Ryozanpaku

[Bloodedge]

When Miki spoke of her intentions to try a Youkai, Kou began to wonder. If she knew anything about the object she obtained from Dreyfus, she could have easily acquired a seemingly great power derived from Ayakashi. He could do something about that, he thought. Unbeknownst to the lad himself, that development could fit right into her unspoken plan, with only minor tweaking and a bit of 'loose lore' exploitation. Ah, but now wasn't the time for that. Miki was experiencing the Slimes of this world first-hand, and giving a reaction more to what one would expect from a girl than she usually managed. Kou slid his pinkie finger into his ear, twisting it as his head tilted to the opposite side. Something was... odd about this Slime.

Odd indeed. As the tiny creature was squeezed and pressed against the lass' body, he eventually came up with something to say. It was a delicate matter, requiring a very specific approach. He was, after all, a Slime. Creatures such as this did not possess intelligence, the ability to speak, or even the power of sight. As such, he had to give a grand introduction; one which covered all the basics while revealing his identity as... more than the average Slime, as it were. After much deliberation, the small, blue creature chose his words with care.

"Yus!"

[Apollymi]

While Miki had her girly explosion about the slime which she was squeezing into her body, Kou looked strangely. She noted this, but figured it was likely because of her outrageous reaction. She pulled back a little, managing to look sheepish. She even started to clear her throat, though she was clearly still willing to squeeze the dear life out of this little slime. Until of course, it spoke. Her eyes widened as she looked down at it. All she'd said, and it'd responded to her. "Sou..." she said seeming to be filled with something akin to disappointment. It was still a rightly, adorable, cute little slime, but it was obviously a creature of higher order intelligence... and that wasn't natural for slimes. She'd move on to holding it out from her body and staring at it in disbelief. Her normal persona returned to her in seconds as she separated herself from what could have been even more epic amounts of joy. "You, could have spoken up sooner. I finally thought I was going to have a fun adorable pet," she said not having much if any emotion left. How sad. She felt almost deflated, never had she been so pleased and then so instantly crushed by a realization. She looked to Kou those jewel red eyes of hers steeped in her sadness... She needed rescuing from this emotion.

[Bloodedge]

True enough, this particular Slime was something beyond what they could normally be viewed as. By its ability to speak, or even make noise at all, it had to be a human from their world. "Sou ka. There was a super-difficult type that could be selected later in the game's lifespan. Slime was a choice that could be made to have infinite potential, but an almost impossible start for any real play without some ridiculous grind," he explained, surmising that this was a player before looking deeper into the matter. Of course, that was the case. "Edge Imp?" he questioned.

There was hardly a thing Kou could do to assist the blonde. Mostly, this was due to the Slime's own sudden reaction to her speech. "Well, don't let something like details stop you," the creature asserted while hopping from Miki's arms. Before reaching the ground, there was a bit of a metamorphosis. That small Slime grew into a humanoid form with long, blue hair that matched its original form, large golden eyes, and an attire consisting of black breeches with a flowing blue, tailed coat accentuated by a Kitsune-fur scarf. "I was having such a good time, too. Oh well. I, the Great Rimuru, accept all apologies that are sincerely offered!"

[Apollymi]

"That makes him sound like some kind of masochist. Like Bloodborne on waste of flesh..." mentioned Miki with some understanding. A distraction was just what she needed, to forget her lack of new pet and the fact that she'd been squeezing to death some random person she didn't know. What a shame, she'd actually have appreciated the little slime as a pet. Maybe, she was simply not meant to have a pet? She could deal with that... putting the thoughts away for some other time. The mention of the little slime's online handle made Miki's brow raise. She'd seen that name around somewhere... but which game? Ah... it was somewhere in her mind but lost to her just the same.

It was mentioned by the little slime that she shouldn't let the details stop her all before some strange transformation, which left him with a humanoid appearance with blue hair and golden eyes. He was even fully dressed, good for him. "Rimuru... huh? I'm not apologizing. You should have just said something. You should apologize for giving me hope," she said seeming to be slightly cross, in the moment her face fell back into its normal less than happy disposition. And it was with this that the black haired young woman received true confirmation about the identity of this lass. She reached the group and gave a gentle pause. "He's a bit of handful, and a tiny bit childish... There are many with such social deficiencies." mentioned the woman as she looked directly from Miki to Kou, but for some reason Miki found that comment biting and slightly familiar. "I'm... Kuroka. I've been partnered with him since my descent." she said strangely, making it sound as if this avatar wasn't her first and it wasn't her first choice either. Having introductions being made in such a way, Miki felt it was only right to introduce herself as well. "I'm Miki..." she said which brought a raise to the scantily clad woman's brow. How unusual, a name so close and yet so far away from either of her normal ones.

[Bloodedge]

"... Eheh~ yeah..." Kou laughed in a nervous fashion, agreeing to Miki's assertion while withholding just a bit of information. In truth, he had played the aforementioned game called Bloodborne, and had done so once using that very character type. Surely they could just move on without him having to admit that. This Slime introduced himself as Rimuru after the unveiling of a very familiar online ID, and there was a brief exchange between the lad and Miki about apologies. The blonde's demeanor returned to its normal state as a result, and Kou nearly found it laughable that such a thing occurred. However, there would be another individual entering the fray. Dark hair, dark wings, and the queerest of introductions marked the new woman's approach. Most specifically, Kou took an interest in her exchange with Miki. "Kou desu. Hajime...mashite," he stammered, staring at this newcomer with curiosity. The things she spoke were too odd, too specific at certain points. Her descent? This was the highest point the world could have offered, by his own approximation... aside from the sky. Her level seemed normal for a landlocked person, but it could have been a simple matter of a secondary Avatar... which seemed to be the case as well. Why did she have such a reaction to hearing Miki's introduction, as well? Too many questions, too easy an introduction. "If you're looking for a way back, a friend would be the best thing to confide in. What happened to the original?" he blurted out, only partially on purpose.

Rimuru, on the other hand, had no questions at all. What he did have, was an argument offered to the blonde. "Iia, iia! You're the one who gave me hope and snatched it away! If anyone should apologize, it should be me! I mean... you! Besides, you're both gonna die here if you just walk around looking like that─ no fake horns, tail, anything! You could at least offer a little more before you end up deleted!"

[Apollymi]

Kou's nervous laughter was acknowledged by Miki in a strange way. Mostly, given the situation, she didn't want to be found out for undertaking such a playthrough herself, she knew exactly how much of a masochist one would have to be to choose such a thing. She'd done it herself. Whatever the case, they could both be spared from too much thought, as the introduction of the Tengu lass seemed to put a different spin on the conversation. As Miki tried to figure out why this lass seemed so familiar, Kou introduced himself and questioned things much more directly. The raven-haired woman's eyes widened. She hadn't expected such a question, more over, for such a thing to come from a boy in the company of this lass, he had to be someone particularly special. She began piecing together information about him, while answering his questions in ways to illicit more information. "A friend would be nice. But I am not sure all use that word so freely," she said knowing that the girl known as Ashikaga Kimiko didn't count many among her friends and likely wouldn't see her as such. "As for the original, I deflected a finishing blow against a raid boss. And fell with them... doing so righted some wrongs and allowed me to dispatch a greater evil," she mentioned calmly. "But that form was lost to me in the process, I was only able to preserve it with his help," she said of the slime. "So, I used this form to help him, while locking away a piece of the evil I fought before," she mentioned touching the necklace she wore. No matter, it was a fair bit of information.

In the meantime, Miki and Rimuru were busy having a seemingly cross but cordial discussion. She listened to his words and frowned at him. He seemed to understand he was somewhat wrong, but still managed to complain, about things that didn't really make sense. "What hope did you have in us? And I didn't figure the faction war was far enough along for the to need to assimilate. I just figured out where this is exactly, we weren't aiming for here when we landed. Besides... I'm a Druid... we are always neutral in wars and can go where we please without issue," she said hands on her hips, she'd chosen such a build for exactly this reason. Still it was a bit disturbing. "Still, I'd rather not risk it, what do you know... maybe we can help each other out." She offered in an open ended manner. At the very least, getting an ample amount of information might make everything easier.

[Bloodedge]

Answers came, and with them came all the information Kou needed to finalize his thought process. Given what she had to say about friendship, he could only surmise that she did, indeed, know the one called Ashikaga Kimiko. "Sou ka. So, a not-so-friend associate you know counts just the same, right? Assuming you and said associate aren't on bad terms, I think they might end up being a person willing to help you out." There wasn't a question left in Kou's mind that this lass was a familiar face to Miki, whether she'd come to that realization or not. Since she hadn't clearly greeted the Tengu, it only further solidified this existence as a secondary Avatar. When Kuroka next spoke, she explained the situation surrounding this Avatar's birth, as well as information regarding the fact that her original self was not yet gone for good. "So, which one is it? Is the evil part of this Avatar, locked away with the other one, or something else entirely?"

The Slime sighed. He didn't have hope in them per se, but rather in the situation he had been introduced to. On the other hand, there was yet hope to have in a couple more players to help with this area's... issues. "You're the one who put me in the best situation! Oppai, oppai! I have standards that I hold this world to know, y'know?" he griped. Moving on, he chose to address her second and third clauses in unison. "Druid or not, we're way past that point. None of the Night Parades here care if you're neutral. Just the chance that you could be a type of power nobody else can have, is enough to make them kill you so the other factions can't get you even by brainwashing. They won't even take you in themselves, since you could be a spy. I get by because I'm a Slime; I can just pretend to be weak. Kuroka is a Tengu, and they're all over the place. There are four Kings here in Ryozanpaku, and it's going to take strength to keep them all from destroying each other over the idea that one of them could be ruler of all four corners."