasn't going to automatically condemn him: but he wanted the truth, no matter the cost.


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## Therizza (Jul 29, 2010)

Another day on the road, another village to stumble upon... Daichi sighed as he walked down the path, near a stranger who seemed reserved, or perhaps he was focusing on the task at hand. What that was, Daichi could only guess, as the two men, both ronin, had not spoken a word for several miles. 

…

Daichi could smell the man before he could hear his drunken footsteps, though he could not see him until he and his impromptu travelling partner reached a clearing. “_You look like an ass. Maybe you should buy better clothes.”_ A man dressed in silk spat the insults, drinking from a jug of sake as he did. The man was a fool, Daichi thought. As the drunkard took another swig, Daichi was already sprinting across the clearing, his right hand on the hilt of his katana. “What are you too cowardly to even take an insult. What an idiot.” The man tried to pull his sword, a wakizashi, but Daichi was too fast, blade already on his neck. “I ask that you not make insults so lightly friend, you may find that your death is waiting for you soon.” The drunkard’s knees were shaking, visibly terrified.

“Tell me, swine, what gives you the right to hurl insults at strangers on the road? Who are you?” The man closed his eyes as Daichi raised his voice, recoiling as if he was about to be struck. Daichi held himself back from laughing, keeping a stern tone. “There are dangerous men roaming these roads, or so I have heard.” The man was trembling uncontrollably now. Daichi had replaced his katana into its sheath, though the drunkard likely though he was about to lose his head. Daichi finished, “you should really watch what you say, you may lose your head!” Daichi’s final word was punctuated with the sound of shattering pottery, as he smashed the man’s jug of sake with a precise jab of his weapon’s sheath. 

The drunkard slumped to the ground, likely in shock, though not dead as Daichi checked for a pulse. Seeing that he was incapacitated, and having more pressing issues at hand, Daichi returned to the road, running to catch up with the other traveler.


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## emporershand89 (Jun 11, 2010)

*Post 2*

"He attacked me, so I simply defended myself. Now would you mind lowering the bow before one of us gets hurt? As I said earlier, there are only friends here." He tall man in the lowered the Straw Hat to the ground and raised his hands into the air to show he was unarmed and had no intention of fighting with Gonnosuke. He still eyed the man with a sense of caution, not yet fully understanding certain aspects of the situation he faced. This man had defended himself, but why had an escaped convict attacked a random stranger when he knew he was closely being pursued? Why would this stranger suddenly engaged with this man when he could easily keep out of harms reach?

These questions would have to wait as Gonnosuke noticed armed men running up the road; yelling at Hiroshi. The had yet to notice him, this was good, and Gonnosuke decided to stayed behind the tree as the men approached the man in the road.

For his part Hiroshi couldn’t understand why the man was still behind the tree. He had put a hand in the air to signal peace, and had even taken off his hat so that the man could read the intentions on his face. Yet the man peered out at him, clear holding his weapon with every intention of a man who has distrust in his heart. ‘Odd fellow,’ thought Hiroshi,‘…perhaps if I just go on my way…..’

It was then that he realized that a group of armed men were approaching him; yelling to get his attention. He noted the group, 5 men all with swords and one with a bow across his back with a wakizashi, seemed interested in the man on the road. 

“Hey you, explain why this man is dead and your blade is bloodied?” Hiroshi looked at the man, and smiled his ever so crooked grin. “Well you see…………………

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Meanwhile on the opposite side of the village the quiet man known as Ashikai had made his way into the village and had gone towards to public Sake bar that stood in the center of the town on the village green. Taking a seat for himself he order a few rounds of sake;’ of which the bitter liquid left a nasty after-taste in his throat. Finally he turned to the Nihonshu (Sake Bartender) and beckoned him over for another round.

“I’m looking for a person, someone who might have passed through here within the last day or two. This man would have the look of a killer in his eyes, with an auspicious air around him. Have you seen such a man?” 

The bartender turned,” I have not seen anyone that fits your description that has passed through here. We recently had the local Magistrate stop by, he is over in the yado down the road with his attendants. Perhaps you should start there?” With a nod and a turn Ashikai was about to leave when the man sitting on his right grabbed his shoulder. Ashikai flexed but felt no intention in the soft grip on his shoulder.

“I do not know whom you seek stranger, but the local Guard was called up the road a few minutes ago. Seems a suspicious person attacked a traveler and was killed, maybe this you should look into; hmmm?” With that the man turned back to his drinks. Ashikai sat in thought, not noticing the man standing behind the corner of a nearbye house; eyeing him suspiciously. 

Back on the road Daichi had finished with his new drunken friend and left him crying in the road for another bottle of Sake. He ran to catch the traveler whom had intrigued him so much during his travels but the man had disappeared. After a little bit of searching he noticed the man under the Sake bar near the town center; talking to the bartender. As any Nippon knows when a quiet man goes to a Sake bar and asks the bartender questions is looking for information and this fascinated Daichi. Momentarily forgetting the reason he was travelling through the local countryside he slide between a house; eyeing the man from a distance. ‘What will you do next,” he wondered.


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## SpaceTank (Jul 26, 2013)

Ashikai entered the sake bar, and, immediately, a chill ran through him.
He was suddenly and brutally reminded of how he made it this far, and the real reason of his journey.
Sake...he couldn't blame it all on the drink, even though he would've loved to. 
he truth was that the weakness of men, men that couldn't control themselves and drank too much was to blame.

Nevertheless, he ordered a few drinks to seem like a normal customer, then questioned the nihonsu.
He was just beginning to think about it when the man next to him informed him about the murder, and then everything changed.

He didn't like dealing with guards, as most of the time he was being chased by them for killing someone. He was never convicted because, technically speaking, his killings were legal: the men that fell under his blade or were pierced by his bullets were wanted criminals, but explaining it to the lawmen every single time was getting extremely frustrating, and he even had to bribe them a few times to leave him alone.

This had made him extremely distrustful towards any figure of authority, but he would have to deal with one in either case, so he decided to go for the guards. After all, even if he kept telling himself to avoid trouble, the truth was that he did miss a little bit of action every now and again.

He stepped out of the sake bar, a newfound spring in his step: he questioned villagers regarding the source of the commotion, and they obligingly showed him the way.
After a few minutes of walking (and an uneasy feeling he could not shake off, even though he didn't know why), he reached his destination.

"What is going on here?" he demanded, making a few of the guards turn around. From what he could tell, someone was killed by a traveler, and the guards weren't happy about it.​


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## RoleplayKutu (Jul 25, 2013)

Gonnosuke noticed the show going on with a hidden fascination from behind the tree. His experience taught him that it would always be better to be on the side of the winner.
At this moment the men with the swords had almost circled Hiroshi while the bowman was looking backwards towards a traveler who had caught his attention.

The unknown man was armed, Gonnosuke could get a peek on his rifle and he was certain he must have some sort of melee weapon. Hidden as he was behind the tree, with arrow ready and bow pulled he leaned backwards easing himself and listening to what would go between the travelers and the guards.

The guards didn't look the sort that would forget anything as long as no trouble befallen them and their town and in case a fight occurred, Gonnosuke had to pick a side. Probably he would ally with the travelers, the ones who killed the criminal wouldn't normally be worse and Hiroshi had shown several signs of friendship. The honor-fed guards on the other hand wouldn't look at him in any friendly way even if he helped them and saved their lives. 

They were more likely to attack him for not being a samurai. If the fight would start he was ready to strike at the bowman, without revealing himself, making note of where he was standing. One clean arrow through the eye as he used to shoot wild animals not to spoil the meat would render the guards helpless and he could pick them off one by one with his short bow if they didn't fall to the arms of the other men.

Gonnosuke never wanted trouble with the law, but in this case he would have to do what was best for him and there was no one around to bear witness to what had happened. As far as the authorities were concerned, the guards could have been attacked by ronin while he and the rest of the travelers avenged them by killing back the bandits bringing back their weapons as token of their feats, yes, that pretty song would even gain them free food and roof in the village for some time, accommodations always welcome. Gonnosuke was certain it would work, the townsmen heard what they wanted to hear and if their fellows had died, vengeance was what they would like.

This was a nice plan but for now he should wait, quiet as a shadow and calm as water, taking a mental note of where the bowman was standing, poised to strike at the first sign of a quarrel. Whether everything would go downhill or the travelers wouldn't trust him, he was the one with the least encumbrance on him and the thick bushes on his back would let him outrun and trick anyone who could have given chase.


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## Cleanser (Jul 27, 2013)

As Hiroshi was about to leave the man with the bow to his own devices, a group of six men approached him. Hiroshi's tanegashima was always loaded, just in case a situation like this happened, where he didn't have the time to load during the heat of a fight. Hiroshi was a man that was always prepared for any situation, even the most unlikely. Hiroshi managed a get a closer look at the men, realizing what they were.

These men were clearly samurai, judging by their hairstyle and how they dressed, along with their katanas. Ah, the samurai, honor bound fools that were really no more than thugs working for their tyrant leaders. The shogun were power hungry warmongers that only cared more about their status than the well-being of the people, Hiroshi learned that a long time ago, a time best left in the past. 

The men surrounded Hiroshi, circling over him like birds of prey. Hiroshi made a note that one of them had a bow, making him top priority. However, he noticed the man from earlier was gone, of course he would be, a situation like this was much too dangerous for him to stick around. 

“Hey you, explain why this man is dead and your blade is bloodied?”

The man who said it seemed to be the leader of the group, he had the look of it on him. Hiroshi grinned at the man, looking less like a smile and more like an animal barring it's teeth. “Well you see...". Hiroshi prepared to brandish his arquebus, forming a battle plan. He would go for the bowman first, then the leader and finally take down the rest as swiftly as possible. Just as he prepared to shoot the leader. A stranger had appeared from nowhere.

"What is going on here?" 

The men turned to the stranger, and Hiroshi couldn't believe his luck.


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## Therizza (Jul 29, 2010)

Finishing with the drunkard, Daichi returned to the path, though the other traveler was nowhere to be seen. Sighing to himself, the ronin proceeded into the town, a quiet village from the look of things. As he walked, he kept his eyes open for the man from the road, scanning the merchant's stalls as he did. Seeing something out of the corner of his eye, Daichi diverted between two buildings to get a better view. 

The grass was tall where Daichi crouched, concealing him enough from view. From his vantage point, he could see tell the man he was looking at was the same from the road, as his naginata was quite visible, even from Daichi's current vantage point. Observing for a second, the man ordered sake, and proceeded to converse with the bartender. "What are you talking about, stranger?" Daichi thought silently. The man in the bar seemed to liven with whatever news the bartended had passed on, his posture straightening and his shoulders raised. He proceeded out of the bar, and this is when Daichi knew that he should follow. Whatever this man was after, Daichi was now past the point of interest. He had to know.

Standing from his crouched position, Daichi smartly followed the man, though keeping enough distance as not to bring attention to himself. Several minutes later, he could see the stranger talking to a group of guards. Another man was present, the object of the guards' attentions. "Interesting" Daichi thought to himself. He made sure his helmet was not visible within his satchel, opting not to travel with it mounted, as this often brought more attention than was sometimes necessary. 

Deciding to play it cool, Daichi walked down the path, a simple traveling ronin was the look he was trying to portray. Whistling as he walked, he soon was within earshot of the group. "Hey, explain why this man is dead and your blade is bloodied..." one of the guards demanded. Closing in , he heard the stranger he was following state "What is going on here?"

Continuing by, as if nothing was going on, another one of the guards addressed Daichi, "Hey you, stop! State your business here. Did you see any of this happen?" Daichi paused, setting his satchel on the ground. Taking stock of the situation, he quickly ran down the threats present in the clearing. Five men, decently armed, poorly armoured and one with a bow. They were circling the heretofore unknown man, likely trying to implicate him in the corpse's demise, while the stranger Daichi was following was on the other side of the group. 

If it was a fight they wanted, it looked like the odds might favor the group of strangers, but Daichi thought to try his hand at a bit of diplomacy. "Hello, friend. Yes, I saw it all happen. You see, the dead man is a wanted murderer, and that man over there by all rights was justified in slaying him." Daichi knew his bluff was about to be called as the guard who had addressed him approached. "How could you have seen what happened, you just walked down the path?" The guard looked quizzically at Daichi, who never broke eye contact with the guard. Sensing the tension, Daichi could almost hear the thoughts of the other strangers, who were all likely prepared to fight at the slightest provocation...


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## emporershand89 (Jun 11, 2010)

Sasuke Minamoto, Captain of the Guard, had longed for a nice and easy day without any incident within his village. His expectation was shattered as he led his group of men to investigate the murder than had occurred on the northeastern road heading towards Echizen. As he arrived on scene he could see this was much more complicated than appearances foretold. The dead man seemed like any normal criminal, while the stranger standing over him seemed well armed and versed in the ways of war. Sasuke approached the man, keeping a mind to have his good hand on the shaft of his Yumi.

“Hey you,” he said, “explain why this man is dead and your blade is bloodied?” The man turned to him with a smile that made Sasuke tense. “Well you see I was coming along this path, all by my lonesome self when this man attacked me and I slew him in defense.” Sasuke looked down at the man, kicking him a little to make sure no weapons were hidden underneath.

“This man was clearly unarmed, and clearly not running to fight you. Yet here you stand armed to the teeth. Is that all you have to say in your defense?” The Guard looked at Hiroshi was unbelieving eyes. Hiroshi had clearly underestimated them, thinking that they were samurai. It was becoming apparent that these were no more than the local village guard; tasked with ensuring the defense of the village from Brigands and the lot. ’Great,’ Hiroshi thought, ’now this buffoon will tire me out as well long before I get to the village.

“What’s going on here,” a voice range out and Hiroshi turned to find his fortunes had changed. A stranger had approached the group, and seemed to have taken a direct interest in the fight. Forgetting about both the Guards and the man behind the tree Hiroshi stepped up behind the new stranger and looked at him and the Guards.

“You see sir this man can tell you all about the criminal we have been hunting, and the long journey it took us to find him; right?” Hiroshi looked over at the stranger, hoping to the Shinigami that his luck would hold out.

Meanwhile the Captain of the Guard was approached by yet another stranger who had come out from the left side of the village and behind the commotion. "Hello, friend. Yes, I saw it all happen. You see, the dead man is a wanted murderer, and that man over there by all rights was justified in slaying him." As Daichi approached the group from behind he looked at what appeared to be the leader of the Town Guard. The leader gave him a quizzical look, then diverted his attention over to the taller man standing with his arm draped around the stranger from the far side. Daichi recognized as the traveller from earlier, yet the other man he had not seen. Things had just taken an interesting turn, what would his next move be Daichi wondered.

The leader turned his attention back to Daichi, “What business of this is yours? I suppose you’ll tell me you had a hand in this man’s demise as well?” Completely ignoring the other two strangers he advanced upon Daichi with an investigative eye. Stopping inches from his face the Captain towered over Daichi; glaring at him. “Well, have you nothing to say for yourself?”

Near the front Ashikai closed in on the group he yelled a challenge to the nearest guard to get his attention. All the Guards gave him a dumbfounded look; wondering what this random stranger wanted with the current situation. It was then that the man on the far side stepped up behind him and threw his arm over his shoulder.

“You see sir this man can tell you all about the criminal we have been hunting, and the long journey it took us to find him; right?” Ashikai gave him a doubt look and took a deep breath before answering; his hand tightening around his weapon 

Hidden in the tree’s near the road Gonnosuke continued to wait; a growing feeling of apprehension nagging at his senses. Who would strike first, what would become of the new fellow who had just entered the fray. He continued to wait as a patient hunter does, waiting for the opportune moment to strike.

High above him he missed the movement of leaves and the tap of light feet upon a branch.


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## RoleplayKutu (Jul 25, 2013)

Gonnosuke observed the scene unfold. Ready as he was to strike, he cursed inside him. The captain guard with the bow had stepped toward the 3rd stranger(Daichi) leaving his vision. Leaping to shoot the man would be a tremendous jeopardy right now and he wasn't as far from the rest of the guards as he would like.

Pressing himself against the try he closed his eyes and reflected on the situation. Should the man who first came after the guards(Ashikai) roll in on the story proposed, lie or not the guards might as well as leave them alone, in which case he would have to parlay his way out of this. Should fighting ensue, he could try to assist either side, without being sure who would be closer to him.

If Hiroshi had indeed killed the criminal in cold blood his safety wasn't secured. He could always run though, but without seeing where the bowman stood he couldn't be certain whether he would feel the arrowhead piercing the back of his skull. Or he could stay behind that tree till the fighting continues and pick a side later, if there would be any fighting. 
That move was uncertain though, the winners would definitely wonder how conveniently a hunter materialized from behind a tree just when their bloodbath was done.

His decision was that he would help the strangers. They were well-armed, joyful enough to feel confident in their abilities and in a lot better position to deal with the guard captain, plus helping them would secure him safety at best. 

Not daring to calm down his arms the bowstring was notched to the end in front of him, tightly to his body ready to launch at the first sight of the bowman were he to vault towards a direction. He would have to make sure he doesn't shoot any of the strangers, and he would definitely have to make sure he wouldn't miss. All he needed was a clean shot at the bowman or the guard closest to him, an arrow straight through the eye.

These were the shots a skilled hunter needed to do, so the meat isn't spoiled and the animal is straight out of its misery without a lot of blood that would attract other predators. Except it was a human target he would be after this time and a miss could as well mean his life taken.


Opening his eyes, sure of what he would want to do he shifted his vision to the group, sensing everyone's tension. Hiroshi stood in the middle accused but well within range to attack and stagger the guards, while the other 2 strangers were close enough to the guard captain to strangle him with their own hands. He looked down upon his belt where the carcass of the green pheasant still stood hanging and wondered who would be feasting on it tonight.

He and the group of his would-be friends or the town's guard?


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## SpaceTank (Jul 26, 2013)

The situation was getting a little out of hand, or at least about to.
Ashikai was no stranger to awkward, treading-on-thin-ice kind of situations, but he had to admit that he had never been involved in something this big.

There was no time for a long pause to think: any hesitation from his part would blow the cover, and that wasn't something he wanted to do, at least not when he wasn't prepared.

And so it was that he decided to take a deep breath and agree with the stranger that was requesting his help:
"He is right, you know. I have been directed to this spot because I was asking about this particular man around town. I'm sure many of the townsfolk have seen me going to the sake bar, questioning the barman about someone I was hunting. 
Obviously my job is done, as this person is very clearly dead. Me and my companion were on a contract to apprehend this dangerous criminal, and we have succeeded.
Now please let us be on our way, we need to collect our reward and I'd like to get going before noon" 

He knew very well that the bluff wouldn't hold if anyone actually bothered to check, but if there was one thing he knew about town guards it was that they would avoid work at all costs unless absolutely necessary, and questioning so many people definitely counted as work. He turned towards his "partner" and smiled at him, looking at him as if he were an old friend, but also giving him a questioning look. 
He hoped that this little speech wasn't going to turn out to be a mistake.


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## Cleanser (Jul 27, 2013)

Hiroshi turned to the man he had his shoulder on, who so happened to be a natural liar. Hiroshi was impressed, if this man had not arrived more blood would have been spilt. The man managed to fabricate a story that could fool these men. The guards seemed like they just wanted to go through their day without any disturbance. "You heard my friend here, so how about we go on our way before we waste any more time?"

Hiroshi tried to speak to the man quietly. "Good job. My name is Hiroshi, by the way. What's yours?". The guards seemed to be convinced by the man's story, though most of them seemed willing to accept anything as long as they got a peaceful shift. Hiroshi was still on alert, the guards may have seen through the man's lie. The other man that joined the confrontation seemed to be on edge as well. Hiroshi needed to keep on his guard.


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## Therizza (Jul 29, 2010)

_“What business of this is yours? I suppose you’ll tell me you had a hand in this man’s demise as well?”_ The guard walked straight up to Daichi, completely ignoring the others in the rag tag group. Stopping close enough for Daichi to smell the man's breath, the guard demanded,_ “Well, have you nothing to say for yourself?”_ Daichi had half a mind to headbutt the guard for his impropriety, but elected not to, as the situation was too tense and such and action may cause the discussion to come to blows.

"Well, you see, if you had paid attention, I was coming from the village over yonder. Therefore, I couldn't have had a hand in this man's demise. I was tracking him, yes, but it appears that man over there beat me to him. Alas, I will make no money and I have spent so much time hunting this man, I fear I may starve." Daichi fell to his knees, weeping aloud. "Woe is me, I will surely starve! I should have gone to the monastery like mother wanted after all!" 

Daichi's plan was simple, convince them he was mad, or a simpleton, or both, and they'd leave him be. Hopefully it worked, though Daichi knew he may be drawing blood sooner than he had anticipated...


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## emporershand89 (Jun 11, 2010)

Sasuke head was begining to spin with the amount of stories confronting him all at once. His initial suspect was now saying he had an accomplice, the accomplice was saying he'd been searching for this very man, and a third man, who had come from the edge of the village, was telling his men he had been tracking this man from another village. For his part Sasuke wanted to just bury the poor man and be done with this ordeal, but he was smart enough to recognize that allowing any of these men into his village was spelling bad news for them all. Finally he pounded his spear into the road, gaining the attention of all assembled around him.

"It would seem this man was killed by vengeful spirits," he said, making sure to look each man in the eye. "What your business with him was does not matter to me, however I will not allow you to enter this village and continue to cause trouble here." turning he pointed further up the western road past the village.

"further along this road there is a Izakaya(Tavern). You may rest there but if I find any of you in my village there will be hell to pay." He turned to his men.

"Kyūsoku barī kare(Quickly burry him)," he yelled. His men, ignoring the strangers, went to pick up the fallen traveller. Sasuke started to walk past the two strangers and back towards the village. That is when he noticed a cold feeling, like cold water, running down the back of his spin.

From their vantage points all four strangers looked on as the Captian collapsed onto the road. His men dropped the deceased man and quickly surrounded him. The tallest of them pointed at Hiroshi.

"Otoko wa, shidō-sha o korosu kare o shutoku(He killed the Captian, get him!" Suddenly Hiroshi, Ashikai, and Daichi found themselves facing a small mob of 12 armed men. As they approached another man mysteriously dropped onto the ground, blood dribbling down his face and onto the dirt.

For his part Daichi had little time to observe what had triggered the fight. He had seen the village Captian drop onto the road before being rushed by 3 men. One came at him from the front wielding a wakizashi, which 2 others closed at angles with yumi spears. Daichi reached for his weapon, knowing this fight was going to get ugly.

Hirsohi and Ashikai both had dumbfounded looks on their face as the armed men rushed at them. They had seen the Captian collapse on the road but could not see what had killed him. Thankfully due to his inact training Ashikai already had his weapon out and in his hands. He ducked a mean slash from the left as one man came from in front, but wasn't preapred for a yumi spear that stabbed from his left towards him. He turned to meet the oncoming attack..............

Hiroshi's humorous dumb luck had once again landed him in an akward situation with strangers. He saw the group coming at them, and even noticed the random gaurd who dropped dead behind the main group. Cursing his luck Hiroshi went to grab his weapon, ducking in time to barely dodge an arrow from one of the fighters behind the main group, and charged into the fray.

Gonnosuke had seen an object hit the village Captian in the back and drop him dead on the road. While Gonnosuke wanted to join in the fighting he knew the real enemy was not on the road. The object had come from his direction, meaning only that whoever had fired it must be nearbye. He scanned the forest around him, and looked up into the tree tops. Whoever it was either already gone or a master of concealment, as Gonnosuke could not pick out anything around him. He closed his eyes, quickly focusing his hearing, and listened to the enviroment around him. Over the roar of the battle nearbye he finally picked out faint footsteps, and a sudden puff of air. He suddenly rolled as a small blade came flying out of nowhere and slammed into the tree next to him. Gonnosuke's bow answered in kind, but found nothing in it's flight. Looking around he didn'f feel the thud of a person landing on top of him until he was already on the ground; his assailent poised to strike. What was he going to do?


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## RoleplayKutu (Jul 25, 2013)

Face flat out to the ground bowless and quiverless it was time for Gonnosuke to fight for his life.

He couldn't eye the attacker on him but it was just as if a beast had descended on him. He rolled sideways taking the assailant well down under his back and propelled himself to the trunk of the tree. As he turned around to gaze his attacker, a sideways kick to the legs landed him down and the back of his head hit the tree behind him.

Sitting down dizzy and blurry he gazed as the shadowy figure crept up him and tried to strangle him with its hands. With his eyes closed from the headache and struggling to take a breath he realized that his upper parts were unable to continue the fight. As he was being pressed to the tree he coiled up both his feet and smashed the opponent in the chest knocking it backwards. He was aware there was a fight going on behind them but the threat was more immediate. Puffing to get up, he soon felt a strong sting of cold which was the immediate response of being kicked in the genitals from behind and soon after he landed on four half-immobilized from the pain.

As the figure was ready to finish him off, he made a lunge forward, grabbed it by the knees and grounded it with him but soon his neck was pressed by a pair of strong legs and after the grappling move he ended up landing with his head on the ground behind the blurry image of a person who was rising in front of him, ready to finish him with a weapon that seemed like a long knife.

The world was spinning around him, he could taste the iron flavor of blood on his lips. His entire face was covered in bruises from the hits, his neck was desperate for a good breath, and his entire stomach was alternating between a cold and warm feeling after the hit his soft organs had taken. But being filled with adrenaline from the action he found the strength to step up and shove his fists on the person's lungs making him stagger back and lose his balance.
As gently as it had begun though, the dreadful enemy performed a roundhouse kick powered from the momentum Gonnosuke gave him and soon he was staggering backwards with a deep ache in his jaw and maybe a broken tooth. He was weaponless, his possessions having fallen to the ground, he had no strength to fight with his hands and the assailant was charging on him with a pointy end hungry for blood.

And then he saved himself and he was glad he had stopped to hunt while tracking the criminal. While the enemy was performing a vertical slash, Gonnosuke grabbed the green pheasant carcass from his belt and poised it to block. The blade bit into the dead animal beheading it instantly. Gonnosuke didn't lose any time. His enemy would have definitely been startled by this choice of shield. Dropping the lifeless head of the prey he shoved the torso of the pheasant in his enemy's face with all the strength left in him. The relatively hollow thing stuck in the face of the attacker and filled whatever lied beneath with a warm stream of blood and gore. Gonnosuke took a step back squatting on his knees, eyeing the figure and he still didn't believe he was alive.

As the poor soul's head was blinded by the gush of gore from the pheasant's torso on its face, one sidestep and a rocky terrain was enough to knock the figure out of balance. Gonnosuke lunged forward, pressing the corpse as much as he could into the person's face but he made a misstep and both fell through the nearest bush.

And there they were, a figure covered in blood with a pheasant's torso pressed against its head and a ragged hunter bruised and angry atop it fell with a loud thump among the town guards who were fighting the strangers as well as they could.


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## Therizza (Jul 29, 2010)

Still kneeling, in the midst of his feigned sobbing, Daichi saw the man, apparently the captain of the guard, fall to the ground. It was not the fall a man who just tripped would make. It seemed the man was dead before he knew what had hit him. Someone had likely shot the man, perhaps a bow, for there was no report from a firearm. Quickly glancing to the collection of strangers, Daichi did not see that any of them had initiated the combat. Regardless, the fight was on.

_"He killed the Captain, get him!"_ one of the guards bellowed. Daichi paid no attention to the man, as he was being rushed by three assailants. The first, armed with a wakisashi, was running straight for Daichi. The guard held his weapon low and to the outside. _"_Poor technique will make this quick" Daichi said plainly. Still kneeling, he let the guard charge in, his muscles tensed as he gripped his katana. The guard charged in wildly, and rising to one knee Daichi drew his blade and in one stroke cut the man from hip to hip. The guard stumbled for a step, dropping his weapon and grasping his bowels in a vain effort to contain them from spilling to the ground. It was for not, as the guard quickly fell face first into the earth, blood pooling as he did.

The first assailant dispatched, Daichi now turned his attentions to the two guards coming at him with yumi spears. Setting his feet, Daichi charged one, electing to kill them piecemeal. Parrying a deft thrust by one of the guards, Daichi closed the distance of the spear in an instant. Drawing his blade up into a horizontal position, he plunged the blade squarely into the man's neck. The guard tried to cry out, though his mouth was clogged with blood as Daichi withdrew the blade sideways, the guard collapsing to the ground with half of his neck intact.

The final guard did not seem as keen to charge in as the others and Daichi stood firm in his position, content to let the man attack. The ronin parried several thrusts in quick succession, fighting defensively as he tried to assess the situation around the field. He could see little in the chaos, and all he could tell was that the rest of the strangers were fighting similar odds, though he did not know of their prowess in combat. Focusing on the task at hand, Daichi asked "are you ready?" to the guard, who quizzically responded "What? You're mad!" as he thrust his spear at Daichi. Pivoting on his front foot, Daichi brought his katana across in a downward slash, left to right. The blade cut deep into the guard's armor before reaching flesh. Withdrawing his blade, the guard fell to his knees with the same quizzical look on his face. "For that" Daichi whispered, whipping his blade of blood and returning it to its sheath.

Turning from the dead guards, Daichi looked for an opening in one of the other strangers' combat, where he could be of most use...


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## SpaceTank (Jul 26, 2013)

Ashikai was actually susprised at what had happened: apparently someone had killed the Captain of the guard, and some of his soldiers as well. Since they lacked proper training and combat awareness, the guards didn't check to see where the projectiles were coming from, but just blindly charged at them instead.

The time for negotiations was over. At least he tried his best to avoid combat, but it was inevitable now. He drew his Naginata with a swift motion, letting the solid wood rest in his hand before drawing the blade, making the trademark sound of sharpened metal whizzing through thin air.

The attack from the front was easy to sidestep, a simple spear thrust that he saw coming a mile away. However, a second spear almost pierced his side, forcing him to turn in an awkward position to take a better look at his assailiant.

He swung his left arm sideways from right to left, using the armored forearm as a sort of club to hit the guard's spear, not knocking it off his hands but at least making him miss his potentially fatal attack.
It was clear that all of them were shaken and quite scared by the sudden death of their leader, but everyone was completely unprepared for the next big surprise: two men tumbled through a bush, and one of them had some sort of dead bird squished against his face.

He had never seen something like that, and, if the situation hadn't been one of life and death, he would've probably burst out laughing. Some of the guards instinctively turned around to see what was happening, letting their attention faulter for just a second, but that second was enough. 

Ashikai lunged forward and stabbed one of the guards square in the gut, the blade going right between the thin armor plates. A few gurgling sounds later, the guard fell down face first, a small pool of blood getting absorbed by the ground below him.

A second guard tried to impale him with his spear: he was the one that had almost succeeded in doing so in his previous attempt, but this time the ronin was prepared: he let the shaft of the spear slide along his horizontally-placed Naginata, making him stab the air above him.

For a second or two, the force of the thrust made Ashikai be in control of the enemy weapon's placement, so he violently pushed his own to the right, making the guard stumble and lose his balance.

Spears took a long time to reposition if your attack missed, and this gave Ashikai a few seconds. He swung his entire left arm at the opponent's head, hitting the side of it with his metallic fist.

He could've gone for the face, but that would mean a few bruises and maybe a fractured nose. However, he aimed for the side of his head near the temple. Experience had taught him that a powerful blow on that spot spelled instant death, and the man that had a cold, lifeless expression on his face was certainly no exception.

As he now had two corpses in front of him, Ashikai looked into the eyes of the remaining guards, almost challenging them to come at him. He knew that if they all charged at the same time they would certainly kill him, but he was not alone.

Hoping that Hiroshi would call his bluff this time around, Ashikai stood in front of everyone, his arms wide open: "Come on, you filth! My name is Ashikai, and I can take you all by myself!" he taunted them.
Trusting his life to a complete stranger in such a reckless way was not his style at all, but it was the only way to distract the guards from the two falling figures. He would have to deal with those later.


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## Cleanser (Jul 27, 2013)

Hiroshi almost relaxed when the moment of peace was rudely interrupted when the captain suddenly fell to the ground. The guards, in another moment of pure wisdom, blamed the trio for the murder, despite the fact that none of them could have done it. The guards charged at the group. A man with a wakisashi targeted him and ran towards Hiroshi. Hiroshi blocked the downward swing and pushed the guard away. The guard attempted another swing, this time aiming for Hiroshi's head, who ducked under it and slammed his staff into the guard's knee. The guard fell on his back clutching his knee screaming, and was quickly silenced when Hiroshi stomped on his face, breaking his nose with a sickening crunch.

Three more guards charged at Hiroshi, all of them wielding spears. One leaped at Hiroshi, lunging his spear in his direction. Hiroshi smacked the spear aside with his staff, causing the guard to stumble to the side and get taken out by a swift strike to the back of the head. The other two decided not to rush at him like the first one and instead circled him cautiously. They both attacked him at the same time, crossing their spears and were inches away from jabbing Hiroshi's throat as he rolled back. One of them advanced and attempted a jab, which Hiroshi parried with his bo. He managed to take a step forward and deliver a hard kick to the guard's groin, causing him to fall on his knees in pain. With one kick to the face, the man was left sprawling on his back. The other guard charged at him and delivered a swift flurry of blows which were easily deflected by the bo. Hiroshi managed to get the guard off balance by parrying a powerful lunge, before smacking him in the jaw, causing a loud crack and sending the guard spinning to the ground.

He turned and noticed two men falling out of a bush, one of them being the man he spoke to before this nastiness began. He ran towards the men before turning around and noticing the stranger that had made up their lie. He was standing in front of the mob, arms stretched out, daring them to charge at him. Hiroshi took out his tanegashima and aimed at a particularly mean looking guard wielding a katana. The sound of the shot was deafening as the arquebus roared out and spat out a metal ball. The ball instantly struck the target in the shoulder, causing him to fall to the ground howling at the top of his lungs. He was aiming for the head, but Hiroshi got his point across rather well anyway. "He is not alone! You have me to deal with as well! Run home before more of you get hurt"


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## emporershand89 (Jun 11, 2010)

“Sore wa shinobu, bōsōdesu!” What was left of the rabble group of the Town Guards turned strait around and high-tailed it away from the fight and back towards the town. Within a few minutes only the bodies of their fallen comrades were left to show what had just transpired. The 3 Strangers in the road all looked at the two individuals who had just fallen out from the brush and onto the road. Daichi and Ashikai merely looked at the man with a bird carcass in his face with jaws dropped and utterly shocked. Hiroshi smirked finding the whole scene to be quite amusing until the man underneath did something he did not expect. The man grabbed a pouch and tossed two small balls, one right next to him and one at the Hiroshi, Ashikai, and Daichi. They suddenly exploded, covering the area in a thick smoking that burned the eyes and lungs. The group split, trying to clear the smoke while Gonnosuke felt himself go flying off his enemy and into the dirt next to him. 

Growling Gonnosuke readied his Yumi but the enemy was already gone. Somehow he had slipped away in the smoke; probably back into the forest where it would be hard to find him. As Gonnosuke was about to jump back in pursuit a hand grabbed his shoulder. He looked up to find the stranger that had tried to talk with him before this messy ordeal occurred. 

“Let him go,” he said with unflinching eyes,”…the man is probably long gone. Whoever he is will be back in time; but for what reasons I have no clue.” Gonnosuke brushed the hand away, standing up and straighten out his clothes. He reached behind the tree next to him and retrieved his bow and arrows which had fallen away from him during the fight. 

“Thank you, but your advice is not needed. Should I wish it I can find him….on my own.” He fixed this man with a cold stare to get the point across. For his part Hiroshi just smiled, threw his hands up in the air, and relaxed his posture. 

“Whatever you say friend, it is none of my business. What does concern me however why you were chasing this man in the first place?” Hiroshi instantly switched from friendly to aggressive to this man could understand he meant business. 

“What matter of it is yours friend” Gonnosuke retorted. “I simply had a reason to kill him and you have done it for me; pure and simple. Unless there is something else you wish to tell me?” Gonnosuke smirked, thinking he now had the upper hand in this conversation. The other man, Hiroshi was his name, just got all the more closer to Gonnosuke and leveled with him.

“Let’s just say I also have a vested interest in this man. I have been hunting this bandit down for…” Gonnosuke raised his and to interrupt Hiroshi.

“Bandit you say, it sounds to me that we need to have a talk. Let’s go to the Ryo in town and get us some sake while we talk this over. Hiroshi stood in front of Gonnosuke, waiting to make his mind up on the matter. Behind them Ashikai and Daichi were listening closely while observing the carnage around them. More than once Daichi had kicked a particularly ugly looking Guard who was still bleeding out from his wounds. The two men eyed each other warily in case the other decided to attack, but for now it seemed the conversation between the two was a more pressing matter than killing each other. 

For his part Ashikai was interested in finding out more about this Hiroshi who had seemed too friendly at first but had displayed his skills in battle when he put that tanegashima round ball right past Ashikai’s head. 

Daichi was only interested in finding out more if these men could be of use to him in furthering his own plans. Now was the time for these strangers to make a decision; play diplomatic and make friends or decide to be ruthless and make enemies.

Far across the rice field that split the town from the road a lone figure stood with a bamboo tube fitted with focused glass pieces. The figure was a hulk of a man with loosely fitted armor in the critical places. His lone hair resembled a mane, and his huge hands overgrow with nails that looked like claws. This man was a focused only on one individual; the man that he had intended to kidnap and use for information. Now that man was dead on the road and Akeno had watched as the fight had progressed from the Town Guards to the stranger man that awkwardly resembled a Shinobi fighter. 

“Hahaha, now who is this new prey. Something worthy perhaps.” The man laughed as he observed two of the strangers start to argue with each other over something. He would find out who had killed his parents, even if he had to rip it from the cold fingers of a dead man. Putting away the lens tube he slowly made his way between the field and the village huts; taking great care not to be noticed by anyone.


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## RoleplayKutu (Jul 25, 2013)

Gonnosuke couldn't help but sigh deep inside him. Something as simple as a rabbit hunt for someone as simple as the ragged hunter he was had turned into something even monks would bother about.

Having said his lot to the man he paced slowly away and turned back his head to the group of the others.
"What are you waiting for? the guards ran back to their village so we won't be welcome in there, come it is not far to the nearest town."

He couldn't delay more and it wasn't the first time he had troubles with town guards. The ones who returned would rouse everyone with tales of bloodthirsty ronin who slew them for nothing more than entertainment and if they were unlucky enough the local samurai and his retainers would give chase to them. Besides he didn't want to linger to the same place for too long.

Seeing little to no movement from the others he continued: "Each one of us wants something. Hiroshi clearly needs to hear what I have to tell him about the man and the rest of you seemed all too interested in this before the bloodbath so I guess you want to hear me too don't you? I personally just want some sake and some fresh food since I wasted mine on this madman who assailed me so I'll be going."

To realize everyone else's stance he eyed them carefully. He couldn't tell which one of them would talk kindly to him or would stab him from behind so this time he had to keep his distance, hoping there was some benefit for him left in this whole situation. As he turned around to show he was ready to depart he felt the uneasy feeling of being stalked.

_"Shrug it off, there are no more hunters and the one who wanted to skin you is still probably coughing pheasant entrails."_ With these words to calm himself he closed his eyes for one moment with his back to the strangers wondering if this was the end of his troubles or the beginning of more...


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## Romero's Own (Apr 10, 2012)

Akeno felt rage begin to build up inside him, the man he had sought, the soul that could have finally brought his parents killers to justice, was lying dead upon the road, and through all Akeno had been through, after all he had seen, he knew not of any way to rekindle a man's soul once death had claimed it.

Something drew Akeno's eyes to his hand, and he saw his mask resting there, beckoning to him, calling out his name, promising him justice and revenge. 

But when Akeno donned that hideous Daemon mask he....changed. And he did not like what he became. Pointless bloodshed, death, destruction, would not bring back his father, raise his mother from her grave. All the mask would give him was a few minutes rush of action, of pure, untainted and glorious violence. And what would tat bring him when the action stopped, then the cold and empty void within him would return. Blood could only calm the hurt within him, it could not silence it.

And so, beating down his anger, Akeno pushed away his mask, returning it to it's place with the rest of his belongings, and began to move forwards.

The four figures gathered around the corpse upon the road could have information upon the man, upon others like him, but for now, Akeno would simply watch, waiting for the right moment.


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## SpaceTank (Jul 26, 2013)

Strangely enough, it seemed as though none of them were injuried severely after this small battle. The rest of the guards fled in fear, and all of the strangers were clearly well-versed in the art of war.

Ashikai, before doing anything else, searched the bodies of the two guards that he had slain, trying to find anything of use. Their weapons and armor were left untouched: Ashikai's personal honor code dictated that he would never touch the equipment of a man he had slain as a sign of respect.

After he was done, he looked up to listen to the hunter, grinning a little at the smoky, dirty remains of the bird that was pressed against his assailiant's face just a few moments ago. "It's such a shame to waste food like that...but I guess it's worth it if it saved your life. I think you've all heard my name by now, and I would like to thank Hiroshi here for fighting alongside me. However, we do not owe each other anything, just to be clear."

He crossed his arms a little awkwardly as his left arm was much bulkier due to the armor on it, looking at the others: "With that being said, I wouldn't mind getting out of here to get some food and drink...but I'm warning you, I'm not easy to sneak up on".

He said rather calmly, without any real threat in his voice. He didn't need to sound threatening, they had all seen that he could fight as well as them. Plus, he had no reason to distrust the strangers for now: none of them had tried to assassinate him while he was busy with the guards, and they were all connected by something that day, and maybe that would prove to be a good thing.

Only time could tell.


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## Cleanser (Jul 27, 2013)

Hiroshi wanted to get some answers as to what exactly Gonnosuke's business with the bandit was. He almost considered pushing him even further for information but decided against it. He didn't want to infuriate the man to the point where he would resort to violence. Hiroshi was going to question him at a more suitable time. "Well I can't argue with a hot meal and a place to rest my head". He turned to Ashikai, who said his peace to the others. Hiroshi couldn't help but chime in with a clever remark. "Don't owe each other anything? I think we owe Gonnosuke here another bird". Hiroshi let out a hearty laugh as he turned towards the road.

He went over to where he had put down his hat and knelt down to pick it up. As he held his straw hat, Hiroshi felt a strange presence. Something was not right. It was the uncomfortable feeling of a strange evil lurking around these parts. After a while, Hiroshi simply shrugged it off and went to join the other three, with his hat safely on his head.


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## Cleanser (Jul 27, 2013)

(Sorry, double post)


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## Therizza (Jul 29, 2010)

The others spoke, questioning motives and making suggestions. Daichi stayed focused, and walked silently over to the body of the guard captain, crouching down to try and see what had felled the man so quickly. As his did, Daichi heard one of the men, Ashikai it seemed, make mention of food and drink.

Daichi interjected, still inspecting the guard's neck for any wound. "I would join you, friend. Though may I suggest we find another village? I do not think they will take kindly to us back in Ono, seeing as how we just _killed over half of their town's guard..."_

Daichi trailed off, thinking he had found something on the guard's body. As he looked closer, he swore he saw a figure approaching in the distance. Daichi shrugged it off, possibly a beggar, but not a guard, for they had not been gone long enough to rouse reinforcements. Daichi continued to study the guard, intent on uncovering what was going on.


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## emporershand89 (Jun 11, 2010)

"Don't owe each other anything? I think we owe Gonnosuke here another bird." The man, hiroshi was his name, let out a harty laugh that broke the nervous tension between the group. Each warrior, with the exception of Daichi, visibly relaxed themselves a little and proceeded to follow Gonnosuke on the path away from Ono. Hiroshi walked next to Gonnosuke while Ashikai kept to the left and behind Gonnosuke; not exactly trust the two not to attempt to jump him. 

Only Daichi stayed behind a little, investigating the corpse of the Town Captian who had been the first to fall. Nothing really stood out to him, but then again Daichi was no detective. However he did notice on the lower back of the man's neck a small red dot of blood. Putting his finger to it, he then withdrew and sniffed it. Nothing happened.

He went to stand and nearly fell over when his whole body felt a odd tingling; one accompanied by numbness all over his nerves. As quickly as it came it receded, and Daichi was left puzzled, looking back at the dot on the mans neck. Deciding not to try that again, he took off at the run, catching up to the group quick and walking next to Ashikai.

As the day wore on they walked in silence. Most of them recognized that Gonnosuke was headed towards Echizen, the capital of the Asakura clan and home to the daimyo. The prevailing sense of being watched was shared in common; and Ashikai found himself looking back over his shoulder on more than one occasion. It was finally Hiroshi who finally decided to break the ice. 

"Watashi wa izen, anata o kōgeki shita shinobu o mita(I saw the shinobi who attacked you earlier)." Hiroshi threw a casual glance back over at Gonnosuke, making sure the man understood he directed that comment at him. Gonnosuke continued to walk, saying nothing.

"I find it curious that the shinobi only targetted you, and ran the first sign of additional enemies. Wouldn't you all agree?" Hiroshi turned his eyes forward, waiting for the inevitable answer that would sake his curiosity of the situation. Ashikai, Gonnosuke, and Daichi all thought about how to answer that question, or how to ask further questsion to divine what exactly was transpiring around them.


Deep in the woods behind them Akeno followed the small group of 4 men; making sure to remain still as the 4th caught up to the group at running speed. They seemed an odd bunch, a collection of warriors with no real purpose other than to find out what the other knew. Keeping to his instincts Akeno continued to follow them; listen carefully to ever word he could manage to understand.


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## RoleplayKutu (Jul 25, 2013)

Gonnosuke eyes carefully the company behind him, knowing he could not avoid any conversation. He made a notion to respond without looking back or stopping.

" I did not manage to recognize the man who attacked me but I can assume he had a benefit from killing me. All I can imagine is that he worked with the man you killed and learned that I was after him. I'd rather we discuss about that certain bandit of yours somewhere else."

Knowing that this answer wouldn't make anyone particularly happy he eyed the 2 other strangers, the last only now seemed to have caught up.
"You seem strong warriors all of you, but I can only hope to wonder what were you doing in the scene of the fight? Were you after the man too?"
He was half sure they didn't even acknowledge the man's existence but knowing their motives was the next best thing to knowing them.

He continued to pace forward, smelling the stink with which Japanese serows marked their territory. There could be some in the wilderness next to the road and Gonnosuke made a mental note he could hunt some hidden in the tangle were he had to escape Echizen in force, with or without company. But he couldn't knock off the feeling that this was the most absurd company he had ever encountered.

He had his share of outlaws and troublemakers alongside him and didn't manage to be aggressive even to the cruelest ronin as long as the last didn't harm him and proved to be a merry fellow but in this climate where everyone hid everything from everyone one couldn't possibly feel comfortable. And he couldn't shake off the feeling of being stalked.
Some hour or so previously, he thought he had heard odd noises and rustling but he decided to blame his vivid mind for these. _If I were attacked, well that would prove some kind of innocence on my part..._


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## SpaceTank (Jul 26, 2013)

Ashikai shrugged nonchalantly, barely paying any attention to what the others were saying. He had stumbled upon this situation, but now he wanted to get out of it very soon.
For once he had actually a small chance at finding the man he had been looking for, but now that chance was fading as all this commotion had very probably alerted pretty much everyone in the vicinity.

"To be honest, I don't really care about that man or what his intentions are, although I feel sorry for Gonnosuke here...the man is probably going to come back to finish the job, and, should our friend not have more poultry at his disposal, I foresee a grim end to his days.
As for my..involvement in the past events, it was completely by chance, and I wish to distance myself from it as quickly as I can. I have other business to attend to."
As Ashikai was about to turn around and leave the group, he suddenly remembered something. He pointed at Daichi, squinting.

"Wait a second..you. Before Hiroshi asked me to lie in front of all those guards, how did you...were you following me?. Do I..spark your interest?" his tone was deeply sarcastic as his mind kept trying to put the pieces together.
"I guess that you're not an assassin hired to kill me, so...what is going on?"


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## Cleanser (Jul 27, 2013)

Hiroshi needed to stay friendly with these strangers, it wasn't a good idea to get on any of their bad sides after their demonstration on the guards. This Gonnosuke character seemed quiet, perhaps more than was good for them. If he continued being this secretive, who knows what would happen to the group. Hiroshi's curious nature seemed to be rubbing off on one of them, as Ashikai started to ask Daichi about something involving one following the other. They both seemed to have their own problem, so Hiroshi decided to focus on the topic he brought up before

Hiroshi ignored the other two and simply turned to Gonnosuke, addressing him "I''m only curious as to why an assassin would target you, a humble hunter". He had to know why the assassin was targeting this particular man. "I'm also concerned about our safety. If we are to travel with you, what's stopping the assassin from striking again?"


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## Therizza (Jul 29, 2010)

_"I guess that you're not an assassin hired to kill me, so...what is going on?"

_Daichi responded, half laughing as he did, "No, no. I am no assassin, just a wandering ronin, content to go whichever way the wind takes me. You seemed as if _you_ were on a mission, which is why I am here now. But with all this fighting! And that assassin? I think I will stick with this group. I have a feeling there is more in store for us."


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## Romero's Own (Apr 10, 2012)

Akeno continued to follow the group. From what he could hear, the members of the group had only recently met, and there had been some kind of important event just before his arrival, but he couldn't find out for sure what it was.

But that didn't deter him, he continued to follow the group even as they moved down the road.


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## emporershand89 (Jun 11, 2010)

The warriors continued to walk together, questioning each other; finding out what the other knew. It quickly became apparent, from the lack of questions, and none of them trusted the other in the matter of theman they had all been following. However that would matter litte once they reached Echizen where Gonnosuke had promised to revela his personal reasons for persuing the individual in question. 

After a few hours they came to a hill, over looking the capital city. Caravans flowed in and out on the south road; and samurai/ashigaru could be seen drilling in the fields to the west. they walked off the hill and into the valley leading on the main road; passing a few strangers. Coming round a bend in the road they approached an old farm house surrounded by ripe wheat fields just begging to be harvested for their bountiful product.

It was here that Daichi noticed something was wrong. It wastoo quiet! Where were the field hands, the farmers, the caravans? The road was near empty outside a bustling town....unlikely? He also noted the terrian around him, they were exposed. The hills nearbye were high on either side with the city still a good hours travel by foot. 

As he was preparing to say something to the rest of the group their was a a sudden yelp and Gonnosuke went flying off his feet and dragged into the nearbye field. Hiroshi drew his weapon and follow the scrambling Gonnosuke as he was pulled deeper and deeper into the field by an unseen force. Daichi and Ashikai followed non-chantly seemingly unworried by the incident as a whole. 

Suddenly the whistle of a flying projectile made Daichi turn and slice upward behind him. The arrow split and landed on either side of him in a fine cut. He noticed archers had appeared on hills around them. He bcked up into Ashikai, a feeling of dread filling his stomach. The two of them stood back to back, waiting for their enemies next move. 

For his part Gonnosuke was 5 yards away; trying to grab at the unseen force pulling on his left leg that had dragged him through the field with such force. He finally came to a stop and managed to look down and see the rope that had snared his foot. _'How could I fall for such a simple trick'_, he thought, _'damn the idiot who tried this. I'll kill him'_. :ireful2:

He heard footsteps and saw Hiroshi come running up to him; quickly cutting the rope free. "I think were in trouble freind, look behind you," he said. Thats when he noticed the archers allaround the hills on either side of the field/road. Daichi and Ashikai were backed together a few yards away. One of the figures moved down towards him, and suddenly Gonnosuke recognized the shadowy presence from earlier. The man stopped a few feet short of him.

Where is the Kusanagi-no-tsurugi? We know you have it and we will let you live if you return it. Give it to me now, or suffer the consequences." Gonnosuke and Hiroshi looked at the figure; not know what he asked for or the toruble they had stumbled in.


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## RoleplayKutu (Jul 25, 2013)

Gonnosuke rose to his feet few steps away from the man with the most disarming smile he could muster.

"But, friend you have caught the wrong people. Yes I was supposed to bring it this way but I have been cheated. The man who dropped dead on the road stole it from me yesterday at the last inn I visited. I knew I shouldn't trust him but I am just a peasant boy, a poor farmer doing deliveries. After our unfortunate meeting, I couldn't find it in his corpse. I was headed to Echizen in hopes that I could learn from local tavern keeps and merchants of my oh-so precious cargo. These people were kind enough to accompany there and protect me, blessed am I that there is still honor in these disputed lands."

He of course what no idea what was his cargo but anything that would save his life would do. He could blabber endlessly about how lucky he was to be saved by the god-sent strangers and how wickedly the man had somehow drunk him to bed but he knew that peasants and country boys were simple people and that liars are known to weave large webs.

So he sat there smiling, pretending what he said was so true that there was now no danger at all despite the last meeting with the man. He eyed Hiroshi joyfully hoping he would react accordingly and that they would all escape with their lives.


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## Cleanser (Jul 27, 2013)

Hiroshi was still thinking about Gonnosuke and why someone had tried to kill him when Gonnosuke was suddenly fell to the ground and dragged into the fields. Hiroshi let out a sigh and pulled out his arqbuebus before running after Gonnosuke. He was being pulled at a faster rate than Hiroshi had thought, but he kept on running after him. He didn't want the hunter to die before he could give him any answers. Seeing that he had stopped getting dragged, Hiroshi pulled out a small blade and started cutting the rope. It was then that Hiroshi noticed the figures on the hills, aiming their bows at the group.

"I think we are in trouble friend, look behind you"

One of the figures had stepped down and demanded the location of certain kusanagi-no-tsurugi. Hiroshi scoffed and wondered why the man would assume they would know where this particular item was. Did they really look like people who would know about something like that? It was then that Hiroshi noticed Gonnosuke babbling nonsense at the man, and something hit Hiroshi. This man looked an awful lot like the one that attacked Gonnosuke before. There was no way this man would fall for such a ridiculous lie.

After a few seconds of silence (which seemed like forever due to the tension), Hiroshi finally broke the silence. "Sorry, never heard of it". In one swift movement, Hiroshi opened the pan, blew the lit rope and pulled the trigger, the arquebus only being pointed in the man's general direction. With a deafening crack of the shot and the smoke pouring out of the barrel, the metal ball hit the shadowy man right in the chest. At this close of a distance, the ball punched right through his torso, sending chunks of gore, bone and other assorted bits of meat bursting through the man's back. 

The other figures responded to Hiroshi's sudden act of violence by letting out a volley of arrow fire. Taking advantage of the smoke screen that the arquebus gave him, Hiroshi grabbed Gonnosuke and pulled him into the field, before crouching to his knees. "You need to work on lying, friend". Hiroshi started to reload his gun, thanking whatever higher power that was out there for the protection the tall weeds granted them. "I recommend firing back at the men on the hill with that pretty bow of yours!"


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## Therizza (Jul 29, 2010)

Walking down the road, everything seemed fine. Whistling to himself, Daichi soon noticed the unnerving silence. There were no birds chirping, no one working in the fields directly around them. _Odd_, Daichi thought. "This would be a perfect location for an ambush..." 

The thought had not fully formed in his mind, as the trap was sprung. Gonnosuke let out a cry as he was snatched by some unseen force, though Daichi's ears tuned into the whistle of an incoming projectile. Drawing his katana, Daichi did not have time to look for the arrow, instead slicing where his training told him to. Luckily, the arrow was cleft in two, though Daichi could quickly see more archers emerging from the surrounding hills.

"Get down! Don't stop moving!" Daichi bellowed, instincts from battles long past reemerging. Holding his katana in a defensive posture, the outlook was grim. Suddenly, he bumped into one of the strangers, Ashikai. This was not good- they had to move or they would surely succumb to arrow fire.

Still keeping his eyes on the archers, deflecting an arrow just barely as he stood there, Daichi posed the question. "Ashikai, that gun of yours, is it loaded? Fire into the archers, then we can make a break for the tall-grass!"


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