Daily Shenmue - Starting November 29th

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Re: Daily Shenmue - Starting November 29th

Postby Thief » Mon Dec 18, 2017 7:20 pm

I have to apologize for not updating recently. I just started a new job and just haven't had the time to sit down and play any Shenmue, unfortunately. I made it through the warehouse on the 14th, and did manage to play once on the 15th, but I haven't played at all since then. Gunna play some today and then write my journal entries tomorrow morning. Since both Monday and Tuesday are my days off. They might be a little less "daily" but I'll at least play catch-up on my days off for what I missed during the week. Anyway, good news is I'm back to playing :)

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Re: Daily Shenmue - Starting November 29th

Postby Shenmue_Legend » Mon Dec 18, 2017 7:46 pm

Thief wrote: I have to apologize for not updating recently. I just started a new job and just haven't had the time to sit down and play any Shenmue, unfortunately. I made it through the warehouse on the 14th, and did manage to play once on the 15th, but I haven't played at all since then. Gunna play some today and then write my journal entries tomorrow morning. Since both Monday and Tuesday are my days off. They might be a little less "daily" but I'll at least play catch-up on my days off for what I missed during the week. Anyway, good news is I'm back to playing :)


"New job"? Does that include forklifts?! On a serious note, I love your work so far. It'd probably be a best-selling book! That would be cool actually, to see it from Ryo's perspective! It could be titled something like "Ryo Hazuki: The journey to avenge my father's death"!

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Re: Daily Shenmue - Starting November 29th

Postby Thief » Wed Dec 27, 2017 8:53 pm

December 14th 1986

It took many nights but I finally made it in to Warehouse #8. I think the old homeless man was really starting to feel sorry for me, because after a while he went through the trouble of making a map for me… and then when I still couldn’t get past the guards, he carefully watched their route and wrote down the habits of the guards. By the time the homeless man was done, I was able to know the path each guard took every night during the patrol. Anyway, I’m very grateful for all he’s done. Otherwise, I’m not sure if I ever would have made it in to see Master Chen. Stealth is not my forte. I would rather just fight my way through, but these guards are innocent and are only doing their job. There was no other way than to sneak.

When I entered Warehouse #8, Master Chen was not alone. He was there with his son, Gui Zhang. I showed Master Chen Zhu’s letter and he mentioned that Lan Di is a member of the Chi You Men and a master of a deadly martial art. This is the same martial art that was used against my father during the day of his death. It seems as though my father was guarding more than just the one mirror when he died. Lan Di managed to take a mirror with the design of a dragon inscribed on its face, but there was another. My father was also in the possession of another mirror—this one with a phoenix design. The phoenix is a mythical bird that is supposed to guard human life. Although it was clearly not capable of guarding my father’s life…

Tomorrow I’ll take a look around home, the mirror must be there somewhere. Perhaps Fuku-san or Ine-san have some idea of its whereabouts.

[Thief note: this is rather late. I've been busy but this will definitely continue. More to come soon!]
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Re: Daily Shenmue - Starting November 29th

Postby Thief » Sat Jan 06, 2018 1:01 am

December 15th 1986

As soon as I awoke, I went to the dojo in order to find Fuku-san. I figured if anyone knew of the mirror’s whereabouts, it must be him. But as I entered the dojo, Fuku-san was nowhere to be found. He normally practices early in the morning, so I was a bit surprised to find him absent from his training, but as I went back to the house to find him, Ine-san told me to speak to Fuku-san. Apparently Fuku-san had also been looking for me. I must have just missed him. I found him at the cherry tree.

Fuku-san had a confession to make. He told me that he admitted to Ine-san of all the things that I had been doing. The efforts that I have been making in order to find Lan Di and avenge the death of my father. Upon hearing this, I thought I would have been angry, but I can understand Fuku-san’s concern and his motivation to tell. We have never really been deceitful to one another, and not to Ine-san—and not to my father. Yet I have been very deceitful lately. I have been so concerned with my goal that I failed to act appropriately towards my friends. Yet, even though I have failed in this way, I still believe my actions were justified. If failing in this way could lead to another greater success, then I must continue to fail in order to reach that success. Although, I’m no longer convinced that these failures have lead me any closer to my goal. Either way, I do not blame Fuku-san for succeeding in truth. But regardless, Fuku-san had no idea where the mirror could be located.

Ine-san approached me shortly thereafter. She had been eaves-dropping, to which she apologized greatly, despite Fuku-san being quite loud in his confession. I felt as though I had to apologize to Ine-san, for keeping so many things from her, but it was her who seemed distressed over her own actions. She told me that she believed she was letting my father down. She told me that she didn’t have the right to stop the son of Iwao Hazuki—that she couldn’t stop him… me. She blamed herself, which greatly saddened me. It wasn’t her fault, none of this was, but I didn’t correct her. I let her act as she felt she should. It wasn’t my place to let her know how she should feel, it wasn’t up to me to interpret the consequences of her actions. In the end, however, Ine-san felt the need to inform me of an item my father had left at an antique shop. This item was supposedly of great importance, although Ine-san was unaware of what it could be. It was a long shot, but part of me believed that it might be the mirror. And so I headed to the antique shop.

Near the kitten, on my way to the antique shop, I ran into Nozomi. Thankfully the kitten seems to be much better. She’s playing outside of the box and her leg seems to be healed, but Nozomi is still worried about me. I have nothing that I can tell her and… when I tell her nothing is wrong, she gets frustrated with me. She wants me to open up, but I can’t open up. It would only worry her more. For now I’ll just have to deal with Nozomi being frustrated with me. It’s better than making her upset. It was only after Nozomi left that I realized that I was still being untruthful with my friends. Would it be better to open up with Nozomi? I’m still unsure.

Oishi-san had indeed been holding something for my father. It was a sword-handguard, one that had been passed down from generation to generation. The handguard bore the Hazuki family crest: a snow ring, the two stars, and a sword. It is only given to the Hazuki heir once he turns eighteen. I wonder if my father would have given it to me that day, had Lan Di not shown up when he did. Oishi-san did not have the mirror for me, but I was excited nonetheless to have the handguard. Surprisingly, I believed to know its purpose. Ever since I was a young boy, I’d poked and prodded my way around the dojo. One thing puzzled me ever since I was a child. Behind two scrolls in the dojo there exists two small recesses: one shaped to fit the blade of a sword and the other shaped to fit, I believe, this handguard. When I was attempting to sneak into warehouse #8, I spent a lot of time at home during the day. During that time I noticed that the key I snagged from my father’s desk fit nicely into a long locked box in the dojo. Inside that box was a sword… and much how I immediately recognized the importance of the sword handguard, I immediately knew to fit the box’s sword into the blade-shaped crevice. It fit nicely, yet nothing happened. However, I’m certain that with the second piece of the puzzle in hand, I’ll finally solve this mystery! I’ve been wanting to know this secret for so long! I hurried home but on my way back I ran into Gui Zhang.

Gui Zhang and I fought in Yamanose. I suppose this sounds a bit strange, but he had been following me. And for a moment there, I thought he had been working with Lan Di. I guess I’m a little bit on edge. It turns out that Master Chen sent his son to look after me. Gui Zhang is supposed to act sort of like a bodyguard… as if I need one. But I’m not stupid enough to dismiss his help. I could tell from our fight that he is very well trained and he fights with purpose. He seems really worked up about Lan Di getting his hands on the Phoenix Mirror and he will do all he can to assist me in locating the mirror. He claims that nobody will be able to stop Lan Di if he manages to obtain the mirror. Just how important are these mirrors?

When I got home I went straight for the dojo and fit the handguard into the crevice. It was a success! The handguard and the sword were a key that led to a secret basement beneath the dojo! It was dark down there, so I grabbed the flashlight from underneath the phone and went straight down into the basement. The basement had various amounts of junk. Some old medicine, books and scrolls, and various Chinese things. The strangest of all was a white leaf that wasn’t even dry. How could such an old leaf not be dry? That’s not all though. I found a photograph of my father when he was young. He looked like he was much the same age as I am now. It really made me realize that I didn’t know much about my father when he was younger. In the photo he was standing next to a man, but I had no idea who he was, nor did I know where the photo had been taken. I knew him as a father, but I didn’t know him as Iwao Hazuki. Who was my father before he was my father? Could he really have killed a man? It doesn’t seem possible. Well, I guess it’s time that I mention that I found the mirror. It was hidden behind a wall that was hidden behind a shelf. It’s strange, but I suppose I expected a little more. The mirror itself would be rather plain, except it has a beautiful engraving of a phoenix on its face. But I fail to see its importance. It seems like a regular antique mirror. How can such a thing be so important? Why did my father go to such lengths to hide it and why does Lan Di want it? If the mirror can help me locate Lan Di, then I am grateful for it, but none of this makes any sense. I’ll have to speak with Master Chen tomorrow.

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Re: Daily Shenmue - Starting November 29th

Postby Thief » Sun Jan 07, 2018 10:14 pm

December 16th 1986

I immediately headed over to see Master Chen after calling to make an appointment. I wanted to get to see him as soon as possible. While I was waiting for the bus to arrive, I stopped to chat with Yuriko about the mirror—although I was a bit discreet about the specific piece. Not that I don’t trust Yuriko, but it’s probably best that I don’t go advertising to everyone that I’m in possession of the mirror… even though it’s unlikely anyone even knows what it is, or even cares. Anyway, she mentioned that Yamagishi-san is interested in antiques and I ought to ask him. I didn’t have time to meet with Yamagishi-san at the moment, so I figured I’d see if I could catch him later.

Well, I’ve only had the mirror for a day and I’ve already almost let the mirror fall into the hands of Lan Di. A squirrely looking bald man with messed up teeth jumped into the warehouse and snagged the mirror from my hands. I had little time to act, but with the help of Gui Zhang, we managed to take it back. Master Chen believes that the man who grabbed the mirror is linked with the Chi You Men. “When the Dragon and the Phoenix meet, the gates of heaven and earth will open and Chi You will resurrect itself on Earth”. This is what Zhu Yuan Da once told Master Chen. Chi You is a legendary Chinese monster that is said to one day devour the world. And Lan Di, he hopes to make use of the mirror in order to summon this monster… apparently. Master Chen didn’t speak with flippancy, but I still find it unlikely that this is Lan Di’s true goal. Such a thing can’t be true, but I will keep the mirror from Lan Di nonetheless. If he desires it so greatly, then it must be important enough to keep from his possession.

Anyway, Master Chen believes that the Chi You Men are linked with a group called the Mad Angels. I thought for a moment that if I made my way through the Mad Angels, I’d find Lan Di, but Master Chen and his son believe that Lan Di has already made it back to Hong Kong. Master Chen and Gui Zhang refuse to help me get to Hong Kong. Just like nearly everyone else, they refuse to understand my need to confront Lan Di. It is not a question of whether or not I can defeat Lan Di. I choose to confront him because I must confront him—much how I will win. I will defeat Lan Di, because I must defeat Lan Di. If they will not help me, then I’ll have to find my own passage to Hong Kong. Tomorrow, my goal is China.

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Re: Daily Shenmue - Starting November 29th

Postby Thief » Tue Jan 23, 2018 7:47 pm

December 17th 1986

Last night I dreamt of the mirror. It was the focal point of my mind, and all I could see was the mirror itself. Every detail was magnified as I traced over its features. The symbol of the phoenix rose quickly to the center of my mind. But soon the mirror was not all I saw. Against the backdrop of the mirror itself, I saw a single bird, a hawk, flying endlessly towards the mirror. As if to be swallowed up, but never quite reaching the mirror—never quite meeting.

The morning began with the realization that I was never going to make it to Hong Kong with the money I had managed to save over the years. Fuku-san was gracious enough, however, to lend me his savings after the two of us had failed in persuading Ine-san to help. I will need to find my own way to Hong Kong since Fuku-san’s money will not be enough. Or so I thought.

Anyway before I get to that, I should mention that the cat had made its way away from the shrine in Yamanose. I went to go find it, but it appears that Nozomi also had the same agenda, and I found her, and the cat, somewhat closer to the Hazuki dojo. Megumi was so happy to have Mimi back again. Sometimes I worry that Megumi is getting too attached to the cat. Now that its leg is healed, it’s bound to move on and leave. I just hope she understands that eventually all things must end and the cat won’t be around forever. I was lucky today, but I won’t always be around when the cat goes missing.

I also showed Yamagishi-san the phoenix mirror. He explained to me the secret of Yin and Yang. In china there are objects that carry both good and bad fortune, and that perhaps this phoenix mirror is one of these objects. I don’t know how he could feel such a thing from merely looking at the object, he mentioned that the mirror felt "ominous", but I was grateful for his wisdom.

I tried the travel agency near Tom’s hot dogs, but after hearing Yuriko lament over how expensive a trip to Australia had been, I wasn’t particularly optimistic in my standing. It turns out I just do not have enough money to make it to Hong Kong by airplane. Nozomi, however, suggested I try to take a boat instead of a plane. It seems as though her grandmother must take a boat every time they take a visit to Canada. I eventually was directed to another travel agency. And after paying my fee there, I was told to wait for the specifics to be ironed out and to come back later… well, when I came back they tried to pull a fast one on me and pretend I never came and payed. A few moments alone with me and the clerk was quick to apologize. They will be calling me tomorrow, and if all goes well, I’ll be on my way to Hong Kong soon.

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Re: Daily Shenmue - Starting November 29th

Postby Thief » Mon Apr 30, 2018 3:10 pm

Hey I have no idea when or if I'll continue this. I met someone and fell in love, so RIP my life the way it was, but things are much better now so there's that.

Sorry for disappointing, maybe eventually.
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Re: Daily Shenmue - Starting November 29th

Postby Bambi » Thu May 03, 2018 4:39 pm

Kiyuu wrote:http://www.shenmuedojo.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=19679&start=15

I see many old faces joining in the game there. Memories...

:heart:
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