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Post by Forte on Feb 8, 2011 20:16:42 GMT
Zabuza being an ally is very much possible, if you guys play it right. You'd just have to make sure of a few things.
But with the changes to the timeline and such, it's a pretty simple task if you manage to get that far.
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Post by someclown911 on Feb 8, 2011 23:03:06 GMT
That sounds wonderful. I want a Zabuza
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Post by Forte on Feb 9, 2011 1:14:56 GMT
"I guess we'll just let the night roll on. I don't want to think about things too much anyways..."
"That's fine with me. The food should be arriving any moment now."
"So, what about this accident, though? I lost part of my memory because of that?"
Samantha sipped from her champagne glass before answering. "It was about...maybe five or six years ago. We were out on the ocean, and something just went wrong. A kunai with an exploding tag got thrown onto the boat, and the blast wave knocked you out and threw you off into the water. I barely managed to save you, and..." She stops for a moment to compose herself. "I guess I really blamed myself for that. That was...one of the reasons I left town for a while. I know you lost part of your memories for a while, and you didn't remember me at all..."
"...Man. I feel kind of terrible, now."
"Don't, Joshua. I could have stayed, but I chose to leave and start a new life on the water. It's worked out well for me...so I think I'll stay like this. I want to go back home, but I'm not ready for something like that."
"I understand. Did you ever find out why we got attacked, though? I mean, that just seems too perfect a set-up to be a random attack."
"I've never found out...Mom and I did some searching right after, but we never came up with anything. I thought that maybe they were after me, but that's clearly not the case."
So, that was another problem. Your sister was currently fine, and so were you...so that was kind of strange. The fragments of your memory start to come together, probably because of your sister's influence. That attack happened around the time that you met Cadence...no. Not at that time.
Before that time.
Now you wondered if your relationship with Cadence had put some kind of plot against you on hold. You'd find that out when you got home, you figured...but the danger factor had been upped a whole lot.
"I'm guessing that I'll need to stick by you while we're in town, huh?" Cadence asks. You nod in response. Girl was a quick thinker, as always.
"We'll just watch each others' backs, same as always," you say.
"Gotcha." The waiters arrive with your appetizers, and you all dig in.
---
The next few hours are a really good time. You reminisce about various things with your sister, and she tells you about her adventures out on the world's various oceans. She had even swung by the continent your grandfather was from, and stayed with some of the local people there. Apparently, Jacob West was a household name...dude was an inter-continental badass.
And you were supposed to measure up to that? Sheesh. To say it was a tall order didn't describe it well at all.
You take Cadence back to her room and away for the night. She gives you one of her bright smiles and pulls you towards her by the collar of your shirt, her warm and sweet breath flowing against your face. Her eyes stare deeply into yours as you feel your faces getting closer and closer...
She suddenly swerves and kisses you on the cheek, letting out a giggle. "G'night, Joshua. I really had a wonderful time..."
You huff for a moment and spin her around as she walks away. You then wag your index finger at her.
"Don't you dare, woman." She lets out a gasp as you pull her close to you, and she blushes brightly.
"Joshua...?"
"There's no way...I'm letting you get away with that." You quickly press your lips against hers and give her a deep kiss as her eyes widen and she tenses up. After a few seconds, you feel her relax and put her arms around you, before you pull away from her slowly. She steps backwards and almost stumbles over, having to lean against the door behind her for balance. She stares at you, star-struck and breathless.
"I...wow..."
"I told you, no way you were getting away with teasing me like that."
"...You're right. I understand."
"I'm trusting you won't do that again?"
She places one hand over her heart. "...No guarantees..."
You chuckle softly to yourself. "...Guess that's fine. I'll see you in the morning, Cadence."
"Yeah...have a good night..." She turns the door handle and heads inside, muttering to herself. "I think my brain's turned to mush..."
You feel as if there was supposed to be a certain weight to that, your first kiss...hm. Didn't feel that heavy, just felt good.
Like it was supposed to feel...yeah. Just like that.
---
You wake up in the morning, feeling refreshed and full of energy...moreso than usual, you realize.
"Hm."
The ship was going to stop in Water Country in a few days. Maybe you could take some time out before you headed home to train? Or maybe gather some information on Akatsuki? Maybe just chatting with some people would be nice. Decisions were plentiful this time around.
--- Next Actions (more than one choice is possible)
a) Training in Water Country (specify duration)
b) Investigation on Akatsuki (specify duration) 1. Stick to the island. 2. Head towards Hidden Mist. 3. Sail over to Wave Country.
c) Gather some more data from Luke and Hannah.
d) Other (free choice).
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Post by someclown911 on Feb 9, 2011 1:35:33 GMT
Things were heating up!
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Post by someclown911 on Feb 9, 2011 1:36:24 GMT
Things were heating up!
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Post by Forte on Feb 9, 2011 1:50:25 GMT
Maybe a little. If it were completely up to me, we wouldn't go 'all the way' until PTS (read: when we're a little older), but it's not just my decision in all of this, of course.
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Post by someclown911 on Feb 9, 2011 1:54:23 GMT
How much older? Cuz I know when I was 16 I sure as hell didnt intend to wait.
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Post by Forte on Feb 9, 2011 1:57:31 GMT
I'd have like a 3-4 year timeskip, so like...19, 20 years old? I mean, I'd be on the low about it and not go into the 'mechanics', but yeah. Like, the relationship would be settled by then, definitely (provided there aren't any screwups, etc.).
That's just me, though. Kind of a reflection of my raising up, and my views on relationships. Though I won't push that onto you guys, it's pretty much everyone's story. Can't really monopolize.
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Post by someclown911 on Feb 9, 2011 2:19:48 GMT
I'm fine with it. I'd tap asap but I do like Cadence. No need to rush it. Now, to actually vote
B(you decide)2C. I have a strange plan to hook up Zabuza with Mei. Not sure how its going to happen yet but god damn it, I'll figure it out
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Post by vegeta on Feb 9, 2011 3:20:06 GMT
We have a few days before the ship stops.
D vote - option C for the first day > research Jacob's book for the remainder of the trip > head to Hidden Mist.
I don't know why clown has an obsession with Zabuza (He seems pretty plain in my opinion, no offense). But I don't mind doing some research on Akatsuki when we get to Hidden Mist.
Here's the deal though, clown. Don't forget what our true goal is... We need to get to Iron Country. We can't diddle-dally around Hidden Mist too long. I want to at least show up on time when the diplomatic parties arrive to Iron Country.
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Post by Forte on Feb 9, 2011 3:28:04 GMT
In theory, you guys could make it to Hidden Mist and get stuff done within a week's time after you get off the ship. You've got 19 more days not including the one you're on before Hidden Moonlight gets to their destination. So 7 days to do whatever is plenty of time unless you guys are in a massive rush.
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Post by Forte on Feb 9, 2011 3:30:22 GMT
And I dunno, Zabuza may be plain, but he's pretty cool overall. I'm not neck deep in that nostaglia garbage that most people use as reasoning, but still. He's pretty chill, imho.
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Post by someclown911 on Feb 9, 2011 3:41:07 GMT
Zabuza's a badass. You can have your complicated votes, but I'm not going to stray from what I'm interested in, our true goal or not.
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Post by Forte on Feb 9, 2011 3:47:03 GMT
True goal or current goal? Current goal (from my interpretation) is going home, true [final] goal is undecided iirc. But I'll tell you that if this next arc goes south (which it could in a hot second), you will have to pick sides. By the end of part 1, you'll have to do it regardless of everything else.
Just a heads up of sorts.
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Post by someclown911 on Feb 9, 2011 3:51:14 GMT
I thought so. I hadn't been aware that we had set up a final goal. Thought I might have missed something
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Post by vegeta on Feb 9, 2011 3:52:45 GMT
I just meant the path that we were undertaking for this arc/sage ends when we get to Iron Country. If you say we have time. That's fine. We'll spend a week in Hidden Mist. There's nothing overly complicated about my vote. I just want to look at Jacob's book as well as do everything else.
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Post by Forte on Feb 9, 2011 5:11:20 GMT
Probably updating tomorrow. So if I have this right:
Talking to Luke and Hannah (1 day), studying Jacob's book until we reach the Water Country (3 days)
Investigating Akatsuki in Hidden Mist (7 + X number of days, where X = any number from 0-10), heading home (6 to 7 days).
That's 18 days at the minimum.
To be specific, 18 + X days, where X is the same as it is for the Akatsuki investigation.
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Post by someclown911 on Feb 9, 2011 5:29:15 GMT
Tomorrow? Damn it...
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Post by Forte on Feb 9, 2011 5:46:51 GMT
Eh, I could pull it off now if you wanted. I just wasn't sure if you guys were in agreement.
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Post by vegeta on Feb 9, 2011 6:09:25 GMT
Probably updating tomorrow. So if I have this right: Talking to Luke and Hannah (1 day), studying Jacob's book until we reach the Water Country (3 days) Investigating Akatsuki in Hidden Mist (7 + X number of days, where X = any number from 0-10), heading home (6 to 7 days). That's 18 days at the minimum. To be specific, 18 + X days, where X is the same as it is for the Akatsuki investigation. This is perfect and clown will agree. But I want you to make the best update you possibly can. If that has me waiting til tomorrow... That's fine.
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Post by Forte on Feb 9, 2011 6:14:38 GMT
Okay. Think I have it in me to finish something up tonight. Just need a while.
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Post by vegeta on Feb 9, 2011 6:28:22 GMT
You are the MAN, Forte.
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Post by Forte on Feb 9, 2011 8:13:41 GMT
Today seemed like a good day to just relax, mostly. Samantha said that she would be busy with a lot of things, so you probably wouldn't see each other for a few days. You guessed it would be a good time to talk to Luke and Hannah about some things.
You get yourself dressed, noting that your plaid sweater was still wrecked from the earlier fight with Kisame. Sucked. You pull on your t-shirt and head out, looking for some place with thread, or something similar. After a while, you meet one of the uniformed people on the ship, and they offer to get your sweater repair with no problems. You thank them before heading back up to the main deck, where your uncle smokes his pipe as usual. You remember that the pipe belonged to your grandfather, and that Luke dressed a lot like he used to, probably out of admiration. He was also a gifted swordsman, like the old man was.
"Hey, Uncle."
"Heya, Josh. What's up?"
"Nothing really. Just wanted to talk, since we haven't seen each other for a while."
"That's cool. What's on your mind?"
"Well, how are things at home? What've you been doing lately?"
"Home...to tell you the truth, I've been back and forth, so I can't say too much. Condi's fine, and big bro's his usual self...bitter and cranky as hell at last check."
"I met Samantha last night."
"Really?"
"Yeah. At dinner."
"Oh...I see. So, she's the mystery lady. No wonder she found me so easily. I guess I should have a talk with her sometime."
"She'd like that. I think she said that she'd look for you if she had any downtime."
"Awesome. Well, as I said, I've been abroad, doing some work and teaching, mostly. Nothing too eventful yet, although everyone's pretty uptight in the shinobi countries these days. Security's definitely up everywhere."
"Guess your reputation didn't help either."
"Nah, not really. That's mostly why I switched up to a weapon summoning for my real sword. This one on my waist here is just a novelty item, pretty much."
"Can I see it?"
"Sure." He fishes a coin out of his pocket and clenches it in his fist. "I like to use a medium whenever I do this...makes the process a bit smoother for me." He flicks the coin into the air and it glows brightly as it comes down. As he snatches it from the air, it changes shape into a sword with a wide blade, similar to Hannah's. It's a normal titanium colour, with no distinguishing markings on it, and an iron hilt wrapped up in bandages. However, you note that the edges of the blade glitter brightly.
"Diamond?"
"Yup. Diamond-edged blade, all the way around. I call it 'Adamant Truth'. The only thing that can cut through diamond is diamond, but you knew that already. Anyways, this blade's special. What I did first was create an original sword entirely out of diamond. It was expensive as hell, but fortunately, I also happen to be a swordsmith, so I made ends while I worked on it. I finished that and then created a titanium alloy to put over the diamond, but I got another idea and instead mixed up the alloy with some of the diamond on the top layer. Then I put another solid coat of titanium over that, and what I did was each time, I deliberately left the edges of the diamond base untouched, therefore creating a 'natural' diamond edge all the way around. I then had to drill a shaft into the whole thing for increased stability, since I had an odd swing at the time. You could basically do anything you wanted with it, really."
"Sounds like a lot of work."
"Oh, was it ever. I started this thing when I was about twenty-five. Took me almost five years of straight work on it, but I did it."
"But you had the name 'Diamond Cutter' before that, right?"
"Yeah. I've got a whole stock of high-quality, diamond bladed weapons. Somehow, I've got the market cornered on that, but I don't take advantage of people or anything. I mean, if you gouge them out of their money, they're not gonna be able to come back and buy more stuff, right? Sounds logical to me, at least," he says with a shrug. "Hidden Cloud's been bothering for a contract for a while. Said that I couldn't...wouldn't be fair to the loyal customer base if I spent all my time making swords for them alone."
"That's really cool. Has Miss Val seen your work?"
"You kidding? Woman sends me ten page letters every time I ship her a new blade. Says she's collecting 'em or something."
"Heh, not too unusual."
"You can say so, but I don't think I'll ever really understand her. Anyways, I'm gonna head for the tables. Maybe try my luck, get some breakfast."
"They've got a casino here?"
"They've got everything here. Sam sure knows how to run a place, I'll tell you something. I'll catch up with you later, Josh," he says while patting you on the shoulder. He tosses the sword upwards and it turns back into a coin with a flash of light. "Come and find me if you need anything. And I mean anything, you know."
You catch his meaning, though you wondered why he thought that way about it..."I'll make sure. Later."
He nods and heads off. Maybe it was a good time to look for Hannah now? Assuming that she wasn't too busy, of course.
---
You get several greetings and pats on the back from your fellow passengers...seemed like news really traveled quickly. A few of them direct you to where Hannah is. She's in the dining hall eating breakfast, you hear.
You reach her table and ask her if you could have a seat, to which she nods as she calls a waiter over.
"May we have another menu? My friend would like to order breakfast as well."
"Of course, Madame Kuiper. Anything to drink, sir?"
"Uh, just some tea would be fine. Orange pekoe, I guess?"
"Right away, sir."
Hannah finishes chewing before looking at you with a mischievous smile. "So...how was last night?"
"Oh, it was nice. My sister's the captain around these parts."
"So I've heard...but that's not what I was asking about."
You look at her oddly. "What are you talking about, Hannah?"
"Oh, come now. Last night, in front of my room door."
"You saw?"
"I didn't need to see or hear anything. The poor girl was up practically the whole night...whispering your name in pleasure and anguish. Why don't you give me a clue as to what exactly you did to her?"
"I thought you figured it out already."
"Oh, but it's boring if you just tell me. Would you mind...walking me through it, perhaps?"
You can't help but smile at that. This girl was...just too much sometimes. Although it was nice that she was opening up.
"You been drinking?"
"Not yet."
"Sheesh. You're a piece of work."
"Naturally," she says with a flirtatious wink. "So what's up?"
"Nothing, really. Just wanted to talk, get to know each other better."
"Ah, I was thinking the same thing. I've heard about your grandfather through many different stories, but not that much about you."
"Well...you'll find out about that when we get to town. It's kind of complicated. Anyways, you said that you've been working with Miss Val for about two weeks now?"
"Just about. But I've been with her for a lot longer. About ten years now."
"Ten years...did something happen to your parents?"
"They died in the wars that went on between our different families, or clans as some call them." Right, you had heard about it before. There were ten different clans of vampires on this continent, before the time of the Sage of Six Paths. After many feuds and battles with each other, the numbers whittled down until only a few from each remained. Most had gone into hiding, and there was one family that had been thought to be wiped out.
Apparently, that wasn't the case. The last known survivor of the Kuiper House, as it was known, was sitting right in front of you.
"I didn't think about it before...you're the last of your family."
"Something like that. My parents died fighting a petty battle against Valerie...she kept trying to spare them, she even let her guard down purposely as they attacked her over and over. Unfortunately, she had enough and destroyed them both. I was old enough to know hatred, but young enough not to truly comprehend it. After only a few days, we became close. She told me the story over and over, but that just made me hate her less and less...to the point where I would gladly give my life for her."
You nod your head as you listen. "I understand the feeling."
"I guess I was hoping that...we could revive my clan together," she says devilishly.
You give her a smirk as you respond. "Well, there's nothing stopping us, is there?"
"H-huh?" You see her turn bright read at that.
"Oh, come on. Cadence doesn't have to know. We could just sneak into your room, lock the door..."
"How v-vulgar!" she says while turning away in embarrassment, or what seemed like some version of it.
"Hey, you started it."
"Tch. I guess I've learned my lesson from that," she says haughtily.
"Oh, that sword of yours is pretty cool. What's it called?"
"I received it as a present from Madame Mars. It's called the 'Endeavour'."
"There a story behind that?"
"My, you're perceptive. Yes, there actually is...Madame Mars used the sword when she was first traveling the world, trying to find a place to call her own and fulfill her dreams. Quite fitting, no?"
"Very much so. I saw that it had a diamond edge as well."
"Yes, that was added later, by your uncle."
"Huh. So you have a history with him."
"Somewhat. He taught me a few things when he came to visit. After that, I started doing some training on my own, and here I am."
"Cool. I guess I could tell you about myself, since you did me the favour and all."
"Go right ahead."
---
After giving Hannah the short version of your life story, you bid her farewell, but not before she could jump up and give you a smooch on the cheek. At least she was taking your whole relationship with Cadence well, though you wondered if she wouldn't sneak into your room one night and jump you. Wouldn't put it past her.
You go into your room and reach into your pack, pulling out your book before heading to the bow of the ship and sitting on a nearby bench. There were a lot of things you could look at right now. You interest was piqued at a few things in particular.
--- Studying (choose 12)
a) Read up on chakra control.
b) Read up on ninjutsu. 1. General 2. Fire 3. Water 4. Wind 5. Earth 6. Lightning 7. Combination 8. Advanced Styles
c) Read up on genjutsu. 1. Visual 2. Aural 3. Physical 4. General
d) Read up on swordsmanship.
e) Read up on some sealing jutsu.
f) Read up on advanced seal methods. 1. Work on Seal Audible 2. Improve Seal Chaining 3. Improve Seal Modify 4. Improve Seal Compression 5. Work on Seal Canceling
g) Other not listed.
---
Sorry it took so long, dudes.
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Post by vegeta on Feb 9, 2011 8:27:09 GMT
Studying (choose 12)
a) Read up on chakra control. +1
b) Read up on ninjutsu. 1. General 2. Fire 3. Water 4. Wind +1 5. Earth 6. Lightning +1 7. Combination +1 8. Advanced Styles +1
c) Read up on genjutsu. 1. Visual +1 2. Aural +1 3. Physical +1 4. General +1
d) Read up on swordsmanship.
e) Read up on some sealing jutsu. +1
f) Read up on advanced seal methods. 1. Work on Seal Audible 2. Improve Seal Chaining 3. Improve Seal Modify 4. Improve Seal Compression +1 5. Work on Seal Canceling +1
g) Other not listed.
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Post by someclown911 on Feb 9, 2011 8:34:12 GMT
Josh is a man. Good update. I'll think of a vote later.
Or just go with vegeta's
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