BZPRPG - Kentoku Archipelago

[Void Emissary]

IC:

 

"One of the, the warehouses by the docks," Zyla answered, growing more and more uneasy as this interrogation continued. "The navy was k-kind enough to loan us one to store the supplies for the expedition. To make sure that they remained safe and, y'know, secure."

 

-Void

[AuRon the champion]

Ic:

 

Detective Harume nodded and gently patted the woman's shoulder.

 

"I apologize about my behavior... However, we were able to find that the weapon used in the murder are the only weapons left on the scene... The spears, which turned out that they had vanished overnight... Hence my behavior," the detective explained, "and I also apologize for having to ask you this..."

 

"Do you mind accompanying me? I must get access to records for military equipment... And who better to ask than someone within the system?"

[Void Emissary]

IC:

 

Zyla laughed nervously. "I-I'm hardly part of the system. We mainly deal with timber, not weaponry. My employer was only brought onto the expedition because of her contacts and, er, market savvy."

 

-Void

[NorikSigma]

IC: Daikura Reiko-[sado Marketplace]-[Murder Scene]

 

After the party-cum-assasination that occurred a week back, Reiko hadn't bothered returning to Odaiba yet. It was rare that she could get time off being the Guardian of Tarakona, and she intended to enjoy that time, even if that meant being on colourless, uninteresting Sado.

 

Strolling the southern markets, Reiko spotted guards surrounding a small area of the market square, and spotted her old friend Dastana Harume asking another Dasaka questions.

 

Reiko jogged up to the spot and was about to greet Harume when she saw the corpse, skewered like a snack on several spears, eyes clawed or gouged out.

 

The Menti stood to the side, near to Harume, unsure of how she would help her friend now that she was probably interviewing a witness.

 

"Hey, Harume. What's up with the skewered corpse?" Reiko asked nervously.

Edited August 7, 2014 by Norik Of Celtania

[AuRon the champion]

Ic:

 

"Still, you're familiar with the sort of records kept on goods-"

 

Dastana Harume had little time to finish her thought, as (Daikura) Reiko showed up. She remembered Reiko from her earlier days... How Harume often spent a good deal of her time with Reiko, discussing many things... In the detective's mind, she listed Reiko among her list of good friends, a list almost solely made of Reiko, and of course Harume's partner and assistant, Matoi.

 

"Reiko, it is a pleasure. As for the Menti... She's dead, I'm investigating. Since that's my job... If you'd like, you can help me and-" the detective looked cross, realizing she had failed to ask the Dasaka her name.

 

"Pardon my terrible manners... I'm Detective Dastana Harume. And you are?"

[Void Emissary]

IC:

 

"D-Dastana Zyla, ma'am," she said, sparing a glance over at this 'Reiko' character; another powerful Menti warrior, not unlike Detective Harume. You've seen one, you've seen them all, Daijuno used to say.

 

"Yes, I-I suppose that I would fairly familiar with such records; perhaps not the specifics of the weapon registries, but, uh, I'm sure I would be able to decipher the, uh, the general picture that they, that they presented. If that's what you required of me, ma'am."

 

Keep cool, girl, keep cool.

 

-Void

[AuRon the champion]

Ic:

 

"Excellent then, to the south barracks!"

 

And several minutes later, the newly-formed trio were at the south barracks. Most of the me to warriors there were going about their business, but Harume was most interested in the records clerk's office, where records on just about everything involving the south barracks was.

 

It was also eerily empty.

 

So Harume rang the bell on the counter and-

 

Nobody came.

 

"Maybe they're all at lunch?" Harume suggested, biting her lower lip in frustration.

[Void Emissary]

IC:

 

"Just after sunrise?" Zyla asked skeptically. "I don't think so."

 

-Void

[AuRon the champion]

IC:

 

Drip.

 

The detective frowned, about to say something before she heard something that didn't seem possible.

 

Drip.

 

She quickly identified the location of the sound, and leaped over the counter, defying the clearly marked rules of "not jumping over the counter".

 

Drip.

 

Taking a look around the other side of the counter, from the clerk's perspective, it looked almost as if she was-

 

Drip.

 

It was in the back with all the filing cabinets and other records. Someone seemed to have thrown them aside to clear wallspace. But why-

 

Drip.

 

Harume found the records clerk. She was currently attached to a wall via a giant bident. A quick check of pulse would confirm that she was dead... And it was excess blood that was making the dripping sound. She hadn't died too long ago, otherwise she couldn't be dripping...

 

Oh, she also found the victim's eyes this time. They were sitting on the only cabinet that hadn't been moved yet.

 

Harume promptly went back to the others, opened the door, walked out to Reiko and Zyla and fell to her knees.

 

She tried not to throw up in disgust and terror.

 

It didn't work.

[Void Emissary]

IC:

 

"W-What is it?" Zyla asked, taking a step back and edging towards Reiko. "Detective, what happened?"

 

She'd maintained composure all through her time at the crime scene, the Dashi thought with growing anxiety. What in Zataka's name is -back- there?

 

-Void

[AuRon the champion]

IC:

 

Detective Harume herself tried to regain some of her composure.

 

"We need to find the guard... The clerk is dead, and the murder left his weapon there..." She said slowly, trying to organize her thoughts in a rational way.

 

"Herupa Jiyu's spear is in there, no doubt about it... Nobody else could kill someone with that big of a spear..."

[Void Emissary]

IC:

 

The clerk's dead? Herupa Jiyu's spear? What ... what is....

 

"Are you, are you sure it's Herupa Jiyu?" Zyla asked, trying not to sound disrespectful of the detective. "I mean, surely there must be other people on the islands who could do something like ... this...."

 

-Void

[Vezok's Friend]

OOC: I apologize for the delay, I am still firmly in the hands of post Brickfair jetlag. Anyway, let's do this!

 

 

 

IC (Ayiwah):

 

Ayiwah looked from Hanako to Nihi. Was she happy with the decision the expedition leader had made? No, she wasn't. She still felt like the risk of bringing Nihi along was greater than her potential usefulness in light of her participation in the first expedition. But she wasn't disappointed or angry either that Hanako had disagreed with her assessment. This sort of thing happened, the word had been given and now all that was left to do was to make sure the mission succeeded, as always.

 

The Commodore looked at Hanako with a confident expression. After all, they already were under way, technically. "We are now, ma'am." she said, then glanced at Soraya.

 

The Plangori wanted to speak to Hanako, she knew. Her time to do that was running out, which was why she had done the same as Nihi and come aboard without permission. There was still a little while left though; not that Soraya knew that. The commodore felt slightly mischievous, so she decided to have the punishment fit the crime.

 

With a small gesture she signaled the group to follow her. Together they made their way back up to the bridge. Unlike in the lower levels, this part of the ship had good lighting, thanks to the large crystal panes forming the raised structure. To the front they could see the bow of the Ryuu cutting through the waves like a scalpel, while to the port side Sado was clearly visible.

 

The Ryuu was following the coastline at the appropriate distance, making her way further south, which would mean a rather public passing of the merchant harbour and royal pier. Ayiwah stood next to the captain's chair, arms folded behind her back and sent out a message to the crew via ideatalk. 

 

Attention all hands: Make your way to your assigned stations within the next ten minutes. In the meantime, take a last look at Sado. Savour the sight; we will not see it for quite a while.

 

Above the decks and below, sailors stopped in their work for a short while to do what Ayiwah had asked them to do. This was their home they were leaving, heading out into an uncertain future.  Sure, they had all been briefed beforehand on this strange new island, but there was so much that could happen between here and there and once they made it to their destination, that despite them all being experienced, several felt like they had stones in their bellies. Then, as ordered, they returned to their stations to carry out their duty. The commodore glanced at Soraya again and then started to give out orders to the bridge crew that made it clear they were not stopping by one of the piers. Soraya had wanted to be aboard and now she was stuck there.

 

Looking at the map, Ayiwah decided on a course that would take them past the Archipelago's various reefs and then out into the deep blue, where the vessel would do its first proper dive.

 

But for now, they stayed cruising on the surface, watching as Sado grew smaller behind them.

[AuRon the champion]

Ic:

 

"If you want to, you can look. Nobody but the giant could lift that thing... And nobody but the herupa's make a weapon in that shape," the detective concluded, before quickly running to get the guards.

 

Even if he hadn't killed the Menti, this must be reported.

[GSR]

IC: Soraya [The Chiisai Ryuu]

 

Almost.

Hanako had almost put Soraya at ease enough that she could've gotten down on her knees (metaphorically speaking), begged forgiveness (not in so many words), and let herself off when they passed by port with hopefully no worse than a slap on the wrist (possibly literally? She didn't know how Ayiwah dealt with not-quite-stowaways.)

Respecting the people there and understanding what they were like? Great. Letting Nihi look for the pieces of dirt that had taken her family from her? Awesome! Keeping Nihi strictly by Hanako's side? Maybe a little questionable, but hey, even she had to admit reeling in someone with that much reason for revenge was probably for the best.

But things were never quite that simple.

"...to broker more alliances, to see what their island has to offer and they, the people of it."

Maybe she could let this slide. Maybe. If it had been Morie saying it? Soraya'd probably take it as just talking about some good old-fashioned trade. Nothing unhealthy there. But coming from the mouth of the Rora's right-hand woman? A woman who followed up with "Second, your personal goals come second to the goal the Rora set out for us"?

Soraya didn't really know what Yumiwa's "goal" might be. But dang if her imagination couldn't come up with some candidates.

Which left her - kind of screwed, in her estimation. It would be easy to give up, head back to shore, offer apologies to Morie that she couldn't live up to her position here in Sado, make a few changes to that letter to Yumiwa, drop it in the mail, and then catch the next trading ferry back to Odaiba. Well, easy except for the part where she'd probably have a sudden moment of "how completely messed-up is Mata Nui right now thanks to that trip" about once a day. And if in a few months the royal decree came down that it was no longer "Mata Nui" but rather "the second Imperial Continent" or something - well, that was going to put a damper on her outlook for the next decade or so.

On the other hand, she'd come prepared to try and reason with Yumi, not Hanako. She was already probably a stowaway in the eyes of Ayiwah, and a sentence from her away from being the same in the eyes of everyone else on board. "Impassioned emotional plea in Nihi's name" went out the window around the time Hanako allowed her on board without much objection. And as far as she knew, all the people on this trip were pretty much fine with doing whatever Yumiwa said, so "what if things don't work out the way the Rora expects" and/or "the Rora might be making playthings of us all" probably didn't carry much weight.

 

All of which meant that if she wanted on this expedition, it was probably going to be the hardest sell she'd made - well, not ever, that was still going to go to the time with the hot pink batch a year or so back - in recent memory.

 

 

 

...Of course, that particular internal struggle came to a screeching halt the instant the Commodore sent out:

 

Attention all hands: Make your way to your assigned stations within the next ten minutes. In the meantime, take a last look at Sado. Savour the sight; we will not see it for quite a while.

 

Ohhhhhhhh no.  Ayiwah knew she wasn't supposed to be there, right? Yeah, she definitely did - Soraya had been on the receiving end of three "you're not fooling anyone" glances in the past thirty minutes.  And if the Commodore wasn't kicking her off, that meant Soraya almost certainly had a one-way ticket to Mata Nui, in the "unskilled labor and brig" class.  Oh give me a BREAK for once-

 

No.  No.  Sor, calm down.  Looks like you're stuck here, so make your case fast and maybe you won't have to spend the next few weeks pondering how to dye shackles. 

 

She took a deep breath, did a hard ninety-degree turn on her foot, and crossed the distance between her and the Commodore's chair in a second flat.  "Hey.  Uh.  Commodore.  You and I need to talk, don't we? Maybe with Han- Lady Hanako as well?"

Edited August 9, 2014 by GSR

[AuRon the champion]

Ooc: A brief note before we begin.

 

Today is my eighteenth birthday. Sure it sounds a little silly to put this on bzpower, and not just quietly announce it or whatever, but I guess that's the point. Eighteen years, I've been on planet earth, and already I've met wondrous people. Perhaps there'd be a few things I'd change... But if I changed that, wouldn't it mean that I would never be the person I am today? So with this thought in mind, let us begin.

 

A Lullaby for Titans.

 

Ic:

 

"... Get going Simon, just don't be distracted by the 'what ifs', 'should I'ves' and 'if onlys'. The one thing you chose for yourself, that is the truth of your universe."

 

-Kamina

 

-

 

Herupa Jiyu was content. That is, to say the least. His charge was several years younger than him... But he had no qualms. To her, Jiyu acted like not only a friend, but also something akin to a big brother. A watchful, fretful big brother who nearly as tall as her house. At the moment, she had asked Jiyu to accompany her on a walk through Sado, the streets clear in the late afternoon as dusk began to creep into existence.

 

"Jiyu, what am I to do?" She pouted, "sure there's Menti warrior stuff... But that's no fun. If I get the freedom to pick what I want to do, shouldn't it be something that I'm interested in?"

 

"With respect ma'am, often few every truly realize what they desire to do in life."

 

She crossed her eyes, flustered by the answer. Jiyu always speaking in the abstract when it came to advice, often instructing her to meditate within for the answer to her problems. A trait which she lacked the patience for, "Easy for you to say, 'Mr. Tall, Dark, and Poetic'."

 

The giant couldn't help but smile, "I could write a haiku if you'd like; a maiden confus-"

 

"I think I'll pass, Jiyu."

 

"I know that this I'd hard for you to decide, but know as your faithful servant, friend, and confidant that I will stand beside you," he said solemnly, turning the conversation back the the original topic, "while you're not and Eiyu, the empire needs a great thinker like you ma'am."

 

"Interesting? I mean, as long as I'm not being forced to transcribe books or anything crazy- I guess?"

 

"Of perhaps, you want to explore?" Jiyu offered. Of course, he meant the other island. Jiyu claimed to have found a legend talking about them once, when he was a child... But she knew it was a long, long time ago... The idea did strike her fancy though.

 

"Go to Mata Nui? It does sound nice too, I wonder what they do with all their clunky metal stuff," she mused, gently putting a hand on her chin.

 

"Besides, you do have some time to think... Just not in the immediate future though. The Chojo has invited you and the Toroshu -your mother- to attend her party... We should be considering what you'll wear for the masquerade."

 

"Whatever I guess," she exasperated, watching the skies slowly turn dark as the two reached the south coastline.

 

"C'mon Jiyu! This looks like a wonderful spot to watch the sun set!" She cried, already trying to climb onto his back. With Jiyu's height and strength, carrying a Dashi-almost-Dasaka on his back was of little challenge to him.

 

So they watched the sun set.

 

As he watched the sun dip down past the horizon, he'd have to write a letter to Hana asking how the party was shaping up to be. He knew their mother would be there, which would probably result in Hana getting fawned over and Jiyu making sure his siblings would stay out of too much trouble... But it'd be fun. And he would have it any other way.

 

Zuto Nui was in her heaven, and all was right with the world.

 

-

 

Herupa Jiyu slowly returned to consciousness. He had the most peculiar dream, leaving him with the sense of happiness within his soul. He had been dreaming, dreaming of a life where his family was actually family, and where all was right for once.

 

He had stayed within a spare hotel upon Sado, and his conversation yesterday (which to us viewers is still ongoing, abject in the past) did have a peculiar effect upon him... But as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, he realized he wasn't alone in the spare room.

 

He didn't have much time to react as Herupa Eshiwa lifted her spear, and threw it at the giant, who was quite too cramped within the room to dodge effectively...

[Vezok's Friend]

IC (Ayiwah):

 

"Indeed."

 

The commodore quietly observed the island they were leaving behind for a few more seconds, then sharply turned to the dye-maker, her navy coat slightly billowing behind her from the motion. She knew Soraya was fond of not keeping her thoughts to herself and so she knew she wouldn't have to wait too long before she came forward with her concerns. The fact that she had waited this long also indicated that she was not here to plead for a spot on the expedition, though Ayiwah pushed that thought to the side as an assumption on her part. She'd made it a point not to let them influence her decisions.

 

She made a small 'after you' motion with her hand, indication where Hanako stood.

 

"Lady Hanako, Plangori Soraya here has some concerns she wishes to talk to us about." the Commodore told the expedition leader. Then she looked at the Dashi again.

 

"Speak your mind, Soraya."

[Void Emissary]

IC:

 

"I-I-I-I don't think I need to look--," was what Zyla had just managed to say as Harume ran out of the room, presumably to begin bringing the long arm of the law to wrap around Herupa Jiyu's throat.

 

Now what?

 

She turned to Reiko. "Um, excuse me, ma'am? What, exactly, should I be doing right now?"

 

-Void

[AuRon the champion]

Ic:

 

It wasn't long for them to find where Jiyu was staying on Sado, so when the guards finally broke down the door, they were surprised to find that Jiyu was laying upon his bed, a nasty gash torn into his chest and a hand over his eye. He had poorly bandaged up his chest with the sheets he had been sleeping under, which were now soaked with his blood.

 

Harume rushed over to the giant's side, unsure of exactly why had happened. From the giant's wounds, he had been attacked not too long ago. Sure it was enough time for him to murder someone overnight, but she assumed from the knocked over furniture that Jiyu had been attacked while he was on the bed... After he had woken up..?

 

"Who did this to you?!" She demanded, amazed at what she saw. If someone had the nerve to not only attack a first son, then-

 

"It... It was... Herupa... Eshiwa," the giant struggled out, coughing up an amount of blood. She quickly instructed the guards to retrieve the medic as keep the giant dasaka alive.

 

If he survived, she'd have to question him later. For now... She needed to try to think this over with her two new(ish) cohorts. Returning back to the clerk's office, where the guards had started to try to remove the body, she found Zyla and Reiko again, and teetered towards them, mentally exhausted.

 

:It wasn't Herupa Jiyu.: she sent out , propping herself against the wall, :Someone tried to kill him... They almost succeeded though... Zyla, when the guards are done, do you think you can help me search the records?:

[GSR]

IC: Soraya [The Chiisai Ryuu]
 
Hanako looked her over curiously, and for the first time Soraya felt a stabbing sense that she was really, truly, out of place. She took a deep breath. "Alright. I - okay, lemme start from the beginning. I didn't come on board to talk to you, Lady Herupa, and I didn't come to stow away. I came because I had to talk to Yu- to the Rora. Part because she lost her mother, and part because of something she told me that night."

She glanced to the side; Nihi was there, watching the conversation with curiosity. For a moment Soraya considered spilling exactly what Yumi had said - Zuto Nui knew it was tempting - but if Nihi's passage was secured, that was maybe one conversation better had in private, if ever.

"The details don't matter all that much. What's important is - what she told me, about how she dealt with a certain problem - it scared me." And royally ticked me off. "Gave me doubts about this whole expedition, so I decided to see with my own two eyes if those were misplaced or not. If they weren't, I was going to see if I could convince her to let me come along, and make for home if I couldn't. But the Rora's not here, you are. And since I couldn't talk to you before we got going, I guess I am too.

"So, Lady Herupa -" and here Soraya managed a bow- "for better or for worse, that puts me at your service. We Plangori don't let something like an unexpected cross-ocean expedition get in the way of doing our job right.  But... I want you to prove to me I'm dead wrong about this whole thing. I want you to prove to me that this expedition isn't just for the Rora, and the people like her." She was on dangerous ground, but better to say it now than try and hide it away. "Whoever's waiting for us over there - they're people too, much as us saihoko. Just - try and remember that, and I'll do what I can."

[Mel]

[sado, Imperial Library]

I took a hard seat on one of the chairs, recalling the poetry book at the last second to set in gently down on the stone table.

"Then at least sit down, zataka take it-"

I choked, my throat felt tense and sore, my eyes hot.  The table in front of me blurred for a second.  I wiped the tears away from eyes, and jerked in an undignified hiccup.  I've never been able to escape the shame that crying inspires in public, but alone and by myself I've always felt better after sobbing for a few minutes.  However, now it was slightly disconcerting because the tears weren’t my own, not really.  They were Jiyu’s.

I was doing his crying for him.

The only way I could manage any kind of shield was to concentrate on my own feelings.

“I hated my mother,” I said, and sniffed.  My nose was running; that never happens in epic novels.

“My clans business is making sure that no one ever gets angry at them ever.  So my mother schooled herself not to feel, to suspect everything, to move people about like they were game pieces.  She might not be as frivolous as the Chojō--sorry the Rora, but she’s not that different.  And then there was me; she wanted me to be like all my sisters, elegant, emotionless, and unassuming.”

I laughed, which turned into a hack and another sniff.

 

“But you know, she never hated me.  She didn’t have the feeling left in her to hate anyone.  She was just like the spider, sitting on its web and simply feeling each strand to see what happened.  I was a minor annoyance, nothing more.  She thought the best way to handle me was to ignore.  She was wrong about that but-your mother hated you, Jiyu.  I know memories can sometimes be colored by emotions, but I know truth when I feel it.  I heard she’s dying now.  For your sake--I hope it’s long and painful.”

Edited August 10, 2014 by Yukiko

[AuRon the champion]

Ic:

 

"Herupa Eshiwa died not long prior to the Rora's... Masquerade," Jiyu said. He had stepped back from her, silently watching her cry, and the words she had said.

 

Some of it... Did sound familiar.

 

"... This may sound... Odd... But would you care to squander time in this library with me, one day..?" He asked, after she stopped crying, and his emotions had settled down as well. The awkward silence predating his question was- well, awkward. And after their discussion, it felt natural of him to ask her this.

[25K Now!]

IC: Higashi

 

"Right. Fishing."

[NorikSigma]

IC: Akone

"That's right."

[Void Emissary]

:It wasn't Herupa Jiyu.: she sent out , propping herself against the wall, :Someone tried to kill him... They almost succeeded though... Zyla, when the guards are done, do you think you can help me search the records?:

 

IC:

 

If she hadn't already been feeling it, now would be the point that Zyla realized how far in over her head she was.

 

Someone tried to kill Herupa Jiyu! Someone tried to frame him; frame him and then kill him! This is out of control, what I'm doing here oh goddess I might be next! What if they're going to hunt down anyone who knows anything about the murder, oh goddess I have to get out here!

 

Then suddenly:

 

Wait a minute.

 

"Of course I can help," Zyla said, an instinctive response to a superiour asking her to do something, before she added, "So, this murderer was trying to frame Herupa Jiyu for this, then?"

 

-Void

[Nuju Metru]

IC:

“Breath”

 

Kuno had wished to watch the Chiisai Ryuu leave Kentoku, so he’d descended from his apartment (not sparing the servants at the door even a glance) and, in as light of First Son finery as he could conceivably wear in the public eye – today, an overlong ruby scarf draped about his shoulders, paired with crystal gauntlets and chest piece – he had paraded through the streets of Sado until he’d reached the docks.

 

Upon entering through the open gate of the pier, a crowd – principally composed of fisherwomen and sailors that’d discarded their work to ogle at the oncoming form of the Ryuu, but also including here and there sprinklings of higher castes – met his eyes. The crowd wouldn’t hinder Kuno; proudly unprompted, I announced his name and title, drawing the eyes of all within hearing range. Expectably, the mass of ‘hoko in Kuno’s way parted for him without making eye contact, and he passed unmolested through them to the best vantage point at the edge of the pier. This caste phenomenon, along with the glint of sun in his crystal armor and the absence of his mother, lent Kuno in these circumstances a degree of grandeur he too rarely enjoyed even given his status in society. Kuno rarely smiled; his satisfied half-grin proudly proclaimed his glee to the practiced eye.

 

As she rounded the coast and drew directly past the edge of the pier, the Chiisai Ryuu cut a splendid profile. All smooth crystal facets, arcing fins and vast sparkling windows, she was doubtless the greatest – and most expensive – vessel ever wrought by Dastana shipwrights. When the Ryuu’s sharp nose, emblazoned with the emblem of a flying Kanohi Dragon, cut through the foaming water before the dock she arose great enthusiasm in the crowd, whose waving spiked in vigor when the submersible’s crew reciprocated it from inside their portholes.

 

While Kuno found the engineering of the Ryuu much more interesting than the people onboard, I was of an opposite perspective; as the Ryuu plowed forth, I peered with squinted eyes at the Dasaka peering back through her windows. Behind the clear panes of the bridge, I made out the proud, distinct silhouette of Commodore Ayiwah (her long coat gave her away), as well as a few other bodies. Most were just vaguely recognizable shapes.

 

One of these, though, struck me as extremely familiar. Something known about the shape of a Dasaka further down the bridge, her fingers pressed lightly against the crystal pane, led me to give her a second look just as her head turned and her nose touched against the inside of the window. I saw the face much more clearly, but only for a moment before it was too far away to perceive properly.

 

Was that Nihi?

 

…

 

Nihi’s fingertips and the pliant tip of her nose kissed the bridge window, and her humid breath fogged its pane. As her native land and its people bobbed past her vision for what’d probably be the last time in a very long time, Nihi gave herself to the firm embrace of the crystal. She took comfort in its strong touch, the loving heat of the sun behind it; she wanted to nestle her whole face into the reassuring warmth, but demurely refused more than tantalizing contact. Her eyelids drooped a little; her lips parted a little; her shoulders eased a little, and she sighed into the window, renewing the wetness on it.

 

While behind her, the crew of the Chiisai Ryuu bustled about their posts – waving at the crowd outside whenever they got the chance or passed by the port windows on some errand – Nihi stood still, relishing a moment of tranquility and privacy after the frenetic events of earlier that day. She’d been late to the docks; she’d lost her temper with the Saihoko at the door, and shoved her off the gangplank; she’d gotten caught trying to stow away; her chance at going to Mata Nui again had been jeopardized; and, finally, her passage had been restored, albeit provisionally. Now the submarine moved, and Nihi moved with it. Waking up, packing her bag, and her last visit with Nachi felt like they’d happened on a different day entirely.

 

Beyond the glass, seemingly all of Sado had gathered to bid farewell to the Chiisai Ryuu. Nihi didn’t bother searching the faces along the crowded dock as the submarine sailed past it; no one would be waving for her, so what was the point? Nihi didn’t have anyone – no friends, no real acquaintances either – and nobody had known she’d be leaving today. Nachi had been the only one whom Nihi had told, but Nihi knew that her sister wouldn’t come to say goodbye. She hadn’t said it when Nihi had left her room earlier that day, and she hadn’t said it any visit before. It was safe to trust the pattern.

 

Nihi looked beyond the multitudes blanketing the dock and beach, gazing up instead at the stoic pinnacles of the Imperial Palace. The crystal towers seemed not to move even as the docks flitted past. They absorbed and refracted the daylight brilliantly; not even the nobles that inhabited it could besmirch the tremendous beauty of the structure itself.

 

Nihi would be glad to leave behind the world of pointless deception and dangerous frivolity that she’d been accidentally reeled into, glad to extract herself from bad people like Kuno and the new Empress. Though a well-raised part of Nihi still chafed beneath audacious thoughts like these, each one that flicked through her mind made disrespecting the upper caste easier. How could she – how could anyone – have ever had faith in them? The passivity of the lower castes – the passivity she’d once bought into – retrospectively astonished Nihi. She concluded that the reverence most of society paid to its ruling class only persisted through ignorance; having personally experienced their shamelessness, privilege and greed, she knew firsthand how the upper caste deserved to be challenged.  

 

In the renewed fog on the windowpane, Nihi traced an . As she drew back a little to examine her handiwork – the circle was definitely lopsided – the letter’s defining background had already started to fade.

 

…

 

“…Big, isn’t she?” drawled a voice from beneath Kuno.

 

Kuno and I looked down and over the tip of the dock. We saw the skeletal frame of Shieka – the Dastana Battlemaster to whom Kuno had been introduced at Yumiwa’s party – lounging on the sea-weathered rocks supporting the tip of the pier. Sheika’s striking face with its bladed cheeks turned back towards us insouciantly, and one of her lean, ropy arms bent at the elbow to cradle her chin in her hand as her sly eyes appraised us. Her Taajar eyes hovered a little bit longer than normal on Kuno’s scarf, and the touches of a smile played about her full mouth.

 

“Good day, lady Sheika,” Kuno answered politely. “I’d agree; the Chiisai Ryuu is quite the sight.”

 

“I’m not a lady,” Sheika informed him under a pointed eyebrow before resuming banter and showing teeth. To my surprise, she didn’t have sharp canines. “Quite the sight, quite the vessel… She cost the Dastana a fortune to put together. I’m glad the Umbralines were able to pay the shipwrights fully, up front… a lack of outstanding debts might buy everyone a little time.”

 

“Time?” Kuno solicited. “I’m sorry, I don’t think I understand what you—“

 

“Of course you do,” Sheika dismissed. “You’re a smart boy. A very distinctive Soulsword went through Yusanora. How many Dasaka do you know that studied a ball at the Yards?”

 

“I don’t see why Jasik would have killed the Empress,” Kuno countered.

 

“Doesn’t matter why,” Sheika said as she turned back to watching the submarine, which by now had fully passed our dock. The Chiisai Ryuu grew smaller and smaller as it approached the break in the reef and, thereafter, open waters; Sheika flicked barnacles into the ocean as she continued to address us. “If the Dastana First Son killed our departed Empress – which, to my great sorrow and shock, it appears as though he must have – Umbraline recompense is inevitable. I really dearly hope that nobody does something rash to him before Rayuke’s given ample proof…”

 

“You expect a blood feud,” concluded Kuno.

 

“I wish that I didn’t, I truly do,” Sheika sighed unconvincingly. “Among other concerns, I’m quite afraid that our new Empress would be wholly overwhelmed by such a conflict. She’s never dealt with civil war before.”

 

“Civil war.”

 

“It’d be only natural. A Dastana kills the Umbraline leader, and the Umbralines respond, perhaps in kind, and the trading of lives continues… We both know what happens when two of the largest clans feud against one another. Ah, but no, you were born after all that business; my mistake. The Empress was as well, wasn’t she?”

 

“I believe so, yes.”

 

“So young, so… unprepared.” Sheika pried free a rather large barnacle and plopped it into the lapping waves. “These forces aren’t easy to control. Her clan was quite loyal to her mother. The Dastana have the loyalty of Saihoko, which is even stronger.”

 

“You speak about the Dastana as though they weren’t your clan,” Kuno frowned.

 

“My clan is small and obscure,” Sheika replied, giving us her gaze again. This time, though, she wasn’t smiling, and something was alight in her stare. While the naive crowd around continued to wave at the departing submarine, or jostled along the dock to follow it, Kuno, Sheika and I existed in a bubble forged from the same stuff that burned behind Sheika’s eyes. Sheika accused Kuno with her attention. “If I told you its name, you would not recognize it. The Dastana are not my people; they are merely my employers. My loyalty is to myself.”

 

“If war did break out,” Kuno prodded. “Where would your loyalties lie?”

 

“Theoretical questions about theoretical wars,” Sheika pondered with a degree of savageness. “There are some who are wise enough to see that in theoretical wars, there’s theoretical profit to be made. Theoretically, my allegiance lies with them.”

 

…

 

Nihi had been waiting outside the healing level of the Gardens since quite early in the morning. The gray blanket in the sky hadn’t yet parted for the sun that was ordained to bless the Archipelago that afternoon, so a bit of the previous evening’s chill persisted into the day. Huddled in a niche in the square, her satchel already packed and her staff hugged under her armpit, Nihi bounced in her knees as she waited for the healing level’s door to open. At last, she spotted the familiar shape of Gysha trotting into the square from another avenue. Nihi approached as Gysha unlocked the door.

 

“Good morning, Nihi,” Gysha smiled. “You’re earlier than usual.”

 

“I’ve got somewhere to be,” Nihi said. “I’ve got to see Nachi as soon as I can.”

 

“I’ll let you into her room,” Gysha assured her. “She may be asleep, but you can visit her.”

 

Nachi was asleep when Nihi entered her room. She lay on her back, head lolled to one side. She’d been cleanly tucked in, and the attendant’s handiwork hadn’t been disturbed all night; Nachi didn’t stir when she slept. The gray morning invaded through the window, making even the green potted plant in the corner look pallid; Nachi’s wan face, turned away from the light, was softened by shade. Her eyes closed, her mouth slightly ajar, the discrepancy between what she was and what she once had been was made invisible by the mask of restfulness. Aside from the unnervingly flat covers, the sleeping Dasaka looked like Nihi’s Nachi.

 

Nihi carefully set down her staff and satchel by the door and approached her sister’s bed. She knelt next to Nachi’s head, resting her hands on the mattress and sitting on her haunches. Periodically, Nachi’s exhales – warm and a little smelly – sanctified Nihi’s face and demonstrated Nachi’s vivacity. Nihi raised one of her hands from its place on the covers. As gently as she could, Nihi stroked her sister’s forehead and ear with a solitary finger. Nachi showed no signs of feeling the contact. Nihi closed her eyes and synchronized her breath with her sister’s; in through the nose, out through the mouth, deep and slow. As she often did – still, she found, somewhat automatically – Nihi addressed Nachi on the mental plane.

 

:I’m leaving,: Nihi relayed to the emptiness. :I’m going back to Mata Nui today.:

 

Nachi still didn’t respond, which Nihi had expected. Nihi opened her eyes again and looked closely at her sister’s sleeping face. Nachi’s flesh clung closer to her bones than it had in the past – her old warrior muscles had long since atrophied, and her eye sockets were like wells – but it was still unmistakably Nachi’s face, even if it wasn’t arranged in the sort of mischievous expression that’d so often been its wont. Nihi still found her sister beautiful. The slackness of sleep was different than the slackness of wakefulness, somehow more peaceful and earnest. When Nachi was awake, her face just looked numb.

 

:I won’t be able to come see you again for a long time,: Nihi informed Nachi, though Nachi didn’t hear. :The expedition will be long, and I may not return with it. It’ll take me a long time to track down and kill all six of them, and if I have to stay behind to finish the job, that’s what I’ll do.:

 

Nihi’s nose had become slightly damp, as it’d been receiving Nachi’s breath for a while. Nihi lifted her hand from Nachi’s ear and wiped off the condensation. “Gross,” she whispered to Nachi with fake petulance. Nachi didn’t laugh; not that Nihi had expected her to, but something about the following silence snubbed the lightness of the moment.

 

:They’re strong,: Nihi went on, returning her hand to the mattress. :They were stronger than us… than you. And you were stronger than me. I might not come back at all.:

 

What would happen to Nachi if Nihi never came back? Would the healing centers continue to feed her, tuck her in just so, if Nihi wasn’t around to pay for their time? Was Gysha so generous that she would leave a dumb, helpless, purposeless shell in one of the valuable rooms, instead of giving it to another wounded soul? That didn’t seem likely; Nihi loved Nachi, but she knew that her sister took more than she gave. She couldn’t help it, but it was still true. Nihi was the only one who valued Nachi, she was the only one who had reason to value the same dumb, helpless, purposeless shell that everyone else had to see. If she went away, they’d discard Nachi. Whether or not the healers wanted to, they’d have to at some point. And what would happen to Nachi then? Would she be thrown on the streets? Would they—

 

They would. The stone dropped in Nihi’s stomach.

 

Would they do it kindly? Nihi didn’t know.

 

The stone ground at her insides. This was unfair.

 

Nachi slept on just as before, but Nihi perceived her face differently. Her sister’s beauty was buried too deeply beneath a mask of infirmity, a mask that Nihi had come to despise though she’d tried so hard not to. Ever since the night on the dock, a cruel emptiness had paraded in her sister’s withering body, demanding Nihi’s attention, livelihood, and emotion while giving her nothing other than fleeting nostalgia and renewed grief. Nihi could ramble and share as much as she wanted, try vainly to recreate the bond of sisterhood that the Piraka had stolen from her, but the emptiness would never do anything other than absorb and obliterate. Before Nihi’s reddening eyes, the slack face laughed at her, as it’d laughed every time she’d entered or left without receiving salutation, or every time it’d coaxed Nihi into moving its limbs for it, or every time food had accidentally dribbled down its chin.

 

Nachi was dead; she had been dead for longer than Nihi had ever wanted to admit. It was time for the emptiness to die, too.

 

Careful not to lean on the mattress and wake Nachi, Nihi stood. She walked quietly around the foot of the bed and over to the chair near the window, where the attendants had made a habit of piling the extra pillows and bamboo frame they used to prop Nachi up at feeding time. Nihi extracted one of the pillows from the stack, and took it in both hands. Her grip on the soft cushion was unnecessarily tight, so tight that her knuckles whitened. She looked down at the tool in her hands for a few seconds, and noticed that her eyes were becoming itchy. Nihi heard someone in her head scream at her to release the pillow, and she wanted to, but she wouldn’t. Couldn’t; she needed to help Nachi leave. The stone ricocheted around in her gut.

 

Nihi approached her sister’s bed, clutching the unstained pillow tight as a garrote. Ever so carefully, she crawled up onto the mattress so that she straddled the motionless body beneath her. Nihi’s knees crinkled the paper-smooth sheets. As the screaming in Nihi’s mind grew louder, she lowered the pillow as slowly and painfully as if she’d been lifting an immensely heavy load. It drew within inches of the emptiness’ fish mouth, tight skin, sunken eyes.

 

Nachi’s eyes drifted open.

 

Nihi, who had been holding her breath, gasped as she recoiled and let the pillow drop to one side of the bed. Hands no longer in fists, she seized her sister’s head, turning Nachi’s face forcibly towards her own. Nachi blinked and stared into nothing, looking past Nihi even as she gazed in that direction. The eyes were vacant as ever, but wholly without malice. Nachi’s mouth was still open, and as Nihi leaned down closer to the face, she once again felt humid exhales on her nose. On one such exhale, something made Nachi wheeze a bit.

 

Suddenly and frantically, Nihi scrambled off the bed and retreated to the farthest corner of the room. As the woken Nachi lay unmoving in bed, her breathing again as steady as it’d been in her sleep, Nihi sunk down the wall and cradled her own skull in her hands. Something dry at the back of her throat tried to escape through her choked sobs. A wet film blurred her vision as she struggled not to drown on her self-loathing and desperation; each inhalation was a desperate intake of breath that gave her only enough air to continue to cry.

 

…

 

At last, the Chiisai Ryuu passed the barrier reef, and to tremendous cheers from the assembled throng it started to sink below the surface. Kuno didn’t cheer, but he looked on approvingly as the submarine submerged. A periscope, a twinkle on the water, was the last thing to disappear from our sight. The ships that’d flanked the Ryuu peeled off and headed back to port, and the landlocked crowd, its entertainment finished, either went back to work or retreated to the city.

 

Agilely, Sheika vaulted back onto the surface of the dock proper, and gave Kuno a mysterious look before she sauntered down the pier and back towards Sado. He watched her leave, brow furrowed, and as she was lost in the rest of the retreating horde, Kuno addressed me. “She seemed to have given an undue amount of thought to something purely theoretical,” he noted skeptically.

 

“She certainly knew something she wasn’t telling us,” I agreed.

 

“What do you think that could be?” he asked.

“Who stands to profit from a war between Dastana and Umbraline?” I posited.

 

“My mother,” Kuno scowled. He wheeled about and followed the crowd back towards the Imperial Palace. I followed, making sure his scarf didn’t trail on the ground.

 

…

 

OOC: Chiisai Ryuu and crew to Ga-Wahi topic. Note that the submarine will remain at sea for as long as Smaug the Terrible/VF says; henceforth, the journey of the submarine and any obstacles or events it encounters en route will fall under his control. Please wait for him to make an initial post in Ga-Wahi before resuming activity on board. Thanks!

Edited August 12, 2014 by Nuju Metru

[Palm]

IC: Dastana Arsix

 

Dastana Arsix and Dastana Jasik stepped onto Sado's docks following their own honor guard. Both their mother and Arsix insisted on the accompanying party, for their own safety. Especially Jasik, who had been under "public scrutiny" ever since a hole had been punched through the Rora at Yumi's party. They had of course expected it.

 

Arsix normally would have made the trip to the market herself had the twins not agreed never to part until the situation blew over. Arsix had adamently fought against sending servants to retrieve her goods on some notion that "It would appear downright atrocious" to the merchantpeople, the majority of which were Dastana. She had told her brother and mother, "I refuse to turn my nose up to them." Arsix had made it habit to fetch her own things in from the markets, claiming it set her apart from the other heiresses.

 

Despite her own assertions, Arsix wasn't too sure about their visit.

 

They wore matching attire. It was much more casual than their usual garb with fewer fine threads and less clasps of metal and crystal. Arsix looked at her brother, "I'm going to ask again in case you ignored her. What did mother say about public accusations." The first born asked, as if it was hardly a question.

 

"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but Yumi is still a ."

 

Arsix scowled.

 

"No, that's what I said."

 

She rolled her eyes, turning away to walk up the docks, "She said to ignore them and let the guards take care of it."

 

"Close enough. You two sound alike. Never let me have any fun."

 

"If you want to get lynched, be my guest. It'd sure take some weight off my shoulders."

 

"And a lot of weight off your list of friends."

 

"You're the one who needs the guard. Not me."

 

They were close to the market now, nearing the end of the docks, "We won't be too long anyways. I've kept the list much shorter than usual. Unless there's something you'd like for yourself."

 

OOC:

 

The Dastana's have entered the market!

 

Dastana twins open for interaction!

Edited August 13, 2014 by Palm

[AuRon the champion]

Ic:

 

The detective nodded, rubbing her temples.

 

To be honest, this series of events had just completely proved that whoever this muderer was, they clearly didn't have limits. Anyone who was contet to frame then murder a male obviously was a rouge and dangerous individual.

 

"Yes... The giant isn't dead... But whoever attacked him made sure to use his weaponry before trying to kill him... I suspect there's even more evidence framing him..."

[25K Now!]

IC: Higashi

 

Fishing had never really been one of Higashi's strongest fields, but as she lead her fellow clan member through the streets, she knew that embarrassing herself a few times was not too large a price to pay to ensure that Akone didn't turn into some obsessed workaholic. It was never nice, watching people become mindless drones with working as their only purpose. Hopefully her plan in this case would work. Even though she was winging it.

 

Whatever.

[NorikSigma]

IC: Akone

 

Tum tee tum.

 

"Are we there yet?"

[25K Now!]

IC: Higashi

 

When had Akone been so impatient?

 

Ah right, since forever.

 

She'd just not been impacted by that impatience for a while.

 

Zuto knows how her compatriot managed to stand still and guard for such long periods of time.

 

"Yeah yeah, we're nearly there," Higashi grumbled.

[NorikSigma]

IC: Akone

 

The slight tinge of annoyance in Higashi's voice was not lost on Akone.

 

"You seem a little more abrasive than usual," Akone said.

[25K Now!]

IC: Higashi

 

"I'm always this abrasive."

[NorikSigma]

IC: Akone

 

"Sorry for asking," Akone stuck out her tongue at Higashi.

 

Truth be told, she felt happy to be out here, where she could have some time to loosen up and enjoy the little things, even if she had to be with Higashi, who always made it simultaneously entertaining and frustrating to be with.

[25K Now!]

IC: Higashi

 

 

Higashi shook her head with a sigh, but her demeanour brightened as they arrived on the docks.

 

"Right," She said. "I'll get ya some equipment. Stay put."

[NorikSigma]

IC: Akone

 

"Can I follow? I want to know a little bit more about this."

[Void Emissary]

IC:

 

"Seems a little ... counterintuitive though, don't you think?" Zyla said, tapping her index fingers together, awkwardly trying to avoid eye-contact with the detective. "I mean, if someone was going to frame Herupa Jiyu, why would they go and attack him afterwards? Doesn't that just confirm his innocence?"

 

-Void

[25K Now!]

IC: Higashi

 

"Eh sure."

[NorikSigma]

IC: Hogo Akone

 

The two Dasaka reached a low hut that smelled of extremely dead fish.

 

IC: Daikura Reiko

 

Reiko frowned at the news.

 

"Then we must get the truth out as quickly as possible."

Edited August 14, 2014 by Norik Of Celtania

[AuRon the champion]

Ic:

 

"You're right Zyla, that wouldn't really make a whole lot of sense," the detective said, folding her arms and frowning as the trio tried to make some sense of everything, "unless of course, they weren't expecting to kill him... Only lead a trail to him that would result in questions being asked about him..."

 

"But then why kill two dasaka prior? My guess is that jiyu was supposed to die. And while he isn't dead, he's not going to be up walking about for a good while... So what if this is to remove people, like subtracting numbers from a math problem?"