Rogue Waves and the Mysteries of the Moon

Meanwhile, elsewhere on the Land of Moon near the Tengakure Ruins...


As the moon hangs low in the sky, casting a silvery glow over the Land of the Moon, a lone vagrant, Hoshigaki Kiran, ventures steadily through the darkened forestry with only the moonlight as her pathfinder and guide. It also reveals the features of her physiology, the vagrant possesses a svelte physique followed by long, black hair with a Hime-cut and teal highlights at the ends of her fringes, a gold crown on her forehead that resembles a trident, long, triangular-shaped ears, a pair of sky-blue irises with white pupils eyes, both surrounded by charcoal black scleras, two-sided fins near her wrists and along her forearms, a snubbed tailfin, blue yonder lip-tinted lips, and an elfin facial expression accompanied by a pale complexion.

Her outfit is equally ornate yet outlandish, wearing a dress with varying shades of blue, white, and gold. Yet, it also appears weathered and worn from the many days she's spent traveling. She wears an idiosyncratic yet ornately designed short dress with a multicolored, flower-esque collar that hides a small pair of gills at either side of her neck, a short tabard that hangs beneath her bosom, and a ruffle fastened below her collarbone, all decorated in numerous shades of white, blue, and yellow, ranging from off-white, royal yellow, and turquoise to Astros-navy, gold, and steel blue. Hanging sleeves wrap around her biceps down to her elbows in the selfsame, kaleidoscopic color scheme, her forearms covered by off-white sleeves with college-navy-colored gloves, nail polish, and an asymmetric pair of legwear that stretches from toe to thigh on her left leg and a single wrapping around her right thigh. She also wears a pair of astro-navy heels and yellow-colored socks with the minor trimmings of the former’s color.

With no sense of direction or purpose, she eventually stumbles upon a cascade of dilapidated buildings, ruined structures, and crumbling architecture that once stood tall against the test of time but now lay forgotten by all but a few. Whatever this place used to be or once was, is impressive in both design and magnitude, likely large enough to host an entire civilization—a former civilization, at best—but now it lies abandoned and desolate.

"Look at that," she murmurs. "A ruined village... looks pretty old, too. Maybe an era or two passed? I wonder what happened here... It looks like there were people here not too long ago." She takes a step forward and freezes when her foot collides with something solid. Kiran peers down at her feet and finds a small, round object with intricate designs carved on the surface. She picks it up and inspects it closely, turning it over in her hand as she examines the mysterious object. Although Kiran's spent most of her waking life in the subterranean, she's also spent long enough on the surface to be familiar with some of the more common creations of Man, although this spherical artifact holsters an odd air to it.

"Weird. Never seen anything this before." The etchings on the solid ball are unlike anything she's ever seen before, and they seem to have been made with great care and precision. She can't help but wonder who made it and why. "Overdwellers sure have odd fascinations. Maybe I can find out more about it if I keep looking around at little—"

"Hey! What are you doing here?" A voice shouts from behind her, causing Kiran to whirl around in surprise as two men approach her from the shadows, both dressed in dark clothes shrouded by a midnight blue cloak that blends into their surroundings perfectly. One of them steps forward, his features hidden by the hood of his cloak, but Kiran can see the glint of silver in his eyes as he stares at her. "You're trespassing on private property."

Kiran cocks an eyebrow. "Private property? This place has been abandoned for ages," she replies, gesturing to the ruins around them. "I don't think anyone owns it anymore. Besides, who are you, Overdweller, to tell me where I can and can't go?" The man narrows his eyes at her, clearly displeased with her response.

The man scoffs. "You don't know anything about this place, do you? It belongs to Kurogane-sama. He's claimed ownership over these ruins and now he's sent us to deal with any intruders who dare step foot here." He takes another step towards Kiran, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "I'll ask again: what are you doing here? And with one of his possessions in your hand there?"

Kiran squares herself against him, refusing to back down even though she knows that she's likely no match for these two men given her immediate condition. Even so, maybe if she relinquishes the artifact in her hands, they could just let her off the hook with only a slap on the wrist. While Kiran would love a good rumble, she has no measure to determine the skill level of the men before her. She decides to play it safe. "I found this ball thingy lying around and I thought it was cool so I picked it up." She tosses the ball over to the men who catch it easily. "There, now you have it back. Can we all just go home?"

"No, you're in no position to negotiate with us." The man says as he pockets the ball. He then turns to his companion and nods. "She may be part of 'those ones' that Kurogane-sama told us about. Take care of her." The other man bobs his head as he pulls out a kunai knife from beneath his cloak and rushes at Kiran, aiming for her throat, while the former departs from the scene in a warped blur. Kiran barely manages to dodge out of the way in time, but she's not fast enough to avoid the slash that cuts across her arm, drawing blood. She grits her teeth as she clutches her injured arm, glaring at the men as they advance towards her.

"Damn it!" Kiran curses, flexing her wounded arm. The cut's shallow, but its motor functions remain intact so there's no need for concern. She backs away from the lackey, keeping a wary eye on his movements. "You're really starting to piss me off." She growls as she swiftly shifts her posture and assumes a fighting stance with her hands raised in a defensive position. The lackey smirks as he twirls his kunai around and charges towards her again, this time aiming for her legs. "If it's a fight you want, then I'll give it to ya!" She shouts as she sidesteps out of the way, pivots on her non-dominant leg, and swings her other leg out in a roundhouse kick, catching him in the side of the head and sending him five meters sprawling to the ground.

As the man recovers from the blow, Kiran swiftly melds her hands together to form the "Ram" hand seal before her visage slightly distorts to reveal four, identical projections of herself appear at either side, equally. In no time, they rush toward the assailant, who in his daze, reflexively raises his arms to shield and deflect blows that never land. Realizing his miscalculation too late, Kiran is already in midair. In spinning in a clockwise motion on her side, her waist is leveled with his right shoulder, she twists her hips and delivers a fast and powerful downward kick from the top of his head, abruptly sending him crashing face-first into the ground before rebounding back upward. Her non-dominant foot lands on the ground first, pivoting on the spot before her dominant foot lands thereafter to throw a haymaker against his torso.

The blow sends him flying several meters away where he lands hard against one of the ruined walls. He lets out a grunt of pain as he struggles to get up but fails to do so due to the severity of his injuries. "Damn it... How did she beat me like that? I'm supposed to be stronger than this! I can't let Kurogane-sama down..." He mutters under his breath as he tries to stand again but falls back down onto the ground with another groan of pain.

'... My chance!' She thinks, before sprinting aimlessly through the sundered village complexes, jumping over debris and rubble in her way. 'I need to get out of here before they catch up with me!' Kiran thinks as she continues running through the ruins. 'But, this place is too confusing! I don't know where I'm going!' Gallivanting around the ruins in a bumbling fashion, Kiran finds herself lost within the labyrinthine streets of Tengakure's Ruins. A little later, she detours into an abandoned building and fashions a makeshift tourniquet from one of her hanging sleeves around her open wound. "That Overdweller likely has friends looking for me also." She mutters to herself as she looks down at the bloodied cloth wrapped around her arm. "I have to keep moving. But, it won't do if I stick out like a sore thumb."

She weaves the "Dog" handseal and tries her best to conjure a one-to-one replication of the previous Kurogane agent that departed not too long ago. Shortly after, a puff of off-white smoke envelopes her form and disperses just as quickly before revealing a masculine figure clothed in dark garments, covered in a midnight blue cloak. "This will do nicely." She reaches for the wound on her arm. "Didn't change along with everything else, huh? I'll just hide it under the cloak for now, then." Kiran says to herself as she pulls up the sleeve of her cloak to cover her injury. "Now, to find my way out of here."

With some difficulty exiting through one of the open, shattered windows, Kiran traverses the ruins, being cautious to evade any wandering wardens and watchmen while she intermittently pauses to catch her bearings. After some time passes, she finds herself at a crossroads between two different paths. "Which way should I go?" She mutters under her breath as she looks down both paths and decides to go right. On her way through the ruins, she spots a group of who appear to be more of Kurogane's shinobi patrolling the area. She quickly hides behind a nearby pile of debris before they notice her and waits for them to pass. Once they're out of sight, she lets out a sigh of relief and continues on her way through the ruins until finally reaching what appears to be the exit.

"Finally! I'm almost there!" Kiran says excitedly as she runs towards the exit only to be stopped by another group of Kurogane's agents standing guard outside of it.

She quickly hides behind some nearby rubble and watches as they continue their patrols around the perimeter of the exit. After some time passes, Kiran decides to make her move and sneaks past them without being detected. She soon finds herself outside of the ruins and her visage soon melts into the wilderness once more. Whoever this Kurogane character is and his motivations for slinking around the Ruins are beyond her, but she's certainly made an accidental foe who'll likely be after her now.

---

WC: 1,869
TWC: 1,869

---

Requesting approval for the following claims:

Claiming the following mission reward(s):

► Total Ryo Earned: +1,000 Ryo
► Total AP Earned: +5 AP & +100 Bonus AP (via Power Rank Up Bonus) {+0 → +105}
► Other Rewards Earned: x1 Vagabond Headband, Rank Up Promotion from E → D-Power & +20 SP (via Power Rank Up Bonus)

Investing 1,869 TWC into the following Specialty(ies):

► Learning Taijutsu as a Primary Specialty (Free @ D-Power Rank Up) [1,869 TWC Left]

Investing the 1,869 TWC into the following Jutsu:

► Training Substitution Technique (Free @ D-Power Rank Up)
► Training Surface Walking (Free @ D-Power Rank Up)
► Training Genjutsu Release + Mastery for Hand Seals (500/500) [1,369 TWC Left]
► Training Basic Medical Ninjutsu @ C-Rank (1,000/1,000) [369 TWC Left]

Investing the remaining 369 TWC into the following Skill(s):

► Training Pureblooded Shinobi (369/4,000) [0 TWC Left]

Investing 20 SP and 1,869 TWC into the following Stat Points:

► Training +5 Chakra {15 → 20} (-5 SP) [15 SP Left; 1,869 TWC Left]
► Training +15 Speed {15 → 30} (-15 SP) [0 SP Left; 1,869 TWC Left]
► Training +15 Strength {25 → 40} (-1,500 WC) [369 TWC Left]
► Training +3 Vigor {25 → 28} (-369 WC) [0 TWC Left]

→Expunging the remaining 69 TWC Left.