[VIDEO]

[mementodagger]

[He's been trying to avoid this, especially since the COMP link buried in his flesh freaks him out as much as any ghost. But now his closest friend, the only person he knows and trusts, is missing and he feels utterly helpless to do anything about it. Feeling helpless makes him rather cross.]

Hope I'm bloody doing this right.... Zael? If you can hear me, give me some sign. It's been three days, you can't be gone for good. I swear, if you've left me in this place alone....

[He takes a deep breath.] If anyone on the rescue team finds a man named Zael, have him contact me as soon as possible. [In the meantime, Yurick is going to go blow off some steam by burning something down.]

Comments

[otakuro]

Then I shall hope to be of use to you, son of Man...

We should do lunch sometime. How do you think you'd taste with grated miso?

[Atsuro rolls his eyes as he presses a few buttons on his device. With another flash of light, the two demons have vanished.]

Ehehe. So what did you think? Hopefully, that wasn't too traumatizing...

[mementodagger]

The... Kabuso, you called it? Seems to enjoy trying to intimidate people. But at least they both appear to be truly loyal to you.

[He shakes his head in mild disbelief.] This world really will take some getting used to, though I hope Zael and I aren't here that long.

[otakuro]

It's his idea of fun. It's pretty interesting, actually; demons have a different sense of morality than we do. I knew it as 'kawauso' when I was younger - it's a documented Japanese youkai historically known for being pretty bloodthirsty, but the legends got a bit lighter with the passage of time. Nowadays, he's more of a prankster.

[Atsuro stops as he realizes no one actually cares about his demons' origins besides him.]

The interesting thing about this world is that it incorporates so many others. I won't be the most interesting thing you see here, that's for sure.

[mementodagger]

[Actually, Yurick doesn't mind at all. He's an avid reader and enjoys learning about almost anything.]

You're the first person here I've really spoken to. I'm not exactly known for being the most social of people. That's Zael's job.

[He folds his hands in his lap, staring down at them. He feels rather lost, forced to become sociable with strangers when he'd only started opening up to his comrades recently.]

[otakuro]

Hm.

[...Once upon a time, Atsuro had known a boy who aggressively befriended and defended everything that moved. That boy had been lost for good with the passage of time, but he had always admired and looked up to him for his attitude. Self-consciousness held Atsuro back at times, but he had a feeling Yurick could manage to be self-conscious enough for the both of them.]

Well. It never hurts to have two people in a party learn the same job! You can't ever have enough White Mages.

[wrong kind of job]

Why don't I show you around Hinoto-Ri? It sounds as if it's still a bit of a mystery to you.

[mementodagger]

[Yurick bites his lip, ready to decline when he thinks about how Zael would push him gently to form bonds with others. Here, they need whatever friends they can get.]

If it's not an inconvenience to you....

[otakuro]

Not at all. Honestly, I'm a little antsy with the whole disappearance thing, too... It will be good to occupy myself.

[Atsuro shoves the device he's been playing with into his pocket and walks over to his computer to shut it down.]

I can show you my Persona, too, while we're at it.

((Bedtime again!))

[mementodagger]

You said it can come out on its own to defend me, but you can call on yours whenever you want?

[He's concentrated on his own inner energies, but so far he's not certain he's felt anything different that he might be able to summon forth.]

Hm. Well, perhaps in exchange I can demonstrate my own abilities.

[otakuro]

Sure! You said you were a mage, right?

[Yurick definitely looked like a black mage type. ...Probably the eyepatch.]

Persona attacks are a little bit like magic, too - My Persona focuses on Water and Ice techniques. I can show you those, too.

[He heads for the door now after grabbing his messenger bag sitting in the corner.]

Do you need to drop by your room to pick anything up?

(Oh god opposing elements AND Emperor is Unlucky for Yurick. ^^; )

[mementodagger]

[Got it in one, Atsuro. And you have no idea just how relevant the eyepatch is....]

A fire mage, yes. And I have everything I need.

[He pats the dagger at his hip. Not that he's much of a physical fighter, but between that and his magic he can hold his own. He always carries a small bag of supplies whenever he leaves his room, too.]

If we get into any trouble, I need time to charge spells, but once I do you won't have to worry about much surviving the attack.

clearly that means atsuro should accidentally freeze him one day

[otakuro]

...Should I worry about me surviving the attack?

[This is spoken good-naturedly; Atsuro closes and locks the door behind him.]

OK! Welcome to Kihara VIP Tours, your one-stop shop for experiencing the best that Hinoto-Ri has to offer. Please keep your elbows tucked in at all times and the tip jar is in the back.

...I also take video games, but those don't fit in the jar.

We'll go to Cancer and Scorpio; those are the most tourist-y. If you need to go shopping, we can swing by Virgo. If there's time, we can check out Aquarius, too - the library's over there and I work at the community college.

... oh Atsuro, you REALLY don't want to be Meteored.

[mementodagger]

You've nothing to worry about, my focus allows my magic to do no harm to my allies, even if they're in the way.

[Atsuro's spiel actually makes Yurick crack the tiniest smile, which is a major accomplishment even in the best of times. With Zael missing, it's nothing shy of a miracle.]

You know this city far better than I, so I'll gladly follow your lead. Though I admit libraries are a weakness of mine, so if we can't get to it today then perhaps another time?

/megidolaon'd

[otakuro]

Oh! Gotcha. We'll stop by there at the end, then, so you can take as much as you want, and... why don't we cut out Cancer? It might be a bit much for you to handle right now...

[Atsuro only wanted to visit Cancer because it was his favorite district anyway.]

Honestly, I don't know the history of the city or anything, but I can show you where things are, at least.

It's close enough, that's for sure!

[mementodagger]

I'm afraid to ask why it's a bit much....

[Not that he wasn't curious. Perhaps it was where Atsuro acquired all those odd devices in his room?]

And at the moment, practicality trumps historical curiosity. I can't keep stumbling blindly around this city.

[otakuro]

[Yurick must be a psychic. Or Atsuro is just pretty transparent.]

Aha, yeah. When you're a little bit more comfortable with the place, I can give you some of the information we have on the background.

[The apocalypse probably wasn't a great conversation piece for someone who was already confused. ...Atsuro strides over to the elevator and presses the button; incredibly, it is actually set to their floor and opens up immediately. He steps inside.]

((Did you want to continue to thread or would you like to handwave? I'm game with either way!))

(Hell, I'm having fun! Keep going!)

[mementodagger]

[Yurick follows him in, standing with his back against the rear wall so he's not near the doors. It has nothing to do with a lack of trust, it's just years of mercenary training giving him space to cast if need be.]

If it can help us devise a reliable way out of here, I'd appreciate it. Our first priority is always to return to our world. We're needed there quite badly.

(Sure thing! I didn't want to bore you if you wanted to leave off.)

[otakuro]

Ah...

[He offers a slight sympathetic smile at hearing that.]

...I can understand. If it helps at all, time doesn't pass on your world at all while you're here. You can think of it as... a vacation without consequences, if it makes it easier.

[Atsuro certainly was.]

(Not at all, I'm glad to finally have a reason to make him a CR chart!)

[mementodagger]

It helps a little, I suppose. Still, I worry about dying in this place.

[Though the roaming demons put a sizable dent in the concept of a vacation. Thankfully, Yurick is well-equipped to fight back if they're attacked.]

I wish I could communicate somehow with my comrade.

(Haha, glad you're having fun! I am definitely enjoying it as well!)

[otakuro]

[Atsuro generally thinks of roaming demons as preferable to demons taking over Tokyo and murdering everyone. He isn't quite sure how to reassure Yurick, though.]

...All of us here from different worlds - we're all looking out for each other. Nobody's dying on our watch. ...Zael'll be safe as well. There are a lot of us down there...

[The elevator dings as they reach the first floor.]

...And there's always Samarecarm.

[mementodagger]

[Yurick frowns as if... well, as if Atsuro is speaking another language. He steps out of the elevator, turns, and folds his arms as he fixes the other boy with a curious look.]

What in the world is that? [A person or a weapon, perhaps? Something or someone that can bring the missing home?]

[otakuro]

A resurrection spell. ...Well, sort of.

[Nothing could truly bring back those who had slipped past the edge into oblivion but for everything else...]

We used it a lot back home. Here in Hinoto-Ri, it fully revives people from the brink of death.

[A slight shrug.]

I was mostly just joking, though, eheh. You don't really want to rely on it.

[mementodagger]

The brink of death....

[Yurick had felt a power like that a few times back in their world. A memory of blue-white chains of light surrounding him, warming his body, binding his life into his flesh to keep it from slipping away....]

Zael gained a power like that, not long before we arrived here. I've seen it activate even when he was the one downed. Hopefully he won't need it wherever he is.

[He could feel his thoughts turning dark and shook himself out of it. Worrying was only going to make things worse.]

[otakuro]

Hah... That's impressive. I don't personally have the magic power to use Samarecarm; it's a little beyond me.

You know, I bet it's the demons we need to worry about. They'll be beaten so black and blue we might not be able to get the information we need out of them.

[Atsuro tries.]

OK. We turn left when we exit, and we can take the train up to Scorpio.

((Bed again, goodnight!))

(Enjoy this when you wake up!)

[mementodagger]

[And Yurick appreciates the effort, even if it falls a bit flat.]

One of my lesser abilities is called Inversion. It allows me to turn certain damaging spells to healing ones. It's better than nothing but I can't use it to return someone from death's door.

[When they emerge from the Libra building, Yurick can't help looking both ways up and down the street. Lazulis is a large city, but it looks nothing like Hinoto-Ri. The strange lights, the towering buildings, the odd metal constructs called "machines," and the unusual clothing of the residents are totally foreign to the mage.]

I don't know if I'll ever get used to such a strange place.

[otakuro]

[Atsuro, strangely, had the magic intuition of a rock, which was somewhat contrary to his role as the intelligent one in his group. At a pinch, he could manage a Mediarahan if he really needed to, but there was a reason he kept Laksmi around on his team. He decides that there's really not much need to embarrass himself by mentioning any of this.]

You're used to something a little more... 16th century, huh?

I'd like to hear more about your world, too, if you're up for it. My world is basically the same as this one. Even the demons.