Instant Transmission [Gohan/ATI]

[Deleted]

No IIC Will be enforced here, although posting within three days is preferred. The reward for successful completion of this quest is the Hiraishin for Gohan, and any suitable reward specified by any companions he may or may not allow to assist. I'll try to make this interesting if possible, and at least mercifully brief if not.

---

In a town near the center of the Land of Rain, low in permanent residents yet forever buzzing with activity, the storms clear up from time to time. The sun shines down from above, and the moon illuminates the central square. In this place, depravity rules, but it is a controlled, voluntary depravity. All manner of excesses from food to whores are indeed encouraged here, and the town's coffers flow richly with the profit of blood sport.

This is Lushenan; the Black City.

The Cactus Plaza is pictured for all who recognize it, the viridian crystal cactus smiling down at the photographer from atop the central fountain, as if it were privy to some black joke only it knew.

This is the image embossed on the postage card, which itself fluttered in the breeze in its position nailed to a lonely tree by the road leading out of the village. On its reverse side was scrawled:


Patron's Birthday Celebration! Open submissions to the Arena! Blood, Glory, and Money await!

Free Room and Board to fighters at the Dancing Cactus Teahouse!

[Gohan]

A true Saiyan warrior entered the Black City dressed in his usual blue gi over which he wore a tactical vest and a robe. Around his neck would be a prominently displayed Rain headband along with sniper goggles equipped with anti-flash, lie detector, and night vision capabilities. In the vest would be a small variety of weaponry consisting of 15 hira shuriken, 3 kunai, 6 frag grenades, and 80 explosive tags. Last but not least, a full multiple sword holster was strapped loosely at his side and scrapped across the floor as Kura was too lazy to carry its full weight.

In any normal circumstance, Kura would have ventured out with only a few swords and some shuriken. However, this place's reputation for being shady as fuck was enough to come as strapped as possible. Ugh this place is disgusting Kura would think as he passed an outdoor ring featuring two men boxing with brass knuckles.

Kura was quite content with ignoring the grotesqueness of this place and was set on returning home from his mission. That was, until he got to the edge of the village where he would notice a flier nailed to a tree. The shinobi would rip the flier off simply because it depicted a picture of a funny looking cactus.
Hmm he would think as he read the notice a few more times. He wasn't all too interested in the whole blood and gore aspect, but he really could use the free room and board. Fuck it, I'll join just so I don't have to sleep out in the woods.

And with that, Kura would turn right around and start looking for Dancing Cactus Teahouse. He would start by asking some passersby and if they didn't help, he would take to the rooftops and look for anything that resembled the cactus on the fliar.

[Deleted]

The blonde stranger had no troubles gaining assistance in his search. In spite of their less-than-wholesome hobbies, everyone seemed quite happy to help. From the main entrance in the Glutton's Quarter, filled with open-air restaurants and row upon row of food stalls, a pair of burly men with thuggish looks broke off their duel long enough to direct Kura to the central square using the sprawl of delicacies as points of reference. While he didn't know precisely where the Dancing Cactus was, he did suggest it might be nearby to the Cactus Plaza based on it's name. Many inns and grocers lined the main thoroughfare between the Central Square and Cactus Plaza, so the advice was likely sound.

Many of the dishes served here seemed exotic, odd, or downright repulsive to outsiders, though more standard fare was available. Afterwards, as Kura presumably began to follow their outlined path, the match would be decided with a final brutal punch. The Victor helped his opponent rise from the ground, cheerily informing him of his defeat.

"Look like you're buyin' tonight, eh Vinnie?"


Navigating the stalls would require some degree of direction sense, and the scent of delicious oddities might prove highly distracting to a warrior on an empty stomach, but otherwise there would be no interruptions. Here in the Glutton's Quarter, everyone was too absorbed in their roles in the culinary economic system to do much more than attempt to hawk their wares to the musclebound blonde.

Some people seemed as though they had lingering regrets about something, and were using this to fill the void. A drunk in the street, a fishmonger, and a waiter scattered through the sector seemed particularly down. Others were just doing what they loved. Either way, it wasn't Kura's problem to solve. Not really. Ingratiating himself to the populous of Lushenan would most likely just be a waste of time. Yet it could lead to rewards, even if they were minor ones, should he be bored enough to intervene.

If and when he reached the Central Square, he would see it as a hub of the Black City, a circular area connecting three major paths and several smaller alleys. Shops selling clothes, weapons, and medication among other things encircled the poorly-named Square, which should have been called the Central Circle, and as elsewhere there were pockets of individuals engaged in gambling, fighting, sex, or some combination thereof. Here a strangely - and barely - dressed company of men and women smiled and chatted with each other or passers-by.

They seemed to be wearing a sort of 'sexy chicken' costume in red or yellow, with massive tail feather ornaments and false wings strapped to their arms, thigh-high stockings going down to clawed feet. Many covered themselves in remarkably short shorts that could be mistaken for skirts of they didn't cling so close to their legs, leaving little to the imagination. Some of the women wore feathery bras as well, though others were bare chested. A number of them wore the bras but no bottoms, while the rest of the chickenfolke were completely nude beyond their costume accessories. Nobody seemed terribly concerned, either among themselves or the more traditionally garbed crowd. They were a common sight in Lushenan. It was said the Patron was fond of their eccentricities. Perhaps someone here might be better acquainted with the city outside the limits of the Glutton's Quarter.

Alternatively he could pick a direction for himself and just see where it led. The other two main paths besides the one from which he would have just come would be at a perfect ninety degree angle from that, but numerous smaller paths also extended in almost every direction. Who knows what treasures might lurk in the shadowy alleyways? Or what dangers?

[Gohan]

To his surprise, the people of this busy place were quite friendly and were very helpful in finding out where this cactus thing was. Perhaps most of these people only came here from time to time to get away from it all and indulge themselves. His thoughts about the place changed even more when he saw a fighter help a loser to his feet and speak jokingly towards him. Maybe this place really wasn’t as bad as he had first thought! Or perhaps he was subtly falling for the allure of the village. He made a mental note to keep on his toes and remember that he was a shinobi simply looking for somewhere to sleep.

As the genin made his way around the plaza, he politely turned down the constant stream of peddlers that lined the streets. He would have feared for the safety of his wallet if he hadn’t known it was strapped very tightly and securely to his chest. He opened it only once, and that was to stuff 1,000 ryo down a drunk’s shirt and tell him, “cheer up chap. Use this to go sober up and take a shower!” As soon as he did so however, he felt vulture-like eyes upon him and quickly continued his search for the central square.

It seemed like here, almost nothing was offlimits. People were gambling large sums of money in the streets like it was nothing. There were even some ladies dressed in almost nothing at all walking around. There was something about these ladies that made Kura a little horny anxious. He drew to them like a bug to a pot of honey and soon he could smell their scents.

“Umm… hi” he would stutter. He never was confident at talking to attractive women.
“I’m looking for some birthday celebration. I’m interested in entering the fight.”
Almost immediately after speaking these words, Kura would say a bit too loudly,
“So how are you?” Smooth, he would think sarcastically.

[Deleted]

OOC: Removing 1,000 ryo. Beginning now the time is 18:00 on Day 1. Each noncombat round will advance the timer by a minimum of one hour. Particularly active rounds may advance the clock even further. Your objective is to learn the hiraishin by 06:00 on the 14th day. Rest periods are mandatory at 06:00 each day, and may be anywhere from one hour to twenty-four at your discretion. Important events may be days apart, but I'll make sure you always have something optional to do. Plenty of time - in theory. Don't squander it, and you may find yourself with more time than you thought.

As an aside, there WILL be rewards and penalties for most major choices, and although i'll be leading you in at first, eventually i'll be far less obvious. also, expect to actually use up resources, even if it's only small sums of money or a bit of chakra.

---

The drunkard peered blearily at this musclebound stranger, who had gifted him with funding. With this much, he might be able to finally get the one thing he'd wanted, before the end. Joyful tears flowing from his eyes, he stumbles off to perhaps the most ornate building in all of the Glutton's Quarter while his benefactor moves on, though doing so feeling somewhat stronger and healthier for the good deed. If at any point he were to check his robe, he would find a tiny ceremonial headdress tucked in one pocket. Lushenan worked in mysterious ways.

With Kura addressing one of the females, the male Chickenfolke respectfully backed away, withdrawing their solicitous leers to focus on other members of the passing crowd. The particular woman the blonde had approached smiled with amusement, flicking her neck such that her perfectly straight shoulder-length hair moved around her shoulders to hang down only her back.

The brunette's brilliant scarlet-and-gold plumage was unique among her peers, though she too chose to bare her entire shapely olive torso to the world, and it seemed as though the others deferred to her. She sashayed in place, her tail feathers among other attributes jiggling excitedly as she thrust one faux-winged arm out and into the air while the other sat at her hip in a pose.

"Oooh a newbie~!" She squealed. Her voice was simultaneously a songbird's beautiful warble...and an ear-wrenching shrill. Most people would be uncertain whether to find it charming or just plain irritating. "Here for the Patron's party? Of course you are! This is Lushenan, where the party never-ever stops!"

She would pirouette closer before pressing herself tightly against the genin's body, boundless energy personified. If not for her remarkably high-heeled foot-claws the top of her head wouldn't even reach his shoulders.

"The celebration is everywhere here, all the time! If you can afford it, you can do almost anything here! But there are rules. But who has time for exposition? These are special festivities in honor of our wonderful Patron's coming birthday! For the next two weeks, things are going to be EVEN CRAZIER than usual. Sounds like fun right!?"

The eccentric and possibly insane leader of the chickens seemed to be intentionally avoiding any real answers, even though she did illuminate a bit more of the circumstances of this city. With his keen ability to observe his surroundings, Kura would easily notice her sneakily unfastening his robe, and if he chose to humor her otherwise highly skilled attempt she would far more obviously back away a pace and she would tug at his trousers in an attempt to untie them.

"The Martial Districe is along the east road. The west road leads to the Cactus Plaza, Grand Circle - not actually a circle, mind - and of course the Patron's mansion. But nothing really good starts for another couple of hours. But you could have a lot of fun with us even this early you know~"

It might be wiser for Kura to ensure he was fully prepared for the battles to come, or at least get some rest beforehand, yet unwinding in such a fashion might be worth it just for the morale. Other options existed as well. All paths lead to benefits and sacrifices.

[Gohan]

Kura barely heard the woman’s spiel about the party since he was too anxious. He had never been with a woman before and his priorities were all conflicted. As his robe was undone oh so quickly, Kura found that it was impossible for him to escape. If he tried to pull away, he wouldn’t hear what this lady had to say. On top of that, she would probably end up tugging him back because one of her hands was grasping the clothing quite firmly. Oh dear. Here we go.

In an instant, Kura’s pants had been undone, leaving them to drop to the floor. And that was when his deepest darkest secret was revealed. For what was shown in place of his crotch; was a micropenis. To add insult to injury, the half-blooded saiyan had erectile disfunction so his business was as limp as a willow’s branch. Kura’s eyes swelled with tears as he hopped backwards, falling straight onto his back. It took a good 20 seconds of awkward shuffling to get his clothes back in order before he sprinted at full speed past the chicken lady and off into the distance.
I knew I should have learned the boner no jutsu!

Several minutes of running later and Kura took to the rooftops and tried to get a hold of himself. He would make his way slowly back to the main area that he had left. He wanted to avoid being seen, particularly by the chicken people since they probably all knew his secret by now. In any case, Kura would sit inconspicuously in a shadow and try to rest. He would try to get some rest here and would keep his ears attentive to anything out of the ordinary.
I have a few hours to burn anyways, according to that whore. Might as well rest up in case something happens.

[Deleted]

OOC: sorry for the delay. some stuff happened. i wont bore you with the details. working of the next post now.

---

Day 1: 19:00 Hours (07:00 PM)

The Chicken Queen frowned slightly when her mark fled. She was acquainted with a few back-alley augmentists that could rectify nearly any malfunction of the human body for the right price. After all, they had done wonders for her own body. Once upon a time she was actually a man! And one without such glorious plumage no less. She moved on quickly though, and soon had forgotten all about Kura in favor of a new paramour.

From his vantage point among the rooftops of the Black City, the muscular blonde could see the sprawling streets below in a much more map-friendly view. The directions he'd received held true, with the grand mansion dominating much of the skyline. Off in the direction of the Martial District was the rounded lip of a presumably-circular structure standing just a touch higher than the other roofs at the edge of his vision. Reaching up from within were bright shafts of light spaced at regular intervals. The sound of screaming was heard from that direction without the din of the crowds below to drown it out completely, though they too were far from silent. Pain, fear, excitement. Bloodlust. Most likely, this was where the fighting would take place.

In contrast, the path to the mansion was somewhat queiter, in that it didn't manage to overwhelm the nearer sounds. It was still every bit as permanently active as the rest of the city. More to the point, though the arena had probably been located now, the shining green smile of the Cactus Plaza's namesake could be seen from here, mocking the passers-by. He had a bit of time to kill yet, and the teahouse that made this area its home was one place where he could spend it, among others. Ultimately it was up to him.

Another flyer, much like the one that had lured him to this town in the first place, collided with Kura's ankle and flapped helplessly there in the breeze. Should he take a look at it, it would describe tonight's fighting as taking place from 20:00 to 04:00, with signups lasting only until 22:00 past the start. It also said there would be several days of fighting, so he wouldn't necessarily need to engage tonight if he would prefer to explore, shop, or even just rest. The onus was on him to determine a course of action, and follow it through.

[Gohan]

[no big deal. take yur time]

During Kura's journey of shameful tears, he had located the general area where he figured fights would be taking place. He was briefly worried that he would miss his chance for a free place to rest. However, he was put at ease when he found a flier that further detailed the fight schedule. Well, the heavily equipped young lad planted himself on the ground and rested his eyes until approximately 19:00 which was when he figured he might as well go fight and see if he could get a top quality hotel for cheap.

As soon as he got up, Kura felt a rumbling in his stomach which meant it was time to fuel up. Like a true saiyan, he would need to fuel up for whatever he was getting into. Sadly, the closest place served food was some teahouse he had passed earlier. Well, there were surely others in the streets, but Kura preferred to have a table.

And so, Kura found himself entering the teahouse and ordering everything on the menu. He would then take the nearest seat and reread the fliers he had collected so far. If nothing interesting happened, he would simply eat and head towards the fighting area and figure out how he was supposed to register.