Murder Tale IV: The Sovionok Camp Incident

[Mighty Roman]

Alex thought about the question. In the house of Xavier, ideals were valued above truth... though Alex lived in the house as a student of Charles Xavier and was one of his X-Men, he didn't always see eye to eye with him. Or anyone else for that matter. This was one of those instances.

"Truth, man. That's my answer."

@Mighty Roman @Lizzy @Korra

N raised an eyebrow, yet still retained that mysterious, implacable smile.
'May I ask why? Life tends to have a basic formula of only letting Truth or Ideals exist independently. A man cannot live with both in his heart and be content. That is one of the many reasons of which I ask.'
He then looked at Katara. 'You're very beautiful. And yet I pose the same question-Truth or Ideals?'
@Korra @Lizzy @Wedge Antilles

 

[Minerva]

Yukio looked to Bill and simply nodded. She would like a drink of water, but she had her eyes, and her sword, still ready and focused on the large threatening man in front of her and Cecil.

@Infinatis @The Silver Paladin @Krieg

((Changing swords, just FYI.))

Cecil didn't require water at the moment, but he kept his sword Light Bringer on the man. "Yes, some water would be nice." Cecil said nodding. He was waiting for the other man to make a move.

@Infinatis @Krieg

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

"A what?"

Shiki raised an eyebrow, a bit nonplussed by Blake's reaction. She wasn't threatened by the girl either way, but her aggressive form of defensiveness in response to her ears being mentioned was... puzzling, to say the least. Of course, she surmised the appendages were hidden for a reason, but she didn't really see what the big deal was; it was just an extra pair of ears, like how some people wore glasses or used hearing aids. It wasn't the sort of thing she paid much attention to, unless it was to tease Mikiya about his four-eyed nature.

In any case, Shiki slowly let her hand move away from the knife hilt tucked at the back of her waist, Blake's spontaneous grab for her weapon having immediately prompted her to do the same. She wasn't sure whose hand reached their weapon quicker, but it had been close enough that Ryougi reasoned it was like trying to determine which of a dragonfly's wings was beating faster.

"You shouldn't be so jumpy. You'll shake the branch."

She huffed in indignation, folding her arms again before she continued.

"I thought Blake was a boy's name," she snarked first and foremost, "But it's up to you if that's what you want to be known as, I guess. And whatever, I won't tell anyone else about your ears. It's not a big deal to me anyway."

She shrugged, the motion shifting the folds of her kimono slightly. At Blake's last question, she just blinked briefly before giving an unladylike snort of amusement, tilting her head to one side and flashing a lopsided grin.

"You're a very rude girl to call someone sheltered without even knowing where they're from, you know? I had the same thought about you when you told me you didn't know what Russia is. But forget it; I think the picture's a little bigger than that."

She shut her eyes, somehow managing to sound completely unconcerned and lackadaisical while saying something completely bizarre.

"Our knowledge of geography doesn't seem to line up, right? Touko mentioned alternate worlds once or twice; I think the Mage's Association she used to belong to are aware of them, or something. It never concerned me, so I never really listened," she explained, opening her eyes to regard Blake directly again, expression mellowing and becoming serious with impressive quickness. "I think the gist of it is that there are an endless number of realities besides the one we know as our own, or something like that. Some are mirror images of the worlds we know, and some are entirely unrelated, but it's all philosophical existential gobbledygook I couldn't care less to understand. I guess whoever took us here's been dipping their toes into a bunch of different ponds, huh?"

She let that question sit for a few moments, before finishing in a playfully sardonic voice.

"Or maybe you need to go outside more and I need to ask Touko about the secret society of cat people hailing from the exotic land of Beacon."
​

Shiki tried. :|

@Schnee Corp Lawyer @TheBlueBurch​

Blake liked to think that she was a fairly quick witted person. Someone that had rolled with some of the worst punches life could throw at her and adapt to it.

But when Shiki so casually suggested that maybe she'd fallen asleep in one world and woken up in another that apparently had almost nothing in common with her own, you could almost hear the dial up internet noises coming from her brain as her mind tried to make and accept that connection. her gaze shifted back forward to stare blankly at the leaves in front of her for a moment. This girl didn't know where Beacon was, and knew where the place from Blake's weird dreams was. Her aura felt a bit jumbled here. No signs of grimm for miles around from what she could see over this vast expanse. And the others from the tree below looked more like a cosplay convention of hodgepodge outfits than even a group of hunters usually did.

"Holy shit."

How else was she supposed to react to that news? Hell, how was she supposed to continue reacting to that news? Blake sure as heck didn't know how to get across worlds, which meant it was seriously unlikely she'd ever get home by herself. Which meant she was stuck here until whoever or whatever had pulled her and the others here deigned it fit to let them go. She'd been wrong in her earlier assessment; this was a prison of some sort, one far more effective than any building or labor camp could ever be. Her bow twitched and a shiver sparked down her spine, the feeling of being caged firmly rooted in her head now despite the open sky and fields around them.

She gave a short and hoarse giggle at the last part, rolling her eyes slightly as she shifted her hands to the branch itself to steady herself. "I've been outside plenty, and neither Beacon or the cat people are very secret, so I guess you're right." She glanced over with one eyebrow raised, doing her best to bite down on the return of the tenseness in her shoulders "Are you gonna share your name or are you content with just being rude about mine.?"

@OrlandoBloomers

 

[Chewy Rabbits]

"...Are you sure? You think splashing a bucket of cold water would help us wake up faster?" Beowulf asked as he pinched himself. Well, it hurt but he was still here as far as he could tell. "Shoot. That seemed like such a good idea too. Uh, yeah gathering supplies and sticking together in a group. Sounds like a plan. HEY! I got it! Why don't we all just stand under the tree like those guys?" He'd say thumbing to where Blake and Ryougi were having their talk. "Sure, I don't think staying under a tree would solve all of our problems. But it's shade and can let us take a break from all this heat. Because I'm not gonna lie, I'm sweating less like a wolf and more like a pig now that you bring it up." He admitted as he stood up and folding up the Hurting, raised into the air.

"Now that we got a plan, how's about we quit standing around and go cool off? Oh, and get the heck out of this collective dream because hey you guys seem like decent people. But I got a comeback to make and it's not gonna kick off standing around here!"

Though, he had heard from his agent about the concepts of hidden cameras. Since this was like a dream they were all sharing together, maybe there would be cameras around as well. Not in the whole 'we're gonna creepily spy on you' type cameras but 'let's record every vital minute of the Wulfpack's leader.' Yeah, that had to be the case. Imagining the reception alone got Beowulf all excited. Nothing could hold him down! Not Grendel, not Grendel's mom, not poor roles in a children's tv show, not even dreams! Yeah, it'd totally lead to a big splash of popularity.

@Bomb @Atomyk @Jeremi @Meira.


​

 

[OrlandoBloomers]

Blake liked to think that she was a fairly quick witted person. Someone that had rolled with some of the worst punches life could throw at her and adapt to it.

But when Shiki so casually suggested that maybe she'd fallen asleep in one world and woken up in another that apparently had almost nothing in common with her own, you could almost hear the dial up internet noises coming from her brain as her mind tried to make and accept that connection. her gaze shifted back forward to stare blankly at the leaves in front of her for a moment. This girl didn't know where Beacon was, and knew where the place from Blake's weird dreams was. Her aura felt a bit jumbled here. No signs of grimm for miles around from what she could see over this vast expanse. And the others from the tree below looked more like a cosplay convention of hodgepodge outfits than even a group of hunters usually did.

"Holy shit."

How else was she supposed to react to that news? Hell, how was she supposed to continue reacting to that news? Blake sure as heck didn't know how to get across worlds, which meant it was seriously unlikely she'd ever get home by herself. Which meant she was stuck here until whoever or whatever had pulled her and the others here deigned it fit to let them go. She'd been wrong in her earlier assessment; this was a prison of some sort, one far more effective than any building or labor camp could ever be. Her bow twitched and a shiver sparked down her spine, the feeling of being caged firmly rooted in her head now despite the open sky and fields around them.

She gave a short and hoarse giggle at the last part, rolling her eyes slightly as she shifted her hands to the branch itself to steady herself. "I've been outside plenty, and neither Beacon or the cat people are very secret, so I guess you're right." She glanced over with one eyebrow raised, doing her best to bite down on the return of the tenseness in her shoulders "Are you gonna share your name or are you content with just being rude about mine.?"

@OrlandoBloomers

She gave a short, terse laugh at Blake's oh-so-eloquent reaction to the bombshell, a throaty chuckle that broke off as quickly as it began as Shiki took to idly tapping her bicep with her arms folded below the chest. A normal enough response to the news that she'd been taken so far away from home, she supposed; her amusement came from the fact that she was pretty sure neither of them were exactly what you'd call normal people.

"What's with the concerned look? You're acting like you don't have a sword thicker than your skull strapped to your back."

She threw back at the faunus wryly, cracking a smirk.

"If there was a way to bring us all here, there's a way to send us back where we came from. It's just a matter of forcing whoever did this to show us how."

Ryougi really wasn't one for pep talks; on the contrary, she'd composed quite the impressive resume of insensitivity in her time, as Mikiya liked to say. She was more the type to coldly tell someone to grow up than offer them a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. Even so, it genuinely seemed like none of this was getting to her in the slightest-- she saw it as more of an inconvenience than a crisis. As it turned out, when you could literally perceive death... there just wasn't a whole lot that could really faze you anymore. In fact, to someone like Shiki, the most disconcerting part of all this was that when it came to the grass, the trees, the walls and the gate... she couldn't see their mortality. It was as if they had no fated destruction, like the lines representing the totality of their existence just... weren't there.

Tch. Annoying.

But not a catastrophe. She'd been killing things long before her "accident", and that gave her a wealth of alternatives to fall back on even if her Eyes failed her.

"Anyway, if you're gonna let this whole affair get to you, I'm probably not the person you should be hanging out with. You'd be better off following that kid around," she continued her goading, not meaning anything by it, gesturing to where Gaara was lying down in the distance without looking. "And I thought I told you I'm Shiki already. Do you have the brain of a cat, too?"

@Schnee Corp Lawyer
​

 

[Gummi Bunnies]

Hajime breathed a sigh of relief as Sukuna quickly recovered, "Sorry for saying that, but I'm glad you're not willing to give up. Keep at it and I'm sure you'll be great, Sukuna."

@Gummi Bunnies @Kaykay​

"That's the spirit!" Yellow smiled at Sukuna. "As long as you keep at it, you'll become great for sure," she agreed with Hajime.

"Pika!"

"I think Chuchu agrees, too!"

@The Tactician @Gummi Bunnies

"Yeah! I won't stop trying so I'll get better at it!" Sukuna cheered, about to hold up her Miracle Mallet as if she were doing an 'onwards' pose. Well... she was about to, but she accidentally hit herself on the forehead with the golden hammer, almost knocking herself out. Oh dear...

@The Tactician @Kaykay​

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

She gave a short, terse laugh at Blake's oh-so-eloquent reaction to the bombshell, a throaty chuckle that broke off as quickly as it began as Shiki took to idly tapping her bicep with her arms folded below the chest. A normal enough response to the news that she'd been taken so far away from home, she supposed; her amusement came from the fact that she was pretty sure neither of them were exactly what you'd call normal people.

"What's with the concerned look? You're acting like you don't have a sword thicker than your skull strapped to your back."

She threw back at the faunus wryly, cracking a smirk.

"If there was a way to bring us all here, there's a way to send us back where we came from. It's just a matter of forcing whoever did this to show us how."

Ryougi really wasn't one for pep talks; on the contrary, she'd composed quite the impressive resume of insensitivity in her time, as Mikiya liked to say. She was more the type to coldly tell someone to grow up than offer them a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. Even so, it genuinely seemed like none of this was getting to her in the slightest-- she saw it as more of an inconvenience than a crisis. As it turned out, when you could literally perceive death... there just wasn't a whole lot that could really faze you anymore. In fact, to someone like Shiki, the most disconcerting part of all this was that when it came to the grass, the trees, the walls and the gate... she couldn't see their mortality. It was as if they had no fated destruction, like the lines representing the totality of their existence just... weren't there.

Tch. Annoying.

But not a catastrophe. She'd been killing things long before her "accident", and that gave her a wealth of alternatives to fall back on even if her Eyes failed her.

"Anyway, if you're gonna let this whole affair get to you, I'm probably not the person you should be hanging out with. You'd be better off following that kid around," she continued her goading, not meaning anything by it, gesturing to where Gaara was lying down in the distance without looking. "And I thought I told you I'm Shiki already. Do you have the brain of a cat, too?"

@Schnee Corp Lawyer
​

"That's not necessarily true" She replied mildly to the second part, kicking her feet as she looked down at the grass below. For all they knew they were stuck wherever this was permanently. She huffed and shook her head. No, that line of thought was just going to make her even more agitated. She just had to hope that however they got here, and how they'd get back, would be apparent soon.

"But hopefully it is. And thanks, but I'm not too keen on spending my time with a twelve year old who's got a worse attitude than even you do" she shot back dryly, the usual Belladonna sarcasm poking through. "and that sounds like even more of a boy's name than Blake does."

:|

"...And its not a sword." she added off hand. "That's just the sheathe"

 

[Josh M]

"Huh... Would ya look at that? Well... we'll be relatively less uncomfortable from now on, but I wonder... If we're just gonna waste the bus's battery at the expense of our comfort, it makes me wonder if it's really that worth it... What do you guys think?"

@Klutzy Ninja Kitty @Jeremi @Josh M​

Was he serious. Orie thought to herself before laughing playfully.

"Hahaha...I don't think pinching ourselves will help us in this case."​

Right now they just needed to survive in this place. "For now we need to pool our resources and regroup with the rest to try and figure out what to do." Orie would look up at the sun blocking the shine with her hand over her eyes. "We also need to seek some cover from the sun and water, otherwise might suffer from heatstroke."

@Atomyk @Bomb @Meira @TheBlueBurch



TOHSAKA had swaggered after the group into the bus, delighted that the AC still seemed to be functioning. "Mmm...such a pleasant feeling all over my body." TOHSAKA would wipe off some sweat from her brow before slouching down on one of the seats. "Unless we can't get the vehicle to move then its battery is only good for making me feel comfortable."

@Klutzy Ninja Kitty @Josh M

@Klutzy Ninja Kitty


Hank wiped the sweet off his face with his ascot as he thought up a plan


"Yeah, we can't waste the battery, so here's my idea, we move the post towards some shade. Why ? Simple, we'll have less reason to you the a/c. Secondly, we need to look for blanks and such to cover the best during the day. If we are using this as shelter, we should be living in style. After that we need to find food and start a fire. "

 

[Takumi]

N raised an eyebrow, yet still retained that mysterious, implacable smile.
'May I ask why? Life tends to have a basic formula of only letting Truth or Ideals exist independently. A man cannot live with both in his heart and be content. That is one of the many reasons of which I ask.'
He then looked at Katara. 'You're very beautiful. And yet I pose the same question-Truth or Ideals?'
@Korra @Lizzy @Wedge Antilles

Yato pocketed the two nickles. What was with these wishes that he couldn't quite fulfill? In a way, he felt as if he were being mocked. At least a bit. Sure he was a minor god, but he was still rather powerful. Especially with Yukine by his side!

Speaking of Yukine, the blonde was studying N curiously. Truth or Ideals? What a strange yet interesting question. The more the amber eyed boy pondered over it, the more he thought about the fact that he was, well, dead. That, was the truth. Just that one word. The word dead soured his mood a bit more, almost like a dark cloud was brewing at his core as slightly darker thoughts began to surface. Depression. There was a small hiss of pain beside him, snapping him out of it almost instantly. Yato was holding the nape of his neck, as if he had been stung.

"Sorry Yato, I didn't-" the blonde's eyes widened in concern.

"Nah, it's fine. You're a kid, it happens sometimes." The minor god brushed it off. Rubbing the back of his neck slightly before removing his hand.

@Mighty Roman @Wedge Antilles @Korra

 

[Kaykay]

"Yeah! I won't stop trying so I'll get better at it!" Sukuna cheered, about to hold up her Miracle Mallet as if she were doing an 'onwards' pose. Well... she was about to, but she accidentally hit herself on the forehead with the golden hammer, almost knocking herself out. Oh dear...

@The Tactician @Kaykay​

Whoops. Looked like the little girl was a bit of a klutz. "Ah! Are you okay?" Yellow asked, kneeling beside Sukuna. She could heal pokemon, but people weren't pokemon, after all. "Do you need a band-aid, or anything?" she asked, despite not having anything of the sort on her person.

@The Tactician @Gummi Bunnies

 

[Khan of the Mardu]

"Yeah! I won't stop trying so I'll get better at it!" Sukuna cheered, about to hold up her Miracle Mallet as if she were doing an 'onwards' pose. Well... she was about to, but she accidentally hit herself on the forehead with the golden hammer, almost knocking herself out. Oh dear...

@The Tactician @Kaykay​

Whoops. Looked like the little girl was a bit of a klutz. "Ah! Are you okay?" Yellow asked, kneeling beside Sukuna. She could heal pokemon, but people weren't pokemon, after all. "Do you need a band-aid, or anything?" she asked, despite not having anything of the sort on her person.

@The Tactician @Gummi Bunnies

"Oh crap!" Hajime joined Yellow in kneeling beside Sukuna, checking on the purple-haired girl, "You okay? You want us to see if there's a doctor or nurse nearby?"

@Gummi Bunnies @Kaykay​

 

[OrlandoBloomers]

"That's not necessarily true" She replied mildly to the second part, kicking her feet as she looked down at the grass below. For all they knew they were stuck wherever this was permanently. She huffed and shook her head. No, that line of thought was just going to make her even more agitated. She just had to hope that however they got here, and how they'd get back, would be apparent soon.

"But hopefully it is. And thanks, but I'm not too keen on spending my time with a twelve year old who's got a worse attitude than even you do" she shot back dryly, the usual Belladonna sarcasm poking through. "and that sounds like even more of a boy's name than Blake does."

:|

"...And its not a sword." she added off hand. "That's just the sheathe"

"There's a sword in the sheathe, isn't there? That's like saying that's not a body because you're wearing clothes, or those aren't ears because you keep them in a bow." Shiki pointed out neutrally, gesturing from Blake's figure to her ribbon in short order. She accepted the prior sass for what it was, even meeting it with a small smirk of satisfaction. Good. If she had enough will to snark, she had enough to fight, too.

And it wasn't like she was lying. Shiki as a name was gender-neutral, though it depended on the kanji. :|

"And I'd watch what you say about my attitude, if I were you. You wouldn't want to see just how bad it really is."

The threat was playfully facetious in deliverance, but there was nonetheless an unnerving edge to the grin she flashed alongside it, her dull gray irises momentarily shifting to an ethereal shade of blue that starkly contrasted the shade of the tree.

@Schnee Corp Lawyer​

 

[Gummi Bunnies]

Whoops. Looked like the little girl was a bit of a klutz. "Ah! Are you okay?" Yellow asked, kneeling beside Sukuna. She could heal pokemon, but people weren't pokemon, after all. "Do you need a band-aid, or anything?" she asked, despite not having anything of the sort on her person.

@The Tactician @Gummi Bunnies

"Oh crap!" Hajime joined Yellow in kneeling beside Sukuna, checking on the purple-haired girl, "You okay? You want us to see if there's a doctor or nurse nearby?"

@Gummi Bunnies @Kaykay​

"Owowowow..." Sukuna rubbed her forehead, luckily she didn't hit herself too hard,"I... I'm not sure... but everything's all... dizzy..." Andddd then she's all knocked out. Well. Maybe she did hit herself a little too hard after all.

@The Tactician @Kaykay​

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

"There's a sword in the sheathe, isn't there? That's like saying that's not a body because you're wearing clothes, or those aren't ears because you keep them in a bow." Shiki pointed out neutrally, gesturing from Blake's personage to her ribbon in short order. She accepted the prior sass for what it was, even meeting it with a small smirk of satisfaction. Good. If she had enough will to snark, she had enough to fight, too.

And it wasn't like she was lying. Shiki as a name was gender-neutral, though it depended on the kanji. :|

"And I'd watch what you say about my attitude, if I were you. You wouldn't want to see just how bad it really is."

The threat was playfully facetious in deliverance, but there was nonetheless an unnerving edge to the grin she flashed alongside it, her dull gray irises momentarily shifting to an ethereal shade of blue that starkly contrasted the shade of the tree.

@Schnee Corp Lawyer​

She met the stare head on with nothing more than a slight raise of her brow. She'd dealt with two people with shifting eyes before, and one was probably the biggest dork she'd ever met, and the other sported a similar smile and really needed a punch in the face.

Either way, after that bombshell a minute ago nothing was going to unnerve her any more than she already was internally, so she just met the state head on for a few seconds before replying

"Its a really pointy yo yo with a gun on it"

The stare continued, the delivery one hundred percent straight faced and almost daring Shiki to call bullshit

@OrlandoBloomers @why does the mobile not have the option to change text color

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

"Huh... Would ya look at that? Well... we'll be relatively less uncomfortable from now on, but I wonder... If we're just gonna waste the bus's battery at the expense of our comfort, it makes me wonder if it's really that worth it... What do you guys think?"

@Klutzy Ninja Kitty @Jeremi @Josh M​

@Everyone Looking To Cool Down
@Klutzy Ninja Kitty @Josh M @Mari @The Silver Paladin @Jeremi @Verite

A faint humming sound resounded throughout the bus as cold air started blasting through the vents, it looked like the bus would cool down rather quickly, but, who knows how long the AC would last; it looked like it was on a timed circuit... Meaning it would go out after a good time frame to conserve the bus's battery power.​

@Klutzy Ninja Kitty


Hank wiped the sweet off his face with his ascot as he thought up a plan


"Yeah, we can't waste the battery, so here's my idea, we move the post towards some shade. Why ? Simple, we'll have less reason to you the a/c. Secondly, we need to look for blanks and such to cover the best during the day. If we are using this as shelter, we should be living in style. After that we need to find food and start a fire. "

"I think it might be worth it," Asakura admitted to Kyon. "With the AC we won't overheat and sweat as much, so we won't need as much water to drink. At least, that's my opinion on the matter." She glanced at Hank. "But I do agree we should see if this vehicle moves. Hank's idea of moving it into the shade could be helpful." Ryoko moved over by one of the vents, letting the air blow on her face as she closed her eyes. "At least, if we even can find any shade..."

@Verite @Josh M @Jeremi​

 

[Khan of the Mardu]

"Owowowow..." Sukuna rubbed her forehead, luckily she didn't hit herself too hard,"I... I'm not sure... but everything's all... dizzy..." Andddd then she's all knocked out. Well. Maybe she did hit herself a little too hard after all.

@The Tactician @Kaykay​

"Dammit!" Hajime shouted before looking around with a panicked expression, "Is there a doctor around?"

@Gummi Bunnies @Kaykay @Anyone who's a doctor​

 

[OrlandoBloomers]

She met the stare head on with nothing more than a slight raise of her brow. She'd dealt with two people with shifting eyes before, and one was probably the biggest dork she'd ever met, and the other sported a similar smile and really needed a punch in the face.

Either way, after that bombshell a minute ago nothing was going to unnerve her any more than she already was internally, so she just met the state head on for a few seconds before replying

"Its a really pointy yo yo with a gun on it"

The stare continued, the delivery one hundred percent straight faced and almost daring Shiki to call bullshit

@OrlandoBloomers @why does the mobile not have the option to change text color

She blinked a few times, expression tightening a little as she digested that, but didn't otherwise break her gaze. It was a few seconds before she spoke again.

"Was that supposed to be a euphemism?"

She was familiar with a lot of strange things, sure, but sword gun yo-yos wielded by roguelike cats weren't really among them.

@Schnee Corp Lawyer​

 

[Kaykay]

"Owowowow..." Sukuna rubbed her forehead, luckily she didn't hit herself too hard,"I... I'm not sure... but everything's all... dizzy..." Andddd then she's all knocked out. Well. Maybe she did hit herself a little too hard after all.

@The Tactician @Kaykay​

"Dammit!" Hajime shouted before looking around with a panicked expression, "Is there a doctor around?"

@Gummi Bunnies @Kaykay @Anyone who's a doctor​

"Go, Gravvy!" Yellow shouted, throwing out a pokeball, with Golem popping out of it. Gravvy picked the small girl up so that they could try to go find a doctor. "I don't know anyone else here..." Yellow muttered, trying to think of where they could find a doctor. "Do you have any ideas?" she asked, turning to Hajime.

 

[Chewy Rabbits]

From where he was laying in the grass, Gaara looked up at the sky contemplating. Shukaku had finally broken through the 'inner barrier' Gaara had erected in his mind
to try and lessen the impact of the demon's prattling.

"Still got yourself all tied up in a knot over that chick consoling you, huh? I don't know why it wasn't clear as the great blue sky to you, kid. Look at her attire. The black mixed in with the purple? Traditional colors for stealth and for assassinations, I'd bet! Blends in well with the night. Think back to all the other attempts on your life, kid. They were always the people you least suspected. The people who were kind to you and gave you a chance despite being the biggest freak of all!"

Shukaku chided as he continued to taunt Gaara from behind his barrier within Gaara's psyche.

"You gotta start learning how to cut loose! No one matters but you! I would have hoped you learned that lesson after your fateful encounter with your uncle! But I suppose you got a thicker head than I thought, Kid. Everyone else is an obstacle in your path and if they won't move? Then you crush em until they're nothing but drops of blood spewing down from above. Look at that other girl if you want any more proof on why you should stop caring so much about what one too many zippers said to you! The dame in the kimono knows the score. She knows that you're not going to get far on breaking down like some kind of mental patient. You get further by being merciless and murdering anyone who dares oppose you! So, spare me the dramatic sob-story! If you won't start living for you then I will!"

Gaara's inner self who was still stuck in the black void of his own consciousness looked down at his hands. At first nothing seemed to be different. But it didn't take long before blood began running down from Gaara's hands. Of course, this wasn't his blood. It was the collected blood of all those that had the misfortune to run into Gaara as an enemy.


He seemed at a loss for words. Shukaku was right in the regard that no one had ever truly been there for Gaara. They had all been ruses, deceitful lies made to gain Gaara's trust to allow them to get in close and try to kill him. All so the leader of the Sand Village and Gaara's father could see if his son could handle Shukaku's power. The only person who had ever loved him had been his mother but now even she was gone, taken away from him. All that was left was Shukaku. The entity that had been implanted within him while he still resided within his mother.

Growing annoyed by the fact that Gaara had apparently been shocked into silence, the Tailed Beast lunged forward, his jaws opening to let out as massive roar as Gaara was knocked off his feet and sent skidding across the mental plain.

"YOU STILL AREN'T GETTING THE BIGGER PICTURE HERE ARE YA?! I'M SICK OF HAVING TO TRY AND SPELL IT OUT FOR YOU! THESE PEOPLE DON'T MATTER! NONE OF THEM MATTER! NOT THE IDIOT WITH THE SEVERED ARM, NOT THE BOWTIE WEARING BROAD, AND NOT THE CHICK WITH THE KNIFE! YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE WHO MEANS ANYTHING AND YOU KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO TO MAKE YOURSELF FEEL ALIVE! DON'T YOU?"

"I-I..."

"THAT'S NOT THE ANSWER I WAS LOOKING FOR, BUB! I WANT TO KNOW IF YOU DO!"

"I do! I'll spill their blood and their death will give meaning to my existence. It'll be reason for me to keep on living. It'll sustain me because if I am to have a purpose in this world as everyone else, my purpose will be to kill all others and make myself feel alive!"

"Exactly! No one knows you better than yourself! Letting anyone get close to you is just giving them the grand tour to your weakness! We can't have that, now can we? Hahahaha! Listen to me kid and we'll run this joint!" Shukaku cackled before leaning back as he began to fan himself with one of his claws.

"Now that we're both on the same page, how's about you stop laying around like a bump on a log and get to somewhere cool. I'm practically roasting in here!"

"Like the tree?"

"Like the tree-No! Check out that where the rest of this band of misfits migrated off to. There must be a reason they're all mingling together there. Could be something to cool us both off. Now, why don't you get to it! Woohoo!"

Well, that was enough to convince Gaara. Pushing himself up from the grass, he turned back towards the bus and started to make his way towards it. He was unaware of the AC that was currently running. But perhaps it'd solve his and Shukaku's heat problem. If anyone stood in his way in getting there? Then, he'd deal with them with or without sand.

@Verite @Klutzy Ninja Kitty @Jeremi @busgroup.​

 

[Khan of the Mardu]

"Go, Gravvy!" Yellow shouted, throwing out a pokeball, with Golem popping out of it. Gravvy picked the small girl up so that they could try to go find a doctor. "I don't know anyone else here..." Yellow muttered, trying to think of where they could find a doctor. "Do you have any ideas?" she asked, turning to Hajime.

Hajime shook his head, "No, I haven't talked to anyone who's a doctor..." Dammit, why can't we get lucky for once?​