Bejeweled: Ijinken and the Wielders of the Sword (3 People)

OoC: Wow, my first quest type thingy. I can’t wait to see if I did this right, and how it turns out.

BiC: Setting, a desert. A beautiful city stands surrounded by sand. Though whipped by wind, and scorched by heat, it remained a bustling center of commerce. Within white walls, the people of this city lived as merchants. They managed the only stop on an ancient desert trade route.

Needless to say, some of these desert people became quite wealthy. Housed in magnificent estates, these crafty men and women dealt with items of only the highest quality. As a result, it was only a matter of time before one of them got their hands on something dangerous.

"Look at it, you'll never find a more perfect blade out there," said a man in a black cloak, "The edge is perfectly curved, and it's sharp enough to split a hair. Plus it's been polished with a wax that prevents almost any kind of tarnishing."

In one of those estates, a deal was being made that would end, in the opinion of history, horribly. A shadowy man came in from the desert, seeking to sell the katana he wielded. And though it was nothing less than a magnificent blade, he couldn't find a soul who would take it for the price he asked.

"And just look at the hilt and scabbard. While decoration was clearly paramount, the designer did not surrender any functionality whatsoever." The man in black slathered on the praise. "See how the jewels on the scabbard are raised to improve their shine, while the ones on the hilt are inset to allow for a better grip."

Finally, one of the wealthy merchants took interest in the blade. This particularly portly trader could not only afford the blade, but was known to collect just what the man in black was offering. And after a few minutes of salesmanship, he was ready to buy.

"It's clearly the most fine blade in all the land, and, one might even argue, the planet." The man in black was ready for his weapon to be taken from him. "So, do we have a deal, or are you going to pass?"

Without a word, the fat merchant reached out his right hand, and snapped his fingers with his left. Immediately, a pair of men walked into the stately room. While one took the sword from the man in black, the other instructed him on where his payment was held.

As the merchant took the blade in his hand, the man in black started to laugh. "You're not mine anymore Ijinken," he said, his eyes affixed to the blade, "I traded you fair and square just like we agreed. Now you can do whatever you want, just so long as it doesn't involve me."

In less than a minute, a way of life was wiped from the planet.

**********************************

“…And that’s the story, man,” a mohawk crested youth droned, “But that happened, like, a really long time ago. It’s really just a fairy tale, man. Besides, that thing’s more like a castle than, like, a city anyway.”

In a small town on the edge of the desert, life went on as usual. People came in and out, some about to traverse the desert, some who had just come through. And today was no different, with one little exception. Around midday, a Cat-Girl came from the sands.

“Oh, thanks.” Neko said as she finished looking around the general store. “No problem, man,” the guy behind the counter replied, “Pretty much, like, half the people that come in here ask about it, so I’ve, like, memorized the whole thing.” With the end of his sentence, the Cat-Girl headed toward the door. “Have a nice day.”

Outside, Sukoshi sat in waiting for his companion to come back. As Neko exited the store, he got up and swiftly returned to her side. “They didn’t have any Sukoshi,” she said when she noticed the cat coming toward her, “But why should we be surprised? No place has had any yet.” “Nyu nyu (Still shocked),” the little cat replied.

Neko was in a bad mood today. Her search for a very rare milk had so far turned up nothing. The milk she was searching for came from cows that grazed in near desert grasslands, and was very expensive. However, the stuff was actually near affordable when purchased near where it came from.

So far, she’d searched every Milk Bar, General Store, and Sales Place she’d come across, with no luck. And after a while she began to tire. “Man,” Neko groaned, “I don’t think we’re going to find any today. Hmm, lets hit the hay early Sukoshi, I don’t feel like looking anymore.” “Nyu (Finally).”

With that, the two cats began to look for a place to sleep. Of course, an advantage to being a cat, you can sleep anywhere at almost any time of day. Soon they found a nice secluded place in the shade. After a minute or two of stretching and a little bit of moaning, they set themselves down and started to doze off.

Neko…

************************
“Who’s there?!” Fuzen demanded, “Show yourself!” I’m in your head Fuzen.

The half demon shot up upon the sound of a strange voice. Frantically, he looked about the rocky shore he rested on, trying to find its source. “It's late, I just woke up, and I’m not in the mood!” he roared, “If you’re out here to kill me, then just come out and we can get this over with!”

I need you Fuzen, the voice said, now sounding distinctly female, I need you to hold me.

With that, the half demon’s disposition quickly changed. “Oh, well alright then!” Fuzen exclaimed enthusiastically, “Come on out and I’ll hold you as long as you want!”

Just follow the sound of my voice Fuzen, and you’ll be with me very soon. And with those words, he took off into the desert, following the sound of the voice.

OoC: I'll explain on the way. End your first post with your character(s) hearing the voice and then leaving to go find out where it’s coming from.

Ooc: I’ll join! And its looking good. I’ll use Kaifraz, link to him in sig.

Bic: Kaifraz sat on a log near a town. He had left the inn he was staying at to get some peace and quiet. But he had been unsuccessful. Nature was noisy. Too noisy. The squirrels, fox’s, and various other creatures made a lot of noise when you didn’t want them too, and none when you did.

Kaifraz a voice in his head whispered to him Kaifraz.

“What?” he muttered, half asleep.

I need you to come to me. To help me. the voice continued

“Where are you?”

I’ll guide you there in your dreams. The swordsman sat bolt upright, realising that there was no one but him around. There had been an image of a tree, on its own in a clearing. If he wanted to know what was going on, he would have to fol,low the voice in his head.

Ooc: I'm useing Nikudemon he is in my sig.

Bic: Nikudemon now just finishing up a mission of an old man decided to go and get some food. He started to walk to the bar but at that moment he seen a girl being jump by some men. He ran over to the girl to help her before she got hurt. “Hey, you two stop that,” he yelled out but they did not listen. Niku ran in front of the men and took a hit for the girl. Then he swung his sheathed sword at the men in front of him. The guys ran away and he turned to see if the girl was alright but she disappeared.

“Niku, Niku can you heard me,” a voice said out of nowhere.

“Who that? Who there? Who are you?”

“Don’t worry about that just find out where I am.”

“Why are you endanger?”

“Maybe, I’m not telling just find me.”

“How will I do that and why will I do that?”

“You well because you want those answer. Just follow my voice it well tell you were you want to go.” Niku left off to find the voice.

(OoC:Wow...This thread is going to have a lot of nekos in it. I'm using Sakuraneko in my sig.)

Bic: Sakuraneko had just walking out of town and was happy to have finally gotten out of the confines of the houses. She may have gotten used to Tsukiyomi's weight, but navigating through a small town with the massive weapon was another thing. As she started to set off toward her destroyed home town, a voice whispered in the back of her mind. Sakuraneko.

"Who's there?"

Please come find me.

"Why should I come to you? Do you need help?"

Come find me and you shall know.

"Fine. Where?"

Follow my voice. It will show you the path to take.

Figuring that a quick adventure wouldn't hurt, She takes off toward the voice and whatever else may wait.

OoC: Interesting turnout. Let's see where we can go with this.

BiC: Neko followed the path a mysterious voice had put her upon. Through the blistering heat of the wide-open wasteland, she made her way to the last place she heard the voice sound from. And though part of her was pondering the origin of this voice, It was too hot for her to focus on anything besides moving forward.

While taking a deep breath, Neko raised a paw to her forehead and brushed away some sweat. Though she had made fairly quick progress through the desert the previous night, the heat of the new day reduced her to a snails pace. She almost felt as if the desert itself was intentionally working against her.

Soon, Neko found herself cursing her black fur and her dark clothing. Already she could tell her hair was hot as a frying pan on the hearth. And in her head, she could almost hear the tough hide of her feet sizzle. Looking down she saw Sukoshi suffering. She wanted to help him by shouldering his weight, but she was far too hot herself.

Eventually, as anyone would in such heat, she began to feel thirsty. Trying to put conscious thought above the pressure of the heat, she drew upon her past experiences in the desert. After getting past a few other things, she remembered that cacti were juicy no matter how hot it got. Though the heat waves rising from the sands restricted her vision, she could clearly see a cactus not too far away.

As fast as she could, without tripping over herself in the sand, she moved over to the cactus. Then, using her pipe, she broke off part of the desert plant and picked up the piece. But before she could even start removing the thorns, the piece fell apart in her hand. Looking over to the cactus, she saw that there was a hole in the other side. And when she crawled over, she saw that half had already been eaten.

Then, she remembered where she’d seen this plant before. She was the one that had eaten the other half. When she was on her way to the town she had just come from, she had taken this exact same route. Apparently, she had gotten hungry. This voice she was following was sending her back the way she came. “Which probably means I’m heading for…”

*********************

“That stupid Pyramid thing?” Fuzen said aloud, “Ho ho, she better be a knock out, or this is going to be a serious waste of my time.”

Burned from the once searing heat of the now setting sun, Fuzen slowly made his way to the lithic structure ahead of him. After following the voice he heard on a path through the desert, he came within view of a Pyramid that he had passed once before. But still a few miles away, he readied his legs for a little more walking.

As the half demon walked, he thought about the voice that had summoned him here. Normally he would be ecstatic at the thought of murdering a woman with a voice like that, but not now. He’d tried to kill people in palaces, castles, and manors, and it was always harder to get away. But this was a pyramid, sure to be almost impossible to escape.

So as soon as he deemed her not worthy of his blades painful kiss, he would get up and get out of there. He liked a challenge in his killings, but not something totally life threatening. But then again, if it were a noble that was calling him, he might reconsider. A beautiful Noble woman would surely be a treat to kill.

The more he thought about it, the faster his trek to the pyramid seemed to go. Soon he was amongst the obelisk towers surrounding it. And as he passed the first one, the voice once again spoke to him.

You’re almost here Fuzen, it said, now sounding clearer than ever, I can feel you coming toward me, getting closer every second.

“I can’t wait to meet you,” the half demon said deceptively, “But before I do, why don’t you tell me a little bit about yourself?”

I’m waiting for you Fuzen, the voice responded, You’re getting so close. You’ll soon be with me.

And with those words, the half demon arrived at the entrance. A flat area of stone was spread out before the large open doorway into the pyramid. On each side of the door, there stood a large statue of a sword, each with a smaller shield at the bottom. All of it was slightly inset on the pyramids side, hiding it from view if not looked at directly.

But before Fuzen could make his way into the pyramid, he heard someone coming. A little spooked that anyone else was in this barren wasteland, let alone here, he quickly ducked behind one of the sword statues. Taking a little peak from behind the shield, he saw a woman dressed in blue with long black hair.

OoC: End your post with your character arriving at the pyramid's entrance. Neko will have just gotten there, and Fuzen will remain hidden. Don't worry, I'll take care of all the introductions.

(OoC:Guess I'll meet up first.)

"Where is this voice trying to take me?" I said as I started slowing down. I had entered the desert two hours ago and the heat plus Tsukiyomi were starting to get to me. After a few minutes in could see a pyramid in the distance. "Is that it? What am I supposed to be meeting, a mummy?!" A minute later I could see a person standing in front.

By the time I got to the pyramid I was sweating profusely and tired. As I drew closer to discover the person I saw was a neko. "Hello my fellow neko!" I called out. When the neko turned, I noticed that it was a girl and that she didn't seem to be a demon. Interesting. Demon nekos are rare, but I've never seem a non-demon neko before. They must be even rarer. I thought as I approached her.

Ooc: while I got tired of waiting for ShadowThe Hedgehog so I'll post.

Bic:“Okay, voice I been walking for awhile now and you still have not told me anything.”

“You still have a days walk, rest”

“Okay, but I’m happy that I bought this sack to put food in.” Nikudemon was now in a desert wasteland. He stops walking and rest in the middle of nowhere laying in the sand. While he sleeps some desert people came up on he. They look at him like he was a strange being for outer space. They started to surround him but got scare when the swordsmen turned over in his sleep. Before left they took his sack of food that he bought with him. When Niku woke up a seen that his sack of food was gone he yelled out words that should ever be said. O well I hope I can make it there with out getting to hungry or thirsty that would be bad.

He started to walk again in hopes to get there before hungrier or thirst set in. He walked for other day and seen it a big pyramid. Now tired and thirsty he walk around to the pyramid enter and though he seen Tsukineko. When he got close he notice it was a female neko and not his friend Tsukineko. Niku though he seen a shadow up on the pyramid step but, then he seen other female neko getting closer to where he was. While I guess I’m not the only one here. Why did the voice call these neko here? I would feel better if Tsukineko was here o well I guess it was not mean to be.

Ooc: sorry it took so long, but i cant seem to get round to doing things these days. and i know its a poor excuse.

Bic: Kaifraz had walked the forest for the whole day, trying to look for the tree on its own in a clearing. But he could not find it. It wasn’t long before he gave and wandered away from the forest into the desert. He always did this. He started to feel comfortable in a new land and then he would wander away from it because it was boring.

After wandering in the desert for what seemed like years, the swordsman found a painted carving. A carving of a tree in the middle of a clearing. A picture of a pyramid flashed through his head every time he looked at it, so he guessed that was where he was meant to go next.

Luckily the pyramid was only about half a day away, so Kaifraz shouldered his pack and walked on.

* * *

The desert sun beat down mercilessly on the young swordsman as he walked through it on his way to the pyramid. His water supply had run out an hour ago, and he was beginning to feel a bit light headed.

He reached the pyramid, after having to wander past 10 mirages of an oasis, and sat down in the shadow, panting. He sat awaiting a picture of where to go next.

OoC: Sorry for any personality traits I might get wrong.

BiC: No sooner had Neko arrived at the Pyramid’s entrance, that three other explorers began to approach. From the platform before the doorway, she could see the three coming in from beyond the Obelisk towers. But still slightly dazed from her trip, she dismissed them as mirages. That was, until one of them called out to her.

“Hello my fellow Neko!” one of them called out. After a moment of surprise, Neko called back. “Hi!” she shouted. By this time, the four were all aware of eachother. And upon Neko’s greeting, the other two called out as well. “Hello!” they shouted, almost in unison.

In another minute they were all face to face. “So, did that voice call you three here too?” Neko asked the group. And relatively uniformly, they answered with a yes. “Well alright then,” she continued, “My name’s Neko, nice to meet cha.”

Without a moment passing, the other girl in the group introduced herself. “Hi,” she said lightly, “I’m Sakuraneko, it’s nice to meet you to.” “Cool,” Neko responded enthusiastically, “It’s good to know there are other Cat-Girls out there.”

Again without pause, the taller of the two men, made his identity known. “Hey,” he said in a deep voice, “My name’s Nikudemon,” He reached out his hand. “Good to meet you.” With gusto, Neko extended her paw and shook his hand. “Same here.”

Keeping her paw outstretched, she moved her arm toward the remaining unknown character. With a slightly hostile look on his face, he crossed his arms. “I’m Kaifraz. You said your name was Neko right? Well do you know what we’re doing here Neko?”

With his question, the other two turned their focus to Neko. “Your guess is as good as mine pal,” she responded sharply, not taking to kindly to the way this man presented himself, “I got here like five minutes before you did, so I’m just as clueless.”

“How about you two?” Kaifraz asked the others. “Nope,” Nikudemon answered, followed by a no from Sakuraneko. “I guess I’ll have to wait for the next vision then.” With that, Kaifraz left the group and went over to lean against the wall.

Neko raised her brow as Kaifraz assumed a relaxed position away from the group. “What’s with him?” she whispered, getting a little laugh out of the other two. And upon that phrase, the three began to converse. Soon they found themselves well into the night.

“…So you seriously don’t know what catnip is Sakura?” Neko said, enjoying a nice conversation with her new friend, “Then I have to give you some. Here.” With a grin, she reached into her vest and took out a little packet of the stuff. “Just get a pipe, light it up, and watch the fun roll out.” “Umm, thanks.” Sakuraneko responded.

Over near the doorway, Nikudemon practiced with his sword, phased out of the conversation for the moment. But after a few swings of his blade, something dawned on him. “Uhh, girls?” he said, causing the two cats to look up from whatever they were doing, “I was wondering, why don’t we just go in?”

After a brief period of silence, Neko spoke up. “Hey,” she said, “That’s a good point you’ve got there. What are we just sitting around here for? Let’s get going.” With that, her and Sakuraneko got up and joined Nikudemon. But before they could make their way into the pyramid, a voice called out to them.

Thank you for coming for me. it said, stopping everyone where they stood, My appreciation is deeper than that of the largest ocean. I’m on the top floor of the pyramid. Please come for me.

With the sounding of the voice, Kaifraz got up from where he was sitting. “I assume you three heard it as well?” he asked, moving toward the group. When each of them answered with a yes, he began to march into the pyramid. After the other three exchanged a glance, they followed his lead, and began to walk in as well.

In a moment, they were in the vast chamber that was the interior of the pyramid. Under the staircase shaped ceiling, there lay an entire city. Even within this pyramid, a wall of white stone surrounded the structures, opening only in a single arched entrance. Above, a huge platform, almost as big as the city itself, hung from the ceiling, bridges connecting it to the catwalks that lined the walls.

“Whoa,” the group said in unison, amazed at what lay before them. In a kind of awed shuffle, they slowly moved themselves toward the gateway that was the entrance of this strange city. Passing through the archway, they stopped and admired their new perspective on what this voice was getting them into.

Ahead lay a stretch of road, buildings that appeared to have once served a mercantile purpose stood on either side. Just to their left, a smaller road made its way along the wall and stretched till it was out of sight.

After shaking off the feelings of impression this place had put into them, the group began to decide on a course of action. “The first thing we have to do is to find a way up there,” Sakuraneko said, making a gesture toward the platform above, “That’s where the voice said that we were going to find it.”

“This place is huge though,” Nikudemon said, “It’ll take forever to find out how to get up there.” “Not if we split up,” Sakuraneko replied. “But then we’ll be alone,” Kaifraz interjected, “We don’t know what else is in here besides us. So until we do, splitting up would be dangerous.”

“Then why don’t we go in groups of two?” Neko asked, “Then we could cover more ground while still being together.” “That’s a good idea Neko,” Nikudemon responded, “I’ll go with…” “I’m with Sakura,” Neko interrupted, pulling Sakuraneko right next to her, “You can go with Kaifraz Niku.”

****************

From a safe distance, Fuzen watched as the group of four conversed. He was thankful they were still unaware of his presence, even after all that time he spent behind that sword statue. And now with the appearance of this strange city, his task of killing whoever this voice belonged to had gotten more interesting.

After a few moments, the group ahead split into two groups of two. Before they could escape his view, he quick stepped his way over to the archway. He now had a decision to make. Follow the humans to the left, or follow the cats ahead. Thinking the cats would find the source first, he decided to follow the women.

OoC: Don’t go to the second floor yet, have some fun within the city for now. Our two teams will meet up later, so don’t worry about getting back together right now. And if at all possible, try not to blow anything up. Oh yeah, and Fuzen will still remain hidden.

"I wonder if those two will be able to work together? That Kaifraz person seems to not really care about anyone else. More likely to act against the group. I don't like his attitude." I said as me and Neko walked down the small road. Ahead of us, the road ran on out of sight.

"I agree Sakura. I don't like Kaifraz's attitude either, but I'm sure Niku will be fine. He seems strong enough." Neko replied cheerfully.

"Only Niku? Not 'they'?" I asked her, one eyebrow raised higher then the other. Neko just shrugged and smiled to me as she turned back to look around. "I see." Following her example, I began to look around. On one side of the road the wall stretched high into the air and far into the distance with intricate patterns of darker stone running both up the wall on across it. On the ceiling was a circle of lighter stone with a dark pentagram. To my amazement, an outline of magical energy in the shape of a massive rune. "Hey, Neko. Do you see that?" I said as I pointed up to the rune and pentagram.

"What? What is it?" Neko asked as she looked up. "Oh. That's a huge pentagram. What do you think it's for, Sakura?"

"Not sure. Is the pentagram all you see up there? Do you see anything else?" I stopped to look at Neko.

Neko stopped and turned to me, shaking her head. "That's pretty much it. The lighter stone circle and the pentagram. Why? Can you see something else?" Neko looked back up to the pentagram.

"Yes. I can see a massive rune outlined in magically energy. I think something magically powerful must be up there, but I don't know enough about runology to know since a rune can be used for anything from protection to preservation. From attacking to healing." I smiled and looked back down to Neko. I could tell what her next question would be and I pointed to my right eye in a silent answer. "Of all the Nekos in my family, the ones with gold eyes and the ones with red eyes had special eye abilities. Red-eyed ones could see the normally invisible magical disturbences casting, channeling, and charging of anything magical creates."

"And the Golden eyed Nekos? What could they do?" Neko asked with obvious interest.

"I'm not completely sure. Gold-eyed Nekos were the second rarest nekos in the family. I believe it was said that during combat they could see ahead in time so to block and counter their opponent's moves, but they never really talked much about the extent of their power. The rarest Nekos were dual-eyed, red and gold Nekos."

"Wow. So can you see like the gold-eyed Nekos can?"

"Not as of right now. Unlike the red-eyed, gold eyes don't start off active. I need to find out how to activate it first. Enough about me for now. I'll tell you more later. For now lets continue looking for a way up."

"Okay, Sakura." Neko turned started walking down the road followed soon after by me. The buildings nearest the road seemed older then the ones at my village, but these were a lot more durable. As I passed one I pushed against the wall and saw it was still solid, unlike the powder-like strength of the ones at home.

Once again my eyes strayed to the rune on the ceiling. "I guess it's for preservation." I said and continued walking. Ahead of us, the road stretched far and promised to at least not be boring.

Kaifraz walked down the dusty road, the buildings either side of him and his companion stretched for what looked like forever. At least they were not able to see the end and they had been walking for about half an hour.

Why did I have to get stuck with him? the swordsman thought to himself I mean I’d do better on my own. And I do not need the company.

“Guess that’s what I get for opening my big mouth.” He muttered

“What was that?” his companion asked

“Hmm. Oh, nothing.” Was the reply, Nekudemon shook his head and resumed walking, looking ahead. Soon Kaifraz found prints in the sand. These prints were big enough for a person, bit small true but, still a person. He bent down to look at them.

“What’s up?” Nekodemon asked, Kaifraz didn’t reply and instead just stood up and walked off in the direction the footprints were going. Neko demon had no choice but to follow or get left behind. The young tracker wished he had chosen the second option, rather than the first, as they trekked through the buildings toward the goal. Wherever that was.

Ooc: Hope that was good enough.

After the swordsman ran for a little he stop and let Kaifraz continue chasing after the foot prints. Why, should I go after him he’ll be okay. If something happens the Neko well find him. After all, she want me to go with him, so that she can go with the other Neko.

The swordsman turned around an seen one of the old building that got his attention. Hmm, what a strange building we got here I wander what inside. The swordsman walked up to the old brick building as he got closer he seen that the glass in the windows was not there. This caught his attention more then the rest of the building. Ha, there no glass at all. strange. If the glass got broken there should be some glass shards in the window pane but there are none at all. I need to go into the home for more info.

The swordsman walked through the broken door way and enter the house. Now this is strange I don’t think have ever seen that before. The swordsman was looking at the people that live there and there stuff flying in middle but in was still. The couple was still preserved in there original state a live but in able to move like time stop for them. Let me continue searching before I start to slow down. Lets see the best place to look is in the bed room were I see the window.

The swordsman walked into the bed room to search for more clue. What this? This was not here before? When I look through the window this was not here. What is going on here in this place? The swordsman was questioning himself as he seen all the furniture and the same couple laying on the bed about to die for old age. I better get out of this strange building before I start getting screwed up.

The swordsman walked back out the way he came in. When he walked outside he was not no long on the dusty road. Now he was in the middle of the city with on idea what happen. Someone is going to get mad at me for leave that guy but I have more searching to do.

Keeping to the same road they started on, the two Cat-women made their way deeper into the strange city. While Neko looked around at the various structures that lined the street, Sakuraneko continued to pierce the rune above with her vision. Besides this whole thing being inside a pyramid, there was nothing too strange going on.

“Have you spotted anything yet?” Neko called out as she bent over to look into one of the buildings. “Nothing yet,” Sakuraneko answered, “How about you?” “Nope, there’s nothing in here,” Neko replied as she walked back over to her friend, “You know, for a city, there’s a whole lot of nothing around here.” “Yeah, you’re right,” Sakuraneko responded, taking her eyes off the rune and onto her surroundings.

Their search for a way to the floor above continued. But everywhere they looked, they came across the exact same thing: Nothing. Most of what they found was vacant storefronts, the shelves completely empty, the small apartments above cleared of any signs of life. Eventually, after their searches came up with nothing, they came to a fork in the road.

“Well, which way should we go?” Neko asked, taking a look down both of the almost identical pathways, “My gut’s telling me… Right. How about you?” “I don’t know,” Sakuraneko responded, doing much the same thing as her companion, “They both look the same to me, but if you think it’s right, then lets go right.” With that, they started down the path to the right.

Much like last time, there was nothing remarkable to be seen. And after a short while, Neko began to tire of their current task. Within minutes, she was ready to look for something else to do. Eventually, her eyes fell upon Sakuraneko, and the behemoth blade that hung from her back. “Hey, Sakura,” she said, matching pace with her friend, “Tell me, can you really use that giant thing?”

“You mean my sword?” she responded, reaching her hand back to grab its hilt, “Well, I’m still getting used to the weight, but yeah.” “Wow. I’m surprised a little thing like you can even hold up something like that.” “Would you like to see me hold it?” “Yeah, I would like to see you hold that.”

Then, with a little spread of her feet, Sakuraneko unsheathed Tsukiyomi in one surprisingly swift motion. Though her arms trembled slightly, she was able to fully support the weight of the massive sword. Clearly impressed, Neko let out an airy whistle. “Yikes. Now that’s impressive. Hey, remind me never to get on your bad side”

“Thank you,” Sakuraneko said, sliding her gargantuan edge back into its sheath, “But Tsukiyomi’s really more of a burden than you might imagine.” “You don’t have to tell me twice,” Neko replied, resuming their walk, “I’ll take my good old Kiseru any day.” With a little grin on her face, she took out her pipe and began to rapidly spin it with her fingers. And just as rapidly, she returned it to her belt.

“You use your pipe as a weapon?” “Bet you never saw it coming right?” Neko let out a little laugh. “That’s why it’s my weapon of choice. It’s everything you need in a good piece of Bojutsu equipment.”

+++++++++++++++++

“When are those cats going to shut up,” Fuzen whispered to himself as he shadowed the two Cat-girls, “They should get their asses in gear and find me a way up.” While keeping a safe distance back, he kept an eye on them, trying to see if they had found a way up to the second floor. But much to his annoyance, they were now just talking to eachother as they walked.

Eventually, he thought about just sneaking up on them and slitting their throats, but decided that was a bad idea. First of all, the busty one with the ****ed up hands and feet was apparently a Ninjutsu user, not someone to be taken lightly. Second, the cute toothpick brought back some bad memories he had about another person with a giant sword, and he didn’t want to relive that. And on top of all that, they were cats; they probably knew he was following them anyways.

Altogether, things were looking to take a while if they kept up this pace. As a result, he decided to take to the roofs, to see if he could spot anything himself. Letting the cats out of his sight, he hastily made his way through one of the buildings, and on to the roof. Below, he could still see the cats a little way down the road.

While still following them, he kept his eyes peeled for anything that resembled a staircase, or some other way to get up. Slowly they got closer to the center of the city, the buildings getting larger as they did. Of course, after their previous rightward deviation, they were going to miss the very center, but they were going through what was once a most likely nice part of town.

Soon, the two Cat-girls entered one of the large buildings, leaving Fuzen with a decision to make. “Should I follow them in or not?” he said aloud as he made his way down to the street, “Both have advantages, but I really need to decide quickly.” After a moment and a half of thought, he decided to follow them into the structure.

The inside of the building was huge. Bigger then it seemed possible. Neko and I had entered a large main hall with numerous doors, hallways, and two stairways leading to an upper floor. Not to mention everything was covered in dust thick enough to choke a horse. Soon after we walked in, our steps churned up a cloud of dust that sent us both coughing violently, eyes watering. After a minute or so, the dust settled and the coughing died down. "We need to step lighter next time. Or else we might a new set of lungs before this is over," I said to Neko, rubbing the last of the dust out and sneezing more out of my nose.

"Agreed. I would not like to do that again," Neko replied with a cough. Her eyes still looked a bit irritated, unsurprisingly. Looking around, I noticed a loot of expensive and comfortable chairs against the walls with a grandfather clock, still working, on the far wall. High above us, a crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling and on the floor underneath the layer of dust was a carpet. What caught I eye about the carpet was a number of foot steps leading past us and up the staircase. "Hey Sakura. Do you see that?" Neko asked as she pointed to the trail.

"I see it. Someone snuck by us while we were coughing and blinded by the dust. Whoever it is, must have realized by now they've left a trail by now. I say we follow it. Carefully. I'll go first in case this is a trap. With my dear Tsukiyomi, I can deal massive damage to anything in front of me quickly and I'd rather have you skills protecting my back," I spoke softly to her while I reached back with my right hand to grab Tsukiyomi's handle. Neko nodded to me in agreement as she fell in step behind me and drew out her Kiseru.

Slowly we followed the trail up the staircase so as to not kick up as more dust. The trail led down a long, dark hallway. "Lets go," I whispered to her as I walked carefully down the hallway, ready to unleash Flash Brandish on whatever attacks the nekos from in front.

The swordsman started walking again this time he found what looked like and clothing store. The swordsman walked into the store and he seen a lot of women clothes hanging around. As he looked around and seen dress of all different colors and style he though to himself, where are all the men cloth all I see are women cloth around here. Maybe the men cloth are in the back I can’t believe that men did not wear cloth around here. The swordsman walked into the store more and he finally see the men cloth all on the ground. What is going on here? Why are all the men cloth on the ground? He bent down to take a closer look at the cloth and seen the men cloth look like it was cut. Then he turned around to see that the women cloth had no dust on it.

“What is going on here? Why is this place so strange? I got to get out of here!” the swordsman yelled, as he ran for the door. The women cloth started to move for the door and they block the swordsman in.

“Wear us. Wear us swordsman. We have been so lonely as of lately. So stay with us forever,” a strange voice said really quietly.

“No, I don’t want to stay here. Leave me alone. Let me out!” the swordsman yelled at the top of his lunges.

“I can stop this but you must do something for me,” a dark evil voice Replied.

“It’s you the demon that killed my whole village. Why should I listen to you?”

“Because your dreaming right now. I Put you under this dream. You are still in the center of town. Now you must hurry up are master your pendent or I keep making you see thing that you don’t want to see,” The evil voice said, then the swordsman woke up were he was after he left that strange building.

“Well I’ll get to master this pendent went I feel like it! Do you hear me you, you unknown thing!” the swordsman yelled out to no one. He then went a walked into the store that was behind him. It was big food store and when he walked in he seen a lot of food sitting around. The swordsman walked to the back were the kitchen was and started to eat the food that was cooked. The swordsman did not look and see if they was any people alive. This food is great I think I’ll stay here for a while and eat. I have not ate for a while now. I need something to drink. A glass of water floated right over to him and stop in front of him. “Oh thank you! I really did need this,” the cursed human responded, as he drank all the water out for the glass. “Hey can I have a other glass of water?” the man question as continued eating all the food in the place.

“Coming right up mister. You are my first costumer in a long time. Is there anything else I can get you?” a child like voice asked, as he floated away to the back.

“Yes, can I get some more food!” the swordsman said, then he heard the stove true on next to him. This is the best place on earth.

OoC: I'm leaving in there Because I don't know how much longer you want us seaching. Plus I think it funny leaving it there.

Ooc: sorry this took so bloomin long, but the internet went down for a few weeks so i haven't had any access. Really sorry.

Bic: Kaifraz looked behind him and, not seeing Nekudemon behind him, smiled. At last he was alone. Alone with his thoughts. Just the way he liked it. The swordsman continued to walk in a straight line, until his world became nothing more than a bright white light.

Now he was above the pyramid, looking down through it. He could see the exact layout of it, and where he had to go. He could also see where the rest of the group was. Not that it mattered to him. Although it looked like he would have to join them again before he reached the way up.

That’s not fair. he thought to himself why do I need to have with these whiny people who want to know everything! The trackers world went white once more and he found himself at a fork in the road. Since he would be the only one who would know where to go he decided to wait for the others. Just so they did not get lost.

OoC: Alright, back on track.

BiC: Step by step, the two Cat-girls slowly made their way down the large hall that lay before them, each trying their best not to kick up any dust. But even with the girls’ careful movements, it was Sukoshi who made the least commotion. Leaping from footprint to footprint, the little cat adeptly made it far ahead without stirring a speck. Sukoshi is so cool, Neko thought. That cat’s still here? Sakuraneko thought at the same time.

But despite the best efforts of the feline fighters, they still choked on dust. It was almost unnatural how much of the stuff there was. There was probably six whole inches on the ground alone, with just as much floating in the air. It irritated every one of the senses, with the exception of hearing. Walking through it was almost like walking through a slow moving dust storm, except this was indoors.

Although Neko had no hard time not making a mess, Sakuraneko had it a little more difficult. Every few steps she would churn up a puff or two and start coughing, much to her friend’s amusement. After a little while, she had to say something. “Having a little trouble there Sakura?” she asked, using her free hand to shake some of the dust out of her hair. “We’re not *cough* all ninja’s around here Neko.”

But it was just dust, no great obstacle, and after a short walk, the two Cat-girls had reached the end of the hallway. No big surprise: there was nothing there but more dust. “Perfect,” Neko remarked sarcastically, “A dead end. That’s exactly what we were looking for.” “Maybe not,” Sakuraneko replied, “Take a look at where the footprints go.” Putting her Kiseru back under her belt, she bent over and examined their path.

“You’re right. They just turn here and disappear into the wall.” She stood up and began to look around. “There must be a switch that activates a door or something around here.” With that, she began to wipe the dust off of the nearby decorations. Conversely, Sakuraneko had a different idea. With Neko off to the side, she had plenty of room to open the door her own way. Getting down into a solid stance, she removed her treasured Tsukiyomi from its scabbard.

With a single motion of her arms, and a small grunt, the wall in front of her crashed to the ground. “Christ!” Neko yelled as the steel hit the stone, “A little restraining problem have we?” Of course, Sakuraneko couldn’t answer, because as the wall went down, dust came up. She was in the middle of an explosion, coughing up a storm. Hearing this, her friend couldn’t help but get a little laugh over her plight. “Didn’t see…”

“Don’t come in!” a voice called out from the room before them, “It’s a trap!” “Are you okay!?” Neko called back, taking a place before the doorway, next her coughing companion. Though the voice was distinctly male, the dust and dark were too much for her to get a good look at who it belonged to. “I’m fine, just don’t come any closer. There’s a motion sensitive Golem guarding this room. One false move and you’ll never get out of here.”

“How big of a Golem?” Sakuraneko asked, now finished with her coughing fit. “Well,” the stranger began, “I’d say… Just shy of big enough to kill anything it fights. Why?” Ignoring his sarcastic question, she turned to her fellow feline. “So, do you think we can take ‘em?” “Sure, simple as pie,” Neko replied, “But first, we should probably get that guy out of there.” “Good idea. I’ll cover his escape, and you can be the distraction.” “Why do I have to be the distraction?”

“You want to cover him?” “No, I’m fine being the distraction.” “So should we go then?” “Let’s.” And with that, they rushed into the room. Immediately they were met with a pair of glowing blue eyes. Just like they had planned, Sakuraneko dashed toward the man that had called out to them, while Neko ran right toward the eyes. “What are you doing?!” the man yelled as his rescuer approached him. “I’m going to get you out of here.” With that, she grabbed his wrist and dragged him back to the exit.

Unfortunately, the exit wasn’t there any more. The piece of the wall she broke through was back in its place. But she broke through it once, so she could do it again. “Stand back,” she said as she removed her behemoth blade from its scabbard. With a swift swing, she struck the wall, and felt the shock as vibration hummed through her sword. The surface was adamant to her strike. “I tried to warn you.”

OoC: The man is Fuzen by the way.

"You're not helping," I crooned before swinging harder at wall, sending a vibration back through me that literally shook the dust from my body. Behind us, the Golem was begining to move and the dust made the man sneeze.

"Any ideas Sakura?" Neko ask as she turned back toward the Golem. It almost seemed like the golem was doing a moment check.

"Yes. Duck." Neko and the young man hit the floor as I spun twice and threw Tsukiyomi at the wall opposite us and the golem. About half the massive blade sunk into the wall. "Just what are these walls made of? Stone isn't that hard. Not normally anyway."

"It's the golem. Its probably able to control the hardness of the walls," Fuzen replied, standing back up.The golem took a step forward and shook the room a bit. With each step in moved a little smoother. I quickly moved across the room and grabbed Tsukiyomi, Placing it in its sheath on my back. I then unsheathed my pair of short swords and moved into a Twin Blade stance.

"Okay. Skills, People. What can everyone do? Also, what is your name since we botched the rescue," I said questioningly. The Golem was coming faster now.

"I can speed myself up, do a little healing, and light my Kiseru up like a torch. I don't think I'll be much use against a rock golem," Neko replied as she moved to the side to spread out.

"That's more than me. I can't do anything special. I am a good swordsman, though I don't think that matters much against rock. And the name is Fuzen," he echoed as he moved toward the other side.

"Aren't we just the skill hourders. I have an unsheathing attack with Tsukiyomi that I doubt will work. It seems we'll have our work cut out for us, but I think we can do something. Neko, how long can you light your Kiseru for and how hot?"

"I can do it for a while and fairly hot. Why?" Neko asked.

"If you can heat this golem up hot enough I'll soften it a bit and I'll see about cracking it wide open with my technique." I replied. "It's worth a shot. Right?"

"Better then trying to attack head on. We might as well try," responded Fuzen as he drew his sword and got ready.

(OoC: Sorry, I know this post sucks a bit.)

OoC: Oh god my last post made me want to cry of the grammar. I’m sorry for taking soo long but I forgot at first, then I had some I don’t want to write problems. Umm I forgot what I was going to do with the ghost thing so this might suck as I try to change what I’m doing to something else. Well here we go…

The food cooked on the stove as the swordsman continued eating. “Hey, when is that food going to get here?”

“Coming,” the ghost quietly said to the swordsman. The warrior looked over to ghost and jumped to his feet. “What’s the matter sir?”

“You, you are dead!?”

“Yes sir. Why do you sounded shock?”

“What are you? Never mind you can’t be that bad if your giving me food. But why is the food here so good?”

“Because I can control time. I want you to stay here… In this place, with me. I want a friend that I can talk to, forever.”

“What you are mad!”

“I will make you stay with me one way or ANOTHER!”

“You really are mad!”

The ghost’s body started to turn red as his eye’s turned blue. His body grow legs and arms as his ghostly body made skin. His hair grew and the building disappeared. The swordsman looked as the ghost grew bigger then him. Before the skin cover the place where heart should be the swordsman see nothing there. He looked up to the ghost’s head the ghost heart and brain forming up there.

How am I going to took him out if I can’t reach his heart. He’s got to be at least 10 feet tall. I got to think while I got the chance to finish him off.

OoC: Umm Librairian If you could PM me to tell me how many more post we got I can make this fight go that long. If not I could just keep doing different things as I make them up just tell me.

The **** I get myself into, Fuzen thought as he dodged around the room, trying to stay to the golem’s back, It’s just astonishing, the sheer amount.

While the cats positioned themselves to fight off their, very large, opponent, Fuzen stayed in the background. Naturally, if there was something he couldn’t kill by himself, in this case, a golem, it was better to let someone else do it. Of course, he didn’t expect his two, so called, saviors to last more than a couple minutes. If they couldn’t break through the walls, there wasn’t much hope to break through a monster.

However, it did seem like they had a solid, if not rushed, plan to back up their charge into battle. If the Ninjutsu user could heat the thing up, then the one with the big sword could probably break it open. Though, from what he knew of golems, he did not know weather breaking its surface would matter or not. But, from what he had seen and heard of the cats’ skills so far, it would take a little effort, but ultimately, they would come out victorious.

Taking a risk by entering the golem’s area of detection, Fuzen got closer to the cats so he could see how they would perform their attack. Luckily, he got in position just in time. “Now!” the one he remembered to be called Neko shouted. With that signal, the cat he thought was called Sakuraneko sheathed the tip of her blade in the floor at an angle, securely grounding it.

Using the grounded blade like a diving board, the Ninjutsu user Neko, bounced straight at the golem’s chest. Before she made contact, a flame manifested at the end of what appeared to be her pipe. Swinging her smoking implement forward, she struck the golem. But her attack wasn’t complete, as she slid the pipe across, into her other hand, and made it alight once again. Striking again, she slid the pipe into her original hand and ignited it one last time.

This time when she hit, her weapon flew from her hand, spinning away in an arc. But before it could fly far, she jumped from the golem’s chest and caught it in mid air. By the time she hit the ground, the other cat had raised her sword from the ground and returned it to her sheath. Had Fuzen had time to think, he would have found this an act of pure stupidity. But before he could get that thought in, the cat vanished.

She reappeared in the air, not above the golem, but level with his upper body. And with an incredible surge of speed, she cut twice across the golem’s chest. She landed low to the ground, balancing while holding her behemoth blade with a single hand. With that, the fierce attacks of the cats ended.

All of this Fuzen saw through the blue glow of the golem’s eyes. In a short burst of extraordinary coordination and strength, the feline pair had brought down a monster more than twice the size of either of them. With the sound of cracking stone, the golem’s eyes moved back and then downward, making a huge crash as the creature of rock hit the floor.

But, running over to where the cats were standing, he could see that the golem was not yet finished. As its head looked at them from the ground, its eyes illuminated the damage that had been done to it. In the shape of an X, a fissure divided the whole of its chest, revealing its complex looking innards. And despite that damage, it made an effort to return to its feet and press an attack.

Of course, none of the group would let a monster like that achieve another chance to go on the offensive. Being the one most likely to make an easy finish of it, Sakuraneko rushed over and raised her gigantic weapon over its innards. Unable to strike her with one of its massive hands in time, the golem went limp and shut down as the cat ran her blade through it, destroying whatever device kept it active.

As soon as the blue faded from the creature of rock’s eyes, the chamber they were in jumped to life. Suddenly, the room was filled with the light of hanging torches, and the dust, as if it had never been there in the first place, disappeared. They now found themselves in a very simple room, a giant stone chair, most likely where the golem sat before being awakened, the only decoration present.

******************************

“Way to go,” Neko said excitedly as she joined her friend on the deactivated golem, “You really nailed ‘em. I mean, I thought you were strong before, but this, wow, you just really took him down. You’ve got to show me how you did that… Thing. It was awesome.”

“Thank you,” Sakuraneko replied, returning her gigantic edge to its scabbard, “But it’s not something I can teach.” Adjusting her sheath’s strap, something over her friend’s shoulder nabbed her attention for an instant.

Taking notice, Neko began to turn her head. “Right, some special sword power, I… I… I…” Stopped mid-sentence, she noticed just what had caught her fellow feline’s eye. “I’ll be right back.” With that, she turned and walked toward the man they had earlier failed to rescue.

Approaching him, she thought of a good way to introduce herself. “Hey there,” she said, adding a touch of sensuality to her tone, “My name’s Neko, and that’s my friend Sakuraneko.” She pointed with her thumb toward her companion. “We just saved your life. Now how’re you going to make it up to us?”

“Well, I don’t know right now,” he replied, clearly picking up on her vibe, “But I’m sure I’ll think of something.” He eyed her once over, from face to foot. “Anyways, I’m Fuzen, it’s nice to make your acquaintance, Neko.” Reaching out, he took her hand in his and planted on it, a kiss. Nearby, Sukoshi could be heard letting out a little growl.

Suddenly, Neko found herself blushing, as if she weren’t already attracted to him the second she saw him. “I’m sorry,” she said, unable to take her eyes off him, “But could you wait here a second? I need to go take care of something.”

“Sure, go right ahead,” Fuzen replied, showing a smile that Neko thought saw sparkle for a moment.

After a few seconds, she was able to shake her gaze from this beautiful man and walk over to her friend. “Oh, my, god,” she said as she approached, “Is it my imagination, or is he.” She turned her head to get another look at Fuzen. “The best looking guy on the planet?” Sakuraneko opened her mouth to answer, but was cut off. “Do you want him?” Neko asked, “Cause you saw him first Sakura, and if you want him, I’ll cool it down a little.”

Needless to say, it took her a second to answer. “You’re acting really weird,” Sakuraneko said, putting a little emphasis on the word weird. “Of course I’m acting weird!” Neko replied, slightly bugged by her friend’s comment, “He’s the only good looking guy I’ve seen in weeks. Personally, I’m surprised I haven’t jumped him yet. Now, do you want him or don’t you?”

“No, you go right ahead.”

“Good.”

Taking that as the end of their conversation, Neko turned to once again stand by Fuzen. Unfortunately, he was no longer standing where she had asked him to wait. “Hey, I think I found a way out,” he called out from atop the golem’s seat, revealing where he went. “What are you talking about?” Neko called back, “The exit’s right over…” Stopping mid-sentence, she saw that even though they had cleared the room and its guardian, the way out had yet to open. “Okay then, never mind.”

With that, the cats went to join with Fuzen upon the golem’s seat. After climbing up, they saw the exit he was talking about. In the center of the surface, there sat a hole, wide enough for a normal sized person to fit through, with a ladder going down into darkness. And as if it wasn’t already enough of a clichéd prop, a small breeze was blowing downwards, as if to beckon them below.

“Here,” Fuzen said, stepping down onto one of the ladder prongs, “I’ll go first, that way, if there’re any traps waiting, you two won’t get hurt.” With that they began their descent into the darkness.