Ryozanpaku

[Apollymi]

Kou made the claim that she didn't have to say anything, which was in fairness something he would always do. Still, the Kitsune couldn't help but swoon a bit more over the lad, who cared for her and put more thought and effort into her happiness than most people she'd ever interacted with. What an interesting relationship they were developing... but that was a thought for another time. It seemed though she'd provided him the item he was looking for without much of a problem but there was something else. "Hm, I suppose the barriers haven't come down yet. Then it has to be with the things I have, but what could cause the barriers to keep standing?" she questioned aloud, internally she began sorting through various items, looking for ones which could have such a Source Code attached to them. "Ah, it has to be this..." she said pulling from a portal a small glowing ball which seemed almost glass like in its creation. It swirled internally with yellow energy.

"Sou ka, it's a hoshinotama. That isn't good... there is a Kitsune missing this, and if its controlling all of this... it's really powerful, " she said her brows shifting. They definitely needed more information about the lay of the land.

[Bloodedge]

Kou began to inspect the Artifact in his hand. Interestingly enough, it was beginning to interface with him, without so much as a bit of prodding from Kou himself. He had to actively resist to avoid being consumed by its influence even slightly. Mere moments of staring at the object occurred before Tamamo found an Artifact she thought to be the source. Averting his gaze, he looked upon this strange, glowing sphere. If anything fit the description of these barriers' creator, that had to be it. "A Kitsune, huh? Let's see... factions at war, Youkai at each others throats to be specific... maybe the trap was meant for the Kitsune's faction? If that's the case, I imagine everything here would be undone if that thing went back to its original owner. Though... it might spark a full-on war in the process."

[Apollymi]

It seemed that Kou was having a difficult time with his new object. He spent quite a while staring at the object while Tamamo searched her treasury. Tamamo knew this because, even as she searched, she found herself drawn to him in a very specific way. Ah, but he still seemed to be enough himself for it not to be too much of a problem. He even had something to say when she mentioned what this glowing object was. She nodded her agreement to it with a little more to add. "It could be a trap specifically for the Kitsune, or anyone who'd want to abuse its powers. Holding barriers like this has to be a pretty niche thing..." said Tamamo thinking about it more. "Actually, it is probably for the best that it isn't in the possession of the Kitsune who owns it. It has to contain a large portion of their power. And if they can make barriers like this... if they actively wanted to trap all the other groups in their territories, they could without question..." she said knowing exactly why this had been taken. If you wanted to retain some semblance of balance, no one could have a power so overwhelming. Taking the hoshinotama from a Kitsune was one of few guaranteed ways to cripple them.

A frown came to her face. If a Kitsune was that powerful, and someone managed to get this object off them, they could have simply killed it. Draining the object which was essentially the soul and power of such a creature, could kill it from a distance with minimal risk. But they hadn't just used it to kill the creature, this much was obvious to Tamamo as she held it. She was certain the Kitsune this belonged to was alive, she could feel the pulsing realness of its energy. "Hm, we have to figure out how to get out of here, and I don't want to use this to do it... I don't want to kill another Kitsune if I don't have to. But... I also don't want whoever set this trap to know exactly how we broke out of it. And I don't want to alert the Kitsune this belongs to, that it's been taken, again... Lore says they aren't very nice to people who take these things from them. I can't have them getting the wrong idea here..." she said laying out the complexity of the issue. This one appeared to be more a people issue than a monetary one. Thus she'd wait for Kou's advice. That being said, he still hadn't created his new Avatar yet, she wondered what he was waiting on. "Are you going to make your new Avatar now... or put it off until we get back?" she asked first as that question seemed more important even than figuring out how to get out of here.

[Bloodedge]

As they discussed the orb and its origin, the gear's in Kou's mind began turning. He seated himself within the barrier, crossing his arms and legs while the Oni mask sat in his lap. There was much to think about indeed. Tamamo had lore-related information about Kitsune which made him have second thoughts about simply sending this Artifact back. Sparking a war was one thing, but handing over an almost-guaranteed win to one side could be a horrendous outcome indeed. What could they do, then? The clearest answer would be to avoid letting whatever Kitsune know where their Artifact was, but then how would they escape? Another question raised by Tamamo involved the timing of his next Avatar creation. While mulling over that matter, his thumbs mindlessly rubbed the mask in his lap. "Not gonna lie... I've been pretty nervous about actually making this one," he said, having come to a realization he was nearly 100% certain of after Tamamo's birth. "I noticed something about Avatar creation in this world. The core seems to stay the same, but everything on the outside seems based on events around the change. It works like regeneration."

In spite of what he said, he also knew he could influence his new Avatar, just as he'd done with Licht. Moreover, the mask in his lap seemed almost sentient. Perhaps it had an escape plan of its own? Exhaling a deep sigh, he slowly raised the mask onto his face to begin the change. Once he donned the Artifact, that golden glow overwhelmed his being. His hair grew out into an unruly style, protruding in tufts around his head with a low, messy ponytail at the rear; its color turned pitch black as well. He wore mostly black clothes that clearly belonged to an assassin, including a hooded cloak. One standout article was a cloth hanging at his waist with geometrically patterned squares in green, orange and yellow. The mask itself affixed itself to his head with a thick, red rope threaded through its left eye socket, allowing this new entity to slip the mask onto the left side of his head. His left eye was covered by the mask as a result, but his right eye opened to reveal a cold, deep blue iris that seemed devoid of all emotion at a simple glance. "... I know what to do," he spoke softly without the slightest affectation. "I'm going to use Mana to break the barrier."

[Apollymi]

Upon giving Kou the lore related information, Tamamo could see in his face that he completely understood the dilemma. Of course, there wasn't much which could be done about it directly, so the topic of conversation moved along. This time, they chose to keep speaking about the newest Avatar, and it seemed that Kou had a working theory about Avatar Creation. He'd apparently observed that the cores of the individuals remained the same, but the outside was overtly influenced by what was taking place around them when they were created. "Sou ka..." there was a pause thing as she gave it a reasonable bit of thought. Tatsuki had come into being at a time where she needed to be strong and superior to herself, thus she'd come out that way. Daiyu was created in a way that made her more like Kimiko's original self, as far as the business savvy part of her was concerned. Tamamo, seemed to be very much about her teasing and foxy nature when dealing with the lad she was looking at, which is what she'd been doing even before. "I suppose those that would make sense... when I imagined being a Time Lord, I don't think this was part of it..." she said softly. Even so, this lad claimed to be worried about it, which she could understand. They'd had some very interesting interactions recently so a being created in the moment could swing too far in either direction.

Regardless of his misgivings he went ahead with the new character creation. A golden light surrounded him, and when he emerged, he'd changed quite drastically. Long black untamed hair atop his head, seemed to be marked by the mask now worn to one side of his face. He wore dark clothing, like an assassin, aside from the geometric pattern on his cloak. She stared openly as he changed this time, seeming to not care much how this would be received, and when he finally opened his visible eye, he seemed to be like a deadened pool of blue. "Sugoi~" the lass chimed, seeming to take a moment to be stunned. For reasons she couldn't begin to explain, she was really fond of this new look, he seemed strangely normal but his look had a great appeal to it. He claimed that he even knew what to do, that meant she could return the jewel back to storage until the figured out what to do with it. Strangely, his voice was devoid of clear emotion. 'Hm... that's different,' she thought. "Hai hai, not doubting you or anything but you can do that?" she asked, they'd spoken about this barrier before and it'd initially been a problem that it would keep magic usage low, cutting it with Mana seemed like the sort of thing that wouldn't work at all.

[Bloodedge]

"... Hai." This was the simple answer given when asked if he could successfully break free using Mana. He had a semblance of an idea as Kou, and the transformation to this new entity seemed to have completed the thought with a bit of extra. Perhaps this was in part due to the mask, or even whatever being was the origin of said mask. He needed only a small amount of Mana channeled through the kusarigama he wielded. Water spewed from the blades, being kept pressed against them due to the effects of the barrier. Ah, the barrier... the exact thing he immediately hopped onto the side of... then onto another side... and another. He moved constantly, spinning with every shift to build momentum in a seemingly endless fashion. In doing so, the water torrent erupting from his kusarigama was eventually overcome by his own velocity, yet still attempting to return to the blades.

His idea? To shatter the barrier with overwhelming force, when it would otherwise reduce said force to something only physical before it struck. He darted around within the barrier, avoiding Tamamo at all costs until he came to the final movement. Perfect timing was required, and that was just what he utilized. As he hopped off the final wall back into the middle area near Tamamo, he threw one of his blades toward the wall ahead of him. In doing so, the full torrent which built up during his movements around the barrier followed suit, striking just before the blade finished bouncing off the barrier wall. The end result was enough Mana crashing into the wall at once, alongside the weapon, that it punched a hole in the barrier. With a hole in it, the barrier crumbled around the two as water poured into the open room.

[Apollymi]

Fewer words were currently being spoken by this lad, than at most times prior to this. Unlike the other times where his words were limited, this didn't seem to be a matter of discomfort. Instead he simply seemed a bit more stoic than previously shown. Whatever the case, his silence came with strength as he seemed to be quite capable in the moment. He soon used water, Mana and movement to launch himself around the whole of this barrier. She watched with wide eyes as he managed to miss her at every turn, but still seemed to be gaining more velocity which each movement. It was oddly precise, like watching a dance. And Tamamo gave a great deal of approval for such a method. Or rather, it likely wasn't her. It was someone else, the approving smug of a certain Dragonoid in her mind that was accompanied by the sound of rushing water if only for a moment. Still Tamamo stood in awe as he lad landed right beside her, "Sugoi, sugoi! That was a great idea! And excellently executed~" she concluded the same amount of teasing which always seemed to be present in her voice was still there. So, she was keen to figure out what was new in this lad's personality. Even so, she watched for a moment or two as the the water washed out of the barrier they'd been held in and out into the open space.

"Seems like we're in the clear... for the most part, breakfast?" she asked with a smile on her face. It seemed they had done all that was necessary here. Her Treasury had gained several new items and she'd gained a greater understanding of its mechanics. They'd both gotten Avatars that could blend in the area without drawing too much attention. And they had even gained a little knowledge about the faction war, and had access to a couple of people who might make more information easier. Whatever the case, she was pleased and only missing a certain piece of information. "Ara, ara, it slipped my mind, Mikon. What's this one's name?" she asked as she returned to her place pressed against the lad's back, floating off the ground without a care in the world.

[Bloodedge]

This new Avatar of Aiba Yugi's observed the aftermath of his efforts. He showed no signs of satisfaction, or even the slightest relief to be free of the barrier's confines. He did, however, glance over his shoulder when addressed by Tamamo. Would he say anything in regards to the compliment? No; the next words to leave his mouth were a rebuttal to her question. "I could eat," he said. With that, he was on his way, even as the Kitsune latched onto his back. This area underneath the temple could remain flooded and emptied of Artifacts; it didn't matter since the items were forged directly from living people anyway. He wondered who could have headed such an operation, though he knew... he'd always find out soon enough. En route to the upper reaches of the temple, there was another question offered. This one's name? Oddly enough, there was no readable name assigned to this one as of yet, unlike previous incarnations. There was... something there, but he seemed to reject it. What would he offer, then? Perhaps he could design a name in a similar fashion to Kimiko's original Avatar. Yes, that would do just fine. Deep inside, he could even consider it some sort of message. "... Giyu desu."

[Apollymi]

Tamamo was able to observe several differences between this Avatar and the first one. The most notable of these differences was the much quieter nature, he didn't seem to respond to much of anything. Her compliment didn't get too much acknowledgement, but he did at least answer her question about breakfast. Though not with anything that could be called enthusiasm. Perhaps, this one was simply a bit withdrawn, or maybe that wasn't the right way to phrase it. He seemed a bit more stoic in general. Tamamo had no mental problem with this, in fact, the stoic big brother type was one of many she enjoyed, more for its potential realism than anything else. How deep did that reach? The lass couldn't help but wonder, and beyond her own curiosity she also wanted to press against it, and tease the lad for the reactions she could get out of him. However limited those might be. He then gave a name, which was surprisingly short. It reminded the lass of her earliest Avatar but the connection being made in her mind was a bit farther flung. "Giyu, huh? I like that one~" the lass teased as she gave him a gentle squeeze and pecking his cheek from over his shoulder.

It was quite interesting that he'd mentioned regeneration like differences from Avatar to Avatar and made one that seemed capable of hiding his emotions after having her read the looks on the previous Avatar's face so easily. Perhaps, she shouldn't have done that with such zest? No, that wasn't the way to think about it. She was being herself even as they left this place, she wouldn't stop herself now. There was food to look for, and the whole situation around this land to figure out. "Hm, we're not currently hidden... will that be a problem?" she wondered as they ascended without issue currently, but that could lead to a potential fight with those who 'guarded' the temple. She wasn't afraid of this outcome, but she didn't want anyone impeding her breakfast date.

[Bloodedge]

Why did this one have such differences to his other selves; why was he so much more... serious? The reason may have been just what Tamamo considered, though perhaps with a few specifics applied. Being easily-read was not something he was used to at all. In fact, there was only one person he was used to being capable of seeing past his visage in whatever situation... perhaps two in some cases. No matter the case, there was mention of his name, or rather an acceptance of it as a decent one. Giyu said nothing in regards to this, though he did look over his shoulder once more. He was satisfied to hear such a thing, whether he showed it or not.

Tamamo claimed they were no longer hidden. This could have been some amount of issue, but as far as Giyu was concerned presently, it wouldn't be. Lo and behold, they would soon be at the temple's entrance again. Outside, there were various Youkai belonging to the faction of this area. The group consisted of varying types, though primarily of the reptilian variety. One particular Kappa aimed a spear at the pair, as if to incite a charge. "There they are! Get the─" A call started, and ended just as quickly. The Youkai seemed stunned, even afraid of what he'd seen leaving that temple. What could it have been?