GetBackers (February 2014)

[Takeda Shingen]

GetBackers

-They get back what shouldn't be gone... most of the time.-

Format:

Single/Double (Each person must fulfill the word requirement, and one person can only submit one entry.)

Reward:

+4 EXP, or $400

Scenario:

Something feels off about the day. Your character has a bad feeling as they go through their daily routine, and when they return home during the day, they realize why. Something has been lost, and in its wake, a card has been left behind, with only four words printed on the back: "Time is running out."

Requirements:

• 400 words minimum
• You are to roleplay your character going to retrieve whatever it is he or she has lost, whether it be through stealth tactics and picking everyone off quietly, or just plain bulldozing straight in and beating everyone down.
• Be creative! It doesn't necessarily have be an item that was taken from your character, and who and why behind the taking is entirely up to you.
• If you choose to pair up with another player, whoever is taken, must roleplay what happens to them during the time they are held captive, whether it be physical or mental or both.
• Please, keep it site appropriate.

This Monthly Event ends on:
Friday, February 28th, 11:59pm PST.
12:59am MST (Mar 1st)
1:59am CST (Mar 1st)
2:59am EST (Mar 1st)

[Kuroshi Maki]

It was a day to never forget, this day would bring me one step closer to finding those who killed my mother. This day also would create a whole new demon inside of me, one that would destroy the whole world once it would gain its power. But still it would not be enough to match those that created this demon. Was it there plan to create a demon stronger then them? Or was it the pain of others they feed on?

It was a rainy and dark day, the weather wasn't the only this that was dark about this day. The smell of blood was also in the air. It was a day of the devils, a day that shall not be forgotten soon by certain people. And to some it will even be remembered as a good day.

There I was walking down the road, wearing nothing else but a pants and sandals, my upper body was wearing nothing but tattoo's. My blond hair was dancing because of the wind. On both sides of my hips I was wearing a curved blade. These were still the same blades I got left with after the man in black killed my mother. I still remember the words, find me when you grow stronger. When I do find him I will kill him and end the horror that chases me in my dreams.

As I was making my way back to my room I rented for the night, something felt off. This whole day I had the feeling I have been watched. Yet today wasn't the first day that I had it but its worse today. I had a feeling something was about to happen but what nobody knows. I entered my room and there was a note placed on my bed.

" Time is running out? What does that mean? "

I was at this point staring outside of the window thinking what it would mean, but then in the corner of my eye I saw a warrior dressed in black standing on a roof. As i blinked the warrior disappeared. Out of anger I rushed outside still holding the note. Were did he go?

" Were did the warrior in black go! "

I shouted as people started to point towards a near forest. I ran as fast as I could not even thinking of what could await inside that Forrest. As i drove near the Forrest I could see the warrior again just standing. As I entered the forest he disappeared again. Was this all a game to get me here? Why are they running away? As I moved further into the woods I grabbed both my curved blades as I started to feel a danger closing in. At a certain point I stopped in a open area inside the woods, there were a few graves here and a small temple like building. Why was it build inside these woods.

"Drop the weapons kid! "

These words were shouted from the temple, at this point warriors in black appeared around me, a total of 12 warriors. Was the men shouting the one that killed her? He then stepped from the temple wearing a black Armour and a black mask of a demon, mostly used in plays. The man sounded off but anger took the best of me and just seeing the warriors in black just raised the hate.

"Why did you leave me this note? You know you just ordered your own dead with this one!"

I tossed the note on the ground, but all they did was laugh. Was what I said funny? Did they think I was weak and not be able to kill them. Then my eyes locked onto a small object in the hand of the man in front of me, it was a neck less, a jade neck less. My eyes widen as I remembered that neck less. It was a heirloom of his mother. It was really them.

A loud roar came from my mouth as I rushed forwards to attack the man, but this just angered the warriors as they surrounded me making it unable to come even close to him.

" Kill him! Test his hate! "

Test my hate? Was this all a game to them? Before I could speak one of the warriors attacked me ( all of them wear a curved blade ) His blade was about to hit my chest, I just simply stepped back and make him lose his balance. My right blade just made a upward slash, cutting the warriors throat who dropped down, gasping for air but soon drowned in his own blood.

" I like that look in your eyes kid, but you just killed one man. "

The man wearing the mask stepped back and sat down on a big rock, the rest just created a circle around me, all of them taking there fighting position. It was me vs 10 other warriors at this point, of the 12 one was death and the other sat down on the rock. So was today the day I could kill the man or die trying. At this point two warriors attacked at the same time. The first warrior made a wide swing, one that I could easily block with my left blade, at the point I wanted to slice him open with my right blade the other warrior sliced the back of my left leg, a small painful scream slipped my lips as I dropped to my knee.

" Is this all kid, remember your mother put up even more of a fight! "

My eyes widens as I rose up and made a spin with both blades and cut both the warriors there throat. As they dropped down blood splattered all over me. My eyes showed nothing but hate. this even scared the 8 remaining warriors as they stepped back. But something was off these guys didn't fight like warriors. They could easily attack me at the same time and kill me.

"What are you guys waiting for attack me! I will kill you all! "

My words brought in even more fear into there hearts, I then rushed at the next warrior and blocked his weapon with my left and slashed his chest with my right, only 7 remaining. At this point they understood they had to attack all at the same time to stand a chance. They came at me at the same times all swinging there swords I could block multiple with my two blades but not all. 3 blades hit a mark, one slashed my arm and one cut my chest abit and the third hit the top of my right leg and created a cut there.

I stumbled abit back and saw them gain confidence. A wild swing was thrown by one of the warriors, I could easily grab his arm in midair and spine around tossing him against 2 other warriors. The pain was not really bothering me because of the anger and adrenalin. As I came out of the spin I rushed forwards but less fast ten before because of the two cuts in my legs. I then striker down with both blades as they carved both shoulders of one warrior, because of the impact they got stuck in the shoulders. 6 warriors left 3 down and 3 standing. The 3 standing warriors tried to attack me so I had to let go of the swords and jump back to avoid being hit.

Fuck, I'm weaponless! my thought ran fast as I tried to figure out what to do now, I didn't had any weapons with me beside those two blades that are now out of my hands. A warrior rushed in thinking he could make the kill, I grabbed his arms as they came down but the force behind it forced my arms to lower abit and the blade hit my left shoulder abit. feeling the sharp side dig into my shoulder slowly I put more power into my arms and raised his blade. Another warrior came and made his move, I then blocked the weapon with the other warrior his blade by placing his weapon there and kicked his chest making him fall backwards. With a Akido trow I threw the warrior over my shoulder because I was still holding him, as he hit the ground I was able to grab his blade as his hands loosen. I didn't even think and sliced him open so he would also die.

At this point the remaining 5 warriors were standing again but they started to panic not knowing who was to attack first. This was perfect for me because there focused was gone and fear took over there bodies. But I had to finish this fast because my body was also weakening from the cuts and the blood that was still streaming from the wounds. Even my vision started to blur a little, a few came up 3 of them and tried to make there move but I could easily stop all three of them with a wide swing cutting open there stomach. the stumbled back as there cuts started to slide out of the cuts. the renaming two out of panic started to run away.

" Its you and me now kid! "

The man from the rock rose up as he was surprised I had held on and even killed all but two. He walked up to me, but my vision started to blur and my body wasn't able to react as fast as it should. The man came closer but didn't had his weapon drawn, A fist then hit my cheek and knocked me backwards, I didn't even see it coming and my legs were affected as they were shaking hardly being able to keep me up. Another fist came but this time in a combination, one hit the liver spot as the other hit my cheek again making me drop to my knees.

" Well, it seems its time to finish this little quest of yours by killing you. I better stop you now before you
grow to strong to stop. "

The man spoke as he was about to release his blade, at this point my body was just moving on instinct from all the training as the arms wrapped around the mans waist and my left leg behind his to make him stumble backwards making him fall on his back and me ending on top. My fist just started to rain down upon the mans his face breaking the man his mask. My knuckles were open and flesh was ripping of of them but I kept punching. until the man tried to speak as his whole face was smashed.

" Don..t kill me.... He... hired...us! He is hiding... in Oda's...army! "

These were his last words before chocking on his own blood. my arms stopped punching because I wasn't able to lift them anymore all the anger and hate was taking out on this man but it seems the journey wasn't over. They were hired.. so the monster that killed my mother stills lives and is hiding. As my fingers slipped around the Jade neck less, I could feel my mothers warmth. I fell back losing concussions..
As I woke up a day later I was in a small hut, my wounds were taken care of and the neck less was laying beside me with a note.

You made the first step, but your hate is not even good enough to face me.
 
Did the demon that killed my mother just take care of my wounds and all?

[Yamabara Shou]

At last another tiring trip was over, and Shou was glad to be home after having made a round to some of the local town with message on behalf of his lord. Dismounting his horse and tying the steed up, he started to make his way to go meet with Matsudaira Kazuko. His lord and vassal of the Takeda clan. Planning to hand over the messages in reply to those he had taken out. Reaching down to his side to untie the satchel he had to carry the missives he realized that something was wrong. It didn’t seem as heavy as it should. Opening the bag he looked inside and counted the protective tubes inside. Then he panicked. There was one less then there should have been. Tipping the content of the bag out, in order to recount them the cases and what appeared to be a small note on a card.



‘Time is running out.’


Four simple words that turned his panicked state into sickening feeling in his gut. Quick as he could he loaded the bag back up with the messages and slid the card into the band of his hakama. Quickly he ran the bag inside and track down one of Kazuko’s other messengers come couriers and handed the bag over with instruction to deliver the messages to him and that he would return with the last as quickly as he could. Rushing back outside to his horse, he untied the animal and vaulted onto it back as quickly as he could. He had no way of knowing which of the messages was the missing one, not unless he had opened the others and that wasn’t something he would get away with. With not much to go on, and with time apparently running out, he had no choice but to retrace his route.



Shou knew for a fact that he had all of the messages when he left the last town, and the only other time he had stopped on the route home was at small often used watering hole between here and the nearest town. There had been other people tending to animals there and it seemed like the most likely location for the message to have been stolen. Concentrating, he forced his stomach to settle as best as he could, calming his nerve before taking a hold of his mounts reigns. “Come on.” He muttered to the animal whipping the reigns and driving the beast to take off as fast as he could. Dodge between people and carts on his way out of town it was only when he was finally clear of town that he really drove the animal.



The next few hours were a pain, for him as well as his horse. The padding of saddle was lacking, and the pace that he set left him bouncing up and down on the back of his horse, and by the time he could see the watering hole in the distance, he was saddle sore something dire. Jumping down off his horse he led it the rest of the way on foot. Eyes darting over the few other people tending to animals. “Now what do I do?” Shou asked himself unsure how to proceed. “Are you okay there?” One of the people by the water side asked with a smirk. Looking up Shou examined the guy asking. A distance sense of recognition filled his mind. “Not really, were you here a few hours ago?” Shou asked. “Indeed I was, looking for something?” The individual ask almost laughing.



Shou suddenly put a hand to his side where one of his daggers was hidden under his hakama. “Who are you what do you want?” Shou demanded, knowing the man’s question was to direct to be a coincidence. “It’s simple; you pay me to return the message. Unopened in fact, and if you even think about drawing that dagger, I’ll kill you were you stand instead.” The thief explained tapping the short bladed katana sheathed at his side. “You can’t really expect me pay. Plus if you were willing to kill me why didn’t you just do so and take what I had.” Shou wondered. “I’ve already hidden it, so you won’t get it back if you don’t pay. I have no desire to kill someone I can blackmail again in the future. Will you really return home having failed to bring an important message with you?” The man said laughing once again and quickly drawing his sword.



“Let me tell you how this is going to work. You hand over everything you've got I tell you were your message is and then I walk away and maybe I do this again in the future. You don’t pay, I kill you because you've made it obvious you’re not one to be blackmailed so there no point leaving you alive. You take too long to decide and well your message is currently getting farther and farther away. What it’s going to be?” “I think I’ll take option 3.” Shou said with a grin. “Disarm you and make you tell me.” He added flicking the blades from out of his clothes and into his hands. “Have it your way.” The thief shouted said dashing forward katana repeatable slashing out in an attempt to kill him.


Dodging back desperately and just as desperately Shou wished he was trained or at least carried a larger weapon of some kind. The lack of reach of his daggers made it hard to attempt attacking back without risking his life. But the man had already gotten too close for deadly throw to be a viable possibility. Parry the blade aside with a flick of his wrist, Shou jumped back, and called for his horse. Grabbing of to the saddle and letting the beast drag him aside. However it was too late and the thief’s sword slashed down the back of his leg. Screaming out in pain he pulled himself on top his mount. Gaining some distance between the two of them, he reared the mount around, and with quick motion threw one of his daggers in a spinning motion at the thief.



However the thief sliced the dagger out of the air, and of some distance before charging sword raised to deal a deadly blow to Shou’s horse to take away his advantage. Shou reacted instinctively and leap of his horse and on top of the man, his free hand grabbing the wrist of the thief as they slammed into the ground. The pair struggled on the ground, rolling over and over in attempt to get above the other. Eventually Shou managed to get on top and slammed the man’s hand into the ground repeatedly until the thief lost grip of his sword and Shou held a dagger to the man’s neck.



“Don’t move” Shou ordered his free hand, grabbing the man’s sword, as he pressed the dagger in to the man’s throat. “Tell me where it is?” Shou demanded, bring the sword to also rest at the man’s throat before carefully pulling himself off the man. “Not going to happen.” The thief spat back. “I don’t like killing, but I’m not above hurting.” Shou explained slice his dagger down the side of the man’s leg while keeping him places with the threat of the sword. “That one was pay back. Now where is it?” “Bite me.” The man shouted back through gritted teeth. Once again slide the dagger into the man’s leg. “This will kill you eventually, but I’d rather return home a failure, instead of a sell-out. Now tell me.” “Damn you.” A third slice down the man leg, led to a pain scream. “You have two chances left before I kill you.” “You don’t have to balls.” The man said grinning. Moving the knife to a more vital location to the man. Shou’s comment hit home. “I do but you might not.” Shou bluffed as best he could, the metal of the dagger, making it a better threat.


“I’ll tell, I’ll tell. I hid it by a cherry tree, about ten minutes that way. Just don’t.” The thief begged. “That wasn't too hard now was it?” Shou said getting up, before knocking the man out with a kick to the side of the head. Limping over to recover his dagger and tossing the sword into the water, before clutching his leg as he made his way to his horse. Planning to return here and drag the man off back home if he had been lying about the message location. In pain and bleeding, he managed to find the tree the thief had spoken of, and surprisingly the letter and it tube like container was hiding in a small freshly dug hole. “Well I'm glad that’s over.” He muttered to himself stashing the message away and remounting his horse for the trip home, and to finish his delivery. And medical attention would be nice as well.

[Shinomori Katsumi]

Eric and I did a thread for this instead to help develop our characters and for an interesting story. Here ya go~

[Miyamoto Kenji]

Since awakening, Kenji had felt unsettled, an unusual thing for him to register. There was no explanation, no reason for him to feel this way, yet it persisted all the way until he returned home to the humble Miyamoto estate. His mother appeared to be out, as she did not greet him in the foyer. Neither did his sisters seem to be in. It was quiet... While it was probably nothing, Kenji could not help but feel perturbed on top of his bad feeling. Perhaps some time alone in his room would help.

Sliding his door open, Kenji stepped in and quickly saw something different about his room. A note hung on the adjacent end, attached by a knife. He approached cautiously, as if suspecting it to be a trap, but found that nothing attacked him by the time he cleared the space between the entrance and the opposite wall. Ripping the note free, he saw but four words scribed on it.

"Time is running out."

That was when he realized something else was hanging from the knife. A lock of hair. One of his sisters'.

Instincts kicked in, honed from years of training, travel, and merc work. Kenji tore the knife free from the wall and discarded the note, fleeing his room to search the estate up and down. It did not take him long to determine which sister had been taken, as he stumbled upon his second sister's room, that of Miyamoto Suguha, her door left ajar. Suguha had discipline rivalling their father, and budding sword skills that made her the bane of any man who thought her a docile maiden. Whether she was in her room, within the house, or out somewhere, she never left it open. The chances that this was an accident were slim to none. He carefully slid the door all the way open and stepped in, finding the window broken through. Kenji advanced and examined the apparent scene of the crime for a clue.

Careful investigation - or rather, simply looking at the windowsill - yielded a trace of blood. Most likely, either Suguha or her apparent kidnapper was cut on the way out, enough to pierce the skin. Further examination beyond the window revealed a trail of blood droplets. The cut was deep enough to bleed freely, clearly. It would be no difficult task to follow this trail. The real question, however, was if Kenji should pursue alone or gather the rest of his combat-trained sisters.

Given that the bleeder may very well be Suguha, and he had no idea of her state at the moment, he opted for solidarity.

Time had just shifted to evening when Kenji initially arrived home, so there was enough light to engage in tracking. The trail quickly led out of town on what was clearly a pre-planned route of escape, taking the mercenary into the slums and weaving through alleys. By the time the trail cut off near a rickety two-story building, it was closing in on night. One person stood watch outside, a bulky man with a thick tetsubo resting on his shoulder. The sight would be intimidating for some, but Kenji could tell at a careful glance that he was having trouble maintaining this posture with such a heavy weapon; either his bulk was less muscle than he let on, or he lacked proficiency with the tetsubo.

No one else was out in this area. It would just be the two of them.

Kenji wasted no time using the dwindling light to quietly advance on the watchman's flank, a hand on the swords at his waste, ready to draw. When he was five steps away, the man, still unaware, began to shift the club onto his opposite shoulder, leaving him preoccupied and exposed. Kenji lunged and drew one katana, the shortened length of the blade making the draw faster than it would've been at full length, and drove the pommel into the man's elbow hard. The watchman choked on air as his elbow was forced the wrong way, forced to release the heavy club from that hand as he turned toward his attacker, only to meet the tip of Kenji's sword at his throat. He froze.

"Six seconds. Tell me who's inside," Kenji demanded.

"S-some guy dragged a girl in here earlier... He paid me to watch the door--"

"Only one man inside?"

The watchman nodded. Kenji stood straight and smiled.

"Thank you," he said.

The man heaved a heavy sigh and lowered his weapon to rest on the wall. By the time he made to look at the mercenary again, he found a sword pommel slamming hard into his temple. He slumped over against the wall, out cold. Kenji put his blade away and, after cracking the door and peering inside, slipped in.

Alone on the first floor, he spied a set of stairs on the left side of the room. Upon glancing up, he saw light seeping through the cracks in the floor. One such crack was big enough that he could see up into the next floor. He could only make out the dying evening light and a slender man holding a katana, standing above somebody else. His sister, no doubt. Steeling himself, Kenji crept quietly and carefully toward the staircase, then began his ascent up.

There was a landing between the two floors, where Kenji stopped and observed. The man seemed to be pacing back and forth now, as if becoming impatient. He could spy his sister nearby, clearly unconscious, bound with rope and blinded with cloth. A cut was visible on her ankle, not very deep at a glance. She was alright, albeit slightly hurt. Her state, however, did not excuse the man's transgressions. His tactics plotted out, Kenji rose and advanced confidently up the stairs.

Pausing in his pacing, the man turned to see Kenji, and offered a sly grin. "I was wondering when you would come. What kept you?"

Kenji shrugged. "Nothing, really. I must've found that note a good while after you visited."

"Oh? So you came straight away... What a loyal brother," the slender swordsman offered sarcastically as the two began to circle one another. "Do you remember me, shugyosha?"

"Vaguely. You look like the guy who was taking girls in Settsu."

"Until you meddled in my affairs," he sneered. "You simply couldn't leave well enough alone and let me tend to my business."

Kenji snorted, shaking his head. His eyes never left the swordsman. "Your 'business' intruded on the business of others. At some point or another, you should've expected that someone was going to wonder where all the girls were going."

Curiously, his adversary chuckled. "You're right, of course. I was doing bad things to good people, wasn't I? It was only natural that good parents will ask good samaritans to find their good little daughters, and save them from the bad men. Was that why you did it? To be a good man? Or maybe you were interested in a reward, hm~? Is greed then your motivator?"

"No," Kenji stated. "I was helping those in need. That's it."

"Oh, what a hero!" The sarcasm and venom in the swordsman's tone could've burned a hole in the floor. He smirked, "You must know why I took your kin, so I'll kindly skip that explanation... That said, we didn't get to fight last time, did we? You snuck in and bashed my head in good." He paused, drawing his blade and discarding the saya. There won't be any of that this time; if you want your sister, you'll have to beat me."

Kenji settled into a combat stance, his hands resting on his swords. He was confident, but focused. "I intend to."

The kidnapper came forth, katana in both hands and raised above his head. As he advanced to swing down, Kenji drew one of his short blades to guard. The moment contact was made, he stepped into a shoulder tackle, catching his opponent entirely off-guard and shoving him back, sword still held above. With no means of guarding, Kenji followed through into a dead charge, slashing for the man's abdomen. Fresh blood graced his weapon; a shallow cut, but enough to get his point across. Snarling, his opponent brought the katana before him in a center stance and moved for another attempt to strike.

Kenji parried the first hit and blocked the second, but the third sliced a neat furrow into his defending arm, and the fourth thrust slipped past his guard and toward his skull. Only by a timely tip of his head did he narrowly evade a premature death, the blade nicking his earlobe but otherwise harmlessly passing by. Even with his opponent's superior reach, he had to step in to make that thrust, bringing the two dangerously close. Kenji acted without hesitation, drawing his second sword and slamming the pommel into the kidnapper's solar plexus.

Winded and stunned, the slender swordsman found himself prey to Kenji's full counterattack. The first blade bit him under the wrists, leaving a cut not too deep, but none too shallow; he would have notable issues adequately striking now. The second blade whipped up to catch his chin from below, splitting it open. He stumbled back, the grip on his katana shaky. For every clumsy step backward, Kenji advanced a confident step forward, his arm dripping blood on the floor, but not to the degree of the swordsman before him, whose wrists wept freely with crimson tears.

"W-well done...! You are either very skilled, or very determined to take your precious sister back!" Attempting to regain his composure, the kidnapper swept his sword across in an arc that would normally be both precise and swift, but lacked neither the accuracy nor the agility to pass Kenji's defenses; it was wordlessly blocked with one of the mercenary's worn blades before the second came around to slash into one of his wrists. This cut was not as forgiving as the rest, and it showed as the man's hand was messily severed. "AAAAAGH!"

Kenji halted his advance as the swordsman fell onto his rear, lamenting the loss of his hand. "One of the girls came home missing a hand, just like you are now. How does it feel to be disarmed?"

"You... Y-you arrogant, meddling bastard!" Kenji's straight-faced joke had infuriated the already vengeful kidnapper, and he thusly rose back to his feet, clutching his katana in the damaged hand that remained. With a battle cry, he ran at the merc and swung wildly.

Though weakened and bleeding out, his adversary was nonetheless skilled enough to be a viable threat. The majority of his flurry of swings was parried away, but the odd cut would manage to sneak past Kenji's guard. All in all, he sustained an inch deep stab wound in his leg and another cut to add to the one on his arm, a third flesh wound lining his cheek from a particularly dangerous slash. By the end of it, however, Kenji still stood whilst the kidnapper was on his last legs, having expended what remained of his stamina.

The Miyamoto heir sheathed the sword his injured arm had been carrying and stepped forth with the other in hand. Panicking at his predicament, the kidnapper tried to step into a swing, but his damaged and exhausted wrist finally failed him, the sword falling well short of its mark and embedding itself into the floorboards. Kenji clenched his free hand and lunged into a straight punch for the man's throat, trapping his breath within. He withdrew it, only to slash his leg up in a high kick that connected with the man's already injured jaw, throwing his head back and leaving his bludgeoned neck wide open. "Ghck--!" Stomping his foot back down, Kenji brought his short blade up and carved through his opponent's throat.

He unceremoniously slumped onto the floor, bleeding profusely. If by some miracle he had survived, the blood loss would do him in soon enough anyway. Kenji swept the blood from his sword and dropped it into its saya, exhaling, breathing out the fire in his lungs. With the fading adrenaline came the registration of pain; his arm and leg were hurting, though they'd survive. Still an uncomfortable damn feeling... As he looked over to his unconscious sister, he knew that a couple of injuries were worth it. Suguha was fine, and the pest before him would bother no one again. Today was, at the end of it all, a good day.

Maybe a little bloody, but a good day.

[Zhuo Jina]

Jina touched two fingers to the handle of the door leading into her home. She pushed and the door swung open, the lock having been broken. First, she had noticed that the grass next to the path to her front door had been stepped on, her first indication of an intruder. She had seen the door slightly ajar when she approached and now she was certain that some one was, or is, in her home.

She drew her rapier from it’s long sheath hanging from her belt. She was being quiet, knowing that whoever it was had broken in for something other than a friendly visit. The floorboards creaked beneath her feet, the house was likely older than she was.

Jina paused for a few seconds, hearing nothing from the other end of the hallway that was the extent of her home. She then walked forward, carefully but quickly, knowing that it was unlikely the intruder was still there. She peered into the kitchen, everything seemed to be in order. Though, in truth, the only thing of value she owned wasn’t stored in the kitchen.

Next, she proceeded down the hallway to where there was a social room, which wasn’t even furnished. The floor was dusty and there were no tracks in this room. She continued to the last room on the hallway, her bedroom. She approached slowly, fearing that someone may still be there. What she saw, though, boiled her blood.

Her bedroom had been torn to pieces. Her heart sank when she saw, almost immediately, that the secret compartment in the table next to her mat was laying on the ground. It was gone. Seeing no one, she rushed over and picked up the compartment. It was a small box, only large enough to hold something the size of a her fist. Inside she saw a note: “Time is running out.”

In anger, she threw the small wooden box to the floor, the seams of the wood cracking with the impact. She sheathed her sword and sat on her mat, head in her hands. The only thing she had now had been taken from her.

The item contained in the secret box was one given to her by the local wise woman. She had gone to see her after the most recent moon had passed, worried about her health. The wise woman had given her a small jade stone, said to have contained a spiritual medication, which would curb the evil soul inside her threatening to expose itself.

Jina wasn’t sure what exactly the stone did, but it didn’t really matter. Someone knew of her problem and was willing to break into her home in order to sabotage her best effort to start a positive life for herself. The theft of the stone was not just a problem for her own wellbeing, but a matter of honor.

Within minutes, Jina had packed a small knapsack filled with food, a wineskin (which she held water in) and the oils needed to clean her blade. She wasn’t sure where this journey would take her, but she figured she should start with the old woman she had gone to see so recently.
___

Jina approached the home of the wise woman, a small couple of rooms in the back of a well lit alley. She again sensed that something was wrong, drew her sword and continued forward. She knocked, and when there was no answer, she bashed the door open, snapping the hinges that held the old door in place. She slightly bruised her left shoulder in the process, but it wasn’t enough to stop her.

The sight that laid before her was a gruesome one. The old woman laid face down on the table in the small front room. Her hand was twisted, as if crushed by something, presumably the door when someone tried to enter by force. Jina knew immediately that the woman was dead. The odor of death penetrated the room, if the dried pool of blood across the table wasn’t enough of an indicator. Sheathing her sword, Jina stepped into the small home. Much like her own room, the place was trashed. Many objects had been taken, indicated by small dust-less spots left on tops of tables and shelves.

She approached the drawer where the woman had kept the stone prior to giving it to her. It hadn’t even been closed. She looked inside to find a piece of blood-smeared parchment that Jina had written her home address on so that the woman could find her if there was a problem. She lifted the parchment out of the drawer, then crumbled it. Someone was looking for her.

She left the alley quickly, hoping nobody had seen her enter. She knocked on the door to the small home outside the alley and a woman answered the door. She informed her of the death of the resident behind her, then asked if anyone had been there in the last few days.

This younger woman, likely of childbearing age, seemed distraught at the news of the death. She said that about two days prior, she had heard a ruckus in the alley behind her but before she could investigate, a man had left in a hurry, the door locked. She told me that she tried knocking on the door but she had just assumed that it had been some kind of spat between her and a relative. The door had, after all, been locked. Jina asked the woman about the man she had seen, maybe there would be some kind of lead.

Indeed, there was. The man sounded to be middle aged, but his most distinctive feature was the two white streaks of hair that framed his face. The man wasn’t old, the woman had told her, he must have been prematurely graying. That was enough.
___

The town Jina lived in wasn’t big, maybe two hundred people. A man with something so noticeable would be remembered, and he had to still be in town. In what seemed like no time, Jina had found the inn where the man was staying. With no time to lose, she informed the innkeeper of what her intruder had done to the wise woman, and invited him to go get the town officials. He left quickly and Jina proceeded down a long hallway of rooms until she reached the one where the innkeeper told her the man had been staying. A blue ribbon hung across the handle to the door, telling others to stay out.

Jina shoved her sword between the door and the frame, prying it open with a loud snap. She raised her sword as the door swung open. Jina wasn’t afraid of what waited for her inside the room.

Both in their kimonos were a man, and what appeared to be a prostitute. They had been on the bed just inside the door, but now the man with the white hair held a small dagger to the throat of the poor woman.

Jina rushed forward, not giving the man any time to think. He jumped back out of the way of the blade, but in the process, slit the woman through essential arteries. The man stumbled into the wall behind him, and Jina immediately pressed her blade against his throat. Sounds of the woman bleeding to death could be heard behind her.

“Where is the stone?” Her voice was quiet but stern.

“S-s-stone?” The man sputtered his words, fear in his eyes.

“Yes, you broke into my home and stole a jade stone earlier today. I would like it back.”

At this point, Jina heard shouting down the hall, the military men had come. She pressed the blade into his jugular, a small bead of blood ran down, staining his kimono.

“You have seconds left.” Jina said.

“Tell me where my stone is and I won’t be the one to determine the punishment for your actions."

His hand raised, shaking, pointing to a shelf across the room. A small purple velvet bag sat on the shelf, something inside that was about the same size as her stone.

The military men burst into the room, the door had swung mostly shut after she entered. Jina stepped back, releasing the pressure of the blade and nodded at the man with the white streaks in his hair.

Soon, she had retrieved her stone, answered the questions of the military men and had begun to walk home. Rubbing the stone between her fingers, she wondered why it was so important that the man would kill to retrieve it. Her hunger outweighed her curiosity and she decided it was time to eat once she arrived home, leaving her bloody shoes and sword at the front door.

[Sanada Yukimura]

Since he had left the dojo after finishing his early morning daily training, as he made his way back home, the uneasy feeling that had nagged at him during the course of the day returned. At first he had he had written it off, with the war constantly waged between the Takeda faction and Uesugi faction, everyone was on edge. But the closer he got to his home, the more he felt uneasy, even starting to get a weird vibe from. As soon as he stepped into his home, he knew why. The aloe plant that Seiko had given to him as a gift... was gone. And in its place, in the alcove located behind his futon, was a card, with only four words written on the back: Time is running out.

All the color draining from his face, his unsettled state quickly turning into a piercing glare as he stared with cold fury at the message, wasting no time, he would quickly whirl around and take off at once, his face set as hard as flint. Based on the fact the ink on the card was still rather wet, it meant the thief had left not too long ago, and hadn't gotten very far yet. Quickly making his way through the bustling town, taking care not to knock anyone down or run into anyone, upon reaching the stables of Lord Takeda-sama's campsite, he would instantly go to Hayate, his horse, and quickly saddling up, would hightail it out of the town and into the countryside. With time not on his side, he had a lot of ground to cover, and no leads whatsoever. Galloping down the dirt path through the countryside, after many hours, he finally came upon a traveler walking the opposite way, the straw hat on his head hiding his face from view.

"Traveler!"

Yukimura would call out as he came to a halt beside the man, Hayate stamping the ground in slight impatience, as the man would stop and look up at Yukimura, a quizzical look on his face.

"Have you passed by anyone carrying a plant of sorts?"

---

"... Damn it!"

A voice would curse, as in the middle of a bamboo grove, a figure stood, looking down at the item in his hand, a wakizashi on his back.

"What the hell was my Lord thinking, asking me to steal this... this worthless thing? He said it was an important item to that general, Sanada Yukimura, but a plant? What the hell is so important about a plant!?"

"... Someone very important and dear to me gave me that plant."

The thief quickly whirling around, he would instinctively take a step back in fright as standing in front of him, was Yukimura himself, cold fury lining every part of his face.

"Give the plant back! Seiko-san's aloe plant is a gift from her to me. Give it back!"

"... Ha ha... HAHAHAHAHA! I can't believe you chased me all the way here, just to get a stupid plant back! Well General Sanada, if you want your precious plant back, just try to take it from me!"

The thief quickly disappearing from sight, Yukimura would keep his guard up, his spear in his hands, and at the sounds of whistling issuing from behind him, would quickly sweep his spear in an arc as he turned around, knocking kunai sent flying at him away. His eyes darting to the side to look behind him as the thief appeared behind him, with a quick twist, he would thrust his spear towards the man, the blade stopping mere inches from his chest.

"... Give it back, now. Or you will find this blade buried in your chest."

"Y-you don't have the guts to kill me!"

"Are you daring me? But you're right, I won't kill you."

Slashing his spear once to the right, then once to the left, across the man's thighs and legs, he would cry out in agony and drop to his knees, blood flowing from his legs.

"I'll just injure you to the point that you'll have a hard time moving. Run back to your Lord and give him this message: The next thief that tries this, will not be so lucky."

Stabbing his spear into the man's thigh, causing him to cry out in agony once more, he would then remove his spear and picking up the plant the thief dropped, would leave him to bleed. Returning to his horse, he would climb up onto the saddle, before looking up at the sunset sky, letting out a sigh. Everything Seiko gave to him, whether it was tending to his injuries or giving him a gift, was precious to him, and he would do anything to protect her. Anything. Cracking Hayate's reins, he would take off back towards Kofu, the plant that seemed idiotic to go after by the thief in his hand.

(OOC: Word count without BB coding and this Out of Character note: 817. And EXP please.)

[Ichimura Ryunosuke]

As he went home to his smithy after a long day of vending his wares, Ryunosuke felt something weird. He had sold all of his wares that were made that day, yet a deep anxiety loomed on his countenance. He wondered why that feeling was still with him He then noticed, as he walked around the smithy, that the door to his sleeping quarters was left ajar. Normally he closed that door before leaving the smithy, which made him more anxious. He opened the door, and saw a note lying on a side table. He picked up the note, and on it was written a phrase, and Ryunosuke said aloud the words on the note: "Time is running out." He then muttered, "What did the person meant by that...!" Only then did Ryunosuke remember what is on the side table, and he knew what that note meant. After locking the room and the smithy, he sprinted out of the marketplace.

The road to Shinano was somewhat filled with a lot of curves, but since Ryunosuke knew that way while he was still a blacksmith serving the Takeda, he moved through the forests and jungles, carving a straight path towards the nearest Takeda outpost. But, as he was a fugitive from the Takeda, he did not enter there. He just hid beneath the grass, traversing that path from Shinano back to Totomi. As he was moving back to Totomi under the shadows, he saw a man traversing the road to the outpost. As he moved closer, he saw that it was a fellow member of the Totomi militia. He then looked again at the note. As that man was also of his unit, he had the chance of seeing his handwriting. And his handwriting seemed to fit the calligraphy of the note that was in his hand right now.

He quietly moved back nearer towards Shinano, and then pretended to be a casual passerby until he met the man. He then said, "What are you doing here in the middle of the night?" The other man appeared to be caught red-handed, which reinforced Ryunosuke's thoughts. He then continued, "This is the road to the holdings of the Takeda in Shinano. You're a Totomi militia, and you're traveling to Shinano in the middle of the night. Did you mean to betray the interests of our prefecture to the Takeda?"

At that instant the man drew his katana. He then said, "You are always a thorn in my side while I am aspiring to be the nest militia commander. You had always passed all of the challenges given to you, you had the highest bandit body count of all the militia, and what's more, the militia commander had a high opinion of you. Those achievements should be reserved for me! But now, since I knew your identity, I had more chances of being a close retainer of the Takeda. In a way you will help me mold my destiny!"

"Ah," Ryunosuke said, as if the man's words did not matter much to him, "so you're the one who stole my necklace."

"Oh, this?" The man showed something on his hand. It was a necklace, and what dangles from it is carved from a large round bronze piece, and what is carved is the mon of the Murai family of blacksmiths of Shinano.

"When I give this to the Takeda, and tell them that the Totomi prefecture is harboring a deserter from their ranks, they will surely attack Totomi, and when they succeed, I'll be assigned as the daimyo of Totomi, and I will be huge! HUGE!" The man burst out laughing. "But since you have discovered my plot, I will also bring your corpse to the Takeda, and it will accelerate my fame! Prepare to die, Murai Ryunosuke!" While saying those words, he charged towards Ryunosuke. But Ryunosuke only drew his gun-blade, aiming at the man.

"Surely that would only fire after some seconds! You'll die before you fire the shot!" The man said as he closes in on Ryunosuke within 5 paces.

Ryunosuke only said, "Sorry, you're too late to dodge this," before pulling the trigger. The barrel shook instantly as he pulled the trigger, discharging a round that hit the forehead of the man, and penetrated to the other side of his head, and the man fell on the ground. He then picked up the necklace that fell on the ground with the man, and went back to Totomi.

"That's for messing up with my past and endangering the land that accepted me," he muttered.

((Taking the +4 XP if possible.))

[Amakusa Takehiro]

It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon, and Takehiro was going about his usual business, skipping around the country in giant leaps that no one had ever seen as possible throughout their lifetime. In a single bound, he covered more distance than a carriage could, traveling along side him, and jumped higher than a burly man could throw a sack of sand. Needless to say, Takehiro felt wonderful, happy, free. There was not a single thing that could deter him this day, as life was basically perfect.

Singing happily, the dark mercenary looked all around him to view the wonderful, beautiful landscape of Japan, expecting to see only that. However, as he observed his surroundings, he would see a man, stark naked, leaping higher and farther than he ever could, even in his wildest dreams! He came crashing to the ground heavily, dirt flying up into the air in a cloud of dust! As he fell, so too did his self-esteem, his self-worth as a warrior. He felt like he was the highest, furthest jumper in all the land, and then he saw this naked man jumping even more freely, his manhood and hair flowing in the breeze so perfectly as if to taunt Takehiro, and assert that he would never be worth anything as a Samurai. Even worse, as he fell to the ground, a note would fall from between the naked man's legs, falling atop Takehiro's forehead. It read, simply, "Time is running out."

In that moment...

... his pride...

... was stolen.

"Oh, how fare thee, traveler?" The man asked, landing gracefully at Takehiro's side, shortly after he had fallen from grace. He smiled down on him, and that kind smile on the naked man only served to taunt him, angering him. Without speaking a single word, the mercenary stood to his feet, pushing the naked man aside. Intent on proving his worth, he dashed forward, leaping as high and far as he could into the air. Catching on quickly, the naked man simply laughed, taking off after Takehiro and leaping even higher and further. Every bound he made just continually cemented the fact that Takehiro was nothing compared to him.

"How dare you mock me?!" he cried, the naked man turning around with a puzzled expression. By the look on his face, it seemed evident he meant no harm. "Why, whatever do you mean, my good man?"[/font] He seemed thoroughly offended. Takehiro, however, was not having any of that! With an almighty roar (Yukimura anyone?) he would slam the flat of his glaive into the man's kneecap and shatter it, and he would fall to the floor in pain.

"OH GOD! WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?! DO YOU EVEN REALIZE HOW MUCH THIS HURTS?! DO YOU?!" The mercenary simply knelt down and stared him in the eye. "You stole my pride. Because of this, I will still your ability to ever jump again, and my pride will return to me."

And that is the cheery story of how Takehiro got his pride back.

[OoC: Word Count: 486 and then some. Ideekay. Exp please.]

[Takeda Shingen]

Alright, it's officially March 1st, so this Monthly is now closed.

EXP awarded to Kuroshi Maki, Yamabara Shou, Shinomori Katsumi, Morei Haji, Ichimura Ryunosuke, and Amakusa Takehiro.

Money awarded to Miyamoto Kenji and Zhuo Jina.

I can't award EXP to myself, so if another staff member could award it, that would be fabulous~

[Uesugi Kenshin]

Money 4 EXP awarded to Sanada Yukimura. Yaaaay!