<Nocturnal Harmonia>

[Bloodedge]

Before the Players knew it, they were landing right in front of a large, swirling blue portal halfway across the district. Satoru stood between them as he released his power over the pair. He seemed to have switched his glasses suddenly, changing to a black blindfold so quickly that even Yugi registered no movement. Maybe the method of transportation had something to do with it? Unlikely as that was, Yugi still stumbled to his feet after being let go. "Hrrk─! Fucking... stupid power. Did people stop using trains when Gates appeared?!" Yugi complained for the second time today.

"Welcome to Meguro!" Satoru said excitedly, completely ignoring the complaints and commentary. With a scoff, Yugi also accessed the System to allocate his remaining stat points. He was evening things out, leaving Intelligence ten points lower than everything else for the moment to ensure he could raise Perception ten points higher still. "Right. Doctor's orders. Perception going up to─ACK!" The moment Yugi's Perception struck 50, at the allocation of his last remaining point, the System appeared to glitch from his perspective. That wasn't entirely all. No, his vision itself suddenly seemed fragmented, as if his retinas had been turned to stained glass and shattered as such. Actually... that was how it felt too, causing Yugi to cover his eyes with both hands and groan. "Ngh! The fuck?!" he griped. Satoru glanced in the lad's direction for a moment. In the next moment however, he had a hand hovering over each Player's back. He'd pick them up without even making contact, carrying them beyond the portal.

The Dungeon inside the Gate unfolded like a vast, decaying factory swallowed by darkness and rust. Massive steel beams loomed overhead, bent and dripping with thick, black viscous fluid that pooled in slow, oily rivulets on the cracked concrete floor. Broken conveyor belts hung limp from the ceiling like dead vines, swaying slightly in an unfelt breeze. Twisted machinery formed narrow corridors and choke points, their jagged edges glinting faintly under dim, flickering emergency lights that never should have still worked. The air was heavy, humid, and thick with the stench of old oil, fresh blood, and wet animal fur. Low snarls and the clatter of claws on metal echoed from the shadows, where lean, sinewy quadrupedal beasts—hybrids of wolf and panther—prowled in small packs, their matted black fur streaked with rust-red, amber eyes glowing dully. Some had jagged iron shards embedded in their hides like natural armor; others dragged rusted chains fused to collars around their necks. The floor eventually dropped away into a flooded basement level—waist-deep stagnant water reflecting the faint red glow of distant runes carved into the walls—where the largest beast waited, its spine fused with iron plates, chain-whip tail lashing slowly through the murk.

[Apollymi]

The Players had plenty of gripes about Gojo's choice in travel. He literally picked them up and flew off with them at speeds neither could manage on their own. Both teens took issue with the movement but Yugi more than Miko who was only concerned about feeling nauseous. Instead of acknowledging their gripes he simply welcomed them to the area. "Uh-huh..." Miko uttered. That man was very strange, but she couldn't say she disliked his attitude at all, as such she'd finish her stat alignment. She had straight 30 in physical combat 40 in Perception and then 70 for Intelligence. With everything else taken care of, she was building up to be quite the mage who could also handle a bit of physicality. Still that wasn't all, Yugi allotting his stats led to an odd reaction when his perception hit fifty. Miko didn't get much of a chance to look with her own eyes, but her senses were active, but there was also Gojo to take into account, plucking them from their placement and taking them into the Dungeon properly.

"Waaah♪~ This isn't what I imagined when I saw people taller than me carrying me♪~" Miko chirped softly still. Once again she was averting her attention to Yugi. "I guess eye stuff is hard whenever it pops up," Miko said thinking back to her older friend. Just because her brain was wandering didn't mean she wasn't seeing and hearing the things going on. "Stagnant waters, freaky metal prowlers this time, and an abandoned factory set up..." she mused. As she wiggled. If she was freed to stand on her own she'd be taking the first shift regardless. "Alright, hot punk doctor said little spells. Veil♪~" Miko said her fingers pointed at Yugi. Though it hadn't felt like much to her in the moment, she'd definitely cast it at least a half-dozen times in a single instant over Yugi. Soon after she was giggling. "Wooh, still too much, but I got..." she paused spawning her personal catalyst in her hand. A crystal short sword, she'd crafted from scraps and monster parts. She could channel, she had pretty decent stats and she was feeling quite loose, "You want me to take the first shift?" she mentioned willing to do so until the lad was ready to try using his new eyes.

[Bloodedge]

Whatever third-degree burns felt like, Yugi imagined he was now feeling it in his eyes ─ paired with a fresh round of a thousand tiny stabs. He couldn't open them initially. Opening was painful. Closing too tightly was painful. Keeping them between was painful. For those initial moments after reaching 50 Perception, there was no escape whatsoever. Even so, he was nonchalantly carried into the Dungeon by Satoru. Yugi felt the movement and managed to avoid blood-curdling screams that would undoubtedly alert every creature in the Dungeon, but he couldn't stop the repeated screams, gasps and thrashes entirely. "It's not gonna get any better from all that. But in here, you might be able to get rid of the pain by having something rip your face off!" Satoru pointed out as if Yugi's struggles were no concern at all.

Miko's veil, even multiple of them cast accidentally, did nothing for the lad... but they did gain Satoru's attention. The hounds in this Dungeon were also worth a cursory glance or two. Those weren't the usual sort with iron jaws and the like; these were an unregistered breed. "Ooh, freaky. They're mutating again. I'd suggest killing them," he advised... somewhat. Miko asked Yugi if she should take the first shift. By then, he was just trying to take his hands off his eyes. He was sure they were separated, but... something was wrong. "Uh... not a lot of choice," he said, seeming panicked beyond all reason. "Go, go!" he added. As for the reason for the sudden panic, Yugi would be keeping that in his head. 'I can't fucking see. What the fuck is this?' he thought without even realizing his trembling eyes were staring right into shaky hands, perceiving only a thick darkness.

[Apollymi]

Yugi was making the sounds that Miko didn't like hearing from him. His screams weren't enough to catch the complete attetion of the creatures inside the Dungeon, but they were enough to make her skin crawl a little. She couldn't help, she knew it, if he didn't quiet by the multi-cast she'd need a different type of magic to help, assuming she even could. There was a concentration of mana behind his eyes she was sure wasn't pleasant at all. "Ah, it's okay... it's okay..." Miko repeated softly. She knew it couldn't help but she'd still rather provide comfort if it was possible. At the same time Gojo seemed mostly unconcerned... though he did urge the lad to quiet himself lest he get his face ripped off. No matter, Miko heard the man's words about the creatures in question.

"Mutating? Well I guess it is early," Miko uttered. No one would know what was going on until they did a lot more of these 'Gates'. Still she asked if she was taking the first shift mostly in passing, she fully intended to do so, knowing her partner wasn't currently up for it. Still the panic in his voice wasn't missed by Miko. "Don't push too hard, Ai-sen says it goes bad if you do..." she added softly. Only to skip off soon after. "Hai hai♪~" she said entering the battlefield properly. A mutated and mangy animal would be coming for the small girl who pulled off from the pack and she... in turn would be seen dodging the initial pounce at the last second. "Small spells, small spells..." Miko chanted as she spun on one foot turning into the creature as it went to pounce again, this time, pulsing mana directly through the sword in a short burst shock aimed to rock the creatures body and cause enough vibrations in the weapon to shove it into the creature's neck.

[Bloodedge]

With one out of commission from the very beginning, Satoru got to see what type of teamwork the pair had going on in ways most wouldn't check for. One down, one forward seemed the way to go when they were already stripped of all choice and thrown into the Gate... but it wasn't simply pushing forward. No, defenses had been offered the incapacitated lad before Miko went about combating the Dungeon's beasts. Though that was technically useless as Yugi would never even be approached by magic beasts while he stood beside Satoru. Speaking of Satoru, he had some words of wisdom for the lad. "It helps to focus on something specific. Put something you like in your face, and it'll probably work out," he said. Desperation was what caused the greatest developments.

Satoru would be helping both teens. Miko chanted about using small spells by Tae's recommendation, but she was only dealing with a single hound at the time. Satoru held out a hand toward the girl, causing her to be jettisoned toward Yugi and himself. He'd stop her, floating, right in front of her partner. "Put your ass in his face," he suggested. That wasn't the only suggestion he'd be offering, though. "And what's the point of small spells? Hit them with something big and costly; burn off all the excess. You're never gonna get through it all being careful like that."

[Apollymi]

Miko and Yugi had a very balanced relationship as a pair. If one was out of commission the other would take up the missing part of the arrangement. Miko would always offer protection to others. Whether Yugi needed it or not, she'd always look after her own partner to the best of her ability. While Gojo gave advice to Yugi, Miko managed to take down at least one of the freaky dogs. Success was only momentary as Gojo had something to say to Miko.

She should put her ass in Yugi's face? "I mean, if it helps," Miko was soon floating directly in front of the boy pausing directly in in a moment of confusion only to bounce her butt once soon afterwards. Her bottom bounced right in front of him as she listened to what Gojo had to say. "Contradictory messages, granted I am pretty reckless with myself," Miko said frowning. "Besides that part, I don't have a big spell," Miko said. She could at least see the purpose of burning off all the extra of her current stores beyond her basic person amounts but... how would she do it? If she used her voice she really might hurt herself in a way she wouldn't like and that another person wouldn't forgive her for. No, there had to be some other way to burn off all the mana she'd accumulated at once.

[Bloodedge]

Miko didn't bother waiting around after Satoru's instruction. She was bouncing her rear right in Yugi's face. "The fuck is that supposed to..." Yugi wanted to complain, but he also wanted the distraction. He reached out, slipping under that wedding dress with both hands to grasp her buttocks. He'd be trying to focus forward while Satoru looked at Miko. According to her, she didn't have a big spell. Having access to Mana Reversal said enough about how inaccurate that statement was. "Yes you do," Satoru argued. Next, he'd be raising one finger as though emphasizing a point... but that wasn't the purpose of that finger. "You have Mana Reversal. If you're going to consider the normal flow of mana 'negative', then Mana Reversal gives access to the 'positive' instead. If nothing else, you can always press the 'get the fuck off me' button!" he explained. During Satoru's speech, a small orb of vibrant red mana began forming at his fingertip. Small as it was, that sphere managed to form a violent maelstrom around itself. "Repulsive Burst... Aka~" he said. That sphere was aimed casually down the corridor filled with hounds. It shot forward, spiraling and erupting to wipe out several dozen magic beasts in its path with virtually no effort from Satoru himself.

All the while, Yugi was trying to keep focus on Miko's rear ─ or rather, trying to establish focus. He wasn't seeing absolute darkness now, but things remained blurry. He could recognize one thing, though: the sudden appearance of [LEVEL UP!] right in front of him. There was also another System notification in the way of the ass he was groping. "Fuck is that? Outta my way!" he complained to the System. That complaint, however, would disappear once he finally had clarity... which came with a pair of red irises that each featured a single tomoe encircling his pupil.

〔SYSTEM NOTICE — PERCEPTION THRESHOLD REACHED〕

Perception has reached 50.

Skill Unlocked: Sharingan (Stage 1 – One Tomoe)

Description:
The eyes that pierce deception.
Enhanced perception, predictive movement tracking, minor mana flow reading, and the ability to copy basic techniques after observation (limited to physical/martial skills at Stage 1).
Mana consumption increases with active use.
Prolonged use causes strain and temporary vision blur.

Current Stage: 1 (One Tomoe)

• See through illusions and basic deception
• Predict short-term enemy movements (0.5–1 second foresight)
• Copy simple physical techniques (weapon handling, basic martial forms) after one observation
• Mana cost: Moderate (scales with duration and complexity)

System Remark:
The eyes awaken when the mind is ready.
Use them wisely, vessel.
The world has many lies left to show you.

[Apollymi]

Miko very easily began bouncing her bottom in Yugi's face. It wasn't the first time, and likely wouldn't be the last... though after dealing with Ren, she'd definitely imagined a different outcome from putting said bottom in someone's face. No matter, she could move that thought aside as the lad tried to complain but abandoned it to actually try focusing. "If you can't think past it... do something else. Self-distracting is pretty common as a behavioral adjustment technique," Miko murmured softly. Well, her therapist would say that but she figured that if Yugi had a therapist he wouldn't have gotten so far given his attitude. One actually had to want help to accept it. No matter, the emotional problems of a complex individual weren't necessarily something to figure out how to fix on day one of a relationship. Instead she was being told in a straight forward way, that her ability to use Mana Reversal did give her something offensive to add to her arsenal. As she watched and listened carefully she came to understand that such a thing wouldn't risk her in anyway past her norm and she also got to watch as hundreds of mutated magic beasts were killed at once. "Sugei♪~ Did you just apply science to magic? I wan work with that, Go-sei♪~" Miko happily chirped out, that was a crazy demonstration and her eyes were currently shining as she watched the mass of destruction. There was no wonder this particular man didn't at all care about anything, he literally didn't have to.

"Sou ka, that's what that meant when it said I could borrow uses of skills," Miko said softly, fighting off a moan as Yugi's hands groped her rear. "I guess that means I should put on a title, Status♪~" she chirped only to hear a distinct male voice in her head. It was oddly mellow and she gave pause not just because she liked the way it sounded but because of what it said. "Wait wait wait... no way♪!~" she said seemingly beyond amused. it would also appear that Yugi was having a different thing going on. As such Miko would equip 'Untouchable Favorite' as her title. "Maybe I was too harsh with you, Brainface~" Miko said with a minor hint of flirtation. "More important than that, we just got a level and I wasn't killing anything when we did," Miko said as if the sheer information was unfathomable to her. Still, she supposed she should be preparing to use that skill based on Gojo's explanation. Of course she looked back to Yugi to check on him and found red eyes with a single Tomoe, she stopped thinking in an instant, "Waaah♪~ It's actually a Sharingan♪!~"

[Bloodedge]

Self-distraction was proving itself to be a very viable use of Yugi's time. He could ignore the pain just a little, if only because his priorities were elsewhere. Besides that, focusing to see Miko's ass was actually helping his sight return. Ah, but there were some oddities happening. Miko spoke of that level increase and how she wasn't killing anything when it happened. Based on what he heard... Yugi could make a single, easy deduction. "... We get companion EXP?!" he said excitedly. If that wasn't enough to be excited about, there was still more. His eyes had actually evolved into the Sharingan. Those same eyes widened after Miko spoke, gaining enough clarity to read the notification in front of him. Beyond that however, he was looking through the translucent System screen to notice something more important ─ something he'd note right after Miko's observation. "Woah! Your ass got bigger!" he exclaimed, squeezing with his left hand and slapping the other cheek with his right. Strangely enough, he saw the impact of that slap right before it happened. "Wait, what do you mean you were too harsh with Brainface? Did you just get hooked on the freaky overseer voice?!"

Meanwhile, Satoru was looking at all the carnage and, strangely, loot in the wake of his attack. When he used that ability normally, there tended to be nothing left but the Essence Stones and parts of higher-tier magic beasts. Now though, there were materials he'd never seen from beasts like these. Adding the comment about shared experience between those two and their companions, one could consider Satoru... intrigued. "You two even get stronger when your harems do stuff? Makima-chan's gonna need a barrel~" he said, clearly amused as he picked up a small collection of fangs and fur. "This isn't normal. You get stuff from magic beasts that other people can't even see, huh? And..." Satoru paused for a moment, turning his attention to Miko. Other beasts were beginning to flood the area after all that ruckus, but he didn't seem to care; they wouldn't even be able to get within three meters of the group. "What do you mean 'borrow' uses of skills?"

[Apollymi]

Apparently, self-distraction was going well enough for Yugi that he wasn't really screaming anymore, which Miko found to be good overall. He even came to the same conclusion Miko had about that increase in level. "The power of friendship has never been fucking better♪~" Miko chirped like it was the best news she'd ever received. What was more the increase into her glute mass was noted. One half of her bottom was squeezed the other half was slapped, "Chiii♪~" a little chirp escaped her as he took note of the increase. "One of my random stat buffs today was Endurance... so I got wider hips to go along with the little strength buff to cheeks. I even got a bit of Agility so I might one day see 150cms. Oh, and so much Intel♪~" Miko sang happily shaking her ass. She'd not known she would get this far, even if she gained no more physical mass she'd at least feel respectable as a target for sexual endeavors. Ah but it seemed she wouldn't get to escape that stray thought she'd let fall out of her face, "Well..." she paused giving thought to the best way she could explain herself. "It's a really nice voice," she complained. "I mean by all means we can hold him responsible if he turns out to be really bad, I just might... want dibs on punishments to be dished out before death." Miko asserted as if it was at all reasonable.

As they moved along from this point, it would seem that several drops came from those slain monsters. They were strangers to System based drops, but they were all spread out after Gojo's minimal power showing. He seemed a bit more interested and noted that the shared EXP thing would make Makima need a barrel, "I'm sure we could find a really nice one somewhere in the shop..." Miko confirmed, semi-seriously considering the idea if only because she felt like that'd be a drink with aging and taking later. No matter, Miko looked at the carnage and her brows drew together, "Box it. So, what is everyone else making their stuff out of?" Miko asked genuinely confused. But that only came out as Gojo turned his attention back towards Miko. There was a gentle tonal shift as he wondered what he meant by 'borrow' a use of his skill. "Waaah♪~" she twitted at first mostly a sound she made when she was taken by surprise, like knowing exactly how many creatures were currently surrounding them but being held off by Gojo's power itself. "I got a title from completing the quest around securing you as a Bondmate, that title, gives me a passive chance to resist damage on a D-4 roll," she explained. "The special effect will let me borrow a single use of Blue Attraction Vortex or Red Repulsive Burst from you... presumably with the only cost being the cool down which is apparently 1 day," Miko explained, the rest of that ability to the man as she saw him. Conveniently leaving out the actual title and other Player specific things like her tokens for his favor.