Ryozanpaku

[Apollymi]

Kou had expected continued teasing and naughty behavior, and Tamamo was content to get through this, to get back to it. That being said, neither expected what was to come next. A total of three different tunnels which were the end of this narrow corridor. Of course, that couldn't be all there was to it, and they would eventually fall into a pit of a trap, with both of them inside of a magic deflecting barrier. What was more, within this barrier there was greater darkness still with only the light of the barrier itself to give them any hint that true darkness didn't engulf them. Tamamo was fine with this of course, her vision was better than human normal and her senses weren't tampered with at all. That being said, it was obvious by the way they'd fallen into this trap, that it was unexpected on Kou's part. And she realized how much of a distraction she'd likely caused the lad.

"Kufufufu~" a giggle escaped her even in light of their current 'dire' situation. Noting that she'd landed directly atop the lad in what could have been considered a rather compromising position. Her legs on either side of him, tails gently shifting, she leaned in pressing her chest against his as she got her bearings. "Sou ka... I'd apologize but I think this is fun," she said with nothing but amusement in her voice, as she wiggled her hips slightly. The gentle light of the barrier reflecting off her eyes even in this darkness. "Ah, well... I doubt anyone just expects to get dropped into a dark magic reflecting barrier..." she ended her commentary. "So, what do we do? It's dark, we're trapped... it can't be good for the overall adventure~" she mused. No even in the face what should be eminent danger, she didn't seem to be capable of keeping the flirty tone out of her voice, nor taking advantage of their current placement.

[Bloodedge]

Stunned from the fall, Kou made a marked effort to rise through the pain of landing. "Hngh─" he grunted while finding himself incapable of elevation. After a wince, his eyes traveled back to the front. Then, and only then did he realize why he couldn't get up; Tamamo had landed atop him. The worst part, or perhaps the best, was that she wasn't simply still at all. She was straddling him, to say the least. If the fall would have caused his physical response to her advances to disappear, this was ensuring just the opposite as Kou's member seemed to have every intention of bursting through his pants. It should have been expected that she would also return to verbally teasing about this predicament, though the feeling of her bosom squishing against his own chest was quite a shock.

"I─ you─" What could he even say? Indeed, this situation wasn't good for the overall adventure at all... nor was it good for another situation being undone. Ah, that was it. If his mind hadn't been so flooded with perversion when he began moving again, this could have been easily avoided. As things were now, he couldn't even use his Mana without feeling it forced back into his body. "Definitely not good, no. It looks like the design is just to keep us here until we die though, so there's no major threat on the horizon. I just... hang on, I need to get my head on straight─"

[Apollymi]

Tamamo's movements soon enough came to a halt, if only because she wanted to give the lad beneath her a chance to catch his breath. Even so, she didn't remove herself from straddling his lap, mostly because he didn't actually ask her to move. He had no real response for her flirting, but did state that this particular trap was a bit more passive than most. It was simply meant to hold them hostage until they died. "That is an oddly passive way to kill people..." she said though it wasn't a complaint. She supposed the less outright danger the better off they'd be. Still, it was a bit odd for the pair of them to find themselves in a somewhat dangerous situation. It was likely due to their distracted state that such a thing happened in the first place, she sighed again. Concentration was necessary, but they weren't in any immediate danger. "Hm... I wonder if it will remain so easy?" Tamamo questioned aloud though she was mostly talking to herself. This speech had a dual purpose because it wasn't just about the puzzle but also about teasing the lad beneath her, which was surprisingly a lot more fun than she expected it to be, especially when he was so responsive.

Ideally she could use one of her curses to drain the magical source of the barrier into her Mirror. This would mean she didn't have to use her own magic, thus it would cause no harm to herself. But... she wasn't sure if she wanted to do this because it was likely that if anything happened to the barrier there would be an additional or new problem. Perhaps there was no avoiding the new problem, but she definitely didn't want to start a new problem without having at least some idea of what it was. Beyond this, there was the nagging sensation or desire for closeness with the lad beneath her, which made her want to take advantage of their current deviation from the path at hand. Ah, but she also didn't want to negatively influence his opinion on this kind of adventure between them. Such a difficult moment to get through, "If I release the barrier what are the chances that something worse happens immediately after?" she asked the lad, demanding his concentration while trying her hardest not to wiggle her hips and tease the lad further about his still obvious erection, especially given her current placement. Granted she was fairly certain she could do something about the barrier, did she really want to in the moment? Or would she rather abuse this current situation? These were questions the fox lass asked herself.

[Bloodedge]

Passive... what an interesting choice of words. When Kou looked to the other barriers spread out across the darkness, he saw just the opposite. Most cases seemed to involve captives leading themselves to death in desperate attempts to escape. "Well... it's definitely the most aggressive passive method I've ever seen," he commented. At this point, he was trying just as much to straighten out his thoughts, as he was to come up with an escape plan. Tamamo was making things exceedingly difficult, and she managed to do so by simply existing in close proximity. If the previous night with Miki had gone very differently, perhaps this would not be the case. Ah well; there was no point worrying about that now.

One major positive to the pink-haired Youkai, however, seemed to be an ability to use curses instead of magic. Having an eye for all things mystical himself, Kou understood that if anything could overcome a Mana seal, it was a curse, if not overwhelming physical ability. There was a question, though. What if something else happened when the barrier went down? There was no evidence of other bodies in the area, so either none had successfully escaped... or something else happened when they did. It couldn't be the case that there were successful departures, or there would be others patrolling to eliminate those who fell prey to the first trap. "Chances say there's something way worse in the space outside, and it's the reason nobody's already here to deal with us. We've at least got until starvation kicks in to consider our options, but..." He paused, scratching the back of his head as deep thought failed to reach him. "Ugh! I should know what this is!"

[Apollymi]

Aggressive? No, it was passive to let people die inside the barrier. The only way it could be considered aggressive, is if something caused enough discord to keep people from wanting to stay within the barrier or... if say something was capable of getting in and out of the barrier just not the captives. "Starving to death in relative safety is passive... the fact that this is the first thing that happened is pretty aggressive but... they really don't want anyone taking their stuff~" the fox girl mused. She could see the reasoning behind such extreme measures, especially given the information they'd already picked up from being within this land. In answer to her question of the nature of the barrier and the likelihood of a secondary problem, Kou seemed to think it was very likely. A sigh escaped the lass as it became obvious she should put an actual and decent amount of concentration into this leg of their adventure.

"Hm, this is bothersome. I was hungry when I got here so that's pretty troubling..." she mentioned, still actual starvation was a bit troublesome. When they got out of here, she needed to remind herself to create a proper food room in her treasury. It was best if she didn't run out of things to eat at any point in time in the future. About their current predicament, she watched curiously from Kou's lap as the young man rubbed his head and seemed to try and fail to think of what could be outside this barrier as well as the immediate ramifications of any actions to be taken. She couldn't really place her finger on it, but something about watching him be this level of frustrated was a bit amusing. He looked cute while trying to think of such things. It made her wonder what he'd looked like while thinking through the puzzles he actually found challenging. Ah, she could ponder that some other time. For now... she leaned forward again staring directly into the lad's eyes. "There there, Mikon. We have time to think things through... so take it. I'll start working on the curse to drain the barrier..." she said softly, taking the time to finally remove herself from his lap. Now that it had been done she took her mirror from within the folds of her robes and began writing upon it, leaving an ear open for conversation. "Do keep talking though... I enjoy your voice~" a tease, light though it was, ended the lass' speech. She began working on a partial solution to their problem.

[Bloodedge]

"Starving, yeah... but how many people, Youkai especially, are gonna let themselves starve? I don't think that's the purpose of this trap. Mana bounces back on whatever person uses it in these things, but why can't it be sensed from outside? There are a lot of barriers, so it should be, right? It has to have gone somewhere, which means the major purpose of the trap has to be what the barriers do to people─" Once Tamamo extricated herself from his lap, his mind began working just a bit more clearly. Sure, there was a bit of a hiccup as his gaze traveled over her rising form, but there was still development going on in that brain of his.

His forefinger was repeatedly tapping against his temple at this point. He was missing something, and it should have been obvious. Oh well; at least there would soon be Tamamo's curse to do something about the... "No!" he spoke hastily. She couldn't use curses, or rather, she shouldn't. "Whatever you do, don't start that... at least not yet. Ugh, but fucking why? This is reminding me of something. It's definitely a trap with multiple traps hidden inside, but... fuck!" The white-haired boy was legitimately disturbed by his own lack of realization. Even though he'd yet to reach any conclusion, he felt in the pit of his soul that this was something quite simple. "Steps... steps..." There had to be some. Every trap, every puzzle came in specific stages when broken down. Kou felt as if this one functioned more like a tree, but how? He had to think clearly, and the struggle to do so was just as bothersome to him as the lack of a conclusion.

[Apollymi]

It seemed that her moving from the lad's lap had the general effect of clearing his head a bit. Granted she'd still prefer to be in her previous placement she could let that go for now, in favor of eventually getting out of this situation. He kept talking and in so doing seemed to work through bits and pieces of what was going on here. "Ah? Well... if you know about the doom you don't go towards it. So, not being able to sense them is probably at least part of the trap. I have a pretty good handle on a lot of things magical within a certain area and I also didn't know they were here," she said after she got up. Still the lad was working through something and she'd give him time to do it.

He claimed that she shouldn't do anything to the barrier just yet, but he couldn't figure out why. A chuckle escaped the lass in this moment. "Not to worry, I had no intentions of doing anything until I was certain of the outcome~" she chimed, which was true, her previous statement was given so she had an excuse to leave the lad's lap though she didn't want to. This was part of her nature as well, not just Tamamo's but Kimiko's which was a definite hint as to why she didn't outright pursue the lad known as Kou as soon as she figured out she liked him. Little was left up to chance with this lass, and that included normal day to day things as well. He repeated the word steps a few times and she began thinking of the process this particular trap had taken them. "We fall down here, into a barrier we couldn't sense... which forces a certain kind of action to gain freedom... like a funnel," she said aloud thinking of how it worked up to this point. If the puzzle or trap was just meant to force a certain outcome it was meant to gain the creator some sort of advantage. Weakened/disoriented opponents, no magic usage, forcing a physical reaction, all steps taken to narrow the parameters of potential reactions. "Is there something out there?" she had no idea why she thought that, but if something with a large enough presence was in this area, then it could hide the barriers without setting off any unnecessary alarms. Besides that, it could be forcing certain things to happen in the hopes of gaining a certain potential reaction out of those who ended up here.

[Bloodedge]

Think, think. There was only one way to escape an untimely death, and it was to think. The method of death was relatively clear, but what happened afterwards was not so clear at all. It should have been; Kou should have realized what was going on by now. Tamamo offered brainpower of her own to help work through the situation, and in all honesty, she raised some interesting points. The things she listed were indeed steps, albeit not what he meant when musing aloud. There was another set... something to work through the current predicament in a manner some puzzles could be solved with. "Iia. That's a start, but there's something else. Steps... progression steps. This thing has a pattern, and I can't think of what it is─" he explained as best he could.

Was something out there? There could have been... or maybe that was impossible? What was it, what was it? Kou looked to Tamamo as she presented that question, trying to think of the answer. Sadly, his attempt was to no avail. The answer lay within the steps he was trying to remember, but as his gaze found the Kitsune, he let himself be distracted once more, just briefly. "Uh... maybe?" he answered. Strange; he didn't deal in maybes when solving puzzles.

[Apollymi]

Extra brain power was offered to the lad, and it all seemed in vain. Nothing seemed to be coming to his mind... well that wasn't entirely true. In all the time she'd known this lad since they'd come to this world, she'd never seen him struggle so much with something in front of him. Normally, he was absolutely the most reliable person to have on hand to help solve the mysteries of a puzzle, but right here and now, there seemed to be nothing in his head but doubts and distractions. She could see his struggle clearly on his face, and she realized the cause of it when he looked at her. It wasn't too obvious, but it was there just briefly. Even as he sat there, trying to think through the puzzle it was all but impossible and she realized when his eyes met her form that she was indeed a distraction for him. Ah, but it wasn't as simple as she thought... 'Hm, I figured, it was just by being a bit too close to him that I was distracting him. But... I guess I am just distracting to him in general now,' she thought as she tucked her mirror away again.

How strange... she didn't know initially how she should feel about this. On the one hand, she could take offense, as this different form would seem to be the cause of this level of distraction, but... what if it wasn't? They'd been doing a lot of talking, flirting, and the like... and the previous night, they'd even shared a romantic moment. Perhaps, it wasn't her mere presence that distracted him, but instead the idea that he could have her. She'd been around him for a long time before now, but perhaps, like her... he'd been holding himself back quite a bit. That probably allowed an amount of focus, currently unknown to his brain. A smug smirk appeared on his fox lass' face as she thought this all the way through. She felt somewhat empowered by the idea that she could cause him this kind of issue, and she'd likely always felt that way, given what she'd said the previous night. Ah, but to leave him in the wreck of his mind, when she knew acutely she was the cause of his problem... was that something she could do? The answer was of course, no. She wasn't a tease, she wouldn't string this lad along with empty promises. The innuendo and sexual tension she'd built up between them wasn't one sided, she'd just figured it wouldn't be satisfied until after their work here was done. But... perhaps that was the wrong way of thinking about it? The previous night, when she'd sat down to solve the puzzle, she'd offered herself release, to help clear her mind... perhaps this was needed before he could focus? Yep, that sounded logical enough to be factual. "Yosh! I have an idea, Mikon!~" she chimed happily as she approached him again. Instead of fully explaining the matter she simply lowered herself until they were at eye level, with her leaning into his lap, leaned forward in this way, he could see clear down her kimono to her ample bosom. "We have to get your mind in the right place..." and with that she leaned her lips into his and placed her hand atop his crotch again to begin rubbing it gently through his breaches. Yes, this was definitely the answer, release then answers... it made perfect sense.

[Bloodedge]

Second by second, Kou made a stronger attempt to keep his thoughts in order. It would have helped if he didn't keep letting himself be distracted by ideas of debauchery, but he was finding it quite difficult when the object of his desire was so clearly on offer right in front of him. Could he move on from this train of thought? Possibly, albeit after a long time of thinking. Luckily for him, this would not be necessary. Tamamo had an idea, and he had faith that it would be a functional one. If he was right, he would soon be able to think properly about a method of escape. What was her idea, though? Well, he'd be finding out just after she spoke...

To get his mind in the right place, Tamamo apparently thought it best not to remove distraction, but to give into it to clear his thoughts. That much was apparent the moment their lips met, when the most shocking occurrence became the feeling of a foreign, yet familiar in recent times, hand pressing against his clothed erection. Even though his lips accepted the kiss, his eyes were wide. He hadn't expected such a direct approach; Tamamo's teasing seemed to be the limit of her forward nature up to this point. Ah, but that clearly wasn't the case. She wasn't simply limited to openly flirting in the moment, and letting anticipation take its course until the optimal time. Kou remembered determining just that about the Kitsune earlier in their interaction, even though neither of them acted on the girl's approach. Now, though, there seemed to be nothing stopping Tamamo. Kou couldn't even comment on the matter, considering his lips were blocked by hers... but what would he have even done anyway, aside from meet those same lips in kind?