[F24/SP] Chasing Shadows <<Incognito Analysis>>

[NIGHT 0]

<<Incognito Analysis>>

The Uso-Tsuki was a fugitive on the run.

His footsteps made way across the sun-kissed sand. Foamy ocean waves folded upon the shores, reaching out to his side to greet him with sparkling joy as they always had done.

He didn't have time to respond.

Sandals met the washed wooden boards of the islet bridges, brimmed straw hat keeping him safe from the sun's judging rays. Behind him, he knew his pursuers to be giving him chase. It had been clear his family had tried to buy him time, and he would make it sufficient. He had to, if he wanted to stay alive.

Why would the chieftain suddenly issue an order for him to be executed?

The fear within him had been something visceral, as though something in the pit of his soul knew the dangers of reigning such a power and position in good spirits, maintained for so long so well.

	NIGHT   | HP: 1550/1550 | EN: 167/167   | ACC: 4 | DMG: 20 | EVA: 4 | MIT: 79 | BH: 77   | KEEN: 1 | PRLYZ: 1 | ABS. ACC | LD: 5   | Stealth Detection: 5 | Stealth Rating: 7
Declarations: > Level 76/417 SP at the time of editing. > Using [Mega Slime Farm] for +2SP come thread closing.
[Examine] [Equipment] Dragon's Gaze -- [ Keen | After a successful attack, gain +1 BD until your next successful attack, at which point this bonus is removed. Another successful attack will reactivate this enhancement. ] -- [ Paralyze I | Natural successful attack rolls of 9-10 remove the enemy’s action on their next turn. Paralyzed opponents lose any evasion properties. ] -- [ Absolute Accuracy | +1 ACC. Attack rolls of 1 no longer automatically miss. ] Reinforced Black Tracksuit -- [ Mitigation I | +54 MIT. ] -- [ Evasion I | +1 EVA. ] Silver Crescent Necklace -- [ Accuracy II | +2 ACC ] -- [ Evasion II | +2 EVA ] [Battle-Ready Inventory] [T1E3] Teleport Crystal (1) | Instant | TELEPORT [T2E2] [ref] Marche Funèbre (1) | Instant | LULLABY I [T3E3] Cold Brew Coffee (3) | HP RECOVERY III [+180 HP] Skills Skills Mod Count: 8/8 Two-Handed Straight Sword | Passive | RANK 5/5 > Ferocity, Precision, Finesse Light Armor | Passive | RANK 5/5  > Athletics, Sprint&Acrobatics Searching | Passive | RANK 4+1/5 > Reveal Hiding | Passive | RANK 5/5 > Blindside, Vanish, Surprise Attack: Trickster Extended Mod Limit | Passive | RANK 3/3  Battle Healing | Passive | RANK 5/5 Energist | Passive Quick Change | Active Parry | Active Charge | Active | RANK 3/5 [Extra] Survival | Passive  Concentration | Active -- CD: 3 Familiar Mastery: Fighter | Passive | RANK 3/3 Consumed Buffs Spoiler Kumatetsu Statue | +1 DMG - - - - - - Misc. Buffs Spoiler Dimensional Backpack, Item Stash | +2 Battle-Ready Inventory Slots. Well Rested | -1 EN for the first three expenditures of each combat.  Relaxed | +(5 * Tier) HP per out-of-combat post. Full energy restoration occurs after two turns out of combat. Squeaky Clean | -25% DoT damage taken from the first DoT applied to this player in a thread. Skylight: Searching | +1 Expertise to declared utility skill. Cooldown of 30 days to reassign. Multipurpose | +1 LD/Prosperity/Stealth/Detection to one post per thread. Can be applied after a roll. Filling | +1 T1 slot to a food consumed by this player in a thread. Can exceed Cook enhancement caps. Col Deposit | +5% col from loot-minimum mobs, +10% col from treasure chests.

[NIGHT 0]

He knew it to be unwarranted; the Uso-Tsuki had performed his duties, lived his life routinely to an admirable perfection. Was it subterfuge, then? Self sabotage? Or perhaps his uncle was right all this time with his doubtful nonsense; some sort of mania infused with self-doubt and jealousy from the man in charge.

No. He didn't want it to be true. The chief couldn't possibly...

Concern flushed over the man as his eyes took in the flourishing scenery before him. It was beautiful, and he was certainly fond of the view, having grown up with the sight ever since he was a babe. He couldn't have lived a day away from his home, had he been asked to change posts within his abode's order.

Now he would be forced to. The faded mountains sitting upon the horizon were calling to him, a whisper of his sanctuary, and the Uso-Tsuki thanked his lucky stars for the sudden remembrance of territorial rules. He never thought he would need to know of them once he was off the guard.

Spoiler

ID: 180552 | LD: 11 + 7 = 18 | Entering Stealth.

[NIGHT 0]

He could spot the group that called for him in the distance; tiny black dots etched out against the white sand, and he had a fair lead ahead of them. He'd continue running, but eventually the islets would run out of land.

Enough footwork, the man decided, once he'd reached one of the furthest outposts. The map in his head needn't be completely accurate for him to start outmaneuvering his chasers; for one, he was diving into deep waters against the better judgement of his people. And whilst they hadn't anything to lose, the Uso-Tsuki sure did.

So he swam. Plunged himself into the ocean, into frigid waters that appeared still, tugging at the waves with all his might. What hollers from the squad after his form were drowned out by splashes as he tore through the blue at a speed unprecedented if not for the need of survival.

His hat was the only thing he'd left behind.

Spoiler

ID: 180553 | LD: 12 + 7 = 19 | Stealth Check vs Uso-Tsuki.
 | The LD threshold is 12.
 | Successful Stealth Checks: 1/3

[NIGHT 0]

When he finally washed himself ashore, it was upon a gravel beach unlike his homestead.

He had been ruined by nature and the sky. Swimming from sunrise to midday was not an easy feat, but by the gods' will he had pulled through. He abandoned his robes with the toss of his hands, spreading them out to dry with luck from the afternoon heat, his back upon loose rocks as the waters crashed by his feet. They crashed over his ankles, threatening to pull him back in had he decided to fall faint if only for a second.

A turn towards the direction he'd originally came from. He could spot it, the speckle of civilization dotting the vast sparkling blue, like barnacles plaguing and blemishing a stone surface.

The Uso-Tsuki heaved heavily as the thoughts of disdain for his homeland crossed his mind.

It was at this moment that he picked up his clothes and started setting off for his ascent up the mountains. Though he was in no condition to travel -- and neither were his still-damp fabrics -- perhaps the walk would get the betrayal off his mind.

Spoiler

ID: 180554 | LD: 6 + 7 = 13 | Stealth Check vs Uso-Tsuki.
 | The LD threshold is 12.
 | Successful Stealth Checks: 2/3

[NIGHT 0]

Funny how fate worked.

He never expected to run into his uncle, especially in the middle of a dense, secluded forest. The earth had given way to familiar, brown dirt, gold and orange leaves strewn about its entrance reclaimed from speckled silver. He'd never seen trees that were coated dark, yet strong and prosperous as the ones in the orchards back home. A different kind of frosty as he entered and explored the secret realm. And now his search's bounty had offered him this. A familial link.

He was surprised that his memory had been jogged enough during the stroll to have identified his elder by the garb he wore an odd 15 years ago. Stranger still was how the man hadn't seemed to have changed since the last time they'd met, the Uso-Tsuki speaking to him on brief interactions during the last gathering they had as a family.

The Uso-Tsuki was a sentimental type of man.

"He come for you too ah?"

Spoiler

ID: 180554 | LD: 15 + 7 = 22 | Stealth Check vs Uso-Tsuki.
 | The LD threshold is 12.
 | Successful Stealth Checks: 3/3

[NIGHT 0]

It must've been funnier, how he too had been recognized. Maybe it was his tired, shambling gait that gave it away, or the way he looked with only his rags donned. Or -- no, wait. The youth had his hat taken off just to avoid ruining it in his dive into the water. Of course he had a chance of being identified.

It only occurred to him that his own shelter was missing when the old man tilted his own upwards with a flick of two fingers, the smoking pipe in his mouth adjusted, cinders in his earring keeping his visage aglow. The Uso-Tsuki reached out to tap his own as a show of respect, but alas, nothing but air was found.

"Ah..."

So now, without his courtesy, he was speechless. Especially in front of an estranged family member. All the youth could do was nod his head.

It earned him an unwilling grunt from his elder.

[NIGHT 0]

The stranger cloaked his visage in shadow once more, before taking large strides towards the direction the Uso-Tsuki had came from. His grey robes trailed behind him across the ground, ruffling numerous leaves strewn about his trodden path. When his nephew turned, the couple of droplets hanging from his sleeves loosened, falling upon the dragged fabric. It spread out in a blot; messy, singular, cold.

The Uso-Tsuki followed his make-do leader in silence.

*

Where they'd stopped was a mystery to the exhausted man. He must've collapsed partway through entering the hut, warmth of a hearth inviting enough to force him into a well-needed rest. When he awoke, the clothes on his back had dried.

It didn't stop his host from preparing a new outfit however, set aside next to where he'd collapsed.

The scent of stew, brine and firewood all coalesced into a homely environment as he changed into robes too large for his form. He had better time to examine his surroundings now that he was fully refreshed from his journey.

[NIGHT 0]

His uncle rested with a wooden bowl next to a futon. Kind of the man to have laid out another bed for his house guest. The pot of food rested at the center of the room, a tiny grill built into the dirt with cinders beneath to keep the broth warm. Patterned fabrics, laurels, dark metal equipment lined each wall. Had it not been out of survival's sake, the Uso-Tsuki reasoned, the wooden cabin would not have been so cluttered. Save for the essential facilities, the rest of the abode was barren.

He murmured permission when he rose, and received a grunt as he approached the cast iron pot at the center of the room. The warm meal was welcome; he'd laid down on his sleep space with an emptied bowl twice over once he'd finally had his fill. The Uso-Tsuki traced out shapes upon the ceiling, knowing a stare was upon his figure the entire while he laid.

[NIGHT 0]

"A lot of thing to think about ah?"

The youth hummed in response, nodding his head. His elder groaned, shifting to rise. With a bend, he picked up his guest's bowl, and started to head towards the door.

"If you go outside, just make sure you know how to come back."

Though the Uso-Tsuki was lost in thought, he still caught the gist of his uncle's worries. Another acknowledgement, before the entrance swung open. Faintly, the sounds of rustled leaves and tiny bird chirps could be heard; ambient noise of wildlife, further inviting the duo to feel at ease.

Except, the man hadn't left his hut in the seconds his nephew had expected him to. When the youth noticed, it was because there had been a sudden, bone-chilling draft.

"Your friends ah."

"Friends?"

"Mm."

It was definitely something to be worried about -- the presence of others, finally catching up to him in external territory. But no, it wouldn't make much sense for him to have been marked this solemnly in his home city. Was the chief truly that ruthless?

[NIGHT 0]

When the Uso-Tsuki sat up, his uncle shot him a glance, the stack of two bowls still held, empty, in one hand. "Hat still on," he began, eyes back towards the horizon. "Two men, their weapons swing behind... Must be lah. They come here in peace."

The elder stepped away from the home just then. In the empty room, his kin was left alone, greatly disturbed and curious yet unwilling to move from his position. With the entrance wide open, muffled conversation from the outdoors were his only defense against the sturdy pacing of his heart.

It had only slowed once the visitors revealed their identities, one man peeking through the doorway with a removal of his brimmed straw hat. "Uso?"

That voice. "Difu?"

His companion grinned back. "Uso!" The stranger turned away, muffling something to another party outside, before stepping into the home barefoot. His approach to the Uso-Tsuki's side was with a taller male than either of the guests. "Hey!! We didn't think we'd get to track you down at all! C'mon, Purin -- say something!"

[NIGHT 0]

"Good to see you're not dead." Purin sniffed the air as the Uso-Tsuki rose, before wincing. "You smell awful, though. Maybe you should've drowned instead."

Difu balked at his mate's response. "Too soon!"

"You're one to talk," the Uso-Tsuki returned with a toothy smile, placing his hands to his sides. "How'd you two even get here? I bet you must've sweated terribly under the hot sun rowing a dinky boat over this way. Who's to say you don't smell even worse?"

"Oi, oi, oi!"

Purin couldn't help but chuckle as the shortest of the trio waved off his friends' complaints. "I get where you two are coming from, but can't we put this banter aside for later? You've got a bounty on your head, Uso -- instead of chewing the fat-"

"- You should drink some soup first."

The Uso-Tsuki gestured to the pot of stew, still simmering with a healthy amount of broth left over. Difu gave it a look, taken out of his warnings, before looking back at his friend with a blank stare.

[NIGHT 0]

"Ah-- oi, don't interrupt me! And for that matter, your well-being is more important than soup, you dingus!"

Uso snorted, and Purin smirked. With shared timing, the youths both replied.

"Gay."

"Res-pon-si-ble!" Difu emphasized with widened eyes, flailing the hat in his hands around with fervent enthusiasm. His companions only laughed at his display of agitation. "The right word to use is responsible! I cannot believe you two right now! And you!" The man slapped the back of Purin's hat slightly, latter almost nodding forward from his shorter's force. "Take that off already! It's disrespectful!"

"Ah. Yeah, yeah..."

With two hands and a comfortable smirk, Purin obliged.

*

It was sundown when the pot of soup had finally been diminished.

The three intruders were seated by the hearth, bowls of stew half-depleted in their hands. Their caretaker lounged around in his futon, failing to appear discrete in his eavesdropping on his nephew's conversation. But none of the youths seemed to mind.

Edited January 9, 2021 by NIGHT

[NIGHT 0]

"So then, we've got nothing to work off of?" Difu looked exasperated, watching the Uso-Tsuki lower his meal from his lips. Purin eyed his friend viciously, without contempt; years of experience with the stern man had taught the escapee it was a revelation of concern equal to his louder-mouthed companion.

The Uso-Tsuki shook his head.

"I suppose not."

"Then that's stupid! There's no reason to have sent the guard after you on some random whim alone!" The youth sputtered, his taller companions watching him gulp the rest of his broth down in haste.

"Don't push yourself to drink too much. You might choke."

"And you're the one who's getting hunted," Purin reminded his ally, focused on making sure Difu wouldn't falter on soup. "You might die."

"Will not."

His friend's glance to his form was of a challenge to his idea.

"I'm sure it's all just some misunderstanding."

Before the Uso-Tsuki could add onto his words, Difu let out a gasp from his downed medley.

[NIGHT 0]

"And," Purin refuted, picking up where his companion had left off, "I'm sure that this isn't the first time it's happened. So no, I'm not inclined to believe what you've said and wave it off as some shallow discrepancy." His head turned towards the elder in idle, dry lips chewing on a stray piece of grass. "Isn't that right, uncle?"

There was no reply.

Purin raised an eyebrow, but turned back to his friends, fingers finding new purchase on the bowl in his hands. The Uso-Tsuki's shrug about his family's reticence was a cue for the man to continue. "My point is, there's still a chance that you could be living in exile for the rest of your life. I hadn't heard a word of a fair trial between the time we heard the news and Difu took off running to find you."

"You came too, y'know?!"

Purin shut his eyes. "Details."

[NIGHT 0]

His shorter companion could only grumble back, sights resting back onto the Uso-Tsuki. "The only reason we were allowed to split from the town was because we volunteered to go scouting for you and bring you back as a corpse!"

The men grimaced at the revelation, the mark souring more than his counterparts did.

"Yeah," Difu added, after wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "And I didn't like agreeing to that at all."

The Uso-Tsuki bowed his head, staring into the liquid in his bowl. What was once a savory taste in his mouth faded away into something foul and sinister, as though the youth was tasting vitriol planted by his city if only to poison his soup. Why would they want him dead so badly? In the silence, he gave the question some thought.

Still, no answers he could give life to came to mind.

"... Is that how it really has to end?"

[NIGHT 0]

When he spoke, an entire minute had passed. Purin set down his bowl beside Difu's upon the woodwork. A hushed murmur was traded between the two hunters -- 'His soup's getting cold' -- before the former finally spoke up, stray hands returning to his kneecaps.

"I hope you know we don't have any intentions of killing you."

"... You guys..."

"I'm sure the chief will likely send more bodies after us, though," Difu added, "after he's performed a more thorough background check on his volunteers."

Purin nodded. "It'll be impossible to evade his reach for long, if the chief is so hell-bent on making sure you're dead."

"I still don't get why he'd do something like that, though..."

"Neither do I," the Uso-Tsuki responded, thumb drifting across the side of his meal. With a raised glance, he met Difu's visage, who frowned at his lack of appetite. A nod pressured him to finish his food.

[NIGHT 0]

Difu continued, frowning. "Well, I'm not planning on staying around the village at this rate! Especially around someone who's willing to off one of their best actors at any moment. Based on some unknowable whim? Ridiculous!"

Purin grunted in agreement, just as the Uso-Tsuki swallowed the last of his rations. "It'll be easier to subdue the pursuers if we faced them as a team. Just like practice. Maybe the chief would've left some information about his orders with them."

"That's right!"

What discussions arose from their conversation were only a fleeting pitter to the Uso-Tsuki as he stared into the last droplets of broth left pooled at the bottom of his bowl. He could hear the pounding in his heart -- of danger, of fear and anguish, of trust and pride from his friends. But the questions still swam around in his head; sorrow and grief held tight round his perception of his situation and his future.

[NIGHT 0]

The Uso-Tsuki hated the uncertainty placed upon his shoulders. A sudden shift of cloth from the corner of the room caught his attention.

His uncle had stood up.

The man let out a gruff exhale, shifting the hat tied upon his back to rest upon his head, before pulling a hung scabbard from one of the walls of his room. The act alone had put a pause to his group's conversation, and left a shiver racing down his spine.

"Ei," the Uso-Tsuki queried with the naivety of a young child, "Where're you go?"

His sights had not once left his elder's form as he paced towards the door, wordless and stoic. It was only when his hand fell upon the handle did his familial finally speak.

"Look around only. Normal one, make sure everything outside safe before we all go to sleep."

The nephew's eyes couldn't leave the weapon his other palm had gripped upon.

[NIGHT 0]

"If I don't come back at midnight, don't go outside. Check under the floorboard in the morning. You will know which one."

"Hah? Oi, uncle--"

The man had left before the Uso-Tsuki could catch his attention.

 

 

 

By the morning, he'd fallen asleep with his back against the door. Half-nestled in blankets and half-wrestled futons, the trio held each other close, the Uso-Tsuki at the center of it all.

They had kept vigil all night.

*

Light danced across the surface of the amulet, weaving in between beveled metal and otherwise. She'd held it against the sun rays piercing through the canopy, back towards a trunk as the duo took roost upon a cedar.

Her companion's cloak stood in the way between the back of her head and the rough bark.

"I still don't get why it marked for completion..."

The player's fingers twiddled across empty air. In an instant, a display appeared. Her eyes ran over the description listed once again, an exhale breaking the silence that her other had started to grow comfortable to.

[NIGHT 0]

The item dissipated from her reach once she'd waved it off. In a roll, the shadow collapsed to the ground, landing on two feet delicately just as a cat would. Her support watched her from on high on another branch, one eye cracked open, the other still shut from enjoying the peace their rest had brought.

NIGHT pulled the hood off her visage, before tugging the robe off her form. It cued her doppel to follow suit in her descent, this time modelling strength more than grace; especially since her keepsake had been in her original's possession all this time.

"Here," the woman offered, one hand holding out the hemp to her secondary. With one grip and a set of sparkles, it vanished from their hands, only to appear on DAY's image, the Gemini folding her arms underneath her returned garb.

"Well, we did make it this far," the entity mentioned, as NIGHT went through her inventory. "It'll be easy to come back again if we need to."

"I don't like it," her leader replied. But two summons of blue glass blocks said enough about the duo's plans for the immediate future. The player handed one over to the mimic, who'd accepted her gift with a careful grasp, calculated enough to have brushed skin against her original's digits. The woman pulled back with a wince once their trade had ended.

DAY just smiled.

A shaky breath left NIGHT as she forced pressure onto her crystal's sides.

"Let's just get out of here."