open Cultures Unite (1x1 with GeneralDirection)

[GeneralDirection 1,050]

@Firefighter Equine

Silver follows his friend as he leaves the training grounds and starts to prepare himself for the journey ahead. He looks around, knowing he’ll be on his own if he stays here. He might as well go back home if that were the case. But, the adventuring side of him was jumping at the chance for more excitement, even if it was potentially dangerous.

“I wish to accompany you, my friend.” He says decidedly. “I understand things may get rough, but I’m an adventurer at heart, there’s no way I can turn down an opportunity like that!”

[Samurai Equine 51,415]

@GeneralDirection

Samurai smiles. "Thank you, my friend. And if things get dangerous, don't be afraid to use me for protection." Samurai offers a hug before they go.

Later, when they leave the house, Samurai decides to leave the palanquin behind. "We'll be going by bullet train. It's faster, and it'll allow me to save my teleportation magic for emergency situations."

[GeneralDirection 1,050]

@Firefighter Equine

“I appreciate the offer, but I could never use my friend as a shield like that.” He replies as he returns Samurai’s hug. “Unless it were absolutely necessary, I suppose.”

“Alright, well lead the way, my friend!” He replies once they’re ready to head out.

[Samurai Equine 51,415]

@GeneralDirection

Samurai nods and leads the way! They make good time and get to the nearest train station they can. Once on the train, Samurai orders breakfast for them both. They didn't get to eat anything at Samurai's home, so this will have to do. Not as great as a homemade meal, but it's not bad.

Mere moments later, they get off at the appropriate stop, and head down the highway listed. It's a very scenic route; it borders a body of water and neighboring land mass just across the river. Inland, there is mostly forestry and some little convenience stations. All seems normal at first, until the highway comes to a stop, and Samurai is looking at which direction to go. "We're at a crossroad, my friend. I don't sense any shinobi here. We can go west into Chugoku, the region protected by Ryugane, or we can go east into Kyushu, the region protected by Mizuko. ... And I don't see either of them here to meet us." Samurai says.

( Interactive time! You get to randomly pick which region will be visited first! No wrong answer. Feel free to pick whichever one you like, even if your choice is completely random.  )

[GeneralDirection 1,050]

@Firefighter Equine

They both board the train, and Samurai kindly buys them both breakfast since they didn’t have a chance to eat at home. Silver thanks his friend before digging in, the meal is decent enough, but not as good as one cooked at home.

It doesn’t take long for them to reach their destination. It’s very beautiful here, with picturesque forests, lakes, and rivers surrounding them for most of the journey. Eventually they come to a crossroads, where Samurai gives Silver a choice. They can go either way, no enemies appear to be around, but the other samurai aren’t here, either. Perhaps they’re just busy with other things, but Silver can’t help but feel it’s a bit off that neither of them are here. Whatever the reason may be, he still needed to figure out where to go next. He takes a moment to look back at his encounter with the other samurai, remembering that Ryugane was the one with the metal tank, and Mizuko was the one with the water powers. He also remembers a comment Samurai made at their karaoke about Ryugane being into metal music like he was. The kirin decides that perhaps having a bit of common ground will make it easier for them to get along. “Let’s go west, to Ryugane’s region.” He decides.

[Samurai Equine 51,415]

@GeneralDirection

"Hmm... I am not sure. I think perhaps we should stay here, just in ca--" Samurai is interrupted by the sound of a series of loud aquatic sounds. There is a swelling in the river nearby, following by a sudden water spout that could rival the biggest of water fountains, and finally a creature breaches the surface of the water. It's a giant whale! Before anyone can make sense of it, the whale reaches over and swallows Samurai whole before diving back into the water! And before Silver can do anything about it, a sudden flock of white birds surround him. Honestly, it's more like an ambush. They surround and cover him so heavily, he can't see anything! ...Black out.

...

"Hey. Wake up." Silver can feel someone poking him as he lies on a ground covered in debris. "You're sleeping in my region." It's Ryugane, and he seems about as dreary as ever.

[GeneralDirection 1,050]

@Firefighter Equine

Everything happened so suddenly, Silver didn’t have time to react. A large whale jumps up from a nearby river and swallows Samurai whole before crashing back into the water. Just in case that wasn’t enough, a flock a white birds descends and surrounds him. The last thing Silver remembers is his world slowly fading to black. He is awoken some time later by a poking sensation, the pony responsible happening to be Ryugane. Silver is startled for a moment before responding.

“Oh. Ryugane… it’s Silver. You remember me, right? Samurai got word from the shogun that there was trouble in your area and was sent to investigate, and I decided to come along with him. We were just deciding which way to go when a large whale jumped out of the nearby river and swallowed him whole. Then a flock of white birds surrounded me and that’s the last thing I remember before waking up before you now.” He explained.

[Samurai Equine 51,415]

@GeneralDirection

"Slow down. For a kirin that randomly washed up on my shores, you sure do talk a lot." Ryugane rubs one of his ears before helping Silver stand up. When he does, he notices he is a good distance away from any kind of town or city. Most importantly of all, the area they are currently standing in is covered in rubble and debris. There use to be a town or a city here. Not anymore.

Ryugane leaps up and sits on some of the debris. "If you're looking for trouble, you came to the right region. My section of Japone knows all about trouble. As for the whale you mentioned... If it's the same whale I'm thinking of, he's probably fine. That's Mizuko's pet."

[GeneralDirection 1,050]

@Firefighter Equine

Silver thanks Ryugane for the assistance and looks around. Whatever place this is, it’s certainly seen better days.

“Oh, well that’s a relief. I had no idea about this ‘pet whale’.” He replies, able to relax a bit. “There’s been a report of creature Samurai referred to as an origami shinobi around Highway E4A. To be honest, I have no idea what that is. Never run into one in my adventures, which is a bit odd. But I’ve also never been in Japone before so that’s probably why.”
 

[Samurai Equine 51,415]

@GeneralDirection

The atmosphere takes a sharp cold turn when Silver mentions that creature. "Samurai didn't tell you? No, let me guess, he was in such a hurry to get here that he forgot to explain. Fine then, I'll tell ya."

Ryugane is wearing his armor. He leaps down from where he is sitting, unsheathes his sword, and stabs it into some nearby trash. He pulls out a random piece of paper. "Dark magic is forbidden all across Equestria because it corrupts the users. An Origami Shinobi is what happens when a large piece of paper is given life thanks to dark magic." Ryugane removes the paper and puts his sword away. He begins to fold it, and fold it, and fold it some more. "Origami Shinobi, or paper ninjas to some, can fold up into virtually any shape and size. Often times, they take the form of ponies to blend in with our society and strike when our guard is down." Ryugane finishes his folding. It's crude, but he's made a paper crane. "And the worst part is, simply cutting them apart doesn't defeat them. It just multiplies them into smaller enemies; at least until the shinobi can find away to fuse and bond with its severed pieces again." Ryugane tosses the crane to Silver.

He begins to walk off. "...When we first fought them, defeating them seemed hopeless. Samurai Equine was the first to defeat them. His fire magic burned them all to ash. Shortly after, it was the shogun that learned each Origami Shinobi actually has a hidden magic symbol hidden on their bodies. Break the symbol, and the shinobi reverts back to harmless paper."

[GeneralDirection 1,050]

@Firefighter Equine

Silver listened intently until Ryugane finishes. “Oh.” Silver blinks a couple times in response. “Wow. That does sound like a terrible problem to deal with. But… I do also have fire magic. Maybe I can be of assistance in this situation, should the need arise.” He replies, not completely sure of himself, but still wanting to help.

[Samurai Equine 51,415]

@GeneralDirection

"That would be useful. I'd like to see it for myself. Try to keep up." Ryugane is still walking away. If Silver doesn't follow, he'll be left behind.
"Samurai will join us soon enough. For now, the shogun wants me to meet up with somepony in the city. He'll probably be here any minute. He's kind of a pain, but he's a poweful ally; reliable too."  Ryugane explains.

[GeneralDirection 1,050]

@Firefighter Equine

Silver nodded his head in agreement and followed Ryugane along to... wherever it was they were headed. Silver really had no idea where he was at this point, not that this deterred him any. It was a situation he sometimes found himself in as an adventurer.  

“Ok, having more allies sounds like a good thing. Who will be joining us?” He asked.

[Samurai Equine 51,415]

@GeneralDirection

(SO SORRY FOR THE LATE REPLY! It honestly did not appear in my notifications. Deeply sorry, my friend.)

Ryugane mostly keeps to himself. It takes a hot moment, but eventually they do make it to the city. Even in the more suburban areas, the buildings and houses are clustered really close together. Ryugane stops in a random street. "Stand back. He'll be here in 3, 2, 1..."

BOOM! A thunder bolt strikes the ground, and it turns into none other than Denki! Dressed in his formal wear, of course.

"I'm here, Ryugane-san! And... Oh! We meet again, Silver-san. Have you been having fun? I've been practicing since we last met." Denki says.

Edited November 14, 2022 by Firefighter Equine

[GeneralDirection 1,050]

@Firefighter Equine

(No problem, my friend! )

They travel for a while until they reach the city. Ryugane stops in a seemingly random place and tells Silver to stand back. As he does so, a thunder bolt comes down from the sky, turning out to be Denki, of all ponies. “Oh, hey Denki.” Silver responds. “Fancy seeing you here. Samurai was requested to investigate the area, and I decided to come along with him. Haven’t had a chance to do much else, to be honest.”

[Samurai Equine 51,415]

@GeneralDirection

"With Samurai, huh? Where is our reliable fireball warrior anyways?" Denki says, looking around for him. "I'm sur we'll meet up with him again soon. For now, our job is to find any origami shinobi and force them out, or defeat them." Ryugane says. "Right! The sooner the better. I really don't like being here. No offense Ryugane-san, but your region tends to be rather dreary and cold." Denki says. "I know. I was born here..." Ryugane says before leading the way. Kind of sounds like Denki may have struck a little nerve with his last comment.

[GeneralDirection 1,050]

@Firefighter Equine

It doesn’t take long for Silver to figure out that Ryugane and Denki didn’t exactly get along. More like they tolerated each other because they both were trying to achieve a common goal. In any case, he simply followed the two samurai as they made their way to wherever they were headed next, scouting the area out looking for these origami shinobi. Looking for a creature you’ve never seen before, especially when they’re good at blending in with others, would be a challenging task to say the least.

[Samurai Equine 51,415]

@GeneralDirection

Denki seems oblivious to any wrong doing. "So Silver-san, would you like to see how much better I have become at hugging?" Denki says. Ryugane stops and looks back at Denki in a judging way. "...It's a western thing. Ponies and creatures from the rest of the world do it casually." Denki explains. Ryugane says nothing and just keeps walking.

[GeneralDirection 1,050]

@Firefighter Equine

Silver was about to respond when it occurred to him that Ryugane hadn’t been a part of that conversation they had earlier and... he looked over to Ryugane, and yes, his expression said everything. Thankfully he chose to say nothing, and the kirin turned his attention back to Denki.

“Sure, Denki, let’s see if you’ve improved since last time.” He responds with a smile.

[Samurai Equine 51,415]

@GeneralDirection

Denki smirks and pops his wrist joints (similar to cracking one's knuckles). "HA!" Denki moves in ducking around Silver left and right, keeping him guessing before suddenly moving in. For a second, it feels like a hug, but it ends with Denki holding Silver up bridal-style. "So, how is that?! Have I mastered the art of the hug?!" Denki says intensely. Either Denki is still trying to make this into a competition, or more likely, he really isn't experienced in hugging at all.

[GeneralDirection 1,050]

@Firefighter Equine

Silver blinks a few times, trying to process what Denki just did. This is exactly what I had feared. He thought to himself. It would seem that the talk they had earlier didn’t really sink in. “First of all, put me down.” He replies flatly. “Denki, hugging is not some sort of contest. It is a simple sign of affection between two ponies who care about each other, and nothing more. You simply do whatever you feel led to do in your heart. If that’s a hug, then great. But you might have some other way to show you care, and that’s totally fine.”

[Samurai Equine 51,415]

@GeneralDirection

Denki puts Silver down and tries to process this. "The way I show care... Back home, I help make fair laws. I create new organization methods. I help with community service... And I use my personal training to be the best asset I can be to my fellow samurai." Denki says. "And that's ponies like us don't hug. And in my region, no pony hugs. You're more likely to get into a street fight than a hug. Not unless you're a member of the rich upper class." Ryugane explains. He stops near a food vender. They exchange some words in Japonies before the vender gives him some big, heavy bags and Ryugane pays a few bits for it.

[GeneralDirection 1,050]

@Firefighter Equine

“Then it sounds to me like you should stick to whatever is most comfortable for you.” Silver concludes. “Being there for your people and assisting your fellow samurai is the way you show that you care, and there’s nothing wrong with that.” He smiles. They continue on a ways until they stop at a food vendor where Ryugane purchases a few large bags.

“What’s in the bags?” Silver asks curiously.

[Samurai Equine 51,415]

@GeneralDirection

Denki seems frustrated. "I will figure this out one way or another..."
Ryugane doesn't even face Silver. "Mercy." His answer is simple yet mysterious as he continues on his way.

Rounding another corner, they soon come to a strange building. "Isn't this a support center for homeless or destitute individuals? What are we doing here?" Denki asks. "Delivering mercy." Ryugane says. He talks to a staff members working here, giving them the bags. Turns out, they are full of food and some other necessities. Delighted, the staff start passing and distributing the food and supplies to those who need it. Many of the recipients seem very delighted to be helped. "If I can do this much, then I can level the playing field." Ryugane says as he looks at how much he has helped, a little bit of smile forming on his face.

[GeneralDirection 1,050]

@Firefighter Equine

Silver decides it’s best to let Denki figure things out for himself, not feeling he has anything else useful to say. Ryugane’s answer is a bit cryptic, but Silver chooses not to question further and just go along with whatever he plans on doing. They stop by a local homeless shelter where Ruygane drops off the bags, which turn out to be full of food for the ponies staying there. Now what Ryugane had said earlier makes sense. This is just his way of showing other ponies that he cares. Silver smiles at the kind act, silently watching as the food is distributed by the staff.