A Meteoric Rise

The Highest Peak:

This time it was different. Instead of a voice coming to him in his sleep, it was a sudden shift in environments that felt like being plucked from reality itself and thrust into a new one. Stepping through the threshold of his small swamp-side "home", he expected to be greeted by a lackadaisical Asahi and the smell of rotting wood. It had been a long day at work and, frankly, he was looking forward to relaxing a bit—when was the last time he had whiled away an evening doing nothing anyhow?

The scene that greeted him past the threshold was far from what he expected, unfortunately. Asahi was nowhere to be seen and instead of the smell of rotting wood he was greeted by another familiar smell, pine and pastries. In fact, this wasn't the interior of his home at all, rather it appeared to be a small building filled to the brim with heavy clothing and what looked like ice picks. Casting his gaze behind the open door he had stepped through, he didn't find the familiar swamp, but rather a frozen wasteland that hastened him inside in a howl of icy fury causing the door to slam shut behind him leaving the exile in relative darkness.

"Nothing to worry about, friend," the sourceless voice of the Hollykage said, breaking through the distant wind. "I merely have another task for you, it shouldn't be too hard."

A pause followed during which Yasahiro restrained himself from asking questions.

"Good, you're a quick learner," the voice said, clearly satisfied with the lack of questions or attempts at protest. "This one should be an easy one for you. All you'll need to do is defeat nature herself—don't worry it won't be as difficult as it sounds. All you need to do is zip up the peak we're at the base of currently, pick up some meteor pieces I misplaced up there, and zip back down here, easy peasy. As before, you'll be joined shortly by another for this quest, and feel free to use whatever attire you might need from here, it can get a bit nippy near the top."

"Well, good luck~"

As if on cue, the wind picked up outside whisking away whatever entity had been speaking with Yasahiro and leaving him to prepare for the task ahead. With slow deliberate movements, the man pulled on a few layers and topped it off with an especially puffy fur-lined jacket. For good measure, he also armed himself with two ice picks that would surely come in handy in a pinch. Now all that remained to do was wait for his companion on this particular quest, hopefully, they were reasonably competent or the next couple hours could turn into something akin to a babysitting expedition all the way to the top of the world.
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TWC: 479

"I'm not altogether sure what's going on," Yasahiro said, his flat tone hiding the relief he felt at being paired with Asahi. "But it would seem we have little choice in the matter, so we'll have to see it through."

He shrugged, pulled a scarf around his neck, and affixed the two ice picks to his hip.

"I wouldn't underestimate mother nature," he sighed, Asahi was always the optimist to a fault. "I suspect we'll find that our way to the top is anything other than easy—it'll be best to keep our wits about us. I doubt we'll see another soul on the way up, but there is a reason that we're being asked to see to this particular task."

Without another word, the older cousin checked his gear over once more before stepping out into the biting cold. Whatever warmth had once graced Yasahiro's chest was soon wicked away as the wind began to howl around him sending the long hair beneath his hat in every direction and transformed each breath into a short-lived cloud of condensation. If it was this harsh at the base of the mountain, then the samurai feared what they might find closer to the top. It certainly wasn't going to be anything comfortable, that much he was sure of—perhaps he should have worn another layer?

"Well," he shouted over the wind to Asahi and pointed up to the peak. "Let's get started, shall we?"

Pulling his scarf up over his mouth, the man took the first step towards their destination with Asahi in tow. Pacing would be important here; it was not a race to the top, the pair could take their time. In fact, given that they would be navigating unknown terrain, a slower pace might be their best bet. Only time would really tell if such an assumption held water or if the two cousins would soon find themselves frozen in a snowdrift somewhere along the way.
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WC: 806

As the larger of the two cousins, Yasahiro took the lead in such efforts allowing Asahi to follow in his footsteps, but the first leg of the journey was far from easy. The drifts of snow varied from ankle deep to waist high making their progress forward uneven; at times the pair moved quickly and at others, they spent ten minutes to advance all of ten feet through or around the drifts they encountered. Thankfully, the gear provided by the disembodied voice was proving to be invaluable, without it whatever progress they were making would never have been possible. Given that, the samurai could not shake the feeling that his hair was starting to freeze in place under his hat—the sooner they got off this mountain the better, Yasahiro wouldn't be sorry to see the last of it.

"Animals?" he yelled into the wind, not sure if he was hearing his cousin properly. "Yeah, probably. Rabbits, deer, wolves, maybe a bear or two? I dunno, I doubt they're out about in this weather anyhow."

Truthfully, the samurai wasn't altogether sure that such animals weren't out roaming about in spite of the snow. Rather, he found it to be comforting to both himself and hopefully his younger cousin, to say otherwise. He didn't much like their chances fighting some of the more aggressive animals he listed off in such heavy snow. Perhaps in fairer conditions, the pair of samurai would stand a chance, but not in this deep snow, not in an environment that those animals knew so well.

Interestingly, the weather began to improve the higher the two cousins got. Bit by bit the wind died down, the snowdrifts shrunk, and visibility went from little more than ten feet to a more normal distance. Luck, it would seem, was on their side for once because they even came up a large rock face that provided shelter from the element—it was here that the cousins would pause their advance to collect themselves and fuel up for the next leg of the trip.

"Thanks," he took the food and drink offered by Asahi. Cookies and spiked egg nog, the samurai might have guessed and probably would have abstained from partaking if he were not in desperate need of fortification for the path ahead. Strangely, both the cookies and the egg nog were much more filling than they should have been; each sip of egg nog filled him with warmth and each bite of a cookie. The Hollykage certainly worked in mysterious ways.

They could only rest for so long, however. The more time they spent on the mountain the greater the chances of something going wrong, time was of the essence. Asahi was the first to allude to this fact by asking about the path forward, something Yasahiro wasn't all that confident deciding but seemingly had little choice in the matter.

"That's a good question," the man furrowed his brow assessing each of the three available paths. The first one, which involved scaling a sheer cliff, was out of the question; neither of the cousins had much experience climbing such formations, so it was asking for trouble. The second was much like the first, dangerous. It was, however, a known danger, clearly, some sort of beast or group of beasts lurked in that particular direction. Then there was the third option which seemed harmless enough, but would also take much longer, something the pair couldn't afford to afflict on themselves at these high altitudes.

"We'll take that path," he pointed to the one littered with remnants of past adventurers. "Just keep your wits about you."

Without another word, the samurai stowed away his cookies and egg nog before pulling up his scarf and going on his way. Whatever beasts lay ahead of them were in for a rude awakening if they saw the pair as easy prey—Asahi and Yasahiro were anything but that as they would surely soon find if they were bold enough to cross their paths.

This particular path was easy enough to follow. For whatever reason, the snow did not fall quite as heavily on it and there were even exposed rocks here and there where the samurai's boots could find purchase with relative ease. For the first few minutes, everything seemed to be going well; save for the bits of ripped fabric and bone bits that lined the path, there were no immediate signs of an imminent threat. That was, at least, until the growling started, a growling that seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere all at once...
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TWC: 1570

Post

“Dear cousin, my wits are my constant companion.  They are always here.......or at least there shouts.”  Asahi would respond to his cousins warning.  Munching down on the last bit of his snack he’d hoist his gear back up, preparing for what lay ahead.  As they began to take a couple steps however, Asahi would weave several seals.  

A rush of chakra and sight flooded over his eyes and mind.  The technique was to strenuous to maintain the entire journey, but the crunching of a frost weakened femur beneath his black boot had prompted a moderate amount of action.  He saw the pathway and their surroundings in a new light, feeling the spiritual pressures of the area itself, though things still felt a bit more foggy than he cared to admit.

The second thing that happened, was he seemed to fade out of existence.  Though only to a glance.  His camouflage auror Ded him, causing him to blend into the area, and becoming all but invisible......aside from the moving snow and the stoppage of flakes against his person.  Still, it wasn’t meant to be a perfect disguise, just enough to make sure he could get the drop on something that tried to get the drop on them.  Thinking ahead......he’d tap his forehead forgetting that Yasahiro couldn’t see the gesture.  Well, he’d take all those shogi and go games to heart and employ a touch of strategy.  

As they started up the path, Asahi stayed relatively glued to Yasahiro.  The wind had never picked up as it had been, and the drifts where lighter on the path, but he still desired to keep close.  The prospect of being lost and solo on the mountainside was not one that he fancied.  He had faith in his survival skills.....but he also had faith they had very solid and final limitations.  Something that this environment surely surpassed.  

The first part of their journey was left with a certain amount of anticipation, and disappointment.  The crunching of bone and torn fabric was a constant companion, and yet whatever had caused such a mess was nowhere to be found.  Not even tracks, though the constantly moving snow likely would hide such evidence.  As for Asahi’s camouflage it already started to flicker in and out.  He’d thought he had the technique down, but perhaps it was the shivering.......he could only seem to maintain it half the time.  Letting go of its vestiges, he’d appear quite solidly, beads of sweat freezing to his skin even beneath the scarf.  

“So.....this is exciting.”  He’d say trying to make conversation.  “I’d thought something would happen by now, or at least.....well I don’t know.  Something, not that this isn’t enough.....”. He’d continue to make small talk as they moved.  Unable to help himself.  His breathing getting heavier and heavier as the air continued to thin out.  The whole thing was starting to bring back memories of trainings long ago.  “Camping” trips that were meant to teach survival as well as build up fortitude.  Not something he had ever particularly enjoyed, but nonetheless he had endured.  It seemed however that regardless of distance form the old Yagami compound, these lessons of the past where still going to rear there head.  Still, there was only one way, and that was to continue up the mountain.  His mind drifted and watched the snow flurries and the passing of terrain.  Thinking of the many mythos he had read, the monsters and demons that inhabited such places, and though he tended to believe in such things, he wondered if they would meet such a creature, or if things would simply continue, dull.  His kind would begin to shift to prayers and rituals and the thought of if places held connections, all in all it was pretty convuluted.  However the lack of oxygen potentially could be to blame for that.  O well, nothing to be done.

Quicker than one would assume, the pair would reach the peak.  Though at the highest point, they technically where only half way done.  The mission was to reach the peak and bring some rocks back down.  Simple enough.  “Sooooo you think that’s it?” The blonde Yagami would ask pointing at a large glowing Boulder, that seemed to have fallen from the sky given the crater around it.   

Without pause he’d jump ahead of his cousin, and being down the pick.  The steel would bite into the metal, shavings and chunks falling to the ground.  As he knelt, and started to shove as many as he could into his bag, a distant roar broke through the screeching of the wind.  Inhuman, but somehow not close enough to plain beast.  “Mmmmm well......shit.”  Asahi would say Looking outwardly.  Trying to track down what had made the noise.


TWC - 2004
TMWC - 3574

"Yeah...shit, that can't be anything good," the samurai swore, shoving another shard of the meteorite into his pack. "Let's get out of here."

Standing up, he glanced around the impact site expecting to find the source of the growling. His cursory inspection, however, found nothing of note and, worse yet, the sound disappeared just as soon as it had come. Where he expected to see a large bear or a group of wolves, Yasahiro saw only a thin veneer of snow that managed to cling to the mountainside. Perhaps the cousins finally caught a break and whatever creature it was had moved on without incident? A bit of good luck would be nice for a change.

"Maybe we're good?" the samurai questioned, stooping down to grab another shard. "Whatever it was must have passed—"

A blur of motion caught out of the corner of his eye brought the elder cousin to his feet once more; this time instead of a growl it was a roar. Standing across from the cousins was an ape of massive proportions. Standing on two legs it towered over both men and with its burning red eyes appeared nearly demonic. Whatever the creature was, Yasahiro was certain it was not friendly; of course, he had no intention of trying to disprove such a conclusion, the creature's bared teeth were enough to dissuade him of that folly.

"A-Asahi," he stammered, his typically coolheaded demeanor crumbling. "Run!"

Mustering all the speed he could given his restrictive attire, the man alighted down the mountain allowing his cousin to lead the way. As the pair ran, the roars and bellows of the beast at their back followed them all the way down. Their momentum carried them faster than Yasahiro could have ever imagined and in no time at all, it seemed they were back at the shack they started at. The bellows were now merely a distant boom and the cousins were alone once more; luck really was on their side it seemed.

"Well done, friends," the disembodied voice of the Hollykage sang in his ears. "Your services are...appreciated."

The samurai's whole world began to spin around him as he became unmoored from the reality around him. The cold bite of the winter winds was soon replaced by the warm humidity of the familiar swamp air. Soon even the blur of motion shifted from white to brown and green; they were going home, it seemed. Hopefully, he would never have to do the Hollykage's dirty work ever again in the future, they were not the greatest employer in the world. Plus, the samurai was starting to develop a district distaste for the cold.

The world went black, and Yasahiro found himself drifting into a world of dreams.

Was that all this had been?

A dream?
---
TWC: 2035/2000, mission complete
+ 50 ap (10 ap for A-rank mission completion | 40 ap for training)
+ 1 Meteoric Iron (holiday mission loot)
+ 5000 ryo (holiday mission loot)
+ 1127 words towards B-Rank Jab
+ 926 words towards D-Rank Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings Technique

Exit/Claims

2004 total words

10 stats to vigor

50ap and 5k ryo for the mission rewards

10ap for A rank mission

1320 towards hiding in camo to complete

Both are approved