Atlantis

[Bloodedge]

Miki told an interesting tale related to her purchase of Age of Eternity. Indeed, the game had a very bad reputation surrounding it, due to all the disappearances. Kou knew something else about it, though. There was one massive, time-related inconsistency surrounding Hikari, whom he primarily knew as Yumi. That matter would come up in his address of Miki claiming she wouldn't return to their original world, even if given the opportunity.

How strange. Didn't she have a life others only wished they could experience? Surely she had her reasons, but Kou wouldn't bother with finding out the specifics. At the end of the day, she was content to immerse herself in a video game like what brought them here, and... well, who really would want to abandon that? Not Yugi, not at all. Perhaps, if they were to remain in this world for the duration of their existences, there was a proper chance. Perhaps Kou didn't need to have the hangups he did, especially considering how unwilling he was to leave this world. Ah, speaking of that-

"... Sou ka. I only had one thing keeping me in that world, and she was... gone," he said in reference to the loss of Hikari. When he spoke these words, there was a certain aspect of finality about the specific word 'gone' he used. "She's here now, though. I don't plan on going back either." He sighed then. White Day existed as part of this week-long festival, so he supposed then... he'd have to come up with something. Kou's mind immediately wandered into a long, drawn-out train of thought involving his response, as he tossed the white chocolate into his mouth and chewed.

Interestingly enough, he didn't seem at all disgusted by the treat. "Arigatou gozaimasu," he said with an amount of politeness that was lost to him more often than not. "It's good. Did you really make this?" Sure, he said nothing at all about Miki's offer. That was a matter he intended to address in his own time, in his own way... whenever he found out how he would truly answer.

[Apollymi]

It seemed that her reply was one which didn't immediately warrant a response. She could almost assume the lad hadn't heard what she'd said or maybe it'd gotten lost in the rest of the conversation. Perhaps it was best she think this way, given her own sanity would likely suffer if she allowed her thoughts to wander too much. It seemed that the decision to stay within this world wasn't one she made alone in her own mind. According to Kou, the only reason he was content in the other world, was because of his sister and he claimed she was gone and here so there was nothing left for him there. There was an interesting tone taken by the lad when he explained this, it sounded a bit more final than her potentially being missing from playing the game. And beyond that, they both spoke as if they hadn't seen each other in quite a while, he didn't even know what her character here looked like... that was strange. But at present she wouldn't pry, she'd allow that to fall away with the rest. Only a small smile was necessary as it seemed they'd both come to the same conclusion. In the meantime the lad ate the chocolate she'd given him.

'Sou ka, he hasn't said anything, but that's a good sign right? I mean, he ate it, so it's fine right? I mean... I suppose I really shouldn't expect any real answer until White Day. That's at the end of the week though... how the hell am I supposed to wait that long...' Miki thought to herself. She was a tad more impulsive than perhaps most people knew her to be, waiting out this week was liable to be a test of her sanity. It seemed Kou would help out a bit with that though, as he politely offered thanks for the chocolate she'd made which made her entire face flush to a ridiculous shade in the moment. "Iie..." she mentioned sheepishly. Moving on to what she'd actually done she chuckled. "Hai hai, chocolate is always pretty weird. And I don't like milk or dark chocolate, so I made the white kind. It's uniformly sweet and melts easier which makes it better to me for a litany of reasons. As a backup plan I figured I could just eat it myself..." she mentioned only half-joking. "I understood it in theory and Tsu-chan gave me pointers while I hid away in my secret kitchen corner..." she said while having a seat on the edge of the roof. She really did like it up here, and she supposed it was better overall than just standing around and being awkward.

[Bloodedge]

"Sou ka," Kou said about the chocolate. If he had to be completely honest, this didn't compare to other forms of chocolate with how disgusting they were. It still wasn't preferential to him, but... he somehow found it satisfying to consume nonetheless. He couldn't quite understand what it was, but he knew it was neither flavor nor texture-related. He'd definitely be lapping at the innards of his own mouth for some undisclosed amount of time to come, but that was fine this time around.

When Miki took a seat on the roof's edge, Kou remained where he stood, placing him behind the seated lass while facing the same direction. His gaze fell upon her for several moments before rising, returning to the kingdom at large. 'Living on an alternate Earth based on a video game, full of magic and all sorts of crazy shit. It's basically a fresh start on life halfway through, so...' His thoughts wandered once more, yet in a rather positive light brought about by a new outlook. The only problem currently was... that answer he needed to give. 'How would I even put myself out there the same way? There isn't much I can think to offer based on what she likes; I don't even know. I can't bring myself to ask Seriri, so... maybe-'

Oh, now things were just slightly awkward again. He had a lot of thinking to do, and though he had an idea of sorts coming to the forefront of his mind, the effort it would take was maximum. He couldn't reveal it, surely. Instead, he had to offer a brief cover story as he took measured steps away. "Gomen. I need to get some crafts out of the way for Fiona and Hikari..." He did indeed have to do these things, but they were simple matters. More importantly though, he now had an idea in mind that only had the slightest chance of being completed within the week.

[Apollymi]

It seemed that they'd both reached a strange point of silence once more. Miki wasn't really bothered by this so much as she looked out over the Kingdom, she was still reeling from this thing she'd done. In fact, she was having a mini-melt down, but it wouldn't matter. Whatever Kou was thinking, the lad claimed soon after that he had works to do. It made a reasonable amount of sense, he'd started on his adventure through the Kingdom pretty early in the day and as such hadn't had a chance to do the other things he'd wanted to do. Both Fiona and Hikari would be in need of his attention directly for other days. This week, "Hai hai..." she said turning around to give him a smile. "I did the rest of what I needed to do already. So... I'll see you later. Gambatte..." she said softly, much more softly than she usually managed to speak to people. It seemed they'd be separating for a bit more, but that wasn't really a problem, to be honest, she'd been up and busy for quite a while, so she'd likely get some sleep pretty soon and then find something to do to busy herself so her mind didn't wander too much.

[Bloodedge]

"Hai," Kou said with a nod, still inching away. "Tomorrow though, we can meet up to finish Fiona's gift." That was all he had to offer before departing. Kou didn't bother meeting with anyone else for the remainder of the day and night, yet he never fell asleep. Instead, he stayed awake and fiddled with something that wasn't at all meant for Fiona, nor for Hikari. Atlantis Gold had been acquired on his journey back to the palace, and he commandeered an otherwise secluded room for his tinkering. All night, until far beyond what would have been sunrise the following day, he was hard at work to magically carve lines into an odd, golden sphere of sorts. His focus was maximum, face mere inches away from the item he sculpted, until a grand yawn forced him to pull away from it.

What time was it? He wasn't at all sure. What he did know, was that he was probably late for his own arrangement to meet with Miki for the day's celebration.

[Apollymi]

"Hai hai." was Miki's parting words to the lad. She figured she'd get to see the fruits of his labors eventually and she'd not gotten any sleep in the last few days so she figured she'd get some today. Eventually she departed her perch and went to sleep in the same room that she'd left Fiona in previously. The large Filolial had been very demanding of her attention when she'd returned so she'd played with her for quite a bit before finally managing to get some sleep, sinking into the large feathered body and collapsing from exhaustion within the bed she'd claimed. Of course, when she woke the next morning she was being accosted by Fiona, but strangely instead of being pecked into wakefulness, Miki was being shaken. "Oi! WAKE UP! ITS TIME TO PLAY!" the young lass screamed. This entered Miki's dream strangely and she didn't immediately wake which caused the creature to pout while bouncing in place. "WAKE UP! YOU SAID TODAY WE'D DO SOMETHING!" she exclaimed. She wanted to know what something as, but as Miki opened her eyes, she was blinded by a flow of aqua colored hair. "HOLY SHIT, FIONA?!" exclaimed Miki which made the young lass excited, she looked to be about 8 or so in human years. "YEP!" she said proudly her head turned up in the air. "You're naked," Miki mentioned rubbing her head which made the lass continue to look as if she was proud of herself. "YEP!"

[Bloodedge]

"Yare yare," Kou murmured to no one other than himself. This little project of his was going to take just about every ounce of energy he had, only for the chance of it being done in time. Ideally, he would have to skip numerous events throughout the week, including several meals. Oh well; he had done worse accidentally while playing video games, so this surely couldn't be so bad.

Oh, if only he knew. The amount of work he'd spent all night doing hardly even scratched the surface of what he would need by the end of the week. For now, though, that wasn't important. The important thing today was Fiona, so Kou left the room he'd been working in to search for the Filolial, whom he assumed he'd find in the company of Miki.

[Apollymi]

In the meantime, Miki managed to sit up finally much to Fiona's general pleasure. "YES! Finally you're up. Come on! We gotta go! I wanna do stuff!" she exclaimed seemingly excited enough to strut around the room as naked as the day she was born, which was technically today given her status as a non-necessarily human person. As Miki sat up she took note of the small girl's black wings which made her look a bit like a fallen angel, or perhaps some sort of youkai. "Sou ka, that's pretty cute..." she said mostly to herself. "Don't talk to yourself..." the child said with a pout, her cheeks puffy. "I don't get it... Now come on, we have to go get him!~" said the lass as she headed towards the door. "Wait wait, you can't go out naked!" mentioned Miki as the lass headed out into the world aiming to look for her father figure. Aiming to run into him in the hallway as Miki chased her down.

[Bloodedge]

Yawning, Kou trudged his way down the halls of Atlantis' royal palace. His vision blurred briefly, but he managed to push through it without much difficulty. Either way, he was sluggish at best. He at least managed to have a pair of crystals in hand from the previous day, which had both been properly treated prior to the work he performed on the golden sphere. The pair of crystals now boasted the shape of squares, albeit without centers. They could have easily slipped over his wrists and halfway up his arm before stopping as a result, and they retained their original density. No, that wasn't quite right... They were far, far denser than before.

Finally reaching the room he had previously been sharing with Miki, he gently knocked on the door and spoke aloud: "Oi, are you up yet?"

[Apollymi]

Kou's knock at the door was answered not by speech immediately, though the commotion of the previous moment was still taking place. Miki practically fell out of bed, hitting the floor as she tried but failed to stop the teal haired lass. But instead the knock on the door was answered by Fiona trying to bound out the door while Miki threw herself out of bed looking quite beat up herself trying to stop their newly humanoid pet from running out into the world without clothes on. She opened the door and looked up, completely naked and grinned widely. "Oh! You're here! You can do something with us too! Look it! I found him!~" exclaimed the small girl as she turned her black wings and nude backside towards Kou while looking at Miki as if she was distinctly proud of herself having found him so quickly. Her hands on her hips her nose up in the air as if she'd done something completely inexpiable. 'Did you find him? Or did he knock at the door?' Miki asked herself only to chuckle lightly. "Yep, you found him. Hai hai, we're up... and Fiona is well..." Miki said while tossing her hair around with one hand trying to achieve something closer to her normal look while trying and failing to corral the youngster who began playing immediately. "HMPHF!" she made a loud noise to draw attention to her naked self as she stood triumphantly with her hands on her hips, as Miki finally gave up trying to chase her around. The blonde lass stifled a yawn instead. "Really proud of herself. Clothes might be on the list for the day..." Miki mentioned sarcastically which made Fiona stop to look at her and then at her father figure as if trying to work out how serious Miki's speech was, and in so doing made it really easy for Miki to see visually how her brain was working. 'Sou ka, that's what high discernment is doing for her...'

[Bloodedge]

Of all the things Kou expected upon knocking, having the door swing open to unveil a nude, winged child was far from anywhere on the list. If that didn't wake him up properly for a bit, nothing would! "Wh-" He couldn't bring even a single word to the edge of his tongue fully, as he stood in the doorway with an expression of both shock and confusion. Moments later though, things began to register properly in his head.

From what he understood, this was to be expected of a Filolial Queen. Now that he thought about the situation properly, the timing was about right for this evolution, and there was confirmation now that Fiona was, indeed, the class of Filolial they sought to raise. "Ah..." he yawned, breaking his statement once more. "Fiona. Konnichiwa~" he managed at last. Suddenly, he didn't seem very bothered at all by the Filolial's nudity in this form. Making his way inside, he seated himself at the edge of the bed, holding one of the two pink, crystal constructs out to Miki. "Konnichiwa... I finished the thing, we just have to..." Once more, a yawn. "Gomen. Mana from each of us, and contact, should make it work and bind itself."

[Apollymi]

There was a bit of a break in Kou's speech. He seemed just as stunned as Miki was initially and a bit more tired than normal. Miki would attribute such a thing to nothing more than the lad having stayed up a bit too late the night before. In the meantime, Fiona was greeted properly so she kept her hands on her hips and replied. "Hai, Konnichiwa!~" she said seeming to find a great deal of satisfaction in being acknowledged in such a way. Beyond all of this Miki was greeted as well, so she also responded finally achieving something closer to the normal look of her hair. By the time she was done, Kou was sitting at the foot of her bed and she'd gone to join him lightly finding herself seated the way she always managed to, not close enough to seem imposing but close enough to chat if it was desired. Even now, everything about this lass was an open invitation to him, without anything being said. She opened her hand and accepted the crystal ring hearing out his instructions and greeting. "Hai. Konnichiwa... Don't worry about it, mornings are pretty tough all around..." she mentioned understanding the thing she needed to do and getting her own bit of tiredness out. She funneled a bit of her own Mana into the item and held it out towards Kou. All the while, the face of their Filolial managed to puff once again as she seemed to be curious about what was going on, but there weren't enough words said. "EH? What thing? Is it for me? I want to see..." she said but strangely the pillow that was Miki's weapon flew towards the girl causing her to have to wrestle with it a bit and causing a bit of a distraction. "Ugh... I am gonna kill this thing!" she exclaimed though seemingly in a reasonable humor before hopping over it and floating to the ground before the pair.

[Bloodedge]

Mornings were hard... indeed. Kou wouldn't have anything to say against this, despite having a very different reason for being in such a state. He was, interestingly enough, a 'morning person' due to how frequently he woke himself for the sake of his sister, shopping, etc. in their original world. Moving on though, Miki accepted her half of the exchange, leaving Kou free to interact with the other using his Mana. He aimed to bring the two parts together for a moment of contact an Mana exchange between them, but all the while, Fiona was throwing a veritable fit over her curiosity, and... for some reason, Miki's floating pillow. "Haihai... it's yours in just a second," he said, only slightly groggily as he awaited the Mana transfer between crystals. "Fiona should put these on... once they glow."

[Apollymi]

Miki continued pushing her own Mana into the ring and would do until it glowed since according to Kou that would be when they could be turned over to the still pouting Fiona. Strangely when Kou mentioned she'd be given the objects they were holding she simply looked triumphant. "YOSH!" she exclaimed, having apparently picked up a lot more language than one might have thought. "Hai hai..." Miki managed seeming to slowly be in the process of perking up. Regardless, the transfer of energy between the two items needed to take place. "I'm getting a present. And to do fun stuff...." she managed smugly. Something about this girl's actions and rather high opinion of herself made Miki laugh suddenly. Perhaps it was the stance with her hands on her hips, or maybe it was thinking exactly like the entire world revolved around her. 'Hakudoshi, she's like Hakudoshi!' the lass thought as she giggle uncontrollably. There was a visible shift in the face of Fiona as she stared at this change in demeanor. "Is she laughing at me?" she questioned aloud only to see the glow taking place between the crystals. "Hey! They're mine now! I don't know what it is... but gimme!" she exclaimed thinking about it for a second. "Please..." she still pouted but apparently she'd picked up on manners at some point.

[Bloodedge]

Another yawn escaped Kou as the Mana exchange took place. Fiona seemed very, very excited about receiving a gift of any sort, as well as the notion of doing what she figured would be fun things. Kou didn't have much of a mind to consider this behavior very much, though he did catch on when the young Filolial demanded her items. It was interesting to note that she soon added some amount of politeness to the demand, which was... fine enough, to say the least. "Hai... They're yours, so you're owed them." With that said, Kou held out his half of the exchange with the intention of Fiona having it. "Then, we can move on to this... fun stuff. And... clothes. Yeah, definitely clothes."