Ryozanpaku

[Apollymi]

A large open mountain pass which holds the Youkai factions. In four directions each is held by a different kind of Youkai all battling for control of the entirety of the area. Floating lanterns light the always dark area and rivers flow off the sides of the mountains into the lands beyond. The whole of the area seems to have an old era Japanese feel. Everyone within seems to dress in traditional Japanese garb and Japanese traditions and lore directly influence the area. The area used to be a Dragon's Nest and is considered a port to the sky. After it was abandoned by the Dragons it was taken over by various factions of Youkai, as they were the only ones with bodies strong enough to withstand the extreme pressure of the Mana Rich Zone left behind by the Dragons who used to live there.

[Bloodedge]

It seemed that Kou also took in the look of this new place. Miki could appreciate it to, as a Japanese native. Imagine the food to be found in a place like this! It was as if thinking about food alone was enough to make the blonde lass' stomach growl expectantly. Miki managed to look a bit embarrassed but settled into floating atop her pillow after hearing the words of both Kou and Bulma. "Hisakawa let me know if you need anything for the repairs..." she said to that young woman who gave a quick nod. "Hai hai. This might be as high as you can go right now... I'll let you know if I figure anything out," Bulma responded. She looked at where they landed and it seemed to be a small island stranded in the middle of a lake with a large bridge leading into something which looked a bit more like a city.

In the meantime, Kou's words to Miki registered in her ear and she began floating towards the downed ramp of the ship, only to eventually take up on foot. Knowing that, as a Druid a connection to the land could potentially help in diagnosing this area. "Hai, sounds like a great idea. Besides... if the ship is a TARDIS we probably need to do something while we're here. We can at least get some breakfast before work~" she mentioned in a jokingly sarcastic way. A new bit of adventuring together couldn't really count as a date without downtime. And she didn't expect to get any downtime really until whatever was going on here was resolved. Still there was no reason for them not to enjoy the time here while they had it. Actually, there was something kind of exciting about this new place. Or maybe she was just still left over a bit pleased from the night before and it was spilling over into her proper wakefulness.

As if Miki's growling stomach wasn't enough on its own, Kou thought he could be satisfied with a bite or two as well. In fact, the rumbling in Miki's stomach managed to mask the lighter gurgle of his own. In the privacy of his own mind, Kou laughed at this coincidence upon seeing Miki's embarrassment. Hopefully, none had heard his in addition to hers. "I'm hungry too," he said, if only to not leave the blonde hanging as the only obviously-ravenous individual here. Besides... he saw this as an opportunity on multiple fronts. They could continue their time away from others, do something for the group as a whole, and even satisfy the needs of their stomachs the way their stomachs new best. "We could scout ahead, be proper good captains for everyone's sake? It'd be easy to bring back a bunch of groceries to have some quality Japanese food and..." He paused. There was a Japanese dish he needed to exist in these lands, as he needed it to be tasted by another. One could only hope, even pray, that it could be found.

Meanwhile, there was another set of individuals near the landing sight of the Grandcypher. One seemed to be inhuman... or rather, it was. A small, blue Slime was in the care of another. This odd ship was a curiosity worth addressing, he thought, so he had it in mind to be present when its approach ended. After only a short while spent watching the vessel, the Slime spoke. "What do you think they are? More members for Rengoku's Night Parade?"

[Apollymi]

Though Miki was quite embarrassed about her growling stomach, but according to Kou he could also go for something to eat. The crisis was averted as it always was, and Miki relaxed quite a bit as they took their first few steps away from the ship. She laughed it off and managed to smile genuinely, as they walked along. According to Kou, it would be easy for them to scout ahead and have some breakfast in this new place. He even suggested bringing back some groceries for what seemed to be home cooking. "That sounds excellent. Japanese food would be amazing right now... I haven't had anything from home in what feels like ages... I feel like it'd be so nostalgic!~" she said happily. "We can get anything!" she said excitedly agreeing to the purchase of groceries. Admittedly the girl known as Ashikaga Kimiko didn't cook her own food under normal circumstances. And when she did, there were very few dishes she had any reasonable understanding of cooking. Even so, she figured she could trust someone else to either talk her through it, or do the cooking if it came down to that. Meanwhile she took in the first view of the land and her left brow rose. "Actually, this place looks like Kyoto. I haven't been to Kyoto in ages..." she murmured, as they crossed the bridge and headed into town.

In the meantime, another pair of people had landed near the Grandcypher, and were coincidentally, headed off in the same direction as this pair of teens. The blue slime ball was being carried in the arms of a rather busty young woman with long black hair and a body dressed in dark feathers. On her back a large pair of wings and around her neck, a golden necklace with a strange symbol like an eye upon it. "They look like adventurers, maybe a young couple. Not quite official by the distance between them... but they show obvious signs of favoritism..." the lass' eyes narrowed only slightly as she looked towards the pair. Only with her gaze locked in such a way, did her eyes soon widen. She almost didn't recognize that blonde lass, due to two factors. The first of which being, the color of her hair, which was quite unusual for her, and the other being the smile upon her visage. The light of recognition passed through the gaze of this dark haired lass. She knew who this girl was, but alas, how she knew her was something which couldn't be discussed. As such she couldn't be too forward with what she knew, but still... watching this girl interact with this white haired boy was rather surprising. "They don't seem dangerous at the very least. You could probably speak with them, if you wanted to find out their plans..." she stated. Knowing this girl meant she had a bit more knowledge than she needed to. She could give advice but also had to maintain a certain level of distance. Even here, she didn't wish to break her code.

[Bloodedge]

"Yeah, definitely. I could really go for some nikuman... and onigiri... and soba... and─" Kou felt a sudden need to stop himself, as the hunger was quickly becoming ridiculous. Moreover, he didn't want to hype himself up over something that may or may not even exist in this region. It had the look, sure, but given places like Eonis... appearances didn't exactly match up to culinary selection. Maybe they would at least have something close enough to the foods he desired. If there was only one, and he could select it by some randomly-acquired mental ability... that would be perfect. "It does look a bit like Kyoto. I've only been a few times between school trips and family stuff, but... yeah."

The Slime, carried by this buxom and winged woman, seemed perturbed by the appearance of these newcomers. To call them Adventurers was fitting enough by their appearance, but his companion seemed a bit hung-up on their relationship to one another for a moment. If nothing else, they did seem approachable... and so, he'd approach by dropping into the winged woman's shadow, and reappearing through the shadow of... Miki. He was just a Slime; he could afford to be a bit devious. With that in mind, his ascension led him high, that he might land atop the blonde's head for the sake of grabbing attention.

[Apollymi]

"ONIGIRI!!" That was a sole excited utterance. Actually, Miki or rather Kimiko truly enjoyed that food, and it was one of few she knew how to make herself. She could enjoy some any day, and it was such a great snack. One of the few allowed by her many dietary restrictions. The idea of it making her mouth water for a second too long. Food was so important and had been at the forefront of her brain too long. She didn't want to set herself up for disappointment but she really was excited. It seemed, that Kou also thought this place looked a bit like Kyoto he mentioned a few trips in his life with family and for school. "I used to go there a lot... lots of old building and fun places to go. The school trips are always so boring because of the planned places they want to visit I've seen too many times..." she mentioned. She would have preferred wandering off on her own. Not in a travel group full of girls, who only wanted her in their group to keep her away from all of the guys who they liked.

Whatever the case, this world was exciting and new and they could explore and.... "Is there something on my head?" she said reaching tentatively up. A strange weight had interrupted her thoughts. It wasn't heavy, but she didn't expect it or anything. She'd reach up to poke it and find its texture to be odd. "Uhh... I'm kinda freaking out here!" she exclaimed unable to see the thing on top of her head, and that making it far scarier a situation than she would have imagined. All the while the winged raven-haired lass walked along shaking her head. "Not exactly what I meant when I said he should introduce himself," she mentioned, still she was a ways off.

[Bloodedge]

Among the things listed, onigiri apparently resonated with Miki the most. As they made their way, she showed her excitement over that particular choice. She also delved into the frequency at which she visited Kyoto, and why. It was interesting to note the differences between their lifestyles each time they rose, but this seemed less of an odd situation than most differences between them thus far. What was more odd than anything, though, was the girl's sudden freak-out. He turned to face her, walking sideways until stopping due to the realization of... exactly what she was referencing. He stared at the Slime, who did not yet reveal its ability to talk. After a few moments of looking, Kou's excitement began to build. "Fuck, it's a Slime! But... if one of those is in the city, and this place is like Japan... We must be in Youkai territory!"

How incredible, yet suddenly... how slightly frightening. What he knew of Youkai, implied that anything so far-flung from a spiritual being of their ilk did not receive very warm welcomes to their midst. If he was right about the type of place they were in, things could get dangerous rather quickly.

[Apollymi]

A minor freak out was being had by Miki, but alas it seemed fine. Apparently the object on her head was a mere low level creature. A slime. To be specific. Knowing this information she aimed to pick the creature up from her head and hold it in her hands and have a look at it. All while speaking about Youkai territory which is obviously where they were. "Oh? I always wanted to be a Youkai, admittedly I was a bit troubled by the implied faction war. I had a plan for a good one... but I still am not completely sold on species. It's...." she gave a pause. She was going to explain her lack of choice between being some sort of Nekomata and her desire to be a Kitsune. But... if she succeeded in looking at this slime her reaction would be one of instant gratification. While simulanteously being more outright girly than any of her other reactions to things all together. "KAWAII!! IT'S ADORABLE! I LOVE IT! I'M KEEPING IT!!" she gushed, over this slime as if it was the cutest plush toy she'd ever seen. Miki was a well put together individual. Ashikaga Kimiko was without such direct levels of desire in her day to day life, but something about this slime was absolutely adorable and she was content to hold and squeeze it and gush over it adoringly until the end of time.

All the while a knowing smirk came to the face of the black winged woman. She wondered what the lass' reaction would be when she found out the slime was actually a player, a male one at that. Right now the lad was being squeezed against the lass' body as if he was a simple plush toy.

[Bloodedge]

When Miki spoke of her intentions to try a Youkai, Kou began to wonder. If she knew anything about the object she obtained from Dreyfus, she could have easily acquired a seemingly great power derived from Ayakashi. He could do something about that, he thought. Unbeknownst to the lad himself, that development could fit right into her unspoken plan, with only minor tweaking and a bit of 'loose lore' exploitation. Ah, but now wasn't the time for that. Miki was experiencing the Slimes of this world first-hand, and giving a reaction more to what one would expect from a girl than she usually managed. Kou slid his pinkie finger into his ear, twisting it as his head tilted to the opposite side. Something was... odd about this Slime.

Odd indeed. As the tiny creature was squeezed and pressed against the lass' body, he eventually came up with something to say. It was a delicate matter, requiring a very specific approach. He was, after all, a Slime. Creatures such as this did not possess intelligence, the ability to speak, or even the power of sight. As such, he had to give a grand introduction; one which covered all the basics while revealing his identity as... more than the average Slime, as it were. After much deliberation, the small, blue creature chose his words with care.

"Yus!"

[Apollymi]

While Miki had her girly explosion about the slime which she was squeezing into her body, Kou looked strangely. She noted this, but figured it was likely because of her outrageous reaction. She pulled back a little, managing to look sheepish. She even started to clear her throat, though she was clearly still willing to squeeze the dear life out of this little slime. Until of course, it spoke. Her eyes widened as she looked down at it. All she'd said, and it'd responded to her. "Sou..." she said seeming to be filled with something akin to disappointment. It was still a rightly, adorable, cute little slime, but it was obviously a creature of higher order intelligence... and that wasn't natural for slimes. She'd move on to holding it out from her body and staring at it in disbelief. Her normal persona returned to her in seconds as she separated herself from what could have been even more epic amounts of joy. "You, could have spoken up sooner. I finally thought I was going to have a fun adorable pet," she said not having much if any emotion left. How sad. She felt almost deflated, never had she been so pleased and then so instantly crushed by a realization. She looked to Kou those jewel red eyes of hers steeped in her sadness... She needed rescuing from this emotion.

[Bloodedge]

True enough, this particular Slime was something beyond what they could normally be viewed as. By its ability to speak, or even make noise at all, it had to be a human from their world. "Sou ka. There was a super-difficult type that could be selected later in the game's lifespan. Slime was a choice that could be made to have infinite potential, but an almost impossible start for any real play without some ridiculous grind," he explained, surmising that this was a player before looking deeper into the matter. Of course, that was the case. "Edge Imp?" he questioned.

There was hardly a thing Kou could do to assist the blonde. Mostly, this was due to the Slime's own sudden reaction to her speech. "Well, don't let something like details stop you," the creature asserted while hopping from Miki's arms. Before reaching the ground, there was a bit of a metamorphosis. That small Slime grew into a humanoid form with long, blue hair that matched its original form, large golden eyes, and an attire consisting of black breeches with a flowing blue, tailed coat accentuated by a Kitsune-fur scarf. "I was having such a good time, too. Oh well. I, the Great Rimuru, accept all apologies that are sincerely offered!"

[Apollymi]

"That makes him sound like some kind of masochist. Like Bloodborne on waste of flesh..." mentioned Miki with some understanding. A distraction was just what she needed, to forget her lack of new pet and the fact that she'd been squeezing to death some random person she didn't know. What a shame, she'd actually have appreciated the little slime as a pet. Maybe, she was simply not meant to have a pet? She could deal with that... putting the thoughts away for some other time. The mention of the little slime's online handle made Miki's brow raise. She'd seen that name around somewhere... but which game? Ah... it was somewhere in her mind but lost to her just the same.

It was mentioned by the little slime that she shouldn't let the details stop her all before some strange transformation, which left him with a humanoid appearance with blue hair and golden eyes. He was even fully dressed, good for him. "Rimuru... huh? I'm not apologizing. You should have just said something. You should apologize for giving me hope," she said seeming to be slightly cross, in the moment her face fell back into its normal less than happy disposition. And it was with this that the black haired young woman received true confirmation about the identity of this lass. She reached the group and gave a gentle pause. "He's a bit of handful, and a tiny bit childish... There are many with such social deficiencies." mentioned the woman as she looked directly from Miki to Kou, but for some reason Miki found that comment biting and slightly familiar. "I'm... Kuroka. I've been partnered with him since my descent." she said strangely, making it sound as if this avatar wasn't her first and it wasn't her first choice either. Having introductions being made in such a way, Miki felt it was only right to introduce herself as well. "I'm Miki..." she said which brought a raise to the scantily clad woman's brow. How unusual, a name so close and yet so far away from either of her normal ones.

[Bloodedge]

"... Eheh~ yeah..." Kou laughed in a nervous fashion, agreeing to Miki's assertion while withholding just a bit of information. In truth, he had played the aforementioned game called Bloodborne, and had done so once using that very character type. Surely they could just move on without him having to admit that. This Slime introduced himself as Rimuru after the unveiling of a very familiar online ID, and there was a brief exchange between the lad and Miki about apologies. The blonde's demeanor returned to its normal state as a result, and Kou nearly found it laughable that such a thing occurred. However, there would be another individual entering the fray. Dark hair, dark wings, and the queerest of introductions marked the new woman's approach. Most specifically, Kou took an interest in her exchange with Miki. "Kou desu. Hajime...mashite," he stammered, staring at this newcomer with curiosity. The things she spoke were too odd, too specific at certain points. Her descent? This was the highest point the world could have offered, by his own approximation... aside from the sky. Her level seemed normal for a landlocked person, but it could have been a simple matter of a secondary Avatar... which seemed to be the case as well. Why did she have such a reaction to hearing Miki's introduction, as well? Too many questions, too easy an introduction. "If you're looking for a way back, a friend would be the best thing to confide in. What happened to the original?" he blurted out, only partially on purpose.

Rimuru, on the other hand, had no questions at all. What he did have, was an argument offered to the blonde. "Iia, iia! You're the one who gave me hope and snatched it away! If anyone should apologize, it should be me! I mean... you! Besides, you're both gonna die here if you just walk around looking like that─ no fake horns, tail, anything! You could at least offer a little more before you end up deleted!"

[Apollymi]

Kou's nervous laughter was acknowledged by Miki in a strange way. Mostly, given the situation, she didn't want to be found out for undertaking such a playthrough herself, she knew exactly how much of a masochist one would have to be to choose such a thing. She'd done it herself. Whatever the case, they could both be spared from too much thought, as the introduction of the Tengu lass seemed to put a different spin on the conversation. As Miki tried to figure out why this lass seemed so familiar, Kou introduced himself and questioned things much more directly. The raven-haired woman's eyes widened. She hadn't expected such a question, more over, for such a thing to come from a boy in the company of this lass, he had to be someone particularly special. She began piecing together information about him, while answering his questions in ways to illicit more information. "A friend would be nice. But I am not sure all use that word so freely," she said knowing that the girl known as Ashikaga Kimiko didn't count many among her friends and likely wouldn't see her as such. "As for the original, I deflected a finishing blow against a raid boss. And fell with them... doing so righted some wrongs and allowed me to dispatch a greater evil," she mentioned calmly. "But that form was lost to me in the process, I was only able to preserve it with his help," she said of the slime. "So, I used this form to help him, while locking away a piece of the evil I fought before," she mentioned touching the necklace she wore. No matter, it was a fair bit of information.

In the meantime, Miki and Rimuru were busy having a seemingly cross but cordial discussion. She listened to his words and frowned at him. He seemed to understand he was somewhat wrong, but still managed to complain, about things that didn't really make sense. "What hope did you have in us? And I didn't figure the faction war was far enough along for the to need to assimilate. I just figured out where this is exactly, we weren't aiming for here when we landed. Besides... I'm a Druid... we are always neutral in wars and can go where we please without issue," she said hands on her hips, she'd chosen such a build for exactly this reason. Still it was a bit disturbing. "Still, I'd rather not risk it, what do you know... maybe we can help each other out." She offered in an open ended manner. At the very least, getting an ample amount of information might make everything easier.

[Bloodedge]

Answers came, and with them came all the information Kou needed to finalize his thought process. Given what she had to say about friendship, he could only surmise that she did, indeed, know the one called Ashikaga Kimiko. "Sou ka. So, a not-so-friend associate you know counts just the same, right? Assuming you and said associate aren't on bad terms, I think they might end up being a person willing to help you out." There wasn't a question left in Kou's mind that this lass was a familiar face to Miki, whether she'd come to that realization or not. Since she hadn't clearly greeted the Tengu, it only further solidified this existence as a secondary Avatar. When Kuroka next spoke, she explained the situation surrounding this Avatar's birth, as well as information regarding the fact that her original self was not yet gone for good. "So, which one is it? Is the evil part of this Avatar, locked away with the other one, or something else entirely?"

The Slime sighed. He didn't have hope in them per se, but rather in the situation he had been introduced to. On the other hand, there was yet hope to have in a couple more players to help with this area's... issues. "You're the one who put me in the best situation! Oppai, oppai! I have standards that I hold this world to know, y'know?" he griped. Moving on, he chose to address her second and third clauses in unison. "Druid or not, we're way past that point. None of the Night Parades here care if you're neutral. Just the chance that you could be a type of power nobody else can have, is enough to make them kill you so the other factions can't get you even by brainwashing. They won't even take you in themselves, since you could be a spy. I get by because I'm a Slime; I can just pretend to be weak. Kuroka is a Tengu, and they're all over the place. There are four Kings here in Ryozanpaku, and it's going to take strength to keep them all from destroying each other over the idea that one of them could be ruler of all four corners."

[Apollymi]

Kou seemed to take quite a bit from the words spoken by Kuroka. It seemed he was indeed clever, with a mind that pieced together even minute details. "Sou ka, that is a very active brain you have. It can be just as much of a hindrance to think about so much from so little given information," she said, pointing out his tendency to over think from such a simple moment of interaction. "Still, that insight is very intuative and oddly diplomatic. I understand now..." she said, though the last bit wasn't for him. Initially she didn't understand what the girl behind this blonde Avatar might have seen in another individual. But he had some skills that she lacked not in game, but in personality, though they still managed to be quite similar by her knowledge and this very brief observation. But there was more to discuss than just this, when asked about the nature of her Avatar and the evil she stopped she thought to clarify. "My first one was injured... almost dead. I made this one out of a piece of something I claimed from the evil, if only to keep her from being able to reclaim it herself. There are still other methods she could use to rise again, but it won't include all of her former abilities. Neither of my Avatars is... that," she summarized the situation. By using a function from the PvP aspect of AoE, she'd managed to keep something vital to the formation of another Avatar. "It might be a bit much, but can you mention to her that she knows who I am and that I can't say. It would be much faster that way." Her statement finalized she was more than prepared to wait.

"Uh...huh, I'm not even concerned about that. Do what you like... we all got a free chance to start over on missed opportunities. I probably won't just cuddle you anymore though, it's weird knowing you like it," she said turning her nose up at the young lad. In the meantime, Rimuru gave Miki a quick rundown of the situation taking place in the Youkai subplot of the world and it was worse than she thought. If they were killing people already, it meant that the factions were already trying to out themselves as leaders. Given what she knew about the way such things worked, it also meant that there had to be at least a few players already attached to the different factions. "Ugh... this is going to be a pain in the ass, I just wanted breakfast and a taste of home. I didn't think it'd be necessary to quell a war before then," she said rubbing her forehead. Her mind already began to work, but this wasn't just her own thing. She and Kou worked together on such problems and it would likely take more than just their bodies to get this whole thing done.