Poker and Puppets [Duel Contract Search]

[Midori Futotta]

Although Maru's attempt at cheating the game was a bust, he did achieve in overflowing his artifact with chakra thanks to Haruken. Maru's watch began to glow and he couldn't do anything but watch as his temporal mistress began to come into REAL space time… on his lap in which he saw in his future. Most people were pretty surprised when seeing the once phantom woman appear out of nowhere, straddling his lap as if she had always been there. Summoning up enough courage, he decided to speak with the beautiful woman who was on his lap. “Umm…” he said, wiping his nose before making finger guns to his temporal mistress. “Hey gurl.” It was pretty surprising the sudden appearance of Maru's temporal mistress but the people who had watched as Maru's artifact evolved into something seemingly more powerful were nowhere NEAR surprised as Maru when the woman actually kissed him! Maru was stunned by the sudden gesture, closing his eyes allowing himself to melt away underneath his temporal mistress. By this point he forgot what he was doing here, why he needed to win, about how Haruken kindly gave up a portion of her chakra to empower his temporal mistress… hell he even forgot about Kaori a woman who he was obsessed over in back in tea country. He sure wished he knew this woman's name, but as he was on cloud nine within his kiss. He would find himself already knowing that his temporal mistress name was Pandora. Funny thing was that he thought that was a perfect name for a weapon he wanted to create, weird.

Regardless after Pandora broke away, Maru couldn't help but see that Lady Shinzen was pretty pissed off at the sudden appearance of Maru's very distracting beautiful mistress. Perhaps because her artifact wasn't as overpowered as his or because Pandora was getting a lot more attention than she was. Either way, the game was starting to get a little more interesting after Maru and Hakuren both seemingly had made these gifts that was said by the host were only fractions of the items that they had. Upon seeing what Hakuren's and Maru's artifact could do what were the extent of the power the grand prizes would be able to do?

Now that Maru's temporal mistress Pandora took form, he began to wrap his arms around her waist to hold her close to him… still grinding him. Deciding to empower his artifact was the best idea he came up with, not only is her power useful but the kind of attention that she was showing him was something he longed for. This is why he needed to win, being motivated purely by his desires he allowed his rather demanding temporal mistress take ownership of HIM instead of the other way around. Hopefully all goes well for the duo, but they should never underestimate their opponents.

[[Ooc: Decided On Pandora as Temporal Mistress true name ^^]

 

[Ryu Hime]

“Merely a Shinobi my dear Danudee.” Though she guesses the shinobi arts are a type of magic and thus a magician could be a fitting term. Now that she thinks for a moment how did she know his name? She doesn’t recall him introducing himself and yet the name just seems to come to her. “Unusual displays of power would be common place hear. Has your artifact not yielded to you some sort of power?” Hakuren would assume that all the artifacts given had some sort of soul within that would bestow upon the wielder a gift. However the artifacts feed on chakra. If this man was a normal citizen, perhaps he does not know how to mold his chakra. “Would you like me to help you unlock its power?”

Normally she would not bother to help the man, because it would be one less obstacle if he did not know how to use it. However with her bird’s eyes looking around the area she saw the change in the daughter. The tiny girl had looked almost malnourished and had skin so pale that one would think she was some kind of ghost. But now her flesh took on a healthy sheen and her hair grew fuller. This even coincided with Hakuren’s and Maru’s actions to connect with their artifacts. Perhaps the girl will continue to get better if more unit with their artifact.

 

[Toraono Kuro]

The young girl visibly danced with energy as she was freed of supporting two more special artifacts. Several other artifacts had immediately bonded with their recipients like Lady Shinzo's had. This was her third professional deathmatch gambling tournament, she had survived by skill and perseverance. Few of the tournaments had ever forced her to risk more than a limb or her body but this one promised the loss of her soul if she lost and it excited her. The first tournament she had lost a hand but earned it back with more than incentive her hand had been grafted back on and she had gained exceptional speed when using it. Her second tournament she had to let her body be partially devoured by carnivorous beetles and after surviving the challenge she had gained more power within her own blood. She had always been told she was the descendant of Raijin the Lord of Thunder and after surviving that challenge she had been able to call upon lightning and follow the electrical impulses of other people. Now with the black butler pearl she had gained a servant of shadow that could feed off her power and infiltrate the darkness of anyone's heart if she focused enough. With that insight she could anticipate her opponent’s actions if their hearts were weaker than her own but now she faced a man whom had summoned a woman that appeared to be equal to her butler or stronger. She kept her butler close as he was a trump card. She noticed another woman had stabbed herself in the eye and through her blood had transformed her glasses into something more. Her item was probably vampiric and forced her to wound herself before she gained knowledge from it. She was not her opponent at the moment but she did notice Danudee had taking a liking to her which meant she must have exceptional potential. That man was a gambling God with luck beyond comprehension. He seemed to instinctively know when to play and when to give up. He had never taken an injury and had won several tournaments before attempting a life or death one. This was his third life risking tournament and throughout them all he had never lost a single limb or even found himself in any real danger. Any woman that allied with him was sure to win. First off she needed to beat this woman summoning top hat carrying man before her.

Lady Shinezen flipped her second card and it was a red heart queen.
She then looked at Maru and waited to see what he would do…

With Pandora unleashed Maru could see the past in full review, the present in full review, or an alternate version of his choices. He could see the most disastrous choice and its effects and he could see the most effective choice for himself and its affects. What he could not see was what would happen if he did not directly influence everything and simply followed through with his own will because no one could truly control fate only see glimpses of what if when one tempted fate.

Hakuren’s glasses transformed with her blood pact as a form of energy unknown to it was bestowed upon it completely severing its need for chakra so briefly that it almost attained a personality. The other artifacts had the souls of those whom had given the most in their gambling, the souls of previous winners whom had given up their souls for a chance at power and lost it all. Those artifacts had gained sentience and greater potential with every sacrifice. The glasses had never received a sacrifice till now nor had they been gifted to anyone because no one had ever been worthy of them until now.

Danudee had received a pair of shades, but he had not bothered to wear them and he had no true chakra control. What he did have instead was such a vast reservoir of chakra and energy that he simply waded through life without worry or fear. Hakuren had offered to show him how to awaken his shades, he smiled and handed them to her and sat back as he watched her eye heal. He had always been fascinated by magic, and Hakuren was pretty to boot.
“Well mam, I would be honored if you could teach me magic, I have never been able to do more than hunt, fish, and play games but magic would be wonderful to learn.”

 

[Midori Futotta]

Now that Pandora was at her full power, it was actually time to play the game… He had to make his play right, otherwise it would be game over for him, not to mention the lady before him already had two queen of hearts already so he knew already that she had a pair which wasn't good if Maru had nothing. He looked down at his hand, playing it cool as he reached for his card to flip it over to reveal a (BLACK) ‘seven of diamonds’ along with his (BLACK) ‘six of diamonds.’ He was a bit bitter about not getting a pair at least but he was hoping that his luck would change. He still had a chance to get probably 3 of a kind, a pair, or a straight flush if he was lucky. He just needed the a little luck on his side and he was going to rely heavily on Pandora in order to win.

Maru could see a lot thanks to bringing his temporal mistress in real space-time. Namely he could see the past and present in full view, the good thing about this would be he'll be able to see what he did and try to correct that mistake in the here and now. Learning from one's mistakes if you will then acting on it. Of course after hearing Haruken tell the man that she is going to help him unlock HIS artifact, Maru had to be the voice of reason here. “Uhhh- Hey! Pumpkin! Sweetheart! Sugar!” He said trying to get Haruken’s attention. “That is a very bad idea, I mean he's going to be your opponent. That's like me trying to help this dragon lady out when we are trying to win. Do. Not. Help. Him!” He thrusted his finger towards Danudee with each word hoping that he was clear on the not helping part. Before turning back to Lady Shinezen, whom he called a dragon lady, to wait on her next move.

 

[Ryu Hime]

Hakuren takes a deep breath and the turns to glare at Maru. Being that she was originally blind, this would be the first time she ever glared at a person with her own body. “Shut up small fry. My business is my own.” She was the partially blind one and it feels like she sees more than he does. Maru has his sights so set on the game that he doesn’t see a bigger event in play. From her perspective, the artifacts were not given to help out with the games. The games were created to give a reason for people to bond with the artifacts. Perhaps the prize is not necessarily won through the games but when a certain goal is achieved.

Turning back towards Danudee she would extend a hand for him to take. “I am Yamanaka and one of the first skills a Yamanaka learns is the ability to communicate with others telepathically by sharing thoughts. Not limited to words, a Yamanaka may communicate through sharing pictures or memories. I shall give you my memories of learning the shinobi arts. However this is not a free exchange.” Within Suna there was a place were Hakuren uses her expertise in the ability of Sensory Link to make a profit. In there she deals with memories both semantic and episodic. Normally she does business through trades, giving memories in exchange for memories. “Do not be afraid, I do not ask for much. I am new to play such high stakes games, but I am willing to guess that you have some experience in this sort of stuff. Aid me with memories of such events and I will aid you with my memories of learning jutsu. Do we have a deal?” Considering how happy they were to bet their lives, she expects quite a few of them played some rather high stakes gambling.

Should he accept her offer she would flow it to him her experiences at the academy in Suna. Now Hakuren was also born with a condition in which she is substantially physically weaker than most people her age. With her frail body, her parents did not enroll her into the academy with her siblings. Her parents with their best judgement deemed the shinobi life too difficult for her with her conditions. To give her to the academy would be like throwing her to the wolves, but they did not want Hakuren to feel inadequate, however, so they did teach her the arts of the Yamanaka the best they could. Through the use of Mind Transfer, within her siblings she attended the academy without leaving the safe confines of her room. Danudee would see every class she attended within the body of one of her siblings. Both classes where she merely watched and those she participated he would see. Through this he show have an understanding of the shinobi arts and the ability to mold chakra.

 

[Toraono Kuro]

The dealer would note that Lady Shinezen had two royal cards face up while Maru had the infamous Black Six of Diamonds and now the black seven of diamonds along with the surprise living hologram on his lap that seemed to be trying to mate with him through her dress. The dealer held her hands up and yelled out "PLACE YOUR BETS!!" The other contestants outside of Hakuren and Danudee strode to the cash tables and wagered whatever they wished. Some wagered their newly given gifts. One lady with her faux emerald given to her by Hakuren wagered her soul on Lady Shinezen taking this first hand in hopes of winning some of Maru's soul in compensation. Three gentlemen wagered yen, another bet his entire fortune on Maru (this included his home, his business, and his mistress although it did not include anything already willed or set in his children's name.) Three other men bet their soul's by percentage's against one another. Bets were flying rampantly as the dealer then eyed Lady Shinezen to see what she wagered.

Lady Shinezen placed her left hand on the table and smirked, "I wager the soul of my left arm against whatever portion of his soul he dares to wager."
Lady Shinezen was supremely confident and she had yet to call upon the shadows of Maru's heart. Her eyes were glowing golden, it was obvious she was reading some kind of pattern but what pattern she read only she knew.

Danudee looked at Hakuren before smiling genuinely and accepting her offer but he explained himself first.

"Before I allow you to teach me anything I have to make myself clear I am a gambler because I simply follow my gut and for the most part I have been supremely lucky. I have been in a few tight binds, lost some hair once or twice, even got blown up but I ended up just fine so there is no real secret to how I gamble. I do have a lot of know how for cards, dominoes, and every now and then chess but I suck at checkers, never once won a game of checkers. I am decent at billiards because I have long arms and a good sense of balance. So if you don't mind my memories of these things and how I gamble... THEN... I will happily trade you for shinobi magic lessons."<i></i>


Maru now had the option to place a wager of ANY KIND....


Hakuren could accept Danudee's knowledge and experience in exchange for some of her and her siblings' own.

Mrs. Maryo whom had lost her emerald to Hakuren has wagered her soul against Maru's with consequences to come next mod after Maru and Hakuren decide what they want to do.

 

[Midori Futotta]

‘Shut up… small fry?’ Maru thought. After just trying to help Haruken out, she shot a glare at him and told him to shut up. He didn't understand why on earth would she help him knowing that he is going to be her opponent, perhaps trying to even the playing field or something. It would be problematic if she ended up losing her soul because she was being generous, so he'll probably have to help her out if she was going against this guy. Regardless he decided to leave Haruken alone for now, since she clearly is set on helping the guy…. Besides, Pandora continuously grinding on him made him a feel a lot better. With her on him, Maru halfway hoped that she wouldn't feel that she is grinding on his kunai in his pocket but he doubted that would matter to her at this point.

So the bets went up, some people had betted a lot for Maru to win and a lot for this lady to win. He smirked looking form the side of his Pandora the see what Shinezen was going to offer up and she was gonna sacrifice a arm. So Maru decided that he was gonna call his bet. “I'm gonna bet the soul of my left leg, and….” He went into the pocket of his coat to pull out what looks to be a mechanical eye of sorts with some telescope in it. “This eye scope, I engineered it so you can step out of time, move fast, temporal powers pretty much. It came from a temporal stride Hitokugutsu I use quite often and I'm pretty sure people would find some pretty cool ways to use the eye.” He winked before setting the eye on the table. If he was willing to put something that useful on the line, he was either pretty confident he'll win or just trying bluff. Whatever the case, he believed that his bet was good enough and he couldn't wait to find out what he had face down. But still, he wrapped his arms around Pandora's waist allowing himself to become directed by her again.

 

[Ryu Hime]

Hakuren was hoping to get some valuable memories that might might teach her a few tricks, but if what this man says is true then that was not what was coming. “No, that does not sound like a fair trade at all.” Hakuren was half tempted to make him allow her to drink his blood. If she did that, she could curse him thus making him not much of an opponent. Then a sinister smile forms on her face as she thinks up a new deal. She would then begin to spin a tale for this Danudee. “However I do believe there is still something you can give to me.” Hakuren places a hand on the man’s chest. “I want this.” The man would likely be confused to want she meant in which case she will explain. “As you well know this eye I now have is a false one and thus only serves for cosmetic purposes.” It was not completely true but half lies are always the most convincing. “I had planned to possess one of the servers and play from within their body. I’m willing to give you my memories of learning the shinobi arts in change for the use of you body when it’s my turn to play. This of course means you must forfeit any matches with me as your body cannot play both sides. Are these terms agreeable?”

 

[Toraono Kuro]

Maru made his wager, Hakuren made plans with Danudee. The cards were about to be flipped when Danudee looked at tournament chart and his placement. "Darling, if you look at the tournament chart you will see you and I never match up against each-other unless I make it to the semi-finals and we are part of the final eight. I have won a few tournaments true enough but never as large a tournament as this. I doubt my luck would hold out against this many people. Twelve challengers tops... I will accept any magic you are willing to teach me but I cannot guarantee a match up between us. "<i></i>

The card dealer flipped the first card over and it was a black eight of diamonds... the crowd grew hushed as the dealer looked over at Lady Shinezen and she invoked her right as a previous champion and a second set of cards seemed to appear magically from the face down cards already there. Instead of three cards there were now six and with Lady Shinezen's use of her prior champion right the soul of her right pinky was sacrificed and her right pinky became shriveled and grey (think of Orochimaru after his arms were sealed by the 3rd Hokage). The first card of the phantom deck was a red blood queen of diamonds.

With three of a kind Lady Shinezen rested her hand and waited to see if Maru would dare risking it all for a straight flush, because if Shinezen received any royal cards, especially another queen she would win in points alone. What Lady Shinezen had not understood when playing by Konoha rules was that the color, set, and numeric precedence of the card had secret points allotted to it. Lady Shinezen thought it was simply a fancy name for dealer dominated poker. She was wrong… The dealer turned her head to Maru to see if he would take another card or if he would stay and await the dealer’s actions.

Hakuren was given a chance to finally SEE her listing in the Tournament settings and she would not face any men in the tournament for the preliminaries. Her next opponent would have been Chicha the former holder of the emerald brooch Hakuren now held.

 

[Midori Futotta]

Seemingly focused on the game, Maru paid close attention to what Haruken was trying to do. So if she were to teach this guy how to awaken the power of his artifact, she would get him to forfeit against her which was all good and all. But he might not even would be the one to face her, so if she faced off against someone else and lost. He would have to deal with this guy playing serious with a fully awakened artifact and if he wasn't lucky he would probably lose to the guy then they leave with nothing. Being a known trickster and a thief, he could tell a con when he heard it. And right now he felt like Haruken was getting conned which would make things harder for him. Maru turning around to try and talk some sense into Haruken (again) began yelling. “Bad Deal! Don't do it sweetheart!” He said then turned back to the game.

Well things were starting to look a little bad, Dragon Lady Shinezen already had three of a kind which was looking kinda bad considering that Maru didn't have any cards that were similar so he would probably have to go all in for a straight flush. Noticing what happened to Lady Shinezen, Maru was really thinking on if taking another card would be worth it but he decided to just go for it since it looked like the black eight was out if he could count the deck correctly. “Yeah I'll take a couple.“ Maru said, with a shrug accepting some new cards just incase this hand he had was a bad move. One thing you shouldn't do is not put all your eggs in one basket. That was how he lost one of his Puppet bodies before.. And he lost his core… and that bet with that Uchiha girl. He didn't dwell to much on that, he decided to focus on the game to see what the dealer would do next.

 

[Ryu Hime]

Hakuren looks at the chart and confirms what Dandee says to be true. Unfortunately doing this also proves her little story before to be false. “Oh, so that’s how this tournament works.” Maru exclaims the obvious to her, “He might be a loud mouth, but he has a point. Your memories carry little value and the second deal is no longer appealing. However, do not get to discouraged; I just need to think things over. I will get back to you when I can think of an appropriate arrangement.” So far she has been coming up with deals from on top of her head and that hasn’t been doing so well for her. She would need to give this some thought, but in the meantime there was betting going on.

She was curious just how this gambling a part of one soul works. Who receives this stuff? The form of bets vary and multiple people can win at one time. When the bets are all in monetary values, distribution amongst the wins is simple. Hakuren has no idea how this would work and decides to sit out from this round of betting. She was going to watch personally how things would play out, but nature was calling. Walking over to one of the servers and speaking in a real hushed tone, “Excuse me, can you direct me to the little girl’s room?” She will have her rodent friend spy for her while she takes care of business.

 

[Toraono Kuro]

ooc: Danudee is not some super gambler or super sleuth he doesn't really notice that you contradicted your claims of being fully blind although some part of him does he is oblivious and only sees a magical girl. On his part Danudee is an extremely lucky and very gifted person with exceptionally honest intentions and desires. In other words he is just a really lucky and really nice guy. Feel free to interpret that however your character would... now onto the RP

Hakuren was able to get the attention of one of the elder servers whom escorted her to a restroom and quickly resumed his duties amongst the crowds. Other games of chance based on chess, black-jack, shogi, pokemon, beyblades, dueling monster cards. Already several players had lost their souls and were essentially soul-less remnants of themselves. Walking husks of these fromer gamblers were carefully escorted to a chamber where they could be laid to rest inside of a coffin of their choosing as some of their mental ability remained although as their body reacted to losing its soul like a toy without a battery in place they all slowly died. Two players had survived losing their souls and Danudee was one of them, actually managing to win his soul back before his body faced true death. The other was playing for fun elsewhere at the moment.

Hakuren's rat did not have a good vantage point to see what was going on while she was in the "lew" but it did manage to hear that Maru was doing exceptionally well against the bloody queen, most guys would have died on the first draw.

Hakuren would also discover that her eye was constantly drawing chakra from her in a minor maintainable fashion which allowed her to see.

The Dealer allowed Maru to pick two cards from the deck and his actions shined through he drew two more infamous black diamond cards. Maru Drew the Black Diamond Ten card first to the astonishment of all the viewers and the eager smiles of all the people whom had bet on him to win. Others froze and held their breath as Maru himself picked up another face down card and it was the black nine of diamonds. Lady Shinezen smiled evilly believing she had won as her gift of galvanization allowed her to electromagnetically pull the royal card she needed until she noticed the dealer looking at Maru. Maru had one more card to turn over and he already had a black diamond straight flush. The second rarest gameplay in Konoha draw. As she pulled her fourth queen from the deck she soon felt weary as her soul began to leave her left arm and thanks to the bets of other players she lost some of her soul in her right shoulder and her left lung. Chichen whom was Hakuren's next opponent by name pull dropped dead instantly as three wagers came to pass along with her own. Her body turned to dust before it could be preserved but Lady Chichen did have a recovery clause and soon her body re formed inside a special casket where her lover might keep her body for all time.

Mistress Pandora stopped being a toon and became more and more real. She was so happy and Maru had not even used her powers yet.

Lady Shinezen invoked her black butler and her shoulder and lung were returned to her on borrowed time against the gamblers whom had wagered against her. Things were definitely changing as tournament members dropped like swatted flies and the roster had to be rearranged to suit the games at hand.

 

[Midori Futotta]

Maru waited, he was pretty confident in himself and the lady in front of him seemed to act as if she already won. The young mercenary looked around, seeing people just falling out dropping like flies with their skins turning purple. Maru looked in shock but of course Pandora kept him cool, using her abilities to know that he did the right thing and in his hand it revealed that he had a black nine and a black ten! The rogue began to laugh, knowing that he already won because they were playing by Konoha’s rules so Mrs. Dragon Lady was playing herself by getting those royal cards. Still he had another face down card, he wondered what it was but it didn't matter since he pretty much won this hand. So he decided to stay with his hand, not picking any more cards his hand around Pandora's waist as he gave Lady Shinezen a cocky smile watching her face go from that evil grin to actually weary.

Honestly, he didn't know what would happen if she would give up but he might as well go all in and change his bet since he clearly had won. “Hey dealer, forget about what I said about betting my leg.” Maru said confidently. “I wanna go all in and bet my entire soul! Plus-” he took off his top hat then gave it to Pandora to dump a huge potato sack full of stolen jewelry from Tea Country he kept on him fell out of his top hat like magic. “These jewels! I'm all in!” Already knowing what was would be his mistakes and what would be his downfall from Pandora, if she was this happy then he already won so best make Lady Shinezen give up while it was early, besides the odds are stacked against her anyway since Maru increased his bet to the maximum. But now he was beginning to wonder what was his last card anyway… and what.

Pandora sort of guided him, letting him know what he should've done and what he should've have done. Giving him vague views on fate, it was then that Maru began to actually wonder what else could he use Pandora for.. Perhaps as the tournament continues, hell learn more about her origin. But then it came to him.... Who would be Hakuren's opponent since these people are just dropping like flies? From people dying all around him, there probably won't be anyone left for Hakuren to face. Well for the exception of him but they wouldn't make them battle off with eachother since they came in together so maybe they would declare them the new champions!

 

[Ryu Hime]

In the beginning Hakuren was putting on a show for the host of the game. She sabotages an opponent, aided a friend in his game and made deals with other players. Hakuren has created an impression that she is invested in the games. Nothing could be further from the truth… well perhaps she was a little interested in the games. What Hakuren was really interested in was what was going on backstage. There was a purpose to these games and she could almost sense a person pulling at strings. Hakuren was curious what was the true objective to this tournament.

The artifacts were interesting as they had their own souls within them. Each of the artifact also seems to be connected to Lord Shishiden’s daughter for as people feed their chakra to the artifacts, she got stronger and healthier. Now people we losing their souls in the games, which makes Hakuren wonder just where does the souls from the artifacts come from. The games were clearly not for simply entertainment purposes. There was a deeper meaning, but it will take a bit of snooping to figure it out. Fortunately espionage was her forte.

Soon after entering the room Hakuren could notice there were ten exits with half of them being hidden. Hakuren had the mouse survey the room and take note of these exits. She assumes some of these exits were hidden for a reason, perhaps leading to some secrets. From within the stall she has her little mouse enter one of these hidden exits she noticed to see what is beyond them.

Now for the next part of her plan; to make a clone to play in her place. To a true shinobi, literally anything can be used as a weapon. There are those who have said that Hakuren was quite the puppeteer, however she doesn’t use something as crude as marionettes of clay or wood. Hakuren uses living puppets, animals, with her sensory link as the strings. The bird she took with her transforms into a clone. Hakuren gives the clone the emerald brooch she stole, “Take this you may want to use it during your game. Use it for yourself or bet with it I do not care.” The clone nods, leaves the restroom and returns to the room.

The clone would walk up the Dandee with a confused look, “What the hell did I miss? I leave for a moment and the chart is getting changed.” With any luck nobody would even notice the difference and Hakuren can enact her plans form a safe area.

 

[Toraono Kuro]

ooc: Sorry about the wait my laptop keyboard decided to die

It had only been 30 minutes since the Tournament had begun and already 20 of the 42 contestants had either sacrificed themselves outright or lost such massive wagers they were no longer able to continue and as such their match ups and games had to be reset or changed altogether.

For Maru his actions had massive ramifications. Pandora could not control time, she could let Maru see 3 viewpoints of time and the circumstances however.
Pandora would let him see the immediate futures of those whom had fed her chakra. Pandora could also show their immediate pasts but only with those that had shared their chakra or attacked those whom had shared chakra with her. Now that she was gaining actual form and not just a temporal projection she was quite dangerous. Maru had yet to notice that his watch had all but bonded with his chakra system and could actually devour him were he to abuse it.

Hakuren had done something truly unique she had severed the bond the glasses had with the daughter of the tournament holder. In doing so she had lifted a great burden off the young girl and freed up a lot of her inner spirit and life force by literally using her own life force to make the glasses a part of her and something entirely new. Not only did it expand her mental senses but it now served as a functional eye so long as she gave it a steady stream of chakra.

Maru with certainty and a glimpse through one of PANDORA'S POSSIBILITIES bet everything he had without turning over his last card upping the ante 200 fold. He had unknowingly already won his hand but with this bet he could take whatever remained of Lady Shinezen's soul and kill her or make her his bonded slave and take all her assets. No one had made such a bold move since Danudee and he was just supernaturally lucky. The dealer looked to Lady Shinezen whom in her mistaken sense of poker rules nodded her acceptance of the wager. Already many had lost their lives causing the entire tournament to be rearranged. Never in the history of gambling had so many lives been wagered and lost on the flicker of three cards.

The dealer flipped the final card it was a BLACK JACK OF DIAMONDS moving his straight black diamond flush to a full Konoha Ninja Flush his cards activated their inlaid chakra ability as his black diamond 6, 7,8,9, hidden 10 from the dealer's hand and his face down Jack activated the black diamond blockade jutsu which was handed to Maru in the form of a card instead of a traditional ninja scroll. Three men approached Lady Shinezen to prevent her from acting violently as she finally realized she had lost when her butler was forced to relinquish his hold on the portions of her soul she had already lost to other people's wagers. As she lost half her lung capacity she grew dizzy. Then she lost all feeling in her arms as her spiritual energy that had comprised her shoulders and arms was transferred to the gentleman that had lost the use of his arms and shoulders to her two years ago. He happily moved his fingers again and rolled his renewed shoulders. With his main goal realized he handed over his entry prize to the dealer and nodded to Maru as he forfeited the tournament. He did not want to stay and see what would happen to his former lover. He still had some feelings remaining for her but not enough to save her from her fate. He just could not bare witness to it.

As her black pearl clouded over Lady Shinezen began to panic, she had used his power to choose her prey and the butler had assured her that Dokuso Maru was not capable of beating him in combat when she choose to use her champion card. What neither had expected was that Maru was exceptionally bold and he would have a living aspect of time as his ally. The pearl was taken by the dealer and added to Maru's pile of gems which he had bet along with his own soul.

Several men that had wagered against Maru also lost the usage of various limbs or items. One idiot im-particular had lost the usage of his penis, the other two with him lost their respective left and right arms, two more gentleman wagers lost their left and the other his right leg. The final man simply dropped dead he had bet his heart and once it stopped beating he did not have an ally strong enough or simply the know how to keep his heart beating after he had given up the spiritual energy sustaining it.

The Dealer nodded to the host whom in his surprise at the turn of events laughed heartily as he nodded his consent in return.

The Dealer spoke in a hushed tone so that only Maru could hear her.
"Lady Shinezen has lost double her bet since you wagered everything against her and she failed to answer in kind. You have won a black diamond blockade card which is a special defensive ninjutsu made famous by the ANBU of Konoha. You have also won the spiritual energy of all those whom wagered against you. You may have that energy grafted unto you by the daughter of our host or you may pass it on to your gifted ally. Lady Shinezen's fate rest in your hands, her ally is yours to do with as you will by reason of your wager and hers. All that remains is for you to decide to take her soul or give her soul back and keep her as your soul bound thrall until you either decide to release her or she wins a wager against you to win it back or someone else wagers their own for hers to win it back. Her soul can be kept and used to augment your ally or you can simply take all of her worldly assets and leave her with the bare minimum energy to exist. The choice is yours although her former ally seems to want to commune with you if you would allow him to do so as he wishes to make a plea deal of some kind from what his presence has said to me. This is all your choice sir. You have thirty minutes to decide afterwards all decisions will be made for you by our host and such acts will be final."<i></i>

The large black pearl shimmered incessantly trying to get Maru's attention.

Hakuren managed to make her way deeper into the ancient temple. Glyph's written in an unrecognizable language were carved into the walls and filled with a familiar crystalline substance that pulsated with chakra. The sounds of food being prepared and things being washed were unmistakable. Her newly functional eye allowed her to view things in magnificent clarity although without a second eye she still lacked depth perception. As she reached the base of the stairwell the smell of delicious food wafted from her right while the feel of electrostatic energy and the smell of ozone wafted from her left. Which direction would she choose. Her animal clone carried on the emerald brochet as yet unused shimmered lightly.

 

[Midori Futotta]

It was a calculated risk, but gambling was all about risk and with Pandora's possibility that if he bet everything he had to up the ante x200 than he had everything to win. He smirked when seeing Lady Shinezen nod, accepting his wager in betting everyone including her own soul. He had a winning hand and he knew it, but both his fate and Lady Shinezen rested on the shoulders of the dealer. He placed his hand on Pandora's back, rubbing her back in circles as a sign that everything was going to be alright. There were a lot of people dropping, many lives were lost but now this duel was going to come to a close. The dealer flipped the final card… the young mercenary's face had a look of worry before the card was revealed to be…. The BLACK JACK OF DIAMONDS!

“Congratulations Dragon Lady, you've just played yourself” (had to do it) Maru teased, he won and her soul was his. He gave Pandora a bear huge, thanking her for her help and motivating him to win while Lady Shinezen was held back from acting out against Maru. He watched as Lady Shinezen arms began to turn purple from her soul being lost to not just him, some guy even got his arms back then nodded to Maru before forfeiting the tournament. The top hat wearing gentleman waved the man down. “You're welcome.” he said, although he didn't know that the guy had feelings for the lady much less was her lover. The black pearl was taken, then placed in the pile with the rest of Maru's one of a kind jewelry. He picked up the black pearl, looking at it from all angles to make sure it was legit before placing it at the top of his pile but that wasn't all the things that Maru took because there were those who betted against him.

Maru had gotten many items and even spiritual chakra and won the black diamond blockade card. But what really interested him was that he had Lady Shinezen’s fate rested in his hands and he could take everything from her, take her soul to use as a ally, wager her soul, choices, choices choices. “Oh I think I'll…-” he was cut off when the man said that her ally wanted a word with him to discuss a deal of some kind and Maru decided to hear the thing out. Besides thirty minutes should he more than enough time to come up with something that he would like. When he saw the large black pearl began to shimmer, then he picked it up holding it to his face. “Howdy, so what's this deal you're wanting?”

 

[Toraono Kuro]

mini response: normal posting order is still in affect.

The pearl pulled a portion of Maru's soul into it's domain. With grace befitting a master butler a table was swiftly set. As soon as the table was set a magnificent cup of black tea at perfect temperature was set before Maru as the butler made his plea bargain. "I won't waste your time sir. My offer is this in exchange for my former mistress, I offer you my heart and all my power. What this means is you will be immortal for the remainder of this tournament and you will gain the ability to consume the souls of your foes. The only catch is that you will only have my powers as long as you remain in this building. There are no tricks in this. I give you my existence for her release along with half her personal fortune."<i></i> He looked to be on the verge of true tears but Maru would be able to feel his gesture was genuine.

For the remainder of the tournament Maru could gain the powers of a revenant while keeping his current abilities. You can of course use this rp to swap kinjutsu's or attain revenant at a later time should you accept his offer.

 

[Ryu Hime]

Hakuren's mouse enters the hidden entrance and goes deeper into the temple. What it found were glyphs of an unknown language. More than likely this was some sort of jutsu with each word working like a handseal. Hakuren’s friend Akazukin has the ability to cast jutsu using talismans which had runes written on them. Hakuren was sure this wall was working in the same fashion as Akazukin’s talismans.

The hall continues onward, but Hakuren was far more interested in this. This could possibly explain what the tournament is really for. Hakuren uses the mouse to study the glyphs. True she may not be able to read them, but there could still be something to learn from them. Staring at the glyphs Hakuren looks for many things. How were the glyphs spaced? Were they in groups like letters to a word or were they more evenly space like each glyph was its own word? If each glyph looks to be there own word, what did they look like and could she guess its meaning from its appearance? How were the glyph placed? Were the glyphs arranged going right to left or top to bottom like a sentence? Were the glyphs arranged in some sort of shape or pattern? Did the glyphs have any similarities to the chakra seal on the artifacts?

Then there were the crystals filling the carved glyphs, which were clearly filled with chakra. Hakuren was not about to touch the crystals in fear of what might happen. However these crystals may yield insight to the glyphs. What color were the crystals? Did them emanate heat, light or sound and if so how intense? Did they have any scent to them?

Hakuren did not pay no mind to it when they entered, but what was the shape of the room? There were five hidden exits. If she connected the dots would it form a proper five-pointed star? Could this tournament be placed in a giant magic circle? Where was the table for the games placed within the room? Hakuren had many questions and a lot to think about.

The clone of Hakuren walks towards the host of the tournament, “Lord Shishidou, forgive my ignorance but, may I be so bold to ask you why you chose a temple to hold such games? To practice such acts of greed so openly in a sacred place… What deities would this pleasure?” Hakuren has a sister who serves as a priestess to a temple of Mother Suna. Hakuren could not even imagine Her older sister allow such a tournament be held at her temple.

 

[Toraono Kuro]

The hall continues onward, but Hakuren was far more interested in this.
This could possibly explain what the tournament is really for.
Hakuren uses the mouse to study the glyphs: HAKUREN’S MOUSE COULD BARELY SEE ALL THAT SPANNED BEFORE IT BUT IT TRIED EVER SO HARD TO DO WHAT HAKUREN ASKED OF IT.
True she may not be able to read them, but there could still be something to learn from them.

Staring at the glyphs Hakuren looks for many things.
How were the glyphs spaced? THE GLYPH’S WERE SINGULARLY LARGE CIRCUITS IN KANJI FORM. HAKUREN WOULD NOTICE ONLY ONE GLYPH EVER TOUCHED ANY OF THE OTHERS AND THIS GLYPH HAKUREN RECOGNIZED AS THE ANCIENT RUNIC TERRAN SYMBOL FOR LIFE OR CHAKRA. WHATEVER SYMBOLS WERE CONNECTED BY IT HAD FAINT OR POWERFUL HEARTBEATS.
Were they in groups like letters to a word or were they more evenly space like each glyph was its own word? SOME OF THE GLYPHS WHICH WERE IN CONTACT WITH THE KANJI FOR LIFE HAD A HEARTBEAT. SOME WERE STRONG. OTHERS WERE VERY FAINT. THEY WERE SINGULAR FOR MANY OTHERS RESEMBLED LONG POEMS OR VERSES. SOME WENT RIGHT TO LEFT. SOME SPIRALED OUT IN A CIRCLE. OTHER GROUPINGS SEEMED TO RESEMBLE CHAOS INCARNATE.
VERY FEW GROUPINGS HAD SET SPACING.

If each glyph looks to be their own word, what did they look like and could she guess its meaning from its appearance?
HAKUREN COULD NOT YET GET THE DISTANCE OR PERCEPTION THROUGH ONE EYE NECESSARY TO ATTAIN ANY UNDERSTANDING OF THE GLYPHS.

Were the glyphs arranged going right to left or top to bottom like a sentence? THIS VARIED WILDLY.

Were the glyphs arranged in some sort of shape or pattern? NONE THAT HAKUREN COULD CURRENTLY PERCEIVE.

Did the glyphs have any similarities to the chakra seal on the artifacts? HAKUREN COULD SEE THE RESEMBLANCE BETWEEN THESE SEALS ALL AROUND HER AND THE ONES SHE NOW REMEMBERED WERE FORMERLY ON HER GLASSES TRANSFORMED INTO A MAGIC ARTIFICIAL EYE.

Then there were the crystals filling the carved glyphs, which were clearly filled with chakra.
Hakuren was not about to touch the crystals in fear of what might happen.

However these crystals may yield insight to the glyphs.
What color were the crystals? A MOUSE IS NATURALLY COLOR BLIND BUT IT COULD SEE THAT VERY FEW REMAINED THE SAME SHADE.

Did they emanate heat, light or sound and if so how intense? THIS SITUATION VARIED WILDLY.

Did they have any scent to them? ONLY ONE GLYPH HAD A UNIQUE SCENT AND A SOLID COLOR, WHICH SHE SEEMED DRAWN TO. IT WAS THE COLOR OF DARK RICH BLOOD AND SMELLED LIKE FRESH BLOOD AND THE GLYPHS HERE FORMED A PICTURE OF HAKUREN AS SHE WAS NOW. A PORTION OF THE GLYPHS WERE MISSING AROUND THE TOP. THIS IS WHERE HAKUREN IMAGINED A NAME OR TITLE WOULD BE PLACED.

Hakuren did not pay no mind to it when they entered, but what was the shape of the room?
THE HALLWAYS VARIED IN SIZE AND THE AMOUNT OF GLYPHS ON EACH WALL WAS DIFFERENT.

There were five hidden exits. If she connected the dots would it form a proper five-pointed star?
HAKUREN’S IMAGINED STRUCTURAL DIAGRAM WAS A LITTLE OFF. SHE HAD YET TO FIGURE OUT HOW MANY END POINTS THERE WERE.

Could this tournament be placed in a giant magic circle? THINGS BEGAN TO CLICK FOR HAKUREN. WHEN SHE GAINED SIGHT SHE COULD SEE PLACEMENT BUT WITHOUT TWO EYES HAKUREN HAD NO DEPTH PERCEPTION.

Where was the table for the games placed within the room? SHE COULD NOT RECALL THE EXACT SPACING.

Hakuren had many questions and a lot to think about.

The clone of Hakuren walks towards the host of the tournament a decisive question which innately reveals what he really knows.

Lord Shishidou grinned at Hakuren’s clone before replying. “You are the first to ask why these games of deadly chance ever take place. Sooo, when you finish looking around the second floor return to me in person and I will tell you whatever you want to know about my temple. I would tell your bird but that seems silly and rude of me to give the bird the word.”

Ooc: My apologies on the Q&A reply my keyboard is broken so I am typing on a virtual keyboard.

 

[Midori Futotta]

No sooner than Maru asked if the black pearl what did it had for him, his soul left his body and he was pulled into it's domain. Maru looking around spastically, wondering where he was then the young mercenary came to find himself sitting on the other end of a neatly set table. When the table was all set, a cup of black tea was set in front of him with his newfounded black pearl butler made his plea bargain. Maru listened to what he had and it was all too great just to pass up. The part about him being immortal made his eyes widen, a smirk coming across his face at the thought that he could wager a lot without consequence however the guy was on the verge of tears. He couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor butler, knowing how Pandora was about him he figured that the black pearl butler would've done anything to get Lady Shinezen’s soul back. “Relax, relax, I was only about to take her soul to wager it on in case I lose. If what you're saying that I would be immortal as long as am in this building, I don't have any reason to hold her soul. I'm a gentleman thief, not a monster here.”

He chuckled, taking a sip of his black tea which tasted pretty good. It was at the right temperature and had the right amount of sugar. “Since this is a high risk game I need any advantage I could get, if your power would help that, then I'll release Lady Shinezen and just take half of her fortune since… well ya know, I need to get paid.” The young mercenary held his hand out, there weren't any tricks with him either. He was going to hold up his end of the bargain, why keep her if he could be immortal? With that, Maru took the black butlers heart so he could become one with the Black Pearl Butler. Returning back to the material world to let them know the fate of Lady Shinezen.

…


Maru looked to be sleeping for a while, but then the black pearl began to glow as the man began to answer question after question that Haruken had. Pandora who was still on Maru lap gave him a few pokes, before looking at the pearl shimmering a purple light before it began floating from Maru's jewelry before forming into the shape of a mask. It almost looked similar to the kind of ballroom mask you would see in masquerade party's while to some it could remind them the kind of mask famously worn by both manga superhero’s and supervillains alike. The mask attached itself to Maru's face, the young mercenary taking on some of the physical traits of his black pearl butler. His white suit and cape we're replaced with a black tuxedo with a black cape which had a red on the inside of his cape and his top hat too was black. He also seemed to have grown a bit taller, more adult like in appearance and upon closer inspection he didn't look artificial anymore. He adjusted his white eye mask, a cocky smile spreading across his face patting his heart locket. “My apologies if I was late, me and my new ally came to the agreement of me releasing Lady Shinezen's soul and simply taking half of her fortune. Seems fair right?” He said, standing up from his seat putting his hand on Pandora’s shoulder. "Oh, and would you kindly gift the energy to Pandora. I noticed she feeds a lot on energy, gotta keep her good and strong"