Ryozanpaku

[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."

[Apollymi]

Kou seemed to take quite a bit from the words spoken by Kuroka. It seemed he was indeed clever, with a mind that pieced together even minute details. "Sou ka, that is a very active brain you have. It can be just as much of a hindrance to think about so much from so little given information," she said, pointing out his tendency to over think from such a simple moment of interaction. "Still, that insight is very intuative and oddly diplomatic. I understand now..." she said, though the last bit wasn't for him. Initially she didn't understand what the girl behind this blonde Avatar might have seen in another individual. But he had some skills that she lacked not in game, but in personality, though they still managed to be quite similar by her knowledge and this very brief observation. But there was more to discuss than just this, when asked about the nature of her Avatar and the evil she stopped she thought to clarify. "My first one was injured... almost dead. I made this one out of a piece of something I claimed from the evil, if only to keep her from being able to reclaim it herself. There are still other methods she could use to rise again, but it won't include all of her former abilities. Neither of my Avatars is... that," she summarized the situation. By using a function from the PvP aspect of AoE, she'd managed to keep something vital to the formation of another Avatar. "It might be a bit much, but can you mention to her that she knows who I am and that I can't say. It would be much faster that way." Her statement finalized she was more than prepared to wait.

"Uh...huh, I'm not even concerned about that. Do what you like... we all got a free chance to start over on missed opportunities. I probably won't just cuddle you anymore though, it's weird knowing you like it," she said turning her nose up at the young lad. In the meantime, Rimuru gave Miki a quick rundown of the situation taking place in the Youkai subplot of the world and it was worse than she thought. If they were killing people already, it meant that the factions were already trying to out themselves as leaders. Given what she knew about the way such things worked, it also meant that there had to be at least a few players already attached to the different factions. "Ugh... this is going to be a pain in the ass, I just wanted breakfast and a taste of home. I didn't think it'd be necessary to quell a war before then," she said rubbing her forehead. Her mind already began to work, but this wasn't just her own thing. She and Kou worked together on such problems and it would likely take more than just their bodies to get this whole thing done.

[Bloodedge]

"It can be, and it always is eventually. Diplomacy begets solitude in the long run," was Kou's retort. He'd seen first-hand the issues of politics in all forms; none were without major faults to at least one end of the spectrum within. No matter. He couldn't exactly undo the way he was, as much as he hated the premise of it. Either way, he wasn't going to teeter around that topic. There was a tale to be told, and it was of Kuroka's original Avatar. She spoke of a very nonspecific evil that had been felled, but not by either specific method he questioned. Luckily, there was nothing tying that evil's existence to the fall of the Avatar he spoke to. If she truly came from above, such an entity would be quite troublesome to deal with, should it return. Ah, but there were still methods of return, it seemed... though Kou could assume such a thing to be manageable without fret. "The way you say she wouldn't have all of her old abilities, I'm guessing she should be easy enough to deal with. Anyway, why not mention it yourself? You could easily tell her what you just told me, right? That is, unless..."

Rimuru's arms were quite... all over the place, flailing wildly as he contested Miki's argument. "So it's fine if I don't like it?! That would be rape! Hentai! HENTAI!" he yelled, pointing a judgmental forefinger at the lass while his other arm continued its unnecessary movements. He even followed it all by crossing his arms, huffing, and turning his head away as if he were ashamed to even look at her. Even doing that, he continued to discuss matters of importance. "Anyway, Hentai-neesan, it's not that big a deal. Just make yourselves blend in, and you can get your breakfast or whatever. You're not required to help out everywhere you go, just 'cause you're Adventurers. Well... unless you're in that Guild─"