[02] i came in like a

[thethundersaid]

Who: Uchiha Buttface Sasuke and the kindly crew of the Charming Murderess
Where: Deck of the Charming Murderess
When: November 19th
What: A really grumpy ninja getting dumped via Nav onto the unsuspecting deck of completely innocent pirates.
Warnings: Rudeness. Definitely rudeness.
Style: Any!
Status: Open to all crew members!

As if it weren't humiliating enough to have been forced to make a run from the unexpected number of whatever the armed forces had been (not shinobi by their movements, but trained enough), he'd been roundly lambasted for a fool by the woman whose shop he'd ended up ducking into to avoid the searchers -- but if what the girl who had called herself a 'Precure' was right, then not everyone in this world was a construction of genjutsu. It was perhaps less that Sasuke was inclined to spare lives, though it was certainly a waste of a chakra reserve that continued to deplete more rapidly than was normal, and more that there was a possibility of useful information from a real person than a piece of the illusion.

If it weren't an illusion, as the shopkeeper had insisted ... that was an idea he had no time to contemplate before he'd found himself unceremoniously shoved into something she called a 'Nav' and, in the next moment, stumbling into a completely different place altogether.

There had been no reverse-summons seal that he'd seen, no exchange of blood for a kuchiyose, just a moment of being in the dim light of the shop and then sunlight full in his eyes, forcing him to roll into a defensive crouch before he'd even fully processed his location on ... the deck of a ship?

Depleted as it was, his chakra flared in alarm at the realisation that not only was he at sea, but he wasn't alone.

Comments

[thethundersaid]

What was that fire jutsu? For all his familiarity with Katon-based arts, Sasuke had never seen anyone simply leave the fire floating in mid-air quite like that -- using fire as if it were water jutsu instead. Did they function the same way, as reservoirs for future use?

More immediately noteworthy was the fact that she had left them behind even as she approached, perhaps covering her now that she had lowered her weapon.

"I did not expect to be boarding a vessel of any kind," he responded, choosing not to touch on lost and confused, however accurate they might be. "The only logical action was be prepared for attack."

[sun_goddess_sacrifice]

"The logical action should be caution and nothing more. Hostile activity is more likely to lead to a misunderstanding," she shook her head a bit before waving her hand and dismissing her fire. It seemed for now she did not consider Sasuke a threat.

"I suppose now you will need a better understanding of this world and why we are here."

[thethundersaid]

... for all that she appeared to have knowledge and command of advanced fire manipulation, she was clearly from a different background if the expected response to unexpectedly arriving into an entirely unfamiliar environment was nothing more than caution. More importantly, though, was that repeated assertion of this world as if there were numerous others -- as good a place as any to start, if she were offering information.

"I have reason to believe that this might all be an advanced illusion technique," he said, tone flat. "But I've been told by others that they arrived here the same way I did, but accepted that this is reality. Is that the case with you?"

[sun_goddess_sacrifice]

"This is hardly an illusion, though strange as it all is. An illusion would feel different, and could not be so complex," she had come to accept it as reality a while ago, but then she had woken up in strange worlds before, so it was not a completely alien concept to her.

[thethundersaid]

"Most illusions wouldn't be," that much was obvious, and the level of -- not so much detail as weirdness was speaking to something even the Eye of the Moon didn't logically have the ability to create. Above all genjutsu relied on what the jutsu wielder could manage, after all, and this ...

"How do you understand that we've all arrived here, then?"

[sun_goddess_sacrifice]

"I can not begin to explain how, but the fact that we have been brought here is obvious. Until more is known or understood we have no choice but to play along with the rules provided," because at least the rules given had a means to get home.

[thethundersaid]

Brought here implied conscious intent, a notion Sasuke was less than pleased with. "How many like us are there here?" He frowned across the open ocean again -- not a sail or land in sight, but he'd met plenty of people in that town. "Who would have the power to do this to that number of people?"

[sun_goddess_sacrifice]

"Again, I do not know the answer to that. However, one can see an approximate of who is similar to us when looking within the enchanted journals we have been given," she pulled out her own journal from her sleeve to show what she meant.

[thethundersaid]

"The book?" He frowned, reaching into a pocket for the book he'd hesitated to burn. "What do you mean, enchanted?"

The question was half-answered in the next moment by his own book, however, when he opened it to find that there was more writing in it than before. "How ... ?"

[sun_goddess_sacrifice]

"I do not know, but I have come to understand it is not cursed at the very least. It has proved to be useful and helps in learning of this world and others here like us," though her overall tone said much for her feelings towards the book. Though she did not consider it evil anymore, she still did not quite trust it.

[thethundersaid]

Cursed had not been a particular concern of Sasuke's, though now that she mentioned it he was forced to look at the book in his hands with a considerable amount more suspicion, especially given the distrust in her tone. He'd never heard of even spy jutsu like this, but then again, he'd hardly gone on the number of typical espionage missions a regular shinobi might have by his age.

"You communicate with others through this book?" He frowned at the page, recognizing the name of the very woman who had sent him here. "Why would people share information freely like this?"

[sun_goddess_sacrifice]

"Because we are all in a similar situation. Of course, I assume that most keep the majority of what they know with their crews, but there are times when communicating to other ships is important. It is also useful for new arrivals," she still remembered quite well how much she had needed the journal when she had first arrived and knew nothing.

[thethundersaid]

If there was truly anything useful, Sasuke would have to take the time to read through this book with more care. It was far from a pleasant thought: research for anything less practical than new techniques had never been his strong suit.

"How many are in this crew?" Perhaps there would be useful information to be found simply from those on board.

[sun_goddess_sacrifice]

"There are eleven of us, but most have not been here longer than a month or so. I understand others have been here longer."

[thethundersaid]

A month, in a place where time seemed to mean very little, might not mean particularly much -- but time passing here still felt like time passing, even if nothing else about it made sense. It was long enough for strangers to be willing to collaborate, perhaps.

"Were you all thrown on board by the woman at the shop?"

[sun_goddess_sacrifice]

"Nay, when I arrived we sought out a suitable captain and crew to join, I am unsure why you were forced here in such a way," since last she knew there was enough money given upon arrival to stay at the inn and look for ships.

[thethundersaid]

... that made sense, for people less inclined to immediate destruction. What didn't make sense was how apparently easy it was to find a position on board a pirate ship -- he'd always thought those were supposed to sail as undetected as possible.

"There was a situation on the island," he said, less interested in sharing details on his own arrival than clearing up the confusion of others'. "How did you find other people who weren't from here? I didn't think pirate ships advertised for crew."

[sun_goddess_sacrifice]

"The use of these journals, as well as seeing who was at the dock. It would there is a sizable group each month it seems, and so it is a time of organization and recruiting," she didn't press the matter, she would learn what happened eventually anyway.

[thethundersaid]

A sizable group arriving on a regular basis spoke to planning -- and made the likelihood of this being the Eye of the Moon even lower -- and Sasuke's eyes narrowed, displeasure clear in his expression.

"Has nobody noticed exactly how the new groups are brought in, if they arrive so regularly?"

[sun_goddess_sacrifice]

"I am unsure, I believe I was but of the second group, and currently I suppose this is the third? I have not spoken with anyone earlier than the month previous my arrival."

[thethundersaid]

Only the third ... ? If they arrived monthly, as her words seemed to suggest, that made the arrival of people from other worlds here only three months old. With how strangely it seemed to understand time ...

Whether it was illusion or not, he didn't have the chakra to dispel it now. He would have to wait and see.

"Has nobody been able to leave this place yet?"

[sun_goddess_sacrifice]

"I have not seen anyone able to leave willingly, however, there are cases where individuals simply vanish," like their own captain, it was still a rare occurrence though, so she wasn't sure what it meant.

[thethundersaid]

"Vanish?" There was something that sounded outright suspicious. Either there was more to the story, or people simply hadn't expected it enough to pay attention to the details. "No one has seen how it happened?"

[sun_goddess_sacrifice]

"Nay, a person is here one day, and then is gone the next. No one has witnessed it, and it is not simply that the individual has gone elsewhere."

[thethundersaid]

That didn't make any kind of sense, especially given that from what Sasuke had gathered, most of the population that didn't originate from this world survived on ships far at sea where sudden escape or desertion was extremely unlikely. But increasingly it seemed ... "The information available about how this place works seems limited. Has no one been able to use a reliable source?"