towerofanimus | (no subject)

Characters: Saku Gyousou (ou), Taiki (ou) and YOU! but especially room 3-20 residents.
Setting: Room 3-20 and then various places.
Format: Whatever you're comfortable in!
Summary: The King of Tai arrives and is, overall, unnervingly calm about the whole thing. Also featuring adorable Taiki antics in part 2.
Warnings: None

[upon waking]
Gyousou didn't panic. It wasn't a reaction in his repertoire, no matter how bizarre or foreign a situation he found himself in. He was unsettled, obviously, but that didn't stop him getting out of bed once his body would obey him, and moving automatically to the chest marked as his. The note he took with him, giving it a cursory glance - ransom, demands? No. Nothing he could use - and left it at the end of his bed as he examined the items he had been allocated. There was absolutely no point in waiting around. He'd had enough time to think as he'd lain frozen.

Clothing first. The robes he dismissed, too heavy and ornate for him to dress himself without aid. His old uniform, that of a Tai general, was more suitable. As much as he would prefer to wear the imperial regalia, as much a type of armour as any metal plate, it wasn't a practical choice at this point. He began to dress, not bothering to remove the white clothing in which he'd awoken. The habits of someone from a frozen climate, gratitude for an extra layer. The collar, he reserved judgement on. Obviously a form of control, of restraint, and if he had needed to contain himself, he would have done something similar. No surprises there. After a moment's pause, he belted his sword on.

The necessities dealt with, he took stock of the room before glancing out into the corridor beyond.

[after reuniting with Taiki]
[ Having solved the most pressing issue - of his immediate health and that of the Tai Taiho - Gyousou roams the halls and rooms in an order based entirely on Kouri's whim. ]

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... Very dire, then.

"How long?" He asked, voice even, smoothing down Taiki's hair in what he hoped was a reassuring way. It was strange, when he had only the day before been in audience with his ministers with the kirin at his side, but time passed differently between worlds and across oceans. Had this child been stranded here alone? It was no wonder his nyokai was present.

And his clothing - or rather, the fabric that swamped him - was another mystery, for he was wearing the same cloak.

"Ten... Ten months..." The hair smoothing was reassuring, or at least being close to Gyousou was reassuring. Taiki gave a tiny smile. "Sorry... I missed you..."

Ten months. Once again, he had underestimated Kouri. "After so long, that is understandable," his smile was dry, his eyes hard. A week was understandable. Ten months was more like a miracle.

Sometimes he needed to hide things from the kirin. Now was not one of those times. "When I awoke, there was a letter with ill tidings... Which I find hard to believe. Have you seen it?"

Taiki nodded, "They... there's five of them and they are very cruel. They say the world has ended... and I've seen it... Tai... it's all gone."

He was crying fully now, even the presence of Gyousou couldn't sooth the main he felt at Tai being gone forever.

All of Tai, the world itself... He too shut his eyes against that pain. Not for a second did he imagine Kouri was lying - a kirin capable of such cruelty did not exist. His grief was immediate, strong, but directionless.

"How can that be? I cannot accept that Tentei would give up on the world like that."

"I think..." He shuffled his feet and again struggled with the feeling of wanting to throw his arms round his king, versus the overwhelming fear of being an annoyance to him. "I think..." His voice was barely a whisper. "I think the gods must be dead too..."

It was unthinkable, but even so, it was the only explanation. It took him an uncharacteristically long moment to gather his thoughts. The gods were all-powerful, unknowable. If they had been destroyed, it could only have been because they permitted it. Or perhaps gods, like kings, could stray from the true Way. He entertained that blasphemous thought.

There was no reason for he or Kouri to be alive. No explanation in the history of the twelve kingdoms for Kouri's survival thus far. Either the gods were here, or they were dead. As terrifying as that latter explanation was, it meant that they were free to do as they wished - no god existed to strike Kouri down. When he was done, he smiled. It wasn't a friendly expression, more one of a man whose course was once again determined. Whose destiny and impending death was now so far out of his own hands that he was free to do as he wished in the meantime. He stood, sweeping Taiki up and onto his habitual perch on his king.

"And yet, we were spared. Take heart, Kouri, as long as we draw breath, Tai lives. By surviving, you have ensured that Tai survives."

Taiki stood trembling slightly as Gyousou took that information in. It was a lot so he stayed still and quiet not interrupting, letting him think.

He was relieved when he was picked up, sitting close to Gyousou, the world looked a lot less scary when viewed from his kings shoulders. He managed a tiny smile, even though he had spent time in the ruins of Tai, he believed Gyousou, and for the first time in ten months thought that just maybe everything would be okay.