Atlantis

[Apollymi]

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49060319957_7dfdf454dc_o.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2hKhXTt)

Atlantis is the seat of power for the Mer Kingdom. A large expanse of the ocean is covered in technology very different from the land dwelling areas. You swim between large areas of the city to land on air filled platforms were you can see all manner of sea creature and Merfolk walking around.

[Apollymi]

At the end of the deep tunnel there was another giant clear pond, but instead of being acid one could see a giant dome underneath. Actually from this angle one could see even more than that. Several domes and sea creatures could be seen swimming about and going between spaces. Miki's eyes widened as she looked down and stopped. "Sugoi! I never got around to this before.... it's Atlantis!~" she chimed seeming excited by the prospect. Fiona had shifted from Miki's shoulder to the top of her head and was looking down into the water as well. The hues of blues and the movements of the water were all stunning. Eventually Hikari showed up at the edge of the pool and looked down at the pond as well. "Are we going there? Can we go there?!" she asked seemingly excited about the potential to see the Merfolk's Kingdom up close. She'd also not been to very many places in her own play through.

[Bloodedge]

Kou followed behind the two girls, keeping his eyes ahead for what eventually became an incredible sight. Through what could have been a simple pond, one could see numerous underwater domes filled with... civilization. The largest and most central of these domes contained the most impressive spectacle, and through Miki's words, Kou was informed of exactly what they were seeing. "Atlantis!? I thought people had to go through entire quest-lines and sacrifices of first children to get there," he said, realizing something more about this location soon after speaking. "It's supposed to be a city though, right? What's with the surrounding spots? Looks like way more than a city to me..."

Karna, who fell in at the back of the line, was having none of this. He'd been waiting for hours for the others to appear, all for the sake of them finding this place. If they were going to pussyfoot around about the location after all the time he'd spent waiting, he'd give them a little shove. As such, the moment Hikari asked about going to the place beneath the pond, Karna became the one to respond. "We can!" he said, stepping up behind both Kou and Miki to tap their backs with his fingernails. This simple action would send jolts through their bodies and incapacitate their legs just long enough for them to either fall, or be tipped into the pond. Of course, it would last only a second to avoid actually forcing the pair to drown. The next thing Kou knew, he was slamming face-first into the water, then sinking. Karna, meanwhile, would turn to Hikari and gesture toward the pond.

[Apollymi]

Miki gave a gentle nod to Kou's assertion about Atlantis, there were several prerequisite quests that were usually required. These things included a certain jewel, which you either had to have the luck to find, or the combined skills to make and it was a bit strange to consider going without those things. "Hai, breathing underwater is something that could be problematic. The extra bits to get there weren't supposed to be that bad, but in game it wasn't spoken about like it was so much..." she said about the city itself. And then after she spoke and without warning, she lost control of her legs and she was falling face first into the water. The only thing she'd heard in reply before this moment, was Karna mentioning that they could go there. 'Ugh... why did we agree to him?' she asked herself and even her dragon-self. Moving right along Miki was sinking underwater and Fiona atop her head climbed up to the back, looking mad from side to side and then, jumped into the water before both of them, beginning to swim down where Miki could see. 'Shimatta! Fiona come back...' she thought reaching out to the little bird and making the conscious effort to swim after her, lest they lose their recently found pet bird once again.

In the meantime, Hikari looked exceedingly happily at the pool and was great with the agreement. But as the other two sank she shook her head from left to right. "Ya' know, they are just going to stay mad at you if you keep doing stuff like that..." she said, but having gotten what she wanted in the moment she didn't care either and jumped into the pond to take off towards the biggest of the domes. As this was the way Fiona was headed, Miki also did the same while letting herself stew in unspoken amounts of annoyance.

[Bloodedge]

Kou didn't have the time or thought to breath properly before falling into the water, resulting in him taking a bit on as he sank. It also seemed Miki was thrown beneath the surface as well, with Fiona following both of them in. 'Why even!?' the lad thought, looking toward the dome below and wondering if he'd be able to make it before drowning. He did have a realization during this descent, though, and acted upon it immediately afterwards. Kou made use of his Transcendence skill to turn small areas of water into air pockets, which surrounded the heads of himself, Miki, Fiona, and even Hikari once she dove in.

Speaking of Hikari, the girl had words to share with Karna after his most recent actions. The white-haired male didn't seem to care about said words, reacting with only a shrug. "Good thing I'm not here for them to like me then, isn't it?" Karna had no intention of sharing his actual motives with any member of the group, including Hikari as it stood. Once everyone else was on their way through the pond, Karna casually dropped in himself and began simply sinking down after the others.

[Apollymi]

Miki was swimming after their shared pet, and found herself suddenly more comfortable with the idea of breathing. As it turned out, Kou had decided to use one of his abilities to make breathing regularly possible. She took a deep breath after this with a sigh attached because obviously she was now even more annoyed than she had been. Still this wasn't Kou's fault or even the fault of the small creature she was currently chasing how also now had an air bubble to breath in. 'Sankyuu!~' she chimed to the lad, though she was still rather obviously annoyed. 'Fiona... come back...' she thought at the bird as it happily swam towards the glowing colors of the open dome. Whether she knew it or not, Karna was also descending apparently without help for whatever reason. And eventually Miki would find herself falling into the open space of a city street with a fountain in the center chasing after the Filolial chick.

Hikari seemed to find it strange that this lad Karna didn't really care if he was liked or disliked by his companions. Whatever his endgame was, he apparently thought that such things didn't matter. 'Interesting...' Hikari thought. Knowing this lad couldn't really know what he was getting himself into picking a fight with her brother long term. But whatever, she figured the lad had been around him long enough to know such things wouldn't end well for him if he pushed too much or too often. To be honest from what she could tell about Miki the same could be said of her. Soon after her head was surrounded in a bubble of air and she didn't even have to worry about potentially drowning. She turned to her brother, figuring he was the one responsible and gave him a thumbs up. And soon enough her swimming would end her in the middle of the plaza along with Miki and Fiona. Strangely this space had plenty of air to breath around it, and apparently wasn't completely permeable to the water outside. "Sugoi! Sugoi!~ This place is awesome!~" Hikari chanted, seeming enthused by this undersea kingdom. In the meantime, Miki had recaptured her little chick and was holding her in her arms with her large bag of grabbed goods at her left side atop the large pillow form of her weapon. "Hai hai, it's a pretty nice spot. I always wanted to explore it a bit so whatever but... I don't like having decisions made for me." Miki's words hinted at a deep distaste for Karna's more annoying tactics. Whatever the case, they were soon standing around watching the movements of the daily lives of Merfolk of all varieties.

[Bloodedge]

Upon catching up and meeting Miki's pace, Kou looked to the lass and nodded. The path was still a long one, even with breathing apparatuses applied, though they made it into the open space without much issue... bar the fact that they still had to chase the Filolial around. Kou hardly had a moment to even appreciate where they were at present, but soon enough, Miki captured the chick. He could at least rest easy now, and both Hikari and Karna had made it inside safely as well. Now he could appreciate the surroundings.

... Of course, there was a comment made by Miki, and of course it was aimed at resident troll, Karna. He didn't care. Why would he? Nothing up to this point had fazed him, and it would take much, much more to even garner more of a reaction than what he'd been offering as of late. "Hesitation is death. Try that experimental method, go to that place you've never gone, pull your dick out in front of that girl. That's how we evolve," he said nonchalantly. With that, he walked out ahead of the others, seeming as if he knew exactly where he was going. "Gripe later, move now. Time to go find that big-tittied chick."

[Apollymi]

Hikari was busy looking around this new place. She'd heard Miki's discontent, and could sort of commiserate as the lass had done nothing to deserve simply being tossed in. What she'd learned of the pairing between Miki and Kou by observation alone, was that they enjoyed doing things together but also talked about it in a fair way. Their partnership was an extreme form of a fifty-fifty split. This was something she appreciated from her brother and also found interesting in the lass considering what she knew of her background. It was quite unusual. "Nii-san, this place is pretty awesome looking. We should explore a bit and have some fun while we're here!~" Hikari mentioned happily, she knew for a fact her brother wouldn't mind this, she also knew given how Miki behaved she wouldn't mind either.

In the interim, words being spoken by Karna made Miki scoff. If it was at all possible she was more irritated that he had the nerve to have something in mind to do, after forcing them to come here. Beyond all of that, she also had this feeling at the back of her mind which only furthered her own general annoyance at this situation. "No, you don't get to lecture me about doing something different, I've been doing that since I fucking got here. Fuck off. If you want to do something I don't care, but don't drag me along because you feel like it!" Miki's words were beyond the level of annoyed that she normally showed, even to Karna's antics. It was as if in this moment, he'd finally found something which was capable of getting under her skin. The little bird in Miki's arms looked up at her obviously annoyed face and vibrated within her arms as if trying to comfort her, such a feeling made Miki exhale gently and in doing so her magical senses which usually opened up to the bird caught a whiff of something she didn't understand being in this place. 'Oh? Is that...' her mind wandered as she turned in place multiple times trying to find the proper direction to face to look for the thing which had appeared to her senses. Hikari watched this and her eyes widened. She'd been alone with this pair for days and over the course of those few days, she'd never seen Miki react in such a negative way to anything as she had to the most recent words of the constantly trolling Karna. She had no idea what the lad intended to do, but it was obvious by Miki's reaction that such a thing was not going to go very well at all if he was insistant upon being annoying to her the entire time.

[Bloodedge]

Now that he had the opportunity to appreciate his surroundings, Kou could agree with Hikari's assertion. Everything around them was a different type of amazing compared to their previous experiences, and he also thought it would definitely be worth a bit of exploration. It seemed, however, that Karna had other plans meant to include the group as a whole. Miki was the first to comment on this, voicing very clearly her displeasure with Karna as a being through her retort. "Fine, whatever. I don't wanna hear anybody's shit when things go south later, just 'cause nobody wanted to listen to ol' Karna." This was all he had to say before moving on, leaving the others behind if they so wished it.

Kou felt strangely about this entire exchange. On one hand, he sided with Miki when it came to the annoyance of dealing with Karna. On the other hand, though... there was something else about this ordeal that he hadn't seen occur within this group previously, and it made him wonder the purpose. 'Huh... that's weird,' he thought while observing Karna's departure.

[Apollymi]

Karna took Miki's words in stride, apparently stating that if they wanted to ditch him in this it was fine but that it would cause more problems later. Miki for her part in this, didn't really feel bad for snapping at Karna, the lad made it his personal mission to push her buttons every time they were together, unless he had another target for the moment. In this particular case, he'd gone out of his way to put this group into this Kingdom and there were a few reasons he might have done this, but none of that really mattered to Miki at this point. No... right at present she'd found what she was looking for and it was annoyingly in the same direction that Karna had walked towards. Given this, she went on in that direction without saying much of anything as if entranced by something. Every step she took, made her move closer and closer to the magical thing that had hit her radar which required her attention.

Hikari watched and motioned to her brother to follow along. She knew that Karna was very interesting in how he chose to deal with the group at large, but she also knew enough about how the team worked out as a whole to know that no one would actually abandon him unless he did something properly worth being left behind. A hushed whisper would leave the lass aimed at her brother, "Nii-san is this okay? She seems pretty spaced out and well..." she was trying to think of a way to phrase what she was thinking about Karna's current level of antics but didn't really know how to phrase it. She was fairly certain the lad wouldn't lead them astray aside from his being a bit of a troll, whatever the case she didn't really want to lose sight of either of these individuals. While they walked, Miki didn't really take in any sights. They were being watched by the Merfolk at various crossing as they didn't see strangers very often. Even so, there was something much more pressing which would lead Miki towards a monument which looked a bit like a chapel in the middle of this 'city' like space. Once here she stopped and stared her steps becoming slow and measured as she frowned intently her brow furrowing. 'There is no way one of these should be here. There really isn't...' she thought as she approached the monument. It seemed to be a swirl of blue gemstone carved to look a bit like a pillar. But she recognized it for what it actually was. Still she supposed there were worse places for one of these to pop up. She'd seen the other places there were, and there were supposed to be five of them and this one counted among the ones she'd hadn't been able to track down and now the reasoning behind that was obvious. Still, the Merfolk in the area moved around it as if it was a perfectly normal object, none seemed to realize the gravity of what this thing actually was.

[Bloodedge]

Kou's focus was just about unwavering, until Hikari grabbed his attention with a gesture. He followed along, still in thought. 'What's missing?' he wondered. Hikari's concern did not go unnoticed, but he did take a few moments to answer. In those moments, he viewed the path taken by Karna again, seeming a little spaced-out in his own right upon answering. "No. It's not okay, but... it will be, if I'm right." Surely he couldn't be wrong in his line of thought, though there was one vital piece of information missing for his conclusion. He would be getting it soon, it seemed. Their path behind Miki led to an interesting-looking monument at the city's center, ignored by the citizens, but focused on by the blonde Adventurer. Kou looked to this point of focus and opened his senses as well. He wondered why she could have been so entranced by it, but... there was only one other time he'd felt this sensation.

"... Sou ka," he mumbled. There it was, the missing piece to the puzzle he'd been working on for the past minute or so. He nodded. Now he knew, everything would work out in the end, provided variables didn't ruin the entire situation at random.

[Apollymi]

Hikari followed along being a bit huffy that no one had anything proper to say about the nature of the thing happening before them. Miki to her credit found what she was looking for and was left standing in front of it for several uninterrupted seconds. She knew exactly what this monument was and though it had no reason to be here in the middle of such a place it was indeed. Hikari upon reaching the place had no idea what the older teens were doing but managed to look annoyed. Her brother had stated things would be fine, but also wasn't making any moves to do anything about it. "I don't get it, what is this statue and why is she fixated on it?" the girl said her own senses still closed to it so she had no idea what the big deal was. Miki would say something aloud for the first time since snapping. "This is one of the Lich King's Obelisks..." she commented, with Fiona in one hand she placed her hand against the statue even as the Merfolk continued to walk around. They thought the activities of the lass strange but if she wanted to pray to their statue they wouldn't stop her. "Sou ka, it's unclaimed," she said seeming to breath a sigh of relief. It would have been very problematic to come down here and find yet another Lich controlled player with access to the denizens of things connected to the greater dead of the sea. "I should take this one... I don't really want to deal with someone else having it," she said calmly. She knew where the other three of these things were located and knew they wouldn't be a direct problem for quite as long.

"Lich King's Obelisk? The hell is that supposed to be... and why do you want it?" she asked the whole thing seemed a little far-fetched and Hikari herself didn't get why anyone would care if it was claimed and what it did. "The Obelisk are monuments containing fragments of the power which once belonged to the Lich King. They were spread out across the world to keep his power from coming back together. Certain kinds of mages can be called by this power and are able to use it to perform necromancy. But they have to deal with the Lich King's influence as a side-effect and from what we've seen of it. It will turn them into megalomaniac demons. This applies even to those who are players for some reason, and would be particularly bad coming out of here..." Miki gave a quick summary, she knew that given their previous experiences in Dwargon and the Marsh Kingdoms, Kou would also be of the same general idea about getting rid of it.

[Bloodedge]

There was no explanation necessary on Kou's end. Miki gave the general summary of the monument, as well as the artifact within. Kou understood this to be a potential problem if left alone, but not a problem at all for Miki in particular. True enough, she should certainly be taking it.

On the other hand, though, it was a monument acting as the centerpiece of a major city. They obviously couldn't just destroy the monument and take its secrets without creating an incident the likes of which would equate to war. "The people here can't know what it is. If we're going to take it, we have to find someone important and get them to understand why such an important thing needs to be broken by outsiders... unless we were very sneaky about it, but... this is the central plaza."

In the meantime, Karna's journey came to an end. He reached the palace belonging to Atlantean royalty, bypassing the guards entirely. Once within the throne room, the ashen-haired male crossed his right arm over his chest and bared his fangs with a grin. "Hisashiburi, Paizuri-dono~"

[Apollymi]

Kou seemed to understand the seriousness of this situation, Hikari upon hearing out the entirety of Miki's speech was left a bit aghast. "So, like we should break it?" she asked seeming to not want to deal with undead Merfolk anymore than anyone else. But Kou's own explanation would come soon after, listing all of the supposed reasons they shouldn't do exactly just breaking it. Miki sighed. "It would be troublesome to randomly start an international incident just because I don't want to deal with a 'Flashpoint' Scenario. Not that the ones already backing us wouldn't agree with our decision..." she said a grin on her face. It was mentioned by the lad that they'd either have to consult the higher authority or try to take down the monument stealthily. "Flashpoint?" this was a question asked by Hikari as all of the references made by this nerdy duo didn't always stick within her mind. "I don't think I need to break it. In fact... I have Snatch and I am sure I could just take it while leaving the statue whole. Stealth is my primary expertise after all. It isn't absolutely necessary for us to involve any authority figure. Besides, every time we talk to someone in charge of something in this world it turns into an entire ordeal. Unless, of course, you're up for another ordeal... I don't really mind or anything. I was just really annoyed a minute ago..." she said simply. She wouldn't immediately try to remove the artifact though, as it was more than obvious she didn't plan on making any overly forceful moves when they could chat it out and come to the best overall conclusion for everyone present.

In the throne room of the Mer-Kingdom's palace atop a high back throne sat a young woman with large pinkish eyes and very pale skin. She seemed to be wrapped in fish scales, though she had two functional legs, the scales were open about her top like a wide v-necked shirt almost to the point of exposing her chest. That being said there was a crown atop her golden locks which framed her face. "Seri-chan desu. I thought you were bringing friends with you Karna-kun. Didn't you say you had something important to that the whole group of you had to tell me?" she asked, though the Nexus had changed what she'd tried to call herself. When they'd parted ways last he'd claimed to help her out with a problem she didn't have yet but would have soon. But he'd returned alone this time, she didn't really understand it at all. The large necklace shifted about her exposed midsection but she didn't seem to have any care in the world about it.

[Bloodedge]

Kou had already given thought to how they could go about breaking the monument. Now, he thought of what could happen if Miki used her Snatch ability to retrieve the artifact without destroying anything. His train of thought led to the consideration that there may be more importance to the monument, or rather, the artifact inside. It wasn't the most probable thing, but... it was quite possible. "I don't know if that would be a good idea. Same goes for breaking it, actually. The thing is... How are we breathing down here? This is the Sunken City, but what's making the air domes around the city itself? That's the kind of thing an Artifact could do, but there's no telling what Artifact is making it happen. The location of this piece makes it seem really important, so it's probably worth checking out for information before deciding. It would at least be better than the chance of killing the people here who don't have gills."

Karna removed his hand from his chest, placing it on his hip instead. The woman atop the throne may have insisted that he call her something specific, but there was little to no chance of that happening for anyone when it came to him. "Oppai-chan? I said I would bring the people I travel with. I did. They're outside, letting the whole plan go to shit because they won't listen to poor little Karna. Whatever~. I could have always told you myself, but there's nothing I'm going to do about the problem. Your kingdom is going to become more of an aquarium soon."

[Apollymi]

Miki listened to what Kou had to say and his comments about the nature of this being a sunken city and the likelihood of the magic powering the artifact being connected to why this place was able to exist as it was made Miki scoff. Hikari's face managed to look childishly pouty as the easy fix proposed by Miki was basically shot down by her brother's rather casual appraisal of the potential futures, and she knew him well enough to know what this sort of thing meant."Of course, because simple would likely be way too much to ask..." she commented, looking at the other lass. Still, if there was even the possibility of her taking the piece out and causing the massive sinking of the place, then she couldn't really do it in good conscience. Hikari looked back and forth between this pair and wondered what they would do about this problem. It was obviously a double layered issue. They couldn't allow anyone to be controlled by the Lich but they also couldn't rightly allow the Merfolk who didn't have gills to drown. "These Lich puzzles are annoying tests of alignment... can't go too hard for chaotic because you'll have to kill a bunch of people, though that would make it easier to use Lich Powers. If you want to be nice about it, you have to do like hours and hours worth of work, deal with tyrannical rulers, or go through ridiculous puzzles or dungeons " commented Miki. Her senses still open she searched for the greatest power in the area and found it to be near one she also found to be familiar. "Fine, fine... let's go find out why Karna didn't just take this for himself while he was down here the first time..." she said with the same kind of displeased expression she always had. She was already thinking about the logistics of having to figure out how to maintain the already established barriers around this place without having to spend days and days establishing them herself and making sure the pillar itself remained unclaimed to avoid an Atlantean vs the Land-dwellers kind of interaction. With that in mind and seeing no course of action to take otherwise, she intended to keep walking in the direction Karna had gone until she made her way into the throne room.

In the meantime Karna was having a conversation with the Queen of this place and it seemed to be one about the nature of his companions. His shift in speech wasn't to what she wanted it to be, but he seemed to be the type to nickname people to start with so she supposed she could take his shift in suffix as a sign of proper alignment. "I guess that is better. It's sad your friends won't listen to you..." she said truly meaning it in the moment. Beyond this point there was the fact that he wanted to tell her about something but he went on to explain that he had no intention of fixing it himself. According to him this would end in the Kingdom becoming more of an aquarium. "What? I don't really get it. Why bother telling me about it if you don't plan to do anything about whatever problem there is?" she questioned, all of this sounded really confusing and she didn't really get his motivations.

[Bloodedge]

"That tends to be how it works," was Kou's response to Hikari. At the very least, provided Atlantis had an understanding monarch, there was a very real chance they could go through with this while avoiding maximum difficulty. Much to Kou's expectation as well, the direction of that monarch was the same direction Karna had taken, and Miki seemed to have latched onto that fact as well. "Hmm. Yeah... let's go," he said. Kou was quite perturbed by something, but he moved forward nonetheless. There was a lot to take from today's interactions thus far, and a lot more to infer from what was taken. This was shaping up to be an... interesting journey.

Karna raised his left forefinger, meaning to interrupt the queen. "Aht aht! People I travel with." With his point made again, he was able to move on to the queen's confusion, and why he very much didn't care to be directly involved in the fall of her kingdom. "You're the queen, aren't you? It's not your place to be worried about why a random traveler, who's giving you a warning, doesn't plan to help you out directly. Besides... that's what the other schmucks I hang out with are for. They're a little weak for this job, but I guess they've got some skill. They're the ones you should have help you with your stupid problems. You don't have enough to give me, to make me even think of helping."

[Apollymi]

"Stuff like this is why I didn't do a lot of leveling before... I can't really imagine trying to think through all this stuff on my own," Hikari said, this was already really heavy content and though she wasn't stupid, she couldn't begin to think about things the way her brother and apparently Miki did. Miki herself was still rather annoyed, she didn't really mind so much doing the things necessary to make sure they didn't sink Atlantis any further. Even so, she didn't like the amount of work being forced upon her. Atlantis itself wasn't even a Kingdom with pull in-game, knowing this she knew that this place wasn't high on the priority list for the completion of their Guild goal. And as she walked towards the palace she could see that they didn't use money for trade, so much like the Marshes, this place wouldn't be good for the kind of grinding she most enjoyed.

Karna felt the need to interrupt what the Queen of this land as saying, in clearing up his apparent relationship to those he brought along. "Weird point to argue, but whatever you say..." she pointed out as it seemed unnecessarily almost comically hostile. His message to her was that, her being Queen meant it wasn't really her place to worry about the message he planned to deliver without helping for whatever reason he planned it. "I am Queen but that seems pretty sketchy. For all I know you're the reason I have a problem now... and you telling me something and bringing in other people could be an invasion. But, if you really thought the problem was stupid, you don't seem like the type to interfere..." she mentioned with a casual shoulder shrug. At the end of this leg of the conversation, she found herself looking out of the throne room towards the opening doors as the trio of other Adventurers entered the palace. 'Please don't be a pain in the ass. Please don't be a pain in the ass...' Miki whispered in her own mind as she approached with a markedly neutral look on her face. This was the face which caused the eyes of the Queen to widen and she slid forward on her seat in absolute disbelief. "WHY DO YOU HAVE THAT FACE?!" she outright demanded to know, much to Miki's outright surprise, she was literally unable to speak immediately because the question was so confounding.

[Bloodedge]

When Hikari spoke again, Kou shook his head. "You can make it. You've got the skill," he said. It seemed they weren't incredibly far from the palace, so Kou chose to leave his rebuttal at that. Meanwhile, Karna still faced the queen. "If I were the reason you had a problem, this ocean would be red by now, and you would either be eye candy... or food. I wouldn't need to bring anybody else for that. That's your problem here, by the way. Too many people."

Upon entering the palace, the Adventurer group would initially be bombarded by a sudden yelled question from the queen. Kou first thought such a question would be aimed at him by someone who saw his username, and somehow made the connection to his appearance in the other world. When he looked at the queen, though, her attention was instead on Miki. This had to be someone she knew in their past lives, so Kou took a moment to view the queen through his Nexus vision. 'Ootsukichan?' he thought. "Close friend, huh..." he muttered afterwards, failing to even realize he spoke these words aloud.

[Apollymi]

"Hai!" Hikari affirmed trying to believe in herself but still figuring her brother being along would be a boon to all present, even Miki who seemed more than capable in her own right. Upon arriving in the Throne Room the trio was immediately accosted by a question which seemed to be aimed at Miki exclusively. Hikari's eyes widened and she looked to Miki who seemed to be a bit stunned, while looking back at the Queen of Atlantis who seemed to be upset by Miki's presence. The words of her brother would be heard by her and she'd look between them again, she trusted his knowledge of the situation and if Miki had a good friend here this was something worth looking into. Devious light played in the eyes of the lass. 'A friend eh? This is great!' she thought excitedly.

After a moment of recovery Miki's face went sour. She was in a bit of a foul mood to start with but was in the process of putting herself back together for the purpose of meeting with the potential ruler. All of this had put her back into the same foul mood she'd had before. Her expression immediately soured as she snapped back at the lass before her. "This face is mine. I scanned it in myself..." she said flippantly. The eyes of the lass on the throne lit up and she moved down and ever closer. With each step came the clarity of this face, and given its current look she was more certain about it than ever. "KIMI!!! You're here too!~" she said excitedly as she aimed to hug the lass excited by the prospect of knowing her. Miki's eyes widened, no one called her Kimi. Her own parents didn't call her Kimi. The only person who'd ever gotten familiar enough with her to feel comfortable with it, she hadn't seen in years. This was something easy to confirm, so as she was being hugged she had a look at the lass in the Nexus view as well. She was a bit amazed to see the one username that mirrored her own, because they'd created them together. Beyond that, she was a bit surprised by niceness of this young woman's introduction, considering the less than happy way they'd parted.

"Ah... sou ka. Hasashiburidana, Tsu-chan," She greeted in return, only to have the lass look at the group and be utterly confused by the idea of Miki travelling with other people. "Yay! You said it. I figured you might not because you were upset, but... you did it. I knew it, we're still friends." she said seemingly excited about the prospect. "But you're travelling with people, Kimi?" she asked seeming to forget all about her potential problems to catch up with her friend. "Who are they?" she asked willing to not call these people Miki's friends because she actually knew Miki and given the girl's general disposition didn't figure she'd properly made any. "Uh, well yeah. This is Kou and Hikari, and you've already met Karna."

[Bloodedge]

'They know each other. Well. Miki doesn't have friends in our world, though. That's what everyone's always said.' Kou took the time to consider the relationship between Miki and this queen. He'd never seen Miki face-to-face as a human, but he'd seen her in passing many, many times. The same could be said of anyone who attended their school. But, who could have been in the same age group without attending school, or even being known as the girl's friend by other peers? 'Ookimichan... Ootsukichan... Tsuki, Tsuki...' He wracked his brain for a spark of an idea. There had to be someone, right? They reacted to each other in too much of a friendly way for this to not be the case. Eventually, his name was spoken in a way that pulled his attention away from his own thoughts for a moment. He looked up, toward the queen, realizing he'd do best to greet her while being in her palace of all places. "Oh... hajimemashite," he said, though he didn't seem to be very focused on his introduction. In fact, a glow that was more eerie than normal was beginning to overtake his eyes.

In the meantime, Karna made an interesting decision. The queen had abandoned her throne, so he did what any sensible sociopath would do. He sat on the throne himself.

[Apollymi]

There was now a conversation happening between Miki and the Queen of the Atlanteans as they caught up as old friends. The entire time, there was nothing but smug happiness in the face of Hikari who gave a little gesture but was content to let whatever gems drop from the mouths of everyone present. Miki took a deep breath and poked the sides of the lass hanging on to her, making her squeal but she didn't let go as Miki would have hoped. "That tickles cut it out!" she chimed seemingly too happy to see the lass to let her go. "Nice to meet you... all of you!~" she said beyond amused. "Seri-chan desu!~" she introduced herself with the Nexus correcting her speech once again. "Sou ka, it's going to be like this. I'm glad to see you up and moving around, and not hating me and all, but we've got business to talk..." she said to the lass. "Aww, I could never hate you. That whole thing wasn't your fault, I tried to tell you but Tou-san said it might be too much for you at the time. I didn't want to add to your plate, but I figured you'd come around again eventually. Seems like eventually is in a whole new world, but I was never mad in the first place. Kaa-chan wasn't either, not that it matters now, but I thought you might want to know anyways..." Seri said about some unknown event which happened between the two lasses. Miki's facial expression shifted slightly, though she didn't really care very much about the other world, it was strange to know about the misunderstanding that took place between herself and what had been her only friend. Beyond that, she wasn't really very surprised given the personality of her own mother. Miki's commentary about business though also needed to be addressed and it caused the Queen to scoff.

"Of course, it's all business with you, at least at first. Well, I suppose if anyone was going to be like that, it would be you..." she said frowning slightly but still apparently in a good mood. "Karna-kun said I had a problem but that he wouldn't help, do you know what he's talking about?" she asked of Miki which made the girl huff. She looked up to the throne the other lad was now sitting upon and wondered what the point of his existence actually was besides annoying her. "You have several, Lich King's Obelisk, lack of money and trade, who knows what else. Those are the two I noticed, I'm sure Kou at least picked up something I wouldn't have noticed as well," Miki said looking to Kou to find the lad's eyes taking on a rather strange hue. "Kou... are you alright?" she asked fully giving her attention to the lad, and any looking at her would find her expression softened. In fact the shift in this lass' face made the girl who had been referred to as Seri blink several times as she let go of Miki for the first time legitimately surprised by the action. She couldn't believe the shift in the girl's personality towards the lad, perhaps to others this favoritism wasn't exactly obvious, but Tsuki had known Kimi since they were children, and the change in her tone and expression on her face were so severe she was shocked. 'Who is he to her?'

[Bloodedge]

There was a puzzle here, and Kou would be sure to solve it. He wasn't even aware of the oddities occurring within himself. Who was this Tsuki person, and how was she on such friendly terms with the presumably friendless Kimi? 'Tsuki, Tsuki...' Perhaps he was on the wrong track. Maybe instead of searching for Tsuki, he should inspect the facts about the one called Kimiko.

His thoughts paused when he considered the technology the girl possessed. She was able to scan her face into this game, and play in virtual reality. The game itself didn't naturally have such features, so there had to be some form of technology capable of bypassing the game's standard limitations. That was it! In one brilliant moment, he knew who Tsuki was, and how she was friends with Kimi without anyone knowing. She was the home-schooled daughter of the Kaiba Corps. CEO... "Kaiba... Tsukiko..." The glow in his eyes intensified. He was being addressed, but he couldn't tell. It looked as if there was literal space in his irises, surrounded by a glow akin to that of the Nexus itself. Within moments, Kou was struck with a burning fever, and collapsing.

[Apollymi]

A scoff came from Seriri in the moment as Miki pointed out several things wrong with her Kingdom which she would expect from the lass given what she knew about her. "Do whatever you need to take out the Obelisk. I heard it was something that would corrupt whoever had it so I don't really want anyone here with it, and leave it to you to notice all the things financially wrong with my Kingdom. Does it mean he's the people..." she paused she'd been talking but the change in Miki's features had surprised her, beyond that when she looked at the lad Kou right before he passed out from his burning fever she saw the rainbow like pigment of his irises. "Oh no!" this was the only thing spoken by Seriri as both Hikari and Miki approached the falling Kou. Hikari managed to catch him and Miki moved around the pillow to cushion him completely as she approached more directly. She touched her lips the lad's forehead and found him to be entirely too warm and was visibly worried.

"He's burning up..." such a strangely affectionate thing happened before her and Hikari didn't know whether to be excited the lass cared so much or properly worried for her brother. "Baka-nii, how dare you be sick when I'm the one who was sick. Miki-nee you'll save my brother right?" she asked of the lass with those large eyes she normally only turned on Kou with this sort of intensity. Miki looked over at the lass and in this moment of emergency she didn't have it in herself to be embarrassed by how she'd acted while checking his temperature. "I can't," she said calmly, Kimi was no healer and she didn't have the ability to do anything to non-physical damage with her current setup. Then she looked at Seriri flatly, just as Hikari managed to look defeated. "But you can. Fix him, Tsu-chan," she said which made the Queen of the Atlanteans look at the lass curiously. "You want me to fix him for you?" she asked, this was a surprising turn of events. Firstly, Miki knew this girl played support extremes so she was well aware that she would know how to fix him up. Beyond that she also knew that she would do it specifically if she asked with nothing else on the table. On the other side, Seriri found this strange because the Kimi she knew didn't care that much about other players because of her past experiences, if she cared enough about what was happening to this other boy to want him fixed, he was close to her in a way Seriri couldn't imagine. She doubted the lass would have asked such a thing for the lad called Karna whom she hadn't addressed directly since they'd entered the room. "Yes. I do, I want you to fix him now. And I'll do what I can to help you with your other problems..." she said, and when she looked at the other lass she found the threat within Miki's eyes and visage. The unspoken one of the kind of hell she would raise if her demands weren't met, quickly. "If he's that important to you fine, no need to threaten me, Kimi." Hikari was surprised but her little tail wagged as it seemed her brother would be helped. In the next moments a single droplet of water spread from the tip of Seriri's finger around the boy's body tracing his circulatory system as she opened his eyes to confirm the information she was taking in by virtue of the water. 'Hm, I don't want to say this... Kimi's going to be mad,' she thought to herself but the swirling color of the lad's eyes confirmed this even as she tried to begin reducing his fever. "This isn't good, he has the Devouring it isn't something easily fixed," she said. "What the hell is that?"

[Bloodedge]

Nothing occurring around Kou registered in his mind at all. His eyes were wide open, and he was panting. However... he could see, and feel. What he saw was not the throne room in Atlantis, but instead a mixture of different realities, which he couldn't even comprehend. He witnessed things familiar and unfamiliar, and he felt everything just as solidly as he saw it. It was truly some strange sort of out-of-body experience. At the mention of 'The Devouring,' even Karna perked up and sat forward on the queen's throne. He'd spent a lot of time in this world, and he'd managed to hear mention of this disease a few times in his previous life. It was a rather serious situation for one to be in, leaving Karna legitimately curious as to whether the lad would even survive the next few moments.

[Apollymi]

While being asked about the Devouring, Seriri pulled from within the robes of her clothing one large blue gem which seemed to glow with magic that moved as smoothly as water. She continued to manipulate the singular droplet to regulate the lad's temperature as she explained. "As far as we all know, the Devouring is a disease that only affects players. It isn't an effect of a character but about being from the other world, our world..." she said frowning. "It seems like the fever tries to force you back to the other world when you aren't anchored enough to this world, but you disappear completely from this world. There is no saying you don't end up back in the other one, but... as far as I know its the one thing considered true death for a player character..." she said finally. Miki looked at her impassively, but Hikari seemed a bit more determined. "Don't let that happen to my brother!" said firmly. "Hai hai, I am trying not to but I need to do something drastic. We have to anchor him to this world, the easiest way possible is to force him to take another avatar's form, preferably one made after coming here, but..." Seriri paused holding onto the gem. "Avatars crafted within this world seem to be very much their own beings, they could have different alignments and all of that," she said looking at Miki with a straight face. "If I force him to take on the form of another Avatar will he be a danger to us?" she asked firmly. She wanted to help her friend but not at the direct risk of her entire Kingdom. Miki thought about it for a second or two. "He only has one other character that I know of, and it is very dangerous I wouldn't touch it or anything..." she said calmly. "And he's not evil, he's more chaotic neutral. As long as you don't attack him, it will be fine... just save him... I'll deal with any consequences later if I need to," she said. This was more shocking than anything else. Kimi didn't take on unnecessary debts, she also didn't take bets she wasn't sure about, if she claimed to want to take responsibility for anything that happened as a result of forcing the lad to take this form she would do it without question. "Alright, it takes a while to get my hands on more of these so don't any of you others go losing yourselves before I can get my hands on some more..." she said and then she pressed the stone into the center of the lad's being. Doing so would cause the liquid within to spread across the entirely of his body and begin the Nexus interaction which would force the change in his form. Miki continued to watch over him from a fairly close distance to make sure it would be alright but she was still cautious of everyone else. "I wouldn't stand too close, his body could light you aflame..." she mentioned as a warning.

[Bloodedge]

As they discussed the potential change of Kou's Avatar to halt the progress of his disease, Karna quirked a brow. He already knew where this would go in the end as a result of this discussion. He remembered the other Avatars of both Kou and Miki. They were powerful, but he wasn't sure if they would cooperate or not. What he was sure of, though... was the power. There was no forgetting that, especially from the point of view he had.

Kou's experience came to an abrupt end as Seriri performed her seemingly unique magic. His fever didn't drop. No, it rose even higher instead, but this was no simple fever anymore. At the same time, both his eyes and hair became a brilliant shade of red. The remainder of his transformation occurred with a glow applied to the whole of his body, granting him the punk-like ensemble of his Dragonoid Avatar as the molten horns and wings sprouted from his body. A long tail, of course, emerged from his backside as well. With that... his consciousness was able to return, not as Kou... but as the Purgatory Dragon Akashi.

He rose properly, initially looking to no one in particular. He bore the aura of supremacy which leaked from his very pores, of course along with the actual burning aura he exuded at all times. When his consciousness solidified with this form, he said nothing. He did not move. He simply... stood there.

[Apollymi]

A few moments after, the effects of the condensed magic became clear, clear in the form of Kou becoming Akashi. A sigh of relief came from Miki as the lad stood and she pulled her pillow from beneath him and put it back behind her, knowing he didn't need such a thing as he was probably floating off the ground regardless. "Sugoi! Nii-san has such a cool second avatar!~" these were the first words spoken by anyone else, and they came from Hikari. "You scared us for a second there..." she said crossing her arms over her chest and turning away to pout slightly but overall she was very relieved that her brother was fine, and didn't apparently care about the obvious change in his personality. In the meantime, Miki had a look at him in this form with the eyes she was most used to having, she knew at her current level she couldn't really do anything to him if he decided to rampage, but she figured it wouldn't be a problem as long as no one attacked him. "She's right, you did give us a bit of a fright. Nice to meet you I guess, Akashi." Miki stated, knowing she'd not had any direct interactions with this Avatar before. In the meantime it would be Serini who'd gone on to cling to left arm of Miki seemingly out of habit and a bit scared of the overall meanacing aura being presented by he lad in his Dragonoid form. "Kimi, he's a fucking dragon! You said chaotic neutral, that's a natural disaster. I've never even seen one of those in this world. Not even a regular one, much less a player controlled one," she whispered seemingly distraught. "Oh? You swear now... I wonder where you learned words like that..." Miki said most sarcastically, still there was a regular conversation on the table so she'd answer it. "It will likely be fine just don't touch him and don't fight him. Calm down, Tsu-chan," she said, giving the Queen a gentle pat. She didn't bother admitting that she also had a form like this, she didn't want the lass to worry. There were several logistical things she needed to discuss before she took care of the Obelisk in the middle of town.

[Bloodedge]

Akashi knew only one person. Who were these things with enough nerve to address him so casually? Those almost hateful crimson orbs in his head first landed upon Hikari, who spoke to him with utmost familiarity. "Nii-san?" he questioned, though there were more issues at hand. Another one of these pitiful creatures dared speak his name, as if she had the right. All the while, the final one cowered before him. Yes, this was the most reasonable reaction, though it remained unsatisfactory... just like the others. His second utterance would not be a pleasant one, as the unbridled Mana of a Dragon flowed out into the city of Atlantis...

"Rengokuryuu..."

"Oi, oi! If you're gonna wake up a Dragon, at least don't be stupid enough to keep standing around it," Karna spoke suddenly, in his typical fashion. This action of his at least had the effect of pausing Akashi's... whatever it was he was preparing. He floated forward, hovering over the stairs leading to the throne. "... Off my throne, Jester. A King sits there." Interestingly enough, Karna had no words to say in response. He rose from the throne and cleared a path, which Akashi took to seat himself upon the throne of Atlantis.

[Apollymi]

Akashi's response to being called Nii-san was markedly different from Kou's at least, the reaction given to someone like Hikari. It came out more or less like such a conversation happened between Kou and Madoka which let Miki know about all she needed to about the current situation. She motioned towards Hikari while using the 'Snatch' ability, doing so, 'stole' the distance between them putting the smaller lass near her as well. This was done because she didn't trust the lad's reaction to all of this. She was right to do so because the unbridled power which leaked from him was massive. Too massive for her to steal, but strangely enough, Karna's words put a stop to what Miki didn't doubt would have been a flaming annihilation for this chunk of the city. Still, the blonde haired lass didn't quite know when to quit and committed herself to stealing a bit more of his mana for later, just in case she needed to buffer their defense. "Kimi he stole my throne," she whispered still obviously frightened. "Yeah, well, he could have set us all on fire so... probably shouldn't think too much about the chair. Come on... I'll take care of the Obelisk and let him have his chair, and tell your staff not to get in his way..." she mentioned, this created a nod from the Queen of the Atlanteans as she walked away to do what was necessary, and as Karna had given up the lad's throne there didn't seem to be a problem. Except one little thing. "No." this was the only word spoken and it came from Hikari. A sigh came from Miki as she began working on what she assumed would be a defense of the girl who seemed like she was about to blow a gasket.

"I don't care if he's a fucking dragon. That's my brother and he doesn't get to act like a jackass towards me just 'cause he got a set of scales and fire power. Fuck that and fuck him if he's gonna be like that!" she exclaimed going to stand before the land with hands on her hips and eyes burning with intensity. "You keep acting like that and you'll end up all alone, no partner and no sister. No one who matters will tolerate you acting like that you ridiculous fucking jerk. BAKA-NII!" she fussed the lad out in a manner that Miki found surprising she couldn't even breathe at the thought that this girl might get annihilated. The pillow floating behind Miki was slowing growing in-size and she was preparing to pull the girl back towards her and defend them from flames, though the difference in level was going to make it damn near impossible perhaps she could help them avoid enough of the damage that they could be healed by Seriri and that would be enough.

[Bloodedge]

Akashi found this throne... acceptable. That was about all he could call it, but he had the seat of power; the seat he deserved. Interestingly enough, one of the lesser beings approached him directly. He viewed this girl who had such audacity, and with his eye, he was able to see even the slightest, slightest movements. It wasn't fear that compelled her to make such a rash decision. No, it was something else entirely. This was also the one who referred to him in terms that implied a familial relation. Yes, she did actually seem to have a slightly similar Mana to his own.

"..." He had nothing to say. It could almost be said that he respected the fortitude of this person, but he could at least sense the relation to him. With his left forefinger, he beckoned her to his side. He would then choose to shift his attention to Miki, whom he could sense another type of familiarity from. The other Dragon he knew... she was there. Looking to the blonde, Akashi held out his right hand. He didn't beckon her. He simply... waited. "You..."

[Apollymi]

Akashi in his current disposition seemed to be less disagreeable overall. Even so, there was the matter of the tirade which came from the sibling of Kou and Akashi's avatar holder. Miki held her breath for several seconds, no attack came and there was no need to immediately defend the younger sibling of the lad she was partnered with. A sigh of relief even managed to escape the lass in this moment, as Hikari was beckoned toward the lad. The little raccoon girl for all of her talents made her way back to her brother's left hand side content to stand there with the nerve to look baseline satisfied by the reaction. "Damn right!" she said with a curt nod. 'Yare yare, that kid almost gave me a heart attack. Nice to know I won't have to defend her while he's like that...' thought Miki for a moment. 'Probably for the best, now I can go and do what I need...' her thought paused as a single word of addressing was spoken. It seemed after a few moments of being awake, the Dragonoid seemed to recognize Miki as the person who housed the other Dragon. She paused for a moment looking at his outstretched hand.

She wasn't being beckoned, at this point she could at least assume she wouldn't be directly set aflame for making any other movements. As such she moved the pillow she'd been prepping to use as a weapon under her rear and took a seat before his outstretched hand. The small bird Fiona found herself shaking against the back of Miki's neck, she'd almost forgotten about the creature. Almost. She floated up just a bit closer but didn't aim to take it initially. She found herself thinking about the nature of her abilities currently and wondered if she'd be burned. Reaching for the hand of this Dragon would be risky, but would it be worth it to aim to touch him, knowing that she didn't possess the same amount of power she did in her Dragonoid form. Was she about to play chicken even in a form which could be properly damaged by the lad? She condensed the magical energy of the air within her control around her hand and reached for the lad's hand with her own. Her aim to gently brush across the center of his outstretched palm with the tips of her own fingers. And when she touched it, though she wasn't immediately set aflame, it was way too hot for her to hold onto even while concentrating all of her magical resistance on that one hand in particular. "Sou ka... that's about what I thought... you are way too hot for me," she said as she aimed to take back her hand. "Still at least it isn't a fever... I'm glad you're okay." Her words would leave her mouth for the Queen of this land to peek from around a pillar. 'What is this? Kimi is in here being close to an elemental Dragon while not being one herself... is she fucking crazy?!'

[Bloodedge]

He could certainly respect the attitude of the one named Hikari. She had the makings of a Dragon in her indeed. His focus now though, was Miki. The girl approached atop her pillow, aiming to make contact with Akashi's offered hand. She didn't seem quite capable of doing so with her current abilities. How shameful. Either way, Akashi had chosen this one. His burning veil lost its effect as he took the hand that touched his. He would see Miki pulled inward, specifically into his lap as he sat upon the throne. "With me, Tatsuki. We're not finished yet." His tone was flat, but his intentions were certain. He would have this lesser form of the Dragonoid Tatsuki under his protection, until she came to be what he accepted as her true self again. As for the queen of this land, who showed the most concern of all in this room whilst hiding behind a pillar...

"You, Mer. You're not accomplishing anything like that."

[Apollymi]

When Miki tried to pull her hand away from Akashi something strange took place, the lad ended the ability which allowed him a constant burning veil, apparently making the decision to have Miki with him regardless of her ability to defend herself. Instead of mentioning this as a normal being did, he simply pulled the lass into his lap from her pillow. Such an action took place because Miki was far too surprised by it happening to be able to do anything about it. Her entire face became a brilliant shade of red which beamed all the way to her ears as she tried to get herself together and talk herself out of the lad's lap though she wasn't technically uncomfortable there. "Oi oi, I'm not Tatsuki. I'm Miki..." she stated not knowing what to do with her current level of embarrassment. In the meantime the Filolial they'd been keeping fell to the floor in front of Hikari looking left right and left again, between Miki and Akashi trying to figure out what was going on between her parent figures. She wanted to chirp angrily but her ability to look into the situation told her she couldn't simply win an interaction here. Hikari herself seemed utterly shocked by this taking place too, 'What the actual hell!?' the lass mentally questioned her eyes wide, her ears and tail twitching as she reached for the little Filolial to help keep it safe for the time being. 'If he was half that straight forward normally we wouldn't be trying to set him up... Still I suppose even she can't really ignore this being a sign that he likes her,' she thought a bright and devious light in those pinkish eyes of hers.

Beyond all of this, it seemed that Seriri had been found out and called from her spot behind the pillar. Not one to seem too fearful she appeared before her own throne in a very strange turn of events. "Uh, well I can't really accomplish anything to begin with... also Seri-chan desu," she managed which was about what Miki expected from her. She tried her best to gather her own wits. While she did this, Seriri addressed her directly. "Kimi, how do you know him exactly?" she asked, because while the girl's face was red she didn't seem terribly out of place being seated in such a way. That being said, Miki never really seemed out of sorts to start with. "He's my partner... I thought I mentioned. We've been travelling together since level one. What I need to know now is... how the air pods around these different places are being maintained? I need to claim the fragment of the Lich King from the Obelisk among some other things, but... I need to make sure I won't kill every person here while doing it," she said to the girl who tried to be about the business end of this but found Miki's positioning to be strangely accepting given what she knew of the lass. "Partner... huh? Uh, I am keeping them up. Or rather my weapon does. If you need to do anything to the Obelisk you don't have to worry about it having a negative effect here..." she said, finding Miki's choice in descriptor and her current positioning to make the term mean something beyond its original intention. "Do you want me to go with you to the Obelisk?" she asked of the lass, wanting the freedom to properly question the relationship between Miki and Kou. Miki thought about trying to move directly, and figured instead of taking the long route of trying to get up and failing she'd just ask. "Are you going to freak out if I try to leave?" she asked of Akashi, she'd rather not deal with any potential problems, and it wasn't as if she needed to move to claim the piece she was thinking about. Beyond that she'd rather avoid any other embarrassing moments, like the one she'd experienced in the Fairy Forest, which she shook her head trying to clear from her mind as she waited for the lads answer.

[Bloodedge]

Upon being corrected on who the lass was, Akashi did nothing but stare at her in disbelief. He knew what she was, or more specifically, who she was. This 'Miki' was nothing more than a stand-in for the Dragonoid he knew. For the time being, his major issue was with the Mermaid and her surprising lack of a proper presence in this space. "Then you may as well die, right? If you're not going to accomplish anything with your existence no matter what, then..." He paused. If the Mer Queen held the power to keep Atlantis functional, it was perhaps a better idea to keep her around. After all, the Dragonoid had to have a fiefdom. "I suppose you have your uses after all."

Miki expressed a simple desire to retrieve the Artifact from the Atlantean monument. Rather, she wondered aloud if he would react badly to her moving to do so. Again, Akashi had nothing to say. He did, however, rise from the throne. He retained his hold on the blonde, keeping her elevated in his arms even as he moved from the seat of power he'd taken. A single step seemed to be all it took for him to be at the location of the obelisk, where he finally spoke to Miki. "Dragons don't travel by land, Tatsuki."

[Apollymi]

The look Miki received after correcting the Dragonoid about her identity was one of mild shock. She was a bit surprised he didn't understand this, perhaps because he considered Dragon Aspects to be higher level beings. Having been one herself, she understood this a bit, Dragons did have extremely high opinions of themselves, but Miki knew how to compartmentalize, and the Dragon known as Tatsuki was someone who existed because of her work as Miki and not the other way around. In the meantime there was the matter of a threat being uttered to Seriri who seemed to be unsurprised by it, but relieved just the same when the lad changed his mind after finding out that her own weapon was keeping the sunken city habitable. "Hai, it isn't as if I am Queen just because I exist... that wouldn't make any sense," Seriri stated as she watched in disbelief while instead of answering the question posed by Miki, the lad simply stood with the lass still in his arms and left to go where she wanted to. Miki in this instance didn't even get a change to protest this treatment properly. "Hey! I mean...." she started only to disappear from this place with the single movement made by the Dragonoid Akashi. "What the hell is going on there?" she asked aloud. Hikari who'd been watching the entire time in disbelief simply shrugged. "Looks like Nii-san is spoiling her a bit... jeez if he was like this already we wouldn't be trying to hook them up. By the way... what's her deal?" she asked of Miki knowing that the lass knew her outside of this world and she needed some insider information in the brief moments they were alone. "Kimi's deal?" asked Seriri as if she was unaware of what the other lass was talking about.

In the meantime a still very surprised Miki found herself before the Obelisk in the blink of an eye and managed to look surprised. "Well, shit that's pretty surprising and a bit unnerving. Dragons don't want to move like people... fine, I get it. I'm still not Tatsuki, Miki desu." she said rather adamant about the point. "Also, as I was trying to say... You don't really have to carry me, I'm not opposed to walking or anything..." she mentioned finding such doting behavior rather strange as it had been quite a long time since she'd experienced such a thing in so random a fashion. Still she found herself extending a hand towards the monument and feeling the pull of its power. A moment of concentration would have the object she sought within her hands while leaving the monument which stood here whole for the entirety of Atlantis to continue worshiping as they pleased. With this little task taken care of, a sage green glow of mana would emit from the piece while resonating with her person as well. "Yare yare, quiet down... I'm not one of the ones you can influence," she said while staring into the piece which looked a bit like a large square cut gem turned on its side, wrapped in black thorns. What she was talking to wouldn't directly be known but this piece now registered as belonging to her. Her Nexus vision showed her as owning 3/5 such pieces though two of them were not presently in her possession.

[Bloodedge]

With the others gone, Hikari and Seriri decided to have a little chat about the pair. Since Karna remained present as well, he opted to speak up after a rather long silence. "I'm surprised the Dragon didn't blow up Atlantis. Good news though, Dragons follow their instinct enough that maybe Oujo-san will finally get the point from him being obvious."

Meanwhile, Akashi stood before the monument while receiving the verbal will of Miki. He didn't much care if she thought she wasn't Tatsuki. She was, and that was that. More importantly, her apparent preference for walking would not be allowed to pass. "You can't fly. Until you can fly again, I will be your wings."

[Apollymi]

In the midst of the conversation between Seriri and Hikari, Karna inserted himself. He firstly made a joke about the emmient doom of Atlantis and followed it up by commentating about Miki not having any choice but to notice the attentions of a certain Fire Dragon who was presently in her company. "That. That exactly, though it could still backfire, we must consider all options. Especially with him seeming pretty stuck on the Dragon thing..." she said of her brother. She'd personally never seen him behave in such an obvious way, but she'd still rather not take any chances on acquiring a proper older sister figure. "Anyways, back to you Missy. What is her deal? Why doesn't she acknowledge that he likes her and why isn't she more obvious that she likes him? What happened to her? A girl that pretty and that nerdy has a potential partner lined up but she's holding back and we need to figure out, fast..." these were Hikari's words as she gestured with her open hand while holding on to Fiona with her other hand. She didn't now how long the pair would be gone for and she needed an answer immediately to discuss the options.

Seriri looked at the pair of them and thought about the interactions she'd seen so far, between Kou and Miki and then between Miki and the Dragonoid and she realized that if they liked each other such a thing made sense, but fixing them up was no simple matter. If Miki was holding back it was obvious to her why, but she also knew Kimi her entire life and given that she knew the reservations the girl was likely to have. "That's a tough one. Kimi is very honest but also very distant. She doesn't trust people with herself... I was surprised she was traveling with anyone for exactly that reason. She said people she has complete faith in always let her down at the end. So, she'd rather be alone..." she explained of the lass' true personality. "Well that's just weird, she has no reason to assume my nerdy ass brother would do any such thing. He's never let down anyone, and he always does the right things. This I vouch for absolutely!" Hikari mentioned eyes burning so brightly that Seriri couldn't even begin to think the lass was lying. Between Miki's own actions and this girl's faith, she was almost willing to completely devote herself to this particular endeavor. As such she gave more information. "I am sure she didn't actually mean that last part. Kimi wants the things everyone else has, she wants to feel like everyone else does... this is the closest I've seen her to happy in years. Hell, until we met just now she was probably thinking that I'd abandoned her too. She was really surprised I was happy to see her, relieved even. She's conditioned herself for backlash..." she said thinking about it with a hand under her chin. Her father had told her that Kimi had a lot to deal with at home, and Tsuki had realized in her previous life, that Kimi had basically been abandoned by her parents for reasons that Tsuki couldn't understand. Beyond that the girl had developed several strange methods for defending herself from her potential feelings. But for reasons she kept to herself Tsuki would see her best friend happy, even if the girl in question wasn't really trying for herself. "Alright. I'll help out too... while you all are here, I'll do my best to pull Kimi out of her shell," she said with a firm nod. "Though I am still not totally sold on him, I have the entire time you all are here to figure out if he's the right one for all of that..." the mermaid mentioned. She then snapped her fingers calling forth a couple of people to make some arrangements for the duration of their stay here to help out with a couple of situations that might arise. A few whispers later and there was a devious light in her eyes as well.

In the meantime, Miki was soon being told in no uncertain terms she wasn't allowed to walk about. It was strange in the moment, though she generally enjoyed her independence in such times as these but there was something about this lad claiming to want to fill in for what she was missing that left her a little awestruck. It was one of few moments she ever had of open surprise at the words spoken to her, and beyond that her entire expression softened she managed to blush while looking away from the lad very aware of her closeness to him in this moment. "I...ah... well... If you say it like that. It'd be rude to argue..." she murmured. "I retrieved this and left the monument. I'll have Tsuki make someone watch it... it will be good to make sure no one is trying to use it against us. Especially given I am about to turn the world upside down..." she mentioned.

[Bloodedge]

"It could backfire. It could also backfire again and work out fine," Karna added. As far as Karna was concerned, there was more good to be taken from the situation than bad. Of course... he could also see a bit farther into the situation by virtue of his own abilities. "Oujo-san's reservations are obvious, but there are a lot of other things as well. Our resident Geno Killer doesn't let other people in either. This might not be much of a game anymore, but they're both still taking it like one. Geno Killer takes on groups, but there have never been any real connections. Trust me."

Akashi glanced at the face of the blonde, quirking a brow in response to her utterance. "Turn the world upside-down?" he questioned. It was an interesting notion to hear from the lass. Such a clause was one he'd expect from another Dragon, though perhaps it wasn't meant the same way. Either way, he was made curious as to what exactly she could have meant, and he would intensely gaze upon the blonde until he gained clarity.

[Apollymi]

"Dick-sensei, you're here for the man half. We're here for the girl half, insight!" commanded Hikari with an affirmative nod. Of course, it was soon enough Karna who was giving a bit more insight, though it was a bit that was more known to Hikari than it was to Seriri. "Eh, yes, he'll play with other people until they fall behind to need carrying. He doesn't like doing that... he's not looking for people who can't pull their own weight..." she said of her brother as such a thing was almost obvious. "Geno Killer? That guy is Geno Killer!? He's a fucking legend... he's still haunting all of the good arcades. Well, if he's here I suppose that isn't true anymore, though last I heard Kimi was having fun erasing his high scores. Well, she didn't tell me that... but my brother told me about it..." said Seriri. All of this was very interesting, two gamers with similar personalities, obviously avoiding the big step into relationship status. "So make Nii-san forge a connection, get Nee-san to make one as well... and hope they meet in the middle?" this was the only thing that Hikari would come up with.

While plots were being made against this pair, or for them depending on how one wished to look at it, they were busy in a different way. Apparently something about Miki's most recent utterance changed the way the Dragonoid was looking at her. There was something about the intensity of this gaze made her squirm a little bit and the seconds of silence she provided thereafter, seemed to only make this a bit worse for the lass. "Oi... I mean, I made a promise I intend to keep. It requires a complete shift in the way this Kingdom presently works and what I need to do to make that happen is something rather drastic... turning the world upside down... not physically but metaphorically," the lass stated as she averted her gaze. "Eh, actually it sounds a bit boring if I just say it. I'd rather just do it and get it over with at least that part is fun..." she said with a curt nod.

[Bloodedge]

"Tell me about it," Karna said regarding the methods of the one labeled 'Geno Killer' by himself and the gaming community of their home world. He knew too well what it meant to fall into such a category, but instead of addressing that matter directly, he instead honed in on something said by Seriri. "Nani? Did you say she was erasing his scores for fun?" he questioned. When he was taken into this world, such a thing was unheard of. No one had even managed to come close, leaving Geno Killer as the only name appearing in the top 3, 5, 10, even 50 and beyond, of many leaderboards by himself. For one person to finally manage such a thing, and for that person to be someone of potential romantic interest in this case, was... was...

"Now this is just annoying the hell out of me. I'm betting he doesn't even know what was going on. Did she use different names?"

Akashi, in the meantime, received the answer he desired. There was a certain amount of a Dragon's cutthroat nature leaking out of this individual in his arms, and he could almost respect it. Though she showed little power, her boasts showed a level of fortitude he could at least take interest in watching. "Ah. That was the plan. You're clever." With that said, he looked toward the pillow which held the position of Miki's weapon, intending to place her upon it instead of the ground. She could at least be left to her own devices enough to move herself, even if not walking.

[Apollymi]

It seemed that Karna and Hikari were familiar with 'Geno Killer' on a personal basis, but Seriri knew Kimi on a personal level as well. And though the pair hadn't spoken at all in quite a while, she was at least able to keep up with the lass' coming and going within the city they lived in. When Karna seemed in disbelief about what Kimi had been up to Seriri just shrugged. "Hai, she apparently took up doing that for fun after her last major break from trying to do co-op. She apparently had a falling out with a bunch of people in GTA Online and went online silent..." she said in an absent way. "And my brother wouldn't lie about it, he said he spotted her wrecking one of the arcades after school," she mentioned. Beyond all of that Kimi's other handle had appeared in a couple of other random online leader boards To Karna's shock she could do nothing but nod. "Yeah, MisakiNeesan, like with the old kanji for fox... not the other one. It was apparently the one she uses when she isn't in a normal mood," she said, having this information allowed her to stalk Kimi's online activity a bit after the girl's Ookimichan account went cold for months. Kimi's alternate handle appeared on top leader boards in quite a few online games, mostly anything that let her play alone and let her have a bit of fun. "Miki-nee was trying to wipe Nii-san's scores... that's bold of her. I have even more respect for her," these were the words of Hikari.

Miki found herself still being a bit abashed but perhaps this wasn't so bad. Soon enough she looked at the lad carrying her, and found herself being placed upon her weapon pillow, though not on the ground. This newfound freedom was about what she wanted out of her life, and even if walking wasn't necessarily an option floating along while she thought things over was good. "Sou ka... arigatou," the blonde managed looking a bit abashed, she was appreciative of his compliment even if she wasn't sure why she'd been given it. Soon enough she was floating along with an intense look on her face as she thought over the start of her plan for economic reform. As she floated along, she took a gander at the things going on in the alleyways and streets between this monument and the palace.

[Bloodedge]

Karna had taken to rubbing the bridge of his nose betwixt his forefinger and thumb. This was becoming one annoyance after another, and quickly. "So... there are two Geno Killers. They're both right out there. They're both obviously interested. Neither of them is doing anything about it. Alright." It could almost be said that Karna was becoming enraged by this knowledge. What he knew now though, was that it would be just about imperative to ensure Geno Killer's Avatar knew about Miki's other online identity.

After releasing the lass, Akashi floated along. In spite of his typical demeanor in this form, he seemed to follow behind her without issue. However, he still seemed skeptical. Perhaps he simply thought to test this individual's merit, as it were. "And how exactly do you intend to make this plan of yours work, Tatsuki?"

[Apollymi]

"Seems like it..." Hikari said. Her understanding of her brother's reasoning behind doing things the way he did, and those random goals presented by Miki seemed to align in a very strange way. It was almost stunning that two people had come to such similar conclusions from different ends. "Still it's weird though, for both of them to be so similar and to have ended up partnered up from level one here..." she said, with a curious look on her face. Knowing the way her brother thought, and finding out Miki was similar, they probably both initially planned to get to a reasonable level and sever their connection when they could both take care of themselves. But at the end of the day, they were still together and struggling to maintain that kind of balance in their relationship. 'Hm, Kimi found someone like her and doesn't want to jinx it... that sounds about right,' Seriri thought to herself, having it become clear over time why the girl she'd grown up with wasn't pursuing what was her apparent love interest.

While Miki moved forward atop her pillow, Akashi was content to float along beside her. She found this strange because she figured she was still well below the level of notice the Dragonoid would normally care about. But there was something extremely comforting about his presence in this moment and she didn't mind him staying at her side in such a way as she headed back to the palace. When asked what she intended to do about the problems as she understood them here, Miki's eyes shifted across the various people she saw moving about. She took in information, as money exchanged hands and people traded items for their money. Even so, there were some very interesting things to be noted of kinds of interactions taking place. This was no normal market place, there wasn't haggling, and the only people who looked happy to be making purchases appeared to be more fish like. The more human people appeared to be, the less they seemed to enjoy the exchange. There were also bunches of listless adults, people who didn't seem to have much but didn't seem weak by any means. "There are quite a few steps. Building an economy from scratch is a bit of a huge undertaking. Also, Miki desu," the lass said stating the very bold thing she intended to do here. "The first thing I need to do, is find out the going rates on cash. How the exchanges work and why some people look so much less pleased by spending than others. After that I need to figure out why there are so many people who aren't working in the middle of what should be prime hours for such things. And then I have to make it possible for proper trade to take place outside of this Kingdom, expand the markets and increase production. After all of that... I have to return the market to the hands of the makers and merchants. To keep it from stagnating... Basically, I have to make sure those who are here to make money are making money, and that it stays flowing and not just in the pockets of certain individuals. Everyone should be eating and everyone should be spending, that will fix the basics and create a working class without the obvious divisions," she mentioned. She didn't know how the politics of people worked but she knew money was a great motivator. People were less inclined to let their prejudices get in the way of their ability to make money and she could very easily persuade them to see things her way. And while they moved forward, Miki compartmentalized, separating each of her potential goals into a different part of her mind to work through each problem towards her greater goal on the way to a stable economy. Much like a flow chart, each piece had to be properly done for the overall picture to work out at the end.

[Bloodedge]

There were far too many serious issues surrounding the idea of pairing these two individuals, but at least two out of the three associates present were fully dedicated to seeing the plan through. The third, Seriri, didn't seem fully sold on the idea, but Karna figured she could be in due time. Indeed though, the spawn point of those two was something of a mystery. "I arrived at the level I was when I played. I can't imagine why they would show up with a restart."

Miki pointed out numerous issues with the exchange taking place in Atlantis. She also took a moment to, again, correct him with her proper name. That wasn't happening. The fix she had in mind seemed functional enough for a kingdom that had become progressive enough, but to Akashi, that wasn't the case. For everyone to spend money and make money was one thing, but that would certainly only further feed into the other major issue of Atlantis. "Your trade system will crumble. Look at the classes of people here. The lesser humans are barely able to exist in this age, because they are weak. They will stay divided so long as there is a difference in ability. Merfolk have no need for human crafts, or human servitude. There will be a civil war even quicker than the one already in progress," he said, closing with a point of realization he had before even taking this Dragonoid form.

[Apollymi]

Hikari heard out Karna and that lad also claimed to have arrived at the level he was at when he was outside in their world. Seriri considered this as well, and she too had arrived at the level she'd been adventuring at. "Hm, that is weird, I also arrived at my level of play..." she said calmly. "Eh, I wasn't very far in and I arrived at my own level as well. I was a bit stunned when Nii-san mentioned he'd come in at level one and run into her... but that allowed them to level together," Hikari clarified. Of course, there was a lot to be considered about their future endeavors with matching this pair up, but it was almost as if the universe itself was aiming to do so as well...

In the meantime as Miki traveled alongside Akashi, the lad heard out her major plan and he had a bit of input. His main idea being that it was apparently not going to pan out because of the lack of progression in the Atlantean Kingdom to start with. She'd already considered this, of course not to as great an extent as Akashi or Kou... or the person behind them had. The lass gave a gentle sigh. "Yeah yeah, I've already considered that. The will of the people isn't really my thing, but I know for a fact the Atlanteans need the humans here," she said with a curt nod. "If they didn't, this entire Kingdom wouldn't be underwater and unrecognized as one of importance by the five. At this point even the Lizardfolk are better acclimated to modern politics," she said very calmly. "Besides, what the weak tend to bring to the table in this situation is innovation, the ability to figure out problems that don't necessarily involve muscle or just being strong. It only really takes a single moment of progress to level the playing field or cause the revolution... either works theoretically. One such moment is probably how one like Tsu-chan ended up in charge of this place..." she mentioned though thinking about this mildly was why she'd taken her first set of actions. "But knowing that just trying to shift this would likely cause some sort of outright war is at least part of the reason I claimed the Lich King's Obelisk... It would likely be the first place anyone with old knowledge turned to when things started going south. With that off the table I can prolong the inevitable, while someone else figures out what to do with the remaining people. I did mention a great number of listless adults being a problem, and it seems like you are more suited to dealing with that aspect. The people problem." she said calmly. Even now in this moment with him as a completely different person, Miki had made the assumption the lad would do what was necessary to calm the rest of the people and stop the rebellion brewing, in the same way they had in Eonis while such a thing was doable.

[Bloodedge]

"Hmm. It might be something worth figuring out. With that kind of issue being exclusive to them of the people we know, it might mean our little princess is gonna get the Devouring next. Though, she'll probably be fine for now..." As a former Dragonewt, Karna had a bit of interesting insight. He knew what it felt like to be a Dragon in the presence of another Dragon. If Miki was destined to contract the Devouring as well, he imagined it would come at a later time...

Akashi could agree that humans were necessary to the structure of an ideal Atlantis, but he also understood that humanity was both the bane and boon of all civilization. However, the Merfolk of Atlantis would not see things that way as a whole. "The humans will be killed off by war before they can bring their innovation to Atlantis. Mankind excels as a developmental species, but never when the world around them is above their current comprehension. That takes time, and an especially clever person even among humans. Atlantis is too far gone." Fair enough, Miki had removed the Lich King's potential influence over any individual in Atlantis. Sadly, there was a very real possibility that, if in the right hands, it could have turned the tides for the sake of good in this kingdom. Still, it wasn't worth the gamble at all. Even as he was, Akashi was likely to do something about this issue... albeit in a very different way, and only under the condition that nothing more suited to his personal interests occurred. "They're all pathetic. If power is what breaks them down like this, power will be what brings order. Rise of the humans, fall of the mer."

[Apollymi]

Karna made an interesting point about the nature of the pair's entrance into the world and their potentially shared sickness. Seriri thought about it for a few seconds and though she'd never heard of anything like this happening simply because of a reason like that, it might be something which needed handling in a more direct fashion. "If you think she'll be fine for now, I am alright with that, though I am unsure why you say that..." Seriri said. "But the devouring has no real cure and I can force the shift between existing avatars but there is no telling if constantly doing so will cause issues with those other avatars as well. It might be good to try and consult some others... I knew of a 'witch' who was trying to treat the Devouring, before I settled here. She might be able to give them a more solid solution than I can currently offer," the Queen of the Merfolk offered such information. As far as she knew this pair would be fine thus they could be emissaries in this part, and the other two could stay close by in case of a relapse. "Whatever, I'll go do it. I can't have my brother dying on me after I went through all the trouble of finding him here and I finally have the chance to attach him to a proper Nee-san. Nope, opportunity has come knocking I can't let them down. And I haven't felt sick at all since I ended up here," said Hikari with a decent bit of spunk. At her current level she wasn't exactly a huge threat, but she had been taking care of herself decently since she first arrived in this world. A simple fetching quest couldn't be too much for her potentially.

Akashi seemed to have quite a bit to say on the necessity of humans, and even the type of humans needed to fix the problems of Atlantis. And he did all of this while stating the largest negatives, the main ones being that the humans would be killed off by war, long before their innovations could take hold. This was fair enough unless there was something in their possession already which would allow them to deal with the Atlanteans which obviously there wasn't because they were still being treated as lesser than their peers. "Fair... that is pretty problematic. I'll be the first to admit it... but I am under the impression that there at at least a few clever people here," she said with a chuckle. "And a dragon... that's important~" she said in a manner most sarcastic and a tiny bit cheeky. They arrived at the palace and were casually moving up the inclined steps while neither of them touched the ground. "Down with the Mer and up with the Humans. I can back that financially and even structure the economy that way. If you think it works, I can support it..." she mused, something about her agreement with this statement made her head feel strange. There was the gentle rushing sound in her ears like running water and it felt like something was pushing at her from inside. The hand beneath her chin moved up the right side of her face as she suppressed what felt like water pressure within her head.

[Bloodedge]

"Because it's accurate. Haven't you heard anything I've ever said?" Karna replied to the curiosity of Seriri. As far as he was concerned, it was only a matter of time now. Actually, he could be colored surprised that his gatherings hadn't come to fruition already. Alas, there were more important matters. An emissary would be necessary to find a potential cure for the Devouring, and Hikari volunteered to be just that. Surely she was overestimating herself just a bit, right? Karna couldn't be having that. "I'm not going to stick around and play nurse while someone else gets to go do real Adventurer work. I'm in."

Following Miki's mention of there being a Dragon present, Akashi floated out ahead, and turned to face the girl. By the time she reached mention of supporting his clause, he'd felt it. The one he knew was there, reaching out to meet him as a proper Dragon should. In response, Akashi reached out with his right hand, which would carve a path toward Miki's chest, where it intended to lay as he made his point known. "Two Dragons. You also have the power of influence... Tatsuki," he said while retaining a very direct amount of eye contact, as if he intended to peer through Miki and view the Dragon within.

[Apollymi]

"Yes yes, we've heard you say things, it doesn't mean skepticism isn't healthy," these were the words of Seriri. Of course they had more distinct matters to get to of course and this included the apparent volunteering of both of these individuals to go off and find a more reliable source of saving for their companions. "Well if both of you are going there isn't anything to worry about..." she said calmly. "The 'Witch' you are looking for is the Witch of the Black Forest, her name is Lilura. She's a sorceress and the closest thing this world knows to a proper Doctor. She's been alive for a long time, so she's a bit strange to talk to... but the last time I saw her she was developing magical objects to stave off the fevers and looking for a potential cure for the Devouring," she said calmly. "She's probably somewhere in the Black Forest... so I'd say be careful, that starts at the edge of the Dragon Lagoon and goes pretty far inland," she offered. This was about all the information which she could give about what they were looking for. "Hai hai, come on... Dick-sensei. We've gotta keep our targets alive, we can worry more directly about hooking them up after~"

In the meantime, Akashi moved in front of Miki stopping ahead and facing her in such a way that she had to stop herself from running into his chest again rather abruptly. But it seemed she was destined not to be able to avoid physical contact with this Dragonoid today. In fact, he reached out for her, carving a line towards her chest which he made contact with simply by virtue of her not being able to move past him or around him fast enough to avoid it. When this happened she felt it again, like a pulse of power washing over her skin, or the swirling of a riptide beneath her flesh. Such power would be seen briefly in her very eyes. "Power of Influence? I'm Miki... not..." she paused it was like she wasn't allowed to mention not being Tatsuki at this moment while staring at the lad before her. 'What the hell is going on with me...' she wondered. That being said she couldn't really stop herself from looking at the lad. He was way too close, and something about this staring felt challenging and as such she couldn't look away, it seemed like she'd be losing if she did.

[Bloodedge]

It seemed an agreement had been reached. Hikari would make the journey, and Karna would be joining her. It was likely for the best, since the Dungeon which gave them all access to Atlantis would be closing soon. At that time, there would be much difficulty in leaving and returning, which would especially be a problem for someone stricken the way Kou had been. Alas, any leave they would take was destined to come later. Karna shifted his gaze, realizing that the pair they spoke of were in sight within the palace, albeit quite distant still.

"Power of Influence. You're a Dragon. We are living Artifacts. Where we exist, there could be a cataclysm at any moment. Even an idiot can feel it." Everything Akashi said, he said while his hand was pressed against Miki's sternum. Eye contact continued, with Miki even returning it with a demeanor that implied challenging. "You can hear me. I feel it. My Tatsuki." With these words, his hand rose gradually, sliding along her sternum and neck until it found its resting place by lifting her chin. In that very moment, his own face also drew dangerously close to Miki's, still maintaining the same intensity of eye contact.

[Apollymi]

Karna was soon staring off into the distance, and Seriri followed his line of sight as well. She saw the two who'd previously left in such a rush, stopped for some reason she didn't yet understand. Hikari was also shifting just a bit, seemingly annoyed as she took a seat on the arm of the throne for the sake of not standing for too much longer. 'Yare yare, how long does it take to retrieve a single item... what is the hold up?!' she wondered petulantly.

In the time where the others looked on from a great distance, Miki found herself in a staring match with a Dragon she didn't want to lose. Beyond this, it was pointed out by this lad exactly what Dragons were by their nature in terms she found conventionally acceptable. His explanation explained the sudden pulsing of power she felt within her body but if this reaction was simply to a Dragon being in her presence that didn't seem like it should be happening with an avatar of her own creation. 'Unless... they all count as part of me...' she thought in this moment. It explained quite a bit, but she still didn't intend to let some other part of herself fully enjoy her life to find herself sidelined. 'Obviously, she can hear you... she's plucking at the inside of my head like caged animal,' she thought. Still, she was being forced to maintain this eye contact, and found the lad's hand moving up her chest to her neck and settling below her chin. Her face was now so close to his, she was almost afraid to move her lips, but something he'd just said was stuck in her head, and brought a strange feeling to her body. But there was a question, right on the tip of her tongue, which passed through her barely moving lips. "Your Tatsuki?"

[Bloodedge]

There was a great deal of distance, that being the entire length of the palace from entrance to throne, but Karna could see somewhat clearly. The close proximity of the returning pair was an interesting, yet annoying sight to behold. However... he would see it through without interrupting, if only for the sake of avoiding a Dragon's wrath again.

Speaking of avoiding the things of Dragons, Miki's attempts to still her lips were obvious to Akashi. His eyes could see everything. When she finally chose to speak again, he could see the restraint in her lips. This was the case even while he was focused on her eyes. Why would she even bother? The Dragon scratching at her very soul would not have done so. He remembered their brief time. The two of them were free in the way only Dragons could be, and it was an experience Akashi would see continued. Perhaps this was simply linked to the human soul behind the Avatar somehow, but Akashi didn't care for all of that. The grin on his face was commanding, even a bit smug. In this state, he was absolute. Only one was allowed to meet him on these terms. "Yes. My Tatsuki," he said, clearly making no efforts to restrain the movement of his own lips. Due to this, his retort would see his moving lips brush against Miki's quite easily. "You don't have a problem with that... right, Tatsuki?"

[Apollymi]

'Kimi... what are you doing?' this was the thought in the head of Seriri. Of course, she was simply wondering what kind of the trouble the lass could have gotten herself into with the Dragon on such a simple retrieval. Beyond all of that, there was something very strange about her relationship with the lad Kou and Seriri was keen to figure out the exact nature of this connection.

Miki was in a situation most precarious by her own approximation. She had no intention of backing down, whether this was a machination of her Dragon or simply one of her personality was not really important. What was currently important was this new game of chicken she was playing with Akashi, she'd not quite backed out of enough. As a Dragon, she knew the lad didn't accept anyone else being at the same level as him, an exception was made to this rule for her other Avatar Tatsuki, who was a similar kind of being for whatever reason. What she hadn't quite gotten around to in her complete analysis was the fact that both of them were similar enough to create similar avatars with barely any connection to start with. His lips brushed against hers as he spoke, he didn't seem to care about this level of closeness. This wasn't at all how she was used to maintaining herself in this lad's presence. He'd claimed her, this part of her as his, with a smug grin at that. What was she actually supposed to say? It would be the case, that Miki herself wasn't really given an option, as the pounding of rushing water in her head, stopped her from arguing once more. "No, I don't mind. Look after me." There was a bluntness to this statement not normally possessed by Miki or even by Kimi her original self. Even so, it wasn't something she'd stop herself from saying, and in the same moment her own restraint seemed to disappear as well, as if she no longer cared to avoid the situation before her.

[Bloodedge]

Even in this proximity, the blonde continued to meet him without backing down. He knew this was nothing more than a game of chicken, but one could only wonder why. What's more, her words of response were intriguing. "Hoh? And how do you expect I'll do that?" he asked. Surely there was something. The Dragon was there, he could still feel it... and yet, part of him wondered how much of Tatsuki's influence was in place here. It didn't matter too much, but he still wondered. Even more imperative than that was the relaxation he could see in Miki's face. She'd given up on her restraint, leaving the situation at hand just where he'd initiated it. "You should specify, Tatsuki. And, depending, you should also prove yourself."

[Apollymi]

The rushing sound within Miki's head seemed to lower itself to something of a lull. It was more like background noise, and in addition, after having given up on being argumentative about the Dragon-related topics, it seemed her internal Dragon was fine with letting Miki be, for the most part. Though she was obviously still there, and right below the surface waiting for the right opportunity. In this current more relaxed state, Miki spoke directly to this lad's face her lips moving gently against his, still playing this strange game of chicken. "I thought it was obvious, by doing what you want. You being here is enough for me. I don't require anything specific," the lass mentioned and this was quite true. All she ever really wanted was to be accepted as she was without issue, if he was willing to do this, then there were no problems to be had by the lass while he performed any of his doting behaviors. There was one more minor thing, which was about to come from the lass, but she didn't intend to lose this game of chicken this time. "Miki desu," she mentioned in passing as her lips pursed and she aimed to meet his. It technically wouldn't be the first time she committed such an action, but in this moment as her normal Avatar, she was proving to herself that she wasn't afraid even when her form didn't match his.

[Bloodedge]

And so, the final piece of information was there. Akashi thought this to be a simple desire, but no more than he likely would have done regardless. The presence of Tatsuki was weaker by the time she spoke. Though it was still there, he could confirm that she was not necessarily speaking her own desire through her lesser self. "Sou desu ka," he said. Once again, Miki would correct his use of a name to that which belonged to the blonde Avatar. If Akashi intended to speak a retort immediately, he would be incapable. His mouth had abruptly become occupied as Miki's puckered lips met his, which then pursed themselves to suit the union. His hand remained on her chin all the while, and it would not be he who broke the kiss. In fact, the Dragonoid Akashi was more than bold enough to slip his tongue into the girl's mouth as well.

[Apollymi]

It seemed the simple nature of Miki's desires could be acknowledged without any qualms. What was more, she also was allowed to close the distance between them with her mouth and surprisingly her mouth was met by his own ready for this kiss she initiated. Strangely, the lad didn't stop this action at all, and beyond the level of their normal interaction, even progressed it further. She felt the warmth of this Dragonoid's tongue slip into her mouth and her eyes widened. Still his hand was on her chin and though it was likely a bit greedy, she didn't stop this for quite a few moments. Her own tongue playing against the one that belonged to the invader until her own need to breathe made her back away gently. She caught her breath in short bursts, her lips lightly flushed and her face gaining a similar tint. "Um-hm," this was a small noise which escaped her, but her head fully fluttered with the boldness of her own actions, which she could blame on no one but herself. 'Shit... what the hell am I thinking?!' she questioned herself. Hadn't she decided to leave this lad alone because he didn't seem interested? Was the simple interest of at least one of his avatars enough to make her change her mind so much? Or had she simply taken as much of what she was given as she possibly could, because it was right in front of her and she didn't know moderation? Any of these things could be right or none of them, she wasn't entirely sure herself anymore.

[Bloodedge]

The need to breathe on Miki's behalf was the only thing that separated them. What a shame this was. Akashi wasn't quite done yet, and he'd even managed a favorable reaction from the girl... or more specifically, her tongue as it toyed about with his own. Though quite different from the incomplete Dance of Dragons he shared with Tatsuki, this was something he could consider satisfactory for one who would be incapable of the dance. "Mhm?" he questioned as his hand moved from her chin to the side of her face, which it rubbed most possessively. "You'll be joining me on the throne then, won't you? If you insist on not being Tatsuki, your place should be... beneath me. Would that be more to your taste, or will it be the throne after all?" Akashi's choice of words was oddly perverse, yet also very much as he intended.

[Apollymi]

Miki was experiencing a crisis of her own conscience. She didn't feel bad about her actions, but she wasn't sure how she should interpret her own actions in this moment. She wasn't given much time to think it over, soon enough Akashi's hand moved from her chin to the side of her face. He committed to rubbing her face, in a manner that implied possession. The words the lad spoke thereafter could be taken several ways, but implied perversion at a level higher than most people would willingly put forth. Miki's eyes widened but strangely the lass chose to grin in this moment. There wasn't any different way she wished to take the statement he'd made. "Sou ka... Well, I don't necessarily see myself beneath anyone. But that isn't really a point I need to negotiate with you right just now is it?" she said with a bit of cheekiness. "You can have your throne, I'll take your lap. It's a better seat anyways..." the blonde lass said flippantly, oddly still feeling like this was a bit more of that game of chicken than she originally thought she'd been playing. Still, she strangely had no problem with this lad's actions or words. Perhaps this was because of their shared interests? Or perhaps it was something else, she'd simply been avoiding for the lad's continued comfort as her partner? Regardless, it seemed their detour had made a relatively short trip take quite a bit longer than normal.

[Bloodedge]

Interestingly enough, Miki chose to grin. What a response that happened to be. Akashi returned the gesture, knowing the next words from the girl's mouth would be ones certainly worth hearing. And... indeed they were. Her rebuttal was a bit of banter worth chuckling at, yet also worth taking in a very serious light. "Hoh? And what better time for negotiation than now? You sound like you'd rather be... above me. Maybe the real Tatsuki could manage," he commented. Regardless, Miki had made her decision. Making his own move thereafter, he would go forth and reclaim the throne regardless of Hikari's position on its arm. The space Miki claimed she would take upon herself was very much left open, and Akashi anticipated its filling. Now that they were before the group again, he thought it best to comment openly about the state of affairs. "Atlantis is on the verge of destroying itself. I'm almost in a position to ignore everything happening."

[Apollymi]

It seemed Akashi found Miki amusing in her current state, though he managed to reply to her seriously enough for her to consider her reply. "Well obviously it is more worth negotiating in the case that something could actually come of effort. You know, like me not being in a body you could destroy with your thoughts..." she said also still flippantly. It seemed the level of comfort gained by Miki was enough to return her to her mostly normal self, with a hint of the playfulness she generally showed when they were alone. Still it seemed her previous answer was more than enough and the lad went to reclaim the throne he'd taken originally. He'd find Hikari sitting on the arm of the throne and she was fine with remaining there for the duration of their next conversation. Miki finished moving herself into the room, as Akashi spoke about the state of Atlantis. She ascended the steps atop her weapon, during this Seriri would be looking at the pair as if stunned by their actions but still speaking about her Kingdom overall. "Atlantis, is pretty much as I found it, plus a few cultural things I thought they might enjoy. I haven't seen much change in it, and I've only been here a few years to start with..." she said calmly watching Miki's next actions. The lass atop her pillow hovered dangerously close to the throne and then of her own volition slipped off the pillow and into the unfilled lap of the Dragonoid Akashi. She'd then simply cross her legs at the ankle while managing to look completely unperturbed about her placement, all the while, Hikari and Seriri had their eyes widen by a large amount. 'She chose to sit there?!' both of them thought in blaring unison. 'What the hell did my idiot brother actually manage to do on a short walk?' Hikari wondered. Perhaps she hadn't given Karna enough credit, and at least one of them being a Dragon was quite enough to make their relationship blossom. "Yare yare, Tsu-chan you didn't do any work on this place in years? I know you're a shut-in but you really can't trust large groups of people with different interests to manage themselves..." Miki said with her left hand propped up under her chin managing to look unfazed by the eyes on her in this moment.

[Bloodedge]

Indeed, Miki claimed her place in his lap shortly after he sat upon the throne. Akashi's tail wrapped around the pair of them, settling atop Miki. He had an air of supremacy about him as he sat, and he would have this blonde absorbed into it as well. From this position, though, he chose to primarily address the girl in his lap instead of the queen below. "You believe in your own strength, don't you? If you became Tatsuki, I couldn't destroy you so easily. Then..." Whatever he planned on saying trailed off. Seriri addressed how long Atlantis had been in such a state, and Miki chose to chastise her for doing nothing about the situation up to this point. "If you haven't seen change, then you haven't made change. You haven't seen the problems, then? Your own people are going to tear down the kingdom. What are you going to do about it?"

[Apollymi]

After taking her seat within Akashi's lap, Miki found herself wrapped up in the lad's tail. She had a random memory of doing something very similar in her claiming of Kou, while looking after him while she still maintained her Dragonoid form after his left him. 'Ano... this feels strange,' the girl thought to herself, all the while the lad's younger sister looked more pleased than normal, with devious light in her eyes now that the shock had worn off. It was as if her brother intended to show off his connection to the lass in his lap, and she was fine with this, given the problems he'd showed before. 'That's the way. Get it, Nii-san!~' the raccoon girl couldn't have been more excited about the steps towards getting a proper sister out of this exchange. Still there was a conversation happening here, and though his thought trailed off, Miki chose to address it in the silence while, Seriri considered her options for what was going on in her kingdom. "Believing in myself is one thing. But given what I plan to be doing, my own personality is currently necessary. Besides, the possibilities list says I'll end up having to take that form eventually, simply because of our likeness. I have work to do before then," said Miki. She had no proof, but she was pretty sure whatever had caused the to need to take his current form might manifest itself within her as well as they had far too much in common for her not to develop the same symptoms at some point.

Beyond all this, Seriri managed to be chastised by both of the people sitting on the throne, and the air of supremacy was something she expected from Miki as an extension of Kimi who was the one who lead her to making better decisions in life. She didn't know that such a thing would come from the Dragonoid boy as well. "I'll do my best for them. It isn't much use having a kingdom if the entire thing is falling apart and I didn't notice because its the way it's always been," Seriri managed to say. She was very certain of her own shortcomings in this and though her own life didn't prepare her much for dealing with the eventual fall from her empire. "That means I need to find out what the problems are, and try to fix them. You all have already noticed quite a few things, but since I've been living here, I never saw it as anything wrong. The people here need firmer leadership and to be made into a more cohesive group working towards one goal. I suppose there are probably more things... but that is enough to start with, right?" asked Seriri, as she turned her eyes towards the throne, willing to take on this aspect of the work with a bit of guidance. In this moment it was obvious she wasn't incompetent, she was simply naive and lacked experience. It was a start difference between the willful ignorance found in Eonis, and with this Kimi could be sure her friend was still the good-natured girl she'd always been. 'Sou ka.... that's what I was waiting for, atta girl Tsu-chan. It's time to get moving...' Miki thought happily noticing the girl's resolve in the pinkish eyes she currently had.

[Bloodedge]

"You don't plan on letting her out, then? I guess you deserve some sort of credit for being able to do that," Akashi said. He found himself wondering why he should even bother remaining in the outside world, if he would be kept from his greatest desire whilst here. He'd much rather put himself to sleep until Tatsuki revealed herself properly. After all, whenever she did so, he was certain he'd need the energy to meet her as he wished.

Karna was quite privy to the thoughts of all in the room, and he specifically honed in on Akashi's at the time. Seeing where events could potentially go if things were left unchecked, he spoke a single phrase. "MisakiNeesan." That was all. This utterance seemed to grab Akashi's attention right away. He knew the name. He'd always known the name. It was something of great importance to him, as it were, which resulted in the Dragonoid staring in Karna's direction even as he replied to Seriri. "... Just about. They would all function under one circumstance, and it requires one thing. Bend the knee," he stated. Kou would have handled the situation in a very different manner, but there would be none of that here. As Akashi, he understood that might made right, so to speak.

[Apollymi]

It seemed that Akashi understood that Miki had no intention of simply letting the transition between her and Tatsuki take place until she was done with what she intended to do. "Yeah, something like that..." Miki mentioned. Mostly she didn't intend to raise her own Dragon while she had something her own personality had something it needed to do. Soon after that moment the lass heard a singular phrase, or more accurately a username which caused her eyes to widen on reflex. It belonged to her in a way that was obvious, but she was pretty careful about using it, no one should know it. Karna saying it aloud in this moment brought Akashi's eyes to the lad, and Miki's eyes turned away, such was an immediate reaction which she couldn't hide.

In the meantime the words spoken by Akashi made Seriri look at the lad strangely. He claimed that there was one more thing she needed to do and it was bend the knee. This could only be taken in a way which implied she needed to be subservient to the lad upon the throne. Thinking about it logically, deferring to someone more clever than you and stronger than you in moments were you were weak wasn't anything worth being upset about. She didn't necessarily have the type of personality which would make her argue about bowing down to a Dragon. As an aside she preferred a life without strife anyways, and she'd only recently said she'd do whatever she could for her people. A single moment of such embarrassment and admitting weakness wasn't really a problem. "Hai, if that makes it work," the Queen said, she took knee before the lad. "I'll do what you wish, to help my Kingdom and save my people..." Seriri mentioned. Miki watched as Seriri bent the knee to the wishes of Akashi. Such a thing wasn't something Miki could say she would have done, actually she'd been playing chicken with the man all day because she'd rather that than admitting anything negative.

[Bloodedge]

There was a special point of interest in this large discussion, and it was not the subservience of Seriri. No, it was that username. Only one answer could be reached. Miki's expression shifted in a way that implied relation. Did she know who this person was? Again, no. Akashi remembered his time as Kou and as the human Yugi. The one called Miki was far beyond simply being an associate of MisakiNeesan. More importantly...

"Mi... sa... ki," Akashi muttered. As Kou, there was one puzzle he'd yet to solve during their time in Dwargon, and here it was. This was far more important than the structure of Atlantis. "Sou ka." It was just that simple. All this time, and he hadn't pieced together the fragmented username until now. He should have known, considering how her current username worked in conjunction with her given name. He supposed, then... he'd have to be sticking around while this one was here as well. He was best off properly aiding in the effort she'd initiated as well. "If you want to do something, you have to find what's really holding this place together. I don't mean the Artifact you have. I mean the person capable of using the real piece of importance. You need the Guardians of Atlantis."

[Apollymi]

It seemed there was quite the shuffle being had about Miki's supposed other username. Beyond that, she was now very thoroughly caught, knowing that the lad whose lap she occupied had the mental capabilities of the puzzle solver who made him. 'Shit. There goes my fun. Well, whatever I suppose that was gone a while ago anyways, since I've been here....' thought Miki but as she had these thoughts her posture didn't really change at all but her eyes shifted back to where they'd been before. She supposed it had been something that had crossed her mind a few times since she came to this world after finding out the lad she was traveling with was Geno Killer the person whose high scores she's been messing with across several leader boards. She hadn't thought much about the backlash knowing she hadn't been using the same username but it was now something apparently on the table.

Seriri was told what she needed to help her people. And the thing mentioned as a bit beyond what she was capable of finding. "THE GUARDIANS OF ATLANTIS! No one even knows where they are, I couldn't find them when I came here... what's supposed to make that different now?" she asked truly confused about finding it. Still paying the most attention to the moment, Miki very easily came up with a solution to the problems faced by the lack of information. "Right, research was never your strong suit huh, Tsu-chan..." she said laxly. "You should look for someone who can read old Atlantean. Probably someone who can make Atlantean Runes... check your libraries and other such places. Also find me a couple of tavern keeps and a history buff. You should talk to them too, but send them to me as well. As you talk you should find the information you need... and remember this lesson yeah?" she asked of the lass, who seemed to look up at her for the first time in a while. A bright smile came to Seriri's face, because in this moment she saw the girl she'd known in her former life, happily helping out while not really mincing words at all. And Kimi was the person she'd missed most since coming here. "Hm, that does make sense. I have to look for someone from here and who understands the old history to try and find the Guardians to help use them. And I am sending you a historian to talk to and tavern keeps so you can get an idea of the basics of the economy before you try and force the bankers hand... right?" she asked of Miki seeming to have no problem laying out the plans of the pair before her, after being given their smaller pieces. "I knew you had it in you. Well go ahead, get to work..."

[Bloodedge]

Akashi had officially moved on to the topic of Atlantis and its problems, though his mind kept looping back to Miki's other identity. Still, his focus was present. Seriri seemed in disbelief over the rise of the Guardians. Akashi sighed. He opened his mouth, but it was Miki who spoke first. The girl gave some solid advice to the queen, which was taken in stride. Akashi had the answers, but perhaps this was done on purpose. Very well. He would remain silent and let the queen be on her way, aside from one other demand he had. "While you're at it, bring me the outcast. The one hated by Man and Mer. Have him sent here."

Of course, Akashi had no idea who he was talking about himself. There had to be one, though. The way the people of Atlantis behaved implied a strong undertone of distaste from every individual, all aimed at the opposing species. However, there was an undertone within that undertone. There was something else the people hated even more. Rather... there was something they likely feared. This was the most important piece to his puzzle, and he had to have it nearby.

[Apollymi]

Seriri rose to go do what she'd been asked, trying to figure out what lesson she was supposed to take from doing this sort of leg work herself. Before she could properly turn around though, there was one more request. One made by Akashi for her to bring him, the person who was hated by both Man and Mer, the outcast of the Atlantean Society. Seriri had heard stories of this person, a boy who seemed to incur the wrath of both types of people that lived in this place though she'd never figured out why. Her personal body guard had told her what to look for and avoid so she had on principle but perhaps this was the wrong way to go about it. What was more, she'd have difficulty finding this person in a straight forward manner, perhaps doing what Miki wanted her to do first would help her in her search. "Hai, I'll do what I can... ja ne," she said with a quick bow before aiming to leave the palace herself in search of a random group of individuals. Her search would lead to one of the taverns, in order to avoid unnecessary strife, she'd head to one of the ones closer to the more human settlements. She had questions to ask and needed to find someone willing to answer them without asking too many questions themselves. She considered herself to be, okay at dealing with people on an individual level, and knew the kind of person Miki would need to speak with given her own personality.

In the meantime, Miki managed to sigh outwardly. Though she was a little bit worried about the lass she'd just sent out, she figured she'd made it this long in the world, a little bit of proper exploration wouldn't properly kill her. Hikari had been silent for quite a while, but now she was left with a bit of a burning question which needed answering and she hadn't been able to put it together on her own. "I am okay with the details. I know why research is being done, and even why you sent her out to do it herself instead of being the ones to take the lead, but why do you need the outcast? I'm confused..." she questioned earnestly like someone trying to learn who to deal with such things. In this moment, Miki realized the reason she liked the smaller lass, was because she was reminded a bit of the friend she'd just sent out into the world. 'Sou ka, that explains it. They share personality traits just a bit... that makes sense,' she mused still relaxed in place atop the lap of Akashi and content to hear out his explanation though she had an inkling of an idea herself.

[Bloodedge]

"Good," Akashi said, letting the Mermaid be on her way. Even with his obvious sense of supremacy, Akashi retained enough of his original self to have faith in her ability to at least complete the tasks she was given. He didn't care much for the other matters initially, but he now intended to see that Miki's plan went through as well, even as he prioritized the outcast of Atlantis.

Once the queen was on her journey, Hikari presented her curiosity about the goings-on. Her query was a respectable one, at least. Indeed, she once again confirmed her relation to him with this. He even grinned cheekily when his response came. "Because the outcast is the key. When two species live together and hate each other, where do they find common ground? What's the one thing that they can agree on? Neither of them wants to be the other. So, then... what do they hate more than the other?"

[Apollymi]

And with that Seriri disappeared into the Kingdom to do her research. Beyond this, Hikari was now questioning the choice of finding the outcast. And instead of being met with hostility from Akashi, she was simply given a series of questions to help her figure out the answer to the question she'd asked originally. This was very much an action her brother often took, instead of simply giving her an answer he allowed her to work her way through by giving her a series of leading questions. 'Hm, if two groups are together and hate each other, then they tend to find commonality in the hate,' the young woman mused silently. 'They choose to hate each other, they also want to affirm their feelings, so both would hate contradictions....' she thought a light coming to her eyes for the first time which was devious. "Oh, the Outcast is both things. Proof that they can exist happily together, so they don't like him... he's like heresy for both groups. So, his placement near the royalty of the area will cement the coexisting society, right?"

The lass' question made Miki smile, she was indeed reminded of the girl Tsukiko her childhood friend by interacting with Hikari. It was quite surprising, but such a line of thought also affirmed Miki's earlier thoughts that there were several clever people within the Kingdom currently. This would make it potentially a lot easier to get everything done in a more timely manner perhaps. Speaking of that was the main problem currently occupying Miki's mind, though the discovery of her alternative username was also something which floated around in her head as well. She supposed she should have seen such a discovery coming eventually, but given none of the other leaders knew her personally, she hadn't had to worry about anyone understanding the connection between her two selves. Perhaps it didn't really matter so much in the long term, perhaps it did matter quite a bit... whatever the case, she needed to focus on something besides the potential bad outcomes right at the moment.

[Bloodedge]

There it was. He knew she'd come to the proper conclusion with a few simple mentions, and the act of her doing so seemed to spark something deeper within Akashi's being, far beyond the Dragonoid himself. Was this... pride? No, it certainly wasn't his. Or perhaps... even a bit belonged to him as well. Whatever the case, his grin widened slightly. "The primary source of fallen society. The leading cause of war. Prejudice. Difference of species, difference of abilities... difference of status. It's the flaw of mankind to be unaccepting of others' flaws. Even a Dragon wouldn't be such a moron. Historically, the oppressed will always rise and overthrow the oppressors. Then... they will eventually become the oppressors to another..." Akashi sighed, closing his eyes before reopening them to mere slits. He seemed to space out for a moment, though it also didn't seem to be entirely his doing. "That is what ended my kind... the Dragons."

He'd gone on a bit of a tirade. Eventually though, he regained enough of himself to address the legitimate issue at hand. "The outcast won't accomplish anything by being in the palace. They will be useful for something else entirely, and that will be the glue of society in Atlantis."

[Apollymi]

What came next from Akashi was one of the more in-depth analysis Miki had ever heard about people. And she'd heard a lot from a very different perspective, her eyes widened lightly as she heard these words but she accepted the truth of them fairly easily. 'Sou ka, definitely the right one for the people problem...' she said to herself, there was an obvious appreciation in the lass for his words, though she didn't outwardly express this. She was still sitting in this lad's lap and still thinking over several potential problems. She hadn't missed the fact that he'd mentioned the fall of Dragons and wondered if the lad had insight because of being this avatar or if he had more knowledge from game play. Whatever the case, she was sure she'd get the details on it a bit later. Though he seemed somewhat spaced out in the passing moments.

Hikari seemed to beam just a bit as her theories were at least partly confirmed. Though she was mistaken about the usefulness of the 'Outcast' apparently he would eventually be an integral part of the society at hand. "Sou ka... that clears that up then. Arigatou, Nii-san!~" the raccoon girl chimed. She turned then and looked at Miki's face, finding the lass to be deep in thought, but apparently not worse for wear. She already accepted the other girl as the best possible match for her brother, watching how she dealt with Seriri in the moment further confirmed the lass' niceness. With this in mind there was something else that needed to be done, which would mean the eventual leaving of both Hikari and Karna, and it was something the raccoon girl was trying to figure out how to mention in the next few moments.

[Bloodedge]

"Hmph," was Akashi's only utterance of response to Hikari. It wasn't a malicious reaction at all, which was much better than what could be said about most. It seemed he'd properly accepted this one as well, even if in a very different manner. Everything seemed in order here now... except for the matter of Hikari and Karna finding a potential cure for the Devouring. Hikari herself didn't seem to know when or how to present the idea of them leaving, but...

That's what Karna was here for.

Ever the wordsmith, Karna took the moment of silence in the group at large as his opening. He walked up to the throne in an utmost casual manner, looking the Dragonoid in the eye whilst bowing just slightly. Akashi quirked a brow, wondering what this jester could have wanted. Then, just then... perfectly chosen words slipped past Karna's silver tongue. "Yeah, so we're heading out for a bit. Gotta find a magic bitch to do magic stuff. K bye~" he said, immediately turning on his heel and beckoning for Hikari to follow.

[Apollymi]

In the moments that passed it seemed that Akashi at least wasn't violent at being referred to as the raccoon girl's brother. Ever the chivalrous savior, Karna stepped in to clear the air and get the pair of them moving towards whatever their goals were unknown to the pair of individuals atop the throne. His choice in words caused Miki to chuckle and Hikari to look shocked but at his beckoning she went along. 'Yosh! Nice save, Dick-sensei!~' she mentally chimed as she placed Fiona atop the pillow at Miki's side and turned to take the stairs. "Hikari-chan, heads up..." she said Miki after watching the lass take the steps two by two to head off. The young raccoon girl turned around to find a bag of coin flying through she opened her hands to catch. "Arigatou Miki-nee!" she said "Ja ne!~" she finished up more than willing not to say anything else.

'I mildly wonder what they are up to... oh well, I guess it will come up sooner or later,' Miki thought to herself. Though she'd provided the duo with about 100 gold coins for their trip she hadn't really bothered asking what they intended to get up to. Her disagreements with Karna aside, she knew the lad wasn't necessarily a bad person. And that he only really managed to annoy her so much because of the type of person she was, still that had been a fairly funny exit and she couldn't really deny that at all.

[Bloodedge]

And thus, Karna and Hikari would be on their way out of the palace. Akashi hadn't bothered questioning this. If they wanted to go about their way for whatever reason, they were free to do so. Hikari may have been considered weak, but she could surely handle herself. If not, that pest of a jester could make himself useful without a doubt.

And just like that, Akashi and Miki were left alone at the throne, excluding the chick of a Filolial. The Dragonoid's tail began to write gently in its place atop the Lancer, as Akashi himself rested his head atop the back of his left hand. All they had to do now was wait, but in the meantime, Akashi could have sworn there was something else of major importance to address. "Now, I think we were discussing something..." he said casually, almost as if bored by the atmosphere already.

[Apollymi]

They were alone, again. Miki was distinctly aware of this now more than she was when they'd gone off to the Obelisk together. At this very moment, she was still sitting in the lad's lap, with no one around as witness but their small bird companion, who after looking around for a minute decided to roost quietly atop the pillow which felt so familiar to her. Over the course of the next moment or two, the blonde lass became acutely aware of the tail wrapped around her and wiggling in her lap. There was something about this moment which was somewhat comforting, and though Akashi himself had a bit of a bored air, it appeared he hadn't truly forgotten the discussion they'd been having before this moment. There was the mention of her alternate username which though she didn't really want to discuss, seemed to be a topic that should be addressed sooner rather than later. "MisakiNeesan... that seemed to be the next thing you wanted to talk about, in the middle of getting Atlantis set up..." Miki mentioned rather calmly if she was being honest. This was a strange conversation to have with another person, but she supposed there were worst cases to have to admit things in, than simply admitting that she'd previously popped up on online leader boards and arcades he was found on for her own amusement.

[Bloodedge]

What was that thing they were talking about? Amidst all the hullabaloo, Akashi seemed to have legitimately lost it. It was right at the tip of his tongue, yet he couldn't grasp it fully, and then... Miki spoke. The first thing to leave her mouth was the username: MisakiNeesan. Indeed, that was her other identity. What many arcade-goers viewed to be the potential end of his original self as Geno Killer, was... her.

However...

His expression remained entirely unchanged. There wasn't so much as a twitch in his eye before his gaze casually shifted toward Miki. For whatever reason, he continued to boast the demeanor of an unamused emperor of some sort. With all of that, he stared at Miki for several seconds, unmoved yet again, before he finally opened his mouth to retort. "MisakiNeesan? Why would I care to talk about that?"

[Apollymi]

A few seconds of silence followed the sentence spoken by Miki. Was this another strange game to him. She noticed he had a bit of a supremacy look. In this very moment he seemed to be using it as a shell. But, it was kind of hard to pull of hard superiority properly with someone sitting in your lap, at least this was the way Miki thought about it while being seated as such. Another grin spread across the blonde lass' face, "I don't know, could be the fact that you stopped when it was said in recognition. Could be the fact that you repeated it in broken syllables, like you figured something out. Could be the fact that you almost stared a hole though me when I instinctively reacted to it..." she listed in a manner with noted sarcasm. "Or you don't really care at all, I could have imagined all of those things... guilty consciences being what they are," the girl said giving a rather casual shrug. She wasn't necessarily a liar by any means, she was very cut and dry, either he wanted to talk about it or he didn't, but she had already thought though it logically and found it to be one of those strange things about her which could have fallen to obscurity without ever mattering. A cheeky smirk came to her face soon after and she had one more thing to say. "Or you had something to say about me tagging all your scoreboards... that was just for fun by the way. I don't want your title or anything..." she said with a bit of amusement in her eyes and voice.

[Bloodedge]

Miki went on to list all of the reasons Akashi may have wanted to discuss her other identity. All of them were legitimately things which happened, and yet... he truly didn't feel a need to address it. It was now his assumption that Miki herself had it in mind between those previous moments, and the present. As such... he supposed he should entertain the topic. "I... we were wondering for a long time. There was a missing piece in the puzzle to figure out if you were MisakiNeesan. That moment earlier was the puzzle coming together." All truths. With Miki giving the reason for her placement against him on arcade scoreboards, and further claiming she didn't want his title, he snickered. "Whether you want the title or not, you have it. Geno Killer is not a title. Geno Killer is a way of playing... all because of the meta. The meta itself is Game Genocide. The mentality of Geno Killer is to go against that, and kill the meta. Genocide... Killer. When someone finally started matching Geno Killer without creating a new meta... we wondered who they could be. We wanted... to know them, but the person behind Geno Killer can't be known in that world."

[Apollymi]

Miki heard out what Akashi had to say about what had happened in the moments prior to this one. According to him, it had been simply the pieces of the puzzle coming together and it wasn't anything innately malicious. "Sou ka..." beyond this statement she didn't have anything else to say. And as such she relaxed a bit more, obviously being found out was strange but since it didn't really matter anyways it was just a bit of a weight off her shoulders. She then received a lesson about the Geno Killer's mentality directly from the man himself, which was quite strange. Since Miki herself had been online silent for quite a while, she didn't know exactly what such a thing was about. "That seems to get applied without intent, but I suppose there are worse things to end up with accidentally," she said of her apparent titling as an additional Geno Killer. Whatever the case the lad went on to finish this by stating that they'd simply been curious about the person who could accomplish the same things as them within the same constraints, but he couldn't let himself be known in their other world. "Hm, that last bit sounds lonely, I understand that... I was also pretty curious," she said thinking about her own reasons for appearing on so many leader boards. She was quite for a few seconds more before she turned to the lad giving him a bit of a smile from her perch. "And then I met you and you were just a guy having fun, and I could respect that... I'm happy I met you."

[Bloodedge]

That was all there was to it. In one brief discussion, Miki understood the purpose of Geno Killer, and he - in turn - was made to understand that the one behind Miki had her own curiosities in the other world. It couldn't be. It seemed, with their current existence in this world, it didn't have to be. Akashi understood this a bit better than Kou, with all of the latter's restraints linking up to the original personality. "Those curiosities don't matter anymore. Those lives are gone. Geno Killer is gone."

He was minus even a twitch earlier in the conversation, but the moment Miki claimed to be happy she'd met the one known as Geno Killer, there it was. His eyes widened, if only briefly... though that wasn't Akashi at all. Outwardly, the Dragonoid behaved quite differently from what struck him initially. "Sou ka," he said. With that, he moved on. "That discussion... I believe we were addressing something else, before meeting the others."

[Apollymi]

"Well, sure. Probably for the best... being alone all the time was getting pretty boring," Miki said aloud, considering her life strangely. She didn't really care much for the other world anymore either. It wasn't like gaming wasn't all she was doing to amuse herself in the first place. And here she'd replaced that with adventuring so she was pretty certain the trade was fair regardless. He seemed to really not care too much about anything in his current form, except for the gentle widening of his eyes which Miki noticed but had nothing to say about. She figured it was similar to her own earlier experience, something inside nudging just a bit at the reaction they wanted to have. A short while thereafter, Akashi did indeed have something else to say, this was in direct reference to a very different conversation they'd been having just a few moments before they'd appeared back in the palace. Miki managed to hear out this sentence with only the raising of her left brow to go along with it. He was indeed without restraint she could confirm this by how easily he broached such a topic, and in a manner which was leading at best. "Oh that? I suppose we were talking about that a bit, but I did mention I don't plan to be Tatsuki until I do what I need to... Gomen."

[Bloodedge]

"Agreed," he said plainly. As Yugi, he had conceded to a life of privacy as well, though mostly by choice. In the corner of his mind though, he never wanted the loneliness he'd resigned himself to, even in that other world. Akashi cared less than the other personas... but it remained true nonetheless. That didn't matter at all now, though. As far as he knew, he wouldn't have to deal with that situation again, bar any random catastrophe happening in this world.

Soon enough, they were onto a topic of... greater importance, as it were. Much to Akashi's dismay, Miki's rebuttal addressed her desire to remain in her current form until her business was done. No, that wasn't quite right. It wasn't necessarily that which gave Akashi displeasure. His eyes fell upon the blonde as he spoke again with all the lack of restraint he had in Dragonoid form. "And what of Miki? Iia... what of Ashikaga Kimiko?" he asked blatantly. In that very moment, he would make clear that he acknowledged Miki as a being at last. Not only that, but he'd made the decision to fully suppress and silence his other selves, leaving him free enough as himself to unveil his knowledge of the human Kimiko.

[Apollymi]

It seemed that the boy known only to Miki as Geno Killer was also someone who knew loneliness. That was a bit strange, but it only served to make her feel for the lad a bit more. She'd been content to leave him alone, because having a friend was better than ending up alone in the world again. With this in mind, she was more than a little careful with how she chose to address the Dragonoid whose lap she currently occupied. Of course, he was without any restraint and this would become obvious due to the displeasure he would show in the next moment or two. Miki spent a moment staring at the lad her eyes widened slightly. There was too much happening in a very short amount of time. He finally acknowledged her as a singular individual which should have been a happy moment. But he also asked a very direct question which questioned not just her Avatar but the self she was truly. She'd been referred to by the pet version of her name by Seriri, but in this moment it was as if the Dragon wished to know her intentions so directly. "Sou ka, so you know who I am... or rather who I was, that is a really aggressive way to bring that up..." she mentioned. Oddly she didn't really have to think about it. "I obviously like you. Well... that sounds strange, " she said trying to correct it immediately. "I mean, I like all of you. The different parts I mean," she said that aloud and realized she probably sounded greedy. "I mean... there isn't any good way to say that. I don't dislike you in my other forms or anything like that. I just know I'm not built for the Dance of Dragons or anything like that... And you seem to like me alright but that doesn't really seem to be the case for the rest of you really. I felt like I was reaching a bit, does that make sense at all?" she asked, feeling like she'd been rambling and wondering if she'd said the important bits when addressing the Dragonoid.

[Bloodedge]

The Dragonoids eyes closed. Of course he knew who she was. Whether he knew her personally, or simply had figured it out the way he did many other things, he'd leave to mystery. More importantly, he posed a question previously, and he was keen to have it answered. Miki eventually worked her way through a proper response, even if it took a bit of rambling to do so. She got around to specifying her link not specifically to Akashi, but to the others inhabiting the body as well. That wasn't something that mattered to the Dragonoid. The answer he sought was for the Dance of Dragons, and he received that as well. Still, he considered it worthwhile to address the rest, too. "That would be a problem for the others to address. No matter. The children have been put to bed. Still... don't underestimate your ability to dance, Kimi," he said in a slightly cryptic manner as his eyes opened again. It was almost as if Akashi could see more than his eyes allowed, as if there was something immaterial that triggered his senses as of late. Perhaps that was the case. At this point, he wasn't even speaking to Miki or Tatsuki anymore.

[Apollymi]

Miki was left in a very strange situation after answering the lad's question. His eyes closed and he seemed capable of getting Miki's meaning even though she was very bad at delivering it. His reply was strange to her though, as it implied that Akashi was now the only person inhabiting his body or at the very least he'd somehow managed to quiet the other potential voices in his head, including the other character and the original self. That was a strange concept to Miki because she hadn't managed to get a pure version of herself out of any of her character switches. Beyond this point was something very very unexpected though, when Akashi spoke of her, he claimed she shouldn't underestimate her own abilities in this case, and referred to her by the pet version of her name. This was something previously only used by Seriri/Tsuki as such it was a strange thing to hear from the male. They'd had some fairly frank conversations in the last few moments, but something about him saying this version of her name struck a chord within her, which softened her expression and made her face turn red instantly. "H-hai! If you say so..." she managed in a small voice. She managed as she turned her head away, hiding the minor form of embarrassment she now felt. She tried to focus on something else anything else really while hoping for the feverish color of her face to disappear, she'd found herself looking down at her fingers gently tracing the scales of the lad's tail in her lap while she waited for her blush to fade.

[Bloodedge]

Embarrassment? That was her reaction? He supposed he couldn't expect much more, but Miki's efforts to cover herself weren't exactly working in her favor. Once his eyes were open, he could see more than anyone alive should. And, he'd be sure to bring this up posthaste. "Even without these eyes, no matter how quickly you turn your head, it won't work," he said. Every word leaving his mouth, did so flatly. If she was waiting for her face to clear up, he wouldn't exactly be making an effort to let her do so. He also had no intention of keeping silent about the odd caressing of his tail. "You would look away from a Dragon, and touch his tail simultaneously? That's the sort of boldness that makes what I said the truth."

[Apollymi]

It seemed that the Dragonoid whose lap she occupied was content to tease her mercilessly. Even so, Miki wasn't really the kind to just take that sort of thing. She couldn't help the snide commentary which would come from her immediately following, even while she wasn't willing to face the lad. "You can say that. I can know that... and I still would have had the same reaction to you calling me by a name literally only one other person in my life has ever called me," she muttered still rather busily tracing the scales on his tail. Even as he went on to mention this being a strange thing for her to do she wouldn't really stop, because that would only make her embarrassment greater in the moment. "It is literally in my lap and wrapped around me, not touching would be harder at this point..." she said, finally shifting her face towards him. Perhaps she didn't see the irony of this given her own placement, but that wasn't really the point at present. She didn't like losing nor being embarrassed, but she most certainly wasn't going to seem afraid, not that she could argue that her actions were occasionally bold and likely uncalled for. "Besides, that doesn't exactly sound like a complaint..." her still red face gained a cheeky smirk, she was embarrassed but she wouldn't be letting such a normal reaction get the best of her in a situation like this.

[Bloodedge]

"It may be wise to get used to it, instead. You never know when you might need that name again," he said with eyes aimed forward. Her reaction to the tail touching being pointed out warranted a raised brow from the Dragonoid. Did she really think that was reasonable? No matter. She was right, after all. He wasn't exactly complaining, as should be evident by his previous utterances and implications. This, too, would be something he made clear. "Why would I complain? You know what I am. The Dance of Dragons is not something that can be stopped, once decided upon. It can only be interrupted for a time."

[Apollymi]

A bit of advice came from Akashi about the nature of her given name and the pet version of it. He advised she might want to get used to hearing it, if only because she might need it some other time. "Doubtful, I can't even say it. And aside from Tsu-chan no one else really has a reason to call me that..." she mentioned, though that was obviously a bit of an understatement since the man with her chose to call her such as well. "And you. You called me that," she said managing to sound the slightest bit strange about it. She wasn't sure why, but she could definitely say she enjoyed being called such by the lad whose lap she occupied at the very least. Soon enough she managed a bit more of a direct gaze while talking to Akashi and he managed to explain his current predicament. "Well, that makes sense. I guess you wouldn't complain in that case, and you were just teasing me..." she said not sounding defeated though she still hadn't really stopped what she'd been doing. She wondered what kind of time span the Dance of Dragons had, she figured this lad would be happier with his Dragon partner for such a thing even if he didn't seem to care too much one way or the other, and her own Dragon had been strangely quiet since they'd gotten back.

[Bloodedge]

As Miki spoke further, Akashi looked at her directly. His expression was no less bland than his previous words were. "I did. And, I'm sure... one of the others will some day," he said, thinking ahead to a situation he only considered. All things considered though, there was a metaphorical bush, and Miki was in the process of beating around it. Akashi couldn't be having that. "I've done no teasing. I was, and am still, just waiting. You don't seem to have any plans of answering me, though. I'm getting bored again." He obviously had a single intention since waking, and it seemed he wasn't even going to be getting an equivalent. Whatever the case, he wanted the certainty.

[Apollymi]

Akashi was back to a normal level of bland, which was quite strange considering the aggression of his earlier words. Beyond this he seemed to be very sure of the eventual need for her normal name. She didn't really have anything to say about it in the moment. In fact, she was still in quite a precarious predicament, one which she'd been thinking about and one which apparently Akashi didn't intend to let go. He even claimed he was getting bored again because he'd not gotten a straight answer out of her. "You aren't going to cut me a little slack here?" she managed, finally without the extra exasperation she shifted to give the lad her full attention. She faced him from his lap and stared at him with a gaze as if studying his face. And she leaned in, stopping just before his face still just looking. "You said not to underestimate my ability to dance, what exactly did you have in mind?" she asked of the red haired lad. She'd already admitted a great many things in their conversations, so it wasn't as if she didn't understand fully what she was asking, but if he knew he couldn't get the dragon dance he wanted, she wondered if he wanted something else from her instead.

[Bloodedge]

Akashi shook his head. There was no slack to be given. He would have his answers, one way or another. If Miki didn't do so verbally, he would come to his own conclusions. Either it could end well, or it would end badly, but he'd made his point already regardless. Soon though, he met Miki's firm gaze with his own. She didn't exactly answer his question, but it seemed he would have to be a bit more specific. With her leaning so closely to his face, he boasted a deadpan expression while the tip of his tail crept up her body until reaching her chin. "You know what I meant. The Dance of Dragons. You may not be one of us, but there is Dragon within you. You possess her soul."

[Apollymi]

Akashi apparently had no intention of taking it easy on the blonde lass, she'd figured as much but his confirmation made her chuckle. After she asked her question though as she stared into the lad's deadpan expression, she'd soon find his tail creeping up her body with the tip of it coming to rest under her chin. When he spoke again his clarified, saying that though the girl wasn't a Dragon in form currently, she held the soul of one and thus was suitable for the Dance of Dragons. "Sou ka, that is a pretty big leap to take... and your poker face is a lot better than mine," she said, but she'd been thinking it over for quite a bit, she wondered if there were any actual negatives to accepting this attention. She couldn't think of any immediately, and Miki was a bit impulsive. Beyond that she didn't appreciate being embarrassed by someone who could maintain such a straight face. "Hm, well I suppose I did tell you to do what you wanted, and that I just wanted you here. So then if you believe in this, then... I'll take what you give," Miki said with a smile on her face and at this distance she continued to wait. She'd kissed him herself last time, but this time she simply waited to see what he would actually decide with permission to continue as he wished.

[Bloodedge]

"Is it? It all seems normal to me," he said, meaning just that wholeheartedly. As for the difference between poker faces... well, Akashi didn't have one. He was legitimately just bored. It wasn't that he was bored of Miki in particular, but he most certainly was bored in a general sense. Alas, the next time Miki opened her mouth, she spoke in a roundabout way of giving her consent to the aforementioned Dance of Dragons. Akashi's expression remained unchanged. However, there was a twitch in his tail that resulted in the stroking of Miki's chin. In the meantime, his hand rose with a clawed finger reaching out to the top of the girl's collar. "If that's all you wanted, you'd be making the wrong decision right now. Don't play Chicken with Dragons," he said casually, just before his lips pressed against Miki's. His claw initiated movement again, casually moving its way down the center of Miki's chest. If left unhindered, it would begin the gradual process of concentrating a tiny amount of energy at its tip. Said energy would be just enough to tear through the girl's top in the straight line he carved.

[Apollymi]

According to Akashi he didn't see anything wrong with the intuitive leap he'd made about Miki's ability to dance with him. Possessing a Dragon herself, Miki understood that the lad wouldn't really understand the amount of reservation found in other creatures particularly in the mind of teenage girls. Miki seemed to lack them to some extent, but it wouldn't stop her from enjoying herself in the moment. And though nothing changed about Akashi's face in the moment, his tail twitched beneath her chin, causing him to stoke her. 'Oh a different kind of tell then...' she thought absently as the lad seemed to meet her antics fairly. He'd state soon enough that she shouldn't play chicken with a Dragon and that if this was all she wanted she'd made the wrong decision. Still the Dragonoid pressed his lips against Miki's in the next moment and a single clawed finger of his seemed to be moving down the front of her. There was just enough energy applied to it, to begin opening her top up as he moved said finger. In the moment, Miki didn't seem to care too much it would leave her skin being rather slowly exposed to the lad whose lap she occupied with his tail still wrapped around her. Was she feeling particularly bold, had she learned the lesson of not playing chicken, not really, she slipped her tongue out of her own mouth this time, intending to invade Akashi's mouth instead.

[Bloodedge]

There wasn't so much as an attempt to stop him. She would concede to his will, then? Or was this her will, too? Whatever the case, their lips kept in contact while Akashi's tail rubbed Miki's chin and cheek. At the same time, his claw continued to progress down her top. In a matter of moments, he would cut everything open at the front if he kept along this path. Miki's efforts to have her tongue enter his mouth were met by the same efforts returned. Akashi's tongue rubbed along hers, occasionally finding its way fully beyond her lips before retreating only for the sake of traversing the length of her tongue again. All the while, one could note that they were beginning to hover over the throne by the will of Akashi. Magic saw to it that the Dragonoid's jacket faded away in flames, and the same could be said of his breeches and boots. He lay himself fully bared in the open air, and if his efforts were not in vain, he would be leaving Miki in a position to do the same.

[Apollymi]

Miki made no efforts to stop him from opening her clothes in such a way. And one might think this very odd except, there was one little known fact about this blonde lass and all other forms of her. She seemed to have a mind for perversion and though she never truly acted upon it, with the opportunity to do so presented without consequence she seemed to find no reason to stop herself. After all there was no telling when a chance like this might appear again, and she honestly liked the lad she was with in all of his forms, even if this wasn't the one she imagined herself with directly. In this moment she found Akashi's tongue dancing in and out of mouth while her own did the same with lavishing strokes. Unlike the prior time they'd kissed she found the ability to do so and breathe simultaneously, and as such she didn't have to stop. Strangely, the pair would soon be hovering off the throne, which she somewhat expected given the lad's own aversion to being on the ground in such a case, but that being said it was still quite stunning to think about as it was under no control of her own. As his clothes disappeared she found herself able to touch his skin, which she did as her own use of mana zone allowed her to strip away the layers of her clothes leaving her mostly naked atop him. All that remained attached to her person, was a single sleeve down her left arm and one thigh high up her right leg. She seemed to be engrossed in the activity without thought of anything else, she couldn't deny herself the ability to possess this lad in the current moment and as such she intended to have him.

[Bloodedge]

It seemed Miki would also have an easy enough time discarding her broken articles of clothing, leaving them both in the perfect place to being this... dance, as it were. Claws gently traced the exposed, soft flesh of the blonde's torso and thighs, all while the pair of them would float in a circular pattern the likes of which the two Dragonoids had done in the Marshlands. Akashi continued meeting the girl's tongue with his own tongue's movements, yet his body remained mostly still. Only one of the two boasted the ability to fly, and it was Akashi himself, leaving Miki atop him for her elevation. This proved to be the limitation of the Dance of Dragons, though the single Dragonoid in this pair didn't seem concerned at all. All he had to do was ensure he remained in place as a platform for the lass.

[Apollymi]

Miki was left in the same position as Akashi floated around in circles with her atop him. This wasn't too strange as this was partly what they'd discussed, but there was one thing about this which would have to strangely be left up to Miki as she was the one currently with free appendages. She felt the movement of lightly clawed fingers on her torso and thighs and a light moan escaped her mouth into his. And since it was obvious to her what needed to be done, she was bold enough to see it through. Her body inched forward just a tad but she still never really broke contact except the slight rise in her body which would cause her nether to align with his. At first she couldn't seem to find the right alignment as she slid up the length of his manhood only to nudge at her own opening with the tip of him, leaving him slightly wet by what leaked from this most intimate part. If there was any doubt this girl was a pervert of some sort, it was all but gone as she tried to start copulation earnestly, though it was something she'd never attempted with an actual person before, she understood enough of her own anatomy that she seemed capable of making it happen. All the while she seemed to enjoy the attention she was being given as her hands came to rest against the lad's chest. The dance would start in earnest as the right angle was reached for the lass to lower herself onto his lap.

[Bloodedge]

All things were in order, it seemed. The two continued having their tongues dance around one another with no signs of stopping, and in fact, Akashi's efforts would only intensify as Miki's moans entered his mouth. The girl moved in a way that would place her in the proper position for their encounter to truly begin. Akashi's member was treated to the warm moisture of her undercarriage by the end of this shift, prompting the first of what would presumably be numerous throbs down the length of his shaft. He was far beyond prepared, and from what he could feel, as was Miki.

Perhaps there was still an inkling of Yugi remaining within. Akashi took hold of Miki's hips with a firm grasp, and he began... not quite thrusting his way into the lass, but simply prodding at her opening. It seemed interestingly reserved for how certain Akashi was that he could wholeheartedly make his entry, but again, it didn't seem to be his own doing. His every movement implied a desire to drive himself forward to the best of his ability, but he couldn't quite achieve insertion...

[Apollymi]

There were many things taking place, strangely one of the things Miki got to feel for the first time, was the throbbing of Akashi's manhood very near her insides. Perhaps she was more willing to do so this sort of thing than she'd let on. Her body felt ready but just as copulation could have properly started he grabbed onto her hips. Such a thing was very surprising, and brought another small sound from her mouth, but his grip seemed to shift her a bit, so instead of taking the more official plunge the length of his manhood ran down the moist slit of her opening all the way to her pearl, causing her to moan. "Aaaah," was the sound which fell from her mouth. She might not have found anything wrong with her actions, but the movements were enough to begin pushing her towards a peak. Still she shifted herself backward the shifting of her hips seemed to go along with Akashi's like she too was trying her hardest to be entered in such a way, still this feeling was far from unpleasant to her. In fact the more she moved the redder her face got and the more she moaned, there was a feeling deep within her body like the opening of flood gates and it was a familiar pressure to one such as Miki that she worked towards with marked determination, and gentle movements of her hips against his manhood.

[Bloodedge]

It was just about there. The head of Akashi's member threatened to find its way inside Miki with each minor movement. The additional movement of the girl's hips even made it possible for Akashi to just about slip his way in. He could feel his tip peeking just inside during every movement. While that was its own level of satisfaction, every time he felt himself about to pass the threshold, something pulled him away again. One could almost imagine this being how he approached the matter on purpose, as if he meant to tease his partner. This... was not the case at all. He was actually putting forth more effort than he ever had before, just to make his way in. Alas, whatever kept him from this was more powerful than he could have anticipated. Still, his efforts continued in vain.

[Apollymi]

As they continued, Miki seemed to be finding a decent bit of pleasure in how they carried on. Each forward and backward movement of her hips seemed to bring about a tingling sensation, which spread through her body with every peeking movement of his member. Miki was of a mind that he'd carried on in such a way on purpose, as he had warned her not to play chicken with a Dragon and this seemed about as dangerous as a game of chicken could possibly get. With this in mind it didn't seem like anything she wanted to stop or complain about, and her motions continued without interruption even with the lad's hands on her hips seemingly keeping her from the ability to properly lower herself. If it wasn't him carrying on in such a way, she had no idea what it was, but her movements held that same steady pace, until of course the inevitable came. In a single crashing wave their combined movements broke the threshold of her peak, causing the girl to finish with a moan in a moment of pleasure better than any she'd reached on her own before. Her body froze as this happened right against Akashi's extra fluid leaked from her person but she couldn't claim to be dissatisfied by the experience at all.

[Bloodedge]

What was this force stopping him? Why could Akashi, the mighty Dragon of Purgatory, not fight against it? There was no way he was simply fighting against the pleasure, even if it was already among the best feelings any version of him had experienced. What dared stop this dance?

It seemed things were fine on Miki's end. Akashi could assume she was well enough off by the additional moaning, and the sudden influx of moisture upon his groin. That should have been enough. Even if he'd been having trouble entering, that undoubtedly should have been the moment he could have slid his way home... even accidentally. Alas, it was not to be, but why? The struggle was becoming too much, even to the extent of... almost becoming visible.

[Apollymi]

Miki had flourished and given this an added red tint came to her face. Eventually her body moved again, albeit at a much more relaxed pace. And in the moments before she'd closed her eyes to experience her maximum pleasure. When she opened them again and angled her eyes downward she became aware of two things. The first of which was, the fact that the pair of them still hadn't started this event in earnest, and the second of which was that the Dragonoid of this pair was still not in the same position that she had been. He seemed to be working towards something but it didn't appear to be the same level of pleasure she'd just experienced. She had nothing to go on really, but she figured now was as good a time as any to pay him back for the teasing he'd done, whether it'd been his own intention or not. She leaned her body closer in pressing her chest against his and shifting her hips to press his manhood between the lips of her nether for its entire length. Only then did she begin to move her body up and down his, with the added moisture of her previous flourish she'd be able to slip up and down the entirety of him, giving the sensation of the act they'd yet to get started on a much smaller scale. At the same time the lass would finally speak, next to Akashi's right ear, which she flicked gently with her tongue. "You know Akashi, if you're going to keep teasing me like this, you could just do so in a way you'd enjoy it too..." she whispered softly. The way she currently moved would allow him the sensation which was likely best for him, while allowing her to stimulate all parts of herself again. She moved her hips like this and continued to lick down the side of his face until she met his mouth again. Perhaps this wasn't what he had in mind for his Dance with Dragons, but Miki wouldn't be the only one to experience this sort of happiness today and she definitely intended to feel it more than once while the opportunity was present.

[Bloodedge]

The fight continued on Akashi's end. He would see this Dance of Dragons through to completion. This was the way. Luckily, Miki did not realize that he wasn't refraining from entering her on purpose. Maybe this could buy him some time. The blonde would soon take matters into her own hands, though not in a way that would aide Akashi's process at all. She shifted in a way that left his shaft pressed against, or even between, the lips below her waist. Her movements afterwards provided an interesting amount of sensation which translated... strangely to a higher form of pleasure for Akashi. Still, it was not quite right.

Apparently, Miki believed he had simply been teasing her all along. That was probably for the best. The last thing Akashi intended to do was admit his weakness against whatever force hindered him. So, he remained silent, even in spite of the fact that he was a Dragon of flames feeling chills from the half-human's tongue against his ear and face. What's more, there was of course the stimulation of his groin to deal with. Perhaps he should just leave it this way. Yes, that sounded like a grand idea. If he were lucky, he'd find his victory against the unknown force, or Miki would handle the matter of insertion herself. Yes, that sort of luck was always possible...

[Apollymi]

Miki gained a bit from her own actions and it seemed that Akashi did as well. Still the rather stoic lad had nothing to say, as her face came to a stop in front of his after she finished speaking she looked at him with a cheeky smirk. "You don't have anything to say, Akashi? I'm not sure how to interpret this silence..." she said softly. Still her body moved up and down, not only did she feel this below her waist, but also in the sensation of her nipples against the Dragonoid's firm chest, a stark contrast given the softness of her bosom. Beyond this she leaned left having her tongue trace down his neck to his collar bone. She had no idea if this did something for him, but it gave her something to do with her mouth, while offering her the opportunity to study his breathing and reactions which she found a strange amount of joy in. As she moved her hips this way they gained more moisture and thus moved easier, allowing her a gentle increase in speed as she had a good time herself. A soft moan escaped her against the side of this lad's neck as she continued pushing herself towards what would no doubt be another flourish.

[Bloodedge]

Of course she would continue with the speaking, the teasing, and the moving all at once. How was he even meant to respond to her statement? "Don't interpret it as anything," was all he could come up with. The combination of things going on wasn't helping his situation. A warm tongue traced his collarbone, soft breasts pressed and rubbed against his torso, and of course there was her womanhood taking on the entire top half of his member. Something was very wrong. Akashi couldn't even bother to be worried about the force he battled, as there was an even greater concern at present. He was a Dragon, powerful, even unstoppable in most aspects of existence. However, Yugi was very much the opposite... and it seemed the body Akashi inherited was suffering from this. A groan crept up his throat from the depths of his chest.

The almighty Dragonoid Akashi wasn't going to last at all...

[Apollymi]

The blonde lass seemed to be having a good go of her current motions and if Akashi's reactions meant anything it wasn't bad for him either. He even managed to speak back to her teasing words, though they didn't contain the normal bite of his words. "Oh? Alright then..." she mentioned. She came up from his collar bone to lick a very thin line up his neck to his chin as her hips reached the perfect angle and speed for the sensation she was chasing for herself. She heard the groan from deep within Akashi's being and smiled in response, she wasn't given very many cues to go on, but perhaps, this was as nice for him as it was for her. She wouldn't get chance to voice this though as her own body couldn't hold out against the kind of manipulation she was doing either. She moaned her finish adding more moisture to their pressed together bodies, her entire nether quivered with the force of it but unlike the time prior she kept moving because the feeling was something that kept going and she was chasing it down.

[Bloodedge]

The feeling welling up in Akashi's groin was increasing in a way that manifested externally as mighty throbs, one after another. Fighting it was as much of, if not more of a struggle than the entity he'd battled against previously. It didn't help that Miki's tongue continued to assault his neck and the areas surrounding it. Worse yet, there was the secondary climax of Miki herself, which added a slickness between their loins that absolutely could not be ignored. Every time she rubbed against the tip of him thereafter, there was... almost a tickle. So many nerves were being toyed with, even a Dragon couldn't resist. His hands had never left the girl's hips, but now, they were gripping tightly enough that his claws almost threatened to break skin. This came about as Akashi lost to his own physical existence.

It was an explosive moment. Literally. Akashi's member suddenly became something of a geyser, spewing its somewhat thick, white fluid between Miki's legs. There was... quite a bit. Maybe it had something to do with Akashi's Dragon physiology, or maybe it didn't, but the spurt would cascade with a spread even reaching the girl's lower back. All of this accompanied a deep grunt from the Dragonoid himself, before his tight grip became loose with the loss of all his body's tension.

[Apollymi]

As Miki experienced climax and aimed to keep up the feeling the throbbing of Akashi's member reached its peak. It was only moments after while she was still moving her hips, that his grip upon her tightened to a point she should have been afraid of. But instead of a pained reaction the lass moaned, finally coming to a stop as a geyser erupted from the lad's member between them. Miki would find her lower half covered in such a way that it seemed to even reach behind her, as the Dragonoid's body finally lost its extra tension in the moment. This would include of course the grip on the lass which allowed her to fully relax in the moment as well, she rested against Akashi's chest as her breathing returned to normal though her face remained slightly reddened. In a few moments she regained the feeling in her extremities and realized they'd made quite a mess of themselves. This was especially amusing when she remembered that all of this had started with her playing chicken with the Dragonoid over his snippy comments. Still, she had no regrets about this, and couldn't say she didn't enjoy these activities at all. Even the finish was something she found herself interested in, because in that moment everything about the lad's demeanor was overly honest. Perhaps she'd gone too far in her returned teasing of the lad, but she thought of this as fair.

[Bloodedge]

Well... some Dance of Dragons that was. It was almost shameful, and yet... Akashi couldn't forge a single complaint. Either way, the ritualistic Dance of Dragons, as worshiped by the Lizardfolk, could only end one way regardless. Akashi slowly descended to the ground, until his feet made contact with the floor of the throne room. Well... that would have been the case, had he been of a mind to stand. He did lower onto his back though, with Miki still atop him. His breathing gradually returned to a steady state during the afterglow. There was quite a mess indeed, but he couldn't even bring himself to be bothered over it. Once again though, his tail coiled itself around the blonde. Such was also part of the Dance of Dragons...

[Apollymi]

This Dance of Dragons ended very strangely on the ground. Miki found this an interesting change of pace given how adamant Akashi had been about not touching the ground at all before this moment. "I might have had something cheeky to say..." the lass started, still, she found herself wrapped up in Akashi's tail once again and her body found supreme comfort and relaxation. She was quite sure the throne room was an absolute mess so she kept her eyes closed and simply basked in the moment for as long as she would be allowed to. "Oh well, I'll keep it to myself..." she murmured against the lad's chest.

Sometime later, there were movements happening around the throne room. A Mer... maid could be seen making random gestures waiting for the pair to rise to start the cleanup in their absence. A gentle throat clearing would happen as someone turned away from the pair would begin talking to them about the set up of their personal cleanup. "The baths are ready whenever you have use of them. We found your clothes in half though Ma'am would you like us to send a seamstress to you?" asked a maid without looking forward. Miki thought about her clothing for a few seconds finally turning to see what this maid was doing while talking to two naked people in the floor so casually. Her hands were flapping strangely and when she would be seen it would be bumping both of her fists together and then using spirit fingers to denote some sort of falling. 'What the hell kind of gesture is that?' Miki wondered. "A bath actually sounds lovely, and Tsu-chan's so into baths they are probably really immaculate... Want to go have a bath with me?" Miki said aloud seeming to enjoy the idea of a nice submerged warm water bath.

[Bloodedge]

Akashi may have also had something to say, if he had a mind to do so. Alas, he didn't. All he seemed keen on doing was remaining in that very same spot whilst Miki kept her place atop him. Eventually though, a servant of the palace entered the throne room. To the woman's credit, she behaved in a very professional manner, as if she wasn't walking in on a nude pair of Adventurers in a veritable sea of reproductive juices. Miki seemed interested in the bath this woman spoke of, and in all fairness, Akashi intended to seek a fix for the situation he'd just been through. He'd have his proper dance eventually, at whatever cost. "Alright then," he said as he rose, levitating himself and Miki while shifting both of them upright. He then lowered, placing Miki - as well as himself, interestingly - on the floor. "Let's go."

[Apollymi]

Akashi's movements after the Maid spoke were strange indeed. The lad hovered which was expected but then, lowered Miki and himself to the ground. Miki's first reaction to this might have been something snarky, except that as her legs took on the weight of her body her knees buckled ever so slightly. Such a thing caused her eyes to widen, as she realized such a thing only happened when she stood too quickly after finishing. With this in mind she said nothing, but it seemed that Akashi was agreeable to bath time just the same. As for the bit about the seamstress, Miki spent a few moments in thought, some of it aloud simply out of habit for her day. "Hm, I suppose that is still just the level one gear... I should probably get something new as far as body armor is concerned before something actually hits me... hai hai bring me the seamstress after my bath..." she mentioned absently causing her weapon to float along behind her. "And... lead the way," she said. "It will be done. If you would follow me," the maid said, she still hadn't turned at all to acknowledge the nudity of this pair of individuals who both seemed without shame enough to walk through the palace in their birthday suits on the way to the bath. Still it wasn't technically a very long walk. And they'd pass through only a few lofty halls before reaching what was essentially an open air bath. It was tiled in the Greco-Roman style. With deep pools of heated water and showers along the side walls. And several bottle so different kinds of soaps and shampoos all lined up for the pleasure of those present. In the end a giant set of fluffy towels for the pair to dry themselves with when they were done. "Here you are... please enjoy." and just like that the maid disappeared seemingly no worse for wear, but the mess of the throne room was still on her mind.

[Bloodedge]

During the exchange between Miki and the palace maid, in which the former expressed her desire for a better-suited ensemble, Akashi watched the blonde. He was... staring, just a bit. One could almost gather that he had something specific going on in his mind, but that was a matter best saved for later. For the time being, they would follow the maid into the bath area. It was a luxurious place, fitting for the Emperor Akashi fashioned himself to be indeed.

Akashi had nothing to say, nor did he waste any time before stepping casually under the nearest shower. Steam erupted from his body the moment water began touching him, but it was not the fault of the water's heat. No, even with his field of energy reduced to such an extent, Akashi's body was hot enough just below the skin to evaporate the water that touched him.

[Apollymi]

Miki walked towards the shower as well, acutely aware that during her conversation Akashi had his eyes on her. She didn't have it in herself to question this, if only because a potentially embarrassing reaction wasn't at all something she wanted to give him to look at. Instead she continued towards the bath and had a look around it, finding it to be, about what she expected of her childhood friend. "Oh, Tsu-chan's grown up a bit. I like it~" she mused as she too approached a shower. She was beginning to get wet in the moment only to notice a lot of steam coming from Akashi. She had a casual glance over in his direction before snickering quietly. "Are you really that hot?" the lass asked aloud, she'd been in physical contact with him just a few moments prior and while he was a distinct kind of warm, she didn't imagine him simply evaporating water by existing.

She'd begin a bathing ritual with a speed and accuracy untold. As she sniffed different soaps and shampoos looking for ones she enjoyed the smell of together she mixed and matched them pulling down the ribbons that held her hair up and allowing it to fall. It too would receive maximum moisture as she turning rising their little escapade from her body. Soon after the actual washing would begin, starting at the top of her head. All the while the girl seemed to be almost unconscious of her movements. It was as if she was possessed in the moments she acted this way, bathing in record time and even managing to wash, rinse and condition her masses of blonde hair in only a few minutes time. By the time her hair had conditioner in it, and was wrapped up in a soaking ball atop her head, she was busy soaping up her body in a whirlwind of speed that didn't seem to waste a single movement.

[Bloodedge]

Akashi had no concern for the quality of the bathroom in relation to Seriri's original identity. He apparently also had no concern for the shower he'd begun taking, not bothering with soap or anything of the sort. He looked at his own hand as water struck it and evaporated. Just then, Miki questioned his temperature. "... I am," he said calmly as he viewed her through his eye's corner. Then, he was onto the reason he hadn't bothered with soap. The heat in his body intensified enough to burn away not only the water in the immediate area surrounding him, but also any filth or residue on his form. With that alone, he was done with the shower. Akashi apparently didn't even need to bathe...

[Apollymi]

Akashi answered Miki's somewhat rhetorical question. She found it amusing that he was simply that hot, but as she began the rinse of her entire body an hair she noted that the lad was raising his body temperature by a great deal. "Huh..." she said turning so she could rinse her hair down her back instead of her entire body, of course, while she did this she got a full view through steam of the other lad simply burning off the entirety of his days activities. At the same time, she would be showing her body dripping with soap suds and running water until it would eventually be clear. "Oh? That's pretty handy. I'm a little jealous..." she said with a casual eye roll. Once her hair was clear of suds the rest of her body was to follow. And after a few more moments of standing beneath the waterfall, she'd be as clean as the start of her day. Bathing didn't really take her a long time, but the powers of the Dragonoid seemed exceedingly convenient. After she was done she'd step out the shower and start walking towards what looked like a very deep pool full of heated water, while wringing her hair out and replacing her ribbons. She would stop only to wrap her tresses in a towel to help it along as far as drying was concerned. She'd then begin the process of submerging herself for a bit of a soak.

[Bloodedge]

For the most part, Akashi had only been waiting for Miki. He spared a glance in her direction every now and then, and his gaze lingered quite a few times until the girl exited the shower. He went on to follow suit, once again on foot. Casual steps led to Akashi submerging himself into the bath. His body's heat was reduced again, yet remained hot enough to raise the temperature of the bath further yet. Once again, this was something he didn't need at all... and yet, here he was, leaning his back against the edge of the bath. While he merely relaxed, he continued watching Miki more intently than he likely should have. He did have something in mind. His thoughts returned to the discussion between her and the maid. Yes, he had a proper plan now. Beyond this though, he still entertained the idea of fixing the improperly-approached Dance of Dragons.

[Apollymi]

Miki found herself sinking into the bath, she'd thought it was a bit tepid for her own tastes, but this problem would soon be remedied. And by soon, the thought she actually had was immediately. Apparently by virtue of getting into the bath Akashi's body temperature raised it by a great deal. If she noticed anything odd about the lad's behavior she didn't say anything aloud, instead she found herself wondering over the topic of his joining her in this bath instead of something more productive. 'If he didn't need a bath, why did he come here?' she thought with her eyes closed she opened them then but didn't really settle into the water properly until of course she moved closer to Akashi, she stopped just shy of his body finding the water temperature immediately around the lad to be absolutely perfect. 'I wonder if that seems weird... maybe he won't notice...' she thought to herself, but it seemed wrong sitting like this now. 'I shouldn't be thinking about this so much but...' she paused her thoughts. She'd been far too honest when she'd told him she'd wanted him around, still she didn't really entertain the thought that this was done for her sake. She didn't really need this sort of thing... even if she wanted it somewhere deep inside herself, since he was here, she couldn't help but take a bit more. She found her most comfort in a strange way. She moved once more only to settle in the lad's lap under water, sitting here was quite warm and the water temperature was perfect and maybe something else she couldn't quite explain. A contented smile came to her face as she leaned her head back against his shoulder and enjoyed some random closeness with the Dragonoid. 'I still don't regret it... I expected to... but I don't. I'm weird.'

[Bloodedge]

As he watched the girl without redirecting his gaze at all, he was able to witness her sudden movement toward his location. He could have simply been curious about this, but no. He accepted the motions. This did not change at all even with the random decision of Miki to occupy the Dragonoid's lap. Well... not quite. When she began the movement, he was already thinking back to the Dance of Dragons. He had it in mind that, maybe, she had the intention of restarting the act herself, which she would have found him quite prepared for, given his preexisting thoughts on the matter. It was not to be, though. Miki instead just... sat in his lap, and leaned back against him. The gesture was so... human, an earlier form of Akashi may have been disgusted by it. Now, however, he leaned his own head back against the bath's edge, and closed his eyes.

[Apollymi]

Miki didn't know what kind of reaction she expected to suddenly occupying the lad's lap again, but his own apparent comfort was surprising. Akashi as an entity didn't seem like the sort to enjoy the things Miki did, but he wasn't simply tolerant of her presence. Though she'd occupied his lap in this moment of silence he'd not tried to do anything to her nor had he been snide, no... he simply leaned his own head back and closed his eyes. Miki opened hers upon realizing the lad hadn't said anything about her choice in action and managed to look a tad sheepish in the moment.

She'd occupy this space for a quite a few moments, and though she'd noticed the state of his manhood, having already breached the topic once she wasn't nearly as skittish about it as she had been the very first time she'd made contact with one. She simply allowed her body to rest naturally against his for what had to be about half an hour, after which with all kinds of random thoughts in her head, including the fact that she hadn't actually managed to mate with the Dragonoid today, she shifted as if she intended to get up. Moving her arms to look at the tips of her fingers. "Aww... I'm gonna prune if I stay in here much longer..." she muttered seeming displeased by having to get up. "I guess it's time to dry off and see a woman about some clothes..." she said, turning her head to have a look towards the fluffy towels, she was still mostly just talking to herself, as she tended to do out of habit.

[Bloodedge]

Once Akashi leaned his head back, he left it that way. Miki didn't seem keen on moving much, if at all, so he didn't bother either. His eyes were closed all the while, yet he never slept. For half an hour, he sat motionless while Miki relaxed against him. He said nothing... he did nothing... then suddenly, the blonde was shifting and thinking aloud. His eyes opened at long last, and his head rose as well. He looked to Miki and nothing else, while she implied a need to leave the bath and find the seamstress. For the first time in over thirty minutes, Akashi felt the need to speak. However... what he said, while very direct and concise, didn't have a lot to it.

"No," he said, intending to put a stop to at least one of the girl's spoken plans.

[Apollymi]

Miki had been musing to herself, she didn't expect Akashi to say anything without being directly addressed. So, as she started the process of removing herself from his lap, with the sentences concerning what she should be doing next. Her motions paused for just a second and then she laughed, she couldn't help it really, such a randomly short answer to things being said just didn't make any sense, especially without context. "Hahaha~ You can't just say no. No what? What are you even saying no to?" she asked of the lad shifting out of his lap to stand in the water and begin the climb out of it towards a towel which she intended to use to dry herself off as he explained why exactly he'd proclaimed no to her in this particular moment. She seemed fine with doing this mechanically even under the watchful eyes of Akashi, or maybe because of it. She didn't seem to be in much of a rush, at all as she waited for something resembling an explanation.

[Bloodedge]

More of an explanation was needed, it seemed. That made sense. Giving it an additional moment of thought, he supposed she wouldn't be one to stop everything at a single word. "No..." he said again, though he wasn't done there this time. He paused only long enough to rise from the tub, now that his lap was free of Miki. While she busied herself with a towel and awaited his response, Akashi once again used his feet to move. Closer and closer he drew, until he stood nearly close enough for their bodies to touch while standing. "The clothes are useless," was the end of his clause. His right hand rose, intending to grab the towel she had, if only to pull it away from her while Akashi stared her down with great intensity.

[Apollymi]

Akashi initially just said no again. But strangely Miki had a bit of faith that the lad knew at least enough of her to know that she wouldn't simply stop her plans because of an unexplained thought in his head. As she worked towards drying herself off, he rose from the tub and walked straight towards her. His walking in this moment was quite strange, didn't he claim that he didn't like being on the ground because he was a Dragon? But each step he took brought him closer to Miki. And Miki's eyes could be seen watching Akashi in turn, she didn't seem abashed in her staring and her heart beat sped up a bit when he stopped just shy of her person. He claimed that the clothes were useless, while standing just outside of her physical space. Even though he grabbed the towel away from her she didn't seem at all afraid or bothered by any potential thing that could happen here. In fact, she would soon be found meeting the gaze of the lad with her own form of intensity. "You do know... I can't be naked all the time. Eventually I'll have to talk to other people, and it's kind of a necessity to be wearing clothes for that," she said. "Unless you just mean you're about to like Kurama me or something," she said aloud seemingly in reference to something not many other people would know about. "Clarify." she said a single word, in the same way he had, in a tone which seemed to mimic him, perhaps on purpose, perhaps just because it was the most sarcastic thing she could manage in the moment.

[Bloodedge]

Miki's retort to his statement was that she couldn't always be naked. She also referenced a series that happened to be in Akashi's memory. It was to a specific character in a series their original forms were familiar with, while also being an interesting bit of insight to the amount of perversion both original entities boasted. Her demand thereafter was spoken in the way he'd expect of another Dragon.

... And yet, Akashi had no verbal response. He enchanted the towel he'd taken from her with his Purgatory Flame, altering its form to that of a cloak not unlike the jacket he wore. He would also use his free hand to tap the very top of Miki's sternum before trailing his claw down, between her cleavage and along her abdomen. This mimicked the movements he'd previously used to disrobe her, but this time, he would manifest a new take on her previous attire, more suited to her potential than even her current abilities portrayed. "Dragons don't wear the clothes of mortals."

[Apollymi]

Whether Akashi knew and understood the reference she made or not, didn't seem to be important in the moment. Instead, Miki was left standing naked as she watched the towel transform in the lad's hands into something entirely different. It was enchanted to take on the form of a cloak which seemed to be rather appealing to her own general fashion sense. But it wouldn't stop there. Akashi reached out towards the lass extending a single finger starting at her sternum and trailing it down the length of her body for a second time. It was quite strange as a feeling considering the last time this very action had occurred the man had been using his magic to disrobe her in a very direction fashion. In fact, thinking back to that moment, she had a twitch deep within her person which she couldn't rightly explain. She bit her lip lightly as her mind wandered away from clothing for just a few seconds...

But then, there were clothes. Akashi's finger had redressed her, giving her a form fitted black mini-dress which didn't have any shoulders and was made a bit like a corset. It was ever so slightly see through and included filigree designs along the top line of her breasts and also along the depth of her rib cage. The skirt was hiked up several inches and pinched together in the front by two golden bands and several golden dangling bits which accented her hips. The height of the skirt should have revealed her nether to the world, but instead this was covered in a decorative pair of panties with high lines and golden filigree as well. In shape it was a thong which also left the lower part of her bottom out just barely invisible in the line of the skirt. She took pause for a moment but didn't want to look away from Akashi initially. He claimed that Dragons didn't wear the clothing created by mortals, which explained how he'd chosen to undress her in the first place. "Sou ka, so yes... full Kurama... but..." she gave a pause and a little turn getting a look at herself from several angles as she removed the towel from her hair and allowed it to fall so perfectly wavy back in place. "It's great!~" she chimed. She drew other articles to herself in particular the Bones of Rathma which she attached to the collar around her neck, bringing together the look of the mini-dress with a minor accessory as an extra. It should have also been noted that Miki didn't choose to argue with him about her status or lack thereof as a Dragon. She approached him a bit more directly in the moment staring into his face. "Sankyuu~" and at the 'kyuu' her lips pursed and she aimed to peck his lips rather directly.

[Bloodedge]

Miki wasn't the only one whose mind wandered from the matter of clothes. Akashi's mind had been taking such a route the entire time. Either way, he was soon done with the process of fitting the girl with an ensemble befitting of Dragonkind, even enchanted with Legendary properties the likes of which could no longer be found in this day and age of the world they inhabited. The black market would crash and/or kill for such quality, and the cloak he offered the lass was something even further beyond. Miki would eventually find herself incapable of being felled by flames of lesser quality than Akashi's own, yet also always blessed by a seasonal warmth the likes of his being nearby. Beyond this, many other traits would make themselves known in due time... Many, many traits. It seemed she was keen on showcasing her thanks by kissing the Dragonoid, an act which he stood motionless for. He didn't seem to even have anything worth saying. He just... continued staring.

[Apollymi]

Miki's eyes shifted slightly after this small kiss if only because she found the lad's reaction to it strange, though admittedly more in line of what she expected from his other self. This staring was rather odd to her, as it almost didn't seem like he knew how to respond. What exactly was the Dragonoid thinking, she wondered as she looked at him. It would only be after a few seconds of such conscious staring that she'd realize, he was still naked and she was now fully dressed and something about that made the girl a bit stunned as her eye twitched and she made a conscious effort not to look down. "Right, you're still really hard to read..." she mentioned fighting with herself about where her eyes would look. Such a situation would be one she'd likely find herself in a lot with this particular Dragonoid but she couldn't really say she minded.

While the Dragonoid Akashi and Miki got to know each other a bit better. Seriri the Atlantean's Queen had been wandering the streets for quite a few hours. Given the problems that had been mentioned to her, she found herself talking to a particular tavern keep. "So you only serve the Merfolk of Atlantis, would you mind coming by the Palace tomorrow. There is someone who'd like to speak to you about some new developments within the Kingdom," the Queen said. This particular Tavern Keep looked a bit stunned. It was amazing that the Queen would be here and would ask him to take part in something so seemingly auspicious. "Anything to help the Kingdom M'Lady." And thus like that Seriri excused herself. As she was walking she headed towards the Library her head down. 'I still don't really know where to look for the outcast though. I feel like making Miki upset would be bad, but not doing what the Dragonoid said would be worse...' she thought absently, seeming just a bit worried.

[Bloodedge]

"Am I?" Akashi questioned in response. Still, his gaze never wavered. He did take note of the movement in Miki's eyes, as if she were keeping herself from shifting her own gaze. He could tell where she intended to look before having obvious second thoughts, but if she was going to keep herself from doing so, it didn't matter. Akashi took the liberty of draping the girl's cloak over her shoulders before golden-accentuated flames spawned from his body to restore his own wardrobe. With that, he ever so casually walked back toward the throne room...

Meanwhile, the streets of Atlantis were busy as usual, but this time with Queen Seriri out and about on her search. As she made her way toward the library, there were a pair of Mermen at the front of a nearby alley, having a discussion that seemed... less than friendly. "They said they saw him go around the back of the marketplace. Some guys are already planning on going to finish him off, if they catch him in time," one of the males said, as the other nodded with excitement. "Finally! That thing's been making problems for all of us for too long now!"

[Apollymi]

Akashi asked a very small question in response to Miki's assertion that he was hard to read. And to her, looking at this lad was like trying to read a foregin language you'd never even heard of before. "You are." And that was all she said in response, the action of her cloak being placed over her body was one she saw happening even as her eyes shifted to the golden flames that restored the lad's clothes. She even managed to catch one more glimpse of his naked body before he turned to walk back towards the the throne room. It was odd that he was still walking about like a normal person, but she supposed there were worse things to think about. Fully dressed and oddly warm Miki would follow along after the lad, her face contorted in deep concentration as she began proper mental work on a problem that was more immediately solvable.

In the meantime, Seriri heard some words being spoken by an alley she passed which caught her attention. The discussion was almost like she'd expect of some murder mystery plot, but they were talking about someone within Atlantis. Such a thing really couldn't be allowed to stand, but the Queen couldn't risk the action not taking place as she needed to know who was being talked about in such a way. 'Hm, it's possible it is someone else. It is also possible it is exactly who I am looking for. I suppose worst case scenario I stop some random person from being murdered...' she mused. There was nothing on her face to show she'd heard anything amiss and she even still seemed to be heading towards the library, but one simple turn would lead her toward the back alleys of Atlantis' Marketplace where she intended to sneak up on whatever activity was taking place there.

[Bloodedge]

The male Merfolk continued their discussion, taking to hushed whispers, but doing so all too late. They weren't privy to the fact that they'd been heard by the queen, of all people. Sadly for them and the others involved in their plan, Queen Seriri made her way to the location they'd just been discussing.

Behind the marketplace of the major section of Atlantis, in the darkest corner hidden by the surrounding buildings, one would find quite a bit of unnecessary rubbish. Scraps, both technological and consumable, littered the immediate area surrounding an accumulation of Atlantean Steel slabs and other bits and baubles that seemed to form a small hut. Inside was a battered and bruised young male with tanned skin and glowing, golden eyes. His long, dark-teal hair was a mess of locks draped over the tattered cloak he wore. He was... filthy, to say the least. Skin barely clung to his bones, given the lack of meat between the two. One look at the lad could make one wonder how blood still reached his extremities, and yet... he clearly had enough fluid in his body to spare, given the stream of saltwater pouring from his eyes onto the ground.

[Apollymi]

Seriri directly approached this small hovel, finding within it, the skinniest boy she'd ever seen. Beyond the fact that he was obviously malnourished, she took in the sights of his dwelling. Scraps and pieces everywhere but still he seemed to have nothing to show for himself. This was sort of shameful, and beyond all of the outward appearances, the lad was crying. Seriri approached him tentatively, he couldn't have been used to people trying to help him. Even someone unfamiliar with new people such as Seriri could see this lad was outside of all normal aspects of society. Even orphaned children and lonely street toughs ran in groups, a person making things in the darkness of a corner could be no one but the lad she was looking for. "I think you may want to stop that... you don't seem to have enough moisture left in your body to waste it on tears..." she said softly. She was approaching the lad very slowly and stopped shy of his person. "Is it something I can help you with?" she asked genuinely wishing to help the lad with what ailed him, and get him something to eat.

[Bloodedge]

The most hushed of whimpers could, just maybe, be heard during the queen's approach. However, the boy within soon became privy to the presence of another. He fell silent then, eyes trembling and colored with fret. Who was this woman? He actually didn't know. What he did know, was that he'd been found. The woman approached slowly, speaking as if she were a kind soul... but he'd been bamboozled far too many times. He began shifting right away, knocking over his own small shelter as the full weight of his body struck a slab.

He was attempting to make a run - or rather, a crawl - for it, and would do exactly that... for all of a few meters before he fully collapsed to the ground. His struggle to even rise from this fall was obvious, almost seeming as if he'd shattered his insides on impact. In fact, he was literally broken long before, as the tendons in all of his limbs had been severed. He still had to try. Whoever this woman was, whatever she really wanted, he wanted no part of. The lad wasn't simply malnourished; what little food he had access to was taken from him. He could no longer distinguish between an honest meal, and the next poison on the list of attempts to eliminate him for merely existing. So, he'd take no food. He'd take no aide. He'd have no associates.

... However, he also had a rather large problem impeding these plans. He'd gone on for too long like this. This most recent fall was his last. He wouldn't rise because he couldn't. Maybe he shouldn't. After all this time, he was probably overdue for giving up even trying to go on living, considering the repeated outcome.

[Apollymi]

Hushed whimpers came from this lad, and as he moved, or rather tried to do so, Seriri was made aware that something was very wrong with his physiology. 'He's broken...' she thought and her heart shattered as she watched the lad try and crawl from her only to collapse. His intention to leave this place was obvious, but his will to survive appeared to be strong until he stopped moving. Seriri looked on for a few seconds walking along behind him only to stop near and kneel. The Queen managed to look outwardly distraught, with tears falling from her eyes as she looked on at this lad. "I don't know what happened to you... but please don't give up now," she managed choking back her own tears. She knew what it was to be unable to do for yourself, and she wouldn't, or rather couldn't allow such a struggle to continue. She had to help if she could, and she fully intended to start now. As a tear fell from her eye, she controlled it, beginning to scan the lad's body for what was keeping him from being able to run. 'His tendons have been cut... he can't really use his arms and legs. I can fix that and contact with my magic should give him at least enough strength to move on his own,' she thought to herself. If there was one thing she knew from being an invalid most of her life, it was wanting to do for herself but lacking the ability.

"Here. Just let me offer this okay... just a hand," she offered. The water she controlled aimed to move around his body patching up his tendons. Right arm, left arm, right leg, left leg... it'd take minutes and the move water moved throughout his body, the more acutely aware of his injuries she became. 'Who could honestly do this to another person? What reason could they possibly have?' She wondered. She didn't know the worst of people. She had been sheltered, an invalid taken care of by kind parents and siblings. She didn't know the evils of individuals, but she was learning them bit by bit as she expended her own Mana to try and give this poor skinny boy a body he could move with. And the entire time, she cried, though she didn't know this boy at all she couldn't imagine his suffering. She was sad for his sake, wondering how he'd ended up so alone and how so much bad had been allowed to happen to him.

[Bloodedge]

What exactly... were these words he was hearing? There was something about not giving up... something he'd heard once before, and only once. They were wonderful, horrible, sad... sad words. They clearly had a negative impact on the young man, who trembled through what parts of his body he was capable of feeling. There was nothing he could do, though. He didn't have it in him to push further. He was very much content to remain there on the ground until he passed away, at this point.

It seemed Seriri didn't agree. A cooling liquid made contact with the lad, and it felt more refreshing than anything he'd experienced in literal years. This sensation lasted for a few minutes, only feeling better as time passed. His fingers twitched at some point, and he realized... he could feel them differently. More importantly than that, his wrists could be moved. This strange woman had done something to repair his tendons? Impossible. And yet, it had been done... he could move again, if only slightly due to the lack of nourishment. What was her angle, though? Did she intend to see him tortured and maimed all over again? Probably. There wasn't any point to being happy about the sudden healing he received.

[Apollymi]

Every reaction this unknown person had was like that of a kicked dog. All he did was whimper and tremble, it was as if he didn't know the meaning of happiness at all. He was obviously fearful, and at the very least she could see he had a reason to be. Tears still streamed down her face as he finally began moving a bit normally again, though he obviously didn't have anything to say about the repairs. Once they were finished she inched away from the lad giving him a reasonable bit of space. She had more to say and didn't know if he would listen. "I don't think you'll trust me very easily. But I am literally not even from this world... I have nothing against you," she said softly. "I want you to come with me... but I don't think you will if I just ask. If you stay here though, they're coming for you... the ones who keep hurting you," she mentioned finding it in herself to wipe the tears from her eyes finally. Still even looking at this boy was painful to her, she remained vigilant if only to make sure he could escape if he needed to. She didn't want anything else to befall this boy and if she had her way, nothing else would. She'd promised to help her people and this boy would be the first person she helped with her own hands. "Can you fight? Will you defend yourself?" she asked of the lad, wondering if he had any method of taking care of himself. She couldn't actually leave him behind, she wouldn't leave such a pitiful existence all alone in the world. Seriri had never seen someone who looked so small and broken. She didn't know how to react about him, but all she wanted in this moment was to protect him from those who harmed him, the people she'd left unchecked for too long.

[Bloodedge]

The male seemed to take interest in Seriri mentioning that she came from another world. Why this piqued his interest, he wouldn't say... or rather, he couldn't, even if he had the desire to. He certainly had no desire to go with this woman. He had no desire to do anything. If those Merfolk were coming for him, they could do so. Escaping them again would only result in further hell for the lad. Maybe they would actually finish him off this time. That would be lovely, and there was literally nothing worse left that could be done to him by anyone, now that he thought about it properly. Healed or not, he couldn't fight anymore. He once had reasons to fight back. Those reasons were gone. He'd even acquired more reasons to fight in more recent years... and those were gone as well, in ways that made his every dream even worse than his day-to-day life. Let them come, he thought...

Lo, a group of a dozen or so Merfolk did eventually show themselves. They wielded pikes, whips, blades and bludgeons aplenty. They would see to it that this male lived his final day here and now, but that he would first suffer even more. The leader of this pack held no weapon in hand. Instead, the Merman carried with him a large slab of wood. This slab was not meant to be used offensively, no... at least not in the physical sense. Pinned to it it was the nude, decaying and stretched-out corpse of a once beautiful, brown-haired woman. She was... pregnant once. One could clearly tell this, due to the fact that her abdomen had been sliced and pinned open to bare her dissected womb, which itself bore a fetus just shy of its birth. Said fetus was kept in place by a dagger, driven all the way through to the wood behind the woman. It was the very same dagger that had been used to slay the pair originally, never removed from its first point of puncture. This man, carrying this vile deed as if it were a trophy, was the one to speak as the gang rounded the corner.

"Diva~! We brought someone to see you again!" he said. Diva, as he'd been called, never looked up once. Tears ran down his face anew, however, as this was far from the first time he'd been approached in such a way.

[Apollymi]

Seriri noted that her words didn't seem to have an effect on the man at all. He seemed incapable of speaking and beyond that unable to vocalize. There was too much going on for the Queen to understand the exact nature of this man's suffering, but she was about to get a full lesson. In fact the call for Diva was one which made the young Queen look up to see the approaching group. They came bearing weapons of various types and this much she expected. But the leader of this group bore something else entirely.

A trophy. This was the only word that could describe something the man looked so proud to have in his possession, but it absolutely wasn't anything worth feeling pride in. There was an obvious pregnant woman, who looked as if she may have been beautiful once. But here she was nailed to a board, her womb exposed her unborn child butchered. This sort of evil, shouldn't exist in any world, much less should it be directed at one man and his family. There was literally nothing which he could have done which would have made this acceptable as a thing to do. Literally nothing. If Seriri had been sad or pitied him in the moments he'd been trying to run from her, she now felt nothing but burning fury on his behalf. On behalf of the unborn child, on behalf of the dead woman on behalf of all those who suffered to have things like this only to have someone take it away from them. Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes but she didn't move at all. Not a single step was taken, "No excuses," she said quietly. So quietly that it barely left her quivering lips. "THERE IS NO SAVING ANY OF YOU!" her mind had snapped. She'd pledged herself to a Dragon to protect her people, and this was what they had to offer? There was no reason for this level of malevolence and she didn't want this sort of evil walking around the world. Kimi had been right to take the Lich King's Obelisk, if these kinds of creatures existed in her Kingdom, there was no telling the sort of people who would have relied on such power. This scum of Atlantis would be purged here and now...

A surge of magical power left Seriri's body, all those carrying weapons within range of her, would be trapped by the tides of strong magical water, which effected even their blood streams and kept them from moving. Strangely, this was also used to forge a connection between Seriri and her supposed enemies. Each and every one of them would begin to shrivel slowly, all of the moisture leaving their bodies. She would pull every single ounce of fluid from their bodies until they decayed away into nothing but dust. The length of time this would take, would depend on the strength of the individual, but they would be insanely aware of what was happening the entire time. They would know no peace in their final moments. They would only know suffering. She couldn't give anything to the man crying at her side. She couldn't save his wife, or his child, she couldn't give him what he'd lost... but she could make sure no one who'd harmed him this day or any other, would be left alive to think of doing so again.

[Bloodedge]

These men had a plan, and that damned queen they happened to share a distaste for was not to be part of it. Sadly for them, here she was with the lad they tormented since discovering his existence. That wasn't good at all. This group was not fond of the matriarch, but they knew there was nothing they could do to overthrow her. It seemed they were about to learn, that this was even more the case than they could have ever imagined.

Seriri may have been a healer by default, but they all soon learned of her potential even as such. With her sudden outburst, a dozen Mermen fell victim to the tide she commanded, immediately after being frozen in place by the swelling of her Mana. This could have been fine. They could have been detained, perhaps jailed for their transgressions...

... No. There would be none of that.

Each and every one of them experienced an agony they couldn't possibly fathom. The sheer horrifying experience of these water-dependent creatures being gradually deprived of their primary source of life filled half of the major district with their screams as their skin almost looked to be rapidly aging, wrinkling from the deprivation of water in their bodies. This would not be mere pain, but something beyond any conceivable form of death. Of course, the last one standing was the de facto leader of the group... but only by a matter of seconds compared to the others. The man survived just long enough to look the enraged queen in the eye with disdain, before he himself scattered as particles to the atmosphere.

In the aftermath of this, Diva still lay on the ground. He knew what had befallen his oppressors. Even without looking at them, he could almost feel as they did through their outcries. He knew, however, that the corpses they brought with them remained. He couldn't look up. He couldn't see that. Not again, not ever again.

[Apollymi]

Seriri watched on, as all of these aquatic creatures were air drowned in the worst way possible. Desiccated beyond normal reasoning and returned to dust to particulate they'd blow away on the wind. She looked the leader of this group in the eye as he shot her a look that still managed to contain malevolence and disdain. And she accepted it, knowing that this was exactly the sort of thing she deserved for letting creatures like those thrive within her Kingdom. She'd been an accessory to their heinousness by proxy, it'd been right for the others to chide her for her inaction. She could barely tolerate herself in this very moment, even after dispatching those cretins. And after the last of them was gone, she looked onward at the dead wife and child of the man at her side, and she cried anew.

There was absolutely nothing she could do to make this right, but this wasn't about her at all. The man on the ground known as Diva had suffered enough, he didn't need to look upon this horrid sight any longer. At first she wasn't sure what she could do for him, to help him in the case, she didn't want to ruin the bodies of his loved ones. What she had right now was the use of Mana Zone and penultimate control of water, and so she used that. Though she couldn't restore their lives, she could at least restore their bodies. The dagger fell to the ground as their still dead bodies repaired themselves with water, she moved them so that the mother's arms would be wrapped around the body of her child. She'd then go on to wrap them in the very cape she wore, they'd lived together, they'd died together... they could rest together. She removed every bit of water from that board and allowed it to crumble away leaving those two bodies dead, but unmarred. She cried real tears for this man at her side, and managed only a few trembling words. "I am truly sorry for what's befallen you. There isn't anything I can do for them now. We can lay them to rest properly, though..." she offered. The pair was floating just off the ground wrapped in a veil of water and her discarded cloak. She could do nothing but take responsibility for what had happened to this man while she was unaware. What happened in her Kingdom was her responsibility and though she could do nothing else for them, she could see that this man no longer had to suffer.

[Bloodedge]

Something was happening. The stranger who healed him was using her water on the corpses; he could tell this much through periphery alone. Did she have this much power? She'd already repaired him, so could it be possible that she had the ability to revive the family he almost had. For the first time in ages, a small glimmer of hope was in his eyes. He had to look up now.

No such luck could grace him, sadly. This woman did, however, repair the mangled bodies of his former lover, as well as the child that never was. Diva stood then, another first in quite a while. He tentatively hobbled his way over to them, reaching out, but never making physical contact. Just about, though... Just about. He looked over the pair as they finally bore the peaceful state they deserved in death. As he continued to cry, he finally looked to the woman who aided him, noting that she shared his tears. Why, though? Whatever the case, an act such as this... it was worth appreciation, at least. He mustered as much of a weak excuse for a smile to this woman as he could, yet he still said nothing. He... couldn't. Among other things that had been done to him, Diva did not have a tongue. That part of him had been cut away long ago...

[Apollymi]

The Queen of Atlantis watched as this man finally stood and hobbled towards his fallen loved ones. She watched as he seemed to make some kind of peace with this situation as best she could make it for him. And she continued to cry though she tried really hard to clean her own face up, in light of the fact that he tried at least to offer her some sort of gratitude. "No, it's okay. I understand you don't have to smile for me. Honestly, I haven't cried like this in a long time. I just didn't expect for it to be this bad..." she murmured. "But are you going to be alright... physically I mean. I can help with a lot of those thi..." she gave pause mid sentence as she'd approached with a single bead of water to scan the lad's body in a bit more detail, and in this moment she found that he rather shockingly didn't have a tongue at all. It'd been cut out. Her eyes widened in absolute shock and a single tear rolled down her face before she rather quickly wiped it away. "They did so many horrible things to you. I'm sorry. I'm really really sorry," she muttered.

This man had been maimed there was no telling what else was wrong with him, bruises, and contusions covered his body as well as her magic traveled down his body she aimed to fix everything she could that she came across but there were several things she couldn't really fix. Some even more important. Over the course of the rest of his healing, several more tears trickled down the Queen's face. The dead at least got to rest, but this man had to live with everything done to him. She couldn't blame him if he didn't trust anyone. She couldn't blame him if he wanted everyone to die for what happened to him. She couldn't blame him, if he wanted to watch this entire Kingdom sink into obscurity forever. She loved Mermaids and the water and even she was feeling a deep seated loathing for this place currently. "Please, I don't want anything else to happen to you. I just... want to keep you safe. Come with me and allow me to help you." the girl pleaded her body bowed as more tears fell from her eyes. She couldn't help it. She'd never felt so legitimately upset about anything in life, and there were several people she felt things for in her former life but even those situations felt smaller than the suffering this man experienced.

[Bloodedge]

It wasn't that he felt as if he needed to smile; he simply lacked the ability to verbalize his gratitude. In the midst of an attempted inquiry toward him, the queen came to this realization herself. During her expression of sorrow, Diva shook his head. None had ever emoted to him in such a way, so he did appreciate the gesture, though there was no need for it. Seriri's simple act of restoring his family's bodies to a suitable form was more than he could have ever asked for. As such, he met her bow by meekly extending his right hand, as if he intended to lift her from said bow with it.

Then, there was the offer she gave for the second time. Diva looked to the corpses once more after hearing this. The least he could do in return for a gesture that meant so much to him, was to accept her offer. He did, in the end. He couldn't say so, but he did look toward Seriri as if waiting for her next move.

[Apollymi]

There were several things happening in this day that Seriri didn't expect, and this lad's hand before her face when she bowed to ask him to come along with her wasn't on the list. She looked up in the moment and saw the look on his face. Though he didn't speak, she understood that he seemed to be alright with the idea of going along with her at least in the moment. She sighed wiping tears from her eyes. "Alright there is one more thing then," she said holding her hands together in a triangle before herself and then inverting her fingers. "The tides rise and bring life. They ebb and reclaim it. We return to the waves as water and rise to the skies to watch over our loved ones," she said softly. She offered a prayer of the Atlanteans proper one she'd learned before coming here. As she said it, it seemed a strange magic rising the bodies of the man's fallen loved ones and returning them to water droplets which spread up higher and higher slipping through the barrier and returning them to the sea. Such a ritual was believed to return their souls to their ether and proper afterlife. The Atlanteans used to believe heavily that the sea housed their ancestors and protected them. Of course, it seemed such things were thought of as fairy tales now. "Guardians protect us." she finished up this and one last tear fell from her eye before she looked to the man. "Come along, Diva... let's get you somewhere safe," she offered intended to take a moderate pace with this man back towards the palace. She'd done part of what Miki asked, she knew that the lass would understand upon seeing this young man, the necessity of her early return.

[Bloodedge]

One more thing, was there? Yes, indeed. The old Atlantean ritual, their equivalent to a burial, had to take place. Diva still didn't realize Seriri was the Queen of Atlantis, so he had no context to how great an honor it was to have his loved ones sent away by the woman. Even so, he was delighted that if anyone would ever do so, it would be this woman. His fingers also met to match her gesture, and his eyes closed as well. He was meant to mimic her final words as part of the passing, but... perhaps this moment was excusable.

Diva watched the particles of his family float out into the sea surrounding Atlantis. They could finally be at peace, and he could finally feel some level of happiness for them, as well as for himself for being able to see them off officially. Now, he could move on in some respect. Wherever Seriri intended to take him, he would follow.

[Apollymi]

Diva accepted the ritual that was offered by Seriri to his family and she saw him participate to the best of his ability. There was something comforting and witnessing this man gain some semblance of peace, and though she still felt responsible partly for what had befallen him, she was glad to be able to offer him something. Soon enough they would be approaching the palace very directly straight to the throne room were she expected to find the Dragonoid Akashi and the girl known as Miki who happened to be her best friend from her previous life.

Seriri's eyes were burning with emotion and beyond all of that her faith in humanity had been shifted quite a great deal. Unbeknownst to her, Miki at least knew she was coming for one very unexpected reason. In her possession was a piece of the Lich King's Obelisk and possessing it gave Miki as a person a certain extra characteristic known as 'Death Sense'. She'd been acutely aware of the massive amount of deaths that had taken place moments before this and as such she watched the doorway waiting for Seriri's eventual return. Upon seeing the lass return Miki looked at her with a somewhat blank expression. She searched the Queen of Atlantis' face for what had happened and she knew that she'd seen the evil of the world first hand. Seriri for her part gave only a slight bow and frowned the entire time. "You guys were right. This place is full of disgusting untamed monstrous people," she said of her Kingdom. She would then aim to introduce the lad she was with, though she knew he likely wouldn't be very trusting in the moment. "His name is Diva. They have done horrible things to him. He can't talk..." she offered in small bursts of speech to what she expected to be Akashi and Miki. Miki looked at the other girl for several moments and it only took her a few to figure out exactly what had happened. "Sou ka, do you feel better now?" she asked of the girl who'd obviously had a killing spree on behalf of someone else. "No." A single word reply from Seriri was expected, one didn't kill on behalf of someone else and have that relieve one's guilt. Miki knew that the group who died had to have done something unknowable to make the girl who played healer on purpose snap enough to take multiple lives.

[Bloodedge]

Eventually, the pair entered the palace's throne room. Akashi once again sat atop the throne with his head in his hand, looking on as Diva tentatively trailed behind the queen. The young male never once looked anyone in the eye during the time he was being introduced. His eyes were, in a manner of speaking, glued to the ground before him. Seriri had his trust... at least there was that.

Akashi stared at the tan male while Miki and Seriri had their exchange. This was the person he sought; he could feel it. Something had changed within Seriri as well. Her Mana itself boasted a slightly different quality to it. It was as if it had been given more purpose, so to speak. "You succeeded. That's what matters. What made someone like you change so much, though?" he wondered aloud, seeming to have come to terms - at least slightly - with the Mermaid queen due to these recent alterations to her... well, her everything.

[Apollymi]

Miki was still sitting in Akashi's lap, and she too was curious as to exactly what had made Seriri take such drastic actions immediately. Though Seriri had been praised for her work, she still wasn't pleased, and Miki could tell. Beyond even that, the lad she'd introduced seemed to be broken in an extreme fashion. She claimed he couldn't speak, and if she couldn't heal him, then it was likely something that had long since healed. And strangely Akashi even asked what about this situation had changed her. Seriri gave a slight pause, choosing her words very carefully to spare the feelings of the lad she'd brought along with her. "They killed and mutilated his wife and unborn child. They were parading them through the market like a trophy..." she said softly. "To taunt a man who had no tendons and has no tongue... they brutalized him... there aren't any excuses. They had to die... I couldn't..." she paused becoming angry all over again. "No more." she said much more firmly she looked at this pair and that pair of words was almost engraved within her eyes, her body and mana.

Miki heard out what the lass had to say and frowned deeply. She'd expected problems in Atlantis given what she'd read about it before, but something like what Seriri described was exactly the sort of thing that gave her nightmares about being in this world on her own. 'Sou ka, Tsu-chan has never been able to look out for anyone before. She's normally the one being looked after. It's new for her to care for someone while actually being able to do something for them,' she directed this thought to Akashi, reflexively as she would have done if it had been Kou sitting beside her. Aloud she said something different. "Gomen, Tsu-chan. I figured you needed to see what people were capable of yourself. I didn't think that you'd have to come across something so outlandish," Miki said calmly. Truly she'd expected the girl to see her Kingdom without rose colored glasses but not to have witnessed something so graphic. But perhaps this was a good shock for the sheltered lass. "Iie, it isn't your fault. You told me I shouldn't have left things as they were, I didn't know people could be like that... I don't know why anyone would choose to be like that," she murmured. Her faith in people to make good decisions was all but lost. The battered man hadn't looked at anyone, he was meek. Miki hadn't seen someone so legitimately helpless looking in a long time, even she wished to make sure this man didn't have to suffer any more. Still the lass hadn't enjoyed the killing of the people she'd murdered on behalf of the man at her side, this meant she had to be willing to take other method into her arsenal to get this Kingdom back under her control.

[Bloodedge]

Throughout Seriri's explanation of what had befallen the tan male, Akashi seemed entirely unfazed. He was, however, interested. He understood her plight. Had he witnessed the situation, he'd have obliterated those lesser beings as well. His eyes fell upon Miki as she transferred a message to him. Apparently, Seriri had recently lived through a scenario unlike any she'd experienced from that side of the proverbial fence. Instead of offering a response to her, though, he scanned Diva. His tendons had clearly been repaired by Seriri, though his tongue remained missing... along with something else Akashi could clearly notice with those eyes of his. "There's something else missing, as well..." he said, knowing they'd done even more to this lad.

Diva trembled the tiniest amount at this mention. Of course he knew they'd taken more from him. In taking his child from this world, they also made sure he'd never be capable of creating another of what they considered an abomination. He certainly couldn't be allowed to create more of him, according to the Atlanteans.

[Apollymi]

Miki received no response from Akashi, but she also didn't expect one. Beyond that, his countanence didn't change at all over the course of the words offered by Seriri about the suffering of the male known as Diva. Akashi looked at him directly though, and Miki knew he was seeing something that she couldn't, beyond this his next words also caused Miki to have a look at the lad more directly. "He's missing..." Miki started to question only to have the Seriri explain softly. "They castrated him too..." she offered this information which made Miki's eyes widen immediately. She felt nothing but pity for the lad, even without having such a body part to lose in the first place. Now, the exact nature of Seriri's rage and her general distaste even after handling the situation at hand made much more sense. What was more, if something like this was taking place in the Market, it said a lot about the nature of the people around Market itself. They felt comfortable enough to behave in such a way because they knew no consequences would exist for them. Meaning whoever was funding the Markets had to at least be complicit in this ill treatment of the man before them. It also meant that anyone who would have spoken out about it, had already been displaced.

"Sou ka..." Miki said a fuller picture of what she was dealing with came together. "So, what will you do?" she asked Seriri. The Queen of Atlantis looked at Miki in this moment and then back at the timid and broken lad at her side. Seriri chose to be honest in this moment because she knew her own feelings were terrible in this situation. "When I was walking back I kind of wanted to tell you to destroy this place. I wanted to leave and watch it fall... " she said softly. "I pledged myself to a Dragon for my Kingdom and saw the absolute worst things in return. I didn't know it was possible to dislike something I cared about so much..." she offered. "But..." Miki said knowing the pause meant something in particular. "There are still innocent people. And I need to make sure no one else is being hurt or treated so badly. I don't want to stand by while something like this happens to someone else," Seriri offered firmly. "But first I want to make sure he's taken care of. I have those tavern keeps coming but I didn't get around to the library so that will be a while..." she said to the lass. A smile came to Miki's face and she shook her head. "Iie, I don't need that, it's unnecessary. I know what I'm looking for and I know the history of Atlantis already. I just wanted to make you walk around a bit... take care of your new friend," she said to the girl down from the throne. Seriri took the moment to realize that Miki simply knew that she didn't act on her own and gave her something to do to make her move on her own. Strangely this fell in line with exactly how the lass had been when they were children as well. "There is something else that will need discussing though, when I find out who was funding this... what would you like me to do with them?" she asked directly.

[Bloodedge]

Indeed. Those Atlanteans had taken what made him a man, among so many other things. What a pity this was, but there was nothing to do but move on. Seriri expressed her displeasure for the types of individuals in her kingdom, while Akashi continued watching Diva. The Dragon within him didn't care for the plight of lesser beings, but there was one thing even a Dragon could respect: resolve. Seriri was showing exactly that, but there was one thing which struck a chord within the onlooking Dragonoid...

When Miki brought up the topic of whomever funded these deeds, Akashi was still watching Diva. He took a note of the lad's demeanor, picking up the minor twitches here and there during specific mentions. Something else was amiss. This person, be they man or mer, was more involved than one would likely assume. As such, Akashi decided to chime in before Seriri had opportunity to answer with her plan. "Look further into it. There's something... more," he said, prompting Diva to avert his gaze even more than he'd done already.

[Apollymi]

The man known as Diva had tells that Miki herself couldn't see. He was a mess of a man, and seemed to only know the movements of a tortured animal. Of course, seeing past all that Akashi had something to say which stopped Seriri from speaking immediately. She paused to look at Diva and wondered who was funding what happened to him, and what would make him still seem so despondent. "Look further into it..." this was said by Seriri who began thinking about the situation logically. Miki had already come to the conclusion that someone was funding this unnecessary torture and that it was probably someone important enough to make the townsfolk feel as if they could get away with such open acts of violence. Even with Seriri being Queen there was one person, who was likely considered more important to the Kingdom than she was. Miki looked at Diva, who had looked even further away from Akashi when he'd spoken. Knowing how people tended to react to unknowable truths, she understood a bit of what was being gotten to. "You mean there is still more... they have the pieces of him and maybe," she gave a pause as she considered this man had a wife and child, but what of his parents. He'd obviously been tortured for quite a long time, and if they wanted to keep him from procreating it was obviously due to who or what he was... which means that anyone who shared a blood relation to him was likely a target. "Do you have more relatives, Diva do they have them?" this was a question from Seriri directly to the lad, she'd come to this conclusion with only the clues given and inferred information. Miki watched this pair and knew it was likely and that would make her destruction of the financial system of this place an even greater necessity than before.

[Bloodedge]

It seemed there was an agreement here. Miki would go about furthering her investigation into the one providing funds, and quite a few things would likely be done about them, if the general assumption was right. Seriri herself even reached the conclusion Akashi had, going on to prod the young man about it. She was about the only one he would feel any level of comfortable around, so he didn't exactly shy away... though he didn't look at her directly, either. No answer of any sort came, but it was there. In his face, anyone could tell Seriri had hit the nail on the head, so to speak. There was such a sink in Diva's already low mood when the matter was brought up, he couldn't even lift his head to acknowledge the question properly.

[Apollymi]

The mood of the room dropped markedly, even without having the deeper connection to the lad below, Miki knew that what Seriri had said was absolutely true. Seriri also knew this by the man's lack of movement and Akashi obviously made the conclusion immediately. About what to do when she found the one's funding this though, there was only one thing to say. "Kimi... if you find them let me know. But whoever is funding this... we can't show them any mercy," she said. Miki looked up and something strange was taking place she made eye contact with Seriri and a grin which bordered upon malicious was spread across Miki's face. It was a look which didn't fit with the blonde hair, and one that Seriri was only used to seeing in the face of the black haired girl she'd grown up with, and only in a very specific situation. It was in this moment that she realized that Miki already intended to do exactly that, to completely destroy such a corrupt business. "I don't know the meaning of the word."

That one sentence was enough, she could count on Kimi to destroy any business and owner shown to be as unsavory as this kind. And she could count on the lass to do all she could for those innocent people hurt by such a catastrophe. "Hai, come on Diva... let's get you cleaned up and fed. We still have things to do," she said softly and she headed towards the baths. In passing Miki had only one more thing to say. "The seamstress is down there already." and with that Seriri aimed to leave the presence of the pair on the throne. Miki sat in Akashi's lap with her hand under her chin for several moments longer. She would converse with the Tavern Keeps and hopefully they'd be able to provide her with the information she needed about the man who funded the torture of Diva and his family.

[Bloodedge]

Diva followed along behind Seriri, albeit slowly. Time would pass from there, while Akashi remained atop the throne. There was so much wrong with Atlantis. A spark, however small, had been lit within the Dragonoid toward the repair of this kingdom. At the very least, he could acknowledge Seriri enough to offer his aide where necessary. Or, perhaps... it had just as much to do with Miki. Whatever the case, the time would soon come for moves to be made, deeds to be done, and changes to come about. Akashi awaited these times while Diva was cared for. He awaited, specifically, the return of Seriri and the plan of Miki. "The winds are shifting," he said with utmost nonchalance as his head leaned further into his hand.

[Apollymi]

A few days passed since the last time they were all in the throne room together. Miki had gone off on her own for a bit, to do some discrete exploring under the hood of her cloak. She entered from below and pushed back her hood with a triumphant smile on her face. She'd discovered some very interesting things around. Seriri also entered as well likely to be accompanied by her newest charge. Freshly dressed and at least fed a bit though his food choices were limited just a tad. She heard the words spoken by Akashi as she climbed to the top of the throne and aimed to retake the seat she seemed to like most. "Damn right the winds are shifting," she said affirmatively. "Alright, I know what the plan is now... and I've picked up something to help you out as well, Tsu-chan~" Miki said having done quite the bit of exploring over the last day or so. She'd open her cloak and produced a book which had some strange markings on the front and seemed to have been chained to something previously she floated this down to Seriri.

"I took a casual stroll to the library and found this in a 'forbidden section' overseen as property of someone called the Banker," she said watching the entirety of the throne room. "I happen to know after my conversations with the Tavern Keeps that the Banker is the big force behind the Kingdom. He controls the information disseminated, he controls the entirety of the market, and he's in charge of all things related to living within the Kingdom," she said with a quick nod of her head. "If you need a business loan, you deal with a banker. You need things for your home, you deal with the banker. You need to check out books from the library, you deal with the banker. Nothing in this place happens without his approval or his ability to profit," she said. "Which means that people he doesn't like and businesses he doesn't like, don't thrive. People who don't go along with what he wants get thrown to the wayside, and if you don't go along with what he wants, you have no options... thus all the listless adults we've seen," she said giving all the information she had. "Those are the people willing to live and die on their morals and the only market men worth their salt. They are where we start..." she said decisively. She'd decided that building the businesses discarded by the Banker would be a surefire way to catch his attention and it would make him come to her. The book she'd given Seriri was a book of maps outlining the underside of Atlantis including the secret passages which contained the Guardians of Atlantis as well as maps of several underground dungeons directly under the Bankers dwelling. "Kimi this is where I got my weapon from and this... this has to be where the Guardians are, he has them?" she asked with wide eyes. "He controls the lands they are on, but he can't use them, he's a Mer-Shark... according to everyone I've talked to, he doesn't have the magical ability to use them, and he can't force them to activate with strength alone. When you claimed the staff, he figured you couldn't be overthrown so he simply stayed out of sight," Miki explained. With all of this information, Miki's plan would be obvious to anyone who could put it together from the basics, but she'd still explain if she was asked directly.

[Bloodedge]

At long last, the moment had arrived to reach the climax of their trip to Atlantis. Miki had taken care of discovering the identity of the man behind the funds, while Seriri brought Diva in a more suitable state for living a more normal life. Akashi had made a few small discoveries as well, only through fitting pieces together over the course of the recent few days. "This... Banker. If he has this much power, there's nothing left for the queen," Akashi stated, while more bits of information regarding the underground of Atlantis were revealed via tome. He expected more of the area, especially understanding that it was being used by the Banker still. One wouldn't do such a thing without it having a greater purpose than they revealed. It was all fine, though; that was part of the reason he sent Seriri after Diva, whose Mana rivaled even Akashi's own from what he could tell. "Whatever you plan on doing with the Banker, his secrets are necessary. Seriri..." he said in an effort to grab the queen's attention, seeming to have suddenly acknowledged her by name as well. "Your staff can't control the Guardians, can it?"

[Apollymi]

"Exactly, it's also why there was no fear of repercussions. All figured if anything bad happened or if they got caught doing anything, the Banker would bail them out..." Miki said with a bit of finality. "Of course, someone did a pretty good job of reinstating the fear of her power..." Miki said with a chuckle. Apparently it was the underground's current prerogative not to get caught by the Queen doing anything lest they risk their lives. In fact, her moves in that alley had caused a bit of a divide within the working forces of the Banker, they claimed the man couldn't protect them from the Queen and as such aside from his money he was losing a bit of his pull over the people. Her understanding of the underground of Atlantis had become full depth. She fully understood everything she needed to about the way that the Banker did business, and because of this, she'd knew exactly what she'd do to completely decimate his business. "He'll tell us everything he knows... whether he dies or not, isn't really important to me. I plan to destroy this disgusting business of his and his will to thrive and he'll tell us everything himself. That's how those types are, he'll brag and let go of everything long before he needs to be dealt with..." she summarized.

Soon enough though, Seriri was mentioned directly and her eyes widened at this because she didn't remember when the lad on the throne started addressing her in so direct a manner. As for what she intended and if she could control the Guardians herself she simply sighed. "Iie, the Staff can't control the Guardians. According to what is here, those have their own Artifact and it takes an Atlantean to wield it. Since I wasn't born here, I don't count anyways..." she said her eyes shifting ever so slightly towards Diva. It seemed that it was likely he would need to be the one to do it. But in order for them to potentially get to the Artifact they'd have to be willing to enter the caves beneath the Banker's lands from a pretty far distance. "Diva's magic skill outweighs mine by a great deal, and I am certain he's from here... he might have an easier time of trying to use them. At the very least if he can claim the Guardians the final shift will be made."

[Bloodedge]

The Banker would be dealt with in due time. Miki alone would be more than enough to take him down; that much, Akashi was certain of. With that, the only standing issue was Diva. Akashi didn't believe the other male would be incapable of handling the power of the mysterious missing Artifact, but his willingness to take it was in question. Even Akashi had a difficult time seeing through to Diva's potential motives. Seriri at least gave the final bit of necessary confirmation that no, she was not capable of controlling the Guardians. That left but a single option. There was, however, one minor issue with what Seriri said. She addressed Diva's magical potential in comparison to her own, but from what Akashi could tell, she was quite mistaken. "No. It's just of a different quality, and yours is missing its focus. You'd probably never be able to use whatever the missing Artifact is, but don't assume it's a matter of quantity. The only true difference is that Diva here is the only True Atlantean," he clarified. At long last, Akashi rose from the throne, holding Miki with his right arm as he did so. "Time to move, then?"

[Apollymi]

Akashi's words about this whole thing made Seriri look at him strangely. He claimed that the difference between herself and Diva wasn't a matter of quantity but of quality and focus. She supposed she could see that, as she didn't really have anything to work for until very recently. Perhaps she could be a bit better, but he was quite right, about the nature of Diva compared to everyone else. "Sou ka," she looked to Diva in this moment and wondered if the lad was really up to this particular thing. "Diva, we're going to get this... and maybe you can use it. It could help you... I'll look after you while we're out. There won't be anything to worry about," she said, knowing that artifacts had all kinds of hidden extras and maybe this one might be something only he could use and thus something that could benefit him in extra ways. This group planned to take down everything that made Atlantis bad, it was possible he could only benefit from going along with them in the moment.

Seriri had made this offer, and Akashi had stood carrying Miki along with him. Miki's own eyes had widened, she hadn't expected to be carried. It wasn't like she hadn't been separated from him for part of this day. Strangely though, she found herself rather comfortable in this moment. She didn't even bother telling him she could or would rather walk, because at present it wouldn't be true. "Seems like it..." she said. She had plans to ruin a business and they had plans to topple an empire and recreate it in a better image.

[Bloodedge]

Diva raised his head, turning it toward Seriri. He did his best to try for eye contact, but he couldn't quite manage it. Even so, this woman had his trust. If she claimed she would look after him, he'd believe her. Though... he still seemed more fretful than he should have, even for being such a broken individual. There was still something to worry about. Once again, he had to bear witness to that which he'd rather avoid at all cost... but he'd seen worse; he could at least manage going. Besides, the woman in his company had done him a great service before, so he could have faith that she could - and would - do so again.

While this conclusion was reached, Akashi lowered himself to the ground again, Miki still in tow. The girl was interestingly without protest this time around. This was something noted, but not commented upon, by Akashi himself. She'd finally come around. "Where to first?" he asked of the blonde, apparently content to act as her chauffeur and guardian during her dealings.

[Apollymi]

Diva wasn't able to respond to Seriri, but he did at least try to meet her gaze, and the Queen appreciated that more than anything. In the meantime, a now carried Miki knew where they should be going first, and it was somewhere quite important. Her first step in causing economic chaos was to get moving the businesses shut down or not even allowed to thrive by the Banker. Given this, she'd had her Tavern Keeps spread the news about a certain new Merchant willing to back the works of any person denied access by the Banker. "Well the first place we need to go is the Market. I have a deal to make with the listless craftsmen and merchants of Atlantis. They should all be ready by now, to do what they should have been doing a long time ago," Miki said with a great deal of certainty. The pillow that was her weapon drifted along behind her and Seriri looked onward at the pair as if confused by what the lass was thinking. She knew that Miki knew how to make and break businesses, but to be working with the craftsman already made it seem like the lass had been much busier than she'd mentioned.

When they arrived at the market they would see a strange gathering of people right at the entrance. There weren't many occupied stalls here and there weren't many transactions taking place. Instead at a stand still was a group of several dozen human looking Merfolk of various levels of skill. Some bore obvious traits, some were thin, some carried the tools of their crafts with them. And some even had upon their backs the wares they had which they couldn't rightly sell within the Kingdom. All looked on to see the arrival of this Merchant willing to take on the Banker in his business monopoly within the Kingdom and some even held out hope that they might be able to go back to earning honest livings.

[Bloodedge]

The moment Miki completed her clause, Akashi's grip tightened just enough to keep her steady. His movement was immediate, and their arrival at the market was no less swift. Craftsmen littered the front of the building they landed before. Akashi paid no heed to any of the mortals wielding their tools and wares. He was here for one purpose, and that was to accompany Miki. If there was killing necessary, he would do so without hesitation, or even thought at all. In fact... even if there wasn't a necessity, there was a very real chance of him doing so. The one thing that wasn't up to chance was his grip on the blonde. At no point did he intend to release her; he'd go on carrying the lass as if she were a possession of sorts, all while she conducted whatever business she had with these people.

[Apollymi]

A great number of merchants watched as a Dragon suddenly appeared before them. Many took a single step back some just stood quivering ever so gently where they stood. All the while, it wouldn't be the Dragon who spoke at all after arriving. Those who managed to regather themselves, would have their eyes immediately drawn to a blonde lass cradled in the arm of this Dragon. "Alright. Let's keep this short and sweet. My name is Miki, and I am a Merchant. A real one," she said reaching within her cloak she revealed the golden stake which tied her to the Merchant's Guild officially and gave her the rights to operate a business within any Kingdom that was part of the continent. This included Atlantis. Many of the craftsman had their eyes widen. They'd been told by the Tavern Keepers that someone might be around who would fund or front their businesses. They didn't expect a traveling human merchant, who was willing to go against the will of the Banker.

"Now, I know that you all have been kept from your trades and your money making. I have no intention of doing that. Beyond that, if you will run your business' in my name under a short-term contract. I'll protect you from what you're scared of. No harm will come to you as long as you live up to your end of the contract and I'll do it for only a nominal fee," she finished this part of the speech and she garnered many skeptical looks. There was something else though a small light of hope that seemed to be in the eyes of some of the individuals. One such man with his entire trade on his back looked to the lass and said aloud what all the others wanted to know. "What's the fee? And what happens if we break the contract? Will we lose our homes, our families? Will you take pieces of our bodies as collateral?" his words were firm but there was a softness to his speech. Almost like he knew a tale which made him not enter into any contract with the Banker at all. Miki turned to look at him and her eyes widened with the realization of exactly what had happened to Diva in the sense of business. "Sou ka... I can see why that would be a problem for all of you. I don't conduct business like that. If you can make money, you should make as much of it as possible, whenever possible. You don't do that by damaging goods, bodies or spirits. If you break the contract you lose your protection that is all. And if I break the contract you owe me nothing. That is the basis of business. The trade of goods or money for other goods or money. I don't profit from fear, only from work and will. What I offer is a contract for the duration of my stay in this Kingdom. Afterwards you will be able to establish yourselves as you wish. No more no less," she said with a level of decisiveness. "As for my actual fee, it's 20 percent of your profits while you work for me. 10 percent if you are willing to run your own business with only my protection offered and none of my expertise," she said. There were murmurs among these men as they considered this offer. "You'd also be allowed to determine the market value of your own wares, but you are required to pay any employed by you living wages. So, long as I get my cut of the profits you can buy, sell and employ... at your own leisure." Miki aimed to established a free market economy in direct contrast to how the Banker behaved. Doing so quickly would cause the man's profits to drop drastically even over the course of a single business day. Beyond that... it would also gain Miki a very reasonable profit margin, for something she was going to do, regardless of the situation at hand. They didn't need to know she completely planned to destroy the Banker. She was offering them a livelihood earned by their own hands.

[Bloodedge]

Akashi stood before the traders and craftsmen with an aura about him that could only be described as menacing. He had nothing to say to these people, and cared to do nothing with them. He did, however, have his intentions with Miki. She went about her business quite formally, offering her sales pitch, as it were. In response to the one man who spoke out to her, she delivered a very clear explanation of how she intended to work with them. It figured the rich girl would have such a mind for business, but it seemed... different. She didn't boast the same level of shrewdness one would expect of a businessperson, nor of someone who hoarded currency like most rich people. There were still a few hints here and there to the types Akashi would have expected, but they were covered by something very out of the ordinary. So, he would listen... and at least see the reactions and decisions of the traders.

[Apollymi]

The sales pitch Miki gave was indeed one which wasn't at all expected from the merchants. The man with all the materials on his back seemed to be the one closest to being convinced. A meager ten percent of his overall profits wasn't nearly as much as the forty percent cut that had been taken by the Banker. The Banker had also bought all of his goods at a discount and resold them to the richer Atlanteans for an even greater profit, basically reducing this man's work down to slave labor. If he could take home even eighty percent of his overall profits, the benefits outweighed the risks even if she couldn't actually protect them for very long.

Miki on the other hand stared at the group, being held by a rather menacing Dragon who had nothing to say and only chose to watch. This gave her a strange feeling and reminded her of early contract negotiations as a child. Something about that made her a bit giddy. It'd been quite a while since she had such a presence on her side in a way that made her feel properly comfortable. There was one more question then, and this one was also from the old man with all his wares on his back, it seemed as if he was least scared so he'd taken it upon himself to speak the questions being murmured among the group at large. "How will you protect us? The banker could send his sharks at any time to tear apart our stalls and destroy our wares. If we won't sell to him, he'll steal and break anything and if our families work with us, he'll take them too," the old man said. He'd been protecting his family by not involving them in any of these things. But if he was to push his wares properly he'd need them involved. What protection could this young lass offer that couldn't be over-run by the Sharks and Merfolk who oppressed them so?

"Sou ka, well as part of the contract, I've created a bounded field around the Market Place," she said still twirling around the plaque in her hand which denoted her as a proper merchant and allowed the signing of contracts through a simple touch. "It's currently inactive because no one has taken the deal, if you take it though, and touch this..." she said stopping it with her finger so they could see. "It will offer you a seal of protection. This applies to all assets of your business, your wares, your employees, yourselves and your profits. Nothing of yours which could be bound to you as such can be taken. It can only be bought or sold and that only applies to the merchandise, so they can't make you sell your family or friends either. The seal itself will protect you from physical harm or robbery, even if you leave the area... so long as you are part of my company my protections are applied to you. You can conduct your business like you should without fear of the repercussions of such disgusting and underground business practices. And if he wishes to take your product from you... he'll have to buy it... and you can sell it for all its worth... right?" she asked the man looking at him with that same demonic smile on her face. She'd thought through all possibilities. And when the Banker discovered violence wouldn't work, he'd try to buy them out, making all of them advanced profits in the process which he wouldn't be able to take back by force. Such was the protection offered by Miki. To make as much money as possible, whenever possible. She extended the plaque to the man who spoke, knowing that his decision here would make or break the rest of the group. They all looked to him to see if he'd take it... and he stepped forward and carefully reached for it. "Easy does it, don't want to get killed by a Dragon today..." the old man said as his shaky hands made contact with the golden plaque. And when he touched it, the deal would be struck and a magical green pulse would happen over the whole of the Market Place... such would open it officially as the rest of the group decided if they wanted to do business with Miki. Several more stepped forward and would follow the old man's example.

[Bloodedge]

More business took place, and still, Akashi was unfazed. He was focused on Miki throughout the exchange, though. Something was rather captivating about the blonde... or rather, something had always been captivating about the original persona behind the Avatar. Akashi knew this just as Kou did... just as Yugi did, along with all the identities in their original world who hailed Ashikaga Kimiko as a school idol. He was a bit transfixed by her existence once again, just as he and other versions of himself had been a few times before. Yes, even Yugi had been affected. Once. Only once. Though, as of late... maybe more.

Akashi eventually honed in on a certain individual approaching him. No, it wasn't him they approached; it was Miki. Even worse. He stared down the trader during this encroachment upon the Dragonoid's mate, prepared to erase him from the fabric of reality at a moment's notice. Lo, it proved an unnecessary train of thought. A contract was signed between the two, and it seemed many would be coming in the very near future. "Interesting," he said simply, and randomly. He spoke specifically of Miki, or rather Kimiko, in this moment. Was there more to his train of thought? Yes. Would he make any effort to explain himself further, though? Most certainly not.

[Apollymi]

Miki's work was going fairly smoothly, every individual trader who came upon her in this moment seemed apt to sign a contract with her and begin working as soon as possible. She answered a few passing questions as well and made herself available to the those who wanted her actual help with their businesses for another day. For now though, enough had been done to start the wheels turning and it would be more than enough to bring the Banker out of hiding and likely directly to Miki. All the while, it seemed her Dragon guardian was doing a pretty good job of keeping everyone and everything a reasonable distance away from her. She'd heard his muttering of interesting and found it strange that it was all he had to say. But it seemed that Dragons simply didn't have very detailed things to say most of the time, so she let it go and counted it towards positive interest in her activities. Several moments later the crowds had cleared and several stalls were being set up and the market unfolded into a booming business around them. She watched for a couple of minutes with a large smile on her face. "That's what a Market should look like..." she muttered, knowing that this would make her a decent bit of coinage towards their shared goals. Happy that this could take care of itself for the rest of the day she looked to Akashi and gave him the next bit of their plan. "Hm, that should be enough to start some trouble. The Banker will come looking for me after he pays a great deal trying to buy out the Market. In the meantime... we should catch up with Tsu-chan and Diva. I get the feeling that its better if we get a full picture of whats going on here. And make sure the Guardians can be lifted properly. I've got the Tavern Keeps ready to pass along any information and extra movements to the staff at the Palace so we won't have to keep a direct eye on this place to know what's going on with them..." she commented and with that she waited.

Seriri and Diva had headed towards the other end of Atlantis to a place known as the Forsaken Seabed. It wasn't really Forsaken but it was a bit treacherous and lead directly into the underground tunnels which would eventually lead to the Shark's Den. It was unguarded and watched though so it would be easy access for a group of Adventurers to enter and exit with whatever the hidden artifact was.

[Bloodedge]

It wasn't that Akashi was interested in Miki's activities; he didn't care about any of the ongoing things at all. His interest was purely... the mind of the girl behind the Rogue Avatar. What more was there to Ashikaga Kimiko? There had to be something. Of all the puzzles he solved, even those which took more time than all the others, she was the one he'd been incapable of cracking for the longest time. Indeed, even before they met in this world, there was something about that identity that Yugi considered an enigma. Since they began their adventure together, it had become something maddening every time he thought about it.

He was granted reprieve from this line of thought eventually, with Miki bringing up the next leg of the journey. They were done here, and they could finally meet with the others. Akashi hesitated as he stared at the lass, but after a few moments passed, he moved. Off to the Forsaken Seabed they went, just as quickly as they'd gone to the Marketplace. They would not encounter Seriri and Diva at the entrance, but rather a bit deeper into the tunnels, just before the Shark's Den. Akashi stopped himself and Miki a bit behind the others, though Diva also seemed to be lagging behind Seriri quite a bit. He'd been just about alongside her the entire journey, but he knew what was up ahead... and he subconsciously, maybe even consciously, shied away from it enough to slow his pace significantly.

[Apollymi]

A few moments of thought happened before Miki and Akashi moved on. And soon enough they they were in the tunnels leading up to the Shark's Den and they'd be found slightly behind Seriri and Diva, the later of whom seemed to be lagging behind quite a bit. Miki looked at this distance and wondered what was going on with the man that he seemed to be shying away from what was ahead. 'This really isn't good. He has to know what's up ahead. I feel bad, he's been through enough...' the girl thought to herself. Even so she greeted her friend. "Tsu-chan, you have a functional protected Market Place. That should be enough for now," she mentioned. Seriri looked back and sighed. "Hai hai, I don't doubt you about things like that. You've done too much too often for me not to trust you when it comes to money... you wouldn't want to..." she said turning to look back at the lass. "Absolutely not." Miki said very firmly. She knew the lass wanted her to stay and keep up the economy longer than just the little while she would be here. To be fair, Miki would make the perfect financial advisor to any kingdom. "Yeah, I figured you're still adventuring after all. If you change your mind though..." she said with a casual shrug.

Miki paused a few seconds after looking around the place. She took a shallow breath in the moment and became a bit unnerved. "There is a lot of death here... I don't like it," she said. She couldn't quite place it, but the deaths didn't feel like the ones she'd felt before. They felt old and stagnant. It was a hard feeling to describe but it was the truth absolutely. She'd look to Diva as well and in this moment his lagging was beginning to make sense.

[Bloodedge]

Once again, Akashi was without a reason to speak. It was, frankly, the fault of his lack of concern for just about everything going on around him. However, he knew there was something up ahead that none in the group, especially the tongueless, cockless lad named Diva, would appreciate. Miki was clearly aware as well, due to her connection with the sensation of death itself. Diva, on the other hand... he simply knew. The very moment Miki spoke of death, the young man trembled and teared up once again, wishing to cry out whilst being incapable of doing so. He also stopped dead in his tracks. There, ahead of the bunch, was the destination...

He couldn't go onward. He'd seen the sight so many times before. A single room the likes of a dungeon lay ahead. On the rear wall, Diva's own father hung by chains in an even worse physical condition than Seriri found Diva in. He'd been stripped of his legs, the tendons in his arms, his eyelids and his very flesh all the way to the bone and muscle tissue, and of course his tongue. The amount of blood in his body was just enough to keep him alive and conscious, making him incapable of doing anything but see and hear the true atrocity taking place.

In the center of the room, there was always a crowd of men from Atlantis. There were also... numerous newborn infants, all dead along the floor in the room they were born in. How were they born here? Well, the true center of the room held a large, golden cube. Atop that cube, well... was the problem here. Chains kept a naturally-tanned, naked woman strapped atop the glowing box. Her hair was teal, like Diva's, and she seemed to be in her mid-to-late thirties. She lay beaten, bruised and lacerated without eyes, eardrums or tendons. She was left with only her sense of touch, and her ability to scream and wail as she was brutally raped and tortured by the men who visited this chamber. She was also with child, as she always was. Yes, indeed; she was a True Atlantean like Diva, and was in fact the young man's mother. Time and time again, she and her husband suffered the hell of this room. Even while the group of four stood outside the room... it was happening. Akashi could hear the cries of the woman, and the muted whining of the man, hence his awareness of something wrong beyond the gate. What a pitiful sight there was ahead of them.

[Apollymi]

There were muffled cries up ahead. Seriri's heart dropped in her chest. She pushed the gate open with her power and looked into this room. She was frozen for just a moment, she thought that Diva had experienced hell. She thought she'd been upset but right now there was a fresh hell happening in the middle of this room. "Why... why would anyone..." Seriri mumbled. She wasn't capable of processing the amount of malevolence required to do such a thing to another living person. Miki was still in Akashi's arms and she took in the sight of this room. The low whining of the mutilated man, the cries of the woman strapped to the table, the group of Atlanteans pillaging her pregnant body and the death. All of the dead babies, the sight of such a thing sparked a very real memory for Miki, one which caused the lass to shed a single tear, from the right side of her face. Her body trembled ever so softly, and she understood the need to balance the universe. The tear fell down her face as she couldn't believe all the life gone to waste. And though she'd been told of what Seriri had witnessed with Diva she never thought there would be an entire group of people participating actively in this sort of depravity.

Miki couldn't say anything but she couldn't watch such a thing happen in front of her. The pillow that floated behind her transformed as it flew forward. Miki hadn't whistled. She didn't need to make any noise. She didn't need these individuals to know that death was coming to them, instead they'd simply find themselves being speared through from various different angles. The group wouldn't even be given a chance to react, they'd simply be run through at vital points while Miki looked on in horror. Seriri turned to look back at the blonde lass, she realized in seeing all of those dead corpses and the woman being actively raped that this might have been a problem for Kimiko but the lass was the one who acted first. "Kimi..." she said the lass' name and Miki snapped out of it, wiping a tear from her face as her weapon cleared this large group of Atlanteans from their... sport of choice. "I'm the last person you should be worried about," was Miki's only reply, though there was clearly something in this scene that deeply affected the lass, there was the pressing matters of the two people being tortured in this place. "I know..." she said, the whole of Seriri's energy went into healing, both of these people would get to feel the a the refreshing relief of healing, but it wouldn't do anything for the strength of their life forces. Her activities were in vain in that case.

[Bloodedge]

There it was. Right before them, in plain sight, was the horrible truth of Atlantis and its citizens. The person with the most extreme and hasty reaction to the sight, interestingly, was the typically composed Miki. Akashi could literally feel her emotional snap of sorts as she used one of her powers in an uncommon fashion to slay the culprits of this deed. One could just about gather that she was over the edge, but there was one capable of catching her: Seriri. What could have provoked such an extreme reaction? Again, Akashi wondered.

Seriri's healing found a pair of new targets this day. The woman on the box, and the man on the wall, both received the refreshing water blessing of the queen. Sadly, it meant nothing. They were absolutely destroyed long ago, and now, so was Diva. He didn't want to go forward. He hadn't wanted to pass that threshold again, but a simple glance showed him everything, and brought him to his knees. Wide eyes stared, and more tears than he should have been capable of producing streamed. The situation was somehow far worse than the previous time he'd seen it, and for far more reason than the sheer number of his brothers and sisters littering the room. His parents, they... they hadn't been this bad before. Why did they need worse treatment? Seriri tried, he knew she did... but even Diva understood that there was nothing more to be done for them now.

[Apollymi]

Seriri continued to heal this pair, even knowing they would die here. Their visages were restored even as their breaths began to leave them. And tears fell down the young Queen's face. This treatment of people was completely undeserved and what was more it'd been taking place so long, there was literally nothing she could have done about it, without knowing such things existed already. Still, she couldn't absolve herself of her feelings. She hated the idea that she couldn't actually save them, even knowing it wasn't possible. "It's only a mercy at this point... you know that right?" Miki asked of her friend. She'd snapped and she still wasn't back to the self she showed people in general. Her voice was soft now, almost prodding. And the Queen Seriri answered in a similar fashion even through her tears. "Yes, I know... there isn't anything I can do to save them. But they deserve to die peacefully and as unmarred as I can make them... they all do. It's the least I can do for them... and him," she said of the crying Diva. Miki also knew the lad was crying. She knew he could only feel worse about this than they all managed. She felt for the lad, she knew it wouldn't bring him happiness, but perhaps peace would be enough. This pair of friends had both pulled each other back from the edges of their despair though for very different reasons. The bodies of Diva's parents were freed from their bonds and placed together before the cube and would soon be followed by dozens of tiny corpses. Easily strung together by the magic that Seriri, the filth of this room was washed away by her actions and mana. Leaving only the giant glowing cube in the middle. She'd even dissolved the corpses of Miki's kills, knowing that they didn't deserve what was about to happen for this True Atlantean family. Miki watched all these children of various points regain the looks they deserved. Her breathing softened as she regained perspective of herself.

"The tides rise and bring life. They ebb and reclaim it. We return to the waves as water and rise to the skies to watch over our loved ones," Seriri said ever so softly she held her hands in the upside down triangle which would denote the ritual. She bowed her head as they all dissolved into a stream of water glowing and powerful. "Guardian's Protect us..." she released these glowing particles to do what they would. Assumably float up to the ocean to rejoin the ether.

[Bloodedge]

So many things had happened over the years for Diva. He'd long since given up on wishing for betterment in his own life, but those connected to him seeing harm was not something he could take. He was broken, broken, and broken again each time he had to bear witness to this. Seriri did what she could. Again, she acted as the sign of peace to his loved ones, even those who never got to know themselves in this world. And, at the end of it all, she sent them on their way just the same. This time around, Diva did not join the ritual. His watery eyes fixated on the cube at the room's center, and he slowly rose from the ground. He knew this cube; it called to him for years, until his mother was captured and bound to it. The object glowed the exact color of Diva's eyes, and his eyes glowed to match it in return. Tentative steps forward landed the lad before the cube, and in reaching out, he touched it gently.

A gentle pulse emerged from the Artifact. This pulse emitted a sound akin to that of a tuning fork, and resonated audibly throughout all of Atlantis. In fact, the wave may have gone even farther than Atlantis itself. Tremors began to shake the kingdom. They weren't majorly impactful, but the sources were numerous. Yes, it was time. The Guardians of Atlantis were waking up all around the kingdom, and now new ones would be born for the first time in generations. The birth would happen around Diva himself. For every sibling he had during their brief lifespans, a dark blue egg appeared in this very room. Each one looked no different from each other. They were all sporting the golden eye of True Atlanteans, surrounded by Ancient Atlantean runes. Wings sprouted from their sides, and from each of their tops emerged a tendril containing another golden eye at the end. These were quite small for Guardians - small enough that a human could fit within the eggs - but they were not of the usual sort; they called upon the souls of Diva's half-siblings to forge themselves, giving the last remnants of True Atlanteans the highest honor for such a lineage. There were two others grasping the souls of his mother and lover, but their forms were too large to manifest here and now.

The cube began absorbing itself into Diva, encompassing him in its glow while shrinking itself to a small enough size to be held. Through this seemingly simple act, something was changing within the lad. His vitals skyrocketed to what one would have expected of the once-esteemed True Atlanteans, and there was even more to it than that...

[Apollymi]

At the release of Diva's parents and half-siblings, something different would take place. The glowing of the cube, matched the glowing of the lad's eyes, and beyond this, it seemed he wanted to go for the object. Miki and Seriri both watched in awe as he walked towards it, and then reached out to touch it, ever so gently. 'Sou ka, it was his all along...' Miki thought as the resonating happened for the first time and the feeling of strong magic rippled through her very being. There were several sights happening here that she did not expect not the least of which was the rise of a horde of small guardians. Golems in the shape of eyes, which had to be related to the souls of Diva's lost relatives. What was more was the effect releasing this magic seemed to have on Diva himself.

Seriri looked at the lad strangely, as the cube shrank and seemingly merged with him. Given this his vitals all but skyrocketed. She couldn't immediately tell what all about him had changed, but it was as if his body at least had been given new life. Miki got a feeling for his vitality as well, in the sense that he no longer felt as close to death as he had when he'd first been brought back to the palace. She was stunned as well. It was said in game that Artifacts changed the person they were connected to, but to give this man such vitality after he'd been through so much was almost unreal. "Diva..." this was the only thing spoken by Seriri, and it fell just shy of a question.

[Bloodedge]

Diva looked into the cube, which in-turn looked into him. They seemed to repair each other in a strange way, with Diva's restored - even increased - vitality playing a minor role in what really occurred. By the end of the transference, Diva turned around to face Seriri, who spoke to him directly. The glow remained in his eyes, but there was a great deal more. His skin as well had a certain gleam to it, as if moistened by the Mana of Atlantis itself. Two more things...

He stepped forward, Approaching Seriri and no others. He still struggled to force eye contact, but after stopping in front of her, he managed to do so. His mouth opened numerous times, in very small ways before he steeled himself. His struggle was very specific... until it was over in a single moment. "A... ri... g-... ga... t-tou..." he said, an absolute broken mess of an utterance, but more than he'd spoken in literal years. With the full restoration of his body and soul, he was finally, finally capable of at least this. He could at least thank the one person going out of their way to assist him in such ways.

[Apollymi]

There was a great many things going on in this room not the least of which was the full restoration of Diva. It seemed that he and his artifact seemed to help each other out in a way, and this would be fully articulated by something rather simple taking place between the teal haired lad and Seriri. The Queen of Atlantis had addressed the lad rather directly and in turn she watched him struggle to make eye contact as he always seemed to. This was no problem, she wasn't looking for reassurance or anything else in this moment. But what happened next was almost astonishing to Seriri, because she heard it, for the first time. Diva's voice, from Diva's mouth spoken with his own tongue. Such a random occurance was enough to make new tears sprout in the eyes of the young Queen. She had nothing to do with his healing, but he'd been through so much already, seeing him better was one moment of true happiness for her out of this situation. Though just as broken as his earlier attempts at speech had been, he at least got out that one word. "It's fine really. It's good to hear your voice..." the girl managed to say. "Come on... let's get back," she finished up.

All of this was watched by Miki who looked put together once more though she was well and truly unnerved. "At least there's that..." she said softly. This day was something that would likely haunt her for a long time to come. Perhaps forever, still, she unconsciously found herself gripping onto Akashi's shirt and though she looked as she always did there was a small concession she needed in the moment. "Can we... go back to the palace now?" she asked of her Dragonoid protector. There was something in her eyes at this very moment that made her seem just slightly off center. Like she was seeing something in her head, that wasn't really in front of her. Whatever the case, Miki was done with this place, she'd seen the worst of this world, and she knew the name of the evil that caused it. All she was waiting for now, was for that evil to come waltzing up to her directly so she could finish it, in a way that would at least balance out the universe.

[Bloodedge]

"H-... H-..." Diva struggled yet again. It was odd, going from years of being tongueless to suddenly having one again. He could have gone the rest of his days without the ability to speak, and it was returned to him. This would take some getting used to. "H-Ha... Hai..." he finally said, agreeing with Seriri's desire to return. The Guardians of Atlantis were still waking, still causing tremors throughout the kingdom. Soon, they would settle in their proper positions around the land underwater.

Akashi was watching Miki once more. She was clearly having a difficult time returning to her normal state, even showing signs of weakness by tugging on his top. He inspected her closely without outward judgement, and when she requested a return to the palace, he did move. Alas, he did not return to the palace right away. He instead carried Miki into the streets of Atlantis, out by the marketplace. He wouldn't have her simply wait around in the palace for her target to appear; he would float around with her in tow, taking in the sights that were the fruits of her labor. It seemed, at the very least, that the market was quite busy in little to no time at all. Some may have been the Banker's doing, but much of it did seem to be citizens of Atlantis - both man and mer - finally acquiring goods at fair prices. It was something to be appreciated. "You've done well," he said simply.

[Apollymi]

Diva struggled with his speech once more, but Seriri didn't mind at all. "You can take your time, Diva..." she said about the lad's speaking as she motioned him along. They'd head back to the palace together at normal pace, though she spared one glance at Miki knowing the lass probably wouldn't feel right about what she'd seen for a while to come. Just the same, she'd seen the way Akashi had been handling her and figured, he could be left to tending to the lass' old wounds, even without knowing exactly what they were. Or maybe because he didn't know exactly what they were, he'd have an easier time getting her back to who she was.

Miki was stared at by Akashi for several seconds longer than was normally acceptable. The blonde young woman hadn't even noticed herself that she was clinging to him in a strange way. Though she was largely independent and relied on no one, especially not for emotional support, it seemed she'd given this role to Akashi without thinking much about it. Whatever conclusion he came to, he did move her, but not to where she'd asked to go. Instead he flew them back to the Market, and his movements within this space allowed Miki to witness the flow of business within the Kingdom of Atlantis. Such a sight was indeed a bit more calming for the lass, and beyond the connection to something she knew and understood well, there was a compliment from Akashi which gave her great pause. "Hm, it might be a bit too early to tell..." she said softly. Still she felt a strange tickle in her chest from the statement, like it was nice for her efforts to be noticed. "Thank you."

[Bloodedge]

Diva nodded as his gaze averted once more. The small Guardians floated around the lad, as if awaiting guidance. They eventually melded into the cube to be summoned by Diva personally at his discretion. With his 'siblings' physically gone, he was free to follow Seriri once again.

Meanwhile, Akashi and Miki were already moving through the streets. The blonde didn't seem as fully confident in her dealings as he'd come to expect, but considering what had so recently occurred, he couldn't well blame her for the reaction. He kept moving, having nothing to say to the girl's thanks. He did start watching her again. "You know your abilities better than that," was all he said. He knew her capabilities more than that, and he knew she did as well. It wasn't too early to tell; Miki's earlier certainty made that incredibly clear. This was, at minimum, a great success in the works. Her approach was really no different than his own when he dealt with puzzles and the like. "You're winning."

[Apollymi]

Miki watched the flow of this newly created Market, and it set her at ease. Akashi's words about her knowledge of her own abilities was something strange. She could fully acknowledge having a very specific line of expertise, that being said, she was left to ponder the lad's statements under his watchful eye. Akashi didn't acknowledge her thanks, he didn't seem to do this regardless of the situations as they presented themselves so far, what was more he claimed that the look of this active Market Place was a sign of her winning. This statement alone gave her a bit of pause as they moved through the Market Place, the streets in this area teemed with a vigor they hadn't known before. "I know... it's just," she gave a pause to try and gather her thoughts. What was it about this situation that made it different. "It doesn't feel so much like winning," she said softly. This entire place looked exactly like what she expected it to, she knew how low the Banker would stoop so she'd taken every precaution to protect those who put their faith in her. But the confirmation of the extreme level of depravity and seeing that it wasn't just the Banker's attitude but those of his workers as well, was a bit overwhelming. Add that to her own feelings of inadequacy and she couldn't see the forest for the trees. "I know how businesses work. I can pick apart everything wrong by looking at how people treat those under their protection and those they do business with and how they choose to conduct business. But, even knowing how it works and how to fix it on this end. I know there are some things that can't be fixed, even with everything you need right in front of you." Miki's words had multiple meanings related to this situation and others, she knew the thoughts of people and attitudes that they'd put together couldn't be fixed. She knew people tainted by ill-will couldn't technically be brought back, so she'd done all she could so that the ones who worked could see the fruits of their labors and reach their goals with their own hands. She'd simply been reminded earlier of a thing she understood and could do nothing about and how the thoughts that tainted those involved remained long after the conclusion of the events.

[Bloodedge]

It didn't feel like a win, she said. Akashi disagreed. As far as he was concerned, the issues that would remain so long as the people who caused them existed, were mere asides to the overall plan of the blonde. She may not have been aboard so to speak, but that didn't much matter at present. Akashi was content to remain here in the marketplace, instead of bothering with a return to the palace. And so, he did exactly that. His path took them to the roof of the tallest building in the major city of Atlantis, second in height only to the palace itself. There he sat, facing the city at large. "Muda muda," he said, this time actually having more to add. "Dragons don't concern themselves with the lesser. There are more important things to deal with. If you spend time with those things, you'll never get anywhere. If you don't, you'll be... a Dragon."

[Apollymi]

Miki explained her stance in this moment the best way she knew how and didn't immediately receive an answer or reply from Akashi. It seemed that though she'd asked to return to the palace, Akashi himself was content to remain within the newly flourishing marketplace. His path took them to the top of the tallest building that could be found here, which was strangely only the second shortest building in the entirety of the Kingdom. When he finally sat down again, it left Miki the freedom to stretch out across his lap and he even took the time to speak, claiming that something was useless. Miki wasn't sure exactly what this meant, but she wouldn't be required to demand clarification. Akashi provided the clarity of his thoughts of his own accord and he seemed to be saying that if she spent too much time focusing on the small things that were outside of the realm of fixable, she'd never get to the overarching problems she needed to deal with. He claimed that the big picture view is what made a Dragon, and given his feelings about her, he was basically saying this attitude was one she should have.

From her spot within his lap, she looked out at the Kingdom for several seconds, and when she came to her conclusions about what Akashi said, her gaze shifted towards him instead. She stared at him quite a bit in a very direct manner. It was as if she was trying to see something within him in this moment which she hadn't been looking for before this moment. "Sou ka..." she said aloud. 'I suppose he's trying to make me feel better,' she thought there was something warm about that notion. 'I do feel better though...' she concluded. She couldn't really place it but she enjoyed that he'd tried this even when he had no reason to care directly. She couldn't really express that she fully understood exactly what he meant, but she accepted his advice and in doing so, seemed to relax a great deal. Perhaps this was what she enjoyed about the lad in general, it was obviously just a trait of his personality. She'd sit here with him, shifting her gaze back out to the city but she was no longer clinging to him directly like he was the only solid thing left in the world. Instead she sat quietly in his lap using him as emotional support in her moment of weakness taking in his words to strengthen herself and her mindset quite a bit more.

[Bloodedge]

As they sat there atop the building, Akashi remained mostly motionless. Miki didn't have anything to voice other than her understanding of his words, but that was alright for Akashi. It wasn't enough in general, though. Akashi didn't even consider consoling the girl, but something within him had brought him to do so. Beyond that, there was something else even deeper within. As Miki found her comfort to whatever extent she did, he spoke once more. "Someone says... if you try, that's what matters. Good people will rise with you to help snuff out the bad." It was as simple as that. The words of another emerged from Akashi's mouth, and he was conscious of it despite his earlier suppression of his other selves. Which one could it have been? One could wonder.

Elsewhere...

A white-skinned male Mershark stood among cowering subservient Merfolk, as well as various broken wares and supplies. It was none other than The Banker himself. Though he had the flesh of a shark, he boasted the torso and musculature of a human male. A pierced, humanoid tongue was affixed to his neck by a thin rope, and his left hand passively caressed it in a very odd way. It seemed he'd been in a bit of a tizzy recently, and in fact, he still was. "I don't care what sort of land-dweller magic is going on! If you can't take care of those bastards in the market, take care of the Merchant! Where is she!?" he demanded to know. A plaque containing recorded information of the 'Merchant' was handed to him. Did some young, human girl really think she could face off against him? He would see about that. Since his underlings were obviously useless to him in this situation, he decided it was time to take matters into his own hands. He'd lost so much money, so many goods, in a matter of hours. Something must be done, and he would start by locating the Merchant, wherever she was. Nothing good ever came from this decision by the Banker...

[Apollymi]

Akashi let Miki sit in his lap mostly without moving. He tended to do this quite often, which the blonde lass thought strange, but figured it was simply the part of him that was beyond human comprehension. As she settled into the lull of somewhat self-comfort, more words came from Akashi. He was oddly talkative in this moment, as it wasn't at all necessary for him to further try and make her feel better. But he seemed to have words to share which he acknowledged as not being his own. His claim was that trying was enough and that others would be around to help drown out the bad if it was needed. Miki's eyes widened and drifted away from the line of the cityscape. Doing so brought her eyes back to Akashi in quite a curious manner. It was obvious that he didn't feel the need to use such words with her, but the idea that he'd shared them regardless made the lass a bit happier still. Her eyes lightened in the moment and she exhaled a breath, what was left of the tension left her body and she managed to find proper comfort while she waited. "Hai, Arigatou..." she said of the advice while finding what she needed to steel her own resolve in this moment. The things which affected her about this moment hadn't disappeared from her mind, instead she was willing to try and face the next step and hope that if she faltered someone would rise to help her. In this case, the next step was a bit closer than she realized.

[Bloodedge]

Indeed, the time was near. The Banker was on the move as they spoke, and it wouldn't take long for him to reach the marketplace. Akashi's gaze trailed down, away from Miki and onto the streets. He could tell by movement alone that this was the man they sought. The Banker rushed around the streets, yet shied away from vendors he normally rejected the business of. Some of the vendors seemed afraid, until the moment they officially realized there was nothing he could physically do to them, thanks to Miki's bounded field. "It's time," Akashi said as his eyes followed the Mershark. "Are you ready?" he asked thereafter. Interestingly, he didn't intend to move if Miki wasn't mentally prepared to face the man. If she was though, he would move immediately, landing directly in front of the Banker in the middle of the man's search.

[Apollymi]

It seemed the time was indeed at hand, Akashi mentioned it, and Miki looked down towards the streets. Though she didn't retain superhuman eye sight by any means, she was more or less aware of the look of a singular rushing individual trying to find someone. She noted he couldn't actually go near those protected by her bounded field which helped further bolster their faith in her abilities. The blonde lass herself was rather quiet but when she looked up she had all the certainty within her eyes that she'd had before. After all, she'd made her current business partners a promise and she fully intended to keep it. "Hai!" was the only word she said, but it maintained the level of force her normal conversation did. She was after all, not necessarily in this for herself, so she could push aside her insecurities about the situation in the moment. Given that she'd said she was ready Akashi moved and they were stopped directly in front of the Banker. This was a Mershark the likes of which Miki hadn't seen before. She thought there was something a bit ironic about a loan shark being an actual shark, but at the present moment she couldn't find it in herself to laugh. "Looking for me?" she asked most rhetorically.

[Bloodedge]

Suddenly, the woman he sought was right before his eyes, taunting him even. He could clearly tell it was her by the full-fledged Dragonoid carrying her around, but... this was a mere child. How could she have rallied the traders to stand against him? It was madness! "You! A simple little girl!?" the Banker spoke in an outrage, stepping forward with more than enough intent to make Akashi hiss him away. He could have easily incinerated the Mershark at any given moment, but there was no point in that. This was Miki's time. If the Banker drew too close, too quickly though, he would have to... step in, as it were. "You think having that is enough to stop me? I AM the market! You are nothing but a whelp; you'll die broke and alone for what you've done!"

[Apollymi]

This Banker approached Miki rather aggressively. Though the lass seemed less than worried about it, Akashi hissed at him reinforcing the space boundary he preferred all people have from her. She chuckled at the Banker's reaction, as it was more than obvious that anyone with any reasonable amount of strength was something he feared. He called her a simple little girl, the fact that he thought this was all she needed to know. Beyond that point, he acted as if Miki needed Akashi for some reason and this was down right laughable. "This little girl knows you aren't the market. Though I'm sure you've put a large chunk of your wealth into trying to retain it, thanks for supporting me~" she commented in a light tone which dripped sarcasm, making it obvious that she knew and understood the first things he'd tried to do.

A old man throwing a temper tantrum about his money disappearing because of an up-and-comer, was as common a scene in Miki's previous life, as schooling. "Oh and in case you had any thoughts of grandeur, this is a Dragon. The only reason you aren't a pile of ashes is because he knows I don't require him to do anything about you," she said that devilish smile coming back to her face. "He knows you'll die broke and alone, whenever I am ready to make that happen..." she turned those words against him and was exceedingly confident in her ability to make that happen. The fact that he still thought himself the market hinted at the idea that he might not know how little power he currently held. The Market itself was Miki's to control, his treasure troves had been raided, his authority had been challenged and there was literally nothing he could do to his usurpers. If he couldn't prove here and now he could do something, he'd have no avenues left to retain his reputation.

[Bloodedge]

She could say all the fancy things she wanted; he knew she had no hold! Oh, yes... he knew with much certainty that he, undoubtedly, was the single existence holding sales together in Atlantis. He'd been at it for so long, it simply wasn't possible for someone to overpower him. It wasn't possible.

... Until now. The Banker had become adjusted to a very simple life. He expected someone to arrive by now, someone who served him, someone who would offer their services to rid him of this nuisance. Why was no one coming!? Surely there was something amiss, something unrelated to this... human and her pet half-Dragon. "My men will come! They'll tear this pitiful excuse for a company apart, and when they're done, I'll start with you!" he exclaimed. All he had to do was wait, and the problem would handle itself...

[Apollymi]

Miki watched as this male shark had fit while trying buy time for his minions to come. But Miki knew something, he didn't. That the Tavern Keepers had been spreading the word, that Miki was willing to extend the same payments and protections to the others who were running businesses for the Banker. So long as they didn't participate in violence against any citizens of Atlantis Man or Mer. And since Miki was a much more generous Merchant, they could make more money by working for her, than they ever could while being under the thumb of the Banker. She was a Merchant for those employed beneath her, not just to line her own pockets and feed her own laziness. Still she had to question this Mershark a bit further, "Oh? Your men? Which ones, exactly?" she asked rhetorically willing to fill in a few blanks this man was obviously missing while he was busy trying to buy her out earlier. "The ones who were killed for torturing a man in the Markets by Queen Seriri a few days ago?" she said with complete innocence in her eyes. "Or are you waiting on the ones I killed in the Shark's Den for what they were doing down there?" she asked. "Oh... or maybe, you're waiting for the ones who realized they could make more money and not have to worry about sanctity of their family and friends by working for me... which is it exactly?" she asked wondering if this man would understand the position he was actually in. There was literally nothing he could do to her, in this moment. He had no one left to hide behind, so what would he do?

[Bloodedge]

What was she on about? If this girl thought she could best him by dealing with a few of his men, she was quite wrong. Some of his forces had been killed? Whatever. He still had... oh, no. The next group he thought of had been eliminated as well. Well, he always had access to the Shark's Den and its... nothing anymore. Darn. At least he could rely on...

... Nothing. Each time he thought of a separate group of subordinates, Miki was already mentioning them as either something no longer existing, or no longer working under him. Indeed, what would he do now? What could he do now? He was absolutely speechless for several seconds, nearly a minute. When he finally did speak, he did so while taking measured movements away from Miki and the Dragonoid. "That's not possible! How could you even manage half of what you claim!?"

[Apollymi]

Miki got to watch as the Mershark worked through the entirety of his loneliness in the world. There was no one left for him to call upon. No more bodies for him to hide behind, no more people to threaten, and he obviously didn't have much by way of capital left and didn't have any new way to make it. She watched him as he had his silent break down, and seemed incapable of coming up with anything to say until a full minute later. And when he did, he seemed to simply want to know how she'd managed any of the things she'd obviously done. "By running a business and not a fucking slaughter house!" Miki snapped. Was he really about to try and run? Did he really think she'd allow him to get away. "The least you could do is stand right there and face the consequences of your actions... So speak, Banker, what do you actually have to say with no one behind you what do you actually stand for?" Miki was no longer angry or afraid, now she wanted to know everything this man had to say for himself before she killed him. She was told mercy for this man was out of the question, and after what she'd seen today, she could say that she agreed, but she needed to make sure this man had no more secrets, nothing else to further pollute Atlantis. What did he gain by keeping the whole of the Kingdom under his thumb? Was it really so simple and disgusting as greed with added stupidity?

[Bloodedge]

Miki's rebuttal managed to shake the Banker a bit. He was running out of options. No; he was officially out of options. What would he say? Surely there was something in his arsenal. "They'll all learn, and so will you! I'll give you an opportunity to renounce your little game of a business, and work under me with a high position! Think carefully, girl. Not just anyone has a chance to work for, much less with, the Banker of Atlantis!" he said. There was only one way he thought he could make it out of this situation while retaining his funds and power; he had to recruit this one to his cause. Then, once she was without her Dragon companion for a moment, he would have her as his plaything for the rest of her miserable life. The same could be said of the other men who pledged loyalty to him. Perhaps, when he became king, he would even keep her as a concubine. She had a lovely look about her, and her body was sure to develop just a bit more in the future. The mere thought of it was arousing to him, and it didn't take Akashi's eyes to be capable of telling that much."If you're not going to kill him yourself, I'm going to show him Hell."

[Apollymi]

Miki gave every opportunity for this man to do something redeeming. Not because she intended to spare his life, but because she wanted to know if he ever started off with a decent intention. Greed was a powerful motivator for many people and in her experience it was easy to get lost within it, and forget what one intended to start with. But this Mershark didn't have this sort of motive. Miki could see it clearly in his visage, as his mind worked to make her an offer, and he tried to convince her that somehow she and everyone else would pay if she didn't go along with him. He even tried to offer her a job. But he simply couldn't hide his true self in the moment and Miki sighed with disgust. "I'll pass. I can make the educated guess you once said something similar to Diva. Whose tongue you still have hanging around your neck. Plus, I've seen how you treat your employees..." she said very directly. It would be then that Akashi mentioned that he planned to kill this Mershark if she didn't and Miki couldn't help but know and understand why that was. After all, even she was perfectly capable of seeing the less than savory intentions of the Mershark towards her. "If you want to show him Hell you don't have much time..." Miki said. Sometime in the last few seconds the pillow which was her weapon had transformed and moved directly behind the Mershark aligned with his skull. It was right against the back of his head spinning counterclockwise and she fully intended to send it through the back of his head and spinning out of his mouth. Whatever Akashi had planned, Miki didn't intend to not follow through with killing this individual, she simply wanted to make sure it wasn't hatred or outright disgust that drove her to do so.

[Bloodedge]

So, she would reject him. That was the final nail in the coffin as far as the Banker was concerned. Little did he know, the coffin was his, and his alone. He was always among the more powerful of the Merfolk, but there was one thing the Merfolk were missing: context. For generations, they had been here on the ocean floor. They couldn't have known how powerful creatures of the outside world were, and now they were involved with beings from another world entirely. "You took your time," Akashi said. The Banker didn't realize what this meant at all. Surely nothing this girl did could truly damage him, and the mythical Dragons could be nothing more than on-par. Oh, how mistaken the foolish Mershark was.

Thirty seconds. That's how long he would be able to realize the error in the decision of who he'd trifle with. Miki's spear pierced his spinal chord, and erupted from a mouth that opened naturally. He was able to perceive the spinning of the tool, and the fact that his life was forfeit. However, there was nothing more he could do besides await the moment his brain stopped functioning. Once it did, he would finally be able to fall.

[Apollymi]

The spear that belonged to the girl eventually came spinning out of the Mershark's mouth, but not before he fully realized that he'd be dying. It wasn't a swift nor painless death, he was given a few moments to think over what had happened. This had been the thing Miki intended. She wasn't sure if she was going to offer the man a swift death or not initially. She wasn't sure if she wasn't just still traumatized by what she'd witnessed in the Shark's Den. In the moment she decided the nature of his death, she'd acted. "I did. It changes nothing..." she said looking at the still standing Merman while her spear came to her and at the end of it, due to her other ability floating around it were several of the Mershark's teeth. She twisted her fingers around and looked them over, knowing exactly why they came to her. "Shark teeth for a bone army. I guess that's fine..." she said knowing at some point in the future it could prove useful. That being said their job here was done and she'd no longer concern herself with it, or even with the corpse of the fallen Banker. She had everything she needed to return to the palace and begin the administrative work for the businesses she'd taken under her care.

[Bloodedge]

And so, the deed was done. Miki slew the Banker, ending his tyranny over the trade in Atlantis. She may have been without a care for what happened to the corpse, but that didn't seem to matter. The corpse disappeared within moments, and the former tongue of Diva did so with it. The Banker's disappearance came in the form of shattering into millions of golden light particles, all converging upon one location between here and the palace. The tongue, on the other hand, remained a single glow while following the same path. "Atlantis recycles its people," Akashi stated nonchalantly. It seemed that the Banker, much like Diva's family, would be converted into the shape of a Guardian of Atlantis. There was something different about this conversion, though; something a bit darker. Perhaps the fact that the Banker had spurned his own people, meant that he would become a Guardian of a different variety. Only time, and apparently Diva, would tell. "What now, Kimi?"

[Apollymi]

"It seems like it, probably for the best considering they've been cut off from outsiders for quite a while..." Miki said thoughtfully, watching the body of her fallen prey disappeared to be used once more, most likely by Diva himself. She spoke while the teeth pulled from the Banker spun around in the air above her hands as she controlled them and willed her weapon back into the pillow form it was most often seen in. Soon the spinning of these individual pieces would stop and the lass would tuck them into her cloak, which had an amazing amount of storage space considering it had started its life as a towel. She was asked by Akashi what they should be up to now, and she looked at him before relaxing. "The Market will run itself for a while, and in the meantime I have to organize a way for this Kingdom's finances to work when I am no longer here to oversee it. Besides, I told a bunch of the traders that I'd make myself available to help them out as they put their business plans together over the next couple of days. Progress in this sort of situation takes a bit more guidance than normal..." she mentioned. "So for now, we can actually return to the palace..." she mentioned knowing full well the majority of her adventuring in this part of their current quest was done. It'd only taken five days since their arrival for her to topple the Banker behind Atlantis.

[Bloodedge]

The following day, the Adventurer carrying the identity 'Geno Killer' awoke not as Akashi, but as Kou once more. He'd been out of commission for an unknown amount of time, and in fact, his moment of waking was nothing more than him finally breaking free of Akashi's earlier seal. This placed him in control of his body once more, with no Devouring plaguing him at the moment. This much was good, even though Kou wasn't aware what happened to him last.

He awoke... not in a bed, not in a chamber of any sort... but sitting on the throne, in the position Akashi seemed so fond of. His eyes remained closed for some time after waking, but he felt strange. Where was he now? Wasn't he on the floor most recently? There were so many questions to be asked, and no answers even in the puzzle solver's mind. "Ugh..." he gurgled, as if he'd woken up with a hangover.

[Apollymi]

Akashi had been on the throne for the night, it was where he always was no matter what else was going on. Strangely because of the Purgatory Dragon's general disposition, sleeping in his lap was Miki. In fairness, she'd spent the previous night cuddled against the flame dragon for warmth and her own comfort, she'd had a rough day after all. So when he woke, not as the Dragon but as Kou the lass would be somewhat surprised. The noise which woke her from her sleep was strange and her position across the dragon's lap seemed to be somewhat compromised. A sleepy voice would stir after he made his waking noise as she grabbed onto his shirt initially aiming to settle further into the comfort she'd learned to take from the Dragonoid when offered. "Still, warm... I need..." she paused. These clothes didn't feel the same. She hadn't touched the Dragonoid's bare chest, nor the high quality clothing he wore. No there was far too much here, her hands moved around a bit more as she confirmed this difference. Her eyes popped open to confirm that she was indeed not nestled into currently the body she'd settled into the night before. "Kou!" she shouted, surprised she aimed to move immediately falling out of his lap and off the throne and onto the steps below. "Aattaaa, moved to quickly. Gomennasai and... Okaerinasai," she said softly as she pulled herself up and off the floor. She managed to throw herself back together pretty quickly even standing and stretching to the side of the throne managing in her own mind to look like she'd simply done the same thing she'd always been doing, waking from a sleep a little too readily.

[Bloodedge]

Something was very odd indeed. There was a weight upon Kou that he wasn't used to, and something was messing around with his torso as well. His eyes were still closed, so he couldn't tell exactly what this was... until a certain exclamation.

"Ah!" Kou shouted the moment his name was yelled in such close proximity. He had a minor freak-out as his eyes opened wide. Said freak-out led to him throwing himself off the throne as well, though he fell more to the side and avoided falling down any stairs. "Hngh..." he grunted whilst rolling himself into a position to sit up. Once risen, his eyes traveled around the semi-familiar throne room until he saw Miki through the haze of freshly-opened eyes. "Okae... huh? What happened? Where'd I go?"

[Apollymi]

It seemed Miki wasn't the only one surprised by the lad's rather sudden shift back to his usual Avatar. He also threw himself out of the throne and made another noise denoting his discomfort. Soon after though, he became capable of formulating more complete sentences, which he did by questioning her choice in greeting and where he'd been. She gave a sigh and approached more directly she reached out and placed the back of her hand against his forehead checking him out gently and seeming to still be a bit worried. "So, there is this thing, players get sometimes called the Devouring. And it's basically a fever that tries to burn you out or something. Tsu-chan says it's like you aren't anchored enough to the world so it tries to purge you. She says it's the only thing they consider a true death for players..." she explained the lad's condition as best she could given the information she had. "And obviously we didn't want you to die and Tsu-chan said she needed to chain you more properly to the world. If she did it, you'd survive the fever. So, after she explained the potential risks, I made her force you to take the form of an Avatar you created in this world... so you've been Akashi since you passed out," she completed her explanation with a softened expression seemingly pleased enough by her analysis. "But you don't have a fever now, so everything seems to be alright. That's good. You gave us quite a scare there..." Miki said softly. She'd been well and truly worried for the lad's safety when he passed out the first time.

[Bloodedge]

By the time his vision cleared completely, Miki was within reach and holding a hand against his forehead. What a time to have proper sight it was, as well, considering the first thing... or things he took note of were Miki's more exposed assets just ahead of his face. Speaking of Kou's face... it was reddening, even mimicking a rising fever as his eyes closed tight. This was quite a bit to take in while also hearing about the apparent illness he had, and what had been done to stave it off. "Right, so... I was dying from the inside out, and the only fix was to turn me into a Dragon? Got it. I'm fine now, so... yeah..." he said, clearly flustered even by the tone of his voice. At least he finally understood what he was feeling when he woke up. That certainly couldn't be mistaken.

[Apollymi]

Kou's face reddened a great deal, but the depth of it didn't feel like the fever from before. His follow up summary of the things Miki had to say, let her know all she needed to about his returned disposition. She reserved herself to keep from softly sighing, not because she wasn't happy to see her adventuring partner, but instead because she'd become comfortable. Far too comfortable in the presence of the Dragonoid who gave and took affection in his own terms without any embarrassment. Because of this, Miki had come to rely on her ability to act around him because his feelings about her were rather obvious and made responses easy. In the case of Kou, it was obvious to her that he was flustered by her proximity and she'd known that would be the case when she'd practically thrown herself out of his lap, still she hadn't been able to help worrying about him just a little. "Hai, that sounds about right. I'm glad you're okay..." she said meaning it truly as the loss of her partner would have been quite damaging, even more so than knowing he didn't accept her in his current form. Luckily there was a saving grace from the sort of awkward sadness that could arise from Miki noting the full consequences of the lad coming fully back to himself. And in this case it was Seriri.

"Akashi-sama, is Kimi up yet? Those traders will be here..." she said the sentence normally as if she wasn't at all surprised to maybe find the lass still sleeping in the Dragonoid's lap. There was a pause as Seriri looked up to find the lad who had been the Dragonoid Akashi back to the form that he'd been in when she'd originally changed him over. "Sou ka, you're Kou again. Alright, it took you a few days to change back. You're not dizzy right? No fever or anything?" she asked of the lad going into full Nurse mode within a few seconds of entering. She looked to Miki and upon noticing that the girl was already awake, she looked at her for several seconds steadily before returning her gaze to the lad at hand.

[Bloodedge]

Several seconds passed before Kou decided to open his eyes again. When he did so, there was a bit more distance between Miki and himself. The lad exhaled a deep breath. That was quite the close call, it was. He wasn't even sure why, but he felt as if he didn't need to be in such close proximity to Miki at the time. Maybe it was a leftover thought from his time as Akashi. Whatever the case, he made sure he voiced his appreciation for the girl's concern. "Hai. Thanks for worrying..." he said.

Mere moments later, the rightful Queen of Atlantis entered her throne room. She immediately assaulted him with a pair of questions, and though he was taken aback by the quickness of them, the slightest amount of nervous laughter preceded his response. "Iie, iie. No fever, I don't think, and nothing more than... well, I feel a little spaced-out. It's fine though, I think I'm just groggy from that chair." Speaking of the chair, where was he before falling? Kou looked around to find the only thing reminiscent of a chair nearby. Of course, it was none other than Seriri's throne. Kou had it in him to seem a bit bothered by the idea that he'd taken the throne during his time as a Dragon, so he put forth the effort to kowtow before the queen right away. "Ah, gomen gomen! That wasn't me!"

... He still wasn't quite himself, it seemed. Perhaps it was a side-effect of the forced transformation, either one way or the other.

[Apollymi]

Though Kou had been a bit more reserved and obviously more embarrassed about his proximity to Miki. She'd done the thing she'd been doing for the lad's comfort and put space between them and he seemed to recover well enough after. He even claimed to thank her for being worried for his sake. "Iie, there isn't any need to thank me for that..." the girl said softly. Seriri looked to her friend and her left brow raised, such softness from Kimi was still almost unheard of, her relationship with the Dragonoid Akashi was becoming more and more obvious for why it worked the way it did. 'Sou ka, Kimi is soft and wants to love him, but he's also soft and is less obvious about accepting it... that's kind of cute,' this was the thought of Seriri who seemed to be slowly coming to an understanding of why the pair of Karna and Hikari were so content on trying to get these two together.

Whatever the case, Kou seemed to be well enough to answer her questions in rapid succession even. That was good he seemed to even be remorseful for his actions while he was in his Dragonoid form. This caused Seriri's eyes to widen quite a bit, and she turned to look at Kimi who managed to shrug at the lad's rather obvious show of remorse. Miki had never seen the lad try to get on the ground to apologize, but flustered apologies were pretty normal for him. Seriri on the other hand wouldn't be accepting anything like this from anyone who helped her as much as these two already had. "Iie, don't do that. It's weird. Look, you didn't do anything while you were a Dragon that didn't need doing..." she said calmly. "Kimi said you weren't a bad guy and you weren't as Akashi. He's actually pretty fair minded and clever, and Dragons are supposed to be more of who their base personalities are, and if that's you there isn't any problem," she mentioned offhandedly. "Besides, even I can accept that my inaction, even while not being intentional didn't do good for this place. So..." she extended her hand to the lad to offer him a hand up and a shake. "Thanks for the kick in the ass and I look forward to your continued support!~" she offered with a bright smile. Miki watched this portion of the exchange from her spot this time on the arm of the throne she once occupied with Akashi. She seemed as aloof as she always did, and Seriri was close enough to her to note this change in her demeanor. Perhaps now she could get the lass alone for a bit and prod her brain for extra information.

[Bloodedge]

When Kou looked up, there was a hand being offered to him. Along with it, came the explanation that the Dragon Akashi hadn't done anything truly harmful, and had actually been of help to the Atlantean Queen. He took the queen's hand, and the following shake, while rising from the floor. "Iie. Don't mention it. Still... I didn't mean to take over your throne or anything," he said, gesturing to the very same throne for Seriri to sit upon. "You can uhh... go ahead and have that back. Oh, and... thanks for the save."

After this exchange with the queen, Kou rubbed the back of his head while seeming to be in deep thought. He really had no memory at all of being Akashi this time; not even the sensation. Just the same, he had no earthly idea why he couldn't remember. It was quite the perplexing scenario for Kou to find himself in, but at least he hadn't been taken by this... Devouring disease. "So, what's the sitch? I'm still a little spaced, but I'm guessing there's still something we need to do."

[Apollymi]

It took a moment, but Kou did accept Seriri's hand and her thanks for what had been done in his Dragon form. It seemed he didn't have any memory of his time as Akashi and really hadn't himself intended to take over her throne at all. He even motioned that she should go ahead and take it back now that he wasn't in a position to simply take it over again. Seriri looked at the throne and where Miki sat on one of the arms and simply shrugged. "It's probably fine that you did. I wasn't doing much with it anyways, and simply sitting all the time isn't good nor something I really want to do again. Kimi deserves a good seat for a while..." she said looking back at the blonde lass who had something rather flippant to say but it wasn't something she'd intended to allow to leave her head. "It's not like I want it. It isn't exactly the most comfortable seat," she said in direct contradiction to the fact that she'd even been comfortably sleeping atop the throne. Seriri looked at the lass and chuckled. "Whatever you say... anyways, there also isn't any need to thank me for saving you. I might not have without a kick in the ass, which came from Kimi and your little sister," she said honestly. After finding out the lad would become something different from who he was she wasn't exactly keen on making his Resurrection. The assurances and threats of Kimi and the faith of Hikari had been what made her follow through with the action.

He still seemed rather spaced out, before answering his question Miki looked at him with her eyes seeming to be searching him for something. He claimed to not remember anything about being a Dragonoid this past time, and it would make sense considering Akashi had forced him down enough to be in control of himself. Before Miki could speak though, it would be Seriri offering her best approximation of an explanation for his lack of memory. "Gomen, that might be the fault of the treatment. Forcing an Avatar switch makes that Avatar the most dominate thing within the player. Avatars created in this world are as close to being their own people as one can get, and will act of their own accord, even with the same personality as their base. Don't worry too much about it," she offered to clear his mind of the potential issues. Miki finally opened her mouth to speak to the lad and it would be a pretty direct bit of her understanding of the rest of the situation. "Before yesterday, the main force of everything within the Kingdom was a man called the Banker. The Banker was..." there was a pause from Miki as she remembered the previous day and tried to decide how best to explain the situation. "The worst possible individual to have that sort of power. I took care of him and everything wrong with his business practices directly yesterday. It was my plan to fix the economy here all along and that part is done..." she mentioned but there was a bit more to it than that. "But.. Akashi said, fixing the economy would cause other problems to arise. That the people would show themselves for what they were. I knew this as well, but not fixing it wasn't an option. And I am not a people person..." Miki said, this caused a snide chuckle from Seriri who quickly covered her mouth and turned away trying to hide the fact that she was having a more than reasonable laugh at the blonde's expense. "I assume the people problem will be making itself obvious, now that everyone doesn't have the Banker's Tyranny to fear. And all known situations point to you... being the best suited to dealing with the people issue," she said her eyes never left this lad as she spoke. And when her final sentence was over she shrugged. That was the gist of the situation and all she could say.

[Bloodedge]

"Ah... sou ka," he said, understanding that it had been the nudging of others that prodded Seriri to aide him. He'd have to repay the favor to Hikari, wherever she was, but first he looked to Miki again. "Arigatou." It was made apparent to Kou that he could have blanked out within himself due to the forced shift into Akashi, rather than any fault of his own. That didn't seem right, but there were more important things to worry about than that anyway. Most specifically, there were the concerns raised by Miki after she explained the goings-on in Atlantis while he was in the form of Akashi.

"Hmm." Kou took several moments to think. It didn't seem many good things had gone on while he was 'unconscious' in a way, but now, he could at least work toward whatever conclusion his other self had come to in days prior. "Well, it would be very easy to figure out what's going on in the underground if this Banker has been dealt with. If he's that bad, he won't come clean at any cost... but, I can figure out the lines between the lies. Can you show me where he's being kept?"

[Apollymi]

She looked to Kou when he offered her thanks for saving him, and a small smile came to her face. He would thank her for what she'd done there, but she was more happy he simply didn't remember the shift in her personality, keeping them from more awkward interactions than she wanted to deal with. "Iie," she mentioned not wanting thanks for doing something like that, especially seeing it was more than a bit selfish on her own part.

"Gomen, no easy puzzles today..." Miki said in an offhanded way. Kou had asked where the prisoner was being kept, but there was no prisoner. A good number of underground people had been killed over the last few days between the two women standing in this room. "The Banker died in the streets yesterday. He was a sadist involved directly in bad contracts and torture the likes of which couldn't be ignored. He didn't let go of any secrets, and with his last breaths he tried to convince me to work for him while very obviously thinking about torturing me..." she stated still not making eye contact with anyone. "Most of the people directly associated with his organization also died..." Miki mentioned without looking at anyone. Once again her mind seemed to wander very far away from the moment she currently occupied. What was more she was gripping the arm of the throne she sat upon caught with her cloak between them. "Well, except for one... but he might not want to speak about it. He's been through a lot, and he still only talks to Tsu-chan," she said of the only person alive who might truly understand the motives of the Banker. "Kimi..." there was the statement of Miki's given name, but Seriri came to the conclusion the girl wasn't nearly as okay as she'd seemed the previous day, especially when she considered that she probably had a great amount of problems with what had taken place in the Shark's Den the day before. "I told you, I'm the last person you need to worry about," Miki confirmed though she still wasn't looking at anyone. Adding an actual interaction with the Banker to that, and it was no wonder when they'd returned to the palace she'd simply cuddled up in Akashi's lap and gone straight to sleep.

[Bloodedge]

No easy puzzles, she said. Kou could immediately tell there was nothing left of the Banker, but further speech revealed that he, and his underlings, had actually been killed. It was worse than Kou thought, then... especially given the mention of Miki's potential torture, and the lack of direct eye contact from the girl. "..." Kou wasn't sure what to say initially, but he could piece together what was most likely going on with the Banker. He'd have killed the male as well. "Sou ka..."

Miki's expression was concerning, to say the least. Kou had no knowledge of this other person she spoke of, but his mind was off-topic at the time enough for him to not work toward incorporating that person's existence. In the end, he came to a singular conclusion, based only on what he saw in the blonde. "You... can rest up. I'll take care of the other issues here. It shouldn't take much; I'll just go check out the streets. Sound good?"

[Apollymi]

Whatever Kou thought was going on with Miki, it probably wasn't good. She hadn't been directly tortured or anything of the sort, she'd just been reminded of something very traumatizing in her life, that she couldn't seem to escape even in another world. Whatever the case, the lad seemed to understand just enough of the situation to try and formulate a plan based on the information he'd have to gather himself. At his mention that Miki could rest up and he'd go off looking for the information he needed in the streets, the blonde lass gave a gentle shake of her head, though his idea wasn't bad. She couldn't really rest anymore, after all she still had a bit of work to do, and a busy mind was much better for her psyche than being left alone with her own thoughts. Her coping mechanisms came to life in this moment. "Iie, my resting right now isn't exactly an option. You could go out if you wanted, but the traders who wish my assistance are coming here to seek business advice. I have to get them to a point where they can be trusted to make their money without compromising their morals. That being said, you could see some interesting people here today, and I'll stamp out all unsavory business practices and root out anything remaining that shouldn't be allowed to flourish," Miki said. "Besides, I'm still mentally designing a financing plan for the Kingdom for our eventual departure. One to help back whatever social policies you put in place and make the system self-sustaining with minimal guidance and the best chance to resist moral corruption. I'll leave everything else to you," she said sounding rather sure about this though she'd been rather quiet in the moments prior. She had faith in the lad to root out the social problems and come up with a proper solution. And she knew how to make the necessary funds to make it happen and not put any more strain on the monarchy nor all of the citizens.

With that Miki turned to face the doorway knowing that the traders and merchants would soon come seeking advice. For an extra 10 percent fee she'd be able to make quite a bit of money while simultaneously rooting out all of the ideas which abused morals, people, or exploited aspects of the markets. Seriri stood a moment longer staring at Miki and seeing once again the face of her black haired friend as she remembered her. She couldn't say anything to the lass, but she'd seen this coping behavior before, she threw herself whole-heartedly into things she could control and understand and let the problems of her mind get washed away in the grind of working. Which was an aspect of her personality which gained her an unreasonable amount of respect as a gamer, but still made the Queen worry for the mental stability of her friend. "Kimi... I'm..." she paused thinking about it. Obviously the lass wasn't ready to speak on what was actually going on in her mind. As such she could leave it alone for now, and perhaps be given the time to work towards a better conversation with her later. "Going to see if I can find out anything from Diva. I can't promise he'll speak with anyone else though, he's still pretty skittish."

[Bloodedge]

Kou was quite set on his plan, but Miki seemed to be thinking the exact opposite. She wouldn't rest; she'd continue working. Well, everyone coped with their issues in their own unique ways. Kou couldn't fault the girl for how she chose to deal with... whatever trauma went on in her head. "Sou ka," he said as his plan changed entirely. If that was the Lancer's decision, he'd make the decision of not leaving her to go at it alone. Just as well, doing that would hardly produce a different outcome from what he originally intended to do.

A few steps placed him at Miki's side, where he turned to await the arrival of the traders. "Actually, there's no point to me hitting the streets. It'd be better if I just got a read on these traders you mentioned." He was, of course, lying. It would be worse by a veritable mile to do things this way, even if the same result would come about regardless. But... he'd do it anyway. He stood his ground, waiting patiently with only a nod toward Seriri when she announced her plan to find the one called 'Diva' to check with him.

[Apollymi]

Miki could have done what she'd said she'd do alone. In fact, she sort of expected to after waking up in Kou's lap instead of Akashi's. Her original partner generally left her to her own devices and she'd only informed him of her plans in case he wished to speak with any particular type of merchant, trader or craftsman that she'd have contact with this day. But, much to her own surprise, he claimed he wished to join her in her work today. 'That can't actually be productive...' she thought to herself. So, why would he do something like that if it wouldn't actually benefit his plans overall? She shifted her gaze for the first time in several moments and looked directly at the lad before her, her face full of obvious puzzlement. 'He's not actually just, doing this for me... is he?' she questioned mentally. The actions of the Dragon were straight-forward, though his temperament wasn't easily readable. Kou seemed to be put together in the exact opposite way, where everything he felt was pretty clear, but his actions weren't always in alignment. "Sou desu... your face is easy to read," Miki said softly. "Arigatou na..." she murmured. Her brave face was returning, but it was mostly just an act. Pretending to be brave when she wanted to crumble was a special skill developed over time, one she didn't really know she had but one most people were aware of, given her naturally displeased expressions.

Time would pass though, and Miki would continue to sit where she was, giving advice to many people. Fixing business practices, creating good payrates and benefits for employees, helping management motivate their staff. All kinds of interesting things came out of the lass' mind. One such conversation would be had between her and the same old gentleman who'd been the first one to speak to her during her incursion the previous day. "My son isn't interested in my business nor crafts. I don't know what to tell him though, this is all I know. And I need some young hands around but I can't..." he paused seeming to think over what he would say. "Workers are hard to find with the right skill sets," he finished up. There was something a bit ominous about his statement, and it wasn't missing from Miki. She didn't have an exact placement as to why, but she'd discourage anything resembling forced labor and help this man out to the best of her abilities. "If your son isn't interested in your business, as his father you should look into seeing if any of your fellows has the sort of business he'd enjoy learning. Additionally if you need a worker skilled to help you, you'd do better to have one who has interest in your trade as well. I'd advise looking into developing a set apprenticeship. Finding a young worker willing to work for a slightly decreased pay rate, something like 10 percent, while you share your experiences and expertise. Setting up your son in a similar situation will give him the ability to eventually learn and prosper in his own trade. And in this way you'd be able to guarantee your helper knows their own business and will eventually grow to be a substantial business partner, or someone you could pass your trade on to. Treat them well, teach them well, and watch as they take your ideas and flourish with them. A lot of the other business owners could benefit from that system as well, make sure you share it with your fellows," Miki mentioned. Her face still had nothing but a displeased expression but the old man before her knew and understood what she was saying. If he was having these kinds of problems with his son, perhaps some others were too. They could effectively have their kids learn the trades they wanted while getting paid to do so, and still get hands without dipping into unsavory practices. "That's... novel. And great. Don't worry... I'll make sure the rest of them hear of it. I'll come back if we have any issues," he said holding his hands up in offering of the 20 percent of his previous day's profits. This idea was worth way more than the money he'd just paid for it. And his business would surely prosper. He ran off and Miki spoke to Kou while waiting for the next approach, but only after pulling this pouch towards herself and adding it to the already large amount of currency she'd collected today.

"Ojii-san there, is a true merchant. He was the first to talk to me yesterday. He seems to have the best interests of all the tradesmen and merchants in mind. He's also been working his whole life, he's seen the best and worst of businesses, he has a good sense for things and a reasonable moral compass," she said. Knowing if she could she'd put this man in charge of the tradesmen given his own experiences.

[Bloodedge]

Kou's eyes widened the moment Miki commented on the easy-reading of his visage, and his head turned away just slightly. "Iie," he said in a soft tone. From there, the wait properly began. It didn't take long for the traders to start walking in one after another. Miki dealt with each on an individual basis, taking small amounts of their profits in exchange for giving them some actual solid advice for their dealings. Kou, or rather Yugi, would have typically thought negatively. There was an interesting balance in the way Miki treated the operation, though. In a way, he could see how the people paying for her advice were benefiting even more than Miki herself ever could from the payment itself. It was... interesting.

One particular interaction between Miki and a trader really managed to catch Kou's attention, after a series of standard dealings. Kou had a few assumptions to make here and there from the others, but he didn't quite like the way this man phrased his issue with workers. Miki handled the man's issue quite succinctly, and yet... there was a switch in Kou's mind, and this meeting had been toying with it throughout its lifespan. 'That doesn't make sense. Even with Merfolk and Humans being divided here, if that kind of problem doesn't naturally fix itself...' Finally, Kou's mind was reaching the realization Akashi had days before, and it was infuriating. His eyes narrowed slightly, and he fell indefinitely silent. He gritted his teeth as well, not even having a response to Miki's words toward him after the trader left. This was bad. Kou was just about 100% certain of the problem here, but he needed one final bit of confirmation.

[Apollymi]

Kou's tells were much more obvious than Miki remembered after dealing with Akashi so directly for a few days. Even when he turned his face away from her she still felt the intention behind his actions. He even claimed to not want to be thanked perhaps. 'Sou ka, maybe I'm also pretty bad at reading people...' she thought to herself, there was no smile, but perhaps there didn't need to be one.

After her meeting with the one good tradesman, Kou's visage seemed to have changed. She never really got out of Akashi directly what he thought was going on beneath the Banker's tryanny, but he'd said it wasn't good. She could make a few assumptions based on her central beliefs about money, greed and the nature of people. But she was about to find out first hand exactly the nature of the rest of society within Atlantis. And this would come surprisingly in the form of a young girl, who approached the throne and Miki rather directly. Miki couldn't see her directly beneath the thin cloak she wore, which was brown in color, but she saw the shifty movements and realized the lass had a fish half for her lower body. Her face was hidden and she held up a bag of something in front of Miki and started talking really shifty glancing from left to right with a smile on her face which seemed a bit disturbed. Miki wasn't at all bothered by the look on this person's face, but she was outright concerned with what she was offering which wasn't money because when she poked the bag with her ability the pull of it wasn't quite right. "I don't remember seeing you yesterday. And I'm pretty sure I'd remember if I did... do we have business?" she asked of the lass.

She stammered several times still holding up the bag. "We, haven't met but I am here now..." she said looking from left to right and pushing back her hood. Revealing in the moment a mop of dusty looking white hair and yellow eyes with black sclera. She was definitely a fish and that awkward smile let Miki know exactly what type. "I want to make a deal with you. I want to be a merchant too, and I want to learn it from you!" she said excitedly. Miki's eyes widened just a tad, it was a bit early for her to have gained enough of a reputation for a random person to be trying to gain her as a master, though this one wanted Miki not strictly in the teaching sense. "I don't have any money yet, but I am a Mershark and I'm young. I heard yesterday that you can use Mershark teeth for your powers. And I'll give you all the ones I've lost and more for a long time! And I lose them all the time... and they grow back!" she said quickly. She was definitely selling up the traits and Miki could actually use the shark teeth if she intended to run a bone army but... Miki realized this girl must have been in the market yesterday, but she didn't remember seeing her anywhere. She definitely wasn't attached to any of the merchants who'd sided with her as an employee. She would have had some form of currency to offer if she did, the contract protections would have made it so. "I'll give you all this, if you'll just buy me from my master!" she finished and Miki's eyes widened. "Buy you from your..." Miki paused, everything this child shark had said made a great deal of sense. Now, it was something Akashi had realized that Miki hadn't because she wasn't the type to ever see people as things. "Little Shark people aren't Merchandise. I would never buy a person...." Miki spoke these words with a marked bit of defiance. The little shark girl was unsure of how to react in the moment. But Miki wasn't upset with her at all. In fact, Miki was more than willing to make a deal with her. "Your first lesson is contract negotiations. Don't sell yourself short. You aren't property and you aren't merchandise, knowing this, what's your approach?" she asked of the girl rather calmly her eyes were trained on her and she was waiting.

[Bloodedge]

Kou couldn't quell the anger building up within. He had hopes of being wrong, but... he knew better. Maybe he could at least make sure he managed to calm himself before confronting anyone about this...

No such luck. The next person to enter the throne room was a female mer, and obviously not a trader of any sort, despite her intentions of learning to be one. That wasn't the worst part, though. Her hidden face and body, the way she stood, everything about her demeanor during this approach... it all screamed something worse than poverty. The final confirmation came from the Mershark's own mouth; she was a slave. Kou's narrowed eyes became wide, and his hand trembled while forming a fist. This wasn't going to end well for someone, at this rate. The girl was so bad off, she even offered to be purchased by Miki in order to learn the ins and outs of business, likely with the intention of then buying her freedom at a later time. "Tch!" was the only sound from Kou as he bit into his bottom lip, drawing blood from the corner. He'd still leave Miki to her own dealings instead of stepping in with his own clause and intentions, though.

[Apollymi]

Kou's anger was apparent to Miki, even as she had a look at him out of the corner of her eye. Even so, she couldn't actually be mad at him and wouldn't try to talk him out of his righteous anger in this moment. After all, she'd gotten hers, Seriri had also gotten hers, what position did she have to argue with the lad over what he wanted to do in this very moment. At this very moment she'd even heard the sound he'd made and knew he was leaving her to this, even though he wanted to step in. So she did the only thing she could do at the moment, she spoke to the girl to see if she understood her current position and find out exactly how much fight this slave class had to work with.

That awkward smile seemed to only get bigger as the shark girl trembled just a little. Her mind was working overtime to come up with a deal that Miki would take, that would end with her being able to learn from the woman in exchange for what she had to offer as someone else's slave. She thought about it for several moments, and looked up at Miki and Kou as if trying to figure out what it was about them, that was inherently different from the people of Atlantis. There was power here but there was something else... sympathy, empathy, drive. Both of them seemed to be working through some level of distaste at the idea that she was a slave, but unlike other people who avoided her, this pair looked at her straight on. Miki had even claimed that people weren't merchandise and that she would never buy a slave, but she hadn't outright claimed she wouldn't help the lass out of her predicament. She told her she was to learn to negotiate a contract as if she was free. So if she was free with no money to speak of, how would she have approached the lass to become her apprentice instead of her property. "Sou ka. I know!" she said her eyes widening and showing a great deal of light in the moment. "If you won't buy a slave, will you buy my teeth? I can use the funds to try and haggle my own freedom from my Master..." she said, seeming to have considered it might not work, but it was her last hope so she'd take it. "Then I can come and learn from you directly, in the same way as any other apprentice!" she said this with firmness more than she'd shown before.

"That's a good girl..." this came from Miki with the only smile she had for the day and it was directed at the small girl before her. She hopped from the top of the stairs and walked down to approach her, laying a gentle hand upon her head which the lass looked up from and smiled into. "Here," she said offering the girl a bag of coin which had well over 200 gold coins in it. The Shark Girl's eyes widened. "This is so many, isn't it too much? It has to be like 270 coins..." she said seeming to have a decent eye. "Hai hai, that's exactly right. Shark Teeth are a specialty item, the market for them is rather low and I have a niche use for them so I added a surcharge... now we'll just find your...." she was about to mention finding the girl's master to do something about her freedom but they would soon be approached by a Mer Person obviously more well off. He had a humanoid torso and legs but fins and gills placed about his body, he looked a bit like an Angel Fish but his attitude was anything but. "Oi! Girl no one told you to run off on your own. You've got work to do, in here bothering these people..." the girl shrank away from a hand which aimed grasp her and she hid behind Miki in the way kids tended to do when scared. Miki had no problem with this mostly because she knew something was about to happen. "Hands off... she's a kid not property."

[Bloodedge]

The conclusion this girl came to for her own freedom's sake, was to simply buy her own freedom from whatever master she had. Still seething, Kou scoffed silently. That wasn't the way. Miki made the exchange anyway, but Kou knew it wouldn't turn out well if the shark lass went that route. Perhaps temporarily, sure it would be beneficial, but there was a much bigger problem in the future of such progress.

Before Kou could open his mouth to speak on the matter, there was yet another entry. This particular mer was many of the qualities Kou detested, even from a single glance. A brief exchange occurred between him and the girl, resulting in the latter cowering behind Miki. That wasn't the end though, no. When Miki spoke to the man, Kou's decision had already been made without much thought at all. Seemingly instantly, Kou was beside the slaver. His right arm was fully outstretched, holding his sword at the throat of this man as those crystalline hues glared into the depths of his being. "How many?" he asked simply, his voice minus an ounce of joy, or even mercy. This man would die; of this he had no doubts. First, though, he needed his questions answered.

[Apollymi]

Miki knew a single purchase made by a single slave wasn't going to change the whole outcome. But what she was doing wasn't for the good of every single slave in creation. No right just now she was building this one up to make sure she was ready to face the challenges to come. Of course, she hadn't intended to let the shark girl meet her master alone, and given his first words upon seeing her, she'd been right to make this assumption. She fully intended to help the lass in her actual negotiations, but it would seem that would be put on hold for a moment.

The walking Merfish, was standing and then rather suddenly there was a sword at his neck and he couldn't even be bothered to take a step forward or back. This seemed to be a common theme among these types, who were so full of their rightness in a situation until someone stronger showed up ready to put an end to them. The man seemed to stammer lightly confused by the lad's simple question, his hands up in the air in surrender. "H-ho---how many what? I don't know what you're talking about, I just came to collect my property and leave," the man said seeming to find nothing wrong with his mind set. "Check the seal on the back of her neck she's mine! I swear!" he claimed as if this was simply a missing piece of property. He even pointed at the lass who in turn tried her best to bury herself into Miki's side. There was a light whimper from the girl behind Miki and she in turn gave the girl a pat on the head as she was clasped on to her. Miki had been in too similar a situation way too recently and something about this man's statements about this girl were deeply annoying to her. "Children aren't property. I don't care what kind of seal is on her," Miki said, she had a reasonable understanding that she could probably remove anything resembling a seal, but the use of such magic when the Merfolk didn't seem to be innately magical, made her realize there was likely an entire market that would need to be erased from existence.

[Bloodedge]

There was absolute stillness in the body of Kou as he stared the slaver down. At least, that was the case until the man spoke of property and seals, making Kou tremble in an effort to resist beheading him then and there. He failed just slightly, as his arm moved in a way that would bring his blade closer to the slaver's neck, though only enough to draw just a bit of blood if the man didn't move quickly enough. What made the situation worse, was that the man didn't even understand the meaning behind Kou's question.

"How... many... people. How many living, breathing people do you have under your filthy heel?" Kou's behavior had shifted once again, almost as if he'd been possessed by something. One could possibly say he was, but only by the deep-seated fury leftover from his previous life. Even after recovering from his brief tremble, Kou intended to press his blade properly against the slaver's neck. "How many!?"

[Apollymi]

The stillness in Kou's body was noted by Miki, if only because she fully experienced something similar in the days prior to this one. Whatever the case, the lad drew blood from the Merfish who seemed to cry out at the pain of it. He hadn't expected to be injured. In fact, he was the one who constantly injured others, he didn't know what such pain was like and only used it to motivate those lesser than himself. "Ooowww!" he nearly screamed from a cut most would have considered minor. When the question was clarified the lad's blade gained more resolve and he seemed to be burning in a rather furious manner just beneath the surface. But he'd asked the man a question. "Alright, alright. Look I own..." his mind began doing math, because to be honest he wasn't exactly sure how many people he owned at present. "I don't really know, around a hundred. I guess..." he said. But his words were a lie, and the person who knew that to be a fact was the small girl who clung to Miki's side. She'd already proved she had a good eye for numbers by Miki's own standards much better than the average person so when she spoke next it was a soft word only a number. "Two hundred and fifty-three," the shark girl's words were soft, but loud enough to be heard by all in her immediate proximity. She included herself in this number as she was owned by this man.

This man had to be one of the richest in the entirety of the Kingdom after one like the Banker, given the number of people he owned. He also made all his money very obviously off the backs of others with no real cost to himself. He also hadn't tried to make a deal with Miki as such he likely thought to continue without the Banker in place and without assimilating into the new order. His eyes widened, he hadn't expected the girl to speak out, and he knew this under approximation was probably way worse for him than he meant. Still he couldn't help but lash out in anger. "You little bitch! I own you, you can't speak against me!" he exclaimed, the seal on the back of her neck, began to glow encasing her body in blood magic which froze her in place and caused her immense pain. Miki looked to the girl and turned pressing her finger against the seal. Blood Magic was easily identifiable and also strangely something she could stop, using her own mana as a catalyst. Within a single second the blood which tainted the seal disappeared, leaving the girl unharmed and caught by Miki's outstretched arm. "Are you okay?" she asked of the girl, who looked stunned but simply nodded her head her hand ran over the back of her neck, but the seal which had been placed there was gone completely. Dissolved completely by the cleansing property applied to Miki's mana by virtue of her racial bonus.

[Bloodedge]

Kou was still again. Not a single flinch occurred on his end as the slaver cried out, but he bit into his lip once more when the number of slaves was given... even given how obvious it was to him that the number was inaccurate. Just then, the true number was offered by the Mershark herself. It was so ridiculously high, beyond Kou's comprehension even. Still, he wouldn't act just yet. The rage welled up, nearly to a point of overflowing and bringing forth the likes of something... which was somehow not Akashi, yet of the same caliber.

He leaned his face away, spitting blood that pooled in his mouth from the biting of his lip. The slaver's activation of the Mershark's seal did not go unnoticed, and so, it would be added to his count. Kou's blade lowered to his side as he began walking slowly toward the slave girl, pouring his Mana out into the royal palace of Atlantis. " I am the bone of my sword. Steel is my body, and fire is my blood. I have created over a thousand blades. Unknown to Death, nor known to Life. I have withstood pain to create many weapons, yet, those hands will never hold anything. So as I pray... Unlimited Blade Works." His incantation came with each step he made, as his Mana warped reality itself, manifesting a proper Bounded Field, and within that an open, barren desert with monolithic black gears gyrating in the distance. It was a much more powerful form of the same incantation he'd used on a previous adventure, though this time was more focused as well. Exactly 253 swords were manifested in the air around the slaver, all with their blades focused on his location.

Kou stopped in front of the Mershark. 253 weapons were present, one for each slave the man behind him possessed. Number 254, intended to represent the slaver's recent treatment of the girl he stood before, would be Kou's personal blade... which he held out in an offer to the girl. Kou's fury remained apparent, though none of it was focused on the lass. "Freedom can't be purchased. There's no barter system for life. Either you make your own place in the world, or live in fear of men like this putting a boot to your head every day for the rest of your life." He gave her this singular option, knowing that the swords of his Unlimited Blade Works would react to the use of his own blade by all assaulting the first target it struck. All this girl had to do... was take her freedom into her own hands.

[Apollymi]

There was much righteous anger in Kou, even more than could have been expected even if he had personal qualms with the idea of slavery. But Miki had realized long ago in their adventures that the lad had issues with the way those in power treated those below them. She also had issues with this, but they seemed to handle it very differently. Miki or rather Kimi had always been the type to make or break people on the terms they brought to the table, those who believed in the ill-treatment of people, were shown by Miki what happened when people were treated as equals and not as tools. Kou or his original personality seemed to be the semi-militant type, take your freedom or die trying. She supposed if she'd ever been in such a low position, she'd likely have had similar thoughts on the matter but she wasn't that type of person and wouldn't pretend to be. As such she couldn't and wouldn't chastise or speak badly about the lad as he did what he needed to, she'd said she'd leave this aspect to him because he was the people person and she was seeing just how that would turn out.

The Mershark watched as they were trapped in a changed world by the lad's magic. She seemed to be trying to put together how she was supposed to react in the moment and Kou gave her the motivation to act while offering her his sword. She looked around at all of the ones hanging in the air and counted. "Two hundred and fifty-four..." she said looking around. And she thought about what it would mean. Should she take her own freedom in this moment. What about all of the people who wouldn't know what to do, who'd not know how to behave, who were tired as well. She thought of all the times she'd seen this man mercilessly activate the seals on other slaves for resting too much, or asking for more. Was this really a life she intended to live when she wanted to be a merchant. She looked to Miki and tried to figure out what was in her face, as if there was something strange there. "If you can make money. Make as much as possible, whenever possible, however possible... but never at the expense of anyone else. That's how I conduct business. Our contract stands regardless," this was the cardinal difference between Miki and a person like the Banker. And this was something the little shark girl seemed to understand. With all of that in mind, the girl took the sword into her hands and ran at her oppressor. Who just now seemed to be catching up to what was going on here. "Wait! You can't do that. You can't remove a slave crest, it's stealing!" this man claimed Miki shrugged. "Rogue desu..." she said looking up at the man as he tried for any method of saving himself. "After all I've done for you! You can't!" he exclaimed but the girl's sword would make contact with him. "I did this for us," she sank this blade in and backed up. Such would trigger the rest of the magic, hailing 253 blades down upon the man leaving him nothing but a blood puddle in the floor by the end of it.

[Bloodedge]

... Except for his head. Yes, the one untouched portion of the slaver was his head, which would sit upon the mangled mess of a body below once the array of blades pierced him. Kou watched this event intently, never letting his eyes waver from the moment the Mershark took his blade. When everything was said and done, when the slaver had no more words to share and literally no ground to stand on, Kou's enchanted field faded away along with the weapons spawned within it. He stepped toward the Mershark then, still absolutely seething within. Even so, his action of choice was to place a hand upon the girl's shoulder. "It doesn't take 254 lacerations to bring down even a giant. No one who owns slaves can settle for just one."

[Apollymi]

The slaver's head remained on the floor and then the little lass would return the lad's sword. Strangely he would place a single hand on her shoulder in passing giving her words which stuck out in her mind. She knew the truth of his words by virtue of her own experience. "Sou ka... arigatou," the girl said quietly. She didn't know why she thanked him but felt it was necessary. She turned back to Miki with the bag of money in hand. Without the need to purchase herself she thought the amount of money given by the lass was too high to accept. "Eh, I don't need so much anymore... shouldn't we renegotiate?" she asked of Miki who simply shook her head from left to right. "You earned that with your own power. You didn't take it at the expense of anyone who couldn't afford to give it. That deal is clean... Plus, I got my Shark Teeth all is fair. I'm sure you can find something to do with it..." Miki mused while tossing around the bag of teeth in her hand. In the next moment, Queen Seriri came rushing back in with a supremely disturbed look on her face as she had just found on some very important news.

"Guys, I found out what else is going on here and..." she gave a severe pause as she looked around the throne room and saw a blood puddle with a single man's head within the middle of it. "We already know..." were Miki's words. "Of course you already know... well knowing about that problem. There's a single woman known as the Siren who is a Mersquid who performs all of the Blood Magic which creates the slave crests. I haven't figured out how to get rid of the Slave Crests but my magic won't do it," said Seriri, getting rid of the witch would be something difficult without being able to directly counter the magic of hers which was spread across the Kingdom. "I can do it. I removed this little Shark's... do you have a name?" she said causing the small girl to turn and move her hair showing the spot that no longer contained a single trace of blood magic. Seriri approached the lass and examined her rather directly. "Eep, it tickles.... no, we don't have names. None of us do. Only humans in the Kingdom have names..." the girl mentioned but it also felt nice.

"Sugoi! Kimi you got rid of the entire hold of it, how?" she asked of the lass. "It's probably just a property of my Mana currently, being a Druid allows me to use Purge. Blood magic is neutralized by Purge, so I can remove slave crests." Miki summarized which was the truth as far as she knew it. She wondered if there was a way to pass this ability along to someone else so she wouldn't be the only one capable of getting rid of slave crests. "If you have something I can turn into a rune stone, I can probably make it something to be applied by anyone with the ability to control their mana. You'd have an easier time applying it to a large group of people anyways..." she said to Seriri. The lass would nod her head. "BETTINA!" A very humanoid Betta Fish appeared, but the look on Miki's face was completely mortified. "WHY DID YOU NAME HER THAT?!"

[Bloodedge]

Kou reclaimed his sword, slinging the slaver's blood from it before returning it to its sheath. His business was done here, but not at all as a whole. There was much to do in the very near future. He'd have to make a singular, massive move tofree the slaves both physically and mentally... and he'd do it without hesitation. First though, came the return of Seriri. She brought with her the information they had so recently discovered themselves, while Diva walked along behind her.

Diva behaved just as timidly as he'd been doing since his restoration. The lad wore his hair in a way that spiked outwards in the back, featuring two small spikes pointing upwards in a manner similar to horns, two short ponytails framing his face and two long ones in the back, all bound with golden rings. He wore a sleeveless green trench coat that featured a high collar and a black border outlined in orange, patterned with black triangles that were also outlined in orange, a lavender long-sleeved shirt that reached past his waist with the cuffs rolled back to form spikes at his elbows, a light green sash around his waist, tan pants, and simple brown boots tied at the cuff with tan laces. Diva also wore a large golden ankh-shaped adornment that was clipped onto the golden rings of his right bang, twin golden bracelets with curved designs engraved on them, and a pendant that resembled an upside-down pyramid with a strange eye upon it. Interestingly enough, the pendant he wore was originally his tongue, which had been mystically changed after the death of the Banker. He seemed to be quite well-off... physically. Mentally though, he never looked to anyone besides Seriri.

[Apollymi]

While Kou reclaimed his sword, Seriri looked at Miki as if confused. "What we named a whole beta fish that when we were kids," she said most defiantly. "I had such weird nostalgia when I got here, it felt like the most fitting name," she said which made Miki huff childishly for the first time in quite a while. "Ugh, you can't go around parading the fact that we used to choose names like that as children..." she said leaving out the word stupid for the sake of the woman now bearing a name that she and Seriri had picked out when they were 10. "Oh well... Anyways she just brought back some stones she still has them find the one you want..." she said to Miki while the woman called Bettina held out a sack filled with undersea stones before her. "Sugoi! These are really nice..." Miki said. Instead of reaching into the bag she used her 'Snatch' ability to pull from the bag the one most suited to her needs. It was a large blue stone smooth the whole way around and nearly clear though in similar colors to the ones already sported by Seriri. "This will do..." she said holding the stone between her hands she seemed to be enchanting it, filling it with her own mana applied to a few runes meant to amplify the effects of what she'd done to the other lass and spread them far and wide. "Here, that should make it so you can use my mana on large groups of people. As long as someone else provides the bulk, it will lift the Blood Magic from people allowing them to walk freely. Nice outfit on him by the way..." Miki mentioned with a bit of a nod towards the lad. She wasn't sure if Diva still had a slave crest, but if he did Seriri could use the stone she'd given her to get rid of it painlessly. She did look to Diva for just a second and though the lad still wasn't making eye contact with anyone it seemed that he was at least well enough put together now to be able to walk around with everyone else. Though he still wasn't really speaking and she couldn't really blame him, it was taking all she had to remain speaking with everyone and she'd experienced way less of these evils by far. Seriri held onto the stone and could feel the magic of it, Miki's particular signature was something very different from any she'd encountered since coming to this world. "Arigatou na, I'll make sure to put it to good use..." she said as she thought about this stone, glowing gently sage green in its core. She couldn't explain the quality of it with words, but knew the girl had placed a lot of herself into making this creation.

Whatever the case, it seemed the little Mershark didn't have a name, and that simply wouldn't do, as far as Miki was concerned taking on the girl as a protege required her to be able to brand for herself. And a name was required for such a thing. "Alright how about a name for you then? I promise I won't choose anything you'd regret having to live with. And it's very important to branding to be a recognizable figure. Your name, your morals, your trade, these are things you live by and die by, yeah?" she explained to the little Mershark. She looked up at Miki with wide eyes and looked stunned. "You are going to give me a name? And take me as an apprentice..." she said seeming to think it was a lot being offered by the blonde lass. "Hai. I think you'll make a good merchant. You have that gleam in your eye... while retaining what is important... here," she said placing a finger over the girl's heart. She thought about it and it was like her emotions all radiated out from her heart, that same nervous smile appeared on her face. "Well, if you're sure it wouldn't be a problem," she said with wide eyes. Miki continued to stare at the small girl, concentrating on what she'd seen of her in the last few minutes. She'd been the one to come here to barter for her place. She'd been the one to start the revolution by striking down the one who used her as property. Her mark in this world was like a ripple over the water, and would have far reaching effects. "Sou ka, Sazanami! That's a good name for a girl like you," Miki said offering the girl a smile. An interaction with the Nexus took place and the girl was enveloped in the blinding light of it as she was named. Her body seemed to catch up to her level as she evolved. And her body gained a sleeker look with fins attached her arms which looked like blades. Her hair grew a bit longer and she seemed to become a bit closer to a middle teen. "Sugoi! You really named me! Miki-sama, you must be really strong..." she said excited by the prospect. "I'll be back in a couple of days, there is some stuff I think I should do before I am really ready to start," the girl said she didn't want to leave her other friends behind at her former residence. She needed to let them know of all the things that were possible now. "Hai hai..." Miki said. She walked back to where she had been to reclaim her place on the arm of the throne. But something was ever so wrong with the girl. Her temperature had spiked rather suddenly and though she wasn't looking at anyone, her eyes had gained a rainbow hue.

[Bloodedge]

While Miki applied her Rune Magic to a stone acquired from Seriri's assistant, Kou kept an eye trained on Diva. This must have been the lad they were speaking of earlier, or at least Kou could assume based on his behavior at the time. Interesting. Kou felt particularly drawn to the pendant on this male's neck, but that was an oddity for another time. Presently, there was the matter of the Mershark's naming as decided by Miki. Kou used the time of this occurrence to ponder the options for the near future. There was still something he intended to do, and he'd have it done soon.

The white-haired male made his way to the fallen slaver's head, and removed it from the remains of his body via fire magic used to cauterize his neck and leave a more... presentable head for showing around. He'd start his plan by making an example of this slaver. Clearly, the number of slaves this mer once had was in direct correlation to his status. That was good; the point he had to make would be even more impactful, with that in mind. He'd make his move momentarily... but first, something in this very room felt strange. Kou could sense a Mana source spiking, and though it wasn't Miki per se, it didn't feel too much unlike her either. "Eto..." he muttered, distracted from his own actions to turn in the blonde's direction. "Did you just do something else?"

[Apollymi]

Miki's temperature was spiking, but her magic was as well. It was as if she had a fever that rather suddenly set upon her, her body managed to be hotter and more uncomfortable than at any point in her life. She even managed to feel the heat of it in her head and down to her very toes. Her whole body gained a strange golden glow over the next moments as she opened her mouth to speak. She looked towards Kou and spoke. "I'm burn...ing...." she managed, with those glowing rainbow eyes she seemed to be falling rather suddenly. She didn't know what caused this onset, but she was quite sure she wasn't supposed to feel so uncomfortable right just now. 'Ah, I...' she thought quietly as her consciousness faded rather suddenly and she fell forward from her seat her body aiming to crash towards the ground.

In the meantime, Seriri looked up from the stone and saw the flash of colors in Miki's eyes. "KIMI!" she shouted. Her switch to caregiver was instantaneous but she also wouldn't reach the lass in time, she'd walked too far away and she would definitely hit the floor without someone else's interference. Of all the people to not say anything while experiencing the sudden onset of the Devouring, Seriri expected this of Miki. Even so, the girl didn't even say anything when her temperature first spiked and instead chose to suffer in silence. Though that was her way, it was also annoying to Seriri on a deeper level, as her friend seemed to always make that choice.

[Bloodedge]

Kou's eyes widened the moment Miki looked his way. He wasn't sure what the odd glow in her eyes was, but it was clearly nothing good... and perhaps what happened to him, considering how he saw the world in his last conscious moments. "You..." Suddenly, Kou's planned revolution was wiped from his mind. She wasn't going to make it. He darted forward with the power of his Mana enhancing his speed, quite literally tackling the girl during her descent to the ground. Once he had her in his grapple, Kou spun himself around to take the landing himself. "Oi, oi!" he shouted while lifting her slightly. He could feel the spike in her temperature, even in areas where he couldn't make direct skin contact. Without a moment of hesitation, Kou aimed to channel his own Mana into the blonde in an attempt to stave off the uprising of strange energy he sensed. He didn't know if it would accomplish anything, but it was the only thing coming to mind at all.

[Apollymi]

Seriri wouldn't have reached Miki in time, but apparently that didn't matter... Kou reached her long before Seriri ever could have. 'Sou ka... that's a snap reaction. They really are very similar...' she thought as she also approached. The white haired lad had taken the brunt of the fall with his own body and was taking care of staving off her fever by virtue of the use of his own mana. Seriri saw this and looked a bit surprised, most people weren't used to taking care of others so directly. Miki's body had its fever held at the level it was currently at due to Kou's interference but it would take a bit more than that to quell it properly. "Sou ka, you understand the mana problem. That's a pretty decent idea, it's how I pushed it off in the first person I met with it. I can force switch her too..." she said removing from within her robes another of a large blue gem with mana inside of it shifting like water. "I made another one of these after what happened with you. I guess Kimi was thinking it was possible she'd end up that way too..." mentioned Seriri, still she controlled a single drop of water to scan the rest of the girl's body. "She does actually have another Avatar right? It won't work if she doesn't..." she mentioned of this particular moment. She couldn't force the lass to make another one, so if she didn't have another Avatar the method she used wouldn't work. But at this point it really didn't matter she'd save her friend regardless.

[Bloodedge]

Apparently, Kou made the proper choice to at least keep the fever of the Devouring from advancing. That wouldn't do well enough, and he could tell that much clearly. However... Seriri had a method, which happened to be the same one used on him days earlier. Her item could work, and all it required was that Miki already have another Avatar within her. She did. Fortunately, the pair of Adventurers had unlocked their secondary Avatars simultaneously. The only potential negative was that Miki, too, had a Dragonoid sealed within her. Kou didn't care about this. If Miki had kept him from doing something insane while he was Akashi, he could do his best to ensure the same for her. As such, he didn't even mention what the other Avatar was. "She has one. You can use it."

[Apollymi]

Seriri was quite sure of the state of Miki's body, and unfortunately it was obvious that the push of extra mana alone wouldn't be enough to stave off the Devouring at this point. It was almost as if this wasn't her first bout with it, even though they both claimed to know nothing about the Devouring initially. 'That's really weird,' thought the Queen. But apparently the blonde lass on the ground did indeed have another Avatar to work with, so a switch could be made with little to no problem. "Hai hai... come on Kimi... it's time," she said placing the stone within the middle of the girl's body. It took a second but it hit the girl like cooling water, dissolving the stone around it and wrapping her body in cooling water which calmly streamed over her.

It was time, but not for Kimi. As this shift took place the water over her body began swirling in various places, creating miniature riptides and swirling cyclones in the water across her skin. Her weapon disappeared, her clothing disappeared and was replaced with armor and lace with an open front and exposed legs. Her ears gained points. She gained horns like antlers. And her hair lightened to silvery platinum blonde. She gained a long tail with several fin like spikes at the end in a blue so light it was almost white. "Sugoi! Kimi's a Water Dragon!" This was the only sentence spoken by Seriri who immediately backed away. But this Avatar still hadn't opened its eyes. She had but a single piece of passing advice. "Uh, if how you woke up is any indication, you might want to let go of her..." she mentioned whether he let go of her or not, the features of her arms and legs began to shift. A solid blue glow surrounded the girl and after a few seconds her eyes would finally open, jeweled red with slit pupils. A pulse of power would happen as she awoke in a place that equaled power unparalleled for her, and the first thing to happen was a gentle twitch of her nostrils as she searched for that which had previously called to her.

[Bloodedge]

Kou kept Miki... or as she was soon to be, Tatsuki, in his arms even during the end phases of her transformation. She wasn't quite awake initially, and that matter was somewhat concerning. Kou obviously had no idea how his own transformation had taken place. Seriri urged him to release the Dragonoid, but he could only shake his head. Whatever had occurred with his own shift, everything was fine in the end. He'd do what he could to ensure the same outcome in Miki's change to Tatsuki. Soon enough, the Dragonoid stirred and sniffed about. The power surrounding this one was incredible, though Kou remained steadfast in hopes of easing the transition in whatever way possible. All the while though, he felt a burning, scratching sensation in the back of his very soul. What could it have been?

[Apollymi]

Seriri had advised the lad release the Dragonoid he held now for his own safety. The first thing Akashi had done after waking was claim what he saw as his, and she wasn't quite sure how this would work out for a female Dragonoid. Akashi had taken the throne, his sister, and Miki as his mate, Tatsuki had more focus and she could feel what she was looking for housed in the body at her side. Even as the lad felt the first of the burning scratches within himself, and the obviousness of the difference between a female and male dragon would become clear. She sat up with her tail easily wrapping around the both of them. She then leaned in swiftly to the boy still holding her and pressed her face into his aiming to kiss him. In the exchange she would even aim to slip her split tongue into his mouth but she was calling to her mate. She wanted what her patience should have gotten her, Akashi.

Seriri watched with wide eyes. There was something she'd always known about her friend, and it was very obvious when she was a Dragonoid. She liked Kou or rather any incarnation of the lad before her, and beyond all that, she was a bit of a demanding pervert. Whatever the case, she got to see how a dragon aimed to claim her mate. 'Jeez, that's forward. Like super forward... Damn Kimi!' she thought about the lass.

[Bloodedge]

Kou was set on holding on until he knew the Dragonoid Tatsuki was well-off enough to function. After her waking though, it seemed she had something... slightly different in mind than normal functionality. Her first act after achieving consciousness was to approach her holder, Kou. This wouldn't have been too odd aside from the matter of her being an all-powerful Dragon within, except for the part where she... kissed him? Kou could react only with widened eyes and absolute shock, though his own lips naturally pursed to meet hers. That burning within himself intensified, almost as if he was meant to develop a fever the likes of Devouring himself... yet not quite. He seemed almost as if he would attempt to push the Dragonoid away, and yet, he couldn't. Whether it was himself, another version of himself, or some combination of the lot, he simply couldn't manage the attempt.

[Apollymi]

Seriri watched on transfixed, it didn't look like Kou was properly capable of fighting off the Dragonoid's advances. Kimi hadn't had much luck in that respect either given how she'd ended up with the Dragonoid Akashi as practically a pet for the amount of affection he managed to give her in the couple of days he was active. 'Sou ka... that makes sense. Creatures of action and emotion tend to show the most obvious of their originals hidden emotions. Yare, yare, I feel like a perv for watching... but gambatte Kou and Kimi.' she thought. She didn't know when she'd decided this was a good idea, but she was very for this relationship however it decided to manifest. Like a kid reading a manga with characters who seemed to like each other. She shipped this pair of individuals on every level. Especially seeing that the lad at base appeared to be as much of a pervert as Kimi managed to hide from everyone else.

Tatsuki knew her mate when he appeared before her. She could smell him here, taste him in this lad's mouth, feel his warmth just below the surface of this lad's skin. Her clawed hand which had rested upon this lad's face shifted ever so slightly as she pulled back and would be found under his chin as she separated their mouths and looked him directly in the face. "My Akashi. Will you come to me now? Or keep me waiting..." she questioned this as if she didn't expect to be turned down at all. She wanted her mate here and now and she'd woken with this sole goal in mind, held at bay by the power of her other self previously there was nothing to stop her now. She stared and sniffed the air she knew that Dragons called to one another, she knew simply by rising here she should be granted her mate without question. She could feel him just below the surface of the avatar of Kou.

[Bloodedge]

Kou became lost in a moment, unsure in this state as to exactly why. No, that wasn't right. He did know why, deep within himself... yet something was off. Whether it was a positive or negative note, the lips of Kou and Tatsuki parted soon enough, while the former's chin was tilted by the latter. She referred to him by a name he couldn't acknowledge, though he knew it well deep within himself. The burning sensation within him rose to the surface to affect his very flesh, yet it could go no farther. Akashi would not rise; not now. However, Kou himself was in quite a state due to the actions of this Dragonoid, as well as those of the one within himself. "Your..." He took pause, unsure initially as to what he would even say. After a few moments of hesitation and consideration, he managed to produce... at least something, while staring into the Dragonoid's rather intimidating visage. "Kou desu..."

[Apollymi]

As the Dragon Tatsuki examined the visage of Kou from such a short distance the lad seemed to be at a loss. He didn't respond to her call of the name of the version of him most connected to her. But his body had reacted just the same as she would have expected. He was even the base amount of warm she expected him to be, did this mean that he like her other self intended to keep his Dragonoid self at bay while the other was out. The lack of fairness in this was completely uncalled for in the mind of the Water Dragon. The intensity of her gaze never faded, as she stared at him as if she intended to see deeper into his person than she'd ever looked into anything at all. "Oh, you plan on keeping my mate from me... while appearing before me in such a state," she said her body shifting ever so gently against his manhood. She didn't know what kind of person this lad thought he was challenging her affections, but she would not back away from her mate so easily as him claiming to be someone different. "I smell him on your skin, I feel him underneath me... The warmth I've been waiting for..." she said this softly while not breaking eye contact, but adding the slightest twitch to her hips to brush against his manhood in a more definite way. "You can't hide from me. Or do you intend to take his place beneath me? Are you the sort of Dragon to try and tame me instead, Kou?" The question was dirty in its inception it could only be taken one way as far as this Dragonoid was concerned.

All the while Seriri looked on at this train wreck in the making. She'd always expected when Kimi found someone she liked she'd be very straight forward about that like. She didn't expect her to be outright domineering and demanding of sex even while there were other people in the room. What kind of exhibitionist had Kimiko evolved into that she didn't mind the audience she was bound to have right here in the Throne Room. 'Oh my god... who the hell is she in her head? This is kinda hot,' was the thought in the mind of the Mer Queen who had fully devoted herself to hearing the words spoken by the Water Dragon.

[Bloodedge]

Was this the sort of thing Miki had to deal with while he spent time as Akashi? Surely not. This was rather extreme treatment to the Saber Class lad. His eyes widened even further while he was being questioned by the Dragonoid, and the rubbing against his groin didn't exactly help the situation devolve in his favor. "I..." was all he managed to say for quite some time. This Dragonoid was being rather forward. In spite of her physical contact with him, she quite literally demanded the being - the Dragonoid - within, even referring to it as her 'mate'. What was he to do? He continued to fend off that burning claw within himself, but him not doing so would clearly be to Tatsuki's desire.

Tatsuki even went on to question him directly, as to whether he intended to take place under her - or even try to be above her - himself. Kou could only stammer through an attempt to react. This was very different from the Miki, even the Kimiko, he understood. "I-... I wasn't intending anything..." he said, in spite of the fact that he simply couldn't keep his eyes off the Dragonoid in front of him.

[Apollymi]

The first word out of this lad's mouth was simply I, he'd been supremely distracted by just the simple movement of Tatsuki's hips. And she knew it, she could smell it. She could smell everything and everyone within a certain radius of her person, but none smelled stronger to her, than the male holding her mate within himself. The little Dragon whose lap she currently occupied. "You?" a single word was her question but she smelled it once more the burning of her mate being obviously held back by this lad's indecision. She supposed there were worse things than meeting a lad strong enough to hold back Akashi, but this still didn't do anything to quell her. Still he tried, claiming that he had no intentions, moving past her words as if he didn't wish to meet her. But he was sorely mistaken if he believed she didn't know what the reactions of his body implied that his words couldn't. "Your intentions are clear," Tatsuki mentioned her eyes hadn't moved, and his hadn't either. "Your actions make it so, my mate isn't here. You're keeping him from me. I know you feel him, burning at you within. Akashi won't be ignored. And he hasn't ignored my call..." she said with all the calmness of a still lake. "Your body responds to mine, even without my Akashi..." she mentioned connecting this man's intentions and his physical desire. "It takes another Dragon to meet one. So, you are also a Dragon that means you would have me," she seemed to have put this together very easily in a matter of seconds. She was challenging him. Did he really intend to tell her no, when every part of him would say yes? Did he really have her brought out just to deny her advances? Did he really think she would allow him to say no to her in such a way without a proper explanation?

The questions in the mind of Tatsuki were unknown to Seriri, but she was amazed by the kind of person this lass had turned into within her own mind. The Dragon version of Kimiko held all of her natural instincts. The Dragonoid female was down right dominating in the present moment. It was as if she woke with the intention of mating and didn't intend to take no for a real answer. 'Damn Kimi is a little rapey. Glad she isn't into girls or that would be dangerous,' Seriri thought absently. Perhaps she should interfere, not directly... but maybe she could do as Karna had and distract the Dragonoid a bit. Giving the lad a bit of a breather, lest he become afraid of the lass in her other forms and stop their potential pairing in its other forms. "Yare yare, the man has a whole work day ahead of him. Don't tempt him and be mad he doesn't know how to answer you..." these were Seriri's words in the silence. And the Dragonoid Tatsuki gave thought to them with the smallest of twitches in her tail. She supposed it would be best to find out first hand if this lad had what it took to truly deny her the mate she sought before she demanded he mate with her to prove it.