Art Thou Not Prepared? Art Thou Greatly Entertained?

[Takahashi Aki]

(This is going to be a massive silly topic filled with tropes, references, and other terrible things in the form of a grand illusion gone wrong)

Sousuke grumbled as he worked his way through the dojo. What a mess. What a colossal mess. Did Kuro ever realize how messy this part of the dojo was? This was absurd. The Steward battle through a mountain of rubble and found himself in a part of the dojo he had never been to. The place looked like it hadn't been used in years. Did his brother ever forget about rooms? He must have given this room. As the Steward worked his way in, he blasted some of the rubble. Maybe he was doing Kuro a favour by re-discovering this room. The dust was absurd. It was messing with his lenses. The Steward removed his face plate mask, and found himself ... well ... not in Kansas.

Kansas? Really? Is that the best you could think of? The Steward never heard of Kansas. He blinked several times. He looked skyward at some unseen force that had deliberately again decided to throw him into a scenario that was well beyond what he should be capable of. He sneezed. What. What was this? Fur? Sure. Kuro had a feline form, but he could take the cat fur. This was something not right. Kuro had some pets of his own, but ... they were manageable.

As the Steward journeyed deeper into the room ... he found himself surrounded by large bones. Elephant bones? Kuro always had a large appetite ... but where did he ever get the imports? "Feels more like an elephant graveyard than a buffet line."<i></i> Sousuke observed out loud. Again he sneezed. There was something in the air he was allergic to. "Does it always smell like this? Does Kuro think to let the wind in here to get rid of this awful smell?"<i></i>

Bones. Tusk. Rotting flesh. Wait. The Steward turned to his left and inspected the flesh that twas indeed rotting. He was not prepared for it. He should have been given the absurdity of this place. The Steward merely charged his palm and fired a beam of plasma at it to eradicate the mess that was not sensational news. Especially to his nose. The smell was worse now. There was a burnt smell in the air. "Why have I been caught unawares. Usually a plasma blast of that level will disintegrate anything. What is with the smell... this is utterly disturbing."<i></i> The Steward's eyes widened as he looked down at himself. Okay. No shirt. He was wearing pants, but not his usual pants. These were fur lined shorts. His shoes. Where did they go too? Sandals replaced his shoes. "Clearly I am not prepared ."<i></i>

As the Steward finished his sentence a grand chorus of voices crying 'BE PREEEPPAAAREED' boomed from the distance. The Steward sighed and summoned the Ebon Blade. The sword was larger than he remembered it to be. He held it with two hands and looked about. Just who was singing?

 

[Surutameni]

"BE PREEEPPAAAREED!"​

Singing voices drifted towards Surutameni as he wandered around the Toraono Dojo for what was probably the tenth time. His explorations had turned up nothing until the voices came to him. "How peculiar..." His mind raced with ideas of what it could be, and once more his curiosity got the better of him. The young boy worked his way to a room that had previously been blocked off by rather large amounts of rubble. As he approached the singing voices became louder and a rather nasty smell wafted over his sense. He sneezed suddenly, sending dust particles floating off in a different direction, the force knocking him on his rump in front of the opening. Amber gaze locked within the foggy room, he spied another Shinobi ahead of him. "Who could that be?" He pondered for a moment before noticing that the man was wearing nothing but sandals and fur-lined shorts, and was wielding a rather obnoxiously large sword in his hands.

Surutameni gathered himself and stood, proceeding into the poorly lit room, his curiosity continuing to drive him forward. It took him a few moments to actually get closer to the man that was in the room, but as he stepped in, something seemed to change. There were glowing eyes all around and there were bones, so many bones, of things he knew nothing of originally. The single thought of Elephants ran through his head, causing the boy to blink in confusion. "Is that what these things are...? Elephants...?" He mumbled more to himself than anyone in particular.

A light breeze distracted him as it was surprisingly cold despite the clothes he was wearing which caused him to look down at himself. Just like the man ahead of him, he was now wearing no shirt, instead only a meager scrap of cloth that could barely be called shorts and a pair of poorly crafted leather sandals. The furs were itchy and caused Surutameni great discomfort, he wiggled about trying to adjust them. When all of a sudden he felt something cold and wet brush his leg. He yelped and bolted forward into the figure ahead. Looking back, he saw something strange, a canine looking creature with rather large rounded ears, and a mouth that dripped with saliva as it licked it's lips.

 

[Takahashi Aki]

Suru stumbled into Sousuke the Steward turned around and absent mindedly he did not look down. He swung his sword around missing Suru several times. "Huh?"<i></i> He finally looked down and found the boy. He noticed that Suru seemed to be very much in the same predicament. "Well met."<i></i> Sousuke spoke as he then learned of the predator that passed by Suru. "Kuro really needs to ... control the animals in his realm. I did not think he would keep hyenas in his realm... but then again I'm not sure he's aware of the realm he has. Someone in his ancestry made poor real estate decisions when they were granted the deed to these fierce and savage lands. "<i></i> Fierce and savage? Those were not words in Sousuke's usual line up. He blinked, and his brows furrowed. Really? He did just say those words.

The hyena proceeded to foam at the mouth. Well this is not good. The creature threw itself at Sousuke. The Steward swung the sword, but not the blade portion in particular, rather the pommel. He bashed the mad creature in the head with enough force to knock it out cold. The Steward then began to chuckle. What a bash that was. Upon realizing his obnoxious chuckle, Sousuke went silent. It was a very strange thing. He blinked several times. "The brutality of animals is no laughing manner. It is something that is of great concern, even if they are rabid vile creatures who will probably try to eat us."<i></i> That's the spirit. Assert the fact that no real animals were hurt in this. Yes! Then you want to assert that the animal population needs to be controlled. "Kuro needs to spade and neuter these animals, or else their population will grow out of control. I fear this is what has happened... Surutameni."<i></i> Yes. This is what we call the Bob Barker Treatment. Animal rights are great. "Granted I would not do that to my Husky. I very much wish for her to have a litter of adorable little husky puppies."<i></i> Again. the words coming out of Sousuke's mouth surprised him. Adorable. Yep. He said it.

Sousuke's eyes would narrow as he heard a series of horns go off. He was being messed with. It was mind numbing. It hurt his mind. "Between the foul chorus singing at us to be prepared, and now this foul horn playing ... I am greatly annoyed, I would say I am ... angered even by this. "<i></i> He let go of the sword, and held it with one hand. Surprisingly given the size of the weapon it was remarkable he did not drop it. Sousuke was not muscle bound to the extreme, but he certainly looked stronger than he normally would. He began to super charge plasma energies. He then held out said hand and blasted something in the distance. He did in fact hit something as something fell from the mountain of bone in the background. A very smug smile appeared on Sousuke's face. He seemed happier with himself. Maybe hit the person who played the failure noise. "Primus sends his regards."<i></i> He would then turn his attention back to his company. Sousuke seemed troubled. "We are short some animal companions. My husky Kitchy and your crow... Umei? No I am certain it is named Unmei."<i></i> As if on cue, the husky Kitchy was on the scene. The great grey lady husky let out a series of barks. She sat at Sousuke's side, as the Steward petted her. "Your Crow. I am certain it should be able to arrive in a timely and most epic fashion."<i></i>

 

[Surutameni]

"Well met." The older Shinobi in front of Surutameni acknowledged his existence at that point, as well as the existence of the Hyena threat. "Kuro really needs to ... control the animals in his realm. I did not think he would keep hyenas in his realm... but then again I'm not sure he's aware of the realm he has. Someone in his ancestry made poor real estate decisions when they were granted the deed to these fierce and savage lands. " The boy glanced up at Sousuke, the words he was using did not seem to be intentional, nor used frequently, as apparent by the confused look on his face.

"Hey! Uhm... Have you got any idea where we have stumbled into, this place seems kind of weird..." Surutameni trailed off and proceeded to scratch the back of his head while kicking a rock idly in the general direction of the menacing animal. He was rather unsure of what events had transpired to actually bring this place into an abandoned room at the Toraono Dojo, but something did, and something had brought him and the Steward into it as well. No sooner had Suru turned, the only adult in the room turned on the rapid hyena, and bashed it over the head with the pommel of his blade. That's new... Surutameni paused in mid-thought at the rather awkward choice of damage dealing. His new found friend and savior seemed to have a rather strange way of dealing with things, because rather than killing it, the creature was knocked out, it's drool making a puddle beneath it's rather obnoxious head. Upon hearing the chuckle that broke from Sousuke's being, the boy turned his amber gaze to his figure and stood there dumbfounded. "Wha---?" He was cut off as the Steward justified his actions with something Suru had thought he would have not understood until this moment. This room was doing strange things to his tiny brain.

"The brutality of animals is no laughing manner. It is something that is of great concern, even if they are rabid vile creatures who will probably try to eat us." That's the spirit. Assert the fact that no real animals were hurt in this. Kuro needs to spay and neuter these animals, or else their population will grow out of control. I fear this is what has happened... Surutameni. Granted I would not do that to my Husky. I very much wish for her to have a litter of adorable little husky puppies." Surtameni closed his eyes and just shook his head, it was apparent that the so-called 'adult' in the room, wasn't acting very adult like. Puppies? Since when would there ever be mentioning of puppies? Unless of course, a girl was involved.

"Sousuke, sir. Puppies sound fabulous!" The boy blinked. Wait... Didn't I just.... Fabulous? He shook his head once more. No, puppies are cute and adorable... His head was spinning and he was seriously unsure of whether or not he truly wanted to open his mouth again. For fear that his words would once more betray him. Lost in a war in his own head Suru almost missed the three horn blasts, but thankfully they were loud enough to startle the boy, not to mention pierce his very brain. He jumped, and nearly climbed up the side of the man next to him. Thankfully he didn't, while he had no fear that Sousuke would be able to hold his meager weight, he wasn't quite sure of what would happen if he did. "I would probably be bashed over the head just like that hyena...." he mumbled under his breath, taking care to make sure that even if he was heard, it would be nearly intelligible.

"We are short some animal companions. My husky Kitchy and your crow... Umei? No I am certain it is named Unmei." The fluffy canine Sousuke had mention then, in the most odd fashion, bounded into the room and sat next to the Steward, who then proceeded to give her a gentle pat. "Your Crow. I am certain it should be able to arrive in a timely and most epic fashion." The boy nodded and no sooner once again, had the animal been mentioned, did he burst through the foggy opening cawing, announcing his arrival. It was like magic. The bird dove towards Surutameni, and then shot up near the ceiling of the room, he then began spiraling downward and doing a few loop-de-loops before alighting upon his chosen master's shoulder. The boy laughed and smiled at his companion. "Hey you!" Unmei squawked in response nuzzling his cheek against Suru's. Which was something the bird would have never done originally, this room, it was affecting even the animals. What would they do next? Talk?

 

[Takahashi Aki]

Sousuke was not a very tall person. It was a very strange sight to see a human hanging off of him, as the sound of the horns inspired fear in him. Sousuke stood firmly, and surprisingly held his own in terms of the weight. Suru wasn't heavy, but Sousuke wasn't known for having great strength. He was more known for his MASSIVE INTELLECT. Well, it wasn't so massive now. It was more of a delayed intellect. He merely had to have a few extra seconds, or even a minute for the answer to arrive, like a pizza delivery man showing up at your door at the twenty-one minute mark when they said twenty minutes or it is free. The Steward's eyes would narrow as he would look skyward with disdain. Something was amiss in the Force. Wait. Wait. Let's do this one year later. Yes. One year and... not quite one year later more like fifteen days less of a year later. BONK. BONK. No more. Onward. Back to business.

Surutameni inquired of Sousuke where they were. "We are in the Toraono dojo... or somewhere that should be inside the Dojo. I knew the place was vast and quite large but not this large... my parent's house isn't even a fraction of this homestead. This place is quite strange isn't it?"</B><i></i> It was then the Steward noted that his companion had a scar across his face in a similar fashion to his own. "Your scar. Did you pick a fight with a self-proclaimed phantasm xenomorphic humanoid entity in the basement of the hospital?"<i></i> The Steward did not expect the answer to be yes. If it was then he would verily and deeply disturbed.

Kitchy in response to the question let out a series of woofs. She shook her head no. Not that she was there to see it happen herself, but the probability was far too little to have such a thing occur twice. Sousuke had a habit of having strange things happen to him. The animal would do the most surprising thing next. She would not speak in the human tongue, but instead let out another series of barks. The Steward raised his eyebrow. Those barks would them turn into a growl. Something else was here. The Steward turned his head to see what exactly had gotten his canine's attention.

Sitting upon the mountain of bone was a very old looking lion with a crown made out of had to have been the tusks of miniature or dwarfed elephants. "..."<i></i> Sousuke covered his face with his palm. His hand slid down his face as the old crowned lion made a very human sounding noise that sounded like deep thinking. Then the hyena who was bashed in the head earlier would wake up and scramble topside to sit with another two hyenas who took to the sides of this devious looking crowned Lion. The aforementioned hyena continued to drool and foam at the mouth. Clearly a mad dog, and clearly his madness was not up for discussion amongst his peers.

It wasn't said, but this crowned lion seemed to be challenging Sousuke, Suru, Unmei, and Kitchy. The look in his eyes screamed YOU ARE NOT PREPARED. Perhaps to no one's surprise the actual words were then shouted out. Luckily, or unluckily the crowned lion did not utter these words. No facial gestures. No opening of the mouths. Nothing. Strangely though this crowned lion would direct his gaze to some shadowy figure upon another mountain of bones. Sousuke would turn his view to this new comer too. "YOU ARE NOT PREPARED!" He declared once more.

Following the taunt, the song from before kicked up. So prepare for a chance of a life time. Be prepared for sensational news. Just wait for it.... Be preeeepaaarrrreeed. The Steward let out a sigh. <B>"This has to be some sort of genjutsu. This is far too absurd to be real."<i></i> He observed. It was the probable answer. Nothing this crazy ever happened to him. "We are either going to have to play this out... or cause incredible amounts of pain to each other. Nothing hurts you, only pain. That's the nature of things."<i></i> After he said the later part, Sousuke seemed to be not too enthusiastic or happy about what he had said. It was an option. "Although ... it is probably much more favourable to cause pain to other instead of each other. I mean we're surrounded by wild animals, and a very wicked sounded and probably cruel man ... or monster."<i></i> He ruled a moment later.

 

[Surutameni]

Surutameni took a small moment to gather his thoughts as he climbed down off of Sousuke. The older Shinobi was much shorter than the amber-eyed boy had imagined, having heard a good number of stories about the Steward before having ACTUALLY met him. He finally took a second to look him over, noting the distinct scarring and the fact that he too carried a massive bladed weapon. He let out a soft sigh and gathered himself, the horn blasts had startled him, but it was nothing in the long run that would cause him severe discomfort.

"This place is quite strange isn't it?"

The boy blinked and nodded. The place was strange and the happenings were even more so. Suru brushed the backs of his hands over his face, trying to take everything all at once seemed to be a monumental affair. "Your scar. Did you pick a fight with a self-proclaimed phantasm xenomorphic humanoid entity in the basement of the hospital?" He glanced over to his new found compatriot, who he assumed he would be calling friend shortly if they managed to live through these events, and shook his head. "No, I acquired these scars before I was born..." He paused for a moment thinking back to what he had been told, "At least that's is what Yamamoto-sensei told me." He idly raised a hand to trace over the scars that lined his features. As he did his crow, Unmei, squawked eagerly as he bobbed his head with Surutameni's response to Sousuke.

The growls of Kitchy brought Suru's attention away from the Steward and towards whatever she was looking at. The sight of the lion with the bone crown stunned him for a few moments, his breathing stopped and his heart raced. This place was turning into some of his worst nightmares it would seem. The added shout of "YOU ARE NOT PREPARED!" only drove the boy further into a panic, he had never experienced these sorts of things, and for never really having gone on a mission to test himself, this was starting to be a terrible a place to have come to. The previously stunned hyena suddenly regained consciousness and bolted over near the lion, and next to.. Oh wait.. Two MORE hyenas. The boy looked once more to Sousuke, hoping that the man would tell him what to do.

"We are either going to have to play this out... or cause incredible amounts of pain to each other. Nothing hurts you, only pain. That's the nature of things." After he said the later part, Sousuke seemed to be not too enthusiastic or happy about what he had said. It was an option. "Although ... it is probably much more favorable to cause pain to other instead of each other. I mean we're surrounded by wild animals, and a very wicked sounded and probably cruel man ... or monster." He ruled a moment later.

Surutameni's jaw hung open, he definitely didn't want to have to fight his friend, so the idea of beating the animals and the humanoid creature sounded like a better idea. Although, even that seemed almost impossible, seeing as there were more of the others than themselves. "I definitely am going to choose to beat these animals... And that... Thing." He gestured towards the 'monster'. "Though... I do have to admit, I do not have much faith in myself for this." He looked to the ground only for a brief moment before drawing his blade, Shukketsu kurō, and readying himself for whatever happened next.

 

[Takahashi Aki]

While they were indeed surrounded by enemies, the Steward took time to consider what Suru had said. He had scars before he was born? "Most curious."<i></i> How could one be born with scars? "You must have vanquished a terrible foe while growing in your mother's wombs. What a fascinating thing to consider. People like to talk about my birth being wildly exceptional ... like there being two moons in the sky at the same time, or Mother Suna coming from the heavens to deliver me to my parents. There's also some random rumor about trees whispering my name upon my birth."<i></i> Yes. Historians do like to suggest crazy things. "None of them are likely. Impossible to be honest. I don't know why they're trying to make my birth so significant. Nothing special really happened in accordance with my parents."<i></i>

The crowned lion, the monster, and the hyena each stared at Sousuke as he detailed his birth. The crowned lion had an expression of his face of extreme boredom. The monster-man let out a yawn. Yes. Humans how exceptional they are. ... NOT ... Both villianous parties seemed quite pleased when Suru spoke of combat. Yes. Combat. The thrill of life. "I'm technically not an animal. Then again humans are animals. They're on the higher point of the food chain." The Monster-man finally spoke in a growling voice. "I'm on top of the food chain-- wait. What? Whaaaaaat?" The crowned lion and his hyenas lackeys seemed to offer him a defiant look. This crowned lion was not going to be a monkey's uncle. He was a lion. He was on top of the food chain too. Lions ate humans, and monster-men alike.

Suru admitted to have a lack of faith. In response the Steward shook his head. "I find your lack of faith disturbing."<i></i> It was spoken rather ominously. Yes. "Primus will aid us."<i></i> The old religion. Primus turned the tide of battle and had slain both Fuujin and Homura. The Steward gripped his colossal weapon. The weapon would transform from a long sword to a rune blade. With a weapon like this, was it possible that the Steward would sacrifice everything for his people and become a very menacing king who sat on some northerly throne? Well. Probably not. After all Sousuke had used this weapon in this form several times before.

First and foremost. No need to worry. Sousuke didn't want to sit a crown on his head. Crowns are so very hard to balance, and they are infuriating in the extreme. Full plate helmets were so much better. Sousuke would step forward to begin an attack, but then he was stopped as a lightning bolt had hit the floor. He raised an eyebrow and looked up. Was Katuso around? Storms don't usually generate inside. "This just got weird."<i></i> The Steward stepped forward again. There was no lightning bolt going off. The Steward looked about more. What other shadowy figures were lurking about? Magic? It frightens you, and you will have to deal with it. So long as there were no evil sorceresses about. Then agaaaain. It was probable. Sorceresses had their magic and their fiendishly good looks. You could argue that Yume was a sorceress to some degree given that she had casted a 'love spell' on Sousuke, or that she had fiendishly good looks. The Steward's eyes narrowed as he looked skyward. He seemed very very angry now. Was it the accusation that his lover was a sorceress? Or the fact that ... wait. Replace lover with girl friend, or as Yume calls it beau. Lover was ... not quite the right term. Yet. Maybe it's best we put this topic to rest.

Back to action. The Steward stepped forward again and vanished into a blur. Each of their foes before them was dealt a slash to the face. Now everyone had facial scars. Now that is what we called a warning cut. "You seem to be reasonably prepared." The monster-man spoke. The Crowned Lion who now had two scars merely growled. He raised his paw and waved his minions to attack. The three hyenas descended down the mountain of bones and after Suru. These creatures weren't ... terribly graceful as two of them stumbled their way down the mountain of bones. The crowned lion seemed to retreat... he would return but later of course.

As for the monster-man? Where did he go? Obviously he was prepared for this. Another time of course.

(MFT 748)

 

[Surutameni]

Surutameni shook his head in response to Sousuke's comment about his scars, he hadn't vanquished some evil and vicious foe within in mother's womb, it was a lot more simplistic than that. "My mother was attacked, they were trying to kill her and me at the same time. These scars are from blades. I'm apparently some prince or another, though that I still do not believe very much." He murmured softly. "And you're just... weird." The last comment was more of an observation due to the current antics that the steward was displaying within the room. His attention swung to the monster-man as he spoke of humans and the obvious fact that he wasn't an animal. He snickered as an idea grew within his mind when the crowned lion and his hyena friends seemed to have become offended at the monster had not stated they were also on top of the food chain.

The boy slowly took a hand from his weapon and gently poked his companion in the side, "I think there is a way we can make this easier..." He was cut off as a crackle and loud snap broke through the relative silence of the place. The lightning flash lit up the surrounding area for a brief moment before fading away. Surutameni blinked his eyes rapidly trying to get his vision to focus from the near blinding sensation. He rubbed his amber eyes with the backs of his hand, finally clearing his vision once again. He looked around trying to see if he could spot any new, but alas, there seemed to be no one.

The young Shinobi watched in awe as the Steward stepped forward and attacked their enemies without warning. "You seem reasonably prepared." Was the only response that came from the group of villainous cohorts. Shortly there after the Crowned Lion raised his paw and the three hyenas once more descended, not gracefully mind you, upon the two waiting below as the Lion left the area.

"Now what?" Surutameni shifted his grip upon his blade as he watched the stumbling creatures approach.

 

[Takahashi Aki]

"I get that alot."<i></i> Sousuke heard Suru speak of him being weird. Well yes. Why not be weird? Being normal was overrated. If you don't have weird adventures then you cannot have wild and exciting adventures. When you have that happens, then BE EXCELLENT TO EACH OTHER, AND PARTY ON DUDES. That is what is best in life. Well, what is also best in life? To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women. Yes. That is good too. Although if you asked Red Sonja, she would reverse women, with men. Warrior women were a very fierce breed. Sword and sorcery is what we have here. The very best of it.

"Well. I trust you know to stick them with the pointy end."<i></i> Sousuke paused for a moment. "Well you already know that, maybe you just wish to proceed to straight decapitations."<i></i> He suggested. Yes. Yes. That's how you do it.

As the clumsy hyenas made their way down, the three of them would attempt to surround Suru. Two of them would attack from the front, and the other would come from behind. You could say they came from-- oh you know how this goes. He came from behind. Yes. I'm not going to give you the reference link to this. Why? Well, because ... I'd rather not tell you so. Even I have a secret or two to keep you up at night. Anyways. Yes. So. Triangle formation. Maybe Suru should ... do a barrel roll? Wait. Wait. Is doing so really the best option? No. I don't think so.

Pending the results of the first triangle attack, the hyenas would then attack once more. You know, if you fail, try try again? I suppose it might work a second time. Probably not. Suru was used to this wasn't he? He already had time to see this foolish attack work a few seconds ago. Then again we...

"Suru. Side step to your left slightly. Whirlwind slash."<i></i> Sousuke would comment. He wasn't watching combat. He seemed to be looking to the sky for something. He seemed to think that Suru could handle himself, but hey a little coaching always helps. It's not like he doesn't care. Suru was a prince. "The term prince is very loose, are we talking about Machiavelli princes? Which really are just warlords, or are we talking about someone from an actual line, and not some murderous and blood thirsty warlord who merely claims a land because not of a history, but because might is right?"<i></i>

(MFT 431)

 

[Surutameni]

The boy rolled his eyes as his superior reminded him to 'stick them with the pointy end' of his weapon. He sighed and watched as the Hyenas completed their descent and rounded upon him. Surutameni was smallish in stature but he didn't care that he was and knew if he was skilled enough it would make no difference. He took a moment to steady his quickening breath as the animals took their positions and attacked him. Within a second the younger Shinobi leapt into the air sword raised slightly, the hyenas missed their chance and crashed into each other, face first. They yipped and howled as their fangs connected with another's head, not realizing that the human above them still had yet to land. During his rather impressive maneuver Suru kicked both of his legs downward, each foot connecting with a thunk and a surprised squeal from the two creatures who's skulls had the unfortunate chance of meeting the blows. Surutameni finished returning to the ground with a back-flip that was a bit of a flourish instead of a necessity, and chuckled to himself, pleased with the effects of his counter. He looked to the hyenas as they once more stood and face him. Although two of them did not seem so enthusiastic, their pride was hurt and it was apparent by their constant sniveling. The young boy grasped his sword in both hands as they charged again, and as Sousuke rattled off the movements, Surutameni did just that. The heads of the hyenas would be sent either hurtling away or just rolling off to the sides of their bodies in a rather unpleasant manner.

Suru took the time to shake and wipe the blood from the weapon before he looked over to the Steward who was now asking questions about the meaning of the term 'prince' that he had used earlier. "We are talking about a real line here, apparently. Like I said Yamamoto-sensei told me this. I honestly have no idea if it is true or not." He paused a moment looking over his weapon making sure that there was no longer any 'disgusting' animal blood upon the black metal surface. "But I would really like to find out some day!" His voice in the last statement was a mix of curiosity, excitement, and even potentially sorrow, although if asked about it he would not admit it.

 

[Takahashi Aki]

Sousuke clapped his hands as he watched Suru put down the hyenas. "Well done lad. Well done."<i></i> He spoke awkwardly in a tone not fitting of him. The tone if it had to be inquired was of a scottish heritage belonging to one very fine gentleman by the name of Sean Connery. Great Scoot I say. We've done it. We've finally done it. The Steward upon realizing his own voice had changed grew annoyed. "Something is constantly messing with us. I dare say, if it bleeds we can kill it."<i></i> The statement was true as he did shoot the player of the loud and very annoying instrument some time ago. This time Sousuke's voice did not have the strange elderly man tone it had. His brows proceeded to unfurrow as he was greatly pleased with this development.

Kitchy let out a few barks. It wasn't the sort of warning cry. It was happy sort. She seemed pleased with the knowledge of what Suru was. A prince? A prince he was! Not a pauper. Or maybe he was a prince that was a pauper. Sousuke looked at Suru's weapon. "Son, I think we need to establish an inventory for you. If we're going to be killing bad guys, we need to have something that doesn't look like its gonna break after a few swings."<i></i> He paused for a moment. It wasn't that Suru had good steel on him. He merely needed ... something should his steel fail him. Sousuke surveyed the surroundings as he gripped the Black Blade. "Let's get out of this place. Surely there are better places to be than an elephant's graveyard."<i></i> Kitch barked in agreement, and the two of them proceeded to follow what was a pathway. "Come now Prince Suru. I am not forging you a weapon in a place like this. Surely we can figure our way out of this place and into something more ... well something reasonable."<i></i>

Should Suru follow Sousuke, they would move out of what seemed to be an elephant's graveyward and seemingly more into a barren landscape. Very flat. Very dusty. Very lonely. Except for a single tent in the distance. "Not sure if Kuro is aware he has squatters in his lands."<i></i>

 

[Surutameni]

Surutamenti shot the older Shinobi a strange look, there was an odd tone in the man's voice, it betrayed something that seemed far older than the person in front of him. It made the boy question who Sousuke was in reality, seeing as this place was indeed strange as well, and had some sort of effect on how the two acted, and even looked. Never-mind that really, the odd accent made him snicker nonetheless and he covered his mouth swiftly to avoid a complete outburst of hysterical laughter and thus avoiding potentially enraging his companion more. Suru just shrugged his shoulders and agreed with the last statement, it was true and there was no part of him that could really deny that fact.

The bark of the Steward's dog, Kitchy, drew Suru's attention, and he smiled at the animal. It was so happy, how could anything be that happy? It baffled the boy. He knew there was a time where he was like that, but even though he was young a lot of his youthful joy of the world had drained. Maybe that was why he loved crows so much? They seemed just as serious as he was most of the time, those sorts of thoughts were just rolling through his mind as Sousuke spoke once again. Unmei squawked and postured, his feathers ruffling as if he was annoying, all the while just simply glaring at the older man. As his weapon was addressed the boy's amber eyes slowly rolled to the mentioned item. He groaned and slumped his shoulders. He loved this weapon, and was sure it wasn't going to break, but maybe the man knew more than he did. Maybe, just maybe age had a handle on that. "Really?" The word was drawn out and exaggerated by his lack of enthusiasm in the idea. "I don't think it's going to break.... but... If you say so."

Surutameni did indeed follow after Sousuke and his dog, Unmei winging his way high above them, definitely a good thing with all of the weird events in this crazy place. Should something try to approach them there was no doubt that the bird would set off an alarm, and probably dive bomb for good measure. The bird did indeed begin to squawk rather noisily as they approached the lone tent. It was getting hard to see with the dust flinging about if there was any wind, if not it was surely clear ahead, and Suru was just curious as to who in their right mind might sit alone in a barren wasteland. He snickered as his fellow Shinobi mentioned the fact that someone of Suru's supposed family might not know about this. How could they not? It was a barren place with ONE tent. Just one. "Who do you think would be here? It seems like this would be a rather boring area to be..."

 

[Takahashi Aki]

As the two approached the tent, a very not well dressed woman emerged from the tent. Now when we say she was not well dressed, she was not wearing much. Sousuke exchanged glances with Suru. This was who Kuro had on his lands, and did he realize that this woman probably belonged in the red light district. "Tis cold in my tent all alone." She spoke in a sickeningly sweet teasing way. The woman in question leaned forward slightly trying to let for all the maddening fanboys get an extra peek at some cleavage. The Steward looked the other way. "I'm thinking a couple of warm bodies next time mine might be very very warming indeed." She added. The expression on Sousuke's face went rather... disturbed. He began to back away. Crazy female woman who wanted men to keep her warm. Yes. This did not sound like a trap.

"I'm already taken... and I don't want to trust you..."<i></i> With that said Sousuke grabbed Suru and made a mad dash in some direction that was not here. Kitchy kept up with the lightning fast pace as Sousuke ran like a devil. Perhaps he was running with the devil. WHOOO WHOOOO RUNNIN' WITH THE DEVIL. Let me tell you all about it. Y'see Sousuke was not a cheating man. He was very honest. He was dating one woman. One. That was Sagau Yume. Yes. Now as it were that woman from before did not take well to being ditched. For she was in fact a very nasty evil sorcerer woman [I would link another scene from Conan here but I can't, due to various reasons]. She transformed into a snake and took after our young heroes. "Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes?"<i></i> He asked out loud as he was running and running quickly. This was the sort of thing he did not want to fight. Snakes were terrible creatures. Shedding skin. Poisonous. Annoying. Love issues. Oh yes. "Life lesson number fifty-seven. Women who are that forward cannot be trusted. Did she... is she still chasing us or is she... not?"<i></i> Sousuke would ask his fellow companion. "Mainly because... we will eventually have to stop and fight her if ... she is still giving chase to us. I'm not trying to ruin your love life but ... scientifically that woman would have ruined your bloodline, if she were to peruse you. You can't trust women like that. You sincerely cannot."<i></i>

 

[Surutameni]

The boy was rather confused about the whole ordeal with this woman, she was odd, and peculiarly, if not barely, dressed. He blinked and began to step forward, unable to control himself at this moment in time. Thankfully, Sousuke had snagged the back of his collar and yanked him away before the evil wench could do any harm. The boy yelped as his feet fell out from under him, and his arms flailing as he was pulled along, dust rising from under his heels.

"Oh no..." Suru groaned as the woman behind them shape-shifted into a scaled beast, a snake and chased them. His amber eyes snapped between the woman, the dog, and his very own crow as they kept moving. Sadly it was apparent that they could not outrun this creepy thing and Suru attempted to get his feet under him. "Sadly, Sousuke-chan, she still is..." As he spoke he finally managed to get his bearings and threw himself up along side the older shinobi, "So, should we stop and face her?"

[[OOC: short post is short D= ]]

 

[Takahashi Aki]

Guile's Theme... because it goes with everything. Even NC moments like this...​

Sousuke put the brakes on. He was skidding and dust was kicking up. Running was clearly getting them no where. Snakes didn't have legs and therefore they didn't get tired. Sousuke's expression turned to deadpanned. There was a very serious and concentrated look he had. It was time to go toe to toe with this foe. Truly and utterly. Holding Suru, Sousuke's eyes narrowed. "I suppose now is a good time more than ever to reveal my hand."</B><i></i> His field of vision became a series of points and notes about his foe's weakness. Snakes were always confident in their poisons... but what if the poison never touched the target. "Suru. Whatever you do keep your sword pointed forward. It is time... time for my ultimate technique..."<i></i> Sousuke grappled Suru. He held him with one arm around the waist. He held his other hand out with his index finger and middle finger out pointing at the oncoming snake. Sousuke took a deep breath and calculated.

"MYSTICAL ARTE: SURUTAMENI-DOKEN."​

Suru would then find himself being hurled at frightening speeds at the snake head first. Hopefully he was paying attention earlier. Let's be honest. We haven't had an exhibition of a hi-ougi in a loooooong time. At the very least it wasn't some sort of fail mystic art where the user questions it not working properly. Sure it looked like fighter-doken. It probably worked like fighter-doken but it was not fighter-doken. I think you get the idea. Right? Am I right? <B>"Suru. Remember what I told you. Blade forward. You'll go right through her like a power surge entering photonic ressonance on the fourth and fifth re-entry point."<i></i> Whether not not Suru could hear Sousuke was another matter entirely. He was just after all hurled at high speeds. The force at which he was thrown may have broken a barrier or two. Like a sonic boom.

 

[Surutameni]

No sooner had he gained his balance next to Sousuke, Suru was yanked backwards and over as the older ninja skidded to a halt. As his collar was jerked he turned his attention once again upon the elder shinobi, the look on his face was disconcerting and Suru's eyes searched the man's visage to see if he could figure out what he was thinking. It didn't take long as he was hoisted into the air. He noted the Steward's advice and as such, lifted his weapon and held it point first ahead of him. No sooner had he done that did he find himself sailing through the air at a high velocity.

As he was flying through the air, Suru attempted to think of some way to finish off the snake-woman once and for all. It wasn't enough that he would more than likely completely obliterate the woman with the force at which he was headed towards her, it just didn't feel like enough. It was a matter of seconds before he arrived at his destination, but fate would have it that at that exact moment his mind had been made up. He spun his weapon over his head in a strange motion, the blade lighting up with an intense blue light. The snake woman managed to block his first assault but she wouldn't be so lucky to survive the next portion of this insanity. Somehow the woman was knocked into the air and Suru followed, his weapon splitting into a number of extras. "My turn Sousuke!" He shouted back to his companion as he risked a moment to look back down at him. A rather sinister smile appeared on the youth's face as he drove himself forward at incredible speeds, dashing from glowing weapon to glowing weapon. Surely this move was Omnislash. The idea burst through his mind as the last weapon slashed through the lady and he plummeted to the ground.

"How was that?" He beamed up at Sousuke as he fell to his knees. That move was exhausting! But, he did it, some how.

 

[Takahashi Aki]

As Suru finished his magnificent series of attacks, several on the side observers would throw up numbers. Ten. Ten. Ten. One. Zero. No wait. IT'S A PERFECT TEN. WELL PLAYED. Sousuke himself was clapping his hands. Even he was approving of this. Unfortunately the two of them would then be subjected to this thing called Twitch Chat. Nonsensical words would begin to fill the air. There was a cube with two eye lines in it.

Ohnoyoudidn't:</B><i></i> :kappa: :kappa: :kappa:
Cloudfanboi7:<i></i> That was totally a con man.
Ohnoyoudidn't:<i></i> :kappa: :kappa: :kappa:
Ohnoyoudidn't:<i></i> :kappa: :kappa: :kappa:
TurtlePatrol: GG. WP.

Ohnoyoudidn't has been banned from the chat for excessive spam.

Sousuke was scratching his head. He couldn't make sense of this grand mess. He was starting to think that his entire life of figuring out formulas and finance had led him to this. Complete and utter madness. This was the sort of thing he was warned about. <B>"That attack did seem exhausting. We should take a moment to catch our breaths."<i></i> Kitchy barked in agreement with this. The husky continued to wave her tail happily. Sousuke merely covered his face with his hands. Yep. Kuro would really need to fix this situation. This was bad-- and it was going to get worse. There was no way this was going to get better. Right?

Well. We knew this was going to get worse. Sousuke raised an eyebrow as he watched a nova effect go off in the distance. Sousuke threw himself down and knocked Suru in the process to avoid being hit by a giant nova. "I COMMAND THE ARCANE."<i></i> The voice cried. Sousuke would get up a moment later. He would get Suru up with him. "Your presence bores me --"<i></i> The voice then boomed. Sousuke again was rubbing his temples. This just got worse. A series of individuals of various sizes and shapes ran past Suru and Sousuke. Some of them were ghastly in colour.

"I'm done."<i></i> Sousuke declared. He wasn't going to make a show of it, but it was clear that this was the final straw. "I'm going to leave this in your hands. We've fought snake women. Hyneas. Monster people. We've heard trumpets play where there should not be any. I have no problem getting in that fine mess over there, with what seems to be a two headed man shouting about arcane and other stuff. We've got a thirty-two point three, repeating of course, percentage of survival."<i></i> Sousuke paused. He was expectant of Suru to answer him of course.

 

[Surutameni]

{{OOC: I hate being a butt; but if it's okay with you dude I think we should close this topic. I have been off and on NC for awhile and I have a hard time getting back into all of this.... I'm not very good at humor. It was fun while it went on though!
But I wanna clean up my slots so I can push forward with Suru's story n shiz. Sorry dude. You're awesome though! SO don't worry we can find something again I am sure!]]

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