Atlantis

[Bloodedge]

Soon after his departure, Arjuna entered the room in which Hikari's presence seemed strongest. There she was, just as he'd figured. She seemed to be furiously working toward some goal of craft, her growing frustration showing in her beast-like extremities. Arjuna didn't want to interrupt, but in the end, he figured it was probably best for her to take a moment away from this project of hers. Clearing his throat, he stepped into the room. "Apologies. Could I pull you away from that for a moment? I've brought something for you," he said, hesitating for a moment thereafter. Twice now, he'd encountered a problem, and he didn't want that issue repeated now that he was of a mind to prevent it. "Ah. We've traveled together. I am Arjuna, the latest incarnation of Arata."

"Likewise. If we're going to have to deal with it, we may as well have general preparations out of the way before preparing for something we don't know in great detail. Variety would serve us better in the long-run anyway," Licht commented. He had several ideas about these 'Akuma' and how they may function, but most of them were based on an understanding he had about his current self, brought about partially by accident. This understanding would undoubtedly prove useful in some capacity, but not useful enough to rely on fully. As for him giving away Miki's trade secrets, as it were, the otherwise naturally stoic visage of Licht showed something of a smirk. "For what it's worth, even if I did give something away, that doesn't make it an easily-replicated scenario. Doing something like that requires perfect execution, and more skill than the great majority of players can manage."

[Apollymi]

The clearing of a throat made the demi-human lass look up from her spot. Beyond this someone called for her attention and though she expected her brother what she found was a strange lad standing before her. "Well, I was probably about to break it..." she said with a pout in her face. "Now then what's this about a present?" she asked seeming to find it amusing that she was about to get something for practically nothing. Strangely, unlike the others she didn't seem to have any problem with receiving a gift, even before the lad tried to explain who he was. Once he did she looked at him with her brows raised slightly. "Yeah, yeah. I know, Dick-sensei when I see Dick-sensei... what's the gift?" she repeated her earlier question, waiting none too patiently for whatever this gift would be.

In the meantime Miki was having a conversation with Licht who seemed to be in favor of both preparing for what was to come and the variety of that preparation. "Yeah exactly," Miki said also favoring variety and preparedness. As the conversation progressed, Miki was left trying to pry Seriri from around her neck. But while she was in the middle of this she caught sight of Licht's smirk and heard out his commentary on her creation of Divine Rebirth. He claimed it was a feat that even if known couldn't be repeated by any random individual, acknowledging her skills as a gamer and strategist. "Uh...well..." the girl tried to form a sentence but ended up red in the face from embarrassment. Rare indeed was it for Ashikaga Kimiko to be red in the face, rarer still was it for her to be speechless. But Seriri understood this as her friend often went without praise for things she put effort into. This was especially true of her in her video game life, given this she realized the lass didn't know what to say to Licht's assertion. "Sugoi! Sugoi! Kimi... speechless!?" she managed letting go of the lass continuing to tease. "Urusai!" Miki said once more this time turning away with her nose up in the air. "I'm not speechless... I'm just thinking..." she said content to move right along.

[Bloodedge]

Interestingly, Hikari was the one individual this day to not show immediate suspicion when offered a gift by Arjuna. Of course, the fault of this seemed at least partially related to the fact that she recognized him even through this new Avatar. If anyone was going to recognize him outside of those he'd spent a gratuitous amount of time around in the Marshlands, one could expect Hikari to be the one. "Ah, yes. Of course," he said, finally arriving to the conclusion that she understood him more easily than the other two in the Party. With that exchange out of the way, he could more easily give his offering. Once more this day, the tanned male extended his hand to produce raw Mystic Code. This offering wasn't Holy Magic like he'd given the others, but instead an accumulation of separate codes. "You may find some of these useful. I can say, among this set is the ability Appraisal, which should help you with your... crafting attempt."

Meanwhile, Miki was falling victim to a very peculiar illness: the likes of embarrassment, it seemed. Licht was capable of beholding this event with a quirked brow. Could she have really gone without hearing such praises, with the life she led? He had it on good authority that the one called Kimiko ranked among the most successful teenagers in Japan's history; perhaps even the world. How very strange, but then again... it wasn't as if she didn't show these signs before the current moment. Speechlessness, though, was an interesting thing to be present for indeed. Licht even seemed to be affected by the event when offering his retort. "Eto. Should I have not said that?"

[Apollymi]

"Yep yep," the girl said having sat down her small crafting project. It seemed that the lad before her, now known as Arjuna had at least had contact with the others and maybe had a harder go of being recognized. At least, this was the assumption made by Hikari given his introduction. He even went on to claim he had several pieces of Mystic Code to offer her including 'Appraisal' which she would find useful given her current attempt at crafting. "That's pretty cool. I'll take it all and sort through it later... Arigatou!~" she exclaimed reaching out to integrate the whole of the set of codes and immediately starting to build a new skill. "So, you enjoying your calmer face?" she asked of the lad in her usual manner, wondering what exactly brought about this change in Avatar.

Miki's embarrassment was a source of great joy to Seriri, if only because she enjoyed her friends more honest emotions. Having been told to shut up, she laughed instead and when Licht spoke about whether or not he should have said anything Seriri only looked at the lad and smiled. Waiting to see how Miki would respond. Strangely, interacting with Seriri seemed to bring out of Miki the part of her that was more exclusively, her original self and as such her response was likely very different than one would have expected. "I... ah... I didn't say that..." she stumbled through those words only to before more confident over time. "Say what you want," the blonde lass said still turning her head slightly to the side and fighting with the physical form of her embarrassment. Seriri chuckled knowing exactly what this meant, and finding it funny that her friend managed to be this way even as a softer version of herself. Still getting this out of the lass was important, if only so that she was sure that the blossoming romance between these two individuals came with a certain amount of transparency.

[Bloodedge]

And so, Arjuna was finally able to complete an exchange that remained simple and direct from beginning to end. He may have even been relieved that he waited to see her last, though he didn't appear particularly bothered by any of his dealings this day. He did what he felt he needed to, and none seemed at all worse for wear as a result. Hikari became the only one to question his Avatar change directly, shifting his attention to a different topic. Arjuna's right arm met his hip, his back arched slightly, and his head rose in contemplation. "I suppose... yes, it's quite pleasant. It is still not completely Arata, but it is opposite to Karna enough. I would like to keep myself this way, but I'm afraid Karna will eventually force his way out again."

Miki's reactions became stranger by the moment, with her most recent development being rather unexpected. Taken aback, Licht found his own turn to be rendered entirely speechless. "Uh-... well..." he stammered. There were a few ways he could accept this rebuttal, but from what he'd seen of this lass, he was able to settle on the likeliest of scenarios. 'Right. Tsun traits,' he thought, sighing within his own mind. Aloud, he corrected his demeanor and cleared his throat. "Hai. I'll keep that in mind," he claimed.

[Apollymi]

Having taken the time to combine 'Appraisal' with her crafting skill, she came up with a Mystic Code called, 'Tinkerer' which allowed her to create small charms which contained specific parts of lines of Mystic Codes she could see and copy. Doing so would create an item which would bolster the effects of existing lines of Mystic Codes in weapons and Artifacts, but make it so that the amplified trait could be switched or shifted at will. Knowing how this now worked, she went back to her crafting and listened to Arjuna as he explained how he now felt. "Sou ka, I suppose that the abrasiveness of Karna is hard on you too," she said as she finally got what she needed to piece together the craft she was working on. "Don't worry about it too much. Enjoy the downtime and when you go back to being Karna don't stress too much..." these were the words the lass had to share and though she wasn't quite sure what problem he had with his other Avatar, she could at least accept the kinds of difficulties that could sprout from being too different from one's normal personality. "YOSH! I finally did it! Nice save!~" the lass managed holding up a small charm which was shaped like several squares flattened out, which when equipped bolstered ability channeling through weapons lightening the load on ones personal Mana reserves. The item itself looked rather similar to one she'd possessed in real-life in the form of a barrette. But this one seemed more like a cellphone charm, or in this case a weapon charm which could be attached to the end of the weapon. Having done this she immediately went to work on another one, finding it much easier to construct this time around. She made it with the same shape and coloration, as if she meant for it to be a pair, which she did as she had the intention of gifting it to two individuals.

In the meantime, Licht was rendered speechless apparently by Miki's reactions. Even so, he seemed to recover at a much faster rate than the lass. A chuckle came from Seriri, who raised her hands in mock surrender after doing all of this seeming to still be utterly amused. "Wari, wari, I couldn't help it. I didn't know if Kimi-lite would manage to be so much Kimi," she said laughing the whole of the situation off. "And one to you as well, Licht, I got a bit carried away," she managed still making it seem like she wasn't sorry at all for what she'd been amusing herself doing in the last few moments. "As you like..." said Kimi in a manner so open it applied both to the apology and to what Licht had managed to say in response to her. Moving right along she thought about something important. "Shouldn't we talk to everyone else, since we're planning on doing some separate stuff. And I'm sure Hikari-chan was worried about you while you were passed out..." she mentioned. They'd gone through a lot in the past few days but Miki still considered their working group composition to be important and there were a few more things they needed to do. And the sooner they did it, the sooner they could come back together, which was her primary concern.

[Bloodedge]

"Not so much me, as this... I suppose I should call it account, shouldn't I? Even when I was born, I had to use Appraisal to unlock the Holy attribute of a weapon Karna held, all so I could come to the surface by weakening him." Arjuna's explanation was about as accurate as he could possibly manage. He didn't intend to dwell much on that matter either way though, so it was fine as far as he was concerned. And lo, Hikari had managed to produce a new topic worth addressing by completing her craft, even though she rather quickly moved on to another of such objects. "What is it you've done there? It looks almost like an Artifact, but compressed? What is its purpose?" he wondered aloud.

While Licht recovered from the surprising retaliation of Miki, Seriri appeared to be having the time of her life. Of course, there had to be one of those individuals in the group. Never could a day pass without someone to play the instigator, and in being without Karna for so long, someone had to make up for lost time. He had assumed it would be Hikari to do such a thing. Ah, but speaking of Hikari, he had nearly forgotten! Until recently, the Avatar named Kou had been unconscious for days, and he'd yet to see his core persona's sibling since before that unfortunate occurrence. "Right. I let it slip my mind with all the planning. Actually, I would like to bring her along with me while I progress my other Avatar, if she's willing. There's every chance she'll be able to unlock her abilities by then, assuming she hasn't reached that point already." As he spoke, Licht shifted his right arm until his hand protruded from its overly-long sleeve, gesturing openly to conjure what appeared to be a wormhole linked directly to Hikari's Mana signature. He didn't intend to travel through it, but rather to call her to him by speaking through the portal. "Hikari! Interested in an adventure?"

[Apollymi]

Hikari did her part as a good friend and heard out what the lad known as Arjuna had to say about his current condition. He claimed that he'd used Appraisal to be able to become the version of himself he was currently. This made her chuckle, she could imagine Karna not taking too kindly to being displaced in such a way. "Sou ka, sounds like a hell of a ride," she said with no judgement implied. As a person she was simply trying to get to level 30 so that she could make her next Avatar, whatever she decided that needed to be. But whatever the case, it seemed that Arjuna was keen to know what it was she was producing exactly. A chuckle ensued but she went on to explain. "Well, it's more like an amplifier. It's also totally cute, like Cellphone charms, only they apply a bit of extra code or slightly alter existing ones," she explained obviously they were meant to be aides to those who possessed them but she had something specific in mind for these two. "These two are meant to help a certain pair of oblivious teens avoid exhausting themselves too much. Mostly by making the transition for channeling mana through their weapons or tools easier," she said softly. "I don't think they need them, but I know my brother and given how he ended up last week, I am pretty sure he should use something to help his channeling out a bit. Miki-nee, could also get some benefit while her build is short on spare Mana," she mentioned about her crafts as she worked rather easily towards completing the second one.

"I'm sure she'll love the idea," this was chimed in by Seriri who as the younger sister in a similar kind of relationship with her big brother did nothing but enjoy the time they spent together. She saw a few similarities between herself and the younger demi-human, and they'd made fast friends because of it. "Hai, I'm sure a bit of sibling bonding will always work out for you types... I take that to mean you enjoyed showing off your developments for Kaiba too," Miki commented acknowledging the similarities between them, such wording made Seriri nod happily. While working on her craft, a wormhole was soon opened before the lass. She immediately pocketed the items only to hear her brother's tone and cadence coming from a very different face. Her left brow rose as he asked her if she'd like to join him on an adventure. She looked up at the vision of him she could seen from where she was and burst into laughter. "Wait wait, I'm coming through," she exclaimed jumping into this portal and aiming to land upon her brother in the manner she always had. Her laughter would continue for quite a few seconds. "What the hell did you do to your hair? You look like some anime protag's brooding big brother!~" she laughed hysterically at the lad's new Avatar. And in so few words, made it rather obvious why Miki found this particular Avatar attractive, the blonde lass was soon sitting atop her pillow looking off into the distance to avoid giving away too many of her personal thoughts.

[Bloodedge]

Arjuna took a fair bit of interest in Hikari's explanation of her craft. What she spoke of was not something which ever belonged in this world, though it wasn't the first time he'd seen some amount of innovation brought from their home world. This one in particular had potentially infinite uses, perhaps even game-breaking if used properly. "Sou ka. You realize, this sort of creation is what empires in this world hunt Adventurers down over? I would suggest keeping it under wraps, or maybe speaking to Miki about incorporating it into her company and its sales. She seems to be building toward making a proper organization out of her trade eventually," he said, only to be interrupted by the appearance of a strange wormhole.

"I would hope so," was all Licht had to say in response to Seriri. He didn't have much to add when Miki spoke, considering she had no known sibling bond that could be considered relatable. Silence was the better option, he thought. With his portal open, Licht was soon enough met directly by Hikari with her usual tackle, though... was that laughter he heard through the portal beforehand? Yes, in fact, it was. She didn't even bother stopping her fit of laughter when reaching him, but nevertheless, Licht met her with a firm embrace. Just then, Hikari made it known why she had begun laughing. Seeming both shocked and appalled, Licht took a step back before picking up one of those incredibly long hair tufts, as if he intended to inspect it. He hadn't taken a proper look at himself yet, and didn't even realize how accurate her mention of his brooding expression was. Even so, he was going to defend against her clause. "Can you really talk? You look like the type of character people buy body pillows of!" he exclaimed, knowing full well he himself had... perhaps ordered such a thing in the past.

[Apollymi]

After explaining what it was she had made, Hikari received an interesting amount of advice from Arjuna. He aimed to remind her that the advancements of their own time, were highly sought after commodities and the type that could get her hunted down by Empires of this world. A bit of a chuckle would come from her as the lad even suggested the idea that she go into business with Miki as a way of avoiding a potential negative outcome. Before she could respond in any way though, she found herself jumping through a portal and ending up in the arms of her brother the same but different. After she pointed out what was wrong with his look it seemed that he felt the need to defend himself, mostly by claiming that she had the look of a character worshiped in such games as an idol. This only brought about a devious smile from the lass. "Of course I can talk. I'm absolutely adorable. I'd cuddle up to me if I could~" she stated firmly seeming to have no problem with the idea of body pillows of herself floating around. Even so, her brother's commentary was not something to be let go at all. "But Nii-san I bet you know all about the vast market on character body pillows~" she teased. Only to look back towards the portal. "Oh, and I heard ya'. I'll see what she says!~ Arigatou!~" she said to the advice proffered her by Arjuna. Obviously she was never truly annoyed by him, but maybe she was still a bit shy about the idea of approaching business with Miki. Knowing the lass was known for making and breaking businesses in their own world, she was a tiny bit wary of her approach to the situation, but with her brother at her side she felt more at ease. Besides, she had the lass pegged as being much nicer than she seemed in general so she didn't have to worry too much about ending up with hurt feelings. As all of this took place, Miki watched on admiring the sight. She enjoyed something about good sibling relationships. Perhaps she liked them in a strange way because she never had any of her own, but something about the close bond of two kids brought warmth to her heart. This was especially true of the groups of people she was currently prone to hanging out with.

"Oh, and I have something to say and a gift for you two. And maybe a need to talk to you..." that last you she turned and pointed to Miki which made her eyes widen. She was fine with talking to the lass but she couldn't know what it was about. "I dunno it depends on how you see it. But what is this about an adventure?" said Hikari finding it easy to move right along in conversation.