Ryozanpaku

[Bloodedge]

She had a point, at least. Fairness was a thing viewed as necessity by both of these individuals, so he could very much agree with the notion. Either way, Tamamo considered this agreement beneficial enough for herself to offer it, and Kou saw every reason not to refuse for his own sake. Even though the relationship between these two became the primary point of focus, Tamamo thought to mention that the more devious meaning remained on the proverbial table. In the same breath, she made a very clear reference that could only have been about the second erection he was experiencing since this Avatar was born. Kou was destined to be overloaded by this incarnation of Kimiko, it seemed. They were now... dating? At least, that seemed to be what was meant. Oddly though, the Youkai's degeneracy appeared as if a step had never been missed. Oh, there were only two ways for him to take that. They were both hungry, that much had been established already.

In this case, however, Tamamo's offer for him to take it as he liked, led Kou to the clear conclusion that she meant something else entirely. With the lass in such close proximity, and given his current state... there were few ways this could go. Maybe it could be a simple matter, in which the Kitsune found satisfaction and became level-headed enough to continue with their quest. "So... breakfast really soon, yeah?" was what he wound up saying. Did he mean that at all? No. He knew what was being implied, and he knew what he would have preferred as well. There was even a thought as to what he should actually say in response to Tamamo's claim, but as he stood there sweating bullets with the lass' arms wrapped around his neck, his nerves seemed to have forced a different reaction entirely.

[Apollymi]

Still this lass continued to stare and study this young man's face. It was more than a bit obvious by now, that she was having a lot of fun, and more than a bit of it at Kou's expense. Even so, she'd meant every word she'd spoken about fairness and the shared bond between the two of them. Having gotten some sort of acquiescence to that wish, she could only push so far. After all, even Ashikaga Kimiko wasn't completely unreasonable. So, how would the lad take her offered suggestive words in a moment like this while she was pressed so close to his body? He'd mention actually getting the pair of them breakfast, which sounded like a grand idea to the fox girl. Though she hadn't forgotten her own appetites, one of them could be easily substituted for another. She continued to hold on to the lad, and would rather suddenly press her lips against his. "Breakfast would be great!~" she mentioned giving her consent to carry on with this particular mission. She'd shift herself back to his rear, leaning her head over his left shoulder as if amused. She couldn't honestly completely stop teasing the other lad, it was far too easy. "We could always take that breakfast date in bed though,~" she chimed. Ah, but there were narrow corridors to look into, puzzles to solve, an object to find and several other things to do first. She supposed she should find some other way to amuse herself completely, instead of sexually harassing what was her first boyfriend.

[Bloodedge]

Suddenly, Kou's lips were assaulted by those of Tamamo. Considering his experiences thus far, he was far from expecting such a forward approach. Clearly though, he didn't mind. In that short period of time, his own lips pursed against hers until the eventual withdrawal. Strangely, she commented on the actual mention of breakfast after doing that; he had once again anticipated something sexual. Was this going to be how things worked? Would he repeatedly be shocked by the development of these discussions, and the lass behind these Avatars as a whole? Time would tell, but the answer for now was a certain yes.

Ah, and there was one more suggestion added when Tamamo returned to the male's rear. He may have been willing to move forward, stiff member and all, but she was indeed back to her usual antics. That was fine though, wasn't it? If they were going to continue like this, such things would always come back around eventually. Breakfast in bed by itself did sound lovely as well, and if that had the additional implications he took from it... even better. What of now, though, he wondered. As they moved through these dim halls, was it worthwhile for Kou to address his physical situation as a point of importance? Tamamo herself seemed to have assigned some importance to it earlier, so perhaps. Then again, what of the task at hand? "Sou ka. I guess, yeah, that's a pretty good idea. Let me just... walk this off, and hopefully we can find that Artifact quickly in this dark ass temple."

[Apollymi]

When her lips pressed against Kou's, Tamamo was more than a bit surprised to find that the lad returned her gesture in kind. She'd figured he'd be a bit more withdrawn for a bit longer, considering their previous interactions. Perhaps, she could expect a bit more forwardness from the lad, at least in response to her own prodding. Speaking of prodding, after she returned to the lad's rear and made her suggestion about their breakfast activity, he didn't seem adverse to the idea. Even so, he apparently wished to get this aspect of their adventure over with, even to the point of mentioning wanting to walk off what was currently ailing his loins. Something intrinsic to Tamamo's being, almost disagreed with the idea of doing anything but putting such a tool to use, but... she could see how such a thing couldn't be immediately dealt with. She signed in response and pouted like a spoiled child being told no, "Hah... Hai hai, it's a date..." she said and with that she released the lad from her clutches to give him a bit of space without being further hindered by her physical imposition. She didn't stray too far though, as she was more than content to stay within teasing range. "So, did you see anything that would require real preparation to deal with in your vision of this place?" she asked of the lad, content to distract her own mind a bit, lest she fall back into her previously shown habits and have the pair of them end up in some strangely compromising position.

[Bloodedge]

They were in agreement, but this would not be the end of the current escapades. Kou had frankly been expecting a furthered approach on Tamamo's part, and when she proved otherwise for once, he nodded and began stepping forward. The corridors of this place may have been dark, but they were well-enough lit that he felt no need for additional lighting. A few Youkai needed to be passed on the way to the first hall's end; it was an easy enough task with a bit of simple side-stepping.

What could go wrong? Well, loads would be the answer. Kou was not giving due amount of consideration to this adventure at all, and he was even failing to 'walk off' his erection. By the time Tamamo questioned preparation, it was already too late. At a point where the hall split into three sections, there was a door behind which sealed itself, along with the additional paths. Small, was the space left between, and all just before he admitted that he hadn't seen anything requiring preparation. Was this apparently magical seal the end of the trap? Sadly, no. This tiny space no larger than the intersection between halls was fated to drop far lower into the temple's deeper reaches, and that wasn't all either. What sealed them was not physical doors, but rather a barrier that rebounded all forms of Mana raised against it. For those keen enough to invade the temple, this had been put in place to seal them away until their eventual deaths. Even greater darkness would surround the pair once they were underground, with the only source of light being the barrier around them... and other, more distant barriers containing the unlucky souls who came before. "Uh... well... This isn't a good time to say no, is it? For what it's worth, I did not expect this─"

[Apollymi]

Kou had expected continued teasing and naughty behavior, and Tamamo was content to get through this, to get back to it. That being said, neither expected what was to come next. A total of three different tunnels which were the end of this narrow corridor. Of course, that couldn't be all there was to it, and they would eventually fall into a pit of a trap, with both of them inside of a magic deflecting barrier. What was more, within this barrier there was greater darkness still with only the light of the barrier itself to give them any hint that true darkness didn't engulf them. Tamamo was fine with this of course, her vision was better than human normal and her senses weren't tampered with at all. That being said, it was obvious by the way they'd fallen into this trap, that it was unexpected on Kou's part. And she realized how much of a distraction she'd likely caused the lad.

"Kufufufu~" a giggle escaped her even in light of their current 'dire' situation. Noting that she'd landed directly atop the lad in what could have been considered a rather compromising position. Her legs on either side of him, tails gently shifting, she leaned in pressing her chest against his as she got her bearings. "Sou ka... I'd apologize but I think this is fun," she said with nothing but amusement in her voice, as she wiggled her hips slightly. The gentle light of the barrier reflecting off her eyes even in this darkness. "Ah, well... I doubt anyone just expects to get dropped into a dark magic reflecting barrier..." she ended her commentary. "So, what do we do? It's dark, we're trapped... it can't be good for the overall adventure~" she mused. No even in the face what should be eminent danger, she didn't seem to be capable of keeping the flirty tone out of her voice, nor taking advantage of their current placement.

[Bloodedge]

Stunned from the fall, Kou made a marked effort to rise through the pain of landing. "Hngh─" he grunted while finding himself incapable of elevation. After a wince, his eyes traveled back to the front. Then, and only then did he realize why he couldn't get up; Tamamo had landed atop him. The worst part, or perhaps the best, was that she wasn't simply still at all. She was straddling him, to say the least. If the fall would have caused his physical response to her advances to disappear, this was ensuring just the opposite as Kou's member seemed to have every intention of bursting through his pants. It should have been expected that she would also return to verbally teasing about this predicament, though the feeling of her bosom squishing against his own chest was quite a shock.

"I─ you─" What could he even say? Indeed, this situation wasn't good for the overall adventure at all... nor was it good for another situation being undone. Ah, that was it. If his mind hadn't been so flooded with perversion when he began moving again, this could have been easily avoided. As things were now, he couldn't even use his Mana without feeling it forced back into his body. "Definitely not good, no. It looks like the design is just to keep us here until we die though, so there's no major threat on the horizon. I just... hang on, I need to get my head on straight─"

[Apollymi]

Tamamo's movements soon enough came to a halt, if only because she wanted to give the lad beneath her a chance to catch his breath. Even so, she didn't remove herself from straddling his lap, mostly because he didn't actually ask her to move. He had no real response for her flirting, but did state that this particular trap was a bit more passive than most. It was simply meant to hold them hostage until they died. "That is an oddly passive way to kill people..." she said though it wasn't a complaint. She supposed the less outright danger the better off they'd be. Still, it was a bit odd for the pair of them to find themselves in a somewhat dangerous situation. It was likely due to their distracted state that such a thing happened in the first place, she sighed again. Concentration was necessary, but they weren't in any immediate danger. "Hm... I wonder if it will remain so easy?" Tamamo questioned aloud though she was mostly talking to herself. This speech had a dual purpose because it wasn't just about the puzzle but also about teasing the lad beneath her, which was surprisingly a lot more fun than she expected it to be, especially when he was so responsive.

Ideally she could use one of her curses to drain the magical source of the barrier into her Mirror. This would mean she didn't have to use her own magic, thus it would cause no harm to herself. But... she wasn't sure if she wanted to do this because it was likely that if anything happened to the barrier there would be an additional or new problem. Perhaps there was no avoiding the new problem, but she definitely didn't want to start a new problem without having at least some idea of what it was. Beyond this, there was the nagging sensation or desire for closeness with the lad beneath her, which made her want to take advantage of their current deviation from the path at hand. Ah, but she also didn't want to negatively influence his opinion on this kind of adventure between them. Such a difficult moment to get through, "If I release the barrier what are the chances that something worse happens immediately after?" she asked the lad, demanding his concentration while trying her hardest not to wiggle her hips and tease the lad further about his still obvious erection, especially given her current placement. Granted she was fairly certain she could do something about the barrier, did she really want to in the moment? Or would she rather abuse this current situation? These were questions the fox lass asked herself.

[Bloodedge]

Passive... what an interesting choice of words. When Kou looked to the other barriers spread out across the darkness, he saw just the opposite. Most cases seemed to involve captives leading themselves to death in desperate attempts to escape. "Well... it's definitely the most aggressive passive method I've ever seen," he commented. At this point, he was trying just as much to straighten out his thoughts, as he was to come up with an escape plan. Tamamo was making things exceedingly difficult, and she managed to do so by simply existing in close proximity. If the previous night with Miki had gone very differently, perhaps this would not be the case. Ah well; there was no point worrying about that now.

One major positive to the pink-haired Youkai, however, seemed to be an ability to use curses instead of magic. Having an eye for all things mystical himself, Kou understood that if anything could overcome a Mana seal, it was a curse, if not overwhelming physical ability. There was a question, though. What if something else happened when the barrier went down? There was no evidence of other bodies in the area, so either none had successfully escaped... or something else happened when they did. It couldn't be the case that there were successful departures, or there would be others patrolling to eliminate those who fell prey to the first trap. "Chances say there's something way worse in the space outside, and it's the reason nobody's already here to deal with us. We've at least got until starvation kicks in to consider our options, but..." He paused, scratching the back of his head as deep thought failed to reach him. "Ugh! I should know what this is!"

[Apollymi]

Aggressive? No, it was passive to let people die inside the barrier. The only way it could be considered aggressive, is if something caused enough discord to keep people from wanting to stay within the barrier or... if say something was capable of getting in and out of the barrier just not the captives. "Starving to death in relative safety is passive... the fact that this is the first thing that happened is pretty aggressive but... they really don't want anyone taking their stuff~" the fox girl mused. She could see the reasoning behind such extreme measures, especially given the information they'd already picked up from being within this land. In answer to her question of the nature of the barrier and the likelihood of a secondary problem, Kou seemed to think it was very likely. A sigh escaped the lass as it became obvious she should put an actual and decent amount of concentration into this leg of their adventure.

"Hm, this is bothersome. I was hungry when I got here so that's pretty troubling..." she mentioned, still actual starvation was a bit troublesome. When they got out of here, she needed to remind herself to create a proper food room in her treasury. It was best if she didn't run out of things to eat at any point in time in the future. About their current predicament, she watched curiously from Kou's lap as the young man rubbed his head and seemed to try and fail to think of what could be outside this barrier as well as the immediate ramifications of any actions to be taken. She couldn't really place her finger on it, but something about watching him be this level of frustrated was a bit amusing. He looked cute while trying to think of such things. It made her wonder what he'd looked like while thinking through the puzzles he actually found challenging. Ah, she could ponder that some other time. For now... she leaned forward again staring directly into the lad's eyes. "There there, Mikon. We have time to think things through... so take it. I'll start working on the curse to drain the barrier..." she said softly, taking the time to finally remove herself from his lap. Now that it had been done she took her mirror from within the folds of her robes and began writing upon it, leaving an ear open for conversation. "Do keep talking though... I enjoy your voice~" a tease, light though it was, ended the lass' speech. She began working on a partial solution to their problem.

[Bloodedge]

"Starving, yeah... but how many people, Youkai especially, are gonna let themselves starve? I don't think that's the purpose of this trap. Mana bounces back on whatever person uses it in these things, but why can't it be sensed from outside? There are a lot of barriers, so it should be, right? It has to have gone somewhere, which means the major purpose of the trap has to be what the barriers do to people─" Once Tamamo extricated herself from his lap, his mind began working just a bit more clearly. Sure, there was a bit of a hiccup as his gaze traveled over her rising form, but there was still development going on in that brain of his.

His forefinger was repeatedly tapping against his temple at this point. He was missing something, and it should have been obvious. Oh well; at least there would soon be Tamamo's curse to do something about the... "No!" he spoke hastily. She couldn't use curses, or rather, she shouldn't. "Whatever you do, don't start that... at least not yet. Ugh, but fucking why? This is reminding me of something. It's definitely a trap with multiple traps hidden inside, but... fuck!" The white-haired boy was legitimately disturbed by his own lack of realization. Even though he'd yet to reach any conclusion, he felt in the pit of his soul that this was something quite simple. "Steps... steps..." There had to be some. Every trap, every puzzle came in specific stages when broken down. Kou felt as if this one functioned more like a tree, but how? He had to think clearly, and the struggle to do so was just as bothersome to him as the lack of a conclusion.

[Apollymi]

It seemed that her moving from the lad's lap had the general effect of clearing his head a bit. Granted she'd still prefer to be in her previous placement she could let that go for now, in favor of eventually getting out of this situation. He kept talking and in so doing seemed to work through bits and pieces of what was going on here. "Ah? Well... if you know about the doom you don't go towards it. So, not being able to sense them is probably at least part of the trap. I have a pretty good handle on a lot of things magical within a certain area and I also didn't know they were here," she said after she got up. Still the lad was working through something and she'd give him time to do it.

He claimed that she shouldn't do anything to the barrier just yet, but he couldn't figure out why. A chuckle escaped the lass in this moment. "Not to worry, I had no intentions of doing anything until I was certain of the outcome~" she chimed, which was true, her previous statement was given so she had an excuse to leave the lad's lap though she didn't want to. This was part of her nature as well, not just Tamamo's but Kimiko's which was a definite hint as to why she didn't outright pursue the lad known as Kou as soon as she figured out she liked him. Little was left up to chance with this lass, and that included normal day to day things as well. He repeated the word steps a few times and she began thinking of the process this particular trap had taken them. "We fall down here, into a barrier we couldn't sense... which forces a certain kind of action to gain freedom... like a funnel," she said aloud thinking of how it worked up to this point. If the puzzle or trap was just meant to force a certain outcome it was meant to gain the creator some sort of advantage. Weakened/disoriented opponents, no magic usage, forcing a physical reaction, all steps taken to narrow the parameters of potential reactions. "Is there something out there?" she had no idea why she thought that, but if something with a large enough presence was in this area, then it could hide the barriers without setting off any unnecessary alarms. Besides that, it could be forcing certain things to happen in the hopes of gaining a certain potential reaction out of those who ended up here.

[Bloodedge]

Think, think. There was only one way to escape an untimely death, and it was to think. The method of death was relatively clear, but what happened afterwards was not so clear at all. It should have been; Kou should have realized what was going on by now. Tamamo offered brainpower of her own to help work through the situation, and in all honesty, she raised some interesting points. The things she listed were indeed steps, albeit not what he meant when musing aloud. There was another set... something to work through the current predicament in a manner some puzzles could be solved with. "Iia. That's a start, but there's something else. Steps... progression steps. This thing has a pattern, and I can't think of what it is─" he explained as best he could.

Was something out there? There could have been... or maybe that was impossible? What was it, what was it? Kou looked to Tamamo as she presented that question, trying to think of the answer. Sadly, his attempt was to no avail. The answer lay within the steps he was trying to remember, but as his gaze found the Kitsune, he let himself be distracted once more, just briefly. "Uh... maybe?" he answered. Strange; he didn't deal in maybes when solving puzzles.

[Apollymi]

Extra brain power was offered to the lad, and it all seemed in vain. Nothing seemed to be coming to his mind... well that wasn't entirely true. In all the time she'd known this lad since they'd come to this world, she'd never seen him struggle so much with something in front of him. Normally, he was absolutely the most reliable person to have on hand to help solve the mysteries of a puzzle, but right here and now, there seemed to be nothing in his head but doubts and distractions. She could see his struggle clearly on his face, and she realized the cause of it when he looked at her. It wasn't too obvious, but it was there just briefly. Even as he sat there, trying to think through the puzzle it was all but impossible and she realized when his eyes met her form that she was indeed a distraction for him. Ah, but it wasn't as simple as she thought... 'Hm, I figured, it was just by being a bit too close to him that I was distracting him. But... I guess I am just distracting to him in general now,' she thought as she tucked her mirror away again.

How strange... she didn't know initially how she should feel about this. On the one hand, she could take offense, as this different form would seem to be the cause of this level of distraction, but... what if it wasn't? They'd been doing a lot of talking, flirting, and the like... and the previous night, they'd even shared a romantic moment. Perhaps, it wasn't her mere presence that distracted him, but instead the idea that he could have her. She'd been around him for a long time before now, but perhaps, like her... he'd been holding himself back quite a bit. That probably allowed an amount of focus, currently unknown to his brain. A smug smirk appeared on his fox lass' face as she thought this all the way through. She felt somewhat empowered by the idea that she could cause him this kind of issue, and she'd likely always felt that way, given what she'd said the previous night. Ah, but to leave him in the wreck of his mind, when she knew acutely she was the cause of his problem... was that something she could do? The answer was of course, no. She wasn't a tease, she wouldn't string this lad along with empty promises. The innuendo and sexual tension she'd built up between them wasn't one sided, she'd just figured it wouldn't be satisfied until after their work here was done. But... perhaps that was the wrong way of thinking about it? The previous night, when she'd sat down to solve the puzzle, she'd offered herself release, to help clear her mind... perhaps this was needed before he could focus? Yep, that sounded logical enough to be factual. "Yosh! I have an idea, Mikon!~" she chimed happily as she approached him again. Instead of fully explaining the matter she simply lowered herself until they were at eye level, with her leaning into his lap, leaned forward in this way, he could see clear down her kimono to her ample bosom. "We have to get your mind in the right place..." and with that she leaned her lips into his and placed her hand atop his crotch again to begin rubbing it gently through his breaches. Yes, this was definitely the answer, release then answers... it made perfect sense.

[Bloodedge]

Second by second, Kou made a stronger attempt to keep his thoughts in order. It would have helped if he didn't keep letting himself be distracted by ideas of debauchery, but he was finding it quite difficult when the object of his desire was so clearly on offer right in front of him. Could he move on from this train of thought? Possibly, albeit after a long time of thinking. Luckily for him, this would not be necessary. Tamamo had an idea, and he had faith that it would be a functional one. If he was right, he would soon be able to think properly about a method of escape. What was her idea, though? Well, he'd be finding out just after she spoke...

To get his mind in the right place, Tamamo apparently thought it best not to remove distraction, but to give into it to clear his thoughts. That much was apparent the moment their lips met, when the most shocking occurrence became the feeling of a foreign, yet familiar in recent times, hand pressing against his clothed erection. Even though his lips accepted the kiss, his eyes were wide. He hadn't expected such a direct approach; Tamamo's teasing seemed to be the limit of her forward nature up to this point. Ah, but that clearly wasn't the case. She wasn't simply limited to openly flirting in the moment, and letting anticipation take its course until the optimal time. Kou remembered determining just that about the Kitsune earlier in their interaction, even though neither of them acted on the girl's approach. Now, though, there seemed to be nothing stopping Tamamo. Kou couldn't even comment on the matter, considering his lips were blocked by hers... but what would he have even done anyway, aside from meet those same lips in kind?