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Hiroaki GekkoCitizen
Ryo : 40430
Lord Seraf's Cruise
Tue Dec 31, 2019 10:09 pm
Ignoble Intentions
On the outskirts of the island of Fang, Hiroaki sat on his small row boat. It was especially windy out. The wind would go through his hair, shifting the small strands of it in every which direction following the wind. Hiroaki was chewing on a toothpick that he had brought with him. In his hand, there was a fishing pole with some bait at the end of it. The bait being used was a worm that he had retrieved from the bucket beside him. Before getting on the boat he had made the effort to dig up the worms from the earth and collect them into one big binful. The sun was currently hiding behind a group of clouds.
An hour passed and then two. Hiroaki waited with patience, controlling himself from breaking out in anger. ‘Fishing is supposed to be relaxing’, he thought. He kept his spirits high knowing he would get at least one bite by the end of his voyage. He sat as the clouds danced over the water. Hiroaki gazed about the distance and spotted a humongous ship that could easily carry an armatta. ‘It must be nice for them to be so rich and to be able to guide through the water carelessly. Hiroaki’s stomach growled and he paid his attention back to the task at hand. ‘I’ll get a fish. I know I will’, he thought.
The humongous cruise ship came closer and closer to his small row boat. Hiroaki did not notice as the line on his fishing rod started to tug against him. He yanked the rod back and began to reel in his catch. The fish flew into the air and Hiroaki shouted in excitement with a triumphant fist raised in the air. Sadly, his moment fell short as the humongous cruise ship smashed right into his small row boat. It tore the row boat in two and Hiroaki fell backwards from the impact and into the depths of the sea below. Hiroaki found himself sinking further and further out at sea, staring out into the dark abyss. ‘W-What?’, he thought to himself in confusion.
He blew out some air bubbles and saw the direction they were going. They were rising to the other side of him. He turned around and swam up to the top of the ocean’s surface and tried to suck in as much air as he could muster. The damn cruise ship had passed right by him in the whole process. He did an overhead stroke and swam after the ship, like hell would he swims all the way back to land. Additionally, he expected to be reimbursed for the damage that they had done to his rowboat. That and the trouble they had put him through when he got thrown off at impact.
He swam to the side of the cruise ship which had a ladder built in. It was made out of a metal and the whole cruise was sparkling. Hiroaki climbed up the ladder until he reached the top. He looked around the place to see that there were a large amount of people garnished in rich fabrics and expensive jewelry. “Who are you?”, asked an obvious bodybuilder. The man hovered over Hiroaki a good foot above him. Hiroaki stared the huge man down not impressed. “I’m that man over there’s bodyguard, of course”, replied Hiroaki pointing at a particularly over fashioned man. The bodyguard scoffed at Hiroaki in disbelief. “Lord Saref? You could never be associated with a man of his status. You look too much of a street urchin”, said the bodybuilder. Hiroaki shrugged at the man uncaring of what he thought of himself.
“Listen. Believe it or not, it’s the street urchin’s that offer the best protection around these parts. If you don’t believe me you can certainly try to prove me wrong”, said Hiroaki. The bodyguard went to place his hand on Hiroaki, but Hiroaki would not let him have the chance to place his potato fingers anywhere onto his person. Hiroaki dodged the man’s grab, making it an obvious spectacle of the whole thing. The man tried to grab Hiroaki a second time, this time using both of his hands to leap out at Hiroaki. Hiroaki avoided the man’s grasp again. The bodybuilder was getting furious and was bellowing in rage trying to catch Hiroaki who was much too fast for him.
People all around the cruise ship started to watch the two of them playing cat and mouse. Hiroaki was enjoying the whole thing. He considered this match between the bodybuilder and himself to be training if not a spar. Soon the bodybuilder had gotten tired of trying to catch Hiroaki and gave up altogether. The man took a seat and grumbled to himself, giving Hiroaki a death stare. Hiroaki turned to the man that was known as Lord Saref. “Lord Saref! Ah, I was just here telling this man that I was working to protect you. He thought me to be some common street rat who had no skills. Of course you would never hire a man that would be unable to accomplish the tasks you hire them for. Everyone who was watching talked among themselves, both impressed and jealous of the Lord for having such a capable fighter under his service. “That Lord Saref has a real gem up his sleeve,'' one of them said.
Hiroaki approached Lord Saref who quickly turned his furrowed brows into a look of happiness. The Lord laughed his fake laugh and clapped Hiroaki on his back. “Why of course. I only would hire the best”, the greedy Lord had said. He pulled at Hiroaki, trying to bring him inside of the cruise for a private chat. Hiroaki who was never too far from the blade that was slung on his hip, saw no reason not to hear the Lord out. Following Lord Saref inside, the two of them stopped outside of a barlike table that was inside. “What are you trying to pull here? I know I did not hire you, but now that you pulled a stunt like that you will be working for me and at that for free.”, he proclaimed. Hiroaki put his hands up at the man’s demands.
Hiroaki coughed into his arm. “I won’t be working ever in my life for free, sorry to say. In fact, you owe me a good cut for the row boat that you smashed into pieces. What am I supposed to say to the person that I rented it from? Oh, by the way your row boat kinda sorta got smashed to pieces, see ya?”, asked Hiroaki angrily. He smashed his finger into his hand telling the Lord to start putting some coin into his hand. Lord Seraf gave a look that showed that he was offended. “The audacity of you. I don’t even know what row boat you are talking about, but if it was destroyed that easily it than it was meant to stay destroyed. You are lucky you are even able to be standing here on this cruise. Only the most rich and famous people that are close friends of mine are allowed to be on this boat. I could have you sliced into pieces at the snap of my fingers. I suggest you shut your mouth and play the role you have given yourself now that you have put my reputation on the line and get out there”, said Lord Seraf. Hiroaki wanted to suggest that the Lord tried to snap his fingers. He wanted him to see if he could really get the chance to snap his fingers before they got cut off. Hiroaki did not say anything however, instead he for once listened to what the Lord had said.
Walking back out onto the deck of the cruise Hiroaki smiled at everyone there. He raised his arms out in a most welcoming manner. He was not one to make a big show of himself, but he was in a specially ticked off mood. “SO!? Who else wants to call me a street urchin, hm? Let’s make things more interesting. Instead of this buffoon chasing me around to give me a hug how about we actually fight. You know, like men?”, he shouted. The bodybuilder smashed his fist against the seat and stood up to face Hiroaki. Hiroaki drew his katana and directed his blade directly under the bodybuilder’s chin. “Bring it, fatso”, whispered Hiroaki. The bodybuilder charge at him and Hiroaki whisked his blade in a circular motion, cutting a fine line on the deck of the ground in front of the bodybuilder’s feet. The bodybuilder stopped and moved to the left, beginning to circle around Hiroaki, looking for an opening. Hiroaki wouldn’t let the massive bodybuilder get anywhere near him.
The crowd around the two of them were doing all sorts of things, but it was all in response to the fight Hiroaki had going on. Lord’s were betting, their servants were whispering, the women were fanning themselves. The bodybuilder charged again and Hiroaki swiftly cut through one of the bodybuilder’s limbs. His arm fell to the ground, a pillar of blood erupted from the wound that had been opened. He screamed in agony. With his one good hand he lifted a table nearby driving it down onto Hiroaki from above. Hiroaki dived to the side extended his blade to cut through the bodybuilder’s leg. The bodybuilder fell to the ground with the table still in hand. He attempted to lift himself up using the table, but he was suffering from too much blood loss too fast. The bodybuilder collapsed, knocked unconscious from his wounds. The bodybuilder would not survive without a medic soon.
Peering out at the other servants of the Lords, as he did not suspect the Lords themselves to challenge him, he shouted, “Anyone else want to insult me?” The Lords were passing money back and forth, Lord Seraf’s name could be heard repeatedly a multitude of times. Hiroaki was not getting any fame for his actions. His actions and his glory had gone straight to Lord Seraf. The greedy Lord was laughing with a group of people who were nothing but similar to him. A swordsman approached Hiroaki with a katana of his own that stretched out a good three to four feet. “My name is Hagane. I serve my Lord, Lord Itsuki. You seem to know your way around the blade, but can you hold your own against someone like me?”, he asked. Hiroaki spit out his toothpick in response. The swordsman bowed to Hiroaki who only nodded in return.
Lord Seraf could be heard from the background. “You better win if you know what’s good for you.”, he spoke to Hiroaki. Hiroaki squared his legs and leaned against them one at a time to stretch out his legs. He knew that he would really have to emphasize his speed in this battle since he was going up against a swordsman in his fight who depended deeply on speed to be able to land their hits with the sharpness of their swords. His own speed had to be greater to stand or chance, that or he would seriously have to use his brain. Once he was finished stretching which the man known as Hagane had let him do even though the match had already officially begun, Hiroaki put out an arm in front of him and waved at Hagane to approach him. Hagane started to move, one foot at a time. He moved with strength and certainty, eyeing Hiroaki the whole time.
Hagane dashed at Hiroaki with a speed that he had not seen too many times before. Hagane’s blade glided along Hiroaki’s. Sparks were flying as metal collided with metal. Hiroaki parried the attack, pushing Hagane’s blade off with a show of strength. Hagane with speed struck with his katana a second time which Hiroaki met with his own. Their faces were reflected on their katanas and each contestant could see their own sweat going down their faces. Hagane’s katana slid off Hiroaki’s katana and Hiroaki made a swipe with his Katana towards Hagane’s feet. Hagane jumped into the air, avoiding the strike altogether. While in the air, he pointed his blade directly towards Hiroaki’s heart. The blow would have landed if Hiroaki didn’t quickdraw his second katana to block the blow. Hagane landed back on his feet.
Swirling both katana’s in his hands he continued to fight using offense and defense. Hagane kept swinging his blade up and then bringing it down to keep up with Hiroaki, but he was slowing down. Hiroaki knocked Hagane’s blade out of his hand. Hagane was heaving in exhaustion, he did not make any effort to shield himself from Hiroaki’s katanas. Hiroaki raised an eyebrow at the man. “You may cut me down. I have lost.”, he said. He turned his head to his Lord. “Lord Itsuki, I am sorry for bringing dishonor to your name. I fear I had gotten carried away”, he went on. Hiroaki twirled his blade in his fingers, speeding them up. “Yes, cut him down”, said Lord Seraf. Hiroaki re-sheathed both of his katanas back in their place at his side.
Hagane dropped to his knees in front of Hiroaki. “I-I’m most grateful. I don’t deserve such mercy”, he said. Lord Seraf stepped forth angrily. The Lords had whispered about Lord Seraf being weak for not being able to control his own men. “This man will die. Kill him now! I command you! Someone give me a blade!”, he shouted. Hiroaki looked at the greedy Lord. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. If you make any attempt at that man’s life, your own will be forfeit. You best believe me if you know what’s good for you.”, said Hiroaki. He stayed there side eyeing Lord Seraf, seeing if he was willing to carry out with his act of cutting off Hagane’s head while he was kneeled over.
The Lord faltered, unsure if he should put Hiroaki to the test. He then clapped his hands calling for the sword he requested. The servant came forth with a sword in hand. Hagane kept his head lowered unsure what to do in this circumstance. Hiroaki knew what he had to do. He drew his blade and in one motion he sliced through the servant and re-sheathed his blade. The servant fell to the ground and the sword landed in front of Hagane. Lord Seraf went to reach for the blade that was in front of Hagane, but before he could do this a voice called out, “Lord Seraf, have you no shame?”. Lord Itsuki pushed his way through the crowd. “A great Lord like you, bending over for a blade to cut an unarmed man. I’d never thought I’d see the day”, said Itsuki. Lord Seraf’s face turned red. He stopped going for the sword and stood up straight, patting the dirt off of his clothes.
“Get off of my damn ship”, bursted Lord Seraf. He pointed to the sea as if all three of them could walk on the water. Hiroaki knew he could, but he was unsure of whether the other two had mastered the ability to do so. Hiroaki reached out his arm to Hagane who gladly accepted his hand. He pulled Hagane off the ground and onto his feet. “You can’t just kick people off of a moving cruise just like that. What are you thinking, Seraf?”, he asked. Lord Seraf shouted, “OFF!”. He clapped his hands and the entirety of his staff pushed forward. The Lords, Ladies and their personal retainers all stood by in shock to the scene in front of them. They whispered of Seraf’s cruelty and authority.
Hiroaki was skilled enough to best anyone on this cruise in a one on one, but it ended there. He couldn’t fight off a whole army of Lord Seraf’s men. Hagane grabbed his katana and Itsuki had grabbed the sword that was on the ground. The three of them got surrounded by Lord Seraf’s men and ended up back to back to each other. The three of them battled it out with the servants. All three of them were capable enough fighters to not die instantly, but they were not invincible. Itsuki was the first to fall to his knees, he lost his stamina. Hiroaki knowing that blades could only do so much against a horde of men, casted his signs and casted the hidden mist jutsu. The mist swept all across the cruise and stretched even beyond the humongous boat. Hiroaki pulled both Itsuki and Hagane from the middle of the army and brought them inside of the building.
He looked around, but did not spot what he needed. “You two find an emergency raft or boat or hell a plank will suffice and get off this nightmare”, he told them. Hagane nodded while Itsuki stayed cringing in pain from the cut across his leg. Hiroaki casted his hand signs and moved off into the mist, now invisible to the naked eye. The mist had lifted and the servants looked around eager to find the missing people that they knew had to still be on board. Hiroaki made his move to end up behind Seraf, place his blade behind the Lord’s throat. With that he allowed himself to turn visible to display that he had checkmated the Lord.
Lord Seraf whistled to his servants to stop their search for the other two members. Everyone was focused on Lord Seraf. A couple of the Lord’s suspiciously creeped their way closer to Hiroaki. He would not let them get the advantageous. Hiroaki pressed the blade closer to the Lord’s neck, drawing some blood from Seraf in the process. Lord Seraf flinched back in distress. “What do you want? Money for your petty row boat?”, he asked. Hiroaki shook his head imagining all of the wealth Lord Seraf must had been swimming in all of his life. “I think I want much more than that, Seraf”, he explained. He edged back close to the wall so no one could surprise jump him.
“I will require all of your valuables in a bag. You.”, he said pointing to one of the Lord’s. “Collect everyone’s jewelry and put it into the bag”, he said. The Lords and Ladies murmerred amongst themselves, heated. “As if we cared about what happened to Lord Seraf. Why would we give you any of our goods?”, a Lady asked. Hiroaki didn’t think about the fact that the guests here might not really care what happened to this man. That being said, it didn’t mean that the servants wouldn’t listen in order to get some heavy payment from Lord Seraf in the future. Hiroaki grunted at the servant. “Well, are you going to grab the loot or not?”, he asked. The servant called for some help and the lot of them went about stealing the Lord’s and Ladies’ goods. All the while, Lord Seraf remained silent. He had lost face in this event and was finished.
Hiroaki got close to the side of the cruise and peeked over. He was hoping to see Itsuki and Hagame on an emergency boat of some kind, but there was no sight of them. The servants finished collecting all of the valuables and it was all tidied together in one big bag. “Throw it to me.”, Hiroaki shouted. The servants looked unsure whether it was the right call. Again, Lord Seraf did not say a word. “Hey! Swordsman! If you’re there hop on fast!”, shouted Hagame from below on the other side of the cruise. Hiroaki shuffled to the other side and peeked over the ledge. There Itsuki and Hagame were there waiting for him. “Throw me the damn bag already.”, said Hiroaki. The servant threw the bag and Hiroaki shoved Lord Seraf at the servant. With the bag in Hiroaki’s hands, he jumped off into the boat below.
The water around the small boat splashed and the boat itself swayed back and forth threatening to knock them all into the water. Luckily, the swaying settled down and Hiroaki picked up a pair of paddles. Together, the three of them rowed themselves out from the humongous ship’s range. The mainland was always in sight so the path they had to take was pretty clear. “What do you plan to do with all of that treasure?”, asked Itsuki. Hiroaki grunted, but did not respond to the man. The rest of their journey had been pretty silent except for a few whispers between Itsuki and Hagame. When their boat hit the land, the three of them pulled the boat up the beach. Hiroaki took his bag of loot and bid his farewells.
Hagame bowed deeply to Hiroaki. Itsuki had bowed slightly as well which he knew wasn’t common for a Lord to do. Hiroaki went on his way heading back to the Chunin. He stuffed the loot out back with a number of his other treasure that he had stowed there, waiting to be sold. ‘I can’t even go fishing without something bad happening to me. At least I have a knack for turning a bad situation into a good one.’, he thought. Hiroaki had no plans on paying the person back for the row boat that had been broken. He just wanted Lord Seraf to pay up for the trouble he had caused.
He headed inside the restaurant to get a quick meal to eat. He had himself a nice steaming bowl of ramen to satisfy his grumbling stomach. He never had gotten that fish to eat. ‘There was always next time. That is if I really wanted to go through all of the effort of setting back out to sea to come right back for the one fish I would be able to catch. I doubt I could ever catch more than one.’, thought Hiroaki. He raised his hand to the waitress inside. “A drink, please. Surprise me.”, he said. The waitress made her way back with a glass of milk. Milk was the last thing he was expected to be served, but he did get what he had asked for.
Finishing off the meal and a glass of milk, he went back outside to uncover his loot. He lifted the heavy bag and made his way to the merchanting district. There he went to Shiro’s booth. “Ah, young Hiroaki. How have you been doing? Are you still having that problem?”, the old man asked him. Hiroaki laughed until it turned into a cough. “Which one?”, he asked, still grinning. It was the old man’s turn to laugh. “It always seems like there is something going on to keep you on your toes, eh?”, he replied. Hiroaki placed his bag of loot on the stalls table. “I’m not motivated to make my rounds today. Can you cover all of this for me?”, he asked. Shiro scratched his head, taking a look at all of the goods.
“Yes, yes. You will make a hefty fund. I believe I can make about five thousand three hundred ryo off of this much. I will give you your cut of four thousand. Does that sound fair?”, he asked. Hiroaki raised his hands in defeat. He really didn’t want to go through the process of haggling with people for every little item. “Seems fair to me. You can keep your cut as long as you make me the promised amount”, said Hiroaki. He pushed back his hair from his eyes and stretched out his back. “I’ll come by later to pick it up. See you then, Shiro”, said Hiroaki. Hiroaki headed back to the Chunin where he could relax away a couple of hours until his payment was ready to be collected.
After a suitable amount of time had passed, Hiroaki would head back to the merchanting district to collect his funds. “All four thousand ryo as promised, Hiroaki”, said Shiro. Hiroaki smirked, took his payment, and went home.
Claiming:
4010/400 = 10 stats
Offsetting Sound Canon (500 WC)
Butterfly Effect (1000 WC)
Demonic Illusion: Mirage Crow ( 1000 WC)
Demonic Illusion: Descending Hell Technique (1000 WC)
Hidden Arms Technique (500 WC)
Mission:
Reward: 4,000 ryo + 10 ap
--------------
Hope the reward shows the right numbers.
On the outskirts of the island of Fang, Hiroaki sat on his small row boat. It was especially windy out. The wind would go through his hair, shifting the small strands of it in every which direction following the wind. Hiroaki was chewing on a toothpick that he had brought with him. In his hand, there was a fishing pole with some bait at the end of it. The bait being used was a worm that he had retrieved from the bucket beside him. Before getting on the boat he had made the effort to dig up the worms from the earth and collect them into one big binful. The sun was currently hiding behind a group of clouds.
An hour passed and then two. Hiroaki waited with patience, controlling himself from breaking out in anger. ‘Fishing is supposed to be relaxing’, he thought. He kept his spirits high knowing he would get at least one bite by the end of his voyage. He sat as the clouds danced over the water. Hiroaki gazed about the distance and spotted a humongous ship that could easily carry an armatta. ‘It must be nice for them to be so rich and to be able to guide through the water carelessly. Hiroaki’s stomach growled and he paid his attention back to the task at hand. ‘I’ll get a fish. I know I will’, he thought.
The humongous cruise ship came closer and closer to his small row boat. Hiroaki did not notice as the line on his fishing rod started to tug against him. He yanked the rod back and began to reel in his catch. The fish flew into the air and Hiroaki shouted in excitement with a triumphant fist raised in the air. Sadly, his moment fell short as the humongous cruise ship smashed right into his small row boat. It tore the row boat in two and Hiroaki fell backwards from the impact and into the depths of the sea below. Hiroaki found himself sinking further and further out at sea, staring out into the dark abyss. ‘W-What?’, he thought to himself in confusion.
He blew out some air bubbles and saw the direction they were going. They were rising to the other side of him. He turned around and swam up to the top of the ocean’s surface and tried to suck in as much air as he could muster. The damn cruise ship had passed right by him in the whole process. He did an overhead stroke and swam after the ship, like hell would he swims all the way back to land. Additionally, he expected to be reimbursed for the damage that they had done to his rowboat. That and the trouble they had put him through when he got thrown off at impact.
He swam to the side of the cruise ship which had a ladder built in. It was made out of a metal and the whole cruise was sparkling. Hiroaki climbed up the ladder until he reached the top. He looked around the place to see that there were a large amount of people garnished in rich fabrics and expensive jewelry. “Who are you?”, asked an obvious bodybuilder. The man hovered over Hiroaki a good foot above him. Hiroaki stared the huge man down not impressed. “I’m that man over there’s bodyguard, of course”, replied Hiroaki pointing at a particularly over fashioned man. The bodyguard scoffed at Hiroaki in disbelief. “Lord Saref? You could never be associated with a man of his status. You look too much of a street urchin”, said the bodybuilder. Hiroaki shrugged at the man uncaring of what he thought of himself.
“Listen. Believe it or not, it’s the street urchin’s that offer the best protection around these parts. If you don’t believe me you can certainly try to prove me wrong”, said Hiroaki. The bodyguard went to place his hand on Hiroaki, but Hiroaki would not let him have the chance to place his potato fingers anywhere onto his person. Hiroaki dodged the man’s grab, making it an obvious spectacle of the whole thing. The man tried to grab Hiroaki a second time, this time using both of his hands to leap out at Hiroaki. Hiroaki avoided the man’s grasp again. The bodybuilder was getting furious and was bellowing in rage trying to catch Hiroaki who was much too fast for him.
People all around the cruise ship started to watch the two of them playing cat and mouse. Hiroaki was enjoying the whole thing. He considered this match between the bodybuilder and himself to be training if not a spar. Soon the bodybuilder had gotten tired of trying to catch Hiroaki and gave up altogether. The man took a seat and grumbled to himself, giving Hiroaki a death stare. Hiroaki turned to the man that was known as Lord Saref. “Lord Saref! Ah, I was just here telling this man that I was working to protect you. He thought me to be some common street rat who had no skills. Of course you would never hire a man that would be unable to accomplish the tasks you hire them for. Everyone who was watching talked among themselves, both impressed and jealous of the Lord for having such a capable fighter under his service. “That Lord Saref has a real gem up his sleeve,'' one of them said.
Hiroaki approached Lord Saref who quickly turned his furrowed brows into a look of happiness. The Lord laughed his fake laugh and clapped Hiroaki on his back. “Why of course. I only would hire the best”, the greedy Lord had said. He pulled at Hiroaki, trying to bring him inside of the cruise for a private chat. Hiroaki who was never too far from the blade that was slung on his hip, saw no reason not to hear the Lord out. Following Lord Saref inside, the two of them stopped outside of a barlike table that was inside. “What are you trying to pull here? I know I did not hire you, but now that you pulled a stunt like that you will be working for me and at that for free.”, he proclaimed. Hiroaki put his hands up at the man’s demands.
Hiroaki coughed into his arm. “I won’t be working ever in my life for free, sorry to say. In fact, you owe me a good cut for the row boat that you smashed into pieces. What am I supposed to say to the person that I rented it from? Oh, by the way your row boat kinda sorta got smashed to pieces, see ya?”, asked Hiroaki angrily. He smashed his finger into his hand telling the Lord to start putting some coin into his hand. Lord Seraf gave a look that showed that he was offended. “The audacity of you. I don’t even know what row boat you are talking about, but if it was destroyed that easily it than it was meant to stay destroyed. You are lucky you are even able to be standing here on this cruise. Only the most rich and famous people that are close friends of mine are allowed to be on this boat. I could have you sliced into pieces at the snap of my fingers. I suggest you shut your mouth and play the role you have given yourself now that you have put my reputation on the line and get out there”, said Lord Seraf. Hiroaki wanted to suggest that the Lord tried to snap his fingers. He wanted him to see if he could really get the chance to snap his fingers before they got cut off. Hiroaki did not say anything however, instead he for once listened to what the Lord had said.
Walking back out onto the deck of the cruise Hiroaki smiled at everyone there. He raised his arms out in a most welcoming manner. He was not one to make a big show of himself, but he was in a specially ticked off mood. “SO!? Who else wants to call me a street urchin, hm? Let’s make things more interesting. Instead of this buffoon chasing me around to give me a hug how about we actually fight. You know, like men?”, he shouted. The bodybuilder smashed his fist against the seat and stood up to face Hiroaki. Hiroaki drew his katana and directed his blade directly under the bodybuilder’s chin. “Bring it, fatso”, whispered Hiroaki. The bodybuilder charge at him and Hiroaki whisked his blade in a circular motion, cutting a fine line on the deck of the ground in front of the bodybuilder’s feet. The bodybuilder stopped and moved to the left, beginning to circle around Hiroaki, looking for an opening. Hiroaki wouldn’t let the massive bodybuilder get anywhere near him.
The crowd around the two of them were doing all sorts of things, but it was all in response to the fight Hiroaki had going on. Lord’s were betting, their servants were whispering, the women were fanning themselves. The bodybuilder charged again and Hiroaki swiftly cut through one of the bodybuilder’s limbs. His arm fell to the ground, a pillar of blood erupted from the wound that had been opened. He screamed in agony. With his one good hand he lifted a table nearby driving it down onto Hiroaki from above. Hiroaki dived to the side extended his blade to cut through the bodybuilder’s leg. The bodybuilder fell to the ground with the table still in hand. He attempted to lift himself up using the table, but he was suffering from too much blood loss too fast. The bodybuilder collapsed, knocked unconscious from his wounds. The bodybuilder would not survive without a medic soon.
Peering out at the other servants of the Lords, as he did not suspect the Lords themselves to challenge him, he shouted, “Anyone else want to insult me?” The Lords were passing money back and forth, Lord Seraf’s name could be heard repeatedly a multitude of times. Hiroaki was not getting any fame for his actions. His actions and his glory had gone straight to Lord Seraf. The greedy Lord was laughing with a group of people who were nothing but similar to him. A swordsman approached Hiroaki with a katana of his own that stretched out a good three to four feet. “My name is Hagane. I serve my Lord, Lord Itsuki. You seem to know your way around the blade, but can you hold your own against someone like me?”, he asked. Hiroaki spit out his toothpick in response. The swordsman bowed to Hiroaki who only nodded in return.
Lord Seraf could be heard from the background. “You better win if you know what’s good for you.”, he spoke to Hiroaki. Hiroaki squared his legs and leaned against them one at a time to stretch out his legs. He knew that he would really have to emphasize his speed in this battle since he was going up against a swordsman in his fight who depended deeply on speed to be able to land their hits with the sharpness of their swords. His own speed had to be greater to stand or chance, that or he would seriously have to use his brain. Once he was finished stretching which the man known as Hagane had let him do even though the match had already officially begun, Hiroaki put out an arm in front of him and waved at Hagane to approach him. Hagane started to move, one foot at a time. He moved with strength and certainty, eyeing Hiroaki the whole time.
Hagane dashed at Hiroaki with a speed that he had not seen too many times before. Hagane’s blade glided along Hiroaki’s. Sparks were flying as metal collided with metal. Hiroaki parried the attack, pushing Hagane’s blade off with a show of strength. Hagane with speed struck with his katana a second time which Hiroaki met with his own. Their faces were reflected on their katanas and each contestant could see their own sweat going down their faces. Hagane’s katana slid off Hiroaki’s katana and Hiroaki made a swipe with his Katana towards Hagane’s feet. Hagane jumped into the air, avoiding the strike altogether. While in the air, he pointed his blade directly towards Hiroaki’s heart. The blow would have landed if Hiroaki didn’t quickdraw his second katana to block the blow. Hagane landed back on his feet.
Swirling both katana’s in his hands he continued to fight using offense and defense. Hagane kept swinging his blade up and then bringing it down to keep up with Hiroaki, but he was slowing down. Hiroaki knocked Hagane’s blade out of his hand. Hagane was heaving in exhaustion, he did not make any effort to shield himself from Hiroaki’s katanas. Hiroaki raised an eyebrow at the man. “You may cut me down. I have lost.”, he said. He turned his head to his Lord. “Lord Itsuki, I am sorry for bringing dishonor to your name. I fear I had gotten carried away”, he went on. Hiroaki twirled his blade in his fingers, speeding them up. “Yes, cut him down”, said Lord Seraf. Hiroaki re-sheathed both of his katanas back in their place at his side.
Hagane dropped to his knees in front of Hiroaki. “I-I’m most grateful. I don’t deserve such mercy”, he said. Lord Seraf stepped forth angrily. The Lords had whispered about Lord Seraf being weak for not being able to control his own men. “This man will die. Kill him now! I command you! Someone give me a blade!”, he shouted. Hiroaki looked at the greedy Lord. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. If you make any attempt at that man’s life, your own will be forfeit. You best believe me if you know what’s good for you.”, said Hiroaki. He stayed there side eyeing Lord Seraf, seeing if he was willing to carry out with his act of cutting off Hagane’s head while he was kneeled over.
The Lord faltered, unsure if he should put Hiroaki to the test. He then clapped his hands calling for the sword he requested. The servant came forth with a sword in hand. Hagane kept his head lowered unsure what to do in this circumstance. Hiroaki knew what he had to do. He drew his blade and in one motion he sliced through the servant and re-sheathed his blade. The servant fell to the ground and the sword landed in front of Hagane. Lord Seraf went to reach for the blade that was in front of Hagane, but before he could do this a voice called out, “Lord Seraf, have you no shame?”. Lord Itsuki pushed his way through the crowd. “A great Lord like you, bending over for a blade to cut an unarmed man. I’d never thought I’d see the day”, said Itsuki. Lord Seraf’s face turned red. He stopped going for the sword and stood up straight, patting the dirt off of his clothes.
“Get off of my damn ship”, bursted Lord Seraf. He pointed to the sea as if all three of them could walk on the water. Hiroaki knew he could, but he was unsure of whether the other two had mastered the ability to do so. Hiroaki reached out his arm to Hagane who gladly accepted his hand. He pulled Hagane off the ground and onto his feet. “You can’t just kick people off of a moving cruise just like that. What are you thinking, Seraf?”, he asked. Lord Seraf shouted, “OFF!”. He clapped his hands and the entirety of his staff pushed forward. The Lords, Ladies and their personal retainers all stood by in shock to the scene in front of them. They whispered of Seraf’s cruelty and authority.
Hiroaki was skilled enough to best anyone on this cruise in a one on one, but it ended there. He couldn’t fight off a whole army of Lord Seraf’s men. Hagane grabbed his katana and Itsuki had grabbed the sword that was on the ground. The three of them got surrounded by Lord Seraf’s men and ended up back to back to each other. The three of them battled it out with the servants. All three of them were capable enough fighters to not die instantly, but they were not invincible. Itsuki was the first to fall to his knees, he lost his stamina. Hiroaki knowing that blades could only do so much against a horde of men, casted his signs and casted the hidden mist jutsu. The mist swept all across the cruise and stretched even beyond the humongous boat. Hiroaki pulled both Itsuki and Hagane from the middle of the army and brought them inside of the building.
He looked around, but did not spot what he needed. “You two find an emergency raft or boat or hell a plank will suffice and get off this nightmare”, he told them. Hagane nodded while Itsuki stayed cringing in pain from the cut across his leg. Hiroaki casted his hand signs and moved off into the mist, now invisible to the naked eye. The mist had lifted and the servants looked around eager to find the missing people that they knew had to still be on board. Hiroaki made his move to end up behind Seraf, place his blade behind the Lord’s throat. With that he allowed himself to turn visible to display that he had checkmated the Lord.
Lord Seraf whistled to his servants to stop their search for the other two members. Everyone was focused on Lord Seraf. A couple of the Lord’s suspiciously creeped their way closer to Hiroaki. He would not let them get the advantageous. Hiroaki pressed the blade closer to the Lord’s neck, drawing some blood from Seraf in the process. Lord Seraf flinched back in distress. “What do you want? Money for your petty row boat?”, he asked. Hiroaki shook his head imagining all of the wealth Lord Seraf must had been swimming in all of his life. “I think I want much more than that, Seraf”, he explained. He edged back close to the wall so no one could surprise jump him.
“I will require all of your valuables in a bag. You.”, he said pointing to one of the Lord’s. “Collect everyone’s jewelry and put it into the bag”, he said. The Lords and Ladies murmerred amongst themselves, heated. “As if we cared about what happened to Lord Seraf. Why would we give you any of our goods?”, a Lady asked. Hiroaki didn’t think about the fact that the guests here might not really care what happened to this man. That being said, it didn’t mean that the servants wouldn’t listen in order to get some heavy payment from Lord Seraf in the future. Hiroaki grunted at the servant. “Well, are you going to grab the loot or not?”, he asked. The servant called for some help and the lot of them went about stealing the Lord’s and Ladies’ goods. All the while, Lord Seraf remained silent. He had lost face in this event and was finished.
Hiroaki got close to the side of the cruise and peeked over. He was hoping to see Itsuki and Hagame on an emergency boat of some kind, but there was no sight of them. The servants finished collecting all of the valuables and it was all tidied together in one big bag. “Throw it to me.”, Hiroaki shouted. The servants looked unsure whether it was the right call. Again, Lord Seraf did not say a word. “Hey! Swordsman! If you’re there hop on fast!”, shouted Hagame from below on the other side of the cruise. Hiroaki shuffled to the other side and peeked over the ledge. There Itsuki and Hagame were there waiting for him. “Throw me the damn bag already.”, said Hiroaki. The servant threw the bag and Hiroaki shoved Lord Seraf at the servant. With the bag in Hiroaki’s hands, he jumped off into the boat below.
The water around the small boat splashed and the boat itself swayed back and forth threatening to knock them all into the water. Luckily, the swaying settled down and Hiroaki picked up a pair of paddles. Together, the three of them rowed themselves out from the humongous ship’s range. The mainland was always in sight so the path they had to take was pretty clear. “What do you plan to do with all of that treasure?”, asked Itsuki. Hiroaki grunted, but did not respond to the man. The rest of their journey had been pretty silent except for a few whispers between Itsuki and Hagame. When their boat hit the land, the three of them pulled the boat up the beach. Hiroaki took his bag of loot and bid his farewells.
Hagame bowed deeply to Hiroaki. Itsuki had bowed slightly as well which he knew wasn’t common for a Lord to do. Hiroaki went on his way heading back to the Chunin. He stuffed the loot out back with a number of his other treasure that he had stowed there, waiting to be sold. ‘I can’t even go fishing without something bad happening to me. At least I have a knack for turning a bad situation into a good one.’, he thought. Hiroaki had no plans on paying the person back for the row boat that had been broken. He just wanted Lord Seraf to pay up for the trouble he had caused.
He headed inside the restaurant to get a quick meal to eat. He had himself a nice steaming bowl of ramen to satisfy his grumbling stomach. He never had gotten that fish to eat. ‘There was always next time. That is if I really wanted to go through all of the effort of setting back out to sea to come right back for the one fish I would be able to catch. I doubt I could ever catch more than one.’, thought Hiroaki. He raised his hand to the waitress inside. “A drink, please. Surprise me.”, he said. The waitress made her way back with a glass of milk. Milk was the last thing he was expected to be served, but he did get what he had asked for.
Finishing off the meal and a glass of milk, he went back outside to uncover his loot. He lifted the heavy bag and made his way to the merchanting district. There he went to Shiro’s booth. “Ah, young Hiroaki. How have you been doing? Are you still having that problem?”, the old man asked him. Hiroaki laughed until it turned into a cough. “Which one?”, he asked, still grinning. It was the old man’s turn to laugh. “It always seems like there is something going on to keep you on your toes, eh?”, he replied. Hiroaki placed his bag of loot on the stalls table. “I’m not motivated to make my rounds today. Can you cover all of this for me?”, he asked. Shiro scratched his head, taking a look at all of the goods.
“Yes, yes. You will make a hefty fund. I believe I can make about five thousand three hundred ryo off of this much. I will give you your cut of four thousand. Does that sound fair?”, he asked. Hiroaki raised his hands in defeat. He really didn’t want to go through the process of haggling with people for every little item. “Seems fair to me. You can keep your cut as long as you make me the promised amount”, said Hiroaki. He pushed back his hair from his eyes and stretched out his back. “I’ll come by later to pick it up. See you then, Shiro”, said Hiroaki. Hiroaki headed back to the Chunin where he could relax away a couple of hours until his payment was ready to be collected.
After a suitable amount of time had passed, Hiroaki would head back to the merchanting district to collect his funds. “All four thousand ryo as promised, Hiroaki”, said Shiro. Hiroaki smirked, took his payment, and went home.
Claiming:
4010/400 = 10 stats
Offsetting Sound Canon (500 WC)
Butterfly Effect (1000 WC)
Demonic Illusion: Mirage Crow ( 1000 WC)
Demonic Illusion: Descending Hell Technique (1000 WC)
Hidden Arms Technique (500 WC)
Mission:
Reward: 4,000 ryo + 10 ap
--------------
Hope the reward shows the right numbers.
Satoru NaraCitizen- Stat Page : Stat Page Ryo : 10650
Re: Lord Seraf's Cruise
Tue Dec 31, 2019 10:18 pm
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