Author's Notes: Alrighty, everyone, allow me to formally welcome you to our first special feature. I hope you enjoy everything going forward! ;-D This part of my project involved some fantastic participation from amazing people. I have to give them proper credit for everything they've done and allowed me to do, but I HIGHLY encourage you (if you're a new reader) to check out these authors' works as they make their appearances. Let's support our Sesshomaru/OC writers together! I may set up a proper Community for all of the authors I've engaged with for this series as a show of thanks and possible exposure for new authors, especially. More on this anon.
This is a test chapter and will more than likely be deleted/changed in the future. The actual story and lore events meant to occur in this arc are pretty solid. BUT! The part that's been tricky for me has been the actual "gameplay" bits. So, what I want to do with this chapter is test out proper formatting and setup for the interactive pieces you'll encounter. (Please let me know how you feel about it! X3 This might ultimately be the permanent format for any other specials or movies that are included in this series.) Unfortunately, posting questionnaires or game dialogue violates this site's guidelines, so everything has to flow with the story itself. Any feedback you give me will be much appreciated.
To start, I recommend either writing down or typing up the following information (on separate lines for ease of reading/changing): Crafter Meter, Ally Meter, and Romance Meter. Skip a line and write Character List. Under that, write down the following: House of Inu, Original Cast, and Heiwa. You can orient this however you want. Skip about three to four lines and then write Inventory.
That should be it. This will be a "throw away" sheet for the time being. We're just using this so you can get the hang of what to expect. Your actual reward sheet will have more detailed information on it, and I'll also provide explanations as we go along to help you keep track of things. You shouldn't be overwhelmed with anything, but it's easy to forget about things when you're dealing with daily life.
So, if you wrote everything, I'll give you some context on each of the meters. The Ally Meter allows Sesshomaru (or you) to develop stronger bonds with friends or family characters. If you wanted to form a stronger bond with Sesshomaru's mother, for example, you would want to make sure that this meter is as high as you can get it, right? Well, giving her high-quality gifts boosts your chances! Rarer items give you more points to fill your meter. The Crafter Meter allows you to form bonds with craftsmen. If you wanted Sesshomaru to be a little nicer to Totosai, you could give Totosai gifts as well. In return, Totosai might take on more projects willingly and give you rarer items or upgrades. The Romance Meter... is both obvious and possibly triggering for some folks. This meter allows you to develop a stronger bond with Sesshomaru's romantic interests (including Asa no Sara and Kagura). Your Character List is just a small group of characters you want Sesshomaru to give gifts to first. You can choose whoever you want out of the original Inuyasha cast or my cast of characters to create your group. The limit is three characters for now.
This special is heavily driven by your choices during "gameplay". Basically, assuming this is a JRPG, you would be controlling Sesshomaru as a playable character. If you want specific rewards, you'll have to bear in mind that access to those things change with your choice. The actual tutorial characters will explain everything in finer detail, so don't stress out about it now. I'm literally just trying to figure out how I want your reward sheet to look and what details require better explanation.
With all that said, let me give you some time to jot everything down, and, when you're ready, you can read everything below...
"Whoever that girl was, she escaped," Reijiro informed, folding his arms with Ichi next to him.
"Why'd you chase her, bro? You knew her?" Yamashi asked, smiling at Ichi's expression. It looked like a cross between two frustrated emotions.
"No, but I've had to deal with thieves my whole life. I know the feeling. What did she even take?" Ichi questioned, scratching the back of his head.
"Shojo sake and Mizuchi water," a gravelly voice replied.
It was a man carrying a flag and dressed in samurai armor. He did seem quite annoyed at the turn of events, but, if he was anything else, you couldn't tell. He wasn't a very tall individual - below average height by about one or two inches for a male - but he seemed to make up for it in his regal stature. The man reminded Sesshomaru of Kirameku Ha when he walked. If he was a flag carrier, the man was of high nobility as a hatamoto and guardian to his leader. However, Sesshomaru only had respect for one human male and that was Kirameku Ha. This samurai would only gain his lordship's respect if he was like the grandpa gardener. Inspecting the group of demons, the hatamoto poked his bottom lip out and sniffed the air before turning to each man with some interest. He was joined by the kunoichi and his troop within moments.
"It is not often that we receive visits from our enemies," the hatamoto said.
"Enemy?" Yamashi asked, amused smile not leaving his mouth. "We don't know you."
"You and the wheat-haired one don't, but we are quite familiar with the inu prince and soldier there," the hatamoto said, surprising Sesshomaru and Reijiro.
"How do you know us?" Reijiro asked with suspicion. "We've never met."
"I know your general. He fought Ryukotsusei. Not exactly our ally, but a creature we knew well enough," the hatamoto informed. "These grounds are the home to dragon warriors and worshippers. An enemy to a dragon is an enemy to us."
"If you were truly a dragon warrior, you wouldn't have been so incompetent in catching a small-time thief. She had no dragon powers," Sesshomaru remarked, dismissing the man and continuing his walk. He was stopped by the kunoichi, but he didn't look at her. She wasn't worth his time. "Step aside."
"You are in possession of a powerful artefact. It's a water stone. I can sense it," the kunoichi said, revealing her weapons and glaring at Sesshomaru. Her eyes changed to the slitted crystallization of a dragon. "Perhaps we should take your stone to find that awful woman."
"What, she can't be thirsty?" Yamashi asked, toying with the little lady. "Sake and water are good choices. Dragon's sake and water are excellent choices, however. Girl's got good tastes!"
"We will not be insulted!" the girl shouted, teeth turning to sharp fangs.
"Shungiku, enough!" the hatamoto reprimanded, silencing the kunoichi. "Let them leave. It is obvious they have nothing to do with that travelling doctor."
"Excuse me, did you just say a travelling, female doctor?" Yamashi questioned, eyes widening with complete amusement.
"Er... yes?" the hatamoto answered.
"... ... ... BU HA HA HA HA HA HA!" Yamashi laughed, confusing the samurai and kunoichi... but not Sesshomaru and the others.
In fact, that's what made Yamashi laugh harder. Sesshomaru's response. His ears pulled back with annoyance, shoulders flinched, head snapped to Meioshi's running direction, and his mouth was set in a clear frown. He knew something was suspicious about that girl! Yamashi was having the time of his life at that revelation. So, the good doctor was still capable of committing crimes, eh? Guess she hadn't lost her fire much, after all.
"Whoo! I needed that!" Yamashi then said, patting his belly. "Hate to break it to you, but we do know that woman. You are, in fact, incompetent in catching her."
"What?" Shungiku questioned, dragon fireballs floating around her head with fury. The hatamoto was just as cool as a cucumber at this bit of information, however. "I will not stand for such mockery of our strength! That woman is a thief in every sense of the word, and we will - !"
"She stole someone's heart, didn't she?" Yamashi asked, narrowing his eyes to quickly analyze Shungiku's body language. "Someone you knew intimately."
"WHAT!?" Shungiku questioned with a sharp squeak in her voice.
Yamashi's eyes and smirk widened before he then said, "Oh my days, she stole yours! You showed her where to get the sake and water! BU HA HA HA HA HA HA! Didn't expect the beautiful doctor to be capable of theft, did you?"
The hatamoto and troop turned to look at Shungiku, who was blushing and stuttering for a solid minute, before she shook her head violently and powered up to fight Yamashi. She was fully sick of him.
Sesshomaru sighed at this and said, "It's to be expected. She is kind to those who are suffering whether that's physically, mentally, or emotionally. You obviously were not well, so she stayed close to you to monitor your health."
Shungiku calmed her powers, blushed again, and looked down at her feet. She then whispered, "She helped my sister give birth to a healthy baby. She wasn't a bad person..."
"She isn't a bad person at all, but, if she had to resort to stealing, then she's in desperate need. There's more thieves like that than the evil ones people think about. The ones who do it just to do it," Ichi explained. "In Doc's case, she might be desperately trying to help someone else and can't afford to waste time. She's like that sometimes."
"... You are saying this person is righteous?" the hatamoto asked, activating his own dragon powers. His eyes changed.
"Yeah, she is," Yamashi said, softening his features to show fondness for an old friend.
"... Interesting," the hatamoto replied, summoning blue-green flames into his hand. From them came a tamagushi with shide paper running through it and a jewel and chain clipped to the bottom. Sesshomaru almost thought it was the Shikon Jewel, but he knew that would've been impossible. It had to be something else. The power it was emitting from its dazzling surface made for an interesting show, though. It reminded his lordship of an oyster pearl, but it had a magical barrier surrounding it that looked like luminescent fish scales. It was pretty. He then said, "Prove to me that this doctor is worthy of our wine and water. If you know this woman so well, you should be able to state at least one good deed she has performed for each of you, yes? A righteous person represents many things to another. Is this doctor a friend to you... or a sister? Solve the riddles on the shide. Shungiku will collect the tamagushi when it is complete."
"Wh-wha-what?" Shungiku responded in protest.
"If that boar demon is correct, you put your entire village in jeopardy for the affections of another. This is an offense that will leave you dismissed or dead. Our wine, water, and rice are all sacred things. You should know better than to guide a stranger to it," the hatamoto reprimanded, making Shungiku hesitate in speaking any further. "Since you're so good at showing treasure to strangers, you can either escort these men to a proper campsite or travel with them."
"The only human I trust to build a campsite to standard is the doctor you unsuccessfully tried to arrest. I refuse your lodging," Sesshomaru answered, walking away toward some nearby plains.
"I'm trying to get home to my wife, so we'll make this quick," Yamashi answered, following Sesshomaru but nodding for Ichi and Reijiro to follow him.
Sesshomaru needed time to think. Why would dragons trust humans to this degree? What did that mean? Why would Meioshi steal anything from dragon warriors or dragons themselves? Isn't she worried about her village's safety? Did she seduce this Shungiku woman? Why did that bother him?
"Think it's safe to say you're not feeling the idea of your woman gettin' frisky with another woman," Yamashi joked.
I work with children... Sesshomaru thought. However..., the idiot pig prince... is partially correct...
"I don't have a woman," his lordship responded tersely.
"Tch! Fine, your 'personal interest' might've been with another woman. The ninja chick was a beauty," Yamashi remarked with amusement. "Seemed to like her women sweet."
Heaven above, silence this fool! Sesshomaru thought.
"Riddles, pervert pig, choose your riddle to solve," Sesshomaru snapped, narrowing his eyes with visible annoyance.
"I'll keep screwing with you, snippy dog. You gotta get through me to claim residency in Heiwa anyway, not the doctor," Yamashi informed, making Sesshomaru turn around to look at him. O-ho, that got his attention quickly. Ichi walked up to Yamashi to present the tamagushi since no one even bothered to try to grab the thing. The boar prince looked at one of the papers and read, "You can hear me and control me, but never see me or touch me. What am I?"
"Well, your wife if you keep going on these adventures," Reijiro responded with a challenging smirk, making Yamashi chuckle. See, he gets it! Reijiro then looked over at the tamagushi from his standing position and caught sight of a bold-font riddle. He read, "What force and strength cannot get through, I with a gentle touch can do, and many in the street would stand, were I not a friend at hand."
"There's only one left. I guess I can do this one," Ichi said, pulling the paper towards him. "I am something great that comes from within, an act or deed that inspires a grin. I bring with me a feeling of cheer - lessening the trouble and replacing the fear. I need no thank you, I ask for no pay - I only wish to brighten your day. You'll be amazed when you suddenly see all the good things you can do with me!"
... I detest the use of riddles so much sometimes... Sesshomaru thought, closing his eyes to think.
Author's Footnotes: Alright, so you have three riddles to solve. Each person will offer a memory or time when Meioshi was righteous to him with exception to Sesshomaru. He has to put the answers to the riddles together to solve Shungiku's puzzle. The correct answer to the first riddle will grant you an uncommon item that you can put in your Inventory for later. The correct answer to the second riddle will grant you a rare item, and the correct answer to the third riddle will grant you an epic item. Incorrect answers will result in common items. You may not have gotten the answer right, but you at least participated and you have the potential to change the rarity level of the item. More on this anon.
The answer to Yamashi's riddle was a voice. If you guessed correctly, put UNC+1 under Inventory and add 1 point to your Ally Meter. Should be 1 out of 1 (or 1/1). If you guessed incorrectly, no problem. Put C+1 under Inventory and write 0 out of 1 (or 0/1) for the Ally Meter.
The answer to Reijiro's riddle was a key. If you guessed correctly, put R+1 under Inventory and add 1 point to your Crafter Meter. Should look like 1 out of 1 (or 1/1). If you guessed incorrectly, put C+1 under Inventory and 0 out of 1 (or 0/1) next to Crafter Meter.
The answer to Ichi's riddle was kindness. If you guessed correctly, put E+1 under Inventory and add 1 point to your Romance Meter. You know the drill. If you guessed incorrectly, you know the drill. Put C+1, baby!
Don't worry about putting the answers together. This was a test to see how you would do. For the special itself, I would like to reveal the answers to any of the riddles at the end, but, if that's too confusing, I can put answers in the Author's Notes on the following chapter. For your actual reward sheet, I would document your answers somewhere on there. You can format this however you want, but I can give you a general format as well to make it easy. The reward information might look like this.
Riddle #4 | Chapter 207: Correct answer - legendary item (L+1), ALLY+2; Incorrect answer - no item
This way, you can just fill up your inventory and meters as you go. Tutorial characters will explain what the items are in finer detail. You won't have to guess at that. As an example, say the common item here is a wildflower. An uncommon item might be a wild mint, a rare item might be a tree sapling, and an epic item might be a wild orchid. Whoever is in your Character List can receive this item as it is or you can upgrade it later to something more extravagant. It's up to you in the end. That concludes my test chapter, however. I may not update for a while in favor of feedback for this test chapter. Shouldn't be that long, but I'll give it about a week. Ciao! XD