1 Sake Showdown (Kirei & Di) Sun Apr 08, 2018 12:15 am
Tian-Di
D-rank
It was during one of Di's twenty four hour periods of slumber that he was wakened by a strange tapping noise at one of his windows. Unlike the vast majority of humans Di could happily go six days without having to descend into a state of dream. At the end of this though Di would have to slumber for almost a full day and night cycle. As he got older these periods would increase. Di's father for example would function for centuries without heeding Nocturna's call but then hibernate for several decades to recuperate himself.
This had been a great boon for Di's crime fighting career as it allowed him to both interact with potential clients during the days and also dedicate his nights fully to chasing villains and ne’er-do-wells. Di didn't know how Kirei managed to keep up with his daytime studies though there was a strong possibility that he simply didn't care about those nearly as much as he did his vigilantism.
At first the tapping was hesitant and faint, something which Di's senses could safely ignore. But it became more and more insistent till even as his brain drowsy with soporifics instincts could not ignore it. Opening the window Di had expected a messenger bird to fly in it's leg affixed with a note. Instead it had been a tiny figure perhaps a foot in height that leaped through his window. A diminutive humanoid with glowing green skin and leafy foliage like markings that adorned it's form. If Di wasn't much mistaken this was a Kodama – one of the spirits who inhabited the lands trees.
Having spent the vast majority of his life underwater Di had never seen one of these tiny yokai before and it was rather a novel experience. Di's interest piqued even further when he saw that the little creature had carried along a handwritten rice-paper note. It was clear that the Kodama had not been the notes author as it was penned by a much larger hand.
Di quickly read through the message, then going on to read it again. If it's contents were to be believed – and the fact that it was delivered by a kodama certainly lent some merit to this it was a message from a goddess! This did not mean a world-shaking event though. For every Okami there was a million lesser Kami many presiding over little more than a blade of grass or flake of snow.
This message had been sent by a minor goddess who presided over Kiri's rice crops named Mochiko. She had been abducted by a gang of brigands led by the infamous madame Manaka the daughter of the red brewer of Ishido. Manaka had enlisted the service of several disgraced monks from the fire temple in Konohagakure to use their arcane skills to brew an elixir of life from Mochiko's divine blood. Mochiko didn't know exactly where they were holding her but had constructed the rice paper and ink of the message from grains that littered the area around her.
It took Di several hours to analyse the paper and isolate the particular cultivar of crop that went into it's creation. Having achieved his goal Di made a quick visit to the market and made some inquiries as to where one might fight such produce and what its purpose was. Unsurprisingly it was rice used for sake and with a map of the kiri area he could isolate the areas used to grow the crop.
Passing by Kirei's house come dusk Di informed the young ninja of the situation and what is plans were. There would have to be some kind of structure near the fields to brew the alcohol. This would be where Mochiko would be being held guarded by Manaka's thugs and renegade monks.
(632 words)
This had been a great boon for Di's crime fighting career as it allowed him to both interact with potential clients during the days and also dedicate his nights fully to chasing villains and ne’er-do-wells. Di didn't know how Kirei managed to keep up with his daytime studies though there was a strong possibility that he simply didn't care about those nearly as much as he did his vigilantism.
At first the tapping was hesitant and faint, something which Di's senses could safely ignore. But it became more and more insistent till even as his brain drowsy with soporifics instincts could not ignore it. Opening the window Di had expected a messenger bird to fly in it's leg affixed with a note. Instead it had been a tiny figure perhaps a foot in height that leaped through his window. A diminutive humanoid with glowing green skin and leafy foliage like markings that adorned it's form. If Di wasn't much mistaken this was a Kodama – one of the spirits who inhabited the lands trees.
Having spent the vast majority of his life underwater Di had never seen one of these tiny yokai before and it was rather a novel experience. Di's interest piqued even further when he saw that the little creature had carried along a handwritten rice-paper note. It was clear that the Kodama had not been the notes author as it was penned by a much larger hand.
Di quickly read through the message, then going on to read it again. If it's contents were to be believed – and the fact that it was delivered by a kodama certainly lent some merit to this it was a message from a goddess! This did not mean a world-shaking event though. For every Okami there was a million lesser Kami many presiding over little more than a blade of grass or flake of snow.
This message had been sent by a minor goddess who presided over Kiri's rice crops named Mochiko. She had been abducted by a gang of brigands led by the infamous madame Manaka the daughter of the red brewer of Ishido. Manaka had enlisted the service of several disgraced monks from the fire temple in Konohagakure to use their arcane skills to brew an elixir of life from Mochiko's divine blood. Mochiko didn't know exactly where they were holding her but had constructed the rice paper and ink of the message from grains that littered the area around her.
It took Di several hours to analyse the paper and isolate the particular cultivar of crop that went into it's creation. Having achieved his goal Di made a quick visit to the market and made some inquiries as to where one might fight such produce and what its purpose was. Unsurprisingly it was rice used for sake and with a map of the kiri area he could isolate the areas used to grow the crop.
Passing by Kirei's house come dusk Di informed the young ninja of the situation and what is plans were. There would have to be some kind of structure near the fields to brew the alcohol. This would be where Mochiko would be being held guarded by Manaka's thugs and renegade monks.
(632 words)
Last edited by Di on Tue Apr 10, 2018 4:50 pm; edited 1 time in total