Thieves' Town

[Uesugi Kenshin]

Yukimura would successfully throw the man at the group! However, only the one he threw was knocked out! They would get up, attempting to hold the soldier back while their allies continued to run for help!

[Sanada Yukimura]

Yukimura would swing his whip at the men blocking his way, attempting to wrap it around the arms of one and send him flying to the side, while firing a blast of fire up in the air and split it off into tiny drops of fire, literally making it rain fire down on the men and light their clothes on fire, not to hurt them, but to distract them long enough for him to wrap his whip around another one of the bandits, and send that one flying towards his allies, bowling them over and clearing the way for him to continue onward.

[Uesugi Kenshin]

The distraction would work, and Yukimura would be able to fling the men aside to continue his assault on the hideout! However, the other runners would reach the main group in time, sounding a bell to signal that there was trouble! Yukimura was about to deal with the main force! And as he continued onward, he would find dozens of men at the ready, firing rifles and arrows at him alike while men on foot would charge at him with weapons drawn!

[Sanada Yukimura]

Summoning a wall of fire in front of him, to protect him from the bullets and arrows, any projectiles that were not burned instantly by the wall of fire would be blasted by a continuous stream of fire as he moved his arm from side to side. Placing his whip sword away and pulling his spear free, he would leap up and off his demon chariot, as it would return to the necklace gem, and come crashing down in the middle of main force, before whirling around in a circle while swinging the blunt end of his spear, aiming to knock over as many men as he could.

As an added precaution, he would increase the temperature of the fire engulfing his entire body, which would not only make it hard for the katanas and bullets to hit him, melting almost instantly when they made contact, but also make it hard for the bandits to grab hold of him without burning themselves.

[Uesugi Kenshin]

Yukimura's fiery tactics would be successful! The men had no idea how to combat such an opponent, and would fall by the dozens to his onslaught! In their desperation, the men began to grab buckets of water, throwing it at the flaming Takeda soldier in an attempt to douse him!

[Sanada Yukimura]

Summoning a flame pillar beneath him, Yukimura would use the high temperature of the flame to try and evaporate the buckets of water thrown at him, but if that was not successful, at the very least, the only thing that would be doused is the flame pillar. He'd then burst forth from inside the flame pillar, and swinging the blunt-end of his spear, would go to knock out as many men as he possibly could, while using his flames to increase his movement speed.

[Uesugi Kenshin]

The water would evaporate, turning into nothing but masses of steam when they got close to his fire! He would successfully knock out the remaining men, and there was only one other man huddled in the corner! Before Yukimura could do anything about him though, a taller, more refined man would walk in, spear at the ready. Yukimura would recognize him as the former bandit chief that had previously defeated him, now a barkeep in Totomi.

"Here we are, trying to leave our pasts behind us... and you come and try to kill all of my men. Who are you, anyway? Not like it matters..." Yamada Toshi pointed his spear towards Yukimura, "You're dead."

As Toshi arrived, the last man would make his escape, running behind his chief and up towards the exit.

(OOC: Toshi's stats:
Str: 60 Dex 60 Con: 80 Wis: 50 Spr: 50
May or may not have a Musou)

[Sanada Yukimura]

"To be fair, I've only took one down only. The rest of your men were all knocked out. You know who I am. You know."

Despite the fact the ex-bandit chief wanted him dead, and his orders from his father and one of The Six Wise Protectors of Lord Takeda Shingen, Sanada Masayuki, were to infiltrate and eliminate the bandits through any means necessary, Yukimura in fact, did not want to kill Yamada Toshi. He just wanted to beat him in a fight, that was his revenge. Nothing more, nothing less. Granted, he may end up having to burn the hideout to ashes, but he would only do so if necessary.

Gripping his own spear in both hands, Yukimura would not extend his fire to engulf the blade of his spear just yet, even though it would make his weapon that much deadlier, but Yukimura was not aiming to kill, only knock out. He already took one life today, he wasn't planning on taking more if he could help it. He would let Toshi make the first move, as Yukimura was an intruder and unwelcomed guest after all.

[Uesugi Kenshin]

One man was killed? If Yukimura came from Kofu, that meant... it was possibly the merchant that they let through here to get to his old storehouse. This meant Yukimura killed someone who wasn't even a bandit to begin with, and Toshi flashed his teeth in anger. He really didn't remember Yukimura, but it wouldn't stop him from skewering the Takeda soldier.

Instead of making the first move, Toshi would call up after the man who was making his escape. "Go and inform Tak of our guest!"

Yes... Takehiro. If Yukimura looked around at the men he had defeated, he would find the Mon of the Amakusa on their backs. And as Toshi secured his gloves tightly, that Mon would show clear as day on them. Instead of attacking, he pointed his spear at Yukimura once more.

"When we're done here... I don't think you'll be alive to see what happens to your precious Kofu."

[Sanada Yukimura]

Tak...? Surely he did not mean... He did. Upon closer inspection of the Mon on the backs of the bandits he had knocked out, his brows would furrow seeing it was the Amakusa clan symbol. Which meant all these bandits, and the bandit chief himself, were under Amakusa Takehiro's command. Instead of raising his spear, Yukimura would lower it, and reaching up, he would remove his helmet, revealing his face to Toshi, a somber expression on his face.

"It seems I was horribly unaware that you were under Takehiro-san's command. If you wish to kill me in exchange for the life of the man I killed, that would be a fair trade. But I beseech you, do not ravage Kofu because of my ignorant mistake."

And opening his arms, his chest exposed and his spear held loosely by his side, Yukimura would wait for Toshi's decision and course of action.

[Uesugi Kenshin]

Toshi grimaced as Yukimura attempted to offer his life in exchange for the merchant who was slain. He walked up to Yukimura, punching him square in the face and knocking him to the ground, pointing his spear to the Takeda soldier's throat.

"You came here for a reason, and now you're going to cower out of it because of who we serve? That's laughable. Stick to your convictions, or are you truly the soldier you claim to be?"

He looked down on Yukimura. He wasn't going to cut down a man who refused to fight. No, his plans for Yukimura were not death. But he would send a message.

[Sanada Yukimura]

Taking the punch square to his face, Yukimura would be knocked down, but as Toshi pointed his spear at Yukimura's throat, he would find the blade would rapidly begin to melt from the flames that engulfed Yukimura's entire body.

"Yes, I came here for a reason, to eliminate you and your men by any means necessary. But that was before I learned you were now under Takehiro-san's banner. Deride and look down on me as much as you want, but I have no desire to declare war on a man I consider a friend and fought alongside. With that said however..."

A pillar of fire appearing beneath him and Toshi, it would enclose the both of them, but Toshi would find the flames would not touch him... in fact, the pillar was so wide, not even the tip of the flames would singe his clothes. What he would find however, was a fire doppelganger of Yukimura coming up from behind him, punching him in the head, while the real Yukimura would roll to the side and climb to his feet.

"You want me to stick to my convictions, then so be it. I came here to beat the bandit chief in a fight, after he beat me so long ago. That was all, nothing more, nothing less. All I see is a man under Takehiro-san's command however."

[Oda Nobunaga]

[OoC: Quest handed over with admin permission. As Toshi is one of my NPCs, it makes more sense I play him.]

Yukimura would find the heat would not melt the blade, serving instead to only heat it up! Extreme heats were used to temper weapons, so his tactic would not prove fruitful. As well, when he created his pillar of flame, he would find it quickly dissipating, the moisture in the air becoming thicker and preventing the flames from spreading. Because of this, the doppelganger would not be able to come out, but Toshi would still allow the man to get to his feet.

"A declaration of war has long since passed. You came into our lands, striking first with clearly very little knowledge of who your enemy was." He gritted his teeth, clearly angered by this man's pompousness. "I assume, then, it would be all fine and well if we went through Shinano and beat down your villagers, but only took one life? Do you think that would be fair? Is that not a declaration of war?!"

The moisture in the air would revolve around Toshi's blade, effectively cooling it and making the steel stronger, as Yukimura's heat only removed impurities from the blade. The man of Takeda would begin to find himself feeling very dehydrated, unbearably so.

[Sanada Yukimura]

"... Perhaps, but it was not Lord Shingen who gave me such a command. I do not deny my ignorance and mistake, but I was under the impression the bandit chief resided here. If you wish to declare war on Kofu, then so be it. But I will protect the people no matter what."

Falling to one knee as he felt heavily dehydrated, his spear the only thing keeping him up, he would look up at Toshi through semi-blurred vision.

"Heh. I can see why Takehiro-san took you under his command. However..."

Mustering what strength he had left, Yukimura would rise to his feet and move towards Toshi seemingly with apparent intent to kill, before disappearing in a blur, to reappear in front of him. If he succeeded, however, Toshi would find Yukimura held no weapon in his hand. In fact, his spear was nowhere near him, and had been left sticking in the ground behind him. All that was held in his hand was a simple folding fan belonging to someone close to him, as he would stagger, the dehydration growing even harder on him.

"... I chose to... trespass upon your land, chose to knock your men out. And I... will take the burden of the consequences of those actions... on myself..."

[OOC: Flash Steps activated. Yukimura's new Dex: 30 (49 + 16 = 65)]

[Oda Nobunaga]

As Yukimura developed this new-found speed, he would find that Toshi was less than surprised. It may have been faster than most could see, but his eye was well-trained, and he was only slightly faster than the ex-Bandit Chief himself was normally. Even then, he had to deal with the immense dehydration, which was going to weigh him down.

Almost immediately after Yukimura uttered the second syllable of his final word, Toshi's hand would shoot forward and take him by the throat, gripping him tightly while also stealing all moisture from that area. With a battle roar, he would throw Yukimura up into the air and through the roof of the building. Toshi would then jump after the man's body with enough momentum to catch him and take him to the ground. His spear would pierce Yukimura's flesh on the underside of the right shoulder, and would dig into it when the man hit the ground.

"Then you will feel the repercussions of your actions in full force."

He felt no sympathy for the Takeda soldier.

[Sanada Yukimura]

Thrown to the ground and pierced by Toshi's spear after being thrown through the roof, his armored vest would protect his arm joint area from being injured, but the force behind it would still send pain ripping through his arm. Looking up at Toshi through blurred vision, he would fade in and out of darkness, and as one last ditch effort, would grab hold of Toshi's spear and try to rip it free, but would black out before he could even lift the blade up and out. He may have failed... but if it spared Kofu from being declared war on, he would be happy with that.

[Oda Nobunaga]

Toshi spit on the ground as Yukimura fainted, aggravated with the man's weakness. He expected so much more from him having invaded. He dug his spear into the ground, taking the unconscious Takeda man by his sides and put him over his shoulder. Upon the horizon, he could see a cloud of dusting forming by what he could only assume was Takehiro's arrival, and he immediately knew what he was going to do.

Takehiro and Toshi were going to march on Kofu.

Thieves' Town: Failed.
IC Plot advancement has occurred.
Takeda-Amakusa relations have declined!
Yukimura is now banished from Totomi!
Any Takeda soldiers in Totomi will be deported on sight!
Toshi is now an official general in the Amakusa army!

Yukimura receives: +5 Exp
Tattered Mon of the Amakusa: Any slot add-on. The Mon of the Amakusa, destroyed during your attack on Totomi. +5 Con