Ryozanpaku

[Apollymi]

Kuroka watched as this pair of young teens seemed to be having a good time. Rimuru also was enjoying himself. His teasing nature seemed to not hit the blonde lass the wrong way, and it could be said with a reasonable amount of authority that Miki thought the boy to be a friend, whether she'd admit it or not. But for the raven-haired lass, there was something else more interesting and she was seeing it play out before her eyes. The interactions between Kou and Miki were paramount to a functional relationship. It was an amazing thing to witness, besides that she was receiving more insight into the lad by how he chose to act.

Miki also had insight on Kou, but it was more expected for her. In fact, he seemed to take her words about what it took for her to obtain the object to heart. For the second time, he uttered an anime attack name, while aiming to do something within his own power. Such an action caused excited laughter from Miki from her position atop her pillow. "Sugoi sugoi!" she couldn't stop herself from clapping her hands together like an excited child amused beyond all reason at the reference. "I loved that one. A bit too focused on the tournaments but the attacks were top notch..." that series had produced for her one of her first proper crushes. In the meantime, Kuroka couldn't help but analyze the situation. 'Anime references. What the laymen would call "nerd behavior". Both of them seeming to find it entertaining.' she thought about the whole situation, and came to the conclusion that Kou and Miki had compatibility at several levels. Their interests aligned and they had skills that made up for each others lack. Miki a collector, Kou a creator. Miki a business person, Kou a very obvious politician. It was like watching a matched pair of individuals move together through the world. But who in her patients list fit such a type, with the necessary free time to have the same sort of knowledge of anime and an overtly busy mind. People were being eliminated left and right as she sorted through the lists of her mind to find a name and a real face to attach to this lad's avatar.

[Bloodedge]

Though Kou would have offered at least a quip following his anime reference, his focus was on the Artifact. He had to consciously keep his Mana limited to a certain, steady output to continue drilling through the casing. Only the occasional pulse was allowed, and those were the source of the expanding cracks stretching out from the center. In due time, he managed to break through; that was the moment things took a strange turn. The outward pulse came and went with every moment of further penetration, but even the standard output was physically rejected by the Artifact beyond its casing. Kou realized he had broken through in the strangest way. Suddenly, his Mana was turned on himself, as if reflected. His eyes widened as blood began trickling from a fresh cut on his left cheek, coming as a result of this rebound.

The strangest thing was, it wasn't full force. The Artifact seemed to have absorbed some of his energy before returning it to him, and as the cracks led to crumble, it became clear why. Hidden away in that stone-like encasement was... a mirror, of divine quality. That very mirror now glowed with stolen Celestial Mana from Kou, but seemed very much usable. "Well... puzzle solved. Shinto Artifact: Yata. That's a super legendary drop, and I think it just stole a buff from me."

[Apollymi]

No backward quip? That was likely due to how much concentration was required for the task he was undertaking. And he found eventually that the energy he was putting into the Artifact was rebounded at him, at the point where it was opened completely. At this point Miki approached more directly, and doing so caused the lad to enter her sphere of influence gaining a boost to his regenerative abilities which was natural to her being. "Hm, it would be me to find an object that also likes to steal things..." Miki said in the same sarcastic way she said most things. He claimed this to be the Shinto Artifact: Yata. That would make things more interesting and also determine the kind of creature that would become the next Avatar of Ashikaga Kimiko. "Arigatou gouzaimasu..." she mentioned reaching for the lad's face to check the nature of his injury before even trying to claim this mirror.

Ah but Kuroka wasn't done yet. It was interesting to see the amount of care that Miki had for this white-haired lad's safety. That could also be considered a bonus but, not an important factor. No, now the important factor was... how he'd spoken when unveiling the Artifact. 'Puzzle solved'. That statement she'd heard before from a very specific patient. One she had a great memory of because he'd been one of the cleverer people she'd treated. And one full of odd mannerisms which were common to the type of child raised by those who sat at the peak of the social hierarchy. No. That couldn't be true, could it? Kuroka's red eyes moved quickly over the lad's face, and aged it down mentally. Took back the harder structures of aging and teen angst. Removed a tooth or two and softened the edges. She mentally recolored his hair to black and added... a pony tail. There he was... 'Aiba Yugi'. Ah yes. The boy with the mysterious set of symptoms that couldn't be fixed by over-the-counter medications. That came and went multiple times... of course she'd realized what it was a long term ear infection, which didn't affect his hearing, but instead caused several bouts of fever, sore throat and coughing because of a drainage issue. It'd been easy enough to solve. And the boy, despite being sick was generally a happy and well-rounded child. One with good general discourse and the ability to describe his own symptoms clearly. He'd been quite the model patient and had spoken that same sentence to her. 'Hm, that makes him the son of the disgraced Prime Minister...' thought Kuroka, and that was a scandal and a half. He didn't even have the Prime Minister's name for his own safety, a common practice among the rich and the famous. The light of recognition in her eyes was obvious, but would she tell anyone what she knew? Well... that was a question for another time.

[Bloodedge]

"Fuck. I don't think I'm actually missing anything I didn't cast off anyway, but... that backlash was way too weak for what I was putting into it," Kou explained. Luckily, there was no need to actively do anything about the wound caused, since Miki came into such close proximity. He could feel it healing with every step she took, though time remained a factor. He remained unawares regarding the mental progression of Kuroka, as his hand rose to make contact with the cut upon his otherwise unsullied face. It felt as if it would be fully healed in a very short amount of time, so he could continue ignoring it for a few moments. There was an interest sparked in his mind as well. He looked to Miki, his gaze lingering before he came to the realization that he'd been looking for a bit too long. Then, and only then, did he redirect his eyes to look upon the mirror. "Right, yeah... give it a go? You should be able to make something pretty ridiculous out of that."

[Apollymi]

"Still, it's pretty unreasonable. I'm glad you're okay," she said softly. She looked at the lad's face for quite a few seconds, as he healed the damages caused by the rebound of energy through the mirror. Apparently her proximity was indeed enough to let the lad heal a great deal and she was content to remain in her current form until she was sure he'd be left unmarred by this incident. Of course, this lead to a moment of extended eye contact between the pair of them, until Kou looked away. A small smile crossed her face at this moment as she figured such a thing would happen, 'Sou ka... baby steps,' she mused. The white haired lad averted his gaze before claiming she should give a try to making her new character. Miki chuckled then and nodded. "Hai hai, I suppose I might as well..." she said bringing the mirror to her person. And then would begin the process...

She began by touching her hand to the face of the mirror and beginning to write her new character using the base code of this object. She was enveloped in the light of the Nexus as she pulled apart lines of code and changed their order to create something new. It seemed the mirror itself did choose her form and it was connected to a very specific kind of being, one which she both enjoyed and was pulled from her being. What was more, the Celestial influence given by Kou seemed to add quite a bit of extra power to person. This would of course, end in the creation of a new person entirely. The objects around the girl disappeared aside from her mirror and what took their place was a set of Miko robes blue in color and with white, black and gold ornamentation. She had on thigh high black socks, and high wedge heels. Beyond this, unfurled on top of her head was a pair of fully lgiht brown ears. Out of her back three golden white tails hugely fluffy as well. Her hair long and pink seemed to drag the ground behind her. And when she opened her eyes they held the golden light of a higher order being. The creamy color of her skin was only further accented by how much of it was showing, as her cleavage practically spilled out. She was a Miko by look and a Kitsune with three tails. "Mikon! I guess I decided..." she paused her speech as it came out a bit more old fashioned than the lass was originally known for. She flicked her tongue over her canine teeth as four of them being present in her mouth was very different. "Oh... new teeth. That's strange."

[Bloodedge]

"Hai hai. Sankusu," Kou replied. With Miki choosing to take on her new form by use of the mirror. The gradual process of transformation was always something interesting to see, but this one in particular was worth gawking at for numerous reasons. That happened to be just what Kou was doing as the form came together with that long, pink hair, that traditional garb so open at the top, and that golden glow to its eyes. Kou experienced an intensity of appeal that went beyond what he knew as a person, touching even his soul as a Celestial. His mouth and eyes were all wide-open, and there wasn't a thought in his mind about letting his expression change. 'Fucking hell, that's... that's...' He didn't have a single word for it, but it unquestionably fit into a certain fantasy... or ten. There was an itch in his mind to reach out, and touch that creamy skin. Could he do that? No, that wouldn't be reasonable at all, would it? Perhaps there would be an allowance for such, but there were two relative strangers standing right beside them. Maybe there was a way he could broach the topic at a later time. Of course, that much would require a great deal of mental preparation, but... for the moment, it was consuming his mind.

[Apollymi]

Kou thanked her. Was this progress? Yes, it had to be. There were plenty of times before where the lad would have completely shied away from all attention she gave him. Now, he seemed to stand off just a bit less than before. She wasn't demanding public displays of affection or anything of the sort, so this was fine. So instead she was left to transform and concentrate. She stood and her feet touched the ground, and it was then that she noticed the shoes. She took a few tiny steps forward. Heels were fine but this was ridiculous. 'Oh? Walking in these is going to be annoying...' she thought only to begin to hover off the ground by just enough for it not to be a problem. 'Ah, that is way better,' her mind wandered. She was different and the same. Her outward appearance, needed appraising so she looked to the only person whose opinion mattered, Kou. The lad was openly gawking. Was this good? She moved a bit closer to him, gave him a knowing smirk. He couldn't reach out and touch her, but she could instead, all of that extra cloth would end up draped over the lad as she wrapped him up in her arms while they were still inside. "Mikon, you're staring pretty openly. Should I take that to mean this one suits me?" she asked in a manner most teasing.

All the while, Kuroka saw this transformation and noted it. Ashikaga Kimiko as a Kitsune was probably one of the most fitting transitions she'd ever seen. Beyond this, her general care for the lad known as Kou was something she'd not expected from the lass for quite a while to come. This world was apparently full of surprises including such an interesting pairing of people. 'Sou ka, she is more direct than he is... even when changing forms... she allows him the space to be himself...' thought the black haired lass. 'How interesting.' and that was that. This new Avatar of Kimiko's would come with a slight shift in personality which would be worth observing. She wondered how this lad would remake himself as well, though he obviously liked the form of this pink haired fox.

[Bloodedge]

It seemed an approach on Kou's side of things wasn't at all necessary. Miki, or whatever this new Avatars of hers went by, initiated a surprising moment of physical contact while Kou remained in that obviously-stunned state. She had a question, but... what was it? He was lost in the moment, upon being embraced. Despite all of that cloth, there was still so much of the lass' upper torso exposed. Since she was presently higher than him as well, the lower half of his face wound up pressed against her collarbone. There was such softness to that flesh, he mentally lost himself for a moment.

Oh... what she said was something about his staring, wasn't it? "Eto..." he murmured. Suitable was far from an apt descriptor of this new Avatar; it was essentially a dream of sorts. Several more moments of silence, or rather, attempts to speak, ensued before he actually managed something. "Uh─ yeah, definitely! It's pretty uh... foxy? I mean... it's uh..." The poor lad still couldn't manage to apply the proper words to what he thought of it. Oh well; the girl was clever enough that she certainly understood his intention, at least.

[Apollymi]

After wrapping herself around the white haired lad, she got no immediate answer to her question. The fox-girl seemed to think nothing of this initially. In fact, she was quite pleased at the contact she'd managed, and happy about the fact that the skin of his face was resting against the bare flesh of her collarbone. A grin crossed her face, and eventually the moment of silence was rewarded by the lad's words. As he tried, though failed initially to give an opinion regarding this new Avatar. He claimed, it was 'foxy' a grin crossed her face at this descriptor as she was sure she was foxy indeed. That word had multiple meanings and she would take all of them happily. She gave him a gentle shifting squeeze which allowed him to be pulled down a slight bit into her chest for a moment or two before she stopped squeezing. "Hoh? Hehehehe!~" she laughed in reaction. "I'll take your compliment in all the ways I think it works then..." she said winking at the lad and sounding a bit flirty. It seemed this version of the girl was quite a bit happier naturally than her disposition normally allowed her to be. She was full of giggles and laughter and a creator of her own open displays of affection.

This entire thing was quite interesting to witness for one such as Kuroka. It was only so interesting because she knew Kimiko's base personality. It was possible to see the pieces of her in the Avatar that had been created, but it was somehow a very specific aspect of her in this case. Still there was the matter of Kou needing a new Avatar as well before they could freely move about in this place as a unit. "Hm, this is a bit closer to what I expected from you..." Kuroka mentioned of the form, with an openness which implied a name could be given. This made the lass' attention go back to the group at large, but she still didn't fully release Kou. "Hm, Tamamo-no-Mae. Aww... but that is really long... Tamamo is fine... or Tama-chan, yeah I like both of those!~" she said introducing herself with shortened versions of her name, which caused Kuroka's eyes to widen slightly. She'd never heard this girl introduce herself so informally before this point, even when she was a child.

[Bloodedge]

Oh? As if his head wasn't swimming enough as it was, this new Avatar of the girl's creation seemed content to pull his face down into her chest, and even press him against it with a squeeze. What was this miraculous sensation plowing its way to his very core? Whatever it was, it could be counted as something he had no intention of letting slip away. But wait... there was something else that did slip by him, just a few moments prior. What was it? It wasn't until even later, when he was not so incredibly smothered in the plush bosom of this kitsune, that it registered... oddly in the middle of his clause addressing this one's name.

"Hm... Tama-chan. That's a─" And there it was. The heat that built up in his face just then was more extreme than it had been from the contact alone, both in intensity and in the speed of its increase. That perfectly-textured face of his had become red as the blood flowing through his veins. "... M... M-M-M-Mikon?!"

[Apollymi]

Ah, there was a certain warmth provided to the fox-girl while she held this lad's head against her bosom. It was satisfying in a strange way, and she very much enjoyed their interaction in this moment. It could have been a lot better, with no witnesses of course, but for the time and place it was quite fine. A smug smile crossed her face as the lad seemed to take her introduction pretty well. Kuroka at least also seemed to acknowledge her new name without much of a problem. Still, Kou's face soon became red as he was apparently planning to call her Tama-chan which she very much enjoyed, only to blurt out Mikon as if she hadn't said it a couple of times since taking this form. She looked into his face with the most devilish of grins, showing fangs with nothing but an amused glint in her eyes.

What would she do in response to his embarrassment? Well the answer before would have been to leave him alone, but... that wasn't who she was presently. No, such a thing was cute, and deserved teasing. "Hai, Mikon!~" she chimed as if it made the most sense in the world. It was obviously how she intended to claim her attachment to him, and she had no desire to change it at all. "You like it don't you? Or is there something else you'd rather me say with the same enthusiasm?" she questioned almost innocently, but that innocence didn't reach her eyes. Those eyes were smug and a little suggestive, like she was content to flirt instead of taking anything seriously. She wouldn't truly take no for an answer. No, instead she was going to push the limit, flirting with him, fawning over him, cuddling him... all things that were presently on the menu given her current personality. Kuroka had to look away, which was hard because this was rather funny. In fact, she was now simply wondering how the lad would respond to such directness from the lass.

[Bloodedge]

The results of this interaction were repeatedly blowing the young man's mind, and mostly due to his own thought process. Tamamo confirmed her earlier word choice, but there was much more to it than that. She met his gaze with one that was somewhat... seductive. Would that be the end of it? No; there was still more to it! As she spoke, the mind of Kou took the proverbial reigns. For her to say something else with the same enthusiasm she had spoken the word 'mikon' with... it gave many implications that may or may not have even been meant.

Aiba Yugi, in life was a shut-in, degenerate, virgin, teenage boy. It went without saying that when his mind raced with such provocation, nothing savory was filling it. He began having these strange... daydreams of a sort. It was almost real enough to feel, what he saw. This Tamamo Avatar and himself were stripped half - if not fully - bare and ravenously exploring one another's bodies. Within these visions, he heard many titles given to himself with that tone and cadence. Daddy, Master, Darling, and his given name all came to mind, and that was only a few on a very long list. If his face could be any redder, well... it seemed to be reaching its peak in those short moments. Was he drooling? Was his nose bleeding? Almost would be the answer to both of these questions. In the end, though, he seemed to be snapping back to reality. "Uh... no, um... that's fine─" he said, swallowing a lump in his throat. Even if they were completely alone, there was no way he could ever admit to the things he'd just thought. Those visions would have to remain as simple dreams to be used in recollection during his alone time. For now, he had to struggle against rather stiffening physical repercussions of even following that train of thought...

[Apollymi]

Tamamo looked at this lad while his brain worked and she knew it to be working overtime. He hadn't said anything, but the look upon his face, let her know that there were many things going on inside of his head. What did she think of this? Nothing negative at all. In fact, if Miki said she didn't mind the lad perv-ing on her, then one such as Tamamo demanded such an outward show of affection for her. No questions asked. Still, there was a moment she was waiting for, he needed to answer her inquiry. Did he wish her to say anything different? The light in her eyes never changed as the boy eventually regained himself and in a few words told her she could continue calling him as she did. "Hai!~" she chimed leaning into the lad once more. After all, she couldn't resist just one more tease, and it came in the form of a whispered short request for some other time... "Maybe I'll test out those other things you thought of... when it's just the two of us, Mikon~" she mused before finally releasing the lad. After all, he still needed a new Avatar and she couldn't well keep him from it, even if she did wish to tease him more.

In the meantime Kuroka had watched with neutrality on her face, but she'd come to several conclusions in the moment. The first of which was, that this Avatar of Kimiko's seemed to maintain her directness, while also containing the perverse nature of her teenage brain. 'I did say that overactive brain could have negatives...' she thought absently about what had to be a rather tense situation for Aiba Yugi. He was still just a teenage boy, as his silence meant acceptance long before he spoke it as such. And that they played off each other, even in ways that didn't directly involve their known skill sets. "Sou ka, I wondered if there was a stark difference in personality from Avatar to Avatar, since I didn't get to witness my own... this is becoming rather interesting," she mentioned aloud if only to help keep everyone on track in this. Rimuru had been surprisingly quiet for the time being, she wondered what the lad had gotten into in the last few moments to not have some kind of scathing commentary for the older teens.

[Bloodedge]

Kou said what he did for the sake of... well, avoiding any of the things filling his mind at the time. Alas, there was hardly a thing to be done after all. He accepted the title of 'Mikon' instead of anything else he had in mind, but Tamamo didn't seem ready to call it quits just yet. Did she know something was amiss, or was there something more? Another lump formed in the half-Celestial's throat as he considered the possibilities. Those glowing eyes had an air of intimidation about them, even if it wasn't necessarily a frightening one. It reeked of intent, and perhaps even of... desire? If the look wasn't enough to make it clear, her whispered words following it were a cue and a half.

"I... err... please don't tell me you can read minds," he pleaded. If she did have such an ability, then she heard everything he thought... and perhaps saw it as well. Ah, but... if that were true, didn't that mean she was accepting of the ideas racing through his mind? Would that not be a superior outcome to her simply believing there were other titles in his head? What a turn of events that would be. "Or... maybe you can, and─"

[Apollymi]

Kou seemed to have a problem initially figuring out the intentions of this fox girl. That was something which she found funny, if only because there was no way he could claim she wasn't being obvious about her intentions presently. He went on to panic mildly at the idea that she could read his mind. She looked at him strangely, her left ear twitching slightly as she seemed to have a canine like curiosity about her. She thought about her present set of abilities and chuckled. They were still speaking quietly, as such she could respond to him easily, that hint of mischief seeping into every word she spoke. "Ara ara, Mikon. You'd like that wouldn't you... if I could see all the things that played through your mind right then?" she questioned with a teasing quality. She reached out for his face to tilt this chin a bit as she floated just a little higher. She could think of a few situations in which she'd have this type of advantage over him, and knew for a fact he could do something similar. She stared at his face and smiled happily. "You really would, huh?" she said with a smirk.

Truth be told, it wasn't technically outside of her abilities to read minds. Part of her ability to bring good fortune to men and help women with their matches had to do with her knowing and understanding her targets. Moreover, she could have used such an ability easily in the moment, even inadvertently. But that wasn't what happened at all... no, instead she'd simply been looking in the lad's face and knew in the moment that he'd had more going on in his mind than he wished to let own. Her own devious mind filled in the blanks based on the sort of prodding she did. And she found herself imagining such moments between them in due course, as she always did. After all, her imagination was just as active as his. But was this something to admit? "The ability to read minds is one I can have if I try. What I said before was because your mind isn't the only one that wanders so. The likeness in our thoughts was similar enough that I could read it in your adorable face!~" she chimed softly to the lad. She had no desire to keep secret the sort of abilities she had, nor did she want him having the wrong idea about how she'd come to her conclusions. "So, then would you like me to use such abilities on you?" she asked for reference for now or for the future.