01 Lost Kid in Hallway Alert!

[bittydragon]

Characters: Yamato and YOU
Setting: Hallways!
Format: You pick and I'll follow
Summary: Bitty Yamato wakes up in a decidedly unfamiliar place - and his first instinct is to wander about aimlessly trying not to panic.
Warnings: None for the moment, except bratty genius child alert

Yamato was barely managing to keep his indifferent expression up as he made his way through this strange place's hallways. His geta clacked loudly against the floor, and he held his hands up to his chest as if preparing to suddenly protect himself against an ambush. Hey, he had obviously been kidnapped, so an ambush was very likely to happen!

He was, to put it simply, very scared. He had never left his house before, never even went outside, and suddenly he is placed in an alien building with the news that his world had been destroyed? How could that be? He was raised to protect Japan so - what would his purpose be now? And where was Alcor? Had he been destroyed too? No...no he was too powerful for that! No doubt he would appear at any moment and take him back home, yes...

He just had to find him!

So if you're wandering the hallway, you may see a young child in a black and gold kimono, looking more than a little frightened and confused. Don't try to startle him, you might get a weak Agi singing your eyebrows off - or do startle him if you're mean enough, just to see could hit the ceiling.

Comments

[alephbet]

"There are five administrators of this tower - Dax, Jason, Riki, Zo, and Ruana are names that you'll hear often. The tower itself is dangerous, with many floors that can kill us if we're not careful, and filled with monsters at night." Aleph crosses his arms. "There aren't many floors that are safe to stay on for a long time."

[bittydragon]

There was a pause as this sunk in.

Monsters? Death floors? Yamato never felt more fragile than he did then, hyper aware of his very weak, squishy human body. He could cast spells, but his young body could not channel the great spiritual power he possessed without causing himself great damage.

In short, Yamato doubted he would last very long by himself in a monster infested death prison.

"I...I see," he said, his cold expression tensing into one of mild anxiety. "So, this place is a- a survival of the fittest prison, is it?"

[alephbet]

"It's something like that... Death's not permanent here, so you'll survive, but that's not really comforting..." Aleph crouched to get to his level. "It's okay. There are plenty of people here willing to protect you."

[bittydragon]

"I am able to protect myself," Yamato mumbled, but there was very little heat behind it. He was prideful, yes, but - he knew when he needed to fold them, as they say.

"...do you...have you seen a strange man here?" he suddenly asked. If Yamato was here, then perhaps, maybe, Alcor would be...! "He has white hair, and wears bizarre red and black striped clothing."

There was no point giving a name because Alcor liked to change it depending on his moods at times. It was exhausting.

[alephbet]

That was a distinctive description. "I've seen someone like that around, but I don't think I've spoken to him, and I don't know what room he lives in..." Aleph's frown intensified. "I'm sorry. I wish I could do more."

[bittydragon]

That was more than enough for Yamato. Alcor was definitely here, so it was only a matter of time before he found him! A great weight was lifted from Yamato's shoulders at that - because if he found Alcor, then he would be safe, and he would have something familiar in this awful, confusing place.

"You have done more than enough. If he is here, it won't be long before I find him."

Ah, wait, there is a social custom for this... "...thank you," Yamato added belatedly, offering up a smile. There. That was right, wasn't it.

[alephbet]

A smile in return, at that. "Think nothing of it. I'll do all I can here, for everyone."

Pause. "Do you want me to look for him with you?"

[bittydragon]

Yamato opened his mouth to refuse - but paused to think. If this place was truly as dangerous as Aleph said, then Yamato would need to have a protector until he found Alcor. At least this person was offering, so he wouldn't need to manipulate him somehow.

"Yes. I am unfamiliar to this place, so it would be quicker if you led the search."

[alephbet]

"All right. He might be in the library, so we'll check down there first. Are you ready?"

He didn't want to leave him behind accidentally. Aleph might not have been older than Yamato, technically, but he definitely had longer legs.

[bittydragon]

"I'm ready."

Aleph would have to make sure not to leave Yamato behind, since he was very weak and fragile when it came to physical aspects. His geta didn't allow him to walk very fast either - he'd get a bit huffy if you point this out to him though.

[alephbet]

Don't worry, Aleph was careful. When he turned around and started walking down the stairs, he kept his pace to one that a small child in a geta could keep up with.

[bittydragon]

Yamato followed Aleph, however he made sure to maintain a certain distance between himself and the taller man. He may not be hostile, but that didn't mean Yamato was going to cling to him or stay close just in case he was tricking him somehow.

After a moment of silence... "Are there any safe places in this tower? From the monsters, I mean."

[alephbet]

Smart kid.

"The dormitories on the top levels are usually safe, and there's a meadow floor that doesn't have any problems with it during the day. It's not safe to be anywhere but in your room at night, however," Aleph explained.

[bittydragon]

"I see..."

Yamato's room held three other beds when he awoke, which meant that he would share that sole safe place with three others. The room might be safe from the monsters, but what about the inhabitants? Perhaps when he found Alcor...

"Are you able to stay in other people's rooms?"

[alephbet]

"You can sleep in other rooms for a few nights, but eventually you have to sleep in your own bed again. I'm not sure why that is," Aleph answered. "This person could probably trade off with you if you're worried - what is his name, anyway?"

[bittydragon]

"He has many names, but I call him Alcor," Yamato replied, frowning slightly as if irritated over this fact. "He may go by Anguished One here, or perhaps something else..."

[alephbet]

Aleph nodded sympathetically. Deciding whether to call Lucifer 'Louis' or 'Lucifer' was always a pain. "I'll use Alcor if I need to contact him."

[bittydragon]

"Yes, he is more likely to respond to that," Yamato agreed, bobbing his head in a little nod. He surely hoped he would, anyway. Perhaps he was going by something different nowadays. Ah! It was hard to keep track of his aliases at times!

[alephbet]

"If he isn't in the library when we get there, we'll use the computer network to ask him to come to where we are."

...He assumed that Yamato knew what computers were. Hm.

[bittydragon]

Yamato knew what computers were! They were still just a bit primitive in his world - Windows '98 level of primitive with unreliable dial-up internet.

"The tower has a computer network? Isn't that a bit unreliable...?"

[alephbet]

"They're the best method of communication we have besides face-to-face interaction. Sometimes they stop working properly, but that's at the whim of the administrators."

He considered mentioning the body swap thing, then immediately decided against it.

[bittydragon]

"Hmm..."

These 'administrators' did not seem like the benevolent sort - not that Yamato expected them to be, considering they had kidnapped him and this Aleph.

"Is there any other important information I am to know about this place? Such as which floors to avoid or if any of the other prisoners are hostile?"

[alephbet]

"Floor forty-one, the insect floor... Floor thirty-seven, the darkest floor full of monsters. Floor twenty-six, the morgue. Floor six, the forest. And, most of the time, the restaurant isn't a good decision either, unless there's absolutely no other food."

There were others with lesser dangers, but hopefully they could be avoided more easily.

[bittydragon]

Yamato frowned a little. "What is wrong with the restaurant?"

He knew they were where civilians went to buy food, and were regarded as somewhat high quality - if they were expensive. Had he been misinformed?

[alephbet]

Aleph sighed. "The restaurant requires you to get an item from the tower to pay for it - if you can't pay, they take a piece of your body instead. It's not worth risking losing a vital organ for better food."