Lotus Pond Dojo
(What makes a dojo? Most would say that a true "dojo" comes from the lands of the Orient, a place where, nestled between the stands of bamboo and fields of rice, students of this region sought in days of old to undertake an inward journey, a quest to find their potential through the martial arts.
In the days of old, the dojo was a place of strength, a community of fighters all learning every day, from the youngest white belt to the masters who taught them.
(But as the world grew older, the race of men grew more intelligent, building upon the teachings of their past and with the materials of their lands. Crude rafts made of sticks became barnacle-crusted vessels of wood and pitch and sail, and then powerful slicing ships of metal and smoke. The concept of a man taking to the air began as a dreamer's whimsy, became sketches of propellers and wings under the hands of a wise inventor, then turned into a rickety craft powered by the love of two brothers, finally taking flight as a biplane, and then huge commercial aircraft. With bits of plastic and wires, men became able to use the air to keep in contact with each other, and with their tools finally connected all the world together, for better or worse.
(In this age, nothing has to be stationary, or confined to one country. Connected, mankind can enjoy each others' culture, no matter where they may live. People are coming and going as regularly as the coming and going of the seasons... and, it turns out, some take their buildings with them.)
Colorado, the present, somewhere high in the Rocky Mountains. The Lotus Pond Dojo, a building the size of a Super Wal Mart. An equally large basement extends below, although no one has ever catalogued all the hidden passages...
(Tobuo Kakoemetsu is regarded by his students as the greatest teacher of ninjitsu to ever have lived, even though they usually can't name any others who hold that title.
Decades ago this old, humble master decided to leave his homelands and bring his gift to America... the gift of teaching ninjitsu. His reasons are yet unclear, although it's clear he loves to teach. His teaching manages to be both gentle yet unyielding, demanding utter obedience yet letting the spirit flourish. He is a master of his craft, and in training the most lethal assassins he instills in them the desire to preserve and protect life unless all else fails. A tall, old man, lithe and frail-looking, his eyes appear forever closed with age, but they crinkle kindly, and his gnarled hands never fail to offer whatever is needed, be it a spanking or a warm cup of saki.
(This man is your teacher. For reasons you've kept secret in your heart, you've sought his training when you were just a very young adult. For many years you have studied the arts of ninjitsu, and you don't regret a single day spent doing so.
Your belt has changed color many times, and we join you now a few days before you'll take your test to achieve the second highest rank at the dojo: the Red Belt, the Fledgling Ninja. In addition to your formal test, you must perform an act of ninjitsu.
Usually, students will go to the modern cities at the base of the mountains and perform acts of silent espionage, or a token theft from a heavily guarded safehouse (the goods are, of course, returned after you've shown them to Sensei Tobuo). You, however, have chosen a different tactic: you will sneak into the
Sensei's own storage room, nestled here within the school. Rumors among the students say your master keeps wondrous things in there: unbreakable swords that bond themselves to their masters, herbs that somehow allow a person to breathe underwater, and even nameless tools that true ninja masters used in the old days to perform nigh undetectable spy work. They say the things in there could let a man scale walls like a squirrel, slip through cracks like a snake, or even fly through castle windows. Even more the students don't know about could lie there as well. Your mission is to steal one of these tools and display it to your master the next morning.
You're not worried about his reaction; if you fail, he'll praise your initiative. If you succeed... well, you value your master's pride in you more than anything, and the vision of his proud smile fills you with hope. So, stretch your muscles and prepare, Orange Belt, and let us join you in your chambers as you prepare, on the night of your raid...)
Lotus Pond Dojo
Written by Mr.Peaches and the community of catprog.tfcentral.com
You finish tightening your black clothes down, making sure there's nothing that could get caught on anything. You're in your quarters--a small room lined with Japanese style. Your tatami mat is rolled up in the corner.
The light of a stand of candles you made yourself gives everything a warm yellow glow. Your heart is pounding; this is bold, what you're doing--very bold. Even though you tell yourself you won't get in real trouble if you're (probably) caught, you're anxious. I mean... this stuff is *bold.*
You shake your head and clear your mind of your fear, only to have the candle light catch your gaze. You're reminded of your recent dreams, off the subject of your raid but still important to you nonetheless. You were performing amazing ninjitsu feats in those dreams, but your body was... different, a little different every time you dreamt. The dreams always ended with a jet of fire streaming out of darkness and consuming you. As the dream repeated night after night, the fire went from feeling agonizing, then painful, then uncomfortable, then pleasant, then invigorating. A few of your closest friends have reported similar experiences. What does it mean? Does it mean anything? You've been meaning to discuss them with Sensei Tobuo, but you've been so focused on your studies that by the time you remember you wanted to talk with him, it's very late in the evening and he's retired to his chamber for sleep, although you half-suspect that he doesn't even need to sleep anymore. What a mysterious dream, though...
From the candlelight your eyes are drawn out the window to a tiny, tiny speck of brilliance on a hill far down the mountainside, on a totally different ridge. For days now, you and your fellow students have been secretly spying on a group of college-age people snowboarding in the mountains--six males and three females. You've gathered that one of them won some great sponsorship for something, and now they could afford to take their friends on the boarding trip of their lives. So that's what they were doing, and growing closer to the dojo by the day. Although you know they don't know it's there, vigilance is needed. The school is cunningly hidden against the boarders, although at the end of the day, people coming across the dojo aren't much of a big deal. If someone actually finds Lotus Pond,Tobuo usually treats the guest like a king and tries to recruit them to the school. More than one of your fellow students came that way.
But these players, the dream and the boarders, are distractions from your task at hand. Maybe Fate will bring them into your circle, and maybe not. You clear your mind and put out the candles. Standing in the cool night air just on the other side of your room's sliding paper door, you visualize your dojo. Both the upper and lower levels are the size of a Super Wal-Mart, filled with tight, twisting paths and rooms of all kinds.
The rooms are roughly arranged in a sort of bull's eye pattern: student rooms line the outside, a hallway runs between, another layer of rooms comes next, another hallway lies beyond those, etc. The stairs to the lower level lie in the center of the upper floor. You must make it to those stairs, down to the basement, and then search around for the room you've never seen.
Patrolling every hallway is one of your fellow students, training their senses to detect an intruder's approach. If you are seen, alarms will be raised and your task will fail. You can't, of course, use lethal force.
Most students will be trying to conceal themselves, as well. Every one that sees you will tell Tobuo that they did when you present the artifact from the Master's Room, lowering your "grade" and honor.
Thinking over the massive obstacles between you and your goal, you can't help feeling overwhelmed. But, on you will go.
[Now,] you think to yourself, [how to start...]
Written by Mr.Peaches on 18 July 2006
Over the Roof
You look out the window and up to the roof contemplating the climb..
The climb is precarious, but you manage, using your deft skills to easily swing onto the very top of the roof. The goal now, you realize, is to not get caught from here. Anyone would be able to see you if you stood right up in plain sight. You duck, crawling around and peeking over the edge of the roof. It’s a good vantage point, but you need to figure out where to go from here. How best to get that artifact from here?
Luckily the statutes are arranged so that there weight is taken by the walls below. The paths go through the statutes in a spiral pattern. The statues on each path go from human on the outside to animal to mythical animal in the very center. On one side of the path the statue are male, on the otherside female.
You are also not the only creature on the roof tonight, each path has a pair of animals on it. They all are walking towards the center along their respective paths
How strange, you realize, that you happened upon this particular area. You recall its use, and reason for being placed right here for the initiates-to provide a sense of ‘balance’ and ‘harmony with nature’ that your master wished to bestow upon all of you. Not that it was any importance to you at this moment. You glance around for a moment, debating just which path to go through. It doesn’t matter, but one path might be clearer than the other...
Written by on 05 January 2016
Fox Path
The fox path is just in front of you and with no better reason than that, you step forward through the first pair of statues. The moment you step through the first pair the roof outside of the path seems to be replaced by a forest. You turn to look back and the path also seems to end, the way back having been replaced by a forest.
The path continues in it’s spiral shape , the next set of statutes just visible around the corner. Apart from the ears the statues look human. Of course it is not like you have much choice with the thick forest just off the path.
Stepping forward you choose the
Written by on 09 January 2016
Female statue
You step forward closer to the female statue. The moment you step past the forest appears behind you.
You feel strangely off, and continue to glance around. You’ve heard of stories like these before. Usually some mischievous demon, like a Tanooki or Kitsune, leads travelers onwards before doing horrible things to them--but you don’t feel like you’re dying. Instead, you feel strangely full of energy. Your ears feel strange though--warm, and slightly more active than they usually are. You give one of them a scratch, and feel it flick in response, but yet you don’t feel anything is wrong. It feels nice and fluffy, but not unknown to you…
You glance forward, seeing that past this statue is a new forest path that’s opened up. You let out a long sigh and march forward, what’s the worst that can happen?
Written by on 11 January 2016
Contiune
This time your shows are left behind as your feet change into paws. And once again the old path has disappeared leaving a new path in front of you.
You don’t even notice, as with each step, your feet slowly morph into paws--your sandals fading away into mist as your five-fingered toes mold together and grow soft black pads as they become fairly vulpine paws. Your gait changes a bit, but you fail to notice even this as you keep walking.
The next statue you walk past is much more of a change , you fall forward onto your hands , although by now they are more like paws. You can smell the forest just outside of the path, it seems like your mouth and nose have stretched out into a muzzle.
A long fluffy tail has sprouted from your backside.
You press forward, tail swishing, as new fur courses over your body. With each step you are becoming something else--a fox, though more aptly a vixen, as the slowly forming genitalia tells you. You feel a warmth there, but ignore it as you continue.
The path continues down , but what is there left to change, your mind? Would it be better to head off into the forest and retain your mind until you can find a way back or just get it over with and head down the path?
There is probably a lot of foxes in the forest. Perhaps even a male to start a family
Written by on 13 January 2016
Continue down the Path
You shake your head at that thought. While you may have a vixen body your mind is still that of your old male human form. You look up the path making your decision. The worse that can happen you figure is you lose your mind, which might be better than what you currently have anyway.
The moment you step through you find yourself in the center of the roof. The statues and path have disappeared.
There is a new weight on your backside and you look back to see your tail splitting into three tails. On your front you see a pair of lumps expanding into a new pair of breasts, and you can stand upright once again.
“Welcome new kitsune” you hear in your mind “ we offer you a feast to celebrate the re-joining of your body and soul.”
Before your eyes a table appears covers with food, along with many other animal people like you.
You realize you can move just as usual, and you find yourself walking up to the long table. A grand feast is set out, just for you, and you can see many others waiting for you so they may dine. You grin, your muzzle flashing the smile as you set a paw over your breast, “Thank you.”
You feel a warmth suddenly surround you, as a soft pink kimono forms around your body. It is soft, with gentle white flower decorations upon it. You are a true Kitsune, a fox spirit, and you can feel that energy flow through you.
Written by on 15 January 2016
Foxy Friend
As you load up the plate you are approached by another creature just like you. Except this one is male and has a few more tails. “Evening Miss, I was wondering if you were a vixen before you went on the path”
You shake your head “I was human… and male, at one point...”
He looks at you in surprise “I am sorry to hear that. Although you do make a cute kitsune. So what brought you onto the roof”
You start to explain about the vault and your dreams. He nods to you “The dreams are probably due to the full moon activating the statues.”
“And...I happened to be near them when they were activated?” You ask him, curious. It seemed to make sense. You stumbled upon the statutes , merely intending to weave through them, but the power of the moon activated the inner powers of the statues themselves while you were near, and you were drawn into it.
He shakes his head “Not quite, your dreams show that you were called here. Why else would you be on the roof at this time?”
“Well. I was going to try to get into the basement through the centre.”
“Through the roof?” he asks you bemused.
“Ok, Perhaps it may not of been the best plan. ”
“Of cause “ he says “It was the statues that were calling you onto the roof. So how do you like your body?”
Written by on 17 January 2016
Annoyed at female
“Well “ you start “Why am I female?”
He nods “Well that is what your soul likes. I am not sure why you were male as a human, but that sometimes happens. Of course as you get more tails it does not matter as much as you can change that quite easily.”
“How many tails before I can be male again?” you ask.
“Well four or five is generally the amount you need” he says “each one requiring you to overcome a significant challenge. I am guessing when you were a kitsune in a past life you had already passed a few challenges to still have three now.”
You tilt your head as he continues “The splitting and then rejoining takes many tails off your soul to attempt it. Then rejoining also takes tails. I am guessing at the least you would of had six tails”
“How do you know all this?” you ask.
He smiles and hands you a book “I read all about it. There is a lot of information in the library.”
Written by on 19 January 2016
The end (for now)