Hidden 4 yrs ago 4 yrs ago Post by CaliforniaState
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CaliforniaState Biologist

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The loud jostling noise of a bamboo stick slamming into each of the iron bars was enough to wake anyone up. As his body jolted awake, his eyes opened to the last of the sun’s rays shining through a small opening disguised as a window in their otherwise barren jail cell. Reaching for the amagasa he didn’t have, Aki sighed in defeat as he knew he wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep. A guard approached their cell with a raspy voice filled with conviction, making them aware that this little holding center was only a rest stop for their transfer to their final destination, prison. They only had a few minutes between now and then to prepare for their transfer, but with nothing to their name how were they supposed to prepare? Aki was one of the last prisoners to arrive in what was already an almost full holding cell. What had he done to get into a hole like this? The mute vagabond was simply a victim of circumstance, wrong place at the wrong time.

The young samurai had stumbled into a less than desirable town, eyes descended on him as soon as he stepped foot inside the village’s invisible borders. Walking street to street, alley to alley he found him self down a road famous for extortion. Of course, this knowledge wasn’t privy to him until after he had succumbed to it. Rather than pay for the scam, the righteous crane simply yielded his right to the law nearby whom were most likely to be part of said scheme. Regardless, he was there now and sat next to five other undesirables in the thick of it. The first sat across from him, a mountain of man who challenged the height limit of the room itself. It was a wonder how they managed to bind him let alone get him to fit in such a claustrophobic space. He must have fallen on top of someone and crushed them to death. Whatever the case was he was an older man, twice the age of Aki, and four times the muscle.

Next to him was a girl which was an odd sight to see, most often if not always women were killed after having been accused of a crime. It was only recently that any form of justice was applied to them which usually involved asylums and being at the mercy of the warden. Her eyes were incredibly large and the first thing he noticed about her, perhaps she was guilty by association with the massive bear by her side, preventing her early death. Next to her was another man much closer in age to the girl beside him, however far shorter than everyone in the room. Missing not only an eye but also an arm only served to further peak his curiosity. Whatever reason he was put at such a disadvantage must have warranted skills enough to land him in a jail cell. Next was something or someone Aki didn’t know what to make of, a mingling of all walks of life in one, reeking of alcohol. Both sight and smell weren’t too pleasant, leading him to believe the old man was a drunk who was caught publicly indecent or attempting to steal.

Nevertheless, Aki still had a respect for his elders and would later pray for the man in return. Finally, there was what seemed like a foreigner to their natural lands in a boy similar in both physique and skill to Aki. The most prominent feature being his jagged black nails, but before he could guess what crime he committed their cell had been unlocked. Guards congregated inside the cells making sure both hands and feet were secured and bound by a chain connecting the two. One by one in a straight line they were paraded out of the cell and into the back of an armored cart. The last of the guards retrieved what could only be described as the chest containing all their weapons and possessions inside, of course that was loaded into a separate compartment far away from their reach. The car itself was of the highest caliber design that the time permitted. The design was of a simple wagon but enclosed in metal with a Japanese styled roof with no windows. There was one large iron door that served as both exit and entry point and a section in the front for the operator of the two horses pulling the wagon.

They rode in silence with no whispers or murmurs within the wagon walls. Only a short spell into their journey did things start to go awry, suddenly the cart began to violently jerk. The sound of horses neighing in fear bounced of the walls of the wagon. There was a burst of speed, a pause, and then a lull in which the cart came to a complete stop. Both neighing and yelling came to a deafening stop. Knots formed in Aki’s gut knowing there was something coming on the horizon. Intuitively he dislocated his thumb, sliding his one hand free before attending to the other. Just as he had gotten his hand free a monstrous thud hit the side of the wagon sending it flying to its side. The force of the attack was enough to shatter and loosen the hood of the wagon revealing the nights starry sky. The muscles in his legs were filling with oxygen ready to break the shackles around his legs and aim for the chest that was just in a few strides reach.

Dashing outside he managed to arrive at the chest undetected, the horses had been decapitated and the guards were being killed and devoured by demons in the distance. Neither their numbers nor their goals were discernible to him. Perhaps they sought to kill them next and for a moment Aki thought about leaving the others behind as punishment for their crimes, but instead turned back and freed them one by one, starting with the towering giant. What fate was about to unfold for the unlikely company of prisoners?
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Hidden 4 yrs ago Post by 13org
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13org Stay fresh!

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Haofeng


Truth be told, when Haofeng stepped inside the city, he didn't thought much about the stares and the overall bad atmosphere. Being a half Goristani living in Tsukushima, he was already used in being treated in a... less than desirable manner. Due to that, Haofeng wasn't really clueless about the 'shady' aspects of a city and how to generally avoid most common problems such as scams and bandits. Unfortunately, exactly due to being already used with those types of things, Haofeng was careless and ended up falling for an extortion scheme ran by the local authorities. Again, nothing new, but this time, he was caught by surprise and had no options but to surrender himself.

With his blade and most of his concealed tools taken away, Haofeng knew the moment he was thrown in a small cell with a few other prisoners, that trying to escape now wasn't the best choice. They were under surveillance and even if he tried to escape, he didn't knew where his weapons were neither were to escape. When the guard mentioned they would be transferred for a prison though, Haofeng raised an eyebrow, paying attention to his words. If he was lucky, a chance would appear for him to slip away from that situation.

Taking a glance around the cell, Haofeng was surprised to see two women in the same situation as he was. Normally, women were simply killed upon committing any crimes. The rest of the group was surprisingly enough, quite varied and 'exotic', including an old man who smelled like sake, a mountain of a man and a guy who seemed to have a similar age than Haofeng himself. Quite the contrary of the thugs and bandits that were so common in such troubled times. Despite his curiosity regarding why such an unlikely group was reunited here, in the same situation as Haofeng himself, the crimes they committed, or didn't, wasn't something he cared about.

There wasn't much time for Haofeng to relax or to think before him and the other prisoners were transported to the back of an armored cart, ready to be transferred to the prison. One thing Haofeng noticed, much to his own misfortune was that the security was nowhere near as lax as he was expecting... Not only the armored cart was made so it was unlike they would be able to escape but they were escorted by a surprising number of guards, his hands and feet bound by chains as the prisoners were conducted one by one to the back of the cart. At least their weapons and possessions would be transported with them to the prison. Even if they were in a different cart, it did give Haofeng a small hope. That said, he did imagine it wouldn't go that well for him if they actually went through his possessions when they got to the prison and saw the frightening amount of poisons and venoms he usually carried with him...

Most of the trip was done in complete silence aside from the sounds made by the horses or the cart as it moved. Most of the other prisoners were either sleeping, not in the mood for talking or had their own troubles to think about instead of simply trying to talk with one another. Honestly, Haofeng was somewhat grateful for that. Even if his situation was far from good, silence was always welcome for him to organize his thoughts. Escaping wasn't impossible. It would be hard and the plan he had made in his mind would involve doing some risky and unpleasant things but with some luck...

Before he could think about anything more though, Haofeng's thoughts were suddenly interrupted as the card began to shake and jerk violently. Whatever it was happening outside, judging by the horses' panicked noises and the yelling wasn't really good news... At least for the guards. For Haofeng, it could mean the perfect opportunity to escape. Using the noises as a distraction, Haofeng began contorting himself in order to loose the chains enough so he could free himself. While it would be an almost impossible task for most people, due to Haofeng's body type and his training, he had a very flexible body and with a little bit of effort, including popping some joints off their place, it wouldn't be that hard if nobody interrupted him. When he was almost done though, something struck the side of the cart with an incredible force, sending it flying and tearing part of the roof away and forcing him to immediately stop what he was doing, even though he was almost freeing himself.

With his arms still bound, Haofeng looked around trying to assess the situation. Most of the other prisoners were there but the other one who had a similar age to his own. Judging by the broken chains, either he somehow broke them himself or the impact did, freeing him. Looking out of the opening in the roof of the cart, Haofeng could see part of the other cart, where the chest his weapons were stored probably were. If he was able to free his arms, he could probably retrieve his possessions and flee. The biggest problem was that due to the impact, the chains were much tighter than they were before and even if he used his flexibility, it would be very hard to escape by himself. While Haofeng wasn't expecting the young samurai to return and free the others, he was surprised to see him doing exactly that. Even though he was already free and had no reason to help them, the man came back and started freeing them one by one.

"I didn't expect you to come back, you have my thanks." he said, with a discreet bow as he thanked the man and stretched his arms, which were still quite sore from the sudden movements and the impact from being thrown around inside of the cart.

While he was grateful for the stranger coming back and freeing him, Haofeng didn't really completely trust neither him not the other prisoners and as such, he immediately headed outside to get his weapons and tools from the chest. Even though Haofeng had an idea of what had attacked them, the second he went outside he quickly realized what had attacked them by the sounds in the distance and the horses, which were cleanly decapitated.

"Demons..." he said to himself just as he stepped outside of the wagon, looking around carefully for any sign of danger before going to the chest and quickly getting his things.
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Hidden 4 yrs ago Post by LunarisDaFox
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LunarisDaFox The Tiny

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One arm in her lap, she listened to the sounds of the jail. Her hearing if could be seen visually almost seemed like a rabbit stuck inside a building, sneaking its way around the facility to stopping to listen to peoples conversations. She searched for one of the head guards, or a warden of some sort. Catching wind of someone acknowledging their higher up she heard a mention of a cell full of ronin they were about to transport. She honed in on somewhere within the jail that they were specifically talking about the group she had been thrown in with. They were to be transported to the prison and by the sounds of the conversation they were taking it way more serious then Runa had planned for. It hadn't been her first stint with the law, but she had been struck with the unfortunate curse of getting transported with combat capable people. Opening her eyes, her attention was severed as she inspected the people in the room. She saw another boy doing the same as her, and after close inspection, realized it was none other then Hane Aki, a totem holder that she had met before. Long story made short, they had fought and finished at a draw but had exchanged items as a mark of respect and a promise to see each other again. It seemed he hadn't recognized her, but she couldn't blame him. Her hand went up to her uneven bob haircut and sighed.

Prior to her imprisonment, she had just arrived in town hot off the trail of a demon she had been tracking. Following the decimation it had created, its path leading her to the gates of this less then friendly city. She had lost its tracts and could no longer hear it, so she opted to turn to the locals to see if she could get any information. Though most had seemed to not want anything to do with her, a man pointed her in the direction of the local brothel. Apparently some girls had gone missing recently and everyone suspected it had been something more then just them going missing. Of course in Runa's life, nothing was ever easy, and this factor was glaringly present. Upon entering the brothel, she was met with scenes of violence as soldiers had made themselves quite at home. One in particular, seemingly some sort of captain, held his blade to the girls throat that resided on his lap. He seemed to be one of those types who got off on terrorizing girls. Seeing the poor young girl only reminded Runa of her past, the soldier for a second becoming the ronin that had taken her arm and eye. And without even thinking, she sprung into action, front kicking the captains face so hard, it not only broke his nose, but knocked him clean out. A fight ensued, and to make matters worse when more soldiers showed up, the brothel had blamed the fight starting on Runa. They thought about killing the girl, but instead, they took her long beautiful pony tail. With shorter hair she looked significantly more androgynous. It also would help with the eventual plan to place her in the mens section of the prison to hopefully...well you get the point.

Snapping out of the memory, Runa looked over the rest of the group. The literal elephant in the room, sat on the other side of an otherwise normal looking girl. The hulking mans body screamed strength if that was even possible and Runa could only imagine what he did to get in this cell. The girl between them however was a little more then shocking, but hey, if she was here, then it meant she was probably capable of something. The drunken mess that was also here kind of spoke for himself, but her dead master always told her to never underestimate people like him. Turning to see the last person in the room, he seemed closer in age to Hane and she couldn't quite read him, but it was safe to assume everyone in this room was more or less capable of fighting. Starting to formulate a proposition, she heard guards approaching, shortly confirmed once they cell was opened and guards flooded inside. Thinking about making an attempt, she decided against it realizing their odds would be much better with a direct avenue to escape.

Transported into a reinforced wagon, the chance of escaping became again increasingly harder. While inside, she closed her eyes and listened to everything around them, until she heard a familiar sound. Trying to get out demons were approaching, their cell was thrashed and thrown. Disoriented at first, she saw Hane slip out of the wagon and thought about calling out and announcing herself to him in hopes he'd come back. But upon listening she heard him go off a ways, opening probably a chest of some sort with their items inside on account of the metals sounds of him picking up his swords. Hearing him coming back, she let out a sigh, seeing his face pop up. Jumping back inside he started to release everyone one by one, until he got to her. Reaching her hand out, she grabbed his shoulder "Im glad you seem to be doing fine, i was hoping the next time we'd meet would be under much better circumstances" releasing him, she flashed her index finger at him, showing her Usagi Mon tattoo like the first time they had met. Knowing the boy was a man of few words, she hopped out and sped over to the weapons box. Thankfully it still held her rabbit totem and shockingly Hane's Habbi he had exchanged with her. Gearing up, she slid the habbi on and crouched for a second listening to the land and the forest. Everything was dead silent, no birds chirping, or bugs making noise, so finding the culprits responsible for the massacre was easy. Standing up, she stood next to Haofeng, opting to keep her voice down so only everyone around her could hear "They're directly to the wagons right, and are circling back to make sure they didn't miss anyone, we only have a couple minutes before they make it this way, maybe even less" her hand going to the hilt of her sword readying herself encase some of the demons could have slipped past her hearing. She could have just ran off to leave everyone to fend for themselves, but at the very least she would stick it out till the threat was gone "what a weird coincidence demons showing up here of all places and in broad daylight no less..."

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Hidden 4 yrs ago 4 yrs ago Post by vFear
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vFear monochrome boi

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His head throbbed and his thoughts were in a haze, but Onikuma slowly grumbled to life. Understandably, his thoughts were a mess. Even with his best efforts, he could hardly recall why he was waking up so sore. He recalled something about a trade, some sort of deal between unsavory types of men, and something about the trade going wrong. The face of a merchant and imagery of Imperial soldiers flashed through his mind. As he tried lifted a gargantuan hand to rub at his temples, it occurred to him that it sounds an awful lot like the other times he's been caught. With a dismissive grunt, he decided not to think about it too much. He'd figure it out later.

The lingering smell of sake helped Onikuma come to some scraps of his senses. He felt steel tugging at his wrists, constricting around either one several times over. Some dread settled in his stomach as he kicked his feet, finding relief to hear steel jingling at his ankles as well. It wasn't like yakuza and tekiya to chain a captive by their feet. For now, he was safe, but the next thought brought a smile to his face: it all started to make sense. The scum they were trading with made a deal with the Imperials.
"Smart..." he breathed, his eyes still closed to the world. Some relief came over him; he was glad that his stake in the deal wasn't personal. He just hoped his coin would be where he left it.

Onikuma's sight followed his nose in recovery. Plain walls and an empty room, bound shut by iron bars. Just about as expected. The bamboo stick rattling on the bars did little to rouse him. The noise was comfortably distant, still an afterthought in his recovering senses. His nose, still insistent, led him to one of the men in the room. At a distorted glance, he looked like an older man as well, but the pair of them looked just about as weary as the other. He offered the rest of the room a broad and uncaring glance, settling only on what looked like three women for a moment; certainly not a second one, as he did not realize that there are only two. His expression twitched in confusion.
"Hah..." he rasped, closing his eyes a moment after as he returned to his thoughts. Three women being arrested? How odd. What exactly had he gotten himself involved with?



Onikuma was barely compliant as they were loaded into the wagon. He tested his chains for strength as they walked to check if they could be broken, but while he was confident that he could, his wrists would be no condition to carry through. As they were sat in the wagon, where he sat crooked in order to hardly fit, he tested the walls with his weight to find they were sturdy. If he was to escape this, it wouldn't be on his merit alone. He found his glance lingering towards the other prisoners, bound as he was, and gave them a more focused look this time. At his glance, each seemed capable enough in their own way. He only hoped that he was right.

The more Okimura thought, the more the whole situation struck him as odd. For whatever reason, the lot were being transported to a prison instead of sentenced locally, and that included the women. Committing a whole wagon and escort to a lot of criminals was a luxury he rarely had. He had already decided to escape instead of bowing to the law but the more he thought, the more certain he became. He watched and he listened but nothing seemed to help him. Glancing down to his chains, he debated the worth of breaking out of them. He wouldn't need his wrists to upturn the wagon and force the door open, but he would have to count on the others to finish the work. It was a wonderful thought he was having, or at least until the wagon was upturned.

It almost happened too quick to think. The wagon was flung, upturned and thrown to the side. It left Onikuma with a daze and brewing anger in his stomach. Whatever was going on outside, he couldn't make much sense of it, or not while his senses caught up a second time. A figure slipped out of the wagon before slipping back in, where his chains loosened from his wrists shortly after. As his vision returned to him, he recognized the boy: one of the other prisoners, one that he passed off as unnoteworthy. How pleasurable it was to be proven wrong. He gave the boy a solid pat on the shoulder as he went past, reaching himself out of the wagon to work the kink out of his back.

Of course, Onikuma was familiar with the talk of demons. It was hard not to be as a man that frequented shady dens in the countrysides. Yet seeing it in the flesh, shapes of flesh that shouldn't exist with visceral gore in their wake, was an experience to a whole new degree. He chanced a glance back at the wagon before wasting no time moving for the weapons crate. He made short work of the lock: he took the poor construct in his palms and snapped the iron between them. It left his fingers raw, but it was a feeling he was familiar with. His daishō slipped into his waist comfortably, comically small when compared to his frame, but his ōdachi fit more comfortably in his fingers.

Onikuma wasn't a leader. He knew this more intimately than he cares to admit. For this reason, it brought him some relief when he looked back to find the slim boy talking with one of the women.
"So then we're leaving now?" he interrupted, with the ōdachi sat comfortably on one shoulder while he plucked coins off the mangled corpse of a guard. "If we don't waste time, we can be in the hills in those couple of minutes." He wondered what sake-man had to say about this. He seemed like a wise man at a glance, or at least wise enough to drink.
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Hidden 4 yrs ago 4 yrs ago Post by crouchingbacon
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crouchingbacon Hidden Fryer

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Haruki was in a haze the whole time, her eyes wide open but her mind far, far away. It would take her hours to notice that she was no longer in an empty room, but a crowded and filthy jail cell with people of questionable integrity. Upon realizing this, she closed her eyes and mentally retraced the steps that led her here, wondering where she had made a mistake.

Was it when she had helped a deer escape from a hunter's trap, and mended its wounds? No - the hunter was not fast enough to catch her anyway, a heavy-footed stranger to the part of the woods she frequented.

Was it when she swindled a spoiled poet by selling him a fragment of the dream she promised by watering it down with bone-white ash? No - he didn't know the difference, and the clueless man even thanked her by paying her more than the usual sum.

Was it when...

She winced. The memory of a young girl dying in her arms despite everything she did and the anger of her grieving parents tore at her conscience, making her wish she could sleep it away and forget who she was once more. But it was too late. The effects of her concoction had already worn off, and she would have to forage to create more. And anyway, the familiar reek of alcohol was making it difficult for her to return to her peace.

It came to no surprise for Haruki to see that she was surrounded by what seemed to be dangerous misfits, all armed with swords. No innocent or ordinary man walked around with swords such as theirs, and two young men in particular caught her attention. They seemed to be quite out of place, apparel hinting at a highborn, remarkable standing in their respective societies. A strange scent wafted about from the black-nailed man, reminding her of bitter and deadly herbs, and looking very much like a coiled viper, waiting to strike. The other one seemed less ominous, yet still had an air of gravitas about him, like a fledgling crane just about to learn how to fly. She wondered who they might have angered to land in such a dreadful place.

The rest of the rabble seemed right in their element - a cripple, an ogre and a drunk. Haruki wondered how the cripple lost his leg and arm, marveling at the skill of whomever saved him if it was the result of an injury, and the wretched luck of the cripple who survived it. Even stranger was that he carried a sword, implying an ability to not only walk, but to fight. A benign, carefree air seemed to radiate from him, which was decidedly unmasculine and very unusual. The ogre close by was quite the creature in comparison, a hulking mass of fighting and no doubt scarred, flesh. She felt that it was highly likely this visit to jail was not his first, and wondered whether he could be coaxed into starting a jailbreak. He certainly seemed to have the fortitude and stregth to break down the rusty cell doors. Finally, there was an old, well-built man stinking of alcohol. Perhaps he wasn't drunk at the moment, but the years of drinking seemed to have broiled the odor into his flesh. Oddly enough, Haruki noticed that he had what appeared to be a string of large prayer beads around his neck. Perhaps even after a life of pleasure and sin, a man has his fill and longs to repent, she thought. He had a friendly face, which oddly enough, put her at ease. Still, she did not trust him enough to talk. She decided to watch and keep silent. Anyway, it was what was expected of her. No use in rocking the boat at the moment.

Eventually, the guards came for all of them and they were brought to a wagon. Now, in addition to the stench of the drunk was the stink of unwashed, sweaty animals and their shit collecting into a sack. Haruki gasped for air and closed her eyes, willing herself not to vomit - not that there was anything to vomit, as she could not remember what, or when her last meal was.

Then all of a sudden, all hell broke loose. Which, at this point, no longer surprised Haruki. Hell had been breaking loose for quite some time now, and she wondered whether or not they were all already suffering in hell, anyway.

Somehow, Haruki found herself tumbling against the wagon's hard walls, no doubt bruises forming on impact. She picked herself up, prepared to break her fingers for a desperate escape, when suddenly one of the captives - who had managed to free himself quickly, a sign of calm and skill for someone as young as him - came back to begin freeing them. Most gave him their thanks - even the ogre, which she took as proof that at the very least, the criminals she found herself with had some measure of civility and were not as lawless or as unreasonable as she had first thought. She also realized that the cripple was a woman, which further served to increase her curiosity. Nevertheless, there were demons about, and that was the concern at hand. Following their lead, she thanked the young man who freed her with a wordless bow, and also inspected the chest quickly, retrieving her hori-hori, as well as her pouch of medicinal supplies. Hearing the ogre speak surprised her somewhat, and she chided herself for thinking him dumb.

"Sir, the beasts would hunt us even as we run. Winds blow down from the hills. They will still follow us with ease."
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