towerofanimus | (no subject)

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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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When Taiki woke it was with an overwhelming feeling of fear. His first reaction was to pull the covers over his head and hide, but something was drawing him. He pulled on his robes and set off fearfully, clutching Sanshi's hands.

He followed his feet, and his feet took him down the stairs, to the room directly under his. The fear grew stronger but so did the pull. When Gyousou stepped out of the room Taiki was hit full on with the presence of the king. A presence he didn't think he would ever feel again.

He had seen him dead so many times, in his nightmares and in his dead world, as well as the other world they had sent him to. Seeing him alive now...

Taiki ran towards Gyousou, tears falling already and practically flinging himself at Gyousou's feat, not sure whether he wanted to bow or hug him.

It sort of ended up as both.

Not blessed with the same senses as a kirin, the sprinting arrival of Taiki took Gyousou entirely by surprise. In the seconds before the child collided with him, he managed to gather that he was neither hurt nor restrained - after all, that was his nyokai in the corridor beyond - but that the situation was graver than he had thought. For those precise same reasons. Taiki, whilst free of injury, was pale and cold, and the demon Sanshi was visible, manifested in the physical world. Danger, then, and blood sickness. His mouth tightened for a second, before he knelt.

"Kouri, I am glad that you are safe. I had feared--"

That Tai was truly gone, and its kirin with it. The situation was still dire, but not unsalvageable.

Taiki untangled himself with Gyousou's help, shaking with tears even though they were tears of happiness. "I thought... sorry I thought you were... I've been here so long."

He could barely believe that he was here. He stood shaking with sobs, awkwardly wanting to fling his arms round his king but not having the confidence to.

... 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.

"So you finally woke up?"

Hei had been standing near the doorway, having just arrived back inside of the room he shared with the others. There were many things he had to take care of in the tower, and arriving back here was rare of him. Still, seeing someone new was alarming, and one of the only reasons he actually reappeared back here. Best to know friend from foe at all times after all.

"Before any assumptions are made, I am not your enemy."

While Gyousou's wandering around, he might eventually stumble upon the sound of some fiddle music flooding the corridors. And after a while, someone looking not much older than a ten year old child, addressing him and generally acting as the source of the music.

"You seem a tad lost, my friend," Fado says with a smile, still drawing his bow across the strings as he speaks.

Vivi as usual didn't quite watch where he was going so he ran right into Gyousou, squawking as he fell back on his rump, somehow managing to keep hold of his staff.

"I-I'm sorry!" he squeaked, gulping as he took note of the sword, fingers clenching around his staff.

"Even if you were, would there be any point in fighting?" He turned to face the newcomer - the owner of another of the beds, he guessed - whilst being mindful to keep his stance nonthreatening. "I mean no offence, but one man could not have brought me here."

He couldn't help but smile in return, as strained as the expression was.

"I won't deny it."

"The fault is mine," Gyousou frowned down at the small... child? The shadows around his face were those of a wizard. Or a demon.

Nevertheless, a youngster. "You are not hurt?"

Vivi let out a sheepish chuckle, scratching his head through his hat. "I'm used to it, actually," he answered as he stood, brushing himself off before staring up at the man with wide, glowing eyes that shed no light whatsoever on his own face.

"... You must be new."

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."

He laughed, a short, quiet sound of surprise at that. How frank. "I am indeed. Saku Gyousou is my name."

"There would not be."

Least this man had not been in rage like some others here. Maybe it was just his luck that he was meeting all those that had a sound mind, but this man was already far better than the previous being that inhabited this room.

"And you're right on that as well."

Vivi smiled, glowing eyes crinkling with the expression as he extended his hand. "My name's Vivi - pleased to meet you!"

"A recent arrival, then?" Though this place could probably still be confusing to anyone, even if they'd been there for a month. Still, it was a pretty safe bet.

"If you need any assistance, please feel free to ask."

"Then I am glad I did not attack," Gyousou's eyes narrowed, taking the measure of the man in front of him. It was surprisingly difficult to do so; there was undeniable strength, but its markers were foreign to him. No overt malice, or at least none directed at him. He smiled, thinly. "Very well, I am Saku Gyousou. Would you honour me with an introduction?"

Taiki was mostly hidden in Gyousou's cloak but he smiled. "Hello Vivi!"

Edited 2012-08-02 11:40 (UTC)

Taiki was mostly hidden on Gyousou's shoulder wrapped in his cloak, truthfully he was half asleep, exhausted from the last month or so and feeling safe for the first time in almost a year but he recognised the voice and blinked. "Hello Fado!"

"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..."

"A friend of Kouri, I see." Gyousou smiled, friendly enough, but did not react to the proffered hand, not recognising the foreign gesture. "The pleasure is mine."

"Very recent." When the kirin stirred, he paused. It didn't surprise Gyousou in the slightest that after being in this place for almost a year, Taiki had made friends with every amiable creature he came across. His smile grewer warmer.

"I may take you up on that offer, Fado."

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."

"I'm Hei, and there are two others, though there names are unknown unless you ask them," he speaks. "Do you have any memories before being abducted?"

"--Taiki?" Surprised crossed his face when he noticed the kirin. Eventually though, it turns into a warm smile.

"Well, any friend of Taiki's is certainly a friend of mine! I would be glad to help in any way I can."

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.

Taiki smiled back, happy that Gyousou seemed to like Fado.

He paused. "Of the abduction itself... I have none."

Figures, and not unexpected in the slightest.

"Then do you have any questions regarding this tower?"

"Is that where we are?" He looked once more around the room, eyebrows raised. He lingered over the lights - fueled by some unknown power. Electricity, he guessed, which would mean... "A tower in another world."

And back to Hei. "You are Japanese?"

He nodded, then paused for a bare second, sorting through plans and questions.

"Forgive me if this seems impolite, but what manner of person are you?"

"Chinese."

And yet he spent so much time in Japan. Strange, but it didn't bother him.

Fado's still smiling pretty cheerfully, so it doesn't look like you've offended him!

"I'm a member of the Kokiri tribe-- we are forest-dwelling beings, who live under the protect of the Great Deku Tree. I myself am the Wind Sage of the Master Sword. It is my duty to communicate the prayers of the gods, and to protect the power to repel evil."

Taiki smiled as Fado and spoke softly, "Fado plays music for the gods in his temple." Fado was in the small group of people Taiki felt confident around, despite the constant worry he was annoying him. But that never disappeared, even round Gyousou.

Ah, the country on the other side of the endless sea. Living on the eastern edge of the twelve kingdoms, Gyousou had never met someone from there.

"I have heard of it. I am told your written language is much like ours, but I know little else."

It was enough to hear that he was a sage - the concept was one already entirely familiar, and Gyousou just nodded in understanding. His admiring smile was for the both of them.

"A great task indeed. Would you prefer me to address you more formally?"

"Considering what time period you are from, you do not need to know much, as things have most likely have changed."

Least it was an assumption on his part.

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aah skids back in here

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backtags into infinity

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