Charles Patricius

[Bloodedge]

"No. It would have been easy, safe and annoying," was Yugi's counter to Miko's assertion. The chance of damaging the target of that little maneuver was far higher than any damage he would have done to himself via the other method. Alas, that was the way of the kitsune in question. He knew this to be the case, yet still he allowed the riskier approach to be taken. One could surmise he was partly to blame, in that case. "Oh well. No point crying over spilled milk. That's something to take a picture of, in most of my experiences," he said as the kitsune dramatically reacted to being told she should revert. To that, he scoffed once more. "Yeah yeah, not having it. The last thing Gaia needs is for you to be walking around unrestrained, and I didn't bring my chains today. Off you go."

And so, Anais was put to rest beside Kazuhiko. In that moment, she began clinging. Kazu had a reasonable amount of rest since his last bout with trauma, and seemed just alive enough to reach out in response. What he found in that reach was a hand to grab ─ nothing else. Well, even a hand alone was worth its weight in mythril. "I guess it is cute. You know the fun part? They don't even know what's happening yet. I remember being young and dumb. You know, back in my day..." Yugi paused there, laughing at a tangent that would never be actualized. "Yeesh. Back in my day, we only joked about the whole 'back in my day' thing. Being old is way weirder than I thought," he added. With that, the one called Miko finished her return to the raven-haired girl he knew best. She swiftly occupied Yugi's lap, so he held up the goblet he'd been sipping from. "I was gonna get up y'know? Haven't we talked a thousand times about sitting in my lap when I don't have pants on? That's like... all the way back to day one danger."

[Apollymi]

Miko and Yugi wouldn't really agree on her methods. He found her behavior risky, she'd rather not risk him... there were balancing aspects to the sort of people they were in their various forms. The kitsune version of Ashikaga Kimiko was a different sort of problematic and it was one which Yugi acknowledged when sending her away. "We all know any form of me on Gaia is problem, I'm not so big a deal~" she mused even knowing that most of her statement was sarcasm. No, Miko would go into the night of her other self, quietly though not without taking note of the cuteness of the pair of young ones currently lying on that couch together. The fun part of their journey is how much they didn't realize what was happening, and both had the added confusion.

Ah but what wasn't confusing really was the feeling. As quickly as Yugi began one of his tangents, he stopped realizing he'd unironically used the phrase 'back in my day'. Kimiko would do nothing but laugh at that as well. "You're one step away from telling weird stories too~" she mused even so, that didn't stop her from claiming her place in his lap. Immediately he had something to say about the day one danger involved in her behavior and the fact that he'd been planning on getting up. "You could still get up, I'm not stopping you~" she flirted with a little grin on her face. "Besides, if it fits it sits is also a first day conversation... " she claimed. Still, she supposed if he really wanted her to get up, she'd make a big show of it. She placed her arms on either side of his throne and began slowly pushing herself up out of lap. "These old bones don't always want to cooperate like they used to~" she claimed cheekily. Even so, she still found that pair now holding hands to be rather fun. She also took note that Anais even with her hand clasped by Kazuhiko was slowly but surely transforming back into the nude form of Iino Miko. Hair turning brown, body shrinking back down to the short size of the other girl... though with an admittedly thicker form than she'd possessed even upon her first arrival.

[Bloodedge]

The way things looked now, they would have to function as escorts for the other pair... at least for a little while longer. In that time, Yugi supposed he'd be lamenting his age for a bit. Maybe becoming an old storyteller wouldn't be so bad. Actually, the more he thought about it, the more he realized that was already the case. "Why'd you make me think about that? I'm already the old man telling weird stories," he said in acknowledgement of one particular Avatar he'd been just today. Aging by the millennium was strange.

Stranger still, was Kimiko's acknowledgement of that first day he spoke of. He did make such an agreement back then, even assuming it would one day be used against him. How many times had that been the case now? Too many... or perhaps just enough. Even now, he was being subjected to pleasantries due to those early impromptu decisions. As Kimiko made a big deal out of rising from his lap, he witnessed such a thing ─ namely her arse during that gradual ascent. "Tell me about it. I've got one annoying bone that never listens. 'Get down, we're done for the day,' I tell it. Does it listen? No; it jumps right back up as soon as you do something like this."

[Apollymi]

Apparently Yugi came to the conclusion that he was already the old man that Kimiko spoke of when saying something about him telling stories. A wide grin spread across the raven haired girl's face as she turned to face him, "Oh? Just realizing it, then? I am often the younger one when dealing with him, and I could have told you that ages ago~" Kimiko mentioned in the most teasing of manners. She didn't mind the story-telling though, it was one of his better qualities in that form, what with the smooth voice and other such additions. Ah, what else would there be to talk about for them? Well, there was the matter of him getting up to do whatever he was going to do, and a bit of flirting.

For instance she was making quite the fuss about rising from his lap, and to further the show... she relaxed and breathed while bending over as if rubbing her knees. A few seconds later and she was standing up straight and stretching. All the while listening to the complains about Yugi's apparently unruly bone. "Ara? Well, I've found that particular bone usually needs a bit of extra work, perhaps a firm hand or a warm pocket to dive into~" she mused. Oh well, even with no further occupation of his lap, Kimiko had no reason to avoid teasing, it was part of their dynamic at this point. "So, what were you about to get up for? I forgot to ask a moment ago~" she said seeming to give it a bit of consideration. As far as she knew, the only things left to do, were dress Iino Miko who... was once again Iino Miko though with her hair untied and her body truly nude. She slept quietly holding the hand of one Kimura Kazuhiko, as if he was the last solid thing in her universe. Oh well, that was still rather cute, definitely something she would have taken a picture of, back when that was necessary. Perhaps she'd gift them the image some time later.

[Bloodedge]

"Ugh," Yugi groaned as they discussed his form which told many stories. He knew that to be a thing, but thinking about it now was confirmation of how consistently it happened... and for how long. "It's one of those things, you know? The kind of thing you know is happening, but it eventually sets in how big a deal it is?" he responded. It wasn't legitimately bothersome to him, though; some forms had their own quirks.

With Kimiko bent over in her exaggerated showing of age, what was Yugi to do but watch? Well, there was one other thing he'd certainly do. Having his 'unruly bone' as a topic, Kimiko suggested something like a firm hand or a warm pocket to solve the issue. True as that was, he stood up right behind her. Ah, but there was an issue... if it could be called as much. Kimiko hadn't done anything to move away when rising, so Yugi standing up resulted in an immediate press against her backside and undercarriage. Per his own plan from moments before, there was also a firm-yet-casual slap to her rear in that same moment. "I've been sitting down for a while; I was just going to stretch. I thought about putting clothes on her too, but... I also think not doing that yet would be pretty funny. Figured I'd wait for that until we get there. Besides, we could give gifts~"

[Apollymi]

The groan that came from the realization that set in Yugi's mind was worthy of a chuckle from Kimiko. While not always a sadist, she was at least always amused by the males antics. Did she understand his meaning about just knowing how you've developed and having it confront you massively. "Yeah yeah, I get it. I have a couple that make me realize what I'm like and all the things looming in the background of my personality. Though it is always a big deal to know it for yourself~" she claimed with a casual shrug. That fox woman was one such individual, so was her previously used Avatar Ningguang both showed her aspects of herself that she could only realize within their forms, but such was the nature of their current life.

Moving on, Kimiko soon found that Yugi was standing close behind her pressing himself against her rear after rising from his seat. Such was another kind of 'day one' danger as they called it. A firm yet casual slap to her ass made a small yep escape the raven haired girl, that wasn't such an early danger, but instead something a bit more adventurous. "Eip!~ You just made me get out of your lap. Don't start~" she claimed though she made no moves to enforce such words. No, instead she took a few casual steps forward but without any sense of urgency at all. "Oh, naked and afraid. Got ya'. Also what kind of extra gifts are we leaving... it's weird to think about it from this perspective~" Kimiko said managing to look at the pair clinging to each others hands with a cheeky little smirk.

[Bloodedge]

Apparently, he wasn't to start anything because he just had Kimiko removed from his lap. That couldn't be right; he never made her remove herself. "Didn't happen. I just said 'I was going to get up.' You're the one who decided to move after," he countered. As if to further the point, or perhaps for another reason entirely, his hand swung once more.

Just ahead, at the end of the wormhole, the Osaka prefecture of Japan was visible. It was indeed modern day for the two being escorted, and even the right day... though perhaps a little early. Bit by bit, the vortex was closing in on a very familiar building for the pair ─ one they'd been living in for the past few days. As they all drew closer, a ripple was opening right there in the living room of Tenjou Yuuya's abode. "For gifts... I was thinking about their favorite. Based on what they were saying before, they're already a pair of aspiring photographers. I was going to take a few samples with a little time-space magic abuse. Should be pretty easy after I already went grabbing all of this one's extra selves; I'll just wake one of them up in this body for a minute."

[Apollymi]

Yugi had a work around to his words and the actions they caused in Kimiko. According to him, he'd only stated that he was going to get up, not that she needed to move. A frown crossed Kimiko's face as she turned her nose up in the air at the man. "Eh? You're playing that word game with me?" she asked seemingly huffy. Of course, she was generally in a good humor and another swift slap to the ass did nothing but improve her mood. In fact she wiggled her hips in response to that most recent stimuli.

Ah well, nothing much mattered as they made their way to their destination. This time in particular, the Osaka Prefecture. "Eh? It really is here, huh? It's so early~" Kimiko said seeming to be amused by the time period in which they'd landed in. And she was given the amount of nostalgia which opened in the early time. And soon enough they were in the living room of one Tenjou Yuuya, amid all the energy expelled here and Kimiko could do nothing but appreciate it. According to Yugi, they'd be giving them the kind of presents they preferred, with a bit of space-time magic. "Yeah, they did start that pretty early. Ah, is that how you plan to wake her? Makes sense... they will also be happy to have their pictures both of them are always so fond of the memories!~" Kimiko mused. So she'd go on to watch as that pair remained with their hands clasped tightly together to see about this waking situation. "Hm, should I wake him too? Or is he closer all on his own?" Kimiko seemed to wonder. Well, at the very least Kazuhiko was already dressed, she didn't need to dress him or anything like that.

[Bloodedge]

Was Yugi playing a word game? Well, he could only say that was a weird stance for the girl to take. In fact, he looked her way with one brow quirked after her indignant rebuttal. "I'm not playing a word game; I'm correcting you," he said as a matter of fact. Once that was addressed, Yugi stepped forward and around Kimiko. His throne began dissolving, but its dust seemed to gather around him instead of disappearing entirely. "Y'know, I used to hate Osaka. It always seemed so boring after growing up in Shibuya... but I think we're somewhere around the beach episode now. Maybe we should make another appearance~" he said cheekily while stepping through the vortex.

Once they were in the living room, it seemed the sleeping pair would be left on the couch for a few moments longer. While mulling over the idea of pictures and waking alternate versions of the others through their current bodies, Yugi took pause. Someone else was here. Luckily, it didn't seem they were suffering any overlap of persons with this appearance. "Oh. She's here. Still a bit on the small side, though," he mused casually. "Knowing him, he'll be fine in a couple of minutes uninterrupted. I'd still do the same thing with him, though ─ unless you want to deal with the version still trying to impress you."

[Apollymi]

Yugi claimed at the end of Kimiko's sentence after sending a very questioning look her way, that he was simply correcting her. "Well, unless you intended to stand while holding me... I would have had to get up regardless," she claimed while sticking her tongue out at the lad. Their little biting conversation was fairly normal for them, and they could easily just take a little jab at each other all the time, it was part of them bonding through sarcastic commentary. Beyond that, there was the area they were currently in, and Yugi's original opinion on it, which Kimiko understood. "Yeah, I also thought it was a bit less lively than I would have liked," she said honestly. "But no one can say no to a beach episode, I definitely won't be doing that... it'll be fun~" she chimed in. Of course, who they appeared as, and exactly when was always up for debate, but that was part of the fun of their current walk of life.

Among the odder things they experienced though, was running into various people at different points in their journey. For instance, the mention of a certain young woman who was still within this house right now with them. "Oh? So she is... she'll definitely come and investigate... though it's probably pretty early for her too," Kimiko mused. Speaking of that person, a young woman in a black turtle neck and a pair of jeans with long straight purple hair and clear blue eyes was indeed coming to investigate. After all, a whole horde of people had left the house semi-recently and she was about to do the same. She wondered who had doubled back and why, given the 'shopping' trip which was being taken this day. Moving on from that potential coming interruption Kimiko nodded her head to the notion of picking a Kazuhiko with a slightly more relaxed disposition. "You're right. The novelty of those kinds of reactions wears off super quick. I think recently touched my favorite so it shouldn't be too difficult to fish him out~" Kimiko mentioned. At the same time, Saori came up from the back, she was busy in her phone texting an old friend. "Did someone forget something or..." she paused. This was a different set of people. One with a face she wouldn't mistake and another unknown but... there was sheer confusion causing her brows to furrow as she stepped into the room. "Do I even want to know what this is?"

[Bloodedge]

And so, it seemed they would be participating in the fabled beach episode yet again for this trip. Their original plan had gone so far off the rails, it couldn't even be given consideration anymore. Oh well. The Twelve Peers of Charlemagne were right when they threw away plans; random excitement was a boon more often than not. "Awesome. I don't think it would be a problem if we ran into anyone else here either ─ not with us being this far ahead. Oh! I wonder if Eri is in this one~" he rambled. There were many people whose presence he wondered about, but alas... some were far more volatile than others in most cases.

Speaking of volatile, one such person was soon enough making her way to the living room. Hayami Saori was something of an unsung hero in the story of Kazuhiko ─ many versions of it as he knew. Based on what he felt from her now, Yugi surmised this was one with more presence than some others. "There she is. You can go fishing; I'll take care of this one," he said, turning fully toward Saori with no concern for his state of dress, and in fact more for hers. Did she want to know what this was? Such a complex answer the truth was. "I would say no, but not having at least a little context won't end well. Hisashiburi dana, uhh... Hayami-san? Saori-nee? Hard to say which one I would call you in this one. Either way, the kids are fine, but we're not dangerous, and this is definitely one of those magical world bullshit scenes that's way more complicated than anything needs to be. The TL;DR of this whole thing is just me telling you these two fucked their way to Jupiter in an alternate reality, and we found them while we were sightseeing through time and the multiverse. We're just bringing them back, but... obviously a little bit before they left. Now, important thing... you know her, but you don't know me yet, do you?"

[Apollymi]

Throwing away plans in search of amusement was one of the better things they picked up in their long travels. A rest break during their own timeline to catch a beach vacation and hang out with people they knew who didn't know them yet? Definitely worthwhile as an endeavor, speaking of such entities there were quite a few who could potentially show up in this kind of area but there were a few special favorites. "Hm, I suppose she could be... planning another weird ice breaker?" Kimiko wondered. But of course, there were more pressing things at hand. Like the appearance of Saori who was one of the more interesting points on Kazuhiko's lime line. Whatever the case, Kimiko would be busy, staring at that young man's chest, reaching towards him with a single finger with an unknown quality of magical energy applied as she, fished for her favorite form of the lad's personality from a different point in time and likely space.

At the same time, Saori was being greeted by a young man she didn't know. Within seconds she'd given him a quick once over, determined that his dick was somehow just as impressive as Kazuhiko's and shifted her gaze back to his face. The girl she was pretty sure was Ashikaga Kimiko, was a bit older than she remembered, but that face was definitely recognizable. And as far as she could tell, Kazuhiko and Miko were both unconscious for some reason. Ah, but there was an explanation incoming. This black haired lad offered context, trying to choose what to call Saori and not being sure... It was obvious by his speech choices that he was more familiar with her than she was with him, but that was further explained by other things he had to say. The two who were unconscious were fine, they the black haired pair were not dangerous. Magical World Bullshit was on the horizon, she took a deep breath and prepared herself to hear things that would likely cause her annoyance. The two out ones, had fucked themselves onto Jupiter? Right. "They fucked themselves onto Jupiter... the planet? The gas giant... in an alternate reality. And you two, time travel and multiverse sight see, and brought them back, a bit before they left, on some science fiction type of thing, which I will assume is more factual than I would like," she muttered her understanding while pinching the bridge of her nose. "I was punching dragons in the other world. I 'created' a teenager this morning. And life has been so fucking weird recently. I'm not even surprised at this point... just annoyed," she uttered. "Everyone in this country knows that face," she said pointing to Kimiko. "But no... I don't know who you are... why? Does it matter?" Saori had decided to be practical in her approach to magical world things. Besides all of that, after giving this pair a once over, she knew deep down that there was nothing she could do if they were hostile. She could feel it, like a deep sense of foreboding while looking at them.

[Bloodedge]

The one called Eri was perhaps the most unusual appearance of all in this world. He didn't think another unorthodox introduction would be fitting in this timeline, considering what the strangest of them resulted in through other realities. Besides, the framework of something incredible had already begun its building process. "Nah, that would be a terrible idea. If I tried to do that the way I am now, we'd create another big event. This timeline would go to shit," he answered. Moving on, Kimiko equipped her fishing rod while Yugi equipped his deflection shield. While she went searching for a favored version of Kazuhiko through various realities, he kept his attention on Hayami Saori.

There was no avoiding some amount of explanation for the goings-on. He knew how this one was likely to feel about the whole ordeal. Her first response was just the amount of reality-questioning he expected. "Yeah. Total bullshit, right? All that stuff's true. The silver lining is that it doesn't get more ridiculous than time-space travel. Probably," he stated with a firm nod. He'd seen where Saori's gaze fell in the earliest moments of their meeting. That event confirmed for Yugi which version they were dealing with here, and further gave him reason to answer her question honestly. She didn't recognize him yet. As for whether that mattered or not... "Yes. The Prime Minister is gone by now, right? You're going to meet the one who made it happen at some point soon-ish. That's me. And, I think... I add myself to the list of bodies you're probably not alright with yet. You already met a relative of mine. I don't know if anyone's said yet, but welcome to proper dragonhood."

[Apollymi]

As Kimiko was equipping her choice of fishing rod it seemed that a decision about not seeking out the woman he was talking about was made. A chuckle came from the raven haired lass as Yugi made his statement, "Yeah, I guess there is no need to implode this world line. It does seem to be alright... from my quick scan of it," Kimiko mentioned. Ah, but now was the time for fishing. That line went out, and she began poking around. It was like dropping a line in a seat of stars. A single little lure was being used, as she imagined a star adrift in the sea reaching out for that little beacon. It was in truth a much more convoluted process than that... more like sending a line through a labyrinth and watching said like twist and turn moving around various forms of star while looking for one in particular. She was searching for the brightest and best among them, a specific kind of personality which she enjoyed, which all forms of Kazuhiko had, but one had more than others.

At the same time, Saori was being given a ridiculous explanation. "Definitely bullshit. But.. if it's the worse thing I will make do with hoping that no one is truly fucking history up or anything. The gender swapping is enough of an annoyance already," she stated coming to terms with all that was being said. Still, this conversation was more than just a bit of confirmation about the states of being of two the individuals she was currently with. No, it seemed there was something more to do with her personal life. Here and now, this young man claimed that she would come to know him, and he thought, himself to be among the 'bodies' that she wasn't okay with. Saori gave that some thought, and if she wasn't okay with it, there was only one reason. Given that he had been the reason for the Prime Minister's demise, the only thing that would take him off her thought process as acceptable was easy enough to realize. Beyond that he even mentioned a relative of his she'd met, which made her take more pause to study his features and decide it was one or both of the dark haired men she'd met. Beyond that a more outright congratulatory statement was given. "That Prime Minister is definitely gone and that is for the best. I saw that political tyranny descending from a mile away, so good on you," she expressed in a rather genuine manner. As for the rest, "Though I can't be anything other than annoyed by yet another teenager, throwing ridiculous dick at me. When I decided to be a teacher, it was supposedly a safe career. I don't remember anyone giving teachers this kind of attention when I was young..." she said pinching the bridge of her nose. "Also while that wasn't stated so clearly, I do appreciate the congratulatory statement. Arigatou na," she said. her own frustrations not withstanding, Saori wasn't completely unreasonable. As far as she was currently concerned this pair probably counted as something non-standard and couldn't be approached with normal logic regardless of her own personal stance on things.

[Bloodedge]

On Kimiko's end, she would find that imaginary fishing line following the strangest of paths. It may have gone this way and that way throughout the realities relevant to Kimura Kazuhiko's existence, but in settling on the ultimate, favored form she sought... it was drawn back onto the same path from its starting point, albeit farther along. When Kazuhiko's eyes opened, they briefly flashed scarlet, only slowly fading to normal as consciousness took him properly. "Ugh, woah. This isn't Venice. Oi, what did you do to Veni─" He seemed rather aghast initially, but upon springing up, there was much reason to pause. He first saw Miko, who was quite literally connected to him by their hands. She was unconscious, but... the second person he saw was not. Ashikaga Kimiko was just ahead, though not in a form he'd acknowledge as such. "Oh. Yo, Ishy! Haven't seen you in a while. What's the deal?" he wondered while still getting his bearings.

Meanwhile, Yugi was actually agreeing with Saori's opinion. Those who knew the truth always understood one simple fact: the logic of reality was total bullshit. There was one thing he had to say about messing with history, though. "Well... fucking history up is something done constantly ─ by history itself, even. Realities crossing, memories coming from the wrong dimension and being recorded in texts only discovered when they're ancient... you get the gist," he said with an exaggerated overhead wave of his hand. While Saori mulled over whatever relationship she had with others in her future, Yugi was getting a good look at her. Surprisingly enough, it wasn't entirely perverted. He scanned her body, but looked through to the soul within. He didn't bother speaking again until she confirmed the Prime Minister's death, and her understanding of the old man's dealings. "It was way worse than what became public knowledge. Given where we are now... I don't think the fallout is done yet. Be careful. That was my first big blunder," he warned. As for her annoyance from being propositioned by teens... well, he couldn't fault the mind of an earthling for that. He especially couldn't fault her on the follow-up, considering the reason people in her age group were so desirable. "Hmm. Well, I wasn't a teenager when that happened, but I can't give you all the details. Gomen. Oh, and there's lore behind the whole 'hot teachers' thing. Well... teachers, office ladies, people in your age group. You know about this world's God by now, yeah? It's his fault. He's incarnated in this world twice now. The first time, things like Jesus happened. The second time, enough mana spread into the world to let giga thicc people like you be born human."