Osuwari Count 1

[hardedge]

Characters: InuYasha & Anyone daring
Setting: Stairway, 48, 17, Cafeteria
Format: Any
Summary: Typical newbie intro not liking what he sees, is confused, and likely on edge.
Warnings: Aggressive, foul behavior. Idiotism. Atypical shounen heroism.

[Along the Stairway]
[InuYasha hadn't bother to investigate the trunk that carried his belongings, what few he possessed anyway, his main priority had been to locate any of his friends. Unfortunately he wasn't able to pick a scent to any of them. What worried him more was the distinct scent of blood that loomed in certain distances of the new setting he found himself in.]

KAGOME?!

SANGO?!

MIROKU?!

[Where he came from, elevators weren't invented and so he didn't think to use one, or even know its function. Naturally this left him to travel by stairs. For the first few floors he was caution, and anticipating the worse; the stairs kept going…and going. He wondered how large this building actually was.]

ANYONE!!

[Many of the floors came to surprise him. Things he had never seen before, things he's never even dreamed of before. But nothing caught his interest quite like the potent stench of blood of the seventy-first. His expression twisted at the sight.]

What's going on here?

[Was this the insides of something larger? But how can that be possible within a building. Not to mention all of the other nature settings he had passed up until this point. It was more than enough to keep InuYasha grounded on the stairs, at least for this floors.]

[Floor 48]
[This floor was especially questionable, the half breed peered into the graveyard. Was this where they buried their dead? Instincts told him he should avoid all of the floors, but something about a grave just hit a little close to home. Not to mention the gravesite of his very father was hidden within the pupil of his right eye, but you know, that's normal. InuYasha cautiously stepped onto the floor. When nothing dangerous occurred, he proceeded. As he was walking along, he noticed all of the marked graves.]

[Floor 17]
[Bloody handprints and screaming would normally be the cue to retreat to safer grounds, but more often than not it lead to violence and meaningless slaughter. The very things he and his friends rushed to. InuYasha couldn't help but step onto the floor, thinking that there may be someone who needs help here.[

[Floor 1 - Cafeteria]
[The cafeteria, a setting he wasn't familiar with, but the smell of food…or well…nutrition bars (not that he knew what they were) filled the air. At least this one appeared safe, and there was an abundance of people.

He wasn't going to eat the oatmeal by the way.]

Comments

[hardedge]

Keh! [This was all so stupid. He could go without food for sometime, but he would eventually have to eat.]

What is it you know?

[Because she seemed more trustworthy than everyone else he's met.]

[sageprincess]

Enough that it would be easier for you to ask what specifically you would like to know. I am sure you would not like to listen to a long-winded ramble about the history of this place.

[Call it intuition, but he doesn't exactly seem like the patient type.]

[hardedge]

[He paused, now that he had to think about it. What was it all those others were spoutin' their mouth off about?]

Our worlds. [Another.] And these collars. [Ditched one subjugation accessory for another, that was cool.]

[sageprincess]

[Ah... of course that would be the first thing on his mind. Her expression sobers.]

What the letter says is true, our worlds have been destroyed. There is... something wandering through time and space, sucking the life out of anything in its path. Here, we tend to call it "the Virus," but little information about what it is or where it came from has been made available to us. ... I am of the belief we can restore the worlds, however, though it will take a great deal of work to do so.

The collars, in turn, can be considered a result of us being "saved" from the Virus. [Idly, she brings a hand up to her collar as she speaks. If Inuyasha has managed to get a glance at his own, he might notice they're the same indigo shade.] Because our souls do not truly belong in this world, it is difficult to keep them... stable, so to speak. The collars, and the fluid running through them are what keep us alive in this world.

Unfortunately, those in charge also use them to keep us from "misbehaving," but with any luck, that will change soon.

[Weird, she sounds far more determined and optimistic than anyone who's been told their world is gone and their life depends on oddly colored fluid has any right to be.]

[hardedge]

[Under normal circumstances, he could have lived that life was in danger. Much of his time was devoted to helping others since his union with Kagome. Before her he wouldn't have so much as lifted a finger to aid another. Least to say, the half demon has come along way.]

This is fantastic. [InuYasha was far more upset than he would let on. How does he go about saving entire worlds now?]

How about these bastards in charge?

[sageprincess]

[It's certainly not an ideal situation, but it's one she's grown to accept. No matter how impossible restoring the worlds may be, it is that or die, and she isn't ready to keel over just yet.

She holds up four fingers.]

There are four of them: Zo, Riki, Jason, and Ruana.

Zo is the one responsible for bringing our souls here. He is sympathetic towards us, and genuinely wants to make us happy, but he is just a child, and tends to be conflicted about the things that happen here. He recognizes the things the others do as wrong, but they raised him.

Riki maintains the systems that keep the Tower operating as it should. He is also the one responsible for building the majority of the floors. He is the quietest of the four, and as such we do not know much about him aside from his job and the sorts of things he does when it is his turn to be in charge.

[A hint of irritation enters her voice as she begins speaking of the last two administrators.]

Jason, however, is easily the most talkative of the group, but he is also the most sadistic. He views us a little more than convenient test subjects, and does "experiments" upon us that often involve body mutilation or brainwashing. Unfortunately, he is also the one responsible for reviving us when we die, so him dying would ultimately be terrible for us.

... And finally, Ruana, the one in charge of them all. She is a frightening monster of a woman - over a thousand years old and more powerful than than any of the others. She uses us as playthings in her "games" when she is awake and in full control of the Tower, which more often than not involve killing each other against our will or being killed by a third party.

[After finishing her explanation, she pauses, glancing down slightly, almost apologetically. Her words are dark, but, well... better for him to be prepared in advance than be caught off-guard.]

Of course, there is a bit more to them than that, but those are the basics.

[hardedge]

So what you're telling me is the last two don't have our best interest in mind?

That wouldn't be the first time I've dealt with people like that. [And it clearly wasn't going to be the last either.]

[sageprincess]

You have an odd sort of fortune, then. Those more accustomed to peace tend to have a harder time adapting, I have found.

[Of course, no one truly adapts to the tortures Jason and Ruana put them through, but at least it's less of a complete shock to the system for those who have seen war and the like before.]

[hardedge]

The world's always been cut-throat. What's another blade to the equation?

[Though he was more annoyed than he would admit.]