o1 [What an abysmal place]

[silentsacrifice]

Characters: Itachi and you!
Setting: 4-14/the dormitory floors, floor 38 (the lounge), and floor 25 (the meadow).
Format: Starting with action, but I'll match you.
Summary: Itachi wakes up in a tower, and is trying his damndest to find his way back out.
Warnings: Maybe mild Naruto spoilers if you haven't read up to chapter 400 or so yet, but otherwise, none so far.

Room 4-14/Dormitory Floors

[Itachi is on guard the moment he regains consciousness. Even when he's able to move again, he's tense, as is evident in the way he leaps up and stands, rigid, by the side of the bed. He scans the room with his Sharingan blazing, struggling to piece together what might have happened to land him here. Despite this, his face remains impassive, detached, displaying none of his inward confusion even as he discovers that a collar has been placed around his neck.

When he finds his welcome note, he is far from reassured. He doesn't believe a single word, and he doesn't intend to stay here for any longer than he has to. He has things to do that don't involve being stuck here. He places the note on his bed and turns his attention to his trunk, opening it with caution. He doesn't spring any sort of trap, but the trunk's contents are worrying enough on their own. What sort of strange person would kidnap him like this and leave him not only several sets of his clothing, but with the medication for a disease no one was supposed to know he had? And why doesn't he remember how he got here?

He changes quickly, periodically bringing a hand up to attempt to remove his collar. It does no good; the collar must be fitted with some sort of jutsu that's holding it in place (though he senses no chakra). He arms himself with the kunai and shuriken that have been left for him - again, such a strange thing to give to your captive - and heads out of the room.]

Floor 38

[When Itachi gets to this floor, the windows are the first things that catch his eye. He makes a beeline to them, noting that he's far from the ground. The building seems to disappear into some sort of fog many floors below, which makes him wary. Even if he can shatter the glass and make it down there, the fog could very well be toxic. A fleeting expression of annoyance appears on his face - the corners of his mouth turned down, his brows kitted - but it goes back to being neutral soon enough.

He lays a hand on the glass, attempting to ascertain its thickness nonetheless.] Hn.

Floor 25

[A meadow. He was in a tower, and now he's... in a meadow. His eyes narrow thoughtfully, and he takes a few steps out onto the grass. The geography of this place makes no sense at all.

He starts to wander around, looking for some sort of landmark that might tell him where he is.]

Comments

Floor 25

[warriorscribe]

*Enoch had caught sight of someone else picking and eating dandelion leaves before, and he'd passed it up in favor of trying to find something more filling. But with the one floor with good game nullifying his only weapon and lacking the tools to make a proper sling or spear, and not having much luck in hunting barehanded, he decided to give it a try.

He has an armful of the weeds' leaves when he hears someone approaching and he straightens up to face the newcomer. Hopefully, he won't have to fight for what he has here.*

[silentsacrifice]

[Itachi catches sight of someone in the distance. He squints, half out of suspicion, and half because he can't see the man very well from this far away. He takes a few steps forward, looking him over. He can't see a ninja headband anywhere, but that doesn't mean he shouldn't be cautious.]

Excuse me. [His words are polite, but he regards this stranger with utmost scrutiny.] Could you tell me where we are right now?

[warriorscribe]

*Enoch shakes his head, shifting his bunch of dandelion leaves to the crook of one arm.* Not any more than you know. I only arrived here four days ago.

[silentsacrifice]

[Itachi's eyes narrow just a bit. He eyes up the leaves in the man's arms for a second, wondering vaguely what he intends to do with them, then his gaze flicks back to his face.]

I see. [He takes this man's words with a grain of salt. For all he knows, he could be lying. Still, it's worth asking:] And how did you get here?

[warriorscribe]

I don't know. I woke here without warning.

*He'd add 'just like you', but he still isn't quite sure it happens to everyone.*

[silentsacrifice]

Does that happen often in this place? [There's a small, almost undetectable hint of sarcastic humor in his voice.] I should hope whoever's in charge has enough spare beds lying around, if that's the case.

[His eyes flick to the collar around his companion's neck.]

...And collars.

[Itachi's is indigo, but this man's collar is blue. Interesting.]

[warriorscribe]

*Enoch raises his free hand to his collar as he points it out.* I'm not certain what they mean by these. I've tried, and I can't remove it.

[silentsacrifice]

Yes, this one has proven to be very sturdy. [He resists the urge to attempt to break it off again.]

Who are 'they'?

[warriorscribe]

'They' are...whoever brought us here. I only know they exist and that they appear human from another man's account.

[silentsacrifice]

And what man would that be?

[warriorscribe]

*Had he learned his name? It wouldn't be the first time his memory was muddled by hunger. It had happened once in Meridian too. It probably didn't help that his attention had been on the bullfairy in the man's hand, besides.*

I don't remember our encounter as clearly as I should. I do recall he had brown hair, green eyes, and an angular face. He had a cat with him, if that's of any use as well.

[silentsacrifice]

Hn.

[It's a fairly basic description, but it's better than nothing.]

I take it, then, that you haven't seen those in charge with your own eyes?

[warriorscribe]

*In the meantime, he kept trying to replay that conversation mentally.*

I haven't, I'm afraid.

[silentsacrifice]

That's a pity.

[He looks around the meadow, still attempting to ascertain where he is.]

This is a very strange place, isn't it? [He seemed to mutter that more to himself than anything.]

[warriorscribe]

*The tower having one level wildly different from its neighbors and seeming to defy its bounds in places didn't faze him - after all, that was similar to the Tower of the Grigori that he'd been climbing before all of this - before Meridian and this new tower alike.

His only response to Itachi is a nod; the other seemed to be thinking about something, after all. He didn't want to interrupt.*

[silentsacrifice]

[Itachi seems lost in thought for a moment. Then, without looking at the other man, he speaks.]

Why not just leave? [It seems like they're in a big, open space, after all. Unless there's some trick to this "floor" that he's not seeing.]

[warriorscribe]

Because there doesn't seem to be an exit. Even a space like this that appears to be outdoors is still within the tower's walls.

[silentsacrifice]

[He doesn't bother asking if this man has checked things out for himself. If he knows there's no exit, he's likely looked around for one before. So, he asks something else that's been on his mind.]

...What's your name? [He figures he should find out, just in case he should need to find this man again.]

[warriorscribe]

Enoch.

*A bit too abrupt? Perhaps. Enoch never did strike a good balance as far as keeping himself distant went. It's not in his nature at heart, so he has to try. And, of course, he tries too hard most of the time.*

[silentsacrifice]

[What a strange name. Itachi keeps that thought to himself, and responds in kind.]

My name is Itachi.

[He's silent for just a moment.]

Thank you for your help.

[warriorscribe]

It's not any trouble.

*After all, he feels obliged to help those who know less than he does about this place; it was true of Meridian, and...he should at least put in the effort here.*

wow Itachi, way to just run off, r u d e

[silentsacrifice]

I should be going.

[He gives a quick bow.

In the blink of an eye, he's back on the staircase, leaving only a small cloud of dirt in his wake. It's abrupt, but he figures he'll be more productive exploring some more, rather than chatting in the meadow.]

04-14

[kungfubomber]

['Sup, new roommate. Bomberman's just returned from exploring more of the Tower, and now he wants to just take a nap for a bit. That's probably not gonna happen when he opens the door to the room to find Itachi there.]

Oh. Uh...hi.

[silentsacrifice]

[Itachi's just finished dressing and arming himself, and, just as he's about to leave the room, the door opens. He narrows his eyes at the boy. He doesn't look like much of a threat, but Itachi can't let his guard down.]

Hello. [He doesn't sound very pleasant right now.] Where am I?

[kungfubomber]

To be honest, I'm not really sure myself. It's some sort of weird tower with some crazy floors between here and ground level. I just got dumped here a few days ago and I'm still trying to figure things out.

[silentsacrifice]

...'Crazy floors.' [It's not a question, really. It comes off as more of an, "I'm intrigued by this wording, so tell me more" sort of deal.]

[kungfubomber]

[Bomberman simpers and shrugs.]

Well, they just don't make sense, if we're assuming that we're inside a tower. Like, there's this one floor where it looks like it's just a meadow in all directions, and there's a similar one where it looks like an endless forest. [Bomberman had passed by these floors, but he hadn't yet stepped out to really investigate the limits for himself. It's better to play it safe and see what other people know about the tower first.]

[silentsacrifice]

...Hm.

[He's seen stranger things, but he'll have to be skeptical until he checks this place out for himself. He's about to thank the boy and leave, but something comes to mind as he takes a step forward.]

Have you eaten the oatmeal?

[kungfubomber]

Yeah. [A one-shoulder shrug.] Pretty disgustingly bland, but it's better than nothing.

[silentsacrifice]

And I assume you've suffered no ill effects after eating it?

[Not that he's willing to blindly trust the boy, but he might as well ask.]

[kungfubomber]

Not as far as I can tell.

[silentsacrifice]

[He stares at the boy for a moment, sizing him up. He doesn't seem to be lying...]

...Thank you.

And what is your name? [Maybe it'll be a recognizable one.]

[kungfubomber]

[Perhaps not recognizable, but it'll be distinctive, to be sure.]

I'm Bomberman. You?

[silentsacrifice]

[Definitely distinctive. He has half a mind to ask if that's his birth name or some sort of creative nickname, but he holds his tongue.]

Itachi Uchiha.

[kungfubomber]

Nice to meet you, Itachi. As "nice" as it's possible to get in this kind of situation, anyway. [Bomberman crosses his arms in thought.] I've been trying to get the lay of this tower since I came here, but it's pretty vast -- and dangerous as well. [He doesn't mind taking risks, but it's too early right now to know which risks he should be taking.]

[silentsacrifice]

[Itachi had been intending to explore the place himself, but if Bomberman knows more than he does, it's worth talking to him for a while longer.]

Oh? [He can handle danger, but he'd like to have an idea of what he's up against, if at all possible.]

[kungfubomber]

[Bomberman nods.]

Monsters roam around at night, for one thing. Or sometimes even during the day. There's a floor not too far down from here that's pitch black with some nasty bastards roaming around in there. I tried tossing a couple of bombs at them, but honestly it just seemed to piss them off. [Yeeeeaaah he'd had to run for the next floor after that spectacular plan.]

Floor 25

[justabignobody]

[While not exactly a landmark, a little further into the floor he'll find Riku sitting with a book or two and his notes, quite invested in his studying.

...Not enough not to notice the stranger wandering around though. He lifts his head once the other comes close enough, frowning slightly as he eyes the newcomer. He's not going to call out to him just yet.]

Re: Floor 25

[silentsacrifice]

[Itachi notices the other boy after a moment. He squints and walks toward him, eyeing up the books he has scattered about.

All of the people Itachi's talked to so far have told him they're being held captive too, so for this boy to be so at ease must mean he's either one of the people in charge, or he's been here long enough that he's resigned himself to his fate. At the very least, he could be trying to keep himself occupied until an opportunity to escape comes along.

The collar around his neck tells Itachi that it's probably the latter.]

Pardon me. [He keeps a respectful distance from the boy, but he's close enough that he doesn't have to raise his voice to be heard.] May I ask what you're reading?

[Perhaps it'll turn out to be something useful. Whatever it is, it'll give Itachi a clue as to what type of person this boy is.]

[justabignobody]

[Riku wouldn't really consider himself resigned... just patient enough. He knows he'll escape the tower one day - soon enough, he hopes, even though it has been six months since his arrival - but in the meantime sharpening his skills is definitely a good idea.

He tilts his head a little, considering Itachi for a moment before flipping the book so that the cover and title are visible.]

"The Philosophy of Light and Darkness and the Conflict Regarding Said Matters"

[And yep. It's about as dry as it sounds.]

...Any particular reason you're asking?

[silentsacrifice]

[What an interesting title for a book. Does it discuss morality, or something more literal than that, he wonders?

Ah, well. No use thinking about it now.]

Mere curiosity. [His voice, though calm, is tinged with a hint of suspicion.] I was wondering what sort of book could be so captivating that it could placate someone who was locked in this tower.

[Itachi certainly doesn't feel like reading. He's wide-awake and livid (though he doesn't quite look the part), keen on finding an exit as quickly as possible.]

[justabignobody]

[Maybe something of both?

He shrugs after a moment, taking note of that suspicion, then snorting in the next - it's not that 'captivating ' a book after all. ...How to best explain it though.]

...After being stuck here for a while, most people develop some kind of routine. Things they do over the day, not just to pass time, but also to cope. I study.

[And whelp... fight monsters after nightfall. Balances out perfectly, right?]