Pain...So Much Pain...

Cid wrote:Mid Thread Claim for Mission Rewards:
- Home Alone: 8,000 Ryo / 40 AP / 2,000 Winter Equinox Tickets / 1 Crescent Dice
- Merry Christmas!: 12,000 Ryo  / 60 AP / 2,500 Winter Equinox Tickets / 1 Blank Dice
- And a Happy New Year!: 12,000 Ryo / 60 AP / 2,500 Winter Equinox Tickets / 1 Blank Dice
- Run the Gambit!: 10,000 Ryo  / 50 AP / 2,500 Winter Equinox Tickets / 1 Mythical Item Chimera's Blessing

All Mission Ryo Rewards Doubled Due to Beloved Presence Skill

Starting Ryo / Bonus AP = 76,100 Ryo / 541 AP
Rewarded Ryo / Bonus AP = 84,000 Ryo / 210 AP

New Ryo / Bonus AP = 160,100 Ryo / 751 AP
Total Winter Equinox Tickets = 9,500 Tickets

Will make WC claims at the end of the topic

Approved

As she approached the stranger, asking about philosophy Kira couldn't deny she was, at least a little dissapointed with his response. "Philosophy? I guess I just go where the gold is. Though for most, I don't know if that means much seeing as its only useful when they're alive. As for me, this place has opportunity to make some ryo." It wasn't a confirmation, nor did it hint in the direction she was hoping, and yet the response had this cryptic air to it that left her still wondering about the man. "Ah, my appologies then, I know it's an odd question my, my family has a... well had a rather deep interest in the concept of philosophical zombies during my youth, and you just reminded me of my grandfather a little. It probably sounds silly doesn't it" she replied with a forced laugh "Still you're not wrong, gold doesn't hold much value to the dead, though its rare to see anyone that actually consideres that." She said her tone turning whistful for a moment, "more often than not gold just gets passed from one dead person to another, painting a target on the backs of the weak and never really seeing use." she finished before brightening up again.

Once their conversation had ended and the stranger had invited her to join him Kira happily agreed, following along beside him with a faint smile as she watched the man out of the corner of her eye, trying not to make it too obvious but still watching to see if there was any clues or hint's about this man's nature. Up this close she could smell the faint scent of death on him, though as the man had said, he was a sell sword, one who was no doubt immersed in death, so that was neither unexpected nor helpful for her inquery. Still she stayed quiet as the stranger stepped up to the door of the last building on the street, simply standing quietly to the side as she watched and listened. *knock knock knock* she heard the sound of the man's hard caloused knuckles echoing on the thick wood of the door. She couldn't place exactly what it was about the sound but it felt... off somehow, not empty exactly but rougher than she would have expected, like a bone was being struck against a tree.

She listened quietly to the conversation between the man and the homeowner, idly wondering if she should have asked him his name. Names were, at the end of the day ultimately pointless of course, a dead man was a dead man and a name didn't change that, but at least in the short term it did help when you needed to draw attention to someone, and it was polite,  so she probably should have...
"You must be the help that the police force called for huh? They already briefed me that my house would be used to trap the burglars...As long as nothing is damaged or stolen, you have my compliance." The home owner said, her voice sounding rather relieved now that help had arrived.

Leaving the conversation to her new, albeit possibly temporary companion, Kira took to scanning the street for any threats, she still wasn't one hundered percent sure of the specifics of why they were here but odds were if it was a job that required a sell sword "If that's the case, can you vacate the property? I'll stake out the residence and stop whoever tries to break in." she heard her new companion say behind her even as she watched a shifty looking man across the street dart from one alley to another, she wondered if that man might be their target, but he certainly didn't seem to return, even as she reached out with her senses she couldn't feel him still hiding in the alley so it was more than likely he had run off somewhere else. Kira wrote it off as either some shady individual up to some other questionable activity or someone scoping out their target. Either way they weren't an immediate thread so she just marked it down as something to mention once they were secured within the household. She couldn't help but miss her servants, they would have done an excelent job of keeping watch and alerting her of any suspicious activity.

"Bet. I already booked a night at the Inn. Please send for me when the job is finished." she heard the woman behind her saying, followed by the sound of the door being opened all the way and the woman stepping down the steps. Turning back to her companion she waited till he'd stepped inside before joining him. Once he'd done so she would ask simply "so whats the actual job here, I'm guessing we're not a cleaning service" she said with a sarcastic sniff, eying a cluster of cobwebs hanging from the roof. Depending on the response she might continue on the conversation of course but either way once their exchange was over she would wander over to the corner, setting herself up with a good view of all the room's entrances, when the first newcomer arrived she simply raised an eyebrow at the interaction between the two of them, this Cid fellow was playing coy of course but the way he interacted with her companion felt... odd was the best way to describe it. Maybe she was reading too much into it of course and this man was simply one of the many bizzare individuals who roamed this land with little social ability, but at the end of the day her instincts told her that something about their interaction was forced and unatural.

Once the pair had given their introductions Kira gave the newcomer a nod from the corner, about to introduce herself when she was interupted by another knock at the door. Closing her mouth she waited until one of the men opened the door, revealing an efeminate looking individual standing out in the snow, not that gender made much of a difference to her, they were all just bags of meat at the end of the road; but an idle part of her mind let loose a sigh of relief for a moment, glad not to have to deal with being the only woman in a team of men. That relief lasted all of ten seconds of course before the individual stepped through the door and started speaking, introducing themselves.

”Well hello there. I’m Chiharu.” the efeminate looking boy introduced himself, a flirtatious grin stretching across his face as he set down a wicked long bladed ninjata that he had been carrying over his back... once everyone else had finished introducing themselves Kira would simply introduce herself with a nod as she would have before. "Kira, Kira Semei" she would say, once again watching for any sign of a reaction to her family name, the lack of a reaction was dissapointing of course but the only one who she thought might have some small chance at a connection to her bloodline was really just this Auron fellow so it was to be expected. After that things would proceede as before. The group would spread out a little, each of them killing time in their own way whilst they waited for their targets to attempt to enter the house. When they finally heard the telltale sound of the lock on the door being, very poorly, picked, the group quietly shuffled back into position, waiting for their prey to spring the trap. Eventually, after more than a few failures the door swung open, the 'thieves' striding blindly into the trap. The combat, though calling it a combat was beyond generous, went acording to plan, just as everyone had expected it too, with cid letting out his confident laugh and all the criminals being captured with little trouble.

A few moments later the criminals had been trussed up and the police summoned, the reward being handed over to Auron who had seemed to take on the role of defacto leader of their little group, Kira didn't mind of course, the gold for this job was hardly the reason she was here, it was just a small bonus, and one that she didn't care about enough to demand an immediate division of the spoils, one of the more notable items amongst the rewards however was a scroll supposedly left by an ancient and powerful space time artist known only as "santa claws" though the spelling seemed to vary from reference to reference. The concept certainly intrigued her, whilst the majority of her families techniques focused on the reanimation of the physical body she knew for a fact that some of the more powerful techniques in that style blended the art of medical ninjutsu with that of space time. Sadly what legends they had heard of the man seemed to indicate that he stayed well away from the necromantic arts.

Before she could really question it however Auron had opened the seal on the scroll, a briliant white beam of light spreading out and engulfing the rest of their party. Kira blinked, her sight cover in splotches, when her vision cleared she found herself standing somewhere completely new. At a glance, they stood in what appeared to be a regal lobby with bright red decorations everywhere; rug, curtains, and furniture scattered throughout the room; the decor accented with green, evident by the potted plants and some of the paintings primary colors. Interestingly enough the only things that seemed to be normal colors were the walls, floors, and ceilings, which had been pearly white. Yet straight ahead and up a single flight of 6 wide stairs was a golden throne, ornate in its design and shimmering in the light. Within it sat an elderly, plump man who seemed to be so sick that his skin was pale as a ghost.

"So you received my invitation? Ho - ho, -ugh chyuk *cough cough" The giant of a man started, his speach interupted by a dry coughing fit that sounded painful even to Kira's caloused ears. "I will keep this short…I am Santa Claus, King of Christmas. And around this time of year I am responsible for delivering presents throughout the world and this realm. But tonight I'm afraid I can't do it. I've enlisted the help of multiple shinobi to be assigned various parts of the world, but all that's left is the Winter Wonderland actually. *cough cough*." the suposed master of space and time said, pausing intermittently to choke down a coughing fit here and there with a glass of milk before continuing."So if the four of you are available, please help me with these deliveries. I reward handsomely." the man finaly finished and kira couldn't help but tilt her head at the oddness of this entire situation. The man had, at least from what she could tell, the ability and skill to summon and teleport people from all throughout the township that was known as the winter wonderland. Moreover he had the ability to do so selectively, having decided against summoning any of the police from within the station they had all been gathered within.

Still even with her concerns pay was pay, and its not like she had any reason to turn the man down, he looked like he was on the edge of death's door as it was so maybe she would get lucky and he would pass on halfway through the mission. Then they would have both a reward for the mission itself and a chance at the body of a near god like mythical figure to turn to her... ahm their whims.  "I'm in." Auron said, his mind no doubt moving along a similar, albeit likely slightly different route, the rest of the group following his lead. It took a moment for her to realise the rest of them were waiting for her to assent, not being used to having others consider her opinions on such things, but after a moment to process that she gave another short quiet nodd before adding "I'm in as well."

Almost as soon as she spoke the words a short green clad little man darted out from behind a pillar. "Alright Mr. Claus, I can take it from here. You  lot, come with me. I'll show you were all the packages are as well as the big guy's sleigh. Lucky for you guys you'll actually be able to fly on it, land on homes, slip into chimneys, and cleverly place these presents wherever a Christmas tree is present. All the other volunteers had to walk. But really it's as simple as that. Any questions?" the short little creature she could only assume was an elf said, the elf's explanation both short and thorough, the creature finishing its explanation just as the group arrived at the location of their transportation. It was large and wooden, appearing to be some type of chariot attached to a band of deer. "Alrighty then, I'll be flying it. So just hop aboard and be ready to be dropped off at these houses and fill their trees." the creature said, and Kira had to stifle a giggle at the absurdity of it all, she got the sense the others were struggling too keep in their own laughter at the absurdity of the entire situation.

With a quiet sigh once the urge to keel over laughing had passed she silently pulled herself up into the sleigh, her heart feeling oddly light, she had been without friends or companionship other than the corpses of her 'friends and family' for so long that she had forgotten how good it could be to have someone just to share a moment of companionship with. She sat there quietly enjoying herself on the ride as the elf like creature drove their transport towards their goal.

"Each house has its own sack within that sack in the back. Sack-ception, am I right? They're organized and optimized for our route though. So one of you grab the first bag in the sack, then you can all head down there." the elf said, making what kira could only think was a poor attempt at a joke, she had never heard of anything called a ception, except maybe an exception, but that hardly seemed like what the elf was trying to reference here. Still she just took in the information, tilting her head curiously as the elf continued on, it's soft spoken words barely audible at times over the whistling and wailing of the wind.

Once they had arrived Kira would drop down from the slay, glancing over at the rather large sack of goodies before looking up at Auron who had remained on the sled till last. "Would you mind passing me down a bag? I'm not the biggest sadly" she would say, waiting to see if the man helped her. Assuming he did she would give him a quiet nod and a few words of thanks. Of course before any of them could leave and attempt to find their way into their assigned houses the elf spoke up again. ""Take some of this magical white powder and sprinkle it down the chimney," the elf instructed while holding out a bag "It'll make the chimney expand so that you can each fit down their with the items." If no one else had taken the bag she would of course taken it for herself, it never hurt to have a bag of magical powder after all, but of course that was unlikely, no one else in the group would be foolish enough to overlook the value of such an item after all.

One by one the various members of their group would slip down into each house on their list, aided by the magic of the powder; they would perfectly place the presents under the trees just as auron wanted and make sure they upheld extreme silence in all their actionsactions... at least thats what kira was doing.  The group traveled from house to house, repeating the process. After some hours, and many houses later, they'd conclude their endeavor at the last house. Upon finally finishing it, the elf stopped the group from entering the sleigh.

"This is the end of the road for you lot, but I appreciate your help. Here, each of you take your own," the elf said all the while waving his hand over 4 pre placed bags of ryo that sat on the back seat of the sleigh. "Thanks," Auron said, beating kira to it, wasting no time to grab his payment. Kira on the other hand took her time, waiting until everyone else had picked up their reward before taking hold of hers, the sleigh completely vanishing a few moments later. In place of it, stood another elderly man, bearing a large clock that hung from his neck. His loud voice boomed, loud enough to shake snow from the gutters of the roof's top.

"Hold up wait a minute, y'all thought you were finished?" the giant of a man let out in a stern and deep voice. His bushy brows furrowed as his tall frame leaned down to get a closer look at the group. "Santa let me know you were doing his dirty work…so now, I need you to do mine. You see…my baby is missing. More specifically, Baby New Year is missing. And I have reason to suspect that he is in a cave not so far off from here. I'm a sensory and space time specialist, so I was able to track him down quite easily…but if I reveal myself to the bandits that captured Baby New Year, I may do more harm than good. The cave is 100 meters North of here, and this is not up for discussion. I myself will not be paying you anything, but feel free to help yourselves to whatever those bandits have in their possession." The man said and, if she was a regular shinobi she likely would have ignored the man, but the prospect of a number of fresh bodies did intrigue her. Still at the end of the day as was her nature she left most of the decision making to the rest of the group, only chiming in to encorage them to just get the job done if it ever felt like no one else was going to chime in and make a decision.

Following the group up into the mountains Kira found herself once again regretting the lack of servants she had with her to assist in this process, she even went so far as to scold herself for not finding a way to conjur some to her aid in an emergency, perhaps after this expedition she could try to find a way to summon a graveyard of some kind, of course before her musings could get much father she noticed that their defacto leader Auron had crouched behind a cluster of bushes, no doubt in an effort to hide his presence from any bandits who were keeping watch. Following his lead she slid down next to him, just in time to hear him speak in a hushed tone. "I think we may find success if we split into two groups. One could be the decoy crew, which garners the attention of the bandits. The other could be the infiltration crew. I can briefly augment my appearance to blend in with my surroundings, and I can apply this to one other person as well. So I think I should be on the infiltration crew, and once inside their hideout I'll take on the brunt of the combat. Whoever comes with me should prioritize acquiring the baby. And for everyone, don't forget to grab any valuables you find within the cave. That's our only form of payment."

The plan was sound, and Kira couldn't exactly think of any reason not to go with that so she nodded along, waiting to see if anyone else had objections. Cid chimed in "I ain't much one for stealth, but I am all for creating a distraction. Plus, I'm trying to refill my flask on the cheap." the man said, volunteering to be the distraction and a moment later the young pretty boy chimed in as well, volunteering to join the grizled man "l’ll go with Cid, my weapons are kinda eye-catching, not to mention the rest of me. I’m sure my abilities will be useful enough on that front.”. Kira was happy with that, she'd much rather be on the team that wasn't darting right into the lions mouth, plus this let her follow along and keep an eye on the abilities of Auron. "That works for me then, you two can act as the distraction whilst Auron and I can handle the infiltration." she said with a short confident smile.

With that decided she watched as the two men went off to do their part of the job, Auron already starting to weave handsels for some sort of technique. She watched with interest, eying the different seals with interest as she tried to identify the technique, of course that got hard when the man's hands started to turn translucent. A moment later she felt her companion's hand on her shoulder and she had to stifle the urge to let out a somewhat girlish squeal, she wasn't the type to scare easily of course and she wouldn't be foolish enough to actually squeal a few meters from an active bandit camp, but there was still something of an innate viseral response that had to be overcome, though to Auron or anyone outside it would likely only look like she'd tensed up for a moment... at least thats what it would have looked like if she too hadn't turned completely translucent, something she noticed as she glanced down at her feet.

Silently moving towards the cave Kira followed Auron's lead, only just keeping track of him with her own rudimentary sensory abilities. Within the cave was a large number of bandits, who had installed some infrastructure and hospitality within. There were torches, sleeping quarters, meat drying racks, and more but none of it mattered all that much to the pair of them, quickly making their way deeper into the cave they eventually came across what they were looking for. A youngling lying within a ramshackle teepee, she was just about to duck into the tent and pick up the babe as planned when she heard Auron's voice from beside her.

"I can only keep two people invisible at a time. Because of this, we need to split up. Like I said, I will cause a diversion within here and garner the attention of the bandits. I need you to secure the baby and escape from the cave while me and the other two are fighting off the bandits. Understood?" Kira frowned a little at that, it had been the plan and she had agreed to it, though she wasn't all that sure why they didn't just kill the bandit's as a group now that they knew the child was safe. Though that was likely more a result of her own irritation at not being able to observe the man fighting. "Alright i can handle that, but if you run into trouble pull them back to the entrance, I work best at causing chaos once there are a few fallen foes to work with so don't put yourselves at risk." She said dropping another hint at the direction her abilities lay as she started darting off back in the direction of the entrance, the body of the new born year floating and bobbing through the air with her for a moment before auron canceled the technique.

Of course the plan went off without a hitch so kira never did get the chance to see the fight, nor did she get to play with the bodies of the bandits afterwards, the rest of the group came striding out of the cave triumphantly. "Good work team," Auron would said striding out from the cave with the air of a triumphant leader even as he visually looked over each member, no doubt checking they were all unharmed and they had the baby.

After a moment, the group found themselves interrupted by the elderly spectral being they spoke to previously. This time, the man manifested himself right next to Kira. The hairs on her neck standing on end as her senses picked him up standing next to her only a fraction of a second before he started to speak. "I see you made short work of that group and recovered my baby. For that, you have my thanks. Now pardon my abruptness, but we must be going. We need to prepare for the holiday." The figure said, seeming to blur for a moment as it snatched the child out of Kira's arm's with the sort of blazing speed that left her stunned for a moment before she realised what happened, by the time she had done so the figure was gone and all that was left of him and the child was a faintly sour taste in her mouth. "well that was rude" she mumbled under her breath.

A few moment later after the rewards had been divided up Auron chimed in again "Hey guys listen, I'm pretty beat. I'm going to head back to my room in the Inn and rest for the night. I don't know where you all are staying, but if you want to meet up at the police station in the morning we can look for more work." the man said, and a moment later almost as if the two had planned it Cid chimed in as well ”Its late enough that rest is probably a good idea, so I’m going to go back to the inn. I think there’s blood in my hair, too, so I need a shower.” With a shrug Kira agreed herself, it had certainly been a long day and whilst she was used to accumulating grave dust over time it didn't mean she couldn't appreciate a cool shower and a tidy up; plus she already knew she was sharing an inn with Auron so that helped make the decision for her.

Following the group back to town she wandered back to the inn with Auron, the pair of them going their seperate ways once they had gotten inside the building unless he decided to coment on her presence. She slipped into the room wher she had first arrived in this strange village, looking around she felt like she should really dive deep into exploring the place and trying to find what had brought her here... but she was just so tired, she slipped out for a quick shower, scrubbing herself clean before throwing her clothes back on and falling into bed.

Her sleep was long and dreamless, but when she finally awoke she found herself lying on the floor of what she could describe only as an entirely white, rectangular room spaning exactly fifty meters by fifty meters by fifty meters. Sitting up with a groan she looked around, immediately noticing that two of her team mates from the previous day had all ready arrived, and appeared to be standing off against... a golden pinata of all things. Looking around she groaned, there was little around her in reach to use as a weapon and there weren't any corpses she could leverage to help her here either. She really needed to work out that graveyard summoning technique she had been thinking about. Still the bizzare creature looked dangerous enough that she couldn't leave the other two to deal with it on their own, she could at least act as something as a distraction, she just hoped that even despite its apperance it was still succeptable to poisons.

Rushing to fall into formation behind the other two she flicked her wrist priming a barrage of senbon to be ready to throw at a moment's notice, each one holding a small payload of mildly corrosive poison. Much to her relief however she found that it wasn't just the three of them against this creature, Auron's voice calling out from behind them "Uhh...what the hell did I miss?" the man said and she let out a silent sigh of relief. The fight went relatively easily after that, they all worked with enough teamwork and skill that the creature eventually fell without any of them being seriously injured, and the group was left free to divide up the spoils of the bizzare experience.

WC: 5113
TWC: 8378
Thread WC: 28,028
claims in a moment

-Jingle All the Way1: Reward: 2,000 Ryō / 10 AP / 500 Winter Equinox Tickets
-Jingle All the Way:2 Reward: 2,000 Ryō / 10 AP / 500 Winter Equinox Tickets
-Jingle All the Way:3 Reward: 2,000 Ryō / 10 AP / 500 Winter Equinox Tickets
-Jingle All the Way:4 Reward: 2,000 Ryō / 10 AP / 500 Winter Equinox Tickets
- Home Alone: 8,000 Ryo / 40 AP / 2,000 Winter Equinox Tickets / 1 Crescent Dice
- Merry Christmas!: 12,000 Ryo  / 60 AP / 2,500 Winter Equinox Tickets / 1 Blank Dice
- And a Happy New Year!: 12,000 Ryo / 60 AP / 2,500 Winter Equinox Tickets / 1 Blank Dice
- Run the Gambit!: 10,000 Ryo  / 50 AP / 2,500 Winter Equinox Tickets / 1 Mythical Item Chimera's Blessing

Starting Ryo / Bonus AP = 500 Ryo / 0 AP / 0 Tix
Rewarded Ryo / Bonus AP = 50,000 Ryo / 250 AP / 11,500 Tix
Final Ryo/ Bonus AP / Tickets = 50,500 / 250 AP / 11,500 Tix
(let me know if my maths is wrong x-x)

Throughout the entirety of the missions, Auron had been mentally logging information on each of his comrades. Cid specifically had been one that the Yamaguchi knew well. He knew the man was a head on, jocular, and capable individual who was deceptively threatening. At first glance Cid may seem like a drunken pirate who could make anyone laugh, but beyond that façade he was analyzing everything and always had a plan. It was one of the reasons that Auron respected him so much and enjoyed his company. Not only did Cid have a way of lightening the mood, but Auron knew that the man had his back just as much as he had his. The two made for a nice duo and when the trinity was completed with Grey, they were a force to be reckoned with. Chiharu also seemed to be personable and charismatic, but Auron's first perception of the man was completely wrong. Auron assumed that because he was so charismatic, he may prefer the art of being deceptive in the field. However his style of fighting was much more straightforward and in the mix. In a way, he was like Cid for that reason. 

Lastly, this Kira individual was harder to decipher. Though she had been very straightforward with her intentions and mentality, Auron couldn't get a true bead on her ancestry. She mentioned "zombies", which Auron could only relate to as reanimated corpses, but he knew that was only characteristic of the Yamaguchi Clan. From his quick analysis of her chakra though, she didn't appear to be a member of the clan. Her clan name would corroborate this theory. But the Yamaguchi couldn't shake the idea that perhaps their clans were in some way related. And maybe that relationship help true in both Auron and Kira's fighting styles, and that could have been how they were related. Thinking on this a little further, Auron could only use the examples of both using some form of corpse based jutsu and they both seemed to be preferential to a stealth based style of combat. 

These thoughts ran through Auron's head as he rested on the snowy floor in silence. While he sat, he'd rummage his hand through the ryo pile that sat next to him. Collecting his fair share he'd stumble across something that felt unusual. He'd retrieve his hand from the pile and immediately see a strange stuffed animal. He'd briefly look upon it with confusion, unsure of whether to leave it or take it. For now, he'd keep it in his hand for anyone to see. Eventually he'd rise to his feet and brush the snow off of himself. "I think I'll head back to town." But before he'd leave he'd approach Kira a bit closer and directly address her. "Kira, walk with me if you have the time. I'd like to hear more about your ancestral background and how that relates to your philosophy and jutsu that you described."

Whether the woman agreed or not was up to her, but Auron would regardless head off to the town either by his lonesome or with his group members. It only took minutes to reach the town and when he would there would be a woman approaching Auron. She'd see the stuffed animal in his hand and instantly run up to him.

"Um excuse me...that toy you have in your hand..can I buy it? I've been looking for that damn stuffed rabbit all over town but it's been sold out. Please, let me buy it from you. I'll pay you each 2,000 ryo!"

Auron, having already been confused about the toy, was enticed to get rid of it. Unless any of his group members that walked with him interjected, would sort of shrug and extend the toy out to the woman. She gently snatched it from him and in the same motion tossed four bags of ryo on the ground. Auron would take his own and the woman would be off. He wouldn't even take any time to comment on the situation, as that had hardly been the strangest thing for the group to experience.

Nevertheless the group would approach the Inn, and likely the end of their journey together. "Does anyone have anything else they'd like to discuss? If not, I think I'll retire for the day. I need a nice bath."

Assuming the group didn't comment more than a farewell, Auron would prepare to separate from the team. "Alright guys, sounds good. It was nice working with you, maybe we'll cross paths again."

And with that, he'd go back inside the inn, check into his room, and get ready for his bath. The bwoy was tired.
WC = 781. TWC = 9155
-Exit-

Mission Reward Claims
- Jingle All The Way Rewards: 2,000 Ryō + 2,000 Ryo (C Rank, MN Bonus) / 10 AP / 500 Winter Equinox Tickets

Starting Ryo / Bonus AP = 149,900 Ryo / 860 AP
Rewarded Ryo / Bonus AP = 4,000 Ryo / 10 AP

New Ryo / Bonus AP = 154,900 Ryo / 870 AP
Total Winter Equinox Tickets = 10,000 Tickets

Word Count Claims
- Memorizing Chiharu's and Kira's Signatures
- 3,000 WC for Blade Art - Necrokinesis, C->S (Max Stat Discount)
- 1,688 WC for Armor Transmutation, A->S (Max Stat Discount)
- 1,875 WC for Sacred Spear, A (Max Stat Discount)
- 1,249 WC for Sword Storm, A (Max Stat Discount, 1249/1875)
- 750 WC for Perfect Body, B ->A (Max Stat Discount)
- 593 WC for Lightness Skill (Max Stat Discount), rest learned here

Approved

Upon picking up his Naginata and his own share of the ryo, Chiharu turned to look at the rest of his companions. They, too, seemed ready to go, confirmed when Auron said he’d be heading back into town. Gripping his weapon loosely, the young man easily fell into step with the others, not saying much in particular. He didn’t need to, either, with his flirtations having been shut down there wasn’t much to say after the events of the night. Crazy or not, this time in winter wonderland had certainly paid well enough. He could probably afford a real fancy base of operations now. Probably even had enough ryo to fortify it quite significantly. Being honest, he had more than enough ryo to last him quite a while, probably.

However, it seemed that the strangeness wasn’t quite done yet, as a woman appeared before them in a whirl of spacetime. ”So you are the worms that dared to foil my plans to ruin the holidays, interesting… I am Minaguya Ōtsutsuki, and I am the one who planned the illness of Santa Claus and the kidnapping of Ureshii! Because you have foiled my plans, you must face my wrath!” She stated, long white hair seeming to float around her in a very unnatural way. Making a clone of herself, the woman vanished through yet another portal, the clone beelining it for their group straight away.

Thankful that he was still holding the Naginata in both hands, Chiharu immediately raised it to block an attack with the long handle of the polearm. She was fast, though not quite as fast as him. What she lacked in speed, though, she clearly made up for in power. Even just the clone seemed to be roiling with turbulent chakra, the kind so potent it was practically visible to the naked eye. Chiharu didn’t need to be a sensor to know that this random woman was very, very dangerous. Shouting for the others to provide some backup if they could get close, Chiharu decided he would go on the offensive here. Striking out with his Naginata, he wasn’t surprised when his first attack was blocked. The clone was obviously powerful, and blocking a simple strike from a weapon was hardly unexpected of someone as fast as her.

Attacking with renewed vigor, the young man engaged in the deadly dance of the woman’s speedy and powerful Taijutsu versus his own training with weaponry. A simple clone had no right to be so powerful, it was a huge blow to his ego that he couldn’t land even a single hit. However, luck was on his side, as the clone eventually grew distracted by what he assumed was one of his teammates attacking her from another angle. Seeing his chance and taking it, he brought his polearm down in a sweeping slash that cut the clone in half, dispersing her for good. Glancing around to make sure there were no other enemies waiting to jump them, the young man exhaled in relief when he found nothing. Still panting slightly from the effort, he looked them all dead in the eye to say his piece. ”I don’t know why crazy pays so well, but this is utterly ridiculous. Why exactly did WE have to be the danger magnets?

Stepping up to where he’d defeated the clone, he noticed four more bags of ryo and groaned. Seriously, what was with this place? Regardless, he snatched his own bag and continued on towards the inn in complete silence.

They had yet another strange encounter on the way back to the inn, in the form of a woman approaching Auron and asking to buy the stuffed animal he’d apparently pulled out of his portion of the ryo. Auron complied pretty easily, and Chiharu didn’t question it, though when she tossed four bags of ryo at them and walked away he did raise an eyebrow. Not one to protest more money, the young man scooped his bag up, not even deigning to question the weirdness this time. After the past few nights, his barometer for strangeness was probably far different from most people’s.

As they approached the inn, Auron made to part with them all, asking if anybody had anything they needed to discuss before they parted. Shaking his head, Chiharu stated his own simple farewells, entering the inn to return to his temporary lodgings.

WC: 744
TWC: 5,295
Claims:
I haven’t even started my new year’s resolution yet!: 10,000 Ryō / 50 AP / 2,500 Winter Equinox Tickets / Access to a unique boss event during the next event

Jingle All the Way: 2,000 Ryō / 10 AP / 500 Winter Equinox Tickets

WC: 744/2,000 towards learning https://www.narutoroleplaygame.com/t53285-shimi-daikon-skill
7 stat points going towards speed.
[Exit]

approved

Just realised i was so wiped when doing my claims that i forgot to include 

Mission Name: I Haven’t Even Started My New Year’s Resolution Yet!
Reward: 10,000 Ryō / 50 AP / 2,500 Winter Equinox Tickets / Access to a unique boss event during the next event


Starting Ryo/AP/Tix: 101,500 Ryo /285 / 1000
Mission Ryo/AP/Tix: 10,000 Ryō / 50 AP / 2,500
Final Ryo/AP/Tix: 111,500 / 335 / 3500

TWC: 8378

1574 towards Horde Summoner 426/2000 ->  2000/2000- First Portion Trained Here

5000 towards Impure World Reincarnation
1804 towards Impure World Summoner 1804/2000
83 Chakra points

Scrolls obtained here

Cid ended up doing what he could against the strange pinata to keep the thing at bay, but it was surprisingly resilient. It wasn't long before Auron woke up and managed to destroy the beast while making it look easy. Cid would crack a smile, "Damn that sure was something." He' would mention, but everyone seemed to have their focus on gathering the loot that literally was just beaten out of the stuffed beast. There was... a lot. Cid would gladly take his share of the spoils, finding an odd vial and picking it up with haste. He wasn't sure what was in it, but it had to be some good stuff if this giant monster of a pinata was guarding it. Spirits perhaps? With a shrug he'd toss it in his pocket as reality shifted seemed to shift once more. They would all begin their journey back towards town when they stumbled into yet another odd entity that wanted to give them a hard time. Cid would just hang his head low, clearly drained by this whole ordeal. The man didn't seem to get very good sleep, he was fighting off a hangover, he had to do battle with a giant pinata, and now THIS?

The man would weave a few seals, creaking a lash of flames to defend himself with. Chi seemed to be the first one to really bring the fight to this odd being, but Cid would help. Not because of any reason more than he had a headache and this crazy thing decided it was a good idea to attack them. Hell, if they would have offered to work together and payed as well the pirate might have even been on its side through this whole ordeal. But, instead they would fight the thing until its last breath. A swipe from his lash would be met with a defense, but it left open the flank. Chi took advantage of this and cut the being down... or the clone of the being is more accurate considering the *Poof* that was so common upon the death of shadow clones. 

Bags of ryo would now be in the place of the clone, and Cid would gladly take his share. He considered tossing the sacks to their respective owners, but he didn't wanna touch their money and cause a scene. 

"I'm gonna go sleep this headache off," Cid would add as they approached the town, only for another person to rush up to them and hand them money for... a toy? Shit maybe those thieves had more sense then he originally figured. This person just dropped a ton of cash on a freaking toy. Eyes wide, Cid wasn't one to turn down money. 

wc:454
twc: 7179

Claims:

Missions complete:
1x S rank - I haven’t even started my new year’s resolution yet!: 10,000 Ryō / 50 AP / 2,500 Winter Equinox Tickets / Access to a unique boss event during the next event
1x D rank - Jingle All the Way: 2,000 Ryō / 10 AP / 500 Winter Equinox Tickets


Total Mission Ryo doubled due to Beloved Presence: 24,000 total (12,000 x2)
Total Tickets: 3000
Total AP: 60