Starry Skies [Contract Search]

[Kazu]

The sun was finally setting. It had been a long time since the young boy had had some time to himself, to really reflect upon the last few days without anyone interrupting him. The group, which consisted of Zenichi-kun, Mizuki-sempai, and Kagemaru-sensei, had stopped for the night before they were to continue onward to Sunagakure. They had taken up their residence within a small cave which provided shelter from the night-time elements. A slowly burning fire provided light and warmth, and it seemed like just about everyone else was already drifting off to sleep. Ginjiro couldn't blame them, though, considering all the things they'd been through on this trip. Trekking through the deep forested wilderness of the Land of Fire, attending the wedding ceremony of Toraono Kuro and Yamazaki Suzuhime, and then further travels through the deserts of the Land of Wind. A journey like that would take its toll on you, no matter who you were or what precautions you took to avoid your inevitable fate. Travel was not for the weak of heart, and by all accounts Ginjiro should be wiped out like everyone else. But unlike the rest of them, the young boy had a reason to stay up. Leaning against the back wall, Ginjiro held in his hands the mysterious scroll which he had acquired a few days ago and had the opportunity to read during the wedding ceremony. Its messages were still very unclear to the young boy. He kept reading them and re-reading them to see if he couldn't make sense of any of it...

Sólyom

A message, divided in three. Which can you read, I wonder? Will you be resourceful enough to figure it out?

Funtc uv bycceuh, yht y duhkia uv vmysac. Fa ynuca vnus dra umt, yht vnus dryd fa crymm syga ed yhaf. Simdevyladat yht pnuyt, uin nyhka naylrac vyn.
عبارة من طبقة النبلاء, و الشفاه الجافة بفعل الرياح. لقد قطعنا شوطا بعيدا يجب وقفه. النهاية زوال لديك حتمية.
Szóval, a hazugság. Ha ránk találnak, akkor nem tudom, hogy az biztos. Nem számít, hogy mit csinálsz, akkor nem velünk szemben. Mi kell közlekedni.​

No, still nothing. Only the first two lines made any sense to the young boy; the first line was plain as day to anyone who read it, whereas the second line was only understood by the Ayatsuri child because of his ability to read and speak Fuego. Fuego, of course, was the Land of Fire's traditional language, the one spoken by its people since the ancient times. No one except those who hailed from the Land of Fire would be able to read it. The last two lines, though, were what troubled Ginjiro. He'd never encountered a language quite like them, and the boy had been constantly studying them to see if anything could be made of them. But for the hundredth time, he came up with a blank. Sighing a great sigh, the young boy rolled up the scroll and tossed it into his backpack where he kept it safe from prying eyes. He was tired of looking at that thing, and wanted nothing more to do with it tonight. The boy decided he needed to stretch his legs, breath cool air, and clear his mind. And so, the brown haired child stepped outside for a little bit. It wasn't too bad tonight; however, there was always that biting wind. Ginjiro had always heard terrible things about it back in Leaf City, but he honestly didn't mind it. Sticking his arms out around him, the young boy closed his eyes and breathed in the rich and crisp desert night air. It burned his lungs, in a good way, and helped him feel alive again. It rejuvenated the young lad, and made him wonder what the hell everyone had always been complaining about.

As he walked a little ways from their campsite—though not far enough for him to lose sight of it in case of an emergency—Ginjiro found himself a nice rock to lay out on. Stretching himself out across the smooth stone, the young boy laid with his arms behind his head as he looked up at the stars. You couldn't see the stars like this in Leaf City, what with all the lights and smog. Here, though, the night sky was like a crystal glass dome and the stars twinkled beautifully through it. As he sat there and admired the stars, the young boy began to really feel at peace. Nothing could hurt the young boy right now. Not a single thing...

[WC: 667]

[ooc]
Referencing [this] and [this] topic, though the second one needs Leaf Access to view.
Requesting the Canine and the Fox Contracts, though Canine is far preferable.
Marked for Training.

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

Congrats, you've found the rare and elusive Kami Contract! Do you accept the challenge~?

 

[Kazu]

Did not expect that. What the hell, I accept. First Kami Contract on the new site~

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

As Ginjiro was lying on the rock, the ground started to shake very faintly. Nothing big, just a very very faint rumbling, as the ground beneath the rock gave way and both the rock and Ginjiro tumbled down into a closed off, dark cave. Unfortunately, for Ginjiro, he landed on his head and got knocked out completely cold. While he was knocked out, two little shiny balls of light, had floated into the cave and had begun to circle Ginjiro’s limp body. One balls light was a blue-ish white, the other was a pink-ish red and it was enough to prod Ginjiro’s consciousness back to actually being there, and not somewhere else.

As he slowly returned to consciousness, the two shiny balls were giggling and talking together ”I think it’s waking up!” ”I think you’re right! What is it I wonder?” ”It looks like… One of those hoomans I’ve heard about…” ”A ‘hooman’? What are those?” ”One of those, I think.” ”But what is it doing here?” ”I don’t know… But I do know that it’s not supposed to be here… This is the spirit realm…” ”Maybe we should bring it to one of the others?” ”Good idea. But… Is it awake yet?”

The cave​

”Hey! Listen! Hey! Are you awake yet? Well? Well?!” Nuki asked the barely conscious academy student ”If you’re awake, groan loudly” the blue ball of light said as it floated right in front of his face. ”Follow us! Follow us!” Kuni said and flew a bit in advance, lighting up the cave on its way. Surprisingly, the cave was cool and rather large for something that was seemingly created by a simple earthquake. Here and there were crystals sticking out of the ground, and when the two balls of shiny light flew past them, their light was amplified and thrown around the room, scattered and broken into the various colors of the rainbow, lighting up the path Ginjiro would undoubtedly have to take to get through the cave to escape it.

As they continued through the cave, Nuki and Kuni kept talking together, about Ginjiro, as if he wasn’t even there. ”I wonder if it’s a he or a she…” Nuki would say to Kuni and giggle in wonder. They might not have been the highest ranked amongst the Kami, but they sure were amongst the most curious. ”We’ll learn soon enough I guess.” it continued while Kuni had floated close to Ginjiro, to make sure his path was lighted up ”Hey! Listen! Be careful, make sure you don’t make a false step. Falling here could cause your real body harm.” it said to him and if it had, had a mouth, it would’ve grinned widely. ”After all, you don't belong in this place!” it said in a loud voice, letting Ginjiro know that he wasn't even supposed to be where he was. And in the case Ginjiro would try to use any jutsus, he would fail in doing so. Unknown to him, Nuki and Kuni were protecting Ginjiro from using any chakra, as his current body was actually comprised of his chakra. So by preventing him from using any what so ever, they prevented him from disappearing from the spirit world without a trace.

 

[Kazu]

As the puppeteer laid there, he felt like there wasn't a single trouble in the world. Everything was at peace. That is, until he felt a little rumble. Instantly his eyes shot open and he jerked upright. He was in a sitting position now, and he was scanning all over to see if there was something which had caused the little tremor. Was something coming towards him? Slowly it increased in magnitude. Whispering to himself, Ginjiro was on high alert. "What the heck is going o-" He didn't get to finish his sentence before he began to fall. He fell far, down into the depths of the abyss. The young boy tried, on instinct to create some chakra strings that he could use to keep himself from falling, but it was no good. For whatever reason, he couldn't summon up his chakra to create the strings. The last though that went through his head was confusion, wondering what the hell was going on. THe next thing he knew, he was out like a light. The boy had hit his head, and he was completely knocked out.

Who knew how long the boy had been out for? Minutes? Hours? Days? Whatever the case, the young boy slowly winked his eyes open to the sound of voices. For a moment, he thought he might be back at the campsite with Zenichi-kun and the rest of them. It took him but a moment more, however, to realize that he was quite mistaken. As he slowly became more aware of the voices, he also became aware of the throbbing pain in his head. Clutching his head with both hands as he groaned in pain, the young boy would stay like that for a little while. Long enough for the pain to leave, and for the voices to stop talking. As he began to gain more of his senses back, he opened his eyes to take in where he was. At first he couldn't see anything, and it took his eyes a moment to adjust. When he could see, though, he wasn't sure if he was still dreaming or not. Two floating orbs of light, one blue and one pink, hovered right by the boy's head. "Uhm, excuse me. Would you mind tell-" The balls of light, however, upon finding out that he was awake began to tell him to follow them. They wouldn't wait up, and left the boy totally behind. Scrambling to keep up, the young boy ran right after the dashing lights. "Wait up! Hey, hang on a minute!" As the young boy ran to keep up, he finally was able to focus on where he was. The cave, massive in size and simply breathtaking to behold, left the young shinobi in awe. He didn't know what to say, except that this place was more beautiful than anything he'd ever encountered before in his life. The way the crystals refracted the blue and pink light was astonishing, and the boy would have stood there transfixed forever if not for the two orbs speaking up again. Suddenly alarms flared up in the boy's head as he heard their words about him getting harmed and not belonging. His mind began to move on over drive now as he began to process everything that was going on. "Wait a minute, what do you mean my 'real body'? Isn't this my body? Where are we, anyways? And who, or what, are you two?" It was a lot of questions. But in odd circumstances, it would be odd to think the boy wouldn't have a lot to question. Hopefully the two shining orbs would explain things properly to the young boy.

[ooc]
Just for you, Kitsune, I'll use normal size font. But just this once! ewe

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

As the two balls of light flew ahead, making sure that Ginjiro could keep up with them. After all, it wouldn’t be good if they left him to rot – figuratively of course – in the Spirit World with no way for him to defend himself. ”We’re in a cave of course. Now keep up~” Nuki said teasingly and flew ahead to make sure there was light ahead, while Kuni stayed right next to Ginjiro to provide him with an ample light source. ”Nuki and I are wisps. And what’re you?” Kuni asked him curiously in a tone that would let Ginjiro know that they weren’t hostile in any way, and that they really were just like a pair of kids, curious and full of wonder, although Nuki was clearly the older one of the two, and also more knowledgeable than Kuni was. The two were as close as siblings, with Nuki being the older brother, and Kuni being the younger sister.

”It isn’t your real body, just like we said.” Nuki yelled from further into the cave ”Instead, it’s a co-- con-- constru-- creation, made by your chakra. In this place, you leave your physical form behind, and travel as your inner chakra.” ”That’s also why you can’t use any jutsus!” Kuni chimed in ”Nuki and I are preventing you from trying, because we don’t want you to disappear like the last one that came to visit us!”. Kuni’s tone turned sad at the last part of what she said. She blamed herself a bit for what had happened to the last soul that had dropped into the cave as she didn’t warn him of the chakra thing, and even worse, Nuki wasn’t even there at the time.

But, with Ginjiro there now, she was determined to make sure he didn’t vanish, or get hurt, what so ever. Nuki on the other hand, only helped because of Kuni’s insisting. Well, and his curiosity wanted to see what this tiny human could actually do, that so many others hadn’t been able to. One thing was certain. This was definitely going to get interesting.
Further, into the cave, there was a giant structure. Kinda like a pyramid, only instead of being made out of stone, it was made of crystal. The tip was coated in what appeared to be liquid light, and the rest of the pyramid lit up the entire room because of it. Unfortunately, for Ginjiro, the road over to the pyramid wasn’t easy to overcome. It was rocky, there were many deep pits, and crystals were sticking out of the ground almost everywhere. The problem with the crystals were that they were chakra draining, and if Ginjiro touched them or stepped on them so they touched his skin, they’d drink in his chakra, making him smaller with each bit of chakra gone.

 

[Kazu]

Wisps, eh? It was right then that Ginjiro knew he was dreaming. There was no way this was real. And yet...

Sighing at the blueish white orb's comment, Ginjiro's voice sounded quite exasperated. "Yeah, I got that. But, you know, where is this cave at? Last I remember I was in the deserts of the Land of Wind and then..." The boy's sentence trailed off as he tried to remember exactly what happened. It was a little fuzzy, but he definitely remembered falling somewhere. Was this cave directly underneath their campsite? Ginjiro doubted it. Something about this place didn't exactly seem like a normal, earthly cave. As the blueish white orb went ahead, the pinkish one stayed close to Ginjiro. "Uhm, nice to meet you two. Nuki and...what did you say your name was?" Ginjiro was directing his comment to Kuni, who seemed not to have introduced herself. Yes, this orb of light was a 'she' because it was pretty obvious from her voice. Furthermore, she seemed to be a young spirit; in fact, she was probably about the same age as Ginjiro. As they walked along, Nuki called back towards them, explaining that this form of Ginjiro's was actually made of pure chakra. That was quite surprising to Ginjiro, as he looked and felt perfectly normal. What sort of weird stuff was going on down here? What's more, apparently he couldn't use any jutsu now either. As the pinkish orb explained, apparently the young boy would disappear if he used too much of his chakra. That made sense, at least, since he couldn't have a physical form made of chakra if he used it all up. He'd have to be really careful, then. "Thanks for all your help, you two. If you don't mind me asking, though, where exactly are you taking me?"

As the three of them kept walking, the giant crystalline pyramid, with its liquid glowing light at the top serving to illuminate the entire cavern, made its appearance. Staring at the structure in amazement, Ginjiro simply couldn't keep his mouth shut. "So, I'm guessing that's not just some cool side show on our way to where we're going, huh?" Still transfixed by the sight of the pyramid, Ginjiro moved to lean his hand on one of the nearby rocks. He was so distracted, though, that he didn't see one of the crystals that were jutting out of the rocks everywhere. He managed to cut himself a little on one of them before he cried out in pain. "OH DAMN, THAT HURT!" Instinctively checking to see if there was any blood coming out, Ginjiro saw that not a single drop of blood spilled from him. Instead, he saw a small area around the cut dissolve, turn into what looked like a stream of dust, and get sucked into the crystal that had cut him. Backing away suddenly, it didn't take long at all for Ginjiro to realize the implications of what just happened. Nor did it take him long to observe that this whole cavern was covered in those same kind of crystals. "Well, looks like we're in a right fine mess." Instantly, his mind began to kick into overdrive. He began to think through every possible plan of action, every resource available to them, and every possible outcome that could happen. Ginjiro was quite the intelligent child, so this was no big deal for him. Still, it did not look like their options were good. Vocalizing his thoughts, the boy's voice was suddenly very serious. "Hrm, looks like we don't have a lot of options. I wonder, though, since we're all in the same form right now, would it be possible for you two to fly across with me hanging on? Or perhaps you could allow me to use my chakra strings briefly in order to slingshot my way across? You two could fly over it no problem. We could always just take it slow, as well, and try to avoid as many of the crystals as we could. But something tells me there's too much room for error in that plan. What do you guys think we should do?" It seemed like the three of them would have to pull together to figure out something to be done here. It would take all of their combined knowledge in order to get across safely. But what was the best plan? All they could do was try and figure it out...

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

Nuki had flown further ahead, and was waiting right at the edge of a huge pit filled with giant crystals, while Kuni still floated right by Ginjiro’s head ”Isn’t it obvious, yet?” Nuki asked the student in a condescending tone. If wisps had heads, Kuni would be shaking hers right now, letting an almost inaudible sigh escape her vocal cords. If she had any that is. ”I’m sorry… He doesn’t like strangers much… Oh, and, I’m Kuni. Nice to meet you too~” she said in a low tone so Nuki couldn’t hear her. He wouldn’t approve of Kuni speaking with strangers while he couldn’t hear it. That’d make him the overprotective older brother, if this had been an anime.

As they kept continuing into the cave, to reach their destination of the Pyramid of Light. ”We’re taking you to the shiny pyramid over there. The others will know how to get you back home” she said before Nuki could stop her from speaking. ”Kuni! Don’t reveal everything to him. We still need to take him there.” Nuki said in a grumpy tone, right before Ginjiro cut himself on one of the crystals. Both of the wisps stopped right where they were as he cried out in pain. It was clear to both of them that this would be one dangerous trip. ”You can’t grab onto us, we don’t have physical forms. And if you use any chakra – as we said – You’ll disappear. There’s only one way to do it, and that’s the hard way: Going across the great divide on foot. Well. In your case it’ll be on foot.” Nuki said in a tone that was somewhere between worry, and matter-of-factness.

What the two wisps didn’t tell Ginjiro, was that they were actually there to protect him. And of course, to observe for the more powerful creatures of the Kami. But if Ginjiro were to succeed in this little adventure, he would need to figure things out on his own, as he made his way towards the pyramid.

[OOC: Just so you’re prepared Ginjiro, when we reach the pyramid, my posts will be a lot shorter, because they’ll include a choice at the end of each one. Depending on your choices, you may or may not get through this unharmed. There may or may not be dice involved in the following trials~ ]

 

[Kazu]

Whipping his head to the side as he heard Kuni and Nuki talking to each other. "Others? Are there more than just you two down here?" No matter what their answers were, though, Ginjiro knew he had much bigger tasks at hand. The first and foremost being that he now had to figure out a way to get across this treacherous road in order to get to the Pyramid of Light that lay before him. Ginjiro knew this wasn't going to be an easy task, but he might as well get on with it. There was no other way, after all. Breathing in deeply, Ginjiro allowed all of the air to pass through and out of his lungs before he spoke. "Well, I suppose there's no helping it. I guess I'll see you two on the other side, then." And so, Ginjiro began his trek across the field. It would begin with him carefully scanning for a way down from his ledge. Inch by inch he'd worm his way down from one rock to another, very carefully avoiding the deadly little crystals that had a strangle hold on the land beneath. It wasn't a particularly difficult task for the young lad, considering he had an incredible sense of observation and a natural flair for problem solving. He also had enough patience to not just charge forward blindly, but to plan his next two hundred actions in advance. Each movement was exactly what the young puppeteer had wanted to do, and not a single one of his movements were wasted. He had carefully planned each and everything thing that happened to him. When he had gotten to about half of the way there, however, a small predicament came up. It seemed he had reached a part where he could not have a one hundred percent chance of evading some of the crystals. There was a wall of the things, as if they were made to keep out intruders, blocking his path. The only way to have a chance of getting across was to jump. Seeing as there was no other way, the young boy decided to take his chances. "I won't make it if I don't take a little leap of faith." And so, the puppeteer hurdled his way over the crystals.

Just barely, by maybe a fraction of a centimeter, the young boy managed to evade the crystals. A sigh of relief escaped his little chest as he took in the sheer joy that he had evaded such a treacherous obstacle. Looking ahead, though, he saw just how much more there was to go. Sighing, the boy wiped off the little bit of sweat that had accumulated upon his brow. "I've got a long way to go. Can't give up now..." And so he continued on, carefully moving from one obstacle to the next.

[ooc]
Hope you don't mind me taking the creative liberty to make that little obstacle. If you need me to edit it, or change the outcome, just send me a PM or IRC message. Also, I would have RPed getting all the way across, except I wanted to let you have the opportunity to throw a challenge my way. If not, feel free to have me reach the Pyramid in your mod.

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

”Yes, of course there is.” Nuki stated as if it was common knowledge. ”Why else would be we going this way?”. A sound like a sigh came from Nuki as Kuni few closer to Ginjiro, so he could see exactly where he was stepping. ”I’m gonna fly in advance. If he doesn’t make it, fly across to me, Kuni.” Nuki said coldly as his light turned a darker hue of blue as he sped off. Kuni merely sighed ”Always in such a bad mood. Ah well, I’ll do what I can to help you cross.” Kuni said in a bubbly, almost happy, tone of voice. ”That way, you’ve got a better chance of getting through this.”

As they continued on through the cavern, Kuni skillfully avoided the crystals in her height while illuminating the path for Ginjiro so he could avoid getting sucked away. As they got closer to the shining pyramid, Ginjiro might’ve been able to see something hanging up in the beam of light above the pyramids tip. If he was able to see it, he might’ve even recognized the shape as that of a human body, though from that distance he wouldn’t be able to make out the details of it at all.

After passing the wall of crystals that he jumped over, he finally came across a safe path through the crystals, as if the cave itself had deemed him worthy of at least getting to the pyramid. As he made his way up to the pyramid, he could feel the air get thicker, as if the oxygen levels had risen to twice the normal level. The effect it had on his body was clear as day, it energized his muscles, and allowed him to perform acts of physical strength that he couldn’t do before.

Upon reaching the hulking structure, Nuki and Kuni flew over to the door, and placed themselves into two sockets, unlocking and opening the door. ”I didn’t think you’d make it this far.” Nuki said, in a tone that wasn’t hostile like before, as if he had gotten respect for the kid. ”You did good. Go ahead and enter!” Kuni said and dislodged herself from the socket and flew in ahead of Ginjiro, while Nuki followed behind the boy.

Inside, Ginjiro could see three doors. Each one would lead to a different room, with a different challenge. The door on his right was marked with a sun. The door on his left was marked with a moon. While the door right in front of him, was marked with a black hole. In the room he was in, was a tiny pedestal in the middle of the room, with a backpack on it. If Ginjiro decided to pick it up, he’d find a blank scroll, a bottle with a clear blue liquid in it, as well as a tome of indecipherable text.

[OOC]
Okay. You’ve got the choice of taking the backpack, or leaving it. As well as the choice of the three doors.
Which do you pick? Sun, Moon or Black Hole?
The posts will be much shorter now that we’ve reached the pyramid. I do hope you enjoy the style of challenges~
[/OOC]

 

[Kazu]

As the young boy made his way across safely, he found that slowly the paths leading towards the pyramid were becoming easier and easier to traverse. It was as if he'd already conquered the trials they had set forth for him, and this was his reward. As he neared the pyramid, the young boy soon detected a certain...bounce in his step. The reason he noticed it was that he knew he hadn't been doing anything differently, and yet at the same time he seemed to be moving quicker. Or everything else just slowed way the fuck down. Testing it for a moment, Ginjiro began to realize that it was, indeed, that he was moving quicker. What could it have been? It wasn't until he realized that he was barely even breathing that the connection hit him: he was getting more oxygen flowing through his system, meaning that he could move almost effortlessly. It was odd though; why in the world was this happening? Wasn't he just a floating mass of chakra now anyways? How did he even breathe? The more he thought about it, the more he realized he didn't want to think about it. What mattered was that he was able to move better, so he should take advantage of that fact. Trying to still figure out the exact implications of his increased abilities, Ginjiro was snapped back to reality when he heard Nuki telling him that he hadn't been sure if the boy could do it or not. Trying to look offended, though obviously failing with a big grin on his face, Ginjiro made a big to do over it. "Oh come now, Nuki. Have a little more faith in me, why don't you?" Ginjiro could tell, though, that Nuki was more impressed with the child after this little challenge. Ginjiro took a bit of pride in that, knowing that he'd done well. Accepting the thanks of the little pink wisp, Ginjiro smiled as he entered the pyramid. "Thanks. I'm just hoping that the worst is over. I'd really like to get back to my body, after all..." As soon as he spoke those words, though, he knew he shouldn't have.

Inside the pyramid was a room with several doors in it, all leading to other places, and a little pedestal with a backpack on it. Ginjiro blinked for a few moments while he took it all in. It seemed to him that he'd have to choose one of the doors to go through: the door with the sun, the door with the moon, or the door with the black hole. What did they mean? Were they clues as to what lay hidden behind each one? Then there was the backpack. Deciding that he might as well take a look inside, Ginjiro walked up to the little canvas bag and opened it to see three very strange items. There was a blank scroll, a vial of blue liquid, and tome containing text that he'd never seen before. He didn't know what to make of any of it. Looking around, he didn't see anyone or anything telling him this was private property. Shrugging his shoulders, Ginjiro began to put the backpack on. "Guess I might as well. Nobody seems to be using it, and I can use all the materials I can get. Besides, I'll come back and reimburse whoever owns this stuff anyways." The boy really didn't like the idea of taking something that wasn't his, especially considering he came from a clan who values truth, honor, virtue and justice more than anything else. But he needed the supplies, and he needed to stay alive. He was sure who ever owned this bag would understand. With the supplies in tow, the young boy now had to make yet another decision: which door should he open? Which part of pandora's box should he reveal first? Mulling it over in his head, Ginjiro decided that he might as well take a shot in the dark. And that meant, quite literally along the lines of his cliche'd phrase, that he'd be picking the door with the moon on it, the one on his left. Walking to the door and reach a hand out, the young boy breathed in to steady himself. "Here goes nothing..." And with that the door was thrust open. All hell would break loose soon, the young boy was sure.

[ooc]
Marked for Training.

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

As Ginjiro stepped into the moon room, the door slammed shut behind him. As could be expected, the room had the same lighting as a moonlit night, the flooring wasn’t stone like the previous room, but grass, and it looked way bigger than it was, as if it was an entire field. If the boy turned around, he would immediately see that the door and wall was gone, and more fields were there. His new task was to find an exit, and leave the room. But with this lighting, that’d prove to be rather challenging, as the doors in this room could be anywhere. There were trees and bushes scattered around and it all looked very natural.

If he were to take up the book in his backpack, he would see that the first page had turned into a table of contents.

• The Perilous Journey Through The Crystal Cavern
• Decision Time – What Will Be Picked?
• The Moonlit Plains

It seemed as if the book was writing itself based upon what Ginjiro did in this otherworldly place, however, if he turned to the chapter “The Moonlit Plains” he’d see that there was information there, that he didn’t possess. Namely, what the doors looked like. Again there were three doors. Only this time, they were all boulders, each with their own specific mark. One had a circle, another had what looked to be horns, and the third had what looked like a spiral, but if someone were to look real close on the spiral, they’d see tons of tiny dots, almost like if it had been a spiral galaxy chiseled into the rock.

[OOC]
Again three choices, but you’ll have to find ‘em first. >:3
[/OOC]

 

[Kazu]

Even though the boy hadn't been expecting much of anything, he was still taken aback by what he saw. He hadn't stepped into a new room, he'd stepped into a field. Looking around in amazement, Ginjiro couldn't help but whistle in amazement. "Bigger on the inside, huh? Must be a pocket dimension..." His joking aside, the young boy began to do a 360º in order to take the whole thing in. What he found, though, is that the entire wall through which he had passed had disappeared! Gone, completely vanished, as if it had never even been there to begin with. Walking through the space where the door had been only moments before, Ginjiro simply couldn't wrap his brain around it. "Damn, that's so messed up..." Turning again to face the space which had been laid out in front of him, Ginjiro couldn't help but wonder what he was supposed to do. There weren't anymore leads, nor anyone to help guide him. As he stood there, trying to figure out what it is he was supposed to do, he couldn't help but remember the items he'd picked up in the room prior. Perhaps something would be of use? Objects sometimes only had a purpose in a specific setting, after all. Rummaging through the items in his backpack, Ginjiro took another look at all of the items that he had gotten. The vial and the scroll were still as useless as ever. The tome, though, had transformed its words into something readable by the boy. What he saw was a table of contents, and looked like there were only three slots filled out. The young boy noticed, however, that there were another five slots which were yet to be translated. Were they possibly the next tasks which had to be competed, and would only translate themselves as he reached them? "Most curious." The young boy would continue to read on, finding out more and more about what he needed to do. It seemed that the tome contained knowledge on where his next doors lay. Apparently, they were all hidden by boulders with special marks: a circle, a pair of horns, and what appeared to be a swirling galaxy. Obstacles within obstacles, it seemed.

Closing the book and putting it back inside of his borrowed backpack, Ginjiro began to search the area around him to see if he could spot any boulders. For now, the boy really couldn't see much of anything---that changed after a few moments of adjusting himself to the low light. He figured his best chance of finding the boulders was to simply look for them. They couldn't be too hard to find, could they? Not even in this light. Of course, there was always the possibility of them being quite small and unnoticeable, though the young boy figured that he'd deal with that problem if he got to it. For now, it seemed as if someone, or something, wanted him to play their game. That was fine with Ginjiro---he loved games. Though if this was a game to be played, it was a game that Ginjiro intended on winning. He would conquer this puzzle, one way or another. And so he began his search; he was on a boulder hunt!

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

If Ginjiro chose to go towards the west (aka left) he would stumble upon a small river, in which, upon closer inspection seemed to flow much faster than it should. If he tried to cross it, he’d undoubtedly fall in and get swept away to parts unknown, most likely never to be seen again.

If he went towards the east (aka right) he would find a small group of trees, and the first of the three boulders. It was the one marked with a spiral galaxy. Upon touch, the boulder would light up, and turn into a swirling portal of all sorts of colors.

If he decided to go north (aka straight ahead, I’m sure you’ve figured this out by now.) he’d find a huge canyon, at the bottom of which came a cry for help, the voice would be female and sound like it came from a little girl, possibly 5 or 6 years old, desperately in need of company and assistance, as she had gotten herself trapped down at the bottom.

If he decided to go south, he wouldn’t really find much, except a giant rock in the middle of the field, surrounded by a ring of trees. Beneath the rock would be a secret passage to the second of the boulders Ginjiro was searching for, specifically the one with horns on it.

It was all up to Ginjiro, which way to pick. Hopefully he’d pick the right way, and maybe find something interesting along the way?

[OOC]
Well then! Pick a direction, and let’s see what life will bring you. Or, spirits in this case I guess. ;D
[/OOC]

 

[Kazu]

It was time to head out. Ginjiro knew what his objective was, and that was all that mattered. He'd have to start searching the area for signs of these boulders, but he also didn't want to get lost. He had no idea how large of a place this was, and so he couldn't afford to lose track of where he had been. What he decided, then, was to leave a breadcrumb trail of where he'd been. In this case, since he didn't actually have breadcrumbs, he decided to gather a great many sticks together. They weren't huge, but they were all large enough to spot clearly in this light. Every so often, Ginjiro would plant a stick into the ground, demonstrating that he had already been to that piece of area. He decided that he'd go straight, so that he could get an idea of how far this room went. There had to be a fixed limit to how far it could go, right? Ginjiro figured that once he made it to the far end of the room, then he could begin working on either side of it. And so, with his bundle of sticks in hand, the young boy made his way north. CLimbing over the hills and valleys that this landscape provided, Ginjiro wondered just what sort of challenges would lay ahead of him. So far, not much had been explained to the boy—he wasn't sure what the point of it all was. Perhaps the only way back to his body was through here? Ginjiro doubted it. Either way, though, he tried not to dwell too much on it. As the boy continued, he would find himself a nice little canyon carved into the earth. This was a good enough place as any to label as the 'end' of the room, so he stuck another twig into the ground. He was about to continue to the right, until he heard a faint scream. Stopping in his tracks, the boy strained his ears to try and hear where it was coming from. After a moment or two, he realized that the scries were coming from the bottom of the canyon. His eyes widening, Ginjiro immediately went into 'hero' mode. Calling down to the little girl, Ginjiro made his voice as calm and steady as possible. "Don't worry, I'm coming to get you! Just stay where you are, okay?" Dropping everything, Ginjiro immediately began looking for a way down. Finding a rocky ledge that looked stable, Ginjiro began to hoist himself down to the bottom layers. He had to be quick, but also careful. He didn't want to injure himself trying to save her—that wouldn't help anyone. How would he get her out of here with a broken leg? So, methodically moving down to the bottom of the canyon, Ginjiro did his best to avoid any damage to himself. As soon as his legs hit the ground, he began to sprint towards the little girl. Once he reached her, Ginjiro dropped down to one knee, in order to get to her height, and began to reassure the girl. "It's okay now, I've got you. Everything's going to be alright—I'm going to get you out of here. What's your name, little girl?" Ginjiro knew that the best way to keep a panicked child calm was to have them feel like everything was under control. He wanted the little girl to take her mind off of what was happening, and to have her focus on something else. Right now, what was most important was saving this little girl. Screw some stupid boulders, he had a life to save!

[ooc]
Marked for Training.

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

Not only was the little girl in a state of panic, but she had also hurt her leg. It looked badly scraped, but if Ginjiro decided to examine it a bit closer, he’d see that it was only surface damage. There was nothing broken, and it was probably more the scare of tumbling down a canyon that had the girl frightened. What was more surprising though, was the fact that she looked completely unharmed asides from the leg. But she’d need Ginjiro’s support to go anywhere. ”I-I-I.. I’m Riza…” she said in a meek, frightened voice ”I f-fell down… Into t-this p-place… And h-hurt my leg…”

Riza looked at him with big tearful eyes, clearly she had been crying before Ginjiro had come to the rescue. ”I-I can’t s-stand…” she said in her meek voice ”C-can you h-help me up?” In the case that Ginjiro decided to lift her up, he’d find that she had been sitting on a boulder hidden in the ground. The one marked with a halo. And before he could do anything about it, he and the little girl would be sucked into the mark on the boulder, and they’d come out in another room of the pyramid, one much closer to the top.

Inside the room, they’d find supplies to heal the girls leg, and to restore Ginjiro’s chakra reserves in an emergency. ((Think of it as a “Game Over. Do you continue? > YES” thing.)) And in the event that he used it, he’d get a chakra boost as well, allowing him to perform a single jutsu. The room only contained one door, so logic would dictate that he was being rewarded for his good behavior. If he decided to take a look in the book, he would see that the Table of Contents had been updated with a sub-point for The Moonlit Plains, called A Good Deed Gets Rewarded.

When he was ready, he could proceed to the next room, and continue on his search for an escape back to the real world.

[OOC: No door choices this time.]

 

[Kazu]

Having reached the girl, Ginjiro went into full on "medic-mode". He began to check her to see if there were any injuries that were ailing her, while at the same time he was calm and smiling. He didn't want her to worry, as that would only make things worse. As he inspected her, he smiled and looked right at her. "Riza, huh? What a pretty name. Tell me about yourself, Riza-chan. Where are you from?" As he tried to keep her mind on something else, Ginjiro managed to find that she was not seriously injured. She had a little scrape, but it wasn't anything too bad. Right now, he would just have to make sure to calm her down. Smiling at her, Ginjiro gave Riza-chan a warm and loving look that assured her that everything would be all right. "Of course I can, Riza-chan. Come here, and we'll get you out of here..." As the young boy began to pick up the little girl and hold her in his arms, he suddenly noticed an odd etching in the side of the boulder she was sitting on. It was the one with the halo. "Whoa, is that-" Before he could finish, the two of them were sucked into the boulder. Before he knew it, Ginjiro and Riza-chan had been transported to some odd room elsewhere in the pyramid. At least, Ginjiro assumed it was in the pyramid. As the boy looked around, the first thing he noticed was some medical supplies. His eyes widening, Ginjiro rushed over to get the proper supplies to fix up Riza-chan. Thanking whoever had been gracious enough to provide these things, the boy instantly set to work healing the girl's leg. A little antibacterial cream and some covering were all that were needed—it was just basic first aid. Giving the girl a nice big smile, Ginjiro was glad that she was safe and unharmed. "That's better, isn't it? Can you wait here for a moment, Riza-chan? I have to go check on something." Assuming she was okay, Ginjiro would leave for a moment in order to go look at the things on the table again. He hadn't had a good chance to gather himself since he was worrying over Riza-chan, so he needed to take this opportunity to get everything together.

Looking over everything, Ginjiro saw there was one other thing that was of value to him. Ginjiro found a chakra pill, which he knew would restore his chakra levels to way beyond what they would be normally. Perhaps even enough to afford a jutsu down here. He'd definitely keep that for later, and slipped it into one of his pockets. With that squared away, Ginjiro also thought it wise to consult the book again. Things had definitely changed, and he needed to know if there was anymore information available on it. As it turns out, there was. Ginjiro chuckled at the phrasing of it, proceeding to close the book and tuck it back into his bag. Seeing as there was only one room, Ginjiro had only one way to go. But he couldn't just leave Riza-chan here. Moving back to the girl, Ginjiro knelt down again to talk to her. "Riza-chan, it looks like there's only one exit. Care to come with me? I'll let you ride on my back~"

[ooc]
Marked for Training.

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

As Ginjiro had finished his sentence, a loud noise came from behind him, forcing him to look away, and when he looked back, Riza had vanished into thin air. With no choice but to go through the door, he’d have to leave the room, because he couldn’t stay forever. Upon heading out the door, he came to a completely deserted metropolis, giant skyscrapers, technology that Ginjiro wouldn’t possibly recognize. He had appeared in a city from another universe, in the future. And what was worse, he had no idea what he was searching for!

If he decided to check the book, he’d find a new chapter added. ”Lost in the Metropolis.” was the chapters name, but it had a spot for a sub-chapter, and even that was named as well ”A mysterious helper appears.” it read. Ginjiro would eventually learn what it meant, but for now, if he checked the new chapter, he’d see that his targets this time were four specific buildings. One looked like the Torre Celeste from Cloud. The other looked like The Silver Tower from Mist, The Star Gazer from Leaf, and The Kazekage Tower from Sand. Now Ginjiro would have to pick a target, and locate it. If he was smart, he’d be able to figure out which one would bring him much closer to the top, and his target.

[Pick a “door” Ginjiro~. Enjoy the confusion. ;3]

 

[Kazu]

Just as soon as the young boy had finished his sentence, a loud noise erupted all across the room. Turning to face it, Ginjiro immediately called back to Riza-chan. "Riza-chan, get down! I don't know what might-" The boy's sentence ended there, as when he looked back at the girl he found that she was gone. At first he thought she was just hiding—where else could she have gone? As he started to look, though, he began to realize that she had vanished. Had she merely been a figment of this world? Ginjiro refused to believe that, and merely considered her to be lost. Seeing as there was nothing left in this room, Ginjiro sighed and proceeded through the only door available. Once he did, the young Ayatsuri found himself in a large metropolis, not unlike Leaf City, that seemed far more advanced than anything he'd ever seen. Upon closer inspection, the boy would discover that the city was also quite deserted. The city itself, though, was perfectly in tact. Not a scratch to speak of—the place was brand new. Taking a moment to collect himself, Ginjiro thought now to be a good time to consult the book that he'd been referring to this whole time, and found that another chapter and sub-chapter had appeared. While the titles were a little confusing, Ginjiro had never known them to steer him wrong yet. He was weary of this world, yet he would have to put his trust into this book. "What a mess. Seriously, could this get any more complicated?" As the boy continued to ponder into the book's contents, he would find that his next objectives were again scattered into fours. Apparently he would have to choose again between four possibilities: the Torre Celeste, the Silver Tower, the Star Gazer, and the Kazekage Tower. Seeing as how they were scattered somewhere in the city, Ginjiro instantly realized that the only one he knew anything about would be the Star Gazer. It was the only one he'd be able to locate, and thus that was his only option. So, beginning his trek through the metropolis, Ginjiro set to work trying to locate the damn building. As the boy weaved his way down city streets, hours would pass. The boy was having a hard time finding anything in here. He kept going, though, because he knew that he would eventually find it.

And find it he did. Upon arriving in front of the massive copy of the Star Gazer, Ginjiro couldn't help but marvel at the extreme attention to detail that had been put into it. This place looked exactly like the real thing back in Leaf City. Bracing himself for whatever lay ahead, Ginjiro began the long climb up to the top. He figured that, since his goal was to reach the top of the pyramid, he would have to go up. All of his targets had been towers of some sort. Surely the point he wanted to be at was the top?

[ooc]
Marked for Training.

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

As Ginjiro made his way up to the top of the tower, he began to feel more and more exhausted, as if his energy was being drained. If he was as quick as he seemed to be, he’d remember the vial of blue liquid that was in the bag at the beginning of his journey. Drinking it would give him half an hour of being immune to any draining effects. What Ginjiro didn’t know, was that he was being watched closely by beings of a superior power, beings that had their kicks by giving the boy challenges he might not be able to pass.

Such as the next challenge: going to the reverse world that was hanging above him above the tower. When standing out in the street, the sky looked normal, but when standing on the top of one of the four towers, you’d see something different. In this case, it was a world exactly like the one he was in, but upside down due to being “above” him. The problem for Ginjiro was that in order to get there, he’d have to give up a bunch of chakra to connect the two worlds.

He now had two choices. Go back down, and look for the other towers, or try and go to the reverse world.

[Muhahaha. Or something. Make a choice :3]