Akira Tsukuda – Angel

Eeveemaster9 · #**326** February 16th, 2012, 01:06 AM

Chapter 3.5 - Bernkastel Vermillia - Demon District

"The topic on who bit me will never matter. It happened, it couldn’t be prevented, and it cannot be reversed. Perhaps that would be a good thing? My magical properties have strengthened after all. I’ve always been a sickly girl…”

Eyes keeping up with Raike’s movements, I watched him abandon his chair in favor of the comfortable bed. Seeing the puff of smoke wisp out from between his lips, I couldn’t help but wonder just how powerful of a fire wizard he could be, and how useful he may prove to be. Still, I kept my seating; turning so my back was facing him. “Comrade… Very well.” It had a nice ring to it. “I will stay outside your way unless it will affect you or my other allies in a negative way. Needless to say, if you decide upon doing something which is strikingly dangerous, I would suggest letting me know.”

As for how he would do his best to keep me alive…”More difficult than it may seem… But shall may I. Do try not to involve yourself in Ryuu. I refuse to deal with the demon until the games begin.”

Carefully, I rose to my feet; mindfully slipping away from the chairs to stand over at Raike’s bedside. I could see the demonic symbol glowing lightly on his neck. “Let’s try a little reverse psychology, shall we? The Game Master can be rather dim when it comes to who the enemies and friends are. It’ll be fun and beneficial.” I leaned down and balanced myself on the bed with my palms. “Pretend to loathe me. Try not to overdo the acting. I am awful at pretending magic. Attacking would mean me going on the defensive, and neither of us should be injured when going into the arena.” I inhaled deeply. “Throw me a rough time. Cuss, if it’s a part of your personality. The goal is to catch Natruo’s attention. A great reaction would be for him to believe you’re a strong enemy against me. If he offers you anything, take it. I want to know what he has planned, because he probably has the same thing happening with the other males. This is the only place where we will talk as comrades, before the arena.”

I straightened up, and pulled an envelope from underneath the belt at my waist. I balanced it on Raike’s chest. “Homework, if you will. Study and memorize the contents and if you can, smuggle it into the arena.” I took my leave; slipping away to his door. “Good night, Raike. Sleep well.”

~~~

Once Bernkastel had left, the tattoo disappeared, and Mammon manifested herself beside Raike; taking the envelope before he could even handle it. Licking her lips in curiosity, she ripped open the top neatly, and pulled out two sheets of folded paper. “The heck..?”

The first sheet was a carefully drawn diagram of an area; complete with measurements per kilo mile, check points, and places of interest. The second piece of paper was a letter written by Bernkastel.

Sighing, Mammon gave the sheets to Raike. “How boring…”
~~~~~~~~~~~

OOC: Both pieces of paper will be referenced in the Chapter 4 write-up. No characters except Raike may have the knowledge of its existance, and/or what is written on it.

雷影 イチロ · #**327** February 19th, 2012, 06:04 AM

Akira Tsukuda – Angel

Akira hadn’t been standing around for long before Natruo appeared in the centre of the room. Akira cast his eyes to the side, avoiding looking at the malicious God and instead, found a demon in the trees watching him. It took him a while to realise, but once he did he wasn’t as nearly as surprised as he had been when he saw her up there. Bernkastel sure was an odd sort, even for a winner of the Population Games. Akira stared back at her for a while, the two locking eyes for a moment, before he turned away to ignore her, moving onto the nearest table as Natruo left the area and Gods appeared behind the tables offering different skill set trainings as well as magic training. He watched as the little girl angel whom had bumped into him before headed towards the nearest table to her, attempting to tie a knot. If he was to win in this tournament, he needed allies to help against the other contestants, and so far she was the only angel he had seen so far. He approached the table beside her, picking up a piece of rope and reading a set of instructions for it, although he knew the knot too well and could do it without the instructions. He turned his attention from the knot to the little girl, still fumbling with the rope as he talked to her.

“Hello, I’m…” he stopped mid-sentence as he recognised who exactly this angel was. Amelia Kunjui, the daughter of one of the most renowned people in the Angel District stood beside him. With a mother so powerful, he wondered how she had ended up in the Games; surely her mother could have pulled some strings and let another unfortunate soul take her place.

Grabbing a piece of rope, he began following the instructions the mentor had given, and after a couple of unsuccessful tries, he managed to make a noose. It wasn’t quite up to standard but it would have its desired effects. He placed it on the table next to the rope Amelia was fumbling with, “I may be an Angel, but don’t count me as an ally.” He spoke quite aggressively before leaving the table to try something else.

His next destination brought him past most of the other tables to the end where they were doing training with the elements. He walked past the earthen table, where the psychotically aggressive Demon known as Ryuu was frustratingly learning how to move rocks. Another mentor stood idly at the table, his eyes caught Akira’s and there was something about them that enticed Akira to draw in closer and see what he offered.

Tall and lanky, the man seemed vastly different to the stockier mentor who was having the arduous task of teaching Ryuu to lift up rocks. For some reason, this did not appeal to Akira at all, Akira relied more on his agility and speed than strength to fight. But even when the mentor motioned for him to follow, Akira still followed, curious about what this seemingly silent mentor had to offer.

“Welcome Angel, I see these arts interest you, no?” his accent was weird, Akira could not put a palce to it, but then again he was a god.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t want to kick around rocks all day, I have to prepare to die, so I don’t want to waste my day with rocks.” He was snarky and moody, it wasn’t the mentor’s fault that he was here, so he didn’t really have an excuse to take it out on the mentor. He turned to walk away, kicking up a little bit of dust with his wings when the mentor caught him with a hand on his shoulder.

“No one said anything about rocks, but I do have something you might find interesting.” He whispered in Akira’s ear. Anything that would help him avoid an early death was welcome, but Akira was mostly curious about what is mentor had to teach him; his natural curiosity winning over.

“Okay then, what do you have to teach me?” he put emphasis on the ‘have’, making it seem as if he had something better to do with his time. Not that he did.

With a wave of his hand, the mentor created a miniature dust storm around him, completely obscuring himself from sight before directing the sand to disperse then form into a pile right next to him. “How about I teach you to obscure yourself from sight and disorientate your opponents, hmm?”

Akira was stunned, he wasn’t quite ready for that, but it seemed as if the mentor knew exactly what he needed. While shifting massive rocks around wasn’t his strong suit, being able to manipulate something fluid and agile like himself would come much easier to him; his wings could help as well.

After several hours of training, Akira quickly thanked the tutor, he had learned much by forsaking the other tables, but it somehow seemed necessary to have learnt what he had. Heading back up to the tower where the Angel District tributes lived, he entered into the dining room, his stomach grumbling as he surveyed the food laden table. Picking up an plate, he grabbed a few pieces of food before settling down to eat, playing with a small pile of sand with his left hand while he ate with his right hand. His hunger gave him a fair indication of how much he had trained; he was almost famished!

Eeveemaster9 · #**328** February 21st, 2012, 05:06 AM

Chapter 4 - The Melancholy of Bernkastel Vermillia

Summary:
Your third day in the God's Realm has arrived, and wheither you like it or not, you will be forced to participate in a post-games show. It's interview time; the best few minutes you have to gather as many wealthy sponsors as you can. Will you have the points to afford a shiny weapon outside the arena? Or will you be unable to afford that antidote for your survival?

What's Happening?:
Immediately after breakfast, a new character will greet your main contestant. This person will be your designer and the person that manages your points, It's their job to make sure you survive and win.

Angels:

Spoiler:

Demons:

Spoiler:

Vampires:

Spoiler:

Humans:

Spoiler:

SkyisUmbreon · #**329** February 24th, 2012, 02:39 AM

-I was awake, but I refused to open my eyes and completely release my loosening grip on sleep. Yawning, I stretched out on the bed and stayed in that position for a good 10 minutes before I got over my lazyness enough to get out of bed. My room was dark, thanks to those special curtains in my room, that sun wouldn't get in until I was ready to see it. I walked over to the bathroom, sighing and closing the door behind me. The water was hot, just the way I liked it, even if it was steaming outside I would take a hot shower, not that I felt the heat too much. It was one of the great bonuses that came from being a fire mage.

Closing my eyes, and letting the water run, I began to think of the past days events, mainly that fight I had with Ryuu. When he left that day, he looked at me with that typical, "your inferior" face, but I also felt a hint of respect, which meant he had aknowlaged me. He wants to fight me again, only this time to the death, and he probably will if we ever meet in that arena, no pulling punches, no kind of mercy. The only person that would be around was Mammon...that weird demon girl, and my only real friend in this place...the oly one I could actually trust. Of course I said I would trust Bern, but I never said how much.

After drying and dressing myself I dropped right back on my bed, yawning obnoxiously and closing my eyes as if I could fall asleep once more. I grinned slightly thinking of yet another way to mess with Mammon-

"Rise and shine Mammon, or were you awake the whole time watching me sleep? Thats pretty weird... I wonder if underwold demons actually do sleep, or they just watch their contractees sleep and do other things even when not manifested into a solid form."

-A knock soon started sounding at the door and I looked over at it, glaring, almost trying to disencourage the person who dared knock at my door in the morning, also waiting for the demons response-
(First post on the new chaptaaaaaaaa)

Supervegeta · #**330** February 24th, 2012, 07:42 AM

Ryuu awoke the next morning rather early. Another dreamless night, another lost recollection of how he had ended up from the dining room at night to his bed in the evening. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, and stood with a grunt. He could feel his muscle a bit soar and tense from yesterday's training. Ryuu didn't bother to comb or shower, or anything. He had long disdained for such things, and approached his door automatically, his belly grumbling. He wanted to eat.

Ryuu had recognized the area now, and made his way to the familiar dining room that he had eaten twice before already. He was still sleepy, and it may have been apparent as he entered the area. If anyone were to take note of Ryuu, however, the first thing they would notice is that he was much more docile in the morning.

Ryuu spoke to no one as he gathered an assortment of food from the table in the center of the room onto one large plate. He then poured himself a glass of mineral water, and went to sit in a table close by. Ryuu groaned a bit of tiredness as he picked up his fork and prepared to eat, but stopped himself prematurely, and took a look back at the table with all the food on it. His sighed and dropped the fork back onto his table, and approached the table with the food on it.

"Argh! This isn't where you go..." He said with a weary voice. Lifting the table off of the ground, he began to move it closer to the edge of the room, and with a single heave, tossed it out of the same window he had tossed it out of the previous day. Without another word to anyone, Ryuu went back to his table as he heard the crashing of plates and dishes hit the outside. Acting as if nothing had happened, Ryuu proceeded to eat his most enjoyable meal in recent memory.

Eeveemaster9 · #**331** February 24th, 2012, 10:10 PM

Chapter 4 - Mammon - Underworld

I kept myself silent when Raike awoke from his slumber. Even when he didn't get up right away, I didn't say anything aloud to disrupt his train of thought. It wasn't like I was physically there anyways. The tattoo on his neck was simply... A window. A window connecting the Demon Realm, to the Earth Realm. I was comfortable inside my room; gazing upwards at the ceiling where there was nothing but blackness. I didn't mind the silence. And Raike probably didn't mind it either. A sigh escaped from my lips.

The second the boy slipped into the bathroom, I immediately cut off my connection to his world; mumbling things under my breathe. Of course I would be polite enough not to watch him shower. Although, it's not like it mattered. Nudity was hardly something I rarely saw. Waiting for him to finish showering, I heaved off of my bed and wandered over to my assortment of blood-stained dresses. I inhaled the scent through my nose, and my eyes shined red with the color. In particular, I chose a shorter dress to go with a pair of destroyed jeans. The smell was familiar. If only Raike had taken a sniff of blood that previous night, he would have known whose blood was splattered over my clothing.

"I'm already up, you moron." His tattoo disappeared, and my humanoid form appeared beside him on the bed. "Watch you sleep? God, that would be boring. I had better things to do last night." I scowled. "We don't sleep. In fact, we don't have to eat or drink to live. But, you'll never see me turn down a couple of sweets." I grinned.

At the knock, I turned and glared at the door. God damnit. Couldn't the Gods leave the contestants alone for more than just bedtime? Slowly, I slipped off of the bed; eyes darkening as I approached the door. Another two taps of a knuckle on the wood, and I had my back pressed against the wall. With my eyesight, I easily looked beyong the door to see who it was that would bother their conversation. I muttered a swear and manifested myself into a cloud of red smoke; immediately retreating back into Raike's body.

"It's not a servant this time or a contestant. It's a Higher God. Hmph..."

Standing just on the other side of Raike’s door, I had seena God that seemed rather similar to Natruo. Not in the whole bloodthirsty, I’m-going-to-kill-your-childkind of way. Mostly the hair. What the heck was a saying? It was ONLY the hairthat was somewhat similar. Perhaps it was some sort of God fashion statement tohave two-toned hair? Who knows…

He was certainly taller than me; standing at about six and ahalf feet. Another thing was that all the Gods were weirdly tall. No midgetsand no chubby people here! He actually looked really good, to be perfectlyhonest with myself. He obviously was wearing contacts, because his eyes weremuch too blue to be natural. As for the hair I mentioned before, it was mostlyblonde; swept off to his left side and merged at the tips into a soft blue.Even with the seconds look I had at him, I had taken in each detail about theman behind the door. A photographic memory that imprinted itself in my head, ifyou will. The nameless man was dressed as though he was going to a four-star restaurant;a formal wear that could potentially look normal in a work building. A whitejacket hung on his shoulders, and was connected at the front by two blackbuttons at the center of his torso. Underneath, was what appeared to be asimple white shirt. On his lower half, he wore a pair of wash-out, nearly grey,jeans. For what covered his feet, he had chosen black dress shoes.

I closed my eyes as I fell onto my bed; thinking of thephysical description to learn more about who he was. I hadn’t seen any wings,but they could have easily been hidden with a spell, or under his jacket.Around his neck like a collar, was a thin, silver cord with what looked likecoloured beads at the front; consisting of greens and blues and whites. Wasthere anything suspicious about him? Not in the least. He seemed to be in abetter mood than Natruo ever was, and his posture was casual and almost toosimple to be a God.

Skymin · #**332** February 25th, 2012, 06:14 AM

A late Chapter 3 - Kerin & Marisa

"Train well, Kerin. Marisa, stay safe..." Bernkastel said before pushing Xavier into the training area and walking away with him. Kerin gave a nod back at her and turned back around, only to see a new face behind him. An angel, but looking hardly angelic at all. He looked rather sleep deprived, but the main thing that raised Kerin's eyebrow was his demeanor. It was... more like Ryuu that it was like Amelia. Speak of the devil, she walked past. Ignoring the new guy, Kerin spun around as Natruo's voice boomed, speaking of training, not to fight between members (Kerin gave a snort. They had already thrown that rule in the toilet) and what not. Then, barriers around the grounds disappeared, revealing stations specialising in different things. Kerin had no idea what to do, he was really only comfortable with his fists. Or maybe a stick, like a sword? Maybe. He turned to his sister and smiled.

"I guess we better start training then, shouldn't we? Where do you want to go?"

Looking up at Kerin and Bernkastel, Marisa smiled happily. "I will...!" With that, Bernkastel and Xavier slid away in a different direction. Immediately after, being the booming voice of Natruo to take their place. Marisa squeaked, and clinged to Kerin until Natruo disappeared. So... We were to train now...? Looking around, Marisa saw the exact angel Kerin had glanced at. He... Didn't look like an angel. As simple as that. If Ryuu had been born an angel, he would have looked like that. He looked... Intimidating. Scary. A-and... What was he doing here...? He was.. A new participant..? Why? Why did the Gods bring more people into the Games...? Marisa whimpered at the thought of more people to watch out for. Where were the other new ones? Surely he wasn't the only one here... Right?

She looked up at Kerin; gold eyes wide. "Uu, yesh!" With that, she quickly took in the different stations. Kerin was strong, physically... Then... He should train in magic! Smiling widely, Marisa took the older vampire's hand, and dragged him towards the offensive magic station, where both a male and female instructor waited. "Kerin! Chu need to practice magic...!!"

"Magic?" Kerin looked the station rather distatefully. He was supposed to know magic or at least have some kind of feel for it. Yet, he had grown up without any kind showing at all. His father had had him appraised when he was younger. The woman told him his strength lied in fire magic and that it was his natural element. Whatever that meant. But, yeah, nothing fiery had every come out of him at all. Ever. Except fiery rage. "I don't know..."

She pouted cutely at his "I don't know", and crossed her arms. Didn't he hear what Bern said last night? He needed to learn magic. Fang apparently had no special talent for it, and she was too young to even dream of fireballs... Marisa didn't even know what element she was supposed to be. Perhaps... she needed to change that. But Kerin needed to train, too!

"Kerin needs to practice! Try... And Marisa will try too!" Marisa meant it. Looking around, she took in the other stations. Ryuu was all the way at the Earth Magic station. That option was out. He'd probably be there all day... And she really doubted that fire was her.

"Well I can't promise anything," Kerin sighed, glancing quickly over the stalls until he found the Fire magic one. He looked back at Marisa and followed her eyes to another stall, the Earth magic one, where Ryuu was now. Taking her shoulder, Kerin gently pulled her away from the demon and to another stall, the Fire one. But really, Kerin didn't have an a real interest with playing with the stuff. He just wanted to, well, protect Marisa. Wouldn't he be better off learning some kind of physical martial art or perhaps make charms, like Bern? Though, he never had patience for jewellery. Or techniques. Bleaugh. He took Bern's advice though, and approached the goddess behind it.

"Hello," he said plainly. He wasn't sure what else to say.

"Hello!" she said rather brightly. Kerin made a face. "Welcome! So, you're interested in learning the harsh but graceful way of fire?"

"Well, uh, not really," Kerin frowned. He didn't want to lie.

"Then why have you come here?" she cocked her head a little, smile only growing brighter.

"Well, I was told to learn magic. Because I suck at it."

"And what do you hope to actually learn from me?"

"Well," he looked at Marisa. "I want to keep Marisa safe. And protect her. And that's it, I guess." The goddess gave a laugh, which annoyed Kerin. What was funny about that? What did she know about these kinds of things anyway.

"Vampires like yourself," Kerin twitched at the word only slightly. The goddess ignored him and continued, "and young Marisa here are known to excel in magic, but it's funny a vampire like yourself has no interest in magic. Well, these things happen. Is there anything you'd like to learn from me, Marisa?" The goddess crouched to meet Marisa at the eyes. Kerin could see her face better here; her eyes were quite golden, much like Marisa's, but her hair was a fierce red to Marisa's blonde. Her bittersweet personality annoyed Kerin, but from what he could tell, she was just trying to be cheerful.

Marisa felt a twinge of annoyance as the lady bent down to talk to her. She hated how people did that. It was horrible. And extremely rude, mind you. You'd think the lady'd know that Marisa was at least twelve years old to be here, right? Why did everyone seem to forget that and just concentrate on how she LOOKED like an eight year old?

Marisa clinged my hands to Kerin, and stared at the Goddess for a moment. She was cheerful, especially for the situation. Which was kind of like a smack in the face. Perhaps she didn't mean any harm from it, but Marisa took it as something hostile. We were being prepared to die on live television, and the Goddess was acting all... Weird. Maybe she was a optimistic...

"I-I...." Marisa slid to hide behind Kerin slightly; suddenly feeling an overwhelming surge of shyness. Why did Gods and Goddesses have to be so beautiful? "N-no, ma'am... Marisa isn't natural with flames..." Atleast, she hoped I wasn't. Marisa would burn myself faster than a baby beside a stove. She looked her eyes up at Kerin. "Long range, Kerin. Like... Fireballs!" Marisa smiled lightly and hugged her arms around him.

"Really? Fireballs?" The woman laughed as she extended to back to full height. "It seems that little Marisa here knows more about what you want than you, Kerin." Kerin blinked at his name. It was weird hearing it in her accent. Kee-rin? His name was Keh-rin. He didn't bother correcting her, he figured she was either doing it on purpose or just was... weird. Maybe she was weird. "But, what do you want Kerin?"

"I want to keep Marisa safe," he repeated.

"Yeah, yeah, I heard. But what do you actually want?" She tilted her head and folded her arms. Kerin frowned back at her. He just said it, didn't he? Though, if he thought about it, what he wanted was to go back home, though that wasn't going to happen. He wanted Quinn to be okay, but he was sure that wasn't going to happen. He wanted to be normal and he was almost certain that was never going to happen.

"All I want is to keep Maris--"

"Yeah, yeah I heard you," she shook her head. "I can hear your heart beat. It flittered over the 'all I want'. Y'know? So, what do you want?" Kerin kept his mouth shut and just looked at her. She sighed, frowning for the first time and shrugged. "Fine, don't tell me. But all those bottled up feelings are gonna make learning magic all the while harder. Let's get started on basic magic, I suppose." She gestured to Kerin but put a hand up when he tugged at Marisa to follow. "Is that a good idea? You'll be harnessing raw and often uncontrollable fire, the best kind! If you want to protect her, I suggest you," she looked at Marisa, "maybe go find something else to do, sweetie."

Kerin looked down at Marisa also, biting his lip. She merely smiled brightly back up at him, letting go of his arm.

"It's alright! You have fun!" when continued to look at her worridly, she shook her head. "All the gods here are watching out for us too, okay?" and with that, she let go of Kerin's arm, waved and disappeared off somewhere.

"She's a ball of energy, now isn't she?" the Goddess chuckled. "Now, let us get started, alright?"

They started with simple fire techniques, like generating heat and setting fire to a piece of paper. Kerin, like he had predicted, was totally useless at the art. After two hours of 'concentrating' and 'harbouring your emotions', the most Kerin had done was accidently rip the paper after gripping it so hard. Kerin certainly felt hot after trying to concentrate, but that was probably from him holding his breath. Another hour of lectures on how anger was sometimes a trigger for fire but nothing happened. The Goddess herself was getting frustrated with Kerin, tapping her feet impatiently and hastily whipping different pieces of paper in and out of hands to see if it would make a difference. It didn't. Another hour of nothing passed and the Goddess finally snapped.

"Aaarrghh! Are you even trying at all?!" setting the piece of paper on fire. Well, not on fire. More like a scary, raging inferno. It licked around her hands and she stormed over to Kerin with a look of pure anger on her face. So Kerin had to be... this mad? But she wasn't teaching him anything, throwing a ball of fire at his feet. Kerin quickly sidestepped as she did, now not sure of what Marisa said before about Gods protecting them.

"Aah! Please stop!" But she didn't, swining her fists at him. Her fire was making the air hot around. Kerin couldn't swing back because, for one, he would burn himself and two, it wasn't like the fights he usually got in. She wasn't bullying him, she was just angry because he was incompetent. And Kerin agreed. But he really did not want to die today. "Stop!"

He put his hands to stop an incoming punch, only to feel his hands grow hot. He squeezed his eyes shut, awaiting for the fist but... nothing came. He opened them, to see the Goddess grinning at him, staring at his palms. Around his hands was fire, tinged slightly blue, licking around and up his wrists. His first reaction was to put it out, though he kind of sat there and marvelled at it until it blew out.

"Wait, what's that?" the Goddess pointed an accusing finger at his chest and when Kerin had finished looking at his hands and looked down, he saw the alchemy stones Bernkastel gave him. "Is that... Bloodstone! And Citrine and Jade! That witch! This is why you cannot harbour your emotions." She stood up and flicked her long hair, sighing. "Different teaches teach magic in different ways. I prefer emotions for a quick and easy method, but there's also teaching by chakra, by drawing heat around you and turning other enerigies into fire or having a source. I prefer emotions for situations like this, it's easy to teach and is useful in adrenaline situations of the Population Games. But that," she pointed at the stones again, "is blocking your hidden emotions, helping you to get over them. You can't harness raw emotion that's not there."

"But I need this!" Kerin objected, pulling at the necklace. "This helps, it really does!"

"Does it, Kerin?" he flinched again at the wrong pronouciation of his name. "Does it? You cannot rely on Bernkastel Vermillia for these games. You have to get over these demons in your heart that you hold so dear. Not me, not Marisa, not Bernkastel, but you, Kerin Knight."

* * *

"How did it go?" Marisa tugged at his arm as they took the elevator back up to the Vampire tower, smiling brightly at him. Kerin had no idea what she had done all day, but she seemed to have enjoyed herself, no matter what it was.

"Alright, I suppose," Kerin shrugged. Alright was a pretty good explanation. His hands were scalded from the overuse of fire and the constant outbursts, but at least he had gotten somewhere. He had not mastered the art of fire, but after a few more long hours replicating adrenaline and trying to 'control' his 'hidden emotions', he had managed to control a flame, even getting so far as to spar with the Goddess with flames around his fists. Fireballs though, were a little out of his reach, but the Goddess promised that if he continued doing what he was doing, he would be able to let the flames leave his body. "How about you?"

She didn't answer, only giggling as she pulled him out of the elevator and into her own room, dragging him around like he was a toy of hers.

"Kerin-sama, let's play a board game!"

"Okay, which one?"

"This one! This game! You can be the blue piece!"

"Okay," Kerin smiled. He felt home again.

Eeveemaster9 · #**333** February 29th, 2012, 06:46 PM

Chapter 4 - Marisa Ryunatta - Vampire District

We ended up playing a few board games, actually. And, not to brag, but I won most of them. Not all, because I didn’t want Kerin to know I had been cheating. Seeing the near future, I was able to mess up his strategy. But, I knew cheating was bad. My excuse for doing so was that it was practice for the games. After talking with Xavier during training, I knew I couldn’t just depend on Kerin and my other friends to save me. I needed to learn how to control my visions, since that was the best skill I had. Well… Besides my agility and newly discovered specialty at water element magic.

My eyes drifted over to the paper and pens at Kerin’s desk. Perhaps it would be easier to interpret visions if I drew pictures? I frowned at the idea. Though I did love to do creative work, I knew that Natruo wouldn’t set up pens and paper as weapons. Thus, that idea flew out the window. My mind wandered back to the game as Kerin won. A smile manifested on my face, as I clapped at his victory. It was a simple game that didn’t require much effort, so I had been able to think of important things while being entertained.

I let out a yawn that wasn’t entirely faked. It had been a tiring day. After seeing a few scenes in the future, I assumed that I would need my strength for tomorrow.

“Kerin-onii-sama,” I plopped my head on his shoulder. “I’m tired… Can we go to bed?” Not like he was the one keeping us up. It was my idea, after all, to play games.

I quietly began gathering the pieces of the game, and putting it away back in the box. Not only was I tired, but a worry-some headache was plaguing my temples at a rhythmic pace. I didn’t want to make Kerin freak out, so I kept it to myself.
Once everything was cleaned up, I stumbled to my feet and wandered over to the closet, where I lazily picked out a pair of slightly-big fuzzy pyjamas, and slipped into the bathroom. I took my time in there; getting dressed and looking myself over in the mirror. Why did I have to stop growing at the age of eight? Even though I’ve been alive much longer than that… I would always be an eight year old with a highly adapted of being alive. I touched my cheeks, and a shiver trembled from my fingers.

Outside the bathroom, I immediately collapsed onto Kerin’s bed. I honestly wouldn’t be able to carry myself back to my own room. I assumed he wouldn’t mind, and I crawled under the covers. Sleep caught me quickly, and I drifted off into the endless darkness of dreams.

SkyisUmbreon · #**334** February 29th, 2012, 09:53 PM

-After a while, it seemed pretty evident that the man or woman knocking was not going to leave. I hated too persistent people, as in the annoying girl scouts who tried to sell you their cookies after you telling them no about 15 times, even a hunters knife wasn't enough to keep them away! "Ugh..." I moaned in annoyance as I dragged myself off my bed and flopped on the floor, getting up slowly and walking slowly towards the door. My metal plated boots didn't make so much as a sound as I walked over the clean soft carpet, that I wouldn't mind just dropping on right now and dosing off.

As I reached the door, I looked through the mini window thing they put in every door so that you don't just open the door for the "pizza guy" with a knife hidden under the box and of course I saw a white jacket, someones chest, no face. "Great, some giant freak stealing my style now..." I thought in my head, my minds voice irate. I looked back at my bed with great longing in my eyes before I finally sighed and pulled back the door and look up at my visitor... well another god really.-

"Can I help you?"

-The same face and tone that I had used when I was talking to Bernkastel was the same that was reflected on my features right now. This was a god no doubt, I could feel the power emanating from him, but he didn't quite look like our game master Natruo, he looked more relaxed and uncaring really... but that didn't change the fact that he was trying to steal my white coat style. Unacceptable.-

"What do you want?" I asked in a annoyed tone leaning against my door with my arms crossed, my eyes bearing an annoyed glint within them.

Eeveemaster9 · #**335** March 1st, 2012, 04:28 AM

Chapter 4 - Somal - God District

Without any sort of greeting, a new person entered the room; making the servants scatter nervously to the side or back into the kitchen. Only one servant seemed to have the bravery (or idiocy) to ask the man if he'd like anything. His eyes, grey-yellow and narrowed, looked upon the woman attempting to give a kind smile. With a grunt, he grabbed the startled young girl by the wrist, and threw her in the direction of another young girl. “No thank you, I don’t need your childish services.” A polite smile was flashed their way, but his words definitely weren’t as such. The servants cowered, and all fled to different rooms. Fixing his hat, he continued on his way to Ryuu’s table; only glancing once at the broken window. Sitting down across from the participant, the man pulled in his chair and layered a cloth across his lap. By the way he walked and obvious fear he gave the others, it would seem that he was in important person, and perhaps even had a military background. Underneath the hat, his hair was neatly combed in grey streaks. Afar he hadn’t looked too old, but up close one could tell that he was at least fifty years old. His body looked healthy and strong, but there were creases in his facial features that spoke of age. Nonetheless, he had the aura of someone to be respected and/or feared.

“I assume the disappearance of the other table is your doing, Ryuu?” The man without a name fixed the sleeves of his sleek, pressed suit. “I approve.” Reaching out, he poured himself some coffee, and plopped a few sugar cubes inside. As he stirred, he introduced himself.

“My name is Somal. I am your assigned guide for today, onwards.” Somal took a sip of his drink. “Let’s try to have fun, yes? Anyhow, the first thing we should do is figure out how we should have you win, before we worry about the interview.” He seemed to be confident in Ryuu’s ability to win the Population Games. From behind Somal, his wings stretched out for a moment. Black leather that had something like bone sticking out at the upper joint. On the outside, the surface was covered in small black spikes.

“Who’s going to be the most entertaining for you to fight?” Translation; who was going to be strong and/or difficult to fight against?

Chapter 4 - Venius Cloud - God District

(To Be Editted)

Supervegeta · #**336** March 1st, 2012, 05:39 AM

For a while, Ryuu ate in silence as he basically inhaled down anything on his plate in bunches. He had the tablemanners of a...well, demon. That ended as another demon entered the room. Ryuu didn't immediately look up to see how it was until he had made a scene with one of the servants and began approaching him. Ryuu looked up from his food at the person who positioned himself opposite him. His mouth was still filled completely with all manner of food, so he didn't immediately tell him to go away.

“I assume the disappearance of the other table is your doing, Ryuu?” he said as he sat down. Ryuu had a full mouth, and so didn't speak right away. Instead, he turned his head back to the window which was broke, and back at the man. He contemplated throwing him out along with the table, but decided to see what he wanted first. It was a small change in his 'punch first, ask questions later' strategy he usually implements. Then again, Ryuu had to adapt quite a bit of different mannerisms and behaviors since coming here.

“I approve.” He said, reaching out to get some coffee. “My name is Somal. I am your assigned guild for today, onwards. Let’s try to have fun, yes? Anyhow, the first thing we should do is figure out how we should have you win, before we worry about the interview.”

Ryuu looked at Somal with a blank look. There were really only two questions going through his mind at the moment: What was he supposed to guide him with, and which window should he throw him out of? The other part of his introduction is what got him thinking a bit more. Ryuu recalled in the previous day how Bernkastel interrupted the fight between himself and Raike. The very remembrance of it caused his blood to boil. He remembered his vow. He was going to win, and he was going to do it one his own. No alliances, no partnerships, no nothing. But this talk of some interview is what caused him to get anxious. He didn't know what to make of it, but since it wasn't directly involved in fighting, he decided in his mind not to throw out the man from the window, and here what he has to say.

“Who’s going to be the most entertaining for you to fight?” He asked Ryuu. Ryuu thought for a moment in his mind at all the contestants. He singled out a few of them as those he thought may be pretty entertaining: Raike, Xavier, and maybe Kerin. There was Bernkastel too. However, he didn't want to say anything about it to this man. Still, there was something about the way the man spoke that Ryuu was slightly fond of. Instead of saying who was going to give him trouble, he said who would be the most entertaining, alluding to Ryuu's might. Instead of wondering how they would win, the man specifically said 'How we should have you win', alluding to the fact that he fully expected Ryuu to win, and there were in fact multiple options to reach that goal. Nevertheless, he preferred not to share these thought with Somal at this moment. Ryuu swallowed his food, and licked his lips, and he opened his mouth to speak for the first time.

"Listen, you. I don't know who you think you are, but I'll tell you this now. I'm going to win, without any help or guidance from you or anyone else here. I'll handle any fighting my own way. I don't need a guide, and I don't need a babysitter!"

Ryuu glared at the man for a moment, then continued. "But you said something about an interview, and that kinda sh*t is something that I don't know what to do, so explain to be first what the hell you were talking about."

As he awaited an answer from Somal, Ryuu shoved another mouthful of breakfast into his mouth, and chewed loudly.

Eeveemaster9 · #**337** March 1st, 2012, 06:36 PM

Chapter 4 - Somal - God District

Somal took a second sip from his coffee; listening patientlyto what Ryuu had to say. When he finished, the demon set the cup down andsmirked. His wrinkles almost seemed to disappear with this kind of expression. “Ithink I’m a Nekooni, but I suppose that’s only because of the tail, hm?” Gazingback, he made sure the servants were still in the kitchen, before he replied tothe participant before him.
“That’s exactly it, Ryuu. You don’t need a babysitter orsomeone to drag you around. You’re independent, unlike the others who will teaminto their little groups, and then cut each other’s throats while they’resleeping. “ The man crossed his arms. “And, you’re right. You are going to win.Not a doubt in my mind.”

Taking off his hat, Somal fixed his hair while he continuedspeaking. “All participants in the Games are assigned a “Guide” for a lack ofbetter wording. We help you with the interview, and handle your points whileyou’re in the arena. I’ll get more into detail later. For now… The interview istonight. Basically, you and the others will be dressed according to the themeyour appearance and personality share, to impress the Gods and the rich. Theinterview is the time where sponsors will deliver ‘points’ to the participantsthey think have a good chance at winning. These points will either burn theskin off your victims flesh, or save your own hide from certain injuries orsituations you wouldn’t want to deal with.” He eyed Ryuu over calmly. “Points,which I will be keeping track of, are used to buy anything from a Band-Aid to anarmful of grenades. These things are either extremely rare inside an arena, orsimply banned from even being handled in the first place. With enough points,you could make the most illegal weapon or drug, legal in your possession.Though, I doubt you’ll need steroids to crush a couple dozen people.”

A laugh, and he reached out to finish the rest of hiscoffee. “I won’t dress you into some sort of weird get-up. Actually, you’llprobably like how you obtain your look for the interview. I want you to be seenas sheer power; what you are. Your strength is unmatched, and you can easilyclear all the contestants around you, in their fancy dresses and suits. Youwill not show mercy, and you will win. That is the future I want the sponsorsto see. Agreed?”

Skymin · #**338** March 2nd, 2012, 02:41 PM

Kerin woke up in the morning, a sleeping Marisa resting on his arm. He felt dazed when he woke up, the same feeling anyone gets when they wake up in a bed that is not your own. Last night, he had slept on Marisa's floor so everything was a little different from yesterday. After he had finally realised he was on his own floor, he maneuvered himself out from under Marisa's head and slipped out of bed and into the open living room.

The morning light streamed in through the blinds comfortably onto the sofa as Kerin fell into it. He was hungry, yeah, and thirsty too, but it wasn't quite what he was thinking about. In one hand, he was trying to keep a flame in his right palm perfect and controlled. In the other, he held his necklace he had received from Bernkastel, fingering the stones lightly. The instructor had told him he needed raw emotion to learn fire quickly but raw emotion meant that he would feel like he used to again, without Bernkastel's assistance to help him get over his troubles. He kind of liked how the Goddess had worded it; Demons in his heart. It made him think there was a tiny Ryuu down there, ripping everything to shreds.

The flame in his right hand wasn't keeping so well, often flicking between full flame the size of his palm and a tiny flame, like the ones you see from a match. So, what would happen if he released his little demon inside him and took off the alchemy? How long would it take until he wouldn't need it anymore? Slowly, he lifted his left hand, pulling his necklace up and around until it left his neck. The flame reacted first in his hand, almost exploding from his palm as he felt his gut twist in that peculiar way he knew so well. It all flooded so fast, outside the church, in his bed, on the floor, waking up. The flame spat from his hand, now moved down his arm, and fell to the floor, catching fire to the rug beneath his feet. Kerin quickly pulled the necklace on, almost soothing his mind and gut. The fire in his arm died immediately also, the only fire remaining being the one on the floor.

"Crap!" Kerin quickly jumped back, hitting the fire on the floor with a rug that was sprawled on the sofa. The fire went out and Kerin fell back into the chair. Well, that wasn't exactly as smooth as he thought it would be. His stomach rumbled again and rubbed his neck. Hopefully Marisa would be up soon.

Supervegeta · #**339** March 2nd, 2012, 10:12 PM

For now, Ryuu listened as Somal spoke. For the most part, what he said was true. Ryuu had no need for petty alliances and pacts. He had one with Bern, but it was cast away the moment she broke her end of the bargain. And Somal gave another good reason for not getting into those alliances: stabbing in the back. For the most part, Ryuu wasn't worried about that, as he had pretty much established himself among most of the others as someone they didn't want to mess with. But he had completely forgotten that as a possibility in this thing. It was probably allowed to some extent too. Any way of getting an advantage over others. Ryuu made a mental note to see to something later, in case anyone tried to kill him in his sleep.

Ryuu continued to listen silently as Somal explained the interview briefly and the 'points' system. The more he listened to it, the more he liked it less and less, though. Interviews were one thing, but being forced to wear something was completely unacceptable. Ryuu held back a laugh as he let Somal finish talking. Put simply, Ryuu thought the whole thing was complete nonsense. Interviews, dressing up, alliances, points, and even to an extent the training, although that might have been the only useful part. It was all for entertainment, so that the Gods could sit in their comfortable homes and throw coins at the participants as they mauled each other.

But Ryuu didn't hate the Gods for this, or despise the system as it was. He understood how the world works, and he cared not for politics. Still, he was here to fight, perhaps the ultimate fight of his life. The real problem was there was too much bulls*** before they even got to it.

Still, Ryuu decided to play along, and keep these thoughts to himself. At the end of the tunnel, the prize was worth all the waiting. At least, he hoped it would be. Although from what he had seen so far, it will be.

“I won’t dress you into some sort of weird get-up. Actually, you’ll probably like how you obtain your look for the interview. I want you to be seen as sheer power; what you are. Your strength is unmatched, and you can easily clear all the contestants around you, in their fancy dresses and suits. You will not show mercy, and you will win. That is the future I want the sponsors to see. Agreed?”

Ryuu laughed. "Fine, Somal. I'll play along for now." Ending the sentence with a bit of displeasure. "These...Gods, are rather dull characters. They think that through the manner we are dressed, that will determine how frightening we can be. If they wish to see power, sheer power as you put it, they need only see me use this." He said, as he held up his fist. Ryuu looked around the room, somewhat glad none of the other participants were around to hear him. It did not fit the brute persona he had crafted while here in the first place. He slammed his fist on the table, and took another bite of his food.

Eeveemaster9 · #**340** March 7th, 2012, 06:51 PM

Chapter 4 – Venius Cloud – God District

The man straightened out when the door was opened; looking down at Raike. A smile manifested over his lips upon his thoughts echoing inside the God’s head. The human thought the God was copying him. Hardly. Calmly, he unbuttoned the jacket. “You know, wearing a particular color of jacket doesn’t mean I’m stealing your fashion. I doubt it’s copyrighted.” Taking it off to show Venius had a plain white shirt underneath, he plopped the coat on Raike’s head.

“I knew it would annoy you. Anyways, I’m here to get you ready for the interview tonight!” His hands were stuffed into his pockets. “Venius Cloud. I’m in charge of your appearance during the interview, as well as the points given to you by sponsors. Please tell me you know what I’m talking about?” Well, at least he was much friendlier compared to Natruo.

“Although, I don’t think I have much work to do on you. You actually look rather ‘dashing’ and that alone should swoon some girl sponsors who’re into the dark and mysterious type. Maybe a bit more flames and metal, but otherwise it’s good!”

Chapter 4 – Marisa Ryunatta – Vampire District

Prophetic dreams are rather cliché, are they? Well, I must be the most cliché person in the world then, because that’s exactly what I experience as I slept. Everything was blurry, as though my eyesight was wavering between perfect and blindness. But I could still pick up on things around me. It all flashed around; I wasn’t in one place for long. The only thing that was constant was the quiet ticking in the background. A clock signalled for two o’clock; two loud pangs. Over the horizon, I could make out a small stadium. Not the Population Games arena, but some other place where there were roaring crowds at the stands. On the platform, there were two chairs facing each other, with a beautiful spring garden in between. A man sat in one of the chairs; laughing and greeting the crowd. Suddenly, I was sitting across from him; clutching my fingers into the green dress I wore. All I managed to make out from his speech was something about a faery. There were six pangs for six o’clock and the scene changed. It morphed and swirled.

Now, there was a gigantic square table; decorated extravagantly and seating about forty people. Half of the faces were new, and each sat besidea certain contestant. Though, there were contestants missing; more notably, Ryuu. Natruo and the man from the stadium were there as well. We seemed to be having supper.

The rest of the visions flew by in a hurry. Pangs sounded again and again, but I couldn’t keep track enough to translate the time with the events. Obviously, for these scenes, I was in the arena. I saw a river; fish. Crumbling ruins with a red dust floating around the area....

I sat upright in a cold sweat; breathing hard and quickly running my hands around the bed to place myself back into the present. I was in bed. Relaxing slowly from my vivid dream world, I slipped my feet out from under the blankets, and wandered over to the bathroom. So much for sleeping to heal from yesterday… My body was still sore and a thumping headache was trampling my brain into my skull. According to my dreams, there would be some sort of public interview of the participants, and we would be assigned persons to attend a banquet.

Having a quick shower to wash off myself, I didn’t bother shampooing my hair or making it all pretty. I knew what was to come, and whatever efforts I did now to look nice would be in vain, simply because there were better experts. Slipping on a long dress that came to my heels loosely, I moved out of the bathroom with my hair still dripping wet. A towel was placed over my head and shoulders so it didn’t dampen my clothing.

Upon seeing Kerin and a slightly charred carpet, I giggled and hopped into his lap. I was glad he had been practicing his magic. “Hii!!” My face brightened, and I hugged the boy happily. “Kerin-sama, I had more visions last night! Uuu. Wanna hear?” I didn’t wait for an answer.

“We’re gonna be dressed up really nice and go to an interview with a bunch of people! And we’ll have designers! And---“ I burst out laughing, and glanced at the door. I placed a hand on his shoulder as though I was breaking some sort of tragic news to him. “I wish you luck with him, Kerin-sama.” I laughed again. “Anyways, we’re gonna have this biiigggg meal afterwards, and tomorrow we’re going into the arena. It was really pretty!Mountains and ruins and lots of rivers and trees!"

Skymin · #**341** March 14th, 2012, 03:33 PM

"Hi!!" Kerin spun around hastily, trying to cover up his failure, which didn't really work. You could easily smell the stench of smoke, especially with noses like theirs. He could probably smell smoke from last week in this room if the servants weren't so good at their jobs. And it wasn't like Marisa cared that much about Kerin's level of magic. He had told her how terrible he was, it wasn't like he was going to get better overnight. "Kerin-sama, I had more visions last night! Uuu. Wanna hear?"

"Sur--" he didn't get to finish before she moved on.

"We’re gonna be dressed up really nice and go to an interview with a bunch of people! And we’ll have designers! And---" she suddenly started laughing and glanced over at the front door. Kerin made a face as she placed her hand on his shoulder. What was going on? Kerin remembered for a second that she could see the future but... what? "I wish you luck with him, Kerin-sama?"

"What?"

"Anyways, we’re gonna have this big meal afterwards, and tomorrow we’re going into the arena. It was really pretty! Mountains and ruins and lots of rivers and trees!"

Kerin sighed heavily. The area. Marisa seemed quite chilled about it but his heart did flips as the day loomed closer and closer. He had only been here a day and soon, he would be forced to kill another. Something he wanted to avoid doing. Though, if it was to protect Marisa, he would beat any damn guy into a freaking pulp.

"That sounds nice," Kerin said, shrugging. Honestly, he didn't really want to talk about it. Instead, he stood up, waving at her to gesture he'd be back in a second. He wandered back into his room, into the enormous closet that he had chose his clothes from last time. Like last time, he picked something simple again; a long sleeved, red and white shirt, dark cargo pants and another grey hoodie. He went back out into the living area and instead of joining Marisa, he walked over to the door, pointing at it and waving at her to come over.

"Breakfast?"

SkyisUmbreon · #**342** March 14th, 2012, 08:34 PM

-I looked at the man from top to bottom, and he looked like he was dressed to stay home and watch TV. Then again, who was I to judge people here... oh yeah I was me. I had both heard AND seen what the guardians did to the contestants, and I didn't like it, it was always something stupid like a fail of a superhero costume or something completely degrading like a ballet uniform. I could already tell that we were not going to get along, and I probably wasn't going to get much from him in the arena.-

"You wouldn't be able to get me into some ridiculous costume if you tried, no way at all. I'm fine with my cloths that I have on already, so no piercings, no tattoos, or anything like that. I have enough already thanks to what they did to me in the human district, I don't need any more."

-I swerved around the man, and started walking towards the elevator, my stomach sending up a light protest as if saying "why did u waste time talking to that guy! Feed ME!" I frowned for a second, then stopped, turning around to look at the man with a hint of amusement in my eyes.-

"Actually... why don't we discuss this over breakfast, I'm sure they have a private room down there so we wont be overheard, but I'm hungry."

-I took the last few step into the elevator before turning to look at Venius and pressing the dining room button.-

"Are you coming or not?"

Eeveemaster9 · #**343** March 16th, 2012, 06:53 PM

Chapter 4 - Somal - God District

I watched Ryuu intently; processing each word, each action,and translating it into a series of answers which would continue to pull the demon boy in. Ryuu was a smart, strong man, but he needed a bit of work. Magic and the upcoming interview was what the focus was on, whether he denied it or embraced it. I needed to get close to him in order for Ryuu to stand a chance against the magic-wielding Bernkastel and her demon companions.

“Hm, I agree. Though, I suppose they do this for a little more ‘excitement’ and ‘surprise’ during the actual fights.” I clicked my tongue thoughtfully. “If they went by power,you would’ve been here years ago. It’s annoying, but I have no say in what changes could be made. Things are so much simpler in the Demon Realm. See a pretty girl and she’s your mistress. The weak are the slaves and the strong have whatever they want.” I threw the hook out there, wondering if it even remotely interested Ryuu; a world without stupid fashion-crazes, and with more power and fighting.

If Ryuu won, he would have three choices.

A) Go back to the Demon Realm

B) Stay in the Gods Realm and have the Government use him to scare the other species

C) Go to the Demon Realm

Abruptly, I stood up and grabbed my empty cup. “Well, you won’t be seeing much of me. The other contestants will be busy beautifying themselves somehow, while you will actually do something productive with your time.” Yawning, I moved to go to the elevator, but paused short; staring curiously at the closed kitchen door. I could hear the servants whispering onthe other side. Smirking, I walked over and in one quick movement, yanked the door open and threw my cup inside. When it crashed on the floor, the servants cried out in surprise as though it had been some kind of radioactive bomb. I laughed, and walked off. “Morons… Let’s go, Ryuu. We’ll go on a little drive and find you a good fight or two. You’ll get plenty of more sponsors if they see you personally beat down a God. Which, should be no problem for you.”
Chapter 4 - Bernkastel Vermillia - Demon District

From the shadows, a form with two glowing red orbs retreated backwards on four paws. A silent figure which couldn’t even be detected by a vampire’s senses was he. His spine curled into a perfect arc to squeeze out of the room; tail swaying to then keep his balance on the thin railing outside. A dizzying height was his position, but he did not worry. He did not give the slightest hesitation, even when he had to jump several feet in the air to catch the next open balcony. Behind him was the rising sun, cracking out in pieces due to the towering city on the horizon. A scene which displayed just how crowded the world was. A world dominated by two-legged beings of all different ‘races’. Humans were like Gods, and Gods were like humans. Both had the urge to multiply exceedingly; unaware of the damage that such an unnatural population did. No matter how many chances they got, they never learned and one always screwed up something. Everyone outside this endless ring of destruction was losing patience; confidence so thin it could break as easily as scissors to dentalfloss. He, the one crossing past Xavier’s floor and higher still, had no opinion on the subject. At least, an opinion that was originally his. He had two views from two persons; unable to stray from either. They contradicted each other like black and white, with him being the gray medium.

Upon seeing the cat at my window, I straightened up from the bed and flicked my fingers at the glass. It slid open smoothly, with the animal slipping inside.

“I found Ryuu… He was in the kitchen.” The cat spoke out; whiskers twitching when I reached out to pick him up. But, he didn’t struggle. He allowed himself to rest on my lap; eyes staring out the same opening that I was.
“Tellme what your eyes and ears have witnessed, Lucifier.”

The_Original_Raitan · #**344** March 18th, 2012, 05:27 AM

"....." Xavier turned in bed, opening his eyes to stare up to the ceiling. Not even the tiniest amount of purple arose around his eyes, along with no bags under them. A light rumble filled the soundwaves of his room, however. Xavier sighed. After training the previous day, he had taken to skipping dinner with the (apparent) furniture racist, the seductress, and Ms. Victory. Instead, he went directly to his room and went to sleep. In fact, he had actually been up for about an hour now, but he didn't really want to get up. He had to though... Sadly.

His wings pushed him up, to where his torso was raised up. He lazily raised a fist and wiped some of the 'sand' out of his eyes with the back of it. He never liked that stuff... He swiveled his legs to hang off the bed. How come he got so much sleep, yet his legs still felt dead like they always do in the morning...? Hm. Xavier stood up, put on a white t-shirt with black jeans. Bland, yes, but it wasn't like he wasn't too. At least to everyone else's eyes. Not like Xavier actually cares about what people say about him. He combed his hair, then proceeded with the walk to the kitchen.

"...." Actually, he had a small change in schedule. Instead of trying to stay in the kitchen and eat there, he would be eating in his room. He looked blankly at Ryuu, then the other male whom he knew none of, and walked up to the kitchen doors. Xavier knocked, before opening the door slowly. "...Anything that you can cook fast... I just want to go back to my room." He shut the door to stare at part of the opposite wall for a few minutes, before a plate of eggs and bacon were handed to him. Xavier muttered a thank you to the servant before walking back to his room. He sat criss-cross applesauce on his bed to eat.

He was writing down possible ways the Roman Empire could have continued to survive and quite possibly thrive again--in their language of Latin, before a quiet knocking on the door struck his ears. Three uniformed knocks, almost quieter than his would be. Xavier flipped his hair, his eyes being exposed for once. His chocolate brown eyes stared right towards the door. It was probably a servant. Definitely not one of his contenders. Well, it might be Bern. But she was the most welcome out of them so... Xavier stood up and answered the door. "...?" Well, not Bern. He stared at the man emotionlessly as always.

Supervegeta · #**345** March 20th, 2012, 04:17 AM

Ryuu laughed at the mention of being here years ago. He should have been here years ago. He had every right and every opportunity. What he would call 'bad parenting' is what kept him away. But that was in the past. He was here now, and ready to do what needed to be done. As Somal spoke about life in the Demon Realm, he couldn't help but agree. It was simpler in the Demon Realm, but in Ryuu's case simpler wasn't always better. Complications of things, like these sorts of reapings, is better than the mundane life he had before over in the Demon Realm. Things have changed for the better, at least he hoped they have.

Somal stood up. “Well, you won’t be seeing much of me. The other contestants will be busy beautifying themselves somehow, while you will actually do something productive with your time.” He headed towards the elevator, then stopped suddenly to mess with the kitchen staff who whispered to each other by the kitchen door. “Morons… Let’s go, Ryuu. We’ll go on a little drive and find you a good fight or two. You’ll get plenty of more sponsors if they see you personally beat down a God. Which, should be no problem for you.”

Ryuu cocked an eyebrow in surprise, and then grinned. "Heh...now you're speaking my language!" Ryuu said. He grabbed his glass, finished the contents of the drink, and smashed it onto the ground below, before getting up and following Somal out of the dining room.

雷影 イチロ · #**346** March 22nd, 2012, 08:48 AM

Akira Tsukuda - Angel

Akira's dreams were plagued by the same nightmares that haunted him in his waking life, and within a couple of hours of falling asleep, he found himself awake again; the dream fading at the edges of his vision. He felt the tears roll down the sides of his cheeks but chose to stay on his side; slowing his breathing and organising his thoughts back into order.

"I am Akira." Check.

"I am in the Population Games." Check.

"What am I here for?"

When Akira found out they were calling the names of the reaping, he saw this as a chance at redemption. Back then that was. Once the others had been chosen and shipped away, he was disappointed to find that his name had not been chosen; his chance at redemption taken out from under him. But when illness befell one of the contestants, he saw his chance and offered himself as a tribute to take their place. Although the tried to ignore it, Akira knew that those who knew him were happy to see him go; they would probably cheer at his death too, but Akira wasn't concerned.

He laughed silently to himself, little more than a whisper leaving his lips; a sadistic evil laugh. He had no chance, he knew that, he had no chance at winning the Population Games; despite being on the good side with the Game Master, the odds were stacked against him. Having little to no hand-to-hand combat training, much less anything like traps or rope tying, he was useless. His ability to control sand and fly would do no good in a fight against Ryuu. He was weak, he was useless, he had no reason to be here. Redemption was just a reason he made up, he was never seeking redemption in the first place; more like death. He is a coward, he knew that if push came to shove he could kill, but he would rather run away and hide than to confront someone front on; he was nothing.

Stretching his hand out, he fiddle with the small vial on his bedside table, playing with the sandy contents it help until the sun began peeking through the windows.

Day Three of the Population Games.

Akira climbed out of bed, slipping into some comfortable clothes, ready to meet whatever monster they had as his guide. He made sure he had everything on him, everything that was a part of him before heading to the door. He grasped the door handle, feeling the chill metal cool his warm palms and turned it, opening to door to the shadowy figure that was about to knock. Looking up, Akira looked into the eyes of someone he was not expecting to see tonight.

"Please tell me this is a joke!" he exclaimed as Natruo loomed over the angel.

Eeveemaster9 · #**347** April 2nd, 2012, 05:45 AM

Chapter 4 – Venius Cloud – God District

I watched Raike with a calm smile; crossing my arms. Such a strange human… Did I really look like someone who’d tie him down and splatter ink designs on his skin? ‘I need to stop being healthy, then.’ I mused, simply because it was true. Being a God as well as having muscle was just asking for this sort of response, no matter how aloof one was. Eyes flickering over the tattoo just on the side of his neck, I couldn’t help but wonder if it was real. It was strikingly familiar. Did Bernkastel not have that exact design on her body as well? Perhaps the two were in the same cult…

Seeing the spark of light in Raike’s eyes, I shrugged my shoulders and walked into the elevator before the doors closed. “Sure. This place has plenty of private rooms. Too bad nobody has bothered to ask before. They’re very useful.”

Ding. I slipped out of the claustrophobic compartment and into the dining room. Thankfully, none of the participants had arrived yet. When a servant approached us, I raised my hand out to stop him before he could speak. As expected, his lips pressed tightly together in a nervous fashion.

“Mind directing us to an empty room? Breakfast would be good, too. Plenty.”

The servant breathed out a sign of relief, nodding his head. “Yes, sir.” He turned and led Raike and myself to a door just beside the kitchen; a door which upon inspection, was made to keep noise in. Giving me one of the two keys for said room, he went off to get our food. Humming to myself, I unlocked the door and stepped in first; not hesitating at all before sitting myself down at a nearby table.

The room was much more eye-appealing, even in comparison with the original dining room. Rather, it was a warm purple color mixed with shades of grey that almost seemed to be silver. The table sat, with two couches on either side.

“Have a seat, Raike. We have plenty to talk about before the interview.”

Chapter 4 - Mammon - Underworld

The demoness watched Venius from the comfort of her room; piecing through the God’s shield without resistance to see just exactly what it was that he was thinking of. The first thing she did was panic; something her comrades reminded her never to do. She didn’t think Venius had the brain capacity to remember what he did last night, let alone a signature marking on Bern’s shoulder. ‘Damn it,’ with the flick of her wrist the tattoo disappeared off of Raike’s neck, only to reappear above his heart. She needed to be more careful now that she had two contractors to obey.

Just as she was about to log out and check on Bern, however, Venius decided to wonder if the mark had something to do with a cult. Mammon sat up fast in hurt shock. It wasn’t a cult symbol at all! It was the symbol of manifestation! The bond between Raike, the human, and Mammon, the demon servant… She absolutely hated it when Earth-dwellers misinterpreted the demon language. It was annoying.

“Est lau malas a-kala zei Venius…” She breathed out; sparks of flame licking out from between her lips in reaction to the burning words.

“Wow, Mammon. Harsh,”

The demon servant jumped to her feet in surprise, only to be pulled back down by a strong arm. She let out an automatic squeak.

“Zane!”

The male demon grinned down at her. Taking off the metal bracelets from around his wrists, he set them down on the floor. Mammon could practically see the floor go into concave mode at the unnatural weight. Zane plopped down beside her on the bed; making her wrinkle her nose in disgust.

“Gross. You smell like wet dog.”

“What were you expecting? Vanilla and lavender?”

“That would have been nice,” she rolled her eyes and manifested a bottle of perfume; then going crazy with spraying the area to smell like cherry blossoms. Meanwhile, Zane was looking up at the ceiling curiously; watching Raike enter the elevator.

“Oi, think you can ease off? My nose is still sensitive.”

“I know,” she smirked and sprayed a bit more in Zane’s direction.

“Bah…. So, why were you reciting the dictionary of insults earlier? Did Raike reject you or something~?”

“Ye---WHAT?! NO!” Mammon flushed red and turned her head away. “Some God just mistook by symbol for a cult sign!”

“A cult sign?” He looked thoughtfully at Mammon, before a teasing grin filled his lips. “Cool,”

“ZANE.”

Chapter 4 – Somal - God District

The city was a towering glamour of lights and sound. The great building of silver pierced the sky like swords. Fluffy marshmallows hugged tapered tops; the grey areas appearing to have been roasted by the sun. This particular ball of fire balanced itself on the horizon, shimmering and creating the rather usual display of ‘rolling’ forward. As the limousine pulled deeper inside traffic, it became apparent just how much thought had been put into the design of everything.

Even though the towers of cement and minerals casted high and blocked the sunlight, there was no darkness. There were no lamps or sources of artificial light, either. So, why would there not be darkness? Well, that could easily be explained through the multiple mirrors on each block; reflecting sunlight from the city’s limits, right into the heart of the God’s houses.

Streetlights and signs were not present at all, yet traffic ran smoothly in and out of intersections without a problem. What was noticeable with the dawn’s light, was that the area was lined in metallic strips; perhaps magnets. These magnets interacted with the cars in a way that it would basically control it for you. Thus, driving wheels were nearly not needed. Nearly. You still had to tell the car where exactly you wanted to go, with motion detectors and magnets making it happen.

The people wandering the streets and chatting outside café’s looked like characters pulled straight out of both Disney movies and business stock-market conventions. There were women in bright colors that overwhelmed the eye, especially a particular shade of green that seemed to be in style that season. Large sunhats hid curls of bright blue and green, and dresses of fine silk covered skin as flawless as that of flower petals. Men were a bit more open to selection; either sporting bright make-up that could compare greatly to the Goddess’, or pressed suits that carried them well on the sidewalks.

In the very back of the limo sat Somal, seatbelt not used and arm balanced on the windowsill. He gazed out the window, and then back at Ryuu as the magnetic pull slowed the vehicle down. The man gestured outside with a smirk.

“Go ahead. Jump out of here whenever you see a target you like. I don’t care who it is. Just someone you think will be fun to play around with.” Somal’s eyes flashed with a hint of hunger. “If you’re lucky, some stupid God will join to try and stop you.”

Chapter 4 – Marisa – Vampire District

I giggled out softly as I watched Kerin wander off to get dressed. Though, once he was gone, I sobered.

---

Once Kerin was dressed, Marisa happily followed the boy downstairs for some breakfast. Upon entering, the two were attacked by the most wonderful, welcoming scents ever. It smelt of family cooking. Bacon, pancakes, eggs; everything that makes a morning perfect and enjoyable. I inhaled deeply, and ran over to take a seat at the table. Everything was decorated differently, as well. Which was appreciated deeply, since it was know my favorite color, blue.

---

The clicking of heels is what snapped me back to the dining room. Slightly startled, I looked up from my empty plate, to the woman coming towards the table. I blinked, rubbing my eyes in reaction. That couldn't be... She was sparkling? Indeed she was, head to toe, covered in reflective blue-white-gold sparkles. And, she was definitely a Goddess. The next thing that caught my attention was whatever was on her head. This woman had big, curly blonde hair that basically surrounded her head and spilled down her shoulders like a gigantic scarf. Propped up on top was a crown made of star-shaped mirrors.

"Aw! You're the most precious thing ever!" She squealed out excitingly; wrapping her silky-smooth arms around my body. She reeked of some type of perfume. Probably expensive. "Oh gosh, you're adorable!" Next thing I knew, my cheek was being given a big, affectionate kiss. With her pulling away and myself gaining the ability to breathe, I looked up at her with wide gold eyes.

The eyes staring back at me all mother-like were the brightest blue I had ever seen. None of the shades in this room could possibly compare to it. In the center of each pupil. was a small white star.

"K-kerin-sama, who is this?" I asked nervously; scooting closer to his chair.

The Goddess frowned. "I'm your guide, sweetheart! For the interview," I knew that, but I wasn't supposed to. Slowly I straightened back up.

"Goddess---"

"Oh! My name is Astara, darling~" I guess that explained the whole space-barbie look.

"She is a button, isn't she? Hm, then again, this boy here is rather handsome too..."

A newer voice had come from directly behind Kerin. No sounds of anyone else had reached my ears, so I jumped a foot in the air and clinged to the woman on accident. Before I could pull away in embarrassment, she squished me against her bulging breasts. "Ohhh~! You scared her, Raum! Bad! Come, Marisa. We'll go find a lovely little dress for you~!" And before I could protest, the Goddess Astara pulled me up like a doll and carried me out of the room.

Before I was out of earshot, I quickly looked over Astara's shoulder and waved to Kerin. "Bye bye, Kerin-sama!

---

Now, it was just this 'Raum' character and Kerin left. Carefully, he slid out from behind Kerin and into a chair. His appearance? Well, it wouldn't have been all that surprising if Marisa HAD been scared by him. He didn't look like some evil overlord, but... Rather exotic and silly. Something you wouldn't see in the Vampire Realm. He was, obviously, a vampire from the way his fangs just slightly poked out from between his smiling pink lips. And when I say pink, they weren't a natural shade. Not to bright, but it definitely was lipstain.

"I'm guessing you have an alliance with her? Well~ I don't judge! Are there any other alliances I need to know about?" He rubbed an index finger at his eyelid absently. Once he realized, however, he sweared under his breath and wiped a bit of the banana-yellow chalky substance onto a napkin. "Did I just smudge it? Ahh.... I wish there were mirrors..." His eyelids were covered in the stuff. Not smudged, of course. The edges were flecked with long, golden eyelashes. Underneath, were two very unique eyes. His right eye was the color of fresh blood; lulling momentarily downwards before quickly rising back up into place. His left eye was a hot pink; streaks of white running through the pupil.

His hair was fashionably messy; streaked in different variations of whites, blondes, and pinks. Nearly each strand stuck out from his scalp as though wanting to jump away.

"Ahhh, I better introduce myself first! My name is Raum, dear Kerin. I am your guide starting today." He stuck out his left hand for a friendly shake. Each finger was hugged by at least two rings; each a more brighter color than the next. Covering his torso was a pale pink turtleneck. For his legs, he had on cream-colored jeans. He looked like (To no offense) a stereotypical homosexual.

A homosexual vampire was Kerin's guide.

"Are you finished eating? Because, we should really get to my studio before all the parking spaces are taken."

Chapter 4 – Natruo The Gamemaster - God District

Strong footsteps echoed through the now empty training room; bouncing waves of sound back and forth with such high quality, that even when the man stopped, the steps continued on for a few more seconds. It was like an invisible being had been following him, matching his footsteps again and again, only to mess up when he stopped.

His natural blonde eyelashes fell down upon his cheeks for a moment, orbs lowered to gaze at the slight red stains splattering the now bare floor. Everything had been moved from the training room, back into storage to gather dust for yet another year. The shine in his eyes slipped quickly into a coldness similiar to crystalized ice. A harsh look that was of both thoughtful concentration and some sort of chemical anger. Kneeling, Natruo ran along the dried blood with his fingers; slowly, as if to memorize the exact shapes and textures. A faint buzz eminated from it as though it was human. It did have a living energy. An energy that would tingle the nerves with such electric power that could only belong to Ryuu. This was what the demon had bled during their fight the previous night.

Natruo was silent for another minute, before finally straightening his spine, moving past the memory, and going to the angel district's elevator.

He now stood before Akira, looking down upon the angel with a heavy smirk.

"Do I really look like the type of God to joke around? Hm, I suppose I better fix that." Easily, he reached out and pulled the boy away from his room and closer to the elevator; then pushing Akira forward.

"I hope you've done your homework, Akira... 'Cause I'm not one to enjoy explaining things once, let alone twice." His finger jammed into the controls for the main floor. "We'll eat in the car. I'm a little disappointed in your lack of improvement, even though you had a full day to train. So, we're gonna make up for that. A little multitasking, but you'll be able to handle it. Heck, I even have your outfit ordered and ready for the interview later in the afternoon." As soon as the elevator doors opened, the God shoved Akira out and followed behind. "Hopefully you slept well? Because you won't be sleeping after what I have planned." A harsh laugh.

Chapter 4 – Seere – God District

*To Be Edited*

Chapter 4 – Preserias – God District

"English,"

A faint buzzing came from the other end, as Preserias patiently leaned back in his chair. The man sat in an office setting that overlooked the district's square and a fair porton of resident houses. His eyes, a sea-storm blue, observed the figures of two men guilding a sorrowful woman into a sleek black car. Cars were extremely rare in the Angel's District not only because it was easier to fly, but because the vehicle held status. Only nobles were permitted to own them. Or Gods.

His attention went back to the phone as a translated voice came through. Preserias never needed Japanese enough to learn it. English was the most common, aside from Heaven's Tongue which could only be spoken by angels and a few Gods. If demons or vampires attempted to speak it, their throats would become raw.

"I have gotten confirmation directly from Natruo and the High Court. There is to be another participant from the Human District for the Population Games." The voice was of a young man; his japanese accent still sneaking through the translator.

"It's your district now," The angel reminded him, smiling softly.

"Sorry, not exactly used to it. Only since yesturday, Serias." Preserias was thankful for the government buildings' connections to the Human District. It kept the angels friends with the humans enough so that they were apologetic and kind. As for the demons....

"It's fine. I'm guessing that because I am getting this message, that I have to pick him up?"

"Natruo's wishes. In any case, I will send the information on the boy for you." Just after he said that, the machine from across Preserias' room printed something off. Standing up with a grunt, the angel moved over and looked through the two papers on the new participant; complete with a photo, identification specifics, background, and a little classified extras sprinkled around. Thanking the man on the other side, Preserias hung up and folded the papers into the pocket of his grey overcoat.

"I will be away in the God's District until the Population Games are over," Preserias told the guards outside the room. Then, making his way to the rooftop, the angel inhaled the cold air deeply. Well. At least it was early enough that the sun was out. With one more glance back at -his- district, Preserias opened up his silver wings and casted himself into the sky.

---

Within a few hours of steady flying and little wind, the angel rested on the very block where the participant lived. In fact, he could see their house. A grand building that belittled the living quarters of other humans around them. Fixing his sand-blonde hair out of his eyes, Preserias approached the gate, then the steps, then...

Ding. He ringed the doorbell. It took a while, but a few minutes later the door was answered by a young woman in an ivory bathrobe. She first appeared tired and annoyed over having been awoken so early in the morning. Then, as she noticed the person's extraordinary beauty and wings, she stumbled back and called weakly for her husband in slight fright. "U-uhm... I think it's one of your friends," She replied when asked who was at the door.

Preserias shook his head. "I'm not here for your spouse. I am here for your son, Daiki." Immediately, the color drained from her face and she slowly wandered off to find him; telling the angel to wait a moment.

Supervegeta · #**348** April 5th, 2012, 10:22 PM

Ryuu looked outside of the limousine that carried Somal and himself deep into the city of the Gods. Ryuu didn't bother to look around at the architecture of the city. He didn't find those things interesting. What he was curious about, however, was the people, the Gods. He wondered exactly what kind of people they were. To have risen above the other races as their supposed superiors, it was needless to say that he expected much. He was actually kind of excited. He hadn't fought many Gods before. In fact, Natruo was the only one, and he remembered how it went. It was still one of the best fights he had in his life, even if he didn't get a unanimous victory. But as Ryuu got deeper into the city, he began taking note of the appearances of the Gods. It wasn't what he expected. Though, given the reputation of what he had heard all along before, it should have been what he was expecting. Still, he thought it would be much more, not a group of pompous people he had already begun to hate. Something about their appearances reminded him too much of home, of his life back in the demon district, the life he hated. He began to angrily grit his teeth and clench his fists as he angrily looked out into the crowds of Gods. The limousine then came to a halt, and Somal spoke to Ryuu.

“Go ahead. Jump out of here whenever you see a target you like. I don’t care who it is. Just someone you think will be fun to play around with. If you’re lucky, some stupid God will join to try and stop you.”

Ryuu looked at Somal for a moment with a sour look, then back outside. He was watching them, contemplating. Was there really anyone worth fighting? No, he couldn’t think like that. He knew the reputations the Gods have gotten compared to any other race. He knew behind the fancy clothes and bright colors, they could fight, they could hold their own. But Ryuu wasn’t looking for someone who could simply hold his own. He was looking for something more, and in his contemplation, he figured out just the way to do it.

Ryuu opened the door outside and stepped out, looking around the city. His eye was caught first by a café in which Gods sit, conversing. Then he looked over on the opposite side of the street, where parked vehicles lay. Ryuu cracked his knuckles together, followed by his neck as he made his way to one of the parked cars. He stopped right in front of the side of one car, and admired it for a moment. After a few seconds, Ryuu knelt over, and grabbed it with both of his hands, and began to struggle. With all of his might, he began forcing his hands up, attempting to pick up the car. His struggling turned to grunts, which eventually turned to him screaming loudly, causing several passersby to look at him. The car suddenly was picked up off the ground, and hung between Ryuu’s arms. Ryuu took a few steps forward, and on the traffic that separated the café he had his sights on and himself. A time of horn honked as people looked at him with mixed emotions of bewilderment, disgust, and fear. Ryuu eyed the shop with a grin on his face, and with a mighty heave, Ryuu tossed the vehicle right at the shop with a loud scream leaving his mouth at the heave. To Ryuu, the vehicle seemed to go in slow motion through the air. Many people, including himself, watching as the vehicle rotated through the air, eventually making its impact at the target. The café’s entire front section was decimated as the car passed through it and slid into the section where people sat. People’s screams of shock and surprise were heard. Eventually the car stopped coming to a halt with a loud bang. Ryuu smiled at his handiwork, impressed with himself as the café erupted in flames. He sat down on his behind, his arms rest on his knees, and waited, sitting still in the middle of the street. He made occasional glances to the Gods who stood around, either giving him mixed looked, or simply staring at him. There was a lot of different reactions of many of them. But Ryuu was looking for something specific. Eventually, a God in a suit took of his hat, and began approaching Ryuu, and angry look on his face. Smiling back at the God, Ryuu got up. Ryuu knew this was the perfect way to get a certain someone’s attention. By tossing a car like he just did, he was certainly going to get the attention he wanted. But he still wanted to test himself against one of them. And who better than someone who still approaches him ready to fight, even after seeing what he can do? Ryuu wasn’t certain who the God was that was approaching him, but he knew he was either very stupid, or very strong.

Ryuu began noticing as the suited man sprinted forward at him. Ryuu paused where he was, and looked at the ground, his veins showing as he appeared to extend his arms, and screaming. Rocks began popping up out of the ground, and then eventually formed into a wall right in front of Ryuu. Usually this Earth Wall would be a defensive move used to protect against oncoming attacks, usually projectiles.

But not today. Ryuu forced the Earth Wall off of the ground with his will, and began charging forward, the wall now acting as a ramming hammer, and the target was the God on approach. Ryuu couldn’t see his face, but imagined this wasn’t what he was expecting.

Raikiri · #**349** April 9th, 2012, 04:01 AM

The sun was crawling itself from the horizon, slowly rising into the sky inch by inch. It was a glorious sight as the sky was painted a beautiful mix of red, orange and yellow. Standing on his balcony with a cup of herbal tea, Daiki continued his tradition of watching the sun rise. He was not one to stay up late, believing that getting sleep was important to one's health, development and appearance. Therefore he made the commitment of going to bed early and waking up early. "Early bird catches the worm," as his grandfather always said. Apparently that was an old saying. Daiki could never find the origin, no matter how much reading he did.

"Daiki…" His mother's voice came from his doorway to his room, sounding weaker than normal. Daiki slowly spun around and faced her from the balcony. There was quite a distance between them, as Daiki's room was quite large comparable to a small apartment suite. With pure white walls carefully decorated with classical paintings often engrained in fantasy genre, fine wood floors, matching furniture sets, a "prince" sized bed as Daiki called it and a number of bookcases, plants and statues spread out from wall to wall. Opulent would be a tame word to describe this room.

"Welcome, mother. You look radiant as usual. Come to watch the sunrise with me? You have come just in time," Daiki said with his usual shining smile, placing his cup beside a book on his balcony table.

"You have a visitor. You must come to the door immediately…"

"A visitor at this hour? I was not expecting any until this afternoon. We were to go engage in some leisure activities. Fishing, if I am not mistaken."

"Daiki…please."

"I do apologize mother dearest," Daiki said as he approached his mother, gently placing his hands on her shoulders. "I shall come. Give me a few moments to prepare myself. I do not want to bring shame upon our house," Daiki smiled and kissed his mother upon her forehead. Daiki's mother forced a meek smile before leaving the room. Daiki looked out upon his balcony. For some reason, he sensed it would be the last time he would ever enjoy the pleasant view.

A few moments later, Daiki found himself descending down the stairs in his manor overlooking the sitting room. A round oak table stood in the middle of the room surrounded by fine foreign leisure chairs. Much like Daiki's room, the room was decorated with class and regality in mind. A beautiful angel with desirable wings and sand blonde hair stood around, refusing to take a seat for unknown reasons. Daiki did not recognize the figure, and his expression reflected such a matter as he completed his descent into the room. "You called for me, milord? I am Daiki, son of Hiroshi, of House Ethered. How I can assist you on this bright morning?"

"You have been chosen to participate in the Population Games," the angel replied.

"I beg your pardon?" Daiki said, his face painted with confusion and shock.

"You have been chosen to participate-"

"No, no. I apologize for interrupting but I did hear you the first time, but unless my eyes and ears deceive me the population games are well underway, my good lord. The champions from all the districts have been selected and they underwent training. In fact, if I do recall correctly the interviews were to commence in the evening. I fail to remember the time offhand. I am sure father remembers. He is quite intelligent, if occasionally absent minded."

"You are correct, Daiki Ethered. However, this is an order from the Gods themselves. You are to participate."

"Daiki…no," Daiki's mother squirmed outside the room, rudely eavesdropping.

"Well, in that case I cannot rebuke such a fact. I am to assume we must depart immediately, or we shall be late. The Gods and Goddesses would not enjoy a tardy contestant."

"Indeed they would not."

"Do allow me to bid farewell to my family for there is a great chance I shall not return. I do not wish to live with regret weighing down my heart."

"Of course," replied the Angel. "I will be waiting outside." With that the angel stepped outside, and Daiki's mother was quick to embrace her son.

"Please, Daiki. Don't."

"I cannot refuse such a request, mother. To disregard the authority of such figures is practically begging for the hammer of the Gods to smite our home into nothing more than dust and ashes," Daiki began placing a finger upon his mother's mouth as she dared to speak again. "I know what you are going to say, so save your breath for more pressing matters. It is true I take no pleasure in violence and for that I will likely not walk away from such a competition, but I will not shed my honor or being. If I do emerge victorious it will not be at the cost of my humanity. I will step in as Daiki Ethered, and will step out Daiki Ethered. One way or another," he finished proudly. "I dare not awaken sister or father. Please give them my farewells. I will likely not be able to communicate with you further, but I will attempt to make an effort regardless. I love you, mother," Daiki finished with a deep embrace. His mother did not dare to respond. Such a farewell would be stained by her tear filled reply.

Daiki stepped out of his home in his standard wardrobe. And in that moment, he wondered if he would ever see his childhood home again. "Let us go, milord. I do not want to impede our progress any further. Lead the way."

Skymin · #**350** April 10th, 2012, 10:34 AM

"Um, what?" Kerin blinked as Marisa left him with the strange man. Kerin had never seen so many colours on one person before and it was... well, it weirded him out just a little. His enthusiastic voice and general... attitude was just a little too much for him. Sure, Marisa was a little bit similar, but she was a little girl. She was allowed to be cute. But this guy? He was a lot older. And crazier. And just... yeah.

"Um, no, you didn't smudge it," Kerin scratched his nose at the guy. He could not tell what this guy was. Was he a god? All the people that seemed to be around here other than the contestants were gods. He would just leave it at that because honestly, Kerin wasn't bright enough to tell.

"Ahhh, I better introduce myself first! My name is Raum, dear Kerin. I am your guide starting today," Kerin shook the hand that was given to him, intentionally avoiding the rings on Raum's fingers. "Are you finished eating? Because, we should really get to my studio before all the parking spaces are taken."

"Um, where are we going?" Kerin said, intentionally avoiding the question about alliances as he left his now empty plate on the table. Were alliances frowned upon? Praised? Kerin had no idea. Bernkastel, as far as Kerin knew, was a good ally but wasn't their meeting a secret or something? Maybe it wasn't, Kerin did remember someone saying something about cameras. And microphones. UGH! Why didn't he listen or remember these kinds of things?

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