Who can Solve this Mystery? (Eliwood, Open)

Sat Nov 30, 2019 7:56 pm

The Maverick stood on top of a wooden table, it was cheap and crudely made, but it had to do for the moment. It has been a few hours since he had arrived at one of the minor countries, the Fang Country. For the most part, it didn't seem much different from the other minor countries he visited throughout the last few months. Kyoya had been scamming unassuming and gullible people with card tricks and gambles to make a rather stable living, but it seemed for the shadow-wielding teen that life had other trials set for him. On the path to the Fang Country, the teen was met by masked bandits who had advanced weaponry with them. The Maverick, blessed by his prior shinobi skills, defeated the first one with a swift strike to the throat. The other two were a much different beast, having the upper edge with spears and chains. Kyoya was soon left with all of his "hard" earned Ryo stolen by the bandits, ironically. Due to that, he was in a disgruntled mood, tirelessly thinking about ways to recover his stolen money.

"This is why I hate fate." The Maverick sighed. Scanning the endless horizon of the evening sky and fluffy darkened clouds, an idea occurred to him. With a devious smirk, Kyoya pulled out two chairs on opposite sides to the table, each facing away from each other. From his ninja pouch, he grabbed a lavender table carpet, placing it evenly across the table. Finally, he would pull out a deck of cards, his prized Deck of "Avarice" to be more exact. It was the scamming deck he usually used to steal money out of unassuming wanderers. Placing 3 cards with little to no space between them in the middle of the table, Kyoya would wait for the Fang Country road's street lights to illuminate. One minute passed, the lights flickered up before illuminating Kyoya's area like a professional performance.

"Lights! Camera! Action! People of the Fang Country, I would like to welcome you to a little card game I've been setting up for a while! Wager a bet between you and me to earn amazing amounts of money by placing your wager on the table. Choose between 3 cards routinely shuffled between each round on the table. One of the cards has a winning tag taped under it. If you choose the card with the winning tag, you win and earn exactly double the price that you wagered. Sadly, if you do not, I'm afraid you have to forsake the amount of Ryo you wagered to me..." A pause, scanning his environment, Kyoya seemed to have attracted a large number of people to his favor. His father always said he'd be a great actor.

"All is fair in luck and mystery, so step right up to make history!" The Maverick energetically said, putting up a facade contrasting his normal behavior by a great amount.

Little did the audience know that the whole card game was rigged. The winning tag was attached to a nearly invisible string of an adhesive wire and thin tape that could be maneuvered mid-selection of the cards to ensure Kyoya's victory. The wire could be retracted at any time and was incredibly difficult to see, especially during the near nighttime. To put it succinctly, those will win if Kyoya chooses to. It was amusing how people flock towards money, like the primal flies they are to the Maverick's perspective.

WC: 579

Sun Dec 01, 2019 6:00 pm

Eliwood roamed around the town market, looking for some highly specific herbs Aki needed for the restaurant. The monk would take this job over bussing tables any day. He had already found most of the items on his list when he heard somebody making an announcement. Some sort of card game involving wagers. Eliwood wasn't much of a gambler but one line the man at the table said stuck in his head.

"All is fair in luck and mystery, so step right up to make history!"

Something about that line sounded poetic to the bard. It rolled off the tongue nicely. He simply had to see what the man was peddling. A small crowd had already gathered around the little table. People all eager to try and make a quick buck. There was no money on the peddler's side of the table to start. Eli noticed that the first few people had absolutely no luck, but after that some people were winning even if most were losing. A brighter man might have pieced together that this stranger started with little to nothing and had no intention of letting anyone win until he built up a bit of capital. Eliwood however was not such a bright man and patiently waited his turn.

Once his turn eventually came, the monk sat down at the table and placed down 100 ryo. "I have to say you have quite intrigued me sir. I shall be glad to play a couple rounds with you." He would say with a sincere smile. After all as long as he had a good time, losing a little money was no issue to him. He could easily get more, but memories often times did not come cheap. He learned not to dwell on the little things and chase the fun in life. Now the real question was if there was actually something special about this guy.

(WC 317)

Sat Dec 14, 2019 3:57 pm

Kyoya's blue optics gravitated towards one man in particular. Usually, the wielder of shadows wouldn't have paid much attention to the common folk of the Ninja World; yet for an unusual reason, he was interested in the monk. Most of the common folk in the borders would know to be non-distinguishable to not induce attention, yet the monk wore simply unique clothing... His monochromatic emerald eyes and hair were both things to marvel at... Everything the monk had, contrasted normality, so the Maverick was intrigued. Once the monk's turn arrived, Kyoya flashed a bright smirk, inviting him to sit down.

As the monk placed his Ryo down, Kyoya would reply to his comment. "Thank you, kind sir. If I may ask, what is your name?" It appeared that Eliwood seemed to be rather naive in the underhanded tactics of scammers that were common in the Ninja World. The Maverick merely adopted his card game from being scammed by someone a few months prior. Those who scam adopt ideas or tools from other scammers which ironically, becomes easier to spot when being scammed.

Kyoya would wait patiently for the man to choose any of the 3 cards.

WC: 196
TWC: 775

Sat Dec 14, 2019 6:32 pm

The stranger laid out 3 cards on the table in front of him and asked the monk's name. "I am Eliwood. And you are?" He would ask as he looked at the cards. He didn't really care whether he won or lost. He just wanted to have a good time. Any of the cards would do as he hadnt even paid attention to the shuffling. Since it didnt matter which one he picked he closed his eyes and pointed to a spot on the table.

"This one feels right." He would say gesturing to the card on Eliwood's right.

(WC 99)
(TWC 416)

Mon Mar 23, 2020 10:27 pm

The peculiar monk chose the card to his right, but in the shadow wielding teen's perspective, to his left. A small smirk formed on Kyoya's smooth skin, revealing his dimples for a moment, "My name is Kyoya Shinkou, a simple wanderer who found himself at the Fang Country," He proceeded to reveal the card, and to the monk's dismay, the winning tag wouldn't be there, in fact, the Shinkou didn't even need to switch the arrangement of the tag, Eliwood simply had bad luck. "I'm also the one who'll take the money you waged. Sorry Eliwood, it appears that your luck has run out. Please leave your Ryo on the table and make way for the next person on the line. It was a pleasure to meet you." Kyoya said, with a polite smile. For once, the smile felt genuine, as he wasn't forced to act a certain way towards someone for an ulterior motive; his expression wasn't a facade for once. Did... he feel joy? The last time the shadow wielding teen felt something remotely similar to this was years ago, feeling like a lost lifetime ago for the boy. "Why do I feel happy to meet this guy? All he did was treat me with respect..." The Shinkou questioned to himself, pondering on his sanity for a moment until a faint, disgruntled voice brought him back to reality. "Hey, kid. You ain't scamming us right?" A man asked rudely, about to slap some sense into Kyoya if the boy didn't wake up from his internal monologue. Immediately, Kyoya's assassin instincts came in and were about to slit the man's throat, but calmed himself at the last moment. The last thing the shadow wielding teen wanted, was a mob of drunk and retarded civilians demanding the boy's head. All because of an irrelevant and inconsequential man dying. The Shinkou sighed internally, forcing himself to make the brightest smile conceivable, "Of course not sir, please have a seat, let's hope you'll win some money today." "Damn right I will." The man spat at Kyoya.

***

Kyoya strolled on the side of the alleyways of the Fang Country, reaching a riverbank a few meters deep. There were no farmers or fishermen due to it being nighttime and pitch-black outside, Shinkou's favorite time of the day. Nighttime meant that his father was asleep, which meant no more beatings or training that always end up in broken bones, and no more annoying sounds of the cicadas in Hoshigakure, all that remained was the calm breeze of the wind. The wind beat against the medium-length shreds of grass, showing that there were signs of cattle that were munching on the nutritious greens. "What am I going to do after this? I got all the money I need, but there's nothing I want... Has... there been anything I ever wanted?" The Shinkou questioned himself once more, unfamiliar to this feeling of utter aimlessness. "Nope, the moment you killed your father that day, you doomed yourself to a life without meaning." Kyoya's assassin instincts riled up once more, widening his eyes to turn towards the eerie voice. Except, it wasn't a person, or, he didn't think it was. It was a shadow of himself, emitting a sinister force. "State your business, the hell do you want with me?!" The shadow wielding teen shrieked fearingly. The shadow gave an ominous grin as drops of a red liquid ran down its eyes. "Retard, I'm your Yuumei. The side that you always shut off whenever you try to "live" the life of a wanderer. Stop kidding yourself, you were born an assassin. Your father gave you your only way of living in your life, and you rejected that. You have no reason to exist, you're as meaningful as a reverse-edged sword." The shadow leered.

A fire lit in Kyoya. He gripped his fists with worthless goals. His fists bled with meaningless blood, that sullied the insignificant grass. Kyoya hated his father for his abuse, so if there was any reason Kyoya had for living, he'd shove it right back into his father's mouth. "If my life is meaningless right now, then I'll show my Dad - no, THIS WORLD that this reserve-edged sword can do something!" He drove his fist at the shadow's cheek, making the red liquid spew out more. "I'll find a purpose in my life!" Fist by fist by fist, until Kyoya's hands, felt sore, the shadow endured all. "I'll find something in myself that I can accept as a reality, and cherish it! I'll live for..." His hand, bruised by the impact of his blows, turned into a fist once more. "MYSELF!!!" WOOSH!!! The shadow disappeared. Kyoya lost balance mid-punch, seeing the grass on the ground. There was barely enough time to even realize what was happening. All he could feel was a sore back from a few meters of tumbling down a steep hill before splashing into the riverbank. Kyoya winced, feeling a few cuts on his back from the steep fall.

The Shinkou felt a wet piece of paper on his head, before grabbing it. It was an article about... Sunagakure?! "Wasn't the village occupied by Kumogakure and invaded twice recently?" Kyoya thought to himself. Suddenly, a smirking expression formed on his face. However, it wasn't a smirk of joy, but one of bloodlust. Ironically, if his father saw this expression, then he'd be praising himself for raising such a monster. "I can find a purpose for living there. There must be a variety of different people - strong people there. I can just order a ferry instead of crossing a desert and..." He grabbed his wet Ryo pouch, but everything was empty. The shadow wielding teen was extremely confused, as he looked around the riverbank for the Ryo coins. He heard sounds of munching below him. When he looked down, a look of utter shock and horror struck the teen's expression like a Lightning bolt. Impoverished Pirahanas were feasting on the inedible Ryo like they were small treats. All of Kyoya's ~~scammed~~ hard-earned Ryo was all gone. Hey! But at least the desert had a bunch of hot travelers!

"GOD DAMN IT!!!"

(EXIT)

WC: 1132

TWC: 1907

Claims:

19 Stat Points

1100 WC Towards Wind: Release: Air Pistol C-rank (1100/1100)

500 WC Towards Temporary Paralysis (500/500)

307 WC Towards 1st Stage Meigan (307/2000)

Tue Mar 24, 2020 7:27 pm

Approved

Who can Solve this Mystery? (Eliwood, Open)

Who can Solve this Mystery? (Eliwood, Open)

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Re: Who can Solve this Mystery? (Eliwood, Open)

Re: Who can Solve this Mystery? (Eliwood, Open)

Re: Who can Solve this Mystery? (Eliwood, Open)

Re: Who can Solve this Mystery? (Eliwood, Open)