[BitPR²] Mortal World IV

[strawberryman]

((Onward! But if you must look behind you, Old Thread.))

[Ikari, Japan]
(Kuzunoha Compound - Training Room)

Katsuo nods slightly... "...right. When should I be ready to go?"

[Mexico]
(Chichen Itza)

Umeko finally partakes of some of the assorted breakfast items before looking at the picture and nearly spit-taking on the coffee she was drinking. "...uh, I'm a little rusty on my high school biology but is there any particular reason there needs to be two?"

"...not to be picky, just. I guess this could be okay, I'm just a little confused about the number."

[Draken]

[Mexico]
(Chichen Itza)

"Hmm? Well, I didn't see a reason not to. That is how it is for the source material and the number seemed appropriate for you to have some added fun with it."

"Not going to lie, the first draft had six. Personal aesthetic. Pared it down to four before deciding you would still probably be put off by the mismatch."

[Kuroimaken]

((Onward! But if you must look behind you, Old Thread.))

[Ikari, Japan]
(Kuzunoha Compound - Training Room)

Katsuo nods slightly... "...right. When should I be ready to go?"

"We'll be taking the Tsuchigumo express as soon as you kids are ready, ho. Shouldn't be away for more than a couple of days, so don't worry about packing light."

[Selinia]

[Mexico]
[Chichen Itza]

"Well, it seems... not bad? It's not in the way most of the time at least. I uh, don't think we need two though. Still, I think we can work the specifics out later?" Naomi looks to Umeko. "Um. Just... if I could shift to the other side of things, pregnancy is kind of dangerous, you know? Do you think you could do something just simple so that we're sure that Ume would heal up properly after all of this? And that our daughter is healthy and doesn't have any complications? And there isn't any trouble with the birth? Just, you know - make sure it all goes smoothly? I mean, that seems like it'd be super simple compared to the other stuff you're talking about!"

[Draken]

[Mexico]
[Chichen Itza]

"Right then. Your loss."

"As for your request, sure. As a sportswoman she would most certainly wish to avoid sequelae, I can give both of you some added baseline resilience and a good regenerative trait to deal with that. Not enough to quickly regrow any lost limbs, obviously, that has massive energy requirements."

[Dorizzit]

"We'll be taking the Tsuchigumo express as soon as you kids are ready, ho. Shouldn't be away for more than a couple of days, so don't worry about packing light."

Naito's head tilts to the side.

"What are we waiting for?"

[Kuroimaken]

"Just some minor preparations. If you're all set, just go on ahead to the briefing room, hee-ho. I'll pick you up soon."

[strawberryman]

[Ikari, Japan]
(Kuzunoha Compound - Training Room)

Katsuo stands, gathering his things. "...I'm going to call my aunt, quick, and then get a few things, then I'll be ready." Unless anyone has something to say, Katsuo makes way to his room, calls up his aunt to tell her he'd be going out of town with some friends for the weekend. Being a understanding type, she's fine with it! The boy's been into some curious dealings lately but nothing dangerous to her knowledge, which is fine by her.

With that, he changes into a light t-shirt with a heart decal on it, a pair of loose slacks, and packs some extra clothes and things into a dufflebag. Not really much for Katsuo to prepare, but with his usually winding up in the crossfire of explosive attacks, it never hurt to carry extra clothes!

He makes for the meeting room with that, more than ready to move.

(Outskirts)

At the very edge of the Kuzunoha's territory, one of Argos' gargantas opens up just off of a bus stop leading into the city, and four teenage girls step out. Or rather, four hollows in the disguise of teenage girls. Queen Bee, in all of her redheaded glory, takes the front, Hell Wasp taking her flank, and Honey Bee and Rumble Bee hanging back slightly as they make for the bus stop.

"All right, you heard the witch, we're here to zz...scout." Queen Bee takes some measures to offset her verbal tic, wincing a bit as she recognizes the need to do so when in normal company. Nonetheless, she readies her bus fare and waits...

"...I'm not zz...sure I like her very much." Honey Bee grumbles.

"...it doesn't matter. We do what she says."

Welp. Nothing bad could happen here.

[Mexico]
(Chichen Itza)

Umeko listens quietly, nodding slightly at Naomi's concerns. It'd hardly do if she were put out of commission even more than she already has... but at the least, coaching was less intensive than actually playing. "...that sounds good, I suppose... and... just a break in the subject, but... is all you're really asking of us to have this kid, and raise her until she's ready? Is there anything else we should know about?"

[Draken]

[Mexico]
(Chichen Itza)

"Well, you make it sound like I am not asking something considerably complex and having high expectations out of it."

Sip of tea.

"If you really must hear 'a catch' as they say, about this whole thing. The first youngster will be a soul of considerable potency and intellect. Her... Hmm... Magic might pose eventual trouble, and it is very likely that any further brood will exhibit a healthy degree of the supernatural."

"To be quite honest, you may also consider yourselves a test run on that last observation. As well as a few others."

[strawberryman]

[Mexico]
(Chichen Itza)

Umeko... doesn't really have a response to that first point. He had them there.

On the second points, however... "...how dangerous are we talking, here? She won't have death rays or anything, will she? And... how likely is it that others would turn out like her? I guess that's... a pretty big obstacle to overcome..." She frowns, looking to Naomi to see if she had anything to say here.

[Kuroimaken]

[Ikari, Japan]
(Kuzunoha Compound - Training Room)

Katsuo stands, gathering his things. "...I'm going to call my aunt, quick, and then get a few things, then I'll be ready." Unless anyone has something to say, Katsuo makes way to his room, calls up his aunt to tell her he'd be going out of town with some friends for the weekend. Being a understanding type, she's fine with it! The boy's been into some curious dealings lately but nothing dangerous to her knowledge, which is fine by her.

With that, he changes into a light t-shirt with a heart decal on it, a pair of loose slacks, and packs some extra clothes and things into a dufflebag. Not really much for Katsuo to prepare, but with his usually winding up in the crossfire of explosive attacks, it never hurt to carry extra clothes!

He makes for the meeting room with that, more than ready to move.

Assuming Naito is waiting there already, Shinhee will walk in shortly after Katsuo does. Because he timed that entrance to do so and he didn't think Naito would prefer to chat.

"Follow hee."

The diminute magical construct guides them through a network of caves outside the sanctuary proper until they arrive at an intersection of sorts. There's what appears to be a wooden platform built at a high point of the intersection, and there are torii to either side of the tunnels. Shinhee screams into the intersection.

"SIMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!! COME OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT!"

A loud screeching sound like that of metal on metal comes from one side, and when it halts, there's a colossal spider made of rocks with a long-haired old man's face turning to look at them, right in front of the platform.

Hi there.

[Draken]

[Mexico]
(Chichen Itza)

Umeko... doesn't really have a response to that first point. He had them there.

On the second points, however... "...how dangerous are we talking, here? She won't have death rays or anything, will she? And... how likely is it that others would turn out like her? I guess that's... a pretty big obstacle to overcome..." She frowns, looking to Naomi to see if she had anything to say here.

"Alexandra was possessed of the power of wind manipulation. It is difficult to guess when the powers would arise, but likely early on. Death rays could be possible, but unlikely without further interference."

Sip.

"The rest... Hard to guess. Most would probably simply be able to see the spirit world, your vision is still clearing on that subject, but it should be fully functional relatively soon. Or now, if I give it a boost."

Sip.

"Some could have unique developments, however. It is a wonderfully unpredictable process."

[Dorizzit]

[Ikari]
Tunnels

Naito was, in fact, waiting in the room when Katsuo arrived; probably went there right after the Shinhee gave them directions. When the rock spider makes an appearance, Naito looks up at it dispassionately.

"Neat. How does this get us where we're going?"

[Kuroimaken]

"Just climb on. You'll be there before you know it."

As it turns out, "Simon" has plenty of space on his back in between stone plates here and there. It's not the most comfortable seating, but...

[strawberryman]

[Ikari, Japan]
(Kuzunoha Compound)

Katsuo blinks a bit at the giant spider, but figures it would be silly to say anything by now, so he just climbs on without a word and hangs on tight.

Yep. This is his life now.

[Kuroimaken]

((Assuming Naito hopped on too.))

The Earth Spider (that's what tsuchigumo means, kids!) sprouts a massive drill-shaped horn on its forehead, which silently begins spinning. It rushes down the tunnel from the opposite direction whence it came, and the kids hear the sound of a crashing mirror as it speeds forward, as if they broke through a glass wall that hid a massive light. The same sound occurs again as they come out of a different tunnel than the one they embarked in, and Simon halts at a similar, but different platform.

"We're here."

[Selinia]

[Mexico]
[Chichen Itza]

Naomi considers this new information with all the gravity and care due to anything involving this dangerous new frontier, weighing the pros and cons internally and thinking through possible results. It takes about ten seconds before she gives a smile and a brisk nod.

"Well, what parents don't hope for a smart kid, right? Getting guaranteed one is just a plus, as far as I'm concerned. I mean, sure, some parts may be weird, but I'm pretty sure we can handle it! As far magic... well, I mean, I can't really deny that I'm finding this all pretty cool. I'm sure any inconvenience for us is going to get counterbalanced pretty hard by all the awesome stuff she'll be able to do when she grows up! Same for any of her sisters. But, um. Yeah, something to help us at least be more aware of magic might be a good idea? I mean, I know parenthood isn't going to be easy, but... well, I mean I guess it depends on how many we have, but speaking as someone who grew up with five younger siblings? I can say that one, I have some practice, and two, magic stuff is probably going to be the easy part of all this."

[Dorizzit]

[Izumo]
???

Naito hops off of Simon's back, landing on the platform.

"Fantastic. Where exactly are we?"

[Kuroimaken]

"The Kuzunoha compound in Izumo. Don't worry, you're expected.

This place is also sitting on a Dragon's Nest, but it doesn't have a sanctuary effect like their main branch. They used this one for other spells. But the onmyouji will be able to tell you better than me. I've done my part for the day."

[strawberryman]

[Izumo, Japan]
(Some other Kuzunoha Compound)

Katsuo hops off, giving an awkward bow to Simon. "Um, thank you. Where are we going from here?"

[Mexico]
(Chichen Itza)

Umeko furrows her brow at the idea of seeing spirits. Now that she thought on it, she'd been seeing some blurry things on the edge of her vision lately, but she didn't think much of it. Just nerves or stress or whatever, and it didn't really trigger her paranoia any beyond a few moments. Her mind was usually too preoccupied. Of course, it'd probably annoy Naomi that she didn't say anything... but there wasn't much to do about that.

And then Naomi speaks, and she's lost in thought again. But one thing does stand out... "...Sisters? No boys? And... it sounds like this one will be a lot for us to look after..." She thinks about it for a moment. "...though I guess with what I know from high school biology, we would only have girls."

[Draken]

[Mexico]
(Chichen Itza)

Von Geister raises his open hand towards the two and holds it up.

...

...

After a few moments, they should start seeing a viridescent light washing over them, emitted by the hand.

"Only girls. Unless I make some more fundamental changes, but those could have actual side effects."

There is another effect to the beam, once Von Geister brings his hand down again, the sheer pressure exerted by the power of the two spirits. Thomas' is great and strange and scary, even if subdued. Von Geister's is...

Vaster. Stranger still. But thrilling more than anything else. Invigorating even. It gives no sense of security, nor of peace... It...

... Hmm...

... Sort of makes you hungry?

[strawberryman]

[Mexico]
(Chichen Itza)

Umeko shudders for a moment, staring in still-struggling disbelief, a light sweat breaking over her skin.

"...what was that?"

[Selinia]

[Mexico]
[Chichen Itza]

Naomi, again displaying what might be taken as a modest resilience towards such effects, takes the whole lightshow essentially in stride. A pause after the luminescence dies down to look at her own hands, reach up to touch the corners of her eyes, a blink, a look at Umeko to make sure that they weren't glowing, and... that was that. Naomi nods, reaching for a couple biscuits and offering one to Umeko. Situations like this called for buttery baked goods.

"I'm guessing that was, um. Magic-sight granting, right? And the hunger is because... it burns off our natural energy a bit or something?"

[Kuroimaken]

[Izumo, Japan]
(Some other Kuzunoha Compound)

Katsuo hops off, giving an awkward bow to Simon. "Um, thank you. Where are we going from here?"

"Just follow the way up a bit. Someone will be with you shortly."

As the two start walking the way up the cave, they can tell there's actually been someone here all along. They hadn't noticed him before because there's only a hint of spiritual pressure.

It's a shikigami. It looks like a child-sized humanoid fox dressed in onmyouji garb. He's hiding behind a pillar, and looks very shy, but Katsuo and Naito can spot him with relative ease as they start walking.

[Draken]

[Mexico]
(Chichen Itza)

"A surge of spiritual power, to be precise. Extended exposure tends to awaken the souls of mortals, but my talents allow me to control the process and greatly accelerate it."

"As for the hunger, that is actually a side-effect of my presence. Different spirits inspire different feelings on the weaker. Usually fear and awe. I can trigger a variety of survival instincts on the living. The desire to feed among them. Or the wish to fight, or to flee."

Or others.

[strawberryman]

[Mexico]
(Chichen Itza))

Umeko winces slightly, taking the bun and chewing it while she's also chewing over thoughts in her head.

"...so, just to recap, one of your important followers was killed, and with some kind of reincarnation nonsense, her soul is hovering around me waiting to be born into a new body. And you're offering a way to make that happen, while also giving the potential for just conceiving on our own. You won't take her away when she's born and will let her raise her until she's ready to join you again. Just a last minute thing; are you offering anything in helping raise her, on that? I'm well off, I'll admit, but kids are a big burden. I would want to make sure we could take care of our daughter and that she wouldn't go without something she needed." She pauses as she realizes she's talking about this in a bit less distant manner, but sets it aside for now with a momentary subtle blush.

"...and also, is there any way to turn that off, please? It's... kind of distracting."

[Selinia]

[Mexico]
[Chichen Itza]

"Daughters." Naomi corrects Umeko's singular almost reflexively, but carries on in agreement otherwise. "...yeah. Um, I... do not really make much, and houses are really expensive. Even a small one would set us back a lot, but we can hardly raise a family in one of our apartments, and I'd rather not do so in the close quarters of the city. Especially if magic might be involved! I know it's sort of a lot to ask, and I wouldn't want to live off charity, but... do you think you could maybe give a loan for some nice big house in the country? With room to grow. And room for... magic and stuff, without a ton of people around. I mean, we'd pay it back, just... um. Houses are expensive. And I, uh, don't really have much of an income myself, so I'm not totally sure when. Yet. Hopefully that will change eventually, but not counting on it."

[Draken]

[Mexico]
(Chichen Itza)

Von Geister focuses a bit and pulls back further. His presence is still vast and there, but lessened.

"It is a good recap. And I would not mind helping. I am an excellent physician if nothing else."

"As for your worries in income and dwelling, I have been told you are a physical trainer and an artist? I could use both and pay generously as well. Even offer you rooming in the manor if you wish."

The guest wing shares no corridors with Felicia's private wing.

[5a Violista]

[Ikari Movie Studio]

Sad as it is, Caeyrn never gets the anticipated phone call from his mother. Such a pity for a son going to war.

Instead, upon returning to his sleeping quarters (where ever those happen to be), he finds a man in Quincy uniform sitting on a bench in a corner. It's one of his French uncles. "Come. It's time." The shadow extends, as if in an invitation for Caeyrn to step in. He should know the drill by now.

[Ikari Movie Studio]

Caeyrn gives one last good stare at the phone, as if staring at it will make it magically ring.

No.

It remains silent still. As much as he's loathe to do it, this means he'll have to ultimately call the shots that he's been avoiding for years. As often as he's been trying to avoid these spiritual politics and such, he keeps on being dragged back into them.

"Okay," he says. The actor exhales. He tosses the phone aside and replaces it with a handful of Ginto balls that he's been preparing. "Let's go."

He walks into the shadow.

[Ikari, Japan]
(Kuzunoha Compound)

Katsuo stands up, nodding to Hasunaga. "...all right, Naito." And with that, he makes his way... straight past Miya! He probably doesn't notice her unless she speaks up, however.

[Ikari: Kuzunoha Compound]

Miya pressed herself against the wall as Katsuo ran past. No need to let him — or anyone else — see her.

She is the worst friend ever.

[strawberryman]

[Mexico]
(Chichen Itza)

Umeko blinks at Naomi. "...well, we're having them one at a time, right? And I'd hope with a little breathing room..." But, onto the next point of business.

"...and, Nao is right. I could... actually maybe afford a small house right, now, but it wouldn't leave me much. I could get behind the loan idea, and with my job it won't take too long to pay back." She nods at that. And then Von Geister offers space in their Manor. Umeko scratches the back of her neck nervously.

"...well, um. Not that the offer isn't appreciated, but, besides the fact that we don't know you that well, and my being uncomfortable with the idea of being offered some sort of royal suite... I like my job, and Okinawa is my home. A house in the country sounds... nice, anyway. Really, just... thank you for the offer, but I think we'd be more comfortable with our own place. But..." She offers a subdued smile to Naomi that nonetheless is an attempt to be encouraging. "...if you or anyone you know could work with Nao to get something published, and give her a chance to get something out there... we'd both appreciate it a lot. It's been hard for her, as an independent artist. If there's someone that can let her be... well, her, then... well, we'd be even more in your debt, even if it ends up being something you both can profit from. Even a little."