[BitPR²] Mortal World V

[Nicklance]

Ikari - Kuzunoha Sanctuary

The arrival of a spiritual creature of twisting limbs and eyes immediately gets picked up by Kousaka's senses, who travels immediately to the area, maintaining a good safe distance, and continues his observation. All the while using his mobile phone to lock on the GPS coordinates until he gets a good read before switching it off.

[Draken]

Ikari - Kuzunoha Sanctuary

The arrival of a spiritual creature of twisting limbs and eyes immediately gets picked up by Kousaka's senses, who travels immediately to the area, maintaining a good safe distance, and continues his observation. All the while using his mobile phone to lock on the GPS coordinates until he gets a good read before switching it off.

It feels very weak. Kousaka can get a read that this thing has less reiatsu than the average hollow. It also remains attached to a portal to the void, although the portal itself is not visible the way garganta or kumon usually are. It also has no killing intent whatsoever, which is odd for anything, not just a hollow.

[Nicklance]

It feels very weak. Kousaka can get a read that this thing has less reiatsu than the average hollow. It also remains attached to a portal to the void, although the portal itself is not visible the way garganta or kumon usually are. It also has no killing intent whatsoever, which is odd for anything, not just a hollow.

Intrigued, Kousaka gets closer a little bit more.

[Draken]

Intrigued, Kousaka gets closer a little bit more.

An eye turns to Kousaka on the spot, followed by the distressing sensation of being surrounded by unblinking stares. But there are no other eyes visibly aimed at him.

[strawberryman]

"Nice seeing you again. You ran off in a hurry the night of the storm." A smile graces the fullbringer's face, that, or the fake one he's been deflecting everything with lately is back, either way, it's a much different expression than he was using with Shinji a moment ago. "Has it really been that long?" He must be an odd sight to Katsuo, wearing a military style uniform with signs of wear, tear, and white dust. "We need to swap stories sometime, bet something really interesting must have happened while I was away."

"Let me pay you back for getting to see those gloves of yours, too." Though going by what he understood so far, it wouldn't be a fair trade. What he'd seen of Katuo's gauntlets looked almost like a physical object, and what he understood of his own 'weapon', after its partial manifestation on the battlefield, told him it was something more abstract.

Katsuo tilts his head a little now that he's gotten an actual good look at Torahiko. "Did you join the-" No, that wasn't the JDSF uniform, and besides, the enlistment age is 18. "...some kind of... military camp? Or?"

He smiles a bit and waves it off. "That's okay, really... unless you want to show me something?" He doesn't say it, but his stance suggests that he was here to talk to Shinji.

[Kuroimaken]

[Ikari, Kuzunoha Sanctuary]

Shinji's expression tenses for a moment. He turns back to his guests and tries to put up a better one.

Torahiko hasn't been around Shinji long enough, so there's a chance the plasticity of it goes unnoticed. But Katsuo's seen that face before, and it usually means he's troubled.

"Excuse me a moment, will you? I need to address something very quickly."

And then he just melts into the ground, and he's gone.

________________________

"You know, the mail is still working fine. Would it kill you to send a letter? It's not like it's any bother for you to hide the sender's address."

Shinji appears at the limit of the Sanctuary's effect. He looks visibly on edge. Having spent practically his entire life within its walls, he's uniquely trained to hold back his anger lest he suffers the Sanctuary's effects. So it's telling that this much still bleeds out and he isn't in any visible pain...

- - - Updated - - -

[Utah]
Uina Mountain Range, Last Night

"Yeah, maybe not. But I would like to give it a shot before I just give up the chance. The body shouldn't rot, though, assuming proper maintenance. Better to think of it as a suit of armor, rather than a human body."

Naito cocks their head to one side.

"She might be interested, once she's gotten herself sorted out a bit more. What I'm getting from the code indicates at least a partial desire to be more human. Anything else you wanted to talk about? I'm putting the finishing touches over here and she's going to need around 8 hours to reboot."

"Oh? That was fast. Guess I underestimated you." Bai replies. "Well, eight hours is a pretty long time. There is a lot we could talk about. I'm just not sure you want to talk..."

[Dorizzit]

[Utah]
Uina Mountain Range

Naito blows air in amusement.

"Half an hour out here, but it was closer to six in there. Mental dilation and all that."

Naito shrugs.

"I'm coming off the adrenaline and I don't think you've got it in for me. I'm good for it, if you want."

[Draken]

[Ikari - Kuzunoha Sanctuary]

Argos spins once, holding its tablet for Shinji to read.

'I deliver correspondence.'

Well, that is obvious.

'I have a message from the princess to Yamada Katsuo.'

'May I come in?'

Very polite.

[Kuroimaken]

"I honestly doubt this location would suffer your entrance, so I'm afraid the answer is no.

But I can give you his email address if you want."

- - - Updated - - -

[Utah]
Uina Mountain Range

Naito blows air in amusement.

"Half an hour out here, but it was closer to six in there. Mental dilation and all that."

Naito shrugs.

"I'm coming off the adrenaline and I don't think you've got it in for me. I'm good for it, if you want."

"Doesn't change how impressive that was." Bai offers simply.

He reaches into his hat again, and pulls out... a pair of blankets?

"In eight hours it will be dark, and it gets cold out here. I have got nowhere to be for a while, so..."

[Draken]

'Why would I not be allowed in? I understand that the geomancy disavows those who have violent intent.'

Argos is the least violent being in the world.

'And an e-mail address would be very slow. If I really can't go in, he should come out.'

[Dorizzit]

Naito holds up a hand in rejection.

"I appreciate the offer, but I'm not a huge fan enclosed spaces right now. Even something like that. It's...one of those things."

Which is, of course, code for "brings back traumatic memories," although to be fair that covers a pretty broad category at this point for Naito.

"Don't sleep a whole lot, either. We'll see how this goes."

Spoiler

Show

Just to make sure we're all on the same page, it's currently getting towards the evening, time-wise. A1's reboot will skip to the current MW day.

[Kuroimaken]

[Kuzunoha Sanctuary]

"It's not your tendency to violence I'd worry about.

The sanctuary effect is generated by a portion of a soul of a female ayakashi."

Hopefully no more needs to be said than that. It's a bad enough joke as it is.

"And there's only one feasible reason you could want to deliver a message to Katsuo. You have his aunt hostage."

______________________

[Uina Mountain Range]

"Alright. You got a thing against campfires?" He looks towards Alpha-1. Maybe she'd appreciate the blanket.

[Dorizzit]

A shake of the head. Campfires are just fine.

"Go ahead and give it to her. Can't hurt."

As Bai takes care of that, Naito vanishes briefly before returning with a few logs and some kindling.

"Going to need a light. My personal brand of pyrokinesis is a little...enthusiastic for this."

[Draken]

Argos spins again.

'I have no interest in the genders of lesser spirits, and you should seek out master Severin if you wish to partake of base humor at the expense of all around you.'

And again.

'And you remain correct, little seer, Maki Atsuko is our guest. But that is not the whole message I have to deliver.'

[Kuroimaken]

A shake of the head. Campfires are just fine.

"Go ahead and give it to her. Can't hurt."

As Bai takes care of that, Naito vanishes briefly before returning with a few logs and some kindling.

"Going to need a light. My personal brand of pyrokinesis is a little...enthusiastic for this."

"I got it." Bai offers. By the time Naito returns, Alpha-1 is nicely bundled up.

He pulls a rectangular piece of paper from his pocket. Holding it under the logs in the pit, the paper spontaneously combusts, after a fashion, and the fire gets started.

"First time camping out? I can get us some food, too."

_______________________________________

[Ikari, Kuzunoha Sanctuary]

Argos would feel a significant pressure, like the weight of an entire mountain over his back. It's not coming from Shinji.

"I'd pick my words more carefully if I were you, mr. Tentacle. After all, the walls have very sensitive and eager-tempered ears."

The Kuzunoha heir senses that Argos is not in on the joke, such as it is.

"And give you the opportunity to anguish him even further? This isn't about Katsuo, Argos. It's about me and my family, and Felicia's recent failure in undoing us all.

That's how I knew you held his aunt hostage. Katsuo is the only one here who still has family on the outside, and you've used kidnapping tactics before. It doesn't take foresight to know that."

[Dorizzit]

Naito nods an affirmative.

"Never really had the opportunity. Spent a fair chunk of time sleeping under bridges or in alleys since I got free, but that doesn't really count. Wouldn't say no to food."

[Draken]

'I wouldn't say kidnapping tactics have been employed. A prisoner was made recently, and some months back, at the urging of the mistress I determined that the Akiyama girl was suitable for releasing the seals of the Ghost King of All Hollows. They were released some time afterwards, safe from the slaughter of their family, perpetrated by their kin.'

Argos does not show any reactions to the spiritual pressure.

'As for anguishing him further, it is the will of the young mistress and as such I will carry it out. And you will help me carry out my mission, because otherwise the prisoner has no value.'

This is all written, so not much of a tone there, but it feels very flat and monotonous.

[Nicklance]

Ikari - Kuzunoha Sanctuary

Kousaka ignores the eyes, and continues to observe.

[Kuroimaken]

'I wouldn't say kidnapping tactics have been employed. A prisoner was made recently, and some months back, at the urging of the mistress I determined that the Akiyama girl was suitable for releasing the seals of the Ghost King of All Hollows. They were released some time afterwards, safe from the slaughter of their family, perpetrated by their kin.'

Argos does not show any reactions to the spiritual pressure.

'As for anguishing him further, it is the will of the young mistress and as such I will carry it out. And you will help me carry out my mission, because otherwise the prisoner has no value.'

This is all written, so not much of a tone there, but it feels very flat and monotonous.

"And what guarantee do I have that helping you won't speed her death up either way?"

____________________

[Uina Mountain Range]

"In the spirit of a camping trip, then." Bai reaches into his hat for a bag of marshmallows. And some spits to roast them on. "I've done my share of camping, but not often with company."

[Draken]

'I have no guarantee. There is no guarantee. She is alive now, a guest of the Manor, under the care of Xavier, there is no greater care.'

[strawberryman]

[Ikari, Japan]
(Training Area)

Katsuo frowns as Shinji just... melts away. Part of him... really wishes he'd stop trying to fix everything himself. But then again... it was a problem Katsuo had, too.

"...what've you been up to then, Tachibana-san?"

[Tokyo, Japan]
(Von Geister Manor - Underground)

Atsuko runs.

And runs.

...and runs. It starts to occur to her that the hallways just never seem to end, that there are not nearly enough doors, that many of them seem to be fake, or that truly, the layout makes no logical sense. But... what choice does she have? Go back to that monster? Until there was no hope of escape, she had to cling to something. So... she keeps going forward.

But eventually... she starts to tire out, her pace slowing, her head pounding, her mouth dry and eyes tired from the dim light. She keeps moving, but... she knew she'd just collapse at some point. Maybe the thing back there would just take her right back. Maybe this was all hopeless.

She wasn't sure what was going on here, but... her mind went to Katsuo. Her sister's son, and truly, she was the only family he had left. Would she die in this place? Was this all to get to him? Why? What had the boy gotten himself into?

With a tired breath, she stops, slumping to the ground, leaning against the wall with her arms wrapped around her knees, letting out subdued sobs.

[KnightDisciple]

[Tokyo, Japan]
[Underground, Von Giester Manor]

Suddenly, a voice breaks through the gloom.

"Oh dear. Come, my child. This is no place for a lady. Come with me, we shall remove you from this somewhat dank place."

If Atsuko looks up, she will see a man of clearly European descent, head shaved bare save for eyebrows and a goatee, smiling down gently at her. His voice, it's so warm, and it seems to almost be calming her down just hearing it! He's dressed like one of those foreign priest types, all black with a white collar. Surely he can save her from the tar-pit-like abomination!

"My name is Thomas. It will be okay. Please, come with me. What's your name, my dear?"

He offers her a hand to help her stand up.

[Draken]

[Tokyo, Japan]
[Underground, Von Giester Manor]

Xavier's voice echoes from... Well, everywhere in the hall.

"Master Thomas, the lady Atsuko is a guest of the princess. I was about to escort her to a room of her own where she could rest."

The area shifts, one of its walls crawling away to reveal a short corridor ending in an elegant double door.

"Could you help her in? I am afraid she may be too tired after coursing the halls."

[strawberryman]

[Tokyo, Japan]
(Von Geister Manor)

Atsuko looks up to Thomas and... well... he looks a bit offputting but something about him is still comforting. And really, after that introduction to whatever this place is, she could use a friendly face. There's a possibility it could be a tr- ...no, there was very little she could do in this situation, so it was the best to just take whatever helping hand she could. So she figuratively and literally does so, extending a shaky hand upward and standing with legs that could be mistaken for that of a newborn doe.

"T-thank you... Erm... Maki." A bit formal, perhaps, but she still held some of her composure. Then the walls start talking, and she's nearly sent into another panic attack. But Thomas very likely keeps her calm, and she manages to gingerly step into the offered room, making way for the first chair in reach.

[KnightDisciple]

[Tokyo, Japan]
[Underground, Von Giester Manor]

Thomas smiles, the expression human, natural. Perhaps there was a slight sense of unease about him, but that was surely the disturbing place, not he himself, yes?

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Maki. Oop, here you go."

His grip was strong but gentle, easily helping her stand up...and keep to her feet when the shock of Xavier making himself known set in. Thomas just took it in stride.

"Yes, of course. I do so hope to be a good host alongside yourself, Xavier. You know how much my Aunt Alexandra always valued lessons in manners."

He would help Maki through the hall and doorway. If there was a chair or couch on the other side, he'd guide her to that.

"Hm. You do seem to have had a fright. Would you like something to drink?"

[Draken]

[Tokyo, Japan]
[Underground, Von Giester Manor]

"Yes, of course."

On the other side of the door is a massive bedroom, the likes of which one would expect in an ancient and historied palace much larger than the admittedly already large manor. But Thomas knows that Xavier has tricks to warp his inside space, and Maki does not know anything about the outside of the structure.

Nonetheless, the magnificence of the room and its amenities cannot be understated.

"I have prepared cake and tea if you are hungry, feel free to ask for anything more specific that you might want."

[strawberryman]

[Tokyo, Japan]
(Von Geister Manor - Underground)

Atsuko is somewhere between petrified and relieved, and it evens out to her continuing her nervous, twitchy silence. She takes well to sitting on a cushioned seat, and even reaches out for one of the tea cups, and though she manages a grip on it, it jitters in her hand as she brings it to her lips, getting about a quarter as much in her lap as she manages to sip up.

Still, she gives a thankful nod to Thomas and... the mysterious voice, wherever they are. "T-thank you, I..." She swallows, and decides to be slightly daring.

"...can... you tell me why I'm here? That... thing mentioned my nephew, is he in trouble? He's a sweet boy, it's just... please, if he found himself into the wrong crowd, if you're in contact with him, if there's anything I can do, I-I... I'm not mad at him, I just want him to be safe. He's all that's left of..." She stops herself and breathes. To Thomas and Xavier, it was obvious she was trying to rationalize all of this, after all it was all rather... fantastical. To her mind... perhaps she was drugged. She also doesn't seem to recognize that thing and the "princess" that have been mentioned are one and the same. It's all a rather reasonable reaction to an unreasonable situation.

"...I just want to know what you want. What's going on."

[Dorizzit]

[Utah]
Uina Mountain Range

Naito looks at the marshmallows curiously.

"Never had one of these before."

[Draken]

[Tokyo, Japan]
[Guest Room, Von Geister Manor]

A butler with a towel emerges from the ground just next to Maki, holding it out to her.

"Well... How can I put it."

And speaks with the voice of the manor, Xavier's avatar.

"I am afraid that your nephew has thrown in his lot with a group that has committed the most grievous mistake of defying the will of a god. You were called here at the will of the princess, who I'm afraid remains young and vengeful, in order to psychologically torture your nephew and bait his companions into a trap, the details of which elude me, I must admit."

The tea that spilled onto the floor or onto the couch is absorbed without leaving stains.

"The 'thing', as you say, is princess Felicia, daughter of our lord The Ghost King. There is really nothing for you to do but wait for events to resolve and accept whatever fate the gods have in place for you. In the while, you are a guest of the manor and under the highest care I can offer. Which I will admit is less than I would hope for, due to my lack of maids and stewards for the time being."

[strawberryman]

[Tokyo, Japan]
(Von Geister Manor - Underground)

Atsuko freezes. Stares at Xavier. And then...

Drops her teacup as she slides off her chair, fainting.