Post by Kurogane on Dec 14, 2020 10:54:05 GMT -8
Oolong City Arithmetic | 1 Star Mission (2000 Words Requirement)- A very attractive person has convinced you they want to help you find treasure they heard of in a secluded spot in Oolong City. But when you get there and see the piles of treasure they reveal their true intentions. They are actually a shape shifter planning to betray you and rob you blind.
The light which poured in through the window was artificial; bright neon light from the sign perched on the outer wall of the building. It needed repairs; it flickered intermittently and a soft ever present low humming buzz could be heard coming from the sign at all hours of the night when it was turned on. The artificial light swept into the room in between the horizontal blinds and created a striped effect across the ground. It was a flickering orange light which made the room look as if it had been drenched in tiger orange paint.
The overstuffed and rather beat up looking armchair by the window? It was orange at night. As was the table beside it, the lamp, and everything else that the light touched. It suddenly took on that bright hue.
The light did not reach the bed; at least not since Kurogane moved it away from the window. He had grown tired of being kept awake by the light of the sign washing over his face as he attempted to sleep and now the bed was on the opposite wall from where it once was placed.
He was not resting; or at least, he was not sleeping. He was laying in bed, staring at the lights from the outside dance across the ceiling.
The scarred young man was used to the silence in the modest apartment, the noise outside. He would sleep soon, he knew it; but until then, his mind would keep him occupied.
After nearly half an hour of failed attempts to find some type of rest, and the sound of the buzzing sign outside seeming to increase in volume, Hotaru sat up and decided it was time to take a walk and perhaps clear his head. The light outside the window flickered again and he stood up and headed for the door; he didn’t bother grabbing a coat, but he did grab his wooden training sword and rested it on his shoulder before walking outside the apartment, shutting the door behind him.
Leaving behind his modest apartment, the scarred young man headed down the stairs, a cool wind whipping up around him as soon as he was out and on the sidewalk. There were people around, but none of them paid him any mind.
In fact, he was ignored by the crowd that continued to walk around him much like water streaming around a rock in the middle of a river. He, in turn, turned and walked along with the flow of the crowd, taking a nice deep breath and releasing it in a nice puff of vapor as the chill air around him continued to wind in between and around everyone. It was going to be a cold night in Oolong.
The park was across from his apartment. He could see the archway into it as he walked along with the crowd and as he drew near the corner, he broke away from the flow and began to cross the street. There weren’t many people on the road, so he could cross safely and once across, he made his way toward the park gates.
He hadn’t reached them when a voice caught his attention; even before he turned to look at the voice’s owner, he could tell that it was a woman, “Excuse me,” The voice called out to him and prompted him to turn and look over to the speaker.
The woman that stood there, not far away, raised her hand as if to try and get his attention, as if to make sure that he had noticed her. She was dressed in simple clothes; though unlike Hotaru, she appeared to be bothered by the cold. She was bundled up in a fluffy green jacket, her hair was long and fell down past her shoulders. She was fair faced, young, and looked like someone that he would imagine would grace the cover of some kind of fashion magazine, pretty.
“Yes, can I help you?” Hotaru questioned politely.
“Yes, I need help with something; a group of delinquents stole something important to me and took it to their hideout. I know where it is, but I can’t go in; they’re violent hoodlums and I’m scared they’ll hurt me if I try.” Her voice wavered, a hint of fear in her tone and she looked around as if she were afraid that the group were around, listening in on the conversation or stalking her or something.
But, there was no one around.
“Why did you not go to the police?” It’s not that he did not want to help but one would imagine the first thing that a person would do if something like this happened to them would be to go to the police.
“This is Oolong, the cops here are either incompetent or they don’t care. Some of them even work for the crime syndicates here, it’s sick. But, my family’s home is here so I can’t just up and move.”
Yes, that was plausible, and understandable. He too wouldn’t be in Oolong if his home existed; if it wasn’t now charred ruins.
“What exactly did they take from you?” Well, he had already gotten the most obvious question out of the way, now to ask the second most obvious question.
“An old map,” The young woman looked at the ground a bit. “It sounds silly but I found this map in my grandfather’s attic. It’s supposed to be a map to a treasure trove here in Oolong, some hoard of treasure that my grandfather had stockpiled throughout his life. I want to find it so I can possibly put it in a museum for everyone to see. I don’t want these hoodlums to find out what they stole and then get their hands on my grandfather’s treasures.”
Treasure, somewhere in Oolong City? That just sounded absurd. But, she could mean a collection of her grandfather’s most prized possession. Treasures did not necessarily have to mean gold and rubies and diamonds; anything could be a treasure to someone. In fact, Hotaru held something like a treasure back in his modest apartment, hidden away behind some books on a small bookshelf near the door.
For a moment, he looked at the visibly shaken young woman, considering, contemplating, “I’ll help you. Take me to where their hideout is and i’ll make them give you back your possessions.”
“Thank you, thank you so much,” The woman’s face brightened considerably and she nodded, “Follow me, I’ll take you there.”
The trip included walking away from the park, away from the crowds. In fact, within moments of beginning to follow along with the long haired young woman in green, he noticed that the two of them had left the crowded sidewalk and had wound up in a rather quiet area, away from the hustle and bustle and away from the bright neon lights of shops that illuminated the sidewalk and called forth travelers to taste the foods and drinks therein. They had gone down several alleys and down a few back roads, and every time he questioned whether they were near, she said that they were close.
“There it is,” She motioned ahead as they rounded a corner, pointing to a doorway at the end of an alley. There was a black cat sitting atop a trash can near the door but as soon as the two of them stepped into view, the feline looked at them then scampered away without a second thought, wanting nothing to do with them.
“Stay here,” Hotaru advised the woman and then slowly approached the doorway. His eyes swept across the area, left, right, and then back to the door. There was no one around. He heard nothing; at least, he didn’t hear any footsteps, no shouting, no cursing, no sounds to indicate that the hoodlums were around.
When he reached the door, he grabbed the handle and attempted to turn it, as slowly as he could, to avoid making too much noise. It turned, slowly, barely a squeak, and then he pulled the door open. He couldn’t see much beyond the threshold through the small crack that he opened it but still heard nothing.
He then opened the door wider, enough to slip through and shut it behind him as he walked inside.
As soon as the scarred youth was in, several feet into the room, the lights flickered on above him, as if they had been set on motion sensors, to activate when someone entered this room.
This is not what he was expecting; there was, indeed, a treasure. Well, he was partially correct in his earlier assumption; there were things there that some would not qualify as treasure, at least if it was owned as a family heirloom. There was a model ship, with exquisite detail and beautiful sails, sitting atop a stand atop a table nearby. There were several figurines that appeared to be signed by various celebrities - he could only make out two of the names, though he did not know who they were; one of the two was Brussles the Muscles, and the other was Mr. Satan. He knew neither of those people.
But, the rest of the items in the room were definitely treasures; piles of gold coins, sapphires and diamonds and even a gown upon a seamstress dummy bedecked in pearls. In the center of the room was a massive desk that was strewn with small piles of golden coins, bags of paper currency, but also several large maps unfurled as if they had once been rolled up into scrolls, and held down at the corners by several small paper weights.
“What is this?” Kuro was visibly confused. Stumbling and stepping over small hills of gold and money, he made his way over to the desk and looked at the map.
“My treasures,” The young woman’s voice caused him to peek back. The girl was standing there. The door shutting behind her. But, this time, her eyes, once sympathetic and warm, now looked colder and steely, “Men are so easy, boys are even easier. You take on a pretty face and they do anything you want. Like they think I’ll date them if they save the damsel in distress.”
“In my defense, I wasn’t interested.”
For a split second that looked as if it almost caused the young woman pause, her eyes mildly widening in shock, “Wait, what?”
“You’re not my type.” He peered over to the map. “So, this whole story about your grandfather’s map and the treasure, all bogus.”
“Well, not all bogus. That is my grandfather’s map. But, the treasures weren’t his,” The person’s voice changed. It was no longer a feminine voice.
Kuro turned and saw that the young woman had changed, poofed, and had become something else, someone else; a chubby looking Tanuki with a grin on his face.
“So, you’ll hand over your valuables if you want to get out of here alive, boy.” The tanuki took a step forward.
“I would advise against taking another step closer.” The young man gripped his wooden sword tightly.
“Oh, what are you going to do? You don’t even have a real sword with you. That thing’s made of wood.” The tanuki grinned, a toothy cruel smile, his eyes glinting with malice before he came charging forward, “Give me what I want and I won’t hurt you so bad!”
The boy had grabbed a handful of the gold coins off the desk and threw them at the creature’s face. The tanuki was so surprised that he skidded to a halt, raising his hands automatically to protect his face.
This left the creature open to what Kuro wanted to do; he struck, a powerful blow, to the creature’s stomach. He smashed the wooden sword into his stomach, knocking the wind from the shocked tanuki’s lungs before it could even utter a squeal of pain and surprise. The tanuki doubled over. This allowed Hotaru to slam his knee up into his face and that did it. The creature landed on his back, knocked off his feet.
One tooth had been knocked out from its maw and laid on the ground beside the now barely conscious thief,
“I did warn you.” The scarred boy scolded the creature. Now he’d have little choice but to call the Oolong Police and let them deal with this strange shapeshifter.
WC: 2,060
Note: Kurogane has a bonus 25% to their gains in all threads, effective until January 13th, 2021
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
The light which poured in through the window was artificial; bright neon light from the sign perched on the outer wall of the building. It needed repairs; it flickered intermittently and a soft ever present low humming buzz could be heard coming from the sign at all hours of the night when it was turned on. The artificial light swept into the room in between the horizontal blinds and created a striped effect across the ground. It was a flickering orange light which made the room look as if it had been drenched in tiger orange paint.
The overstuffed and rather beat up looking armchair by the window? It was orange at night. As was the table beside it, the lamp, and everything else that the light touched. It suddenly took on that bright hue.
The light did not reach the bed; at least not since Kurogane moved it away from the window. He had grown tired of being kept awake by the light of the sign washing over his face as he attempted to sleep and now the bed was on the opposite wall from where it once was placed.
He was not resting; or at least, he was not sleeping. He was laying in bed, staring at the lights from the outside dance across the ceiling.
The scarred young man was used to the silence in the modest apartment, the noise outside. He would sleep soon, he knew it; but until then, his mind would keep him occupied.
After nearly half an hour of failed attempts to find some type of rest, and the sound of the buzzing sign outside seeming to increase in volume, Hotaru sat up and decided it was time to take a walk and perhaps clear his head. The light outside the window flickered again and he stood up and headed for the door; he didn’t bother grabbing a coat, but he did grab his wooden training sword and rested it on his shoulder before walking outside the apartment, shutting the door behind him.
Leaving behind his modest apartment, the scarred young man headed down the stairs, a cool wind whipping up around him as soon as he was out and on the sidewalk. There were people around, but none of them paid him any mind.
In fact, he was ignored by the crowd that continued to walk around him much like water streaming around a rock in the middle of a river. He, in turn, turned and walked along with the flow of the crowd, taking a nice deep breath and releasing it in a nice puff of vapor as the chill air around him continued to wind in between and around everyone. It was going to be a cold night in Oolong.
The park was across from his apartment. He could see the archway into it as he walked along with the crowd and as he drew near the corner, he broke away from the flow and began to cross the street. There weren’t many people on the road, so he could cross safely and once across, he made his way toward the park gates.
He hadn’t reached them when a voice caught his attention; even before he turned to look at the voice’s owner, he could tell that it was a woman, “Excuse me,” The voice called out to him and prompted him to turn and look over to the speaker.
The woman that stood there, not far away, raised her hand as if to try and get his attention, as if to make sure that he had noticed her. She was dressed in simple clothes; though unlike Hotaru, she appeared to be bothered by the cold. She was bundled up in a fluffy green jacket, her hair was long and fell down past her shoulders. She was fair faced, young, and looked like someone that he would imagine would grace the cover of some kind of fashion magazine, pretty.
“Yes, can I help you?” Hotaru questioned politely.
“Yes, I need help with something; a group of delinquents stole something important to me and took it to their hideout. I know where it is, but I can’t go in; they’re violent hoodlums and I’m scared they’ll hurt me if I try.” Her voice wavered, a hint of fear in her tone and she looked around as if she were afraid that the group were around, listening in on the conversation or stalking her or something.
But, there was no one around.
“Why did you not go to the police?” It’s not that he did not want to help but one would imagine the first thing that a person would do if something like this happened to them would be to go to the police.
“This is Oolong, the cops here are either incompetent or they don’t care. Some of them even work for the crime syndicates here, it’s sick. But, my family’s home is here so I can’t just up and move.”
Yes, that was plausible, and understandable. He too wouldn’t be in Oolong if his home existed; if it wasn’t now charred ruins.
“What exactly did they take from you?” Well, he had already gotten the most obvious question out of the way, now to ask the second most obvious question.
“An old map,” The young woman looked at the ground a bit. “It sounds silly but I found this map in my grandfather’s attic. It’s supposed to be a map to a treasure trove here in Oolong, some hoard of treasure that my grandfather had stockpiled throughout his life. I want to find it so I can possibly put it in a museum for everyone to see. I don’t want these hoodlums to find out what they stole and then get their hands on my grandfather’s treasures.”
Treasure, somewhere in Oolong City? That just sounded absurd. But, she could mean a collection of her grandfather’s most prized possession. Treasures did not necessarily have to mean gold and rubies and diamonds; anything could be a treasure to someone. In fact, Hotaru held something like a treasure back in his modest apartment, hidden away behind some books on a small bookshelf near the door.
For a moment, he looked at the visibly shaken young woman, considering, contemplating, “I’ll help you. Take me to where their hideout is and i’ll make them give you back your possessions.”
“Thank you, thank you so much,” The woman’s face brightened considerably and she nodded, “Follow me, I’ll take you there.”
The trip included walking away from the park, away from the crowds. In fact, within moments of beginning to follow along with the long haired young woman in green, he noticed that the two of them had left the crowded sidewalk and had wound up in a rather quiet area, away from the hustle and bustle and away from the bright neon lights of shops that illuminated the sidewalk and called forth travelers to taste the foods and drinks therein. They had gone down several alleys and down a few back roads, and every time he questioned whether they were near, she said that they were close.
“There it is,” She motioned ahead as they rounded a corner, pointing to a doorway at the end of an alley. There was a black cat sitting atop a trash can near the door but as soon as the two of them stepped into view, the feline looked at them then scampered away without a second thought, wanting nothing to do with them.
“Stay here,” Hotaru advised the woman and then slowly approached the doorway. His eyes swept across the area, left, right, and then back to the door. There was no one around. He heard nothing; at least, he didn’t hear any footsteps, no shouting, no cursing, no sounds to indicate that the hoodlums were around.
When he reached the door, he grabbed the handle and attempted to turn it, as slowly as he could, to avoid making too much noise. It turned, slowly, barely a squeak, and then he pulled the door open. He couldn’t see much beyond the threshold through the small crack that he opened it but still heard nothing.
He then opened the door wider, enough to slip through and shut it behind him as he walked inside.
As soon as the scarred youth was in, several feet into the room, the lights flickered on above him, as if they had been set on motion sensors, to activate when someone entered this room.
This is not what he was expecting; there was, indeed, a treasure. Well, he was partially correct in his earlier assumption; there were things there that some would not qualify as treasure, at least if it was owned as a family heirloom. There was a model ship, with exquisite detail and beautiful sails, sitting atop a stand atop a table nearby. There were several figurines that appeared to be signed by various celebrities - he could only make out two of the names, though he did not know who they were; one of the two was Brussles the Muscles, and the other was Mr. Satan. He knew neither of those people.
But, the rest of the items in the room were definitely treasures; piles of gold coins, sapphires and diamonds and even a gown upon a seamstress dummy bedecked in pearls. In the center of the room was a massive desk that was strewn with small piles of golden coins, bags of paper currency, but also several large maps unfurled as if they had once been rolled up into scrolls, and held down at the corners by several small paper weights.
“What is this?” Kuro was visibly confused. Stumbling and stepping over small hills of gold and money, he made his way over to the desk and looked at the map.
“My treasures,” The young woman’s voice caused him to peek back. The girl was standing there. The door shutting behind her. But, this time, her eyes, once sympathetic and warm, now looked colder and steely, “Men are so easy, boys are even easier. You take on a pretty face and they do anything you want. Like they think I’ll date them if they save the damsel in distress.”
“In my defense, I wasn’t interested.”
For a split second that looked as if it almost caused the young woman pause, her eyes mildly widening in shock, “Wait, what?”
“You’re not my type.” He peered over to the map. “So, this whole story about your grandfather’s map and the treasure, all bogus.”
“Well, not all bogus. That is my grandfather’s map. But, the treasures weren’t his,” The person’s voice changed. It was no longer a feminine voice.
Kuro turned and saw that the young woman had changed, poofed, and had become something else, someone else; a chubby looking Tanuki with a grin on his face.
“So, you’ll hand over your valuables if you want to get out of here alive, boy.” The tanuki took a step forward.
“I would advise against taking another step closer.” The young man gripped his wooden sword tightly.
“Oh, what are you going to do? You don’t even have a real sword with you. That thing’s made of wood.” The tanuki grinned, a toothy cruel smile, his eyes glinting with malice before he came charging forward, “Give me what I want and I won’t hurt you so bad!”
The boy had grabbed a handful of the gold coins off the desk and threw them at the creature’s face. The tanuki was so surprised that he skidded to a halt, raising his hands automatically to protect his face.
This left the creature open to what Kuro wanted to do; he struck, a powerful blow, to the creature’s stomach. He smashed the wooden sword into his stomach, knocking the wind from the shocked tanuki’s lungs before it could even utter a squeal of pain and surprise. The tanuki doubled over. This allowed Hotaru to slam his knee up into his face and that did it. The creature landed on his back, knocked off his feet.
One tooth had been knocked out from its maw and laid on the ground beside the now barely conscious thief,
“I did warn you.” The scarred boy scolded the creature. Now he’d have little choice but to call the Oolong Police and let them deal with this strange shapeshifter.
WC: 2,060
Note: Kurogane has a bonus 25% to their gains in all threads, effective until January 13th, 2021