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Scenes from the Voyage
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Shizuka had explained to the team that the voyage would take roughly two days, as per the captain. Once they reached shore, they would head to the rendezvous point and survey the situation at Sango Port. Nyla had already explained that each of the taskforce members would have their own cabin aboard the ship, save for the Hangai sisters. Atsuha had oddly insisted that she share a room with her younger sibling. After the briefing the members were free to head to their rooms or roam about as they pleased, Shizuka went to his cabin to put up his weapon and to review some documents in regards to the situation in Shizuyama.
After shifting through a few papers he noticed a plate covered with a fancy top, which he recognized as belonging to Kyōko's house. At that point, he remembered that Nyla had left each person a piece of her cake as a form of courtesy. A peculiar sense of nervousness had begun descending upon him; 'Should I even bother opening it?' He thought. After debating it for a moment, he decided to at least take a gander at the food.
After removing the top, he blinked for a brief second. The item had the basic shape that you'd expect from a typical slice of cake, however, it had some distinct differences. For starters, the texture just didn't seem quite right. It was slimy and purplish in appearance, much like her actually. It had an extremely pleasant and sweet aroma to it, like it just came right out of the oven. Although, Shizuka had doubts that it was even made using an oven. When he thought about how Nyla actually concocted the confection, it made him even more uncomfortable. He felt that not eating it, or even sampling it was a wise decision. It's not like he was hungry away! He quickly placed the lid back on the plate and left it where it was.
However, his unease did not subside. In fact, it actually got worse. He soon realized why; the true source of his anxiety was fast approaching the door to his cabin. He didn't notice sooner due to being too focused on the 'cake'. Shizuka was a man who faced death more times in one day than most did in a lifetime, but after hearing a gentle knock on his door his heart nearly jumped out of his chest!
Shizuka tried his best to gather himself, the sweat started to roll down his face and his eyes were like cornered prey with its back against the wall. "Uhh...yes? C-Come in.." He weakly stuttered. He realized only too late the mistake he made by uttering that statement…
After watching her Mistress disappear over the Horizon, Nyla got to doing her rounds. Making sure if everyone on board was comfortable and had no special requests she could take care of. She did remember Hinami's request for more cake, so she had made a mental note to make sure to deliver a fresh batch to her later.
For now, though, she was approaching master Kannazuki's cabin.
"Greetings, Master Kannazuki." The maid would slide into the room, head bowed with a smile as she'd greet. "Forgive the intrusion, I simply was making rounds and making sure no one had any...special requests I could fill." She'd lift her head, folding her hands in front of her in typical demure maid fashion. "...hm? Whatever is the matter? Your mind seems elsewhere, Master. Ah, I knew it. You are sick or something aren't you? You were spacing out earlier, too." She hadn't immediately noticed the cake at least, but now she seemed concerned that he was unwell in some fashion.
"Uh...Good Evening, Nyla..." Shizuka barely got out. Much to etiquette, their employer's maid greeted the swordsman with a bow, stating that she was making her rounds and checking on each of the passengers. However, it quickly became apparent that she may have had another agenda in mind.
Nyla-san, I assure you that I'm quite fine. I was simply going over some documents in regards to the situation in Shizuyama." Shizuka would have to do better than that, he's dealing with a mamono after all! They're not known for taking no for an answer.
"Your dutifulness and concern is greatly appreciated, more than you may know. But in terms of my health, I feel great. I certainly can't lead the taskforce into battle while under the weather!" He hoped that maintaining a positive tone and steadying his speech would help stay her. The beads of sweat rolling down his face and his quick breaths weren't helping though...
"Perhaps one of the other members would more benefit from your assistance?"
"Hmm..." Nyla would frown slightly as Kannazuki responded, though it was difficult to tell what exactly she was thinking. Her eyes studied him quietly for a few seconds, taking notice of his manner of breath and sweat....but her eyes would eventually fall upon the seemingly unopened and untouched cake. The Shoggoth would immediately huff, clicking her tongue lightly. A tentacle would reach over, pulling the lid off the cloche and revealing the untouched cake underneath.
"Master Kannazuki lying about your health will only make things worse." She'd respond in her usual respectful, polite fashion though there was a bit of forcefulness to her words now. "Obviously you seem to lack an appetite, as well as seem to be running a fever like I assumed earlier. It would be prudent to attend to whatever ails you sooner rather than later. Now if you'll allow me to examine you...tsk tsk, I don't have the time to change into my nurse uniform..." A slimy tendril would wrap around Kannazuki's leg, and a second would quickly wrap around his waist as she'd attempt to pull his clothes off.
Much to his fears, the earlier spiel didn't work (probably due to the untouched cake and sweating). Immediately following Nyla's declaration of giving him a check-up, Shizuka found himself being wrapped up by a few tentacles. He felt his clothes suddenly being forcefully taken off. He had to admit, this certainly wasn't how he envisioned his night to go...
"Gaah! Nyla, please wait! I'm sweating because, you see, it's actually rather stuffy in here! The ship had more insulation than I initially realized." He said as he struggled to break free, and keep his clothes on. "As for why I hadn't eaten the cake, I was actually about to turn in for the night in just a little while after I finished looking at all the paperwork! It isn't healthy to eat right before bed, wouldn't you agree?" He saw that he situation was getting worse by the second. Well, they say that desperate times call for desperate measures. But, he'd rather it not come to that.
"As for the cake, I promise that I'll eat it first thing tomorrow right before we arrive on shore! Besides, I've eaten plenty today as it is! Just please, enough with the tendrils!" In case his pleas didn't work, Shizuka started to channel a bit of chi into his hand. Hopefully, the force of the shockwave he'd unleash would be enough to only break him free should things take a worse turn...
"Master Kannazuki," She'd say, seeming none to pleased by his protests. Stuffy in here? Well, it was quite warm and pleasant to her, though perhaps that was just her nature as a slime or some such desiring more warm environment. Well, regardless she was fairly certain he was lying about all of this. Why else wouldn't he eat the cake? Unless...he didn't...like it. The thought alone made Nyla redouble her efforts. "Hm...no, very well if its that hot in here, then fresh air should be prudent, correct? Sleeping in such conditions will only make your health worse so we can get some fresh air out on deck-ah..."
Of course, she hadn't been holding to him tight enough to resist such a release of energy. She hadn't expected such fervent resistance. If nothing else it made her pause for a moment to re-evaluate.
"...Master Kannazuki, you realize I am just concerned for your well being, yes?" She'd state, now standing between the human and the door. Her words were calm and they certainly made sense, but the general vibe she was giving off was of someone not having any of whatever nonsense he was saying. "Now, either you can hold still and let me thoroughly examine you for any signs of illness or you can eat part of the cake to convince me otherwise. I assure you, it is perfectly safe, or do you mean to tell me you do not trust Mistress Kyouko's loyal servant who would never do anything to harm any human on this mission?"
This seemed to be a very much 'final warning' statement before she got more forceful.
Thankfully, his gust blast was able to free him from Nyla's tendrils, and it didn't cause any damage to the rooms or injury to her to boot. However, it did little if anything at all, to deter her advance to 'examine' his body for sickness. At this point she offered him an ultimatum: either eat some of the cake or either spend the rest of the night being pinned down for a full body physical. Shit, he said silently in his mind. Why is this happening? Although, given his situation, he couldn't be too surprised. What did he honestly expect with a boat full of monstrous supernatural entities with such an infamous reputation Well, at any rate, this had to end one way or the other. One of Shizuka's most important lessons he had to learn in his life is that sometimes, you just had to bite the bullet.
He sighed for a moment, then adopted an expression that said, 'why the hell not', and picked up the fork that was next to the plate. Using it, he cut a piece of the cake large enough to where it should satisfy the maid. He did his best to keep his hand from shaking; he slowly brought the piece to his mouth and then began to chew. He noted the sweet, flavorful taste it had and how the texture was nearly flawless. It was, of course, never the taste that he was worried about. After a few more chews, he gulped it down.
"There. As you can see Nyla, I'm perfectly fine. Now, have you any further concerns for tonight? If not, I'd need to make sure all information is reviewed for our dock at the destination point."
Little did the poor swordsman know that a little later on, he start feeling strange sensations swelling up inside of him…
"Ah...you ate it~" Nyla's mouth would contort into a decidedly off-putting smile as she'd seem to visibly relax after Kannazuki ate part of the cake. "Fufu, well, I suppose I should apologize for being clearly in the wrong here, Master Kannazuki. I suppose I am still working on the whole...'don't be overbearing part' Mistress Kyouko-sama has been telling me..." She'd sigh, regaining her composure as she'd offer the young human a bow. "Well then, seeing that my services are not needed here, I should find lady Hinami. She was quite enthralled by my baking skills and I wouldn't want to disappoint If you have need of a little something else later...hehe, I'll find you~" That probably was not the most comforting thing to come out of her mouth this entire evening.
The maid would thus, proceed to leave the room and Master Kannazuki.
Having finally de-escalated the situation, Shizuka calmly watched as Nyla left the room. Good thing, too, as he was slowly starting to lose himself to the side effects of her dessert item. When humans ate food filled with monstrous energy, they themselves filled with monstrous thoughts. The swordsman's heart started pounding fiercely, and he felt his pants getting tighter. He began to be filled with lascivious thoughts involving the maid who just left his cabin. He broke into a cold sweat as he feel to the floor on both knees, struggling to resist the carnal feeling welling up inside of him.
But, Shizuka wasn't an ordinary human, he was trained in how to utilize his chi and various meditation techniques. He calmed himself and began to focus his energy, as his body would digest the physical aspect of the food, his chi would filter out the demonic energy until it fully dissipated. It seemed to be working so far, the thoughts that started to take him over were now fading, and the tight feeling down below started to fade.
The warrior shuddered to think what would've happened if he ate the entire cake, however...
"Kyōko-sama, I didn't sign up for this..." He uttered weakly.
After shifting through a few papers he noticed a plate covered with a fancy top, which he recognized as belonging to Kyōko's house. At that point, he remembered that Nyla had left each person a piece of her cake as a form of courtesy. A peculiar sense of nervousness had begun descending upon him; 'Should I even bother opening it?' He thought. After debating it for a moment, he decided to at least take a gander at the food.
After removing the top, he blinked for a brief second. The item had the basic shape that you'd expect from a typical slice of cake, however, it had some distinct differences. For starters, the texture just didn't seem quite right. It was slimy and purplish in appearance, much like her actually. It had an extremely pleasant and sweet aroma to it, like it just came right out of the oven. Although, Shizuka had doubts that it was even made using an oven. When he thought about how Nyla actually concocted the confection, it made him even more uncomfortable. He felt that not eating it, or even sampling it was a wise decision. It's not like he was hungry away! He quickly placed the lid back on the plate and left it where it was.
However, his unease did not subside. In fact, it actually got worse. He soon realized why; the true source of his anxiety was fast approaching the door to his cabin. He didn't notice sooner due to being too focused on the 'cake'. Shizuka was a man who faced death more times in one day than most did in a lifetime, but after hearing a gentle knock on his door his heart nearly jumped out of his chest!
Shizuka tried his best to gather himself, the sweat started to roll down his face and his eyes were like cornered prey with its back against the wall. "Uhh...yes? C-Come in.." He weakly stuttered. He realized only too late the mistake he made by uttering that statement…
After watching her Mistress disappear over the Horizon, Nyla got to doing her rounds. Making sure if everyone on board was comfortable and had no special requests she could take care of. She did remember Hinami's request for more cake, so she had made a mental note to make sure to deliver a fresh batch to her later.
For now, though, she was approaching master Kannazuki's cabin.
"Greetings, Master Kannazuki." The maid would slide into the room, head bowed with a smile as she'd greet. "Forgive the intrusion, I simply was making rounds and making sure no one had any...special requests I could fill." She'd lift her head, folding her hands in front of her in typical demure maid fashion. "...hm? Whatever is the matter? Your mind seems elsewhere, Master. Ah, I knew it. You are sick or something aren't you? You were spacing out earlier, too." She hadn't immediately noticed the cake at least, but now she seemed concerned that he was unwell in some fashion.
"Uh...Good Evening, Nyla..." Shizuka barely got out. Much to etiquette, their employer's maid greeted the swordsman with a bow, stating that she was making her rounds and checking on each of the passengers. However, it quickly became apparent that she may have had another agenda in mind.
Nyla-san, I assure you that I'm quite fine. I was simply going over some documents in regards to the situation in Shizuyama." Shizuka would have to do better than that, he's dealing with a mamono after all! They're not known for taking no for an answer.
"Your dutifulness and concern is greatly appreciated, more than you may know. But in terms of my health, I feel great. I certainly can't lead the taskforce into battle while under the weather!" He hoped that maintaining a positive tone and steadying his speech would help stay her. The beads of sweat rolling down his face and his quick breaths weren't helping though...
"Perhaps one of the other members would more benefit from your assistance?"
"Hmm..." Nyla would frown slightly as Kannazuki responded, though it was difficult to tell what exactly she was thinking. Her eyes studied him quietly for a few seconds, taking notice of his manner of breath and sweat....but her eyes would eventually fall upon the seemingly unopened and untouched cake. The Shoggoth would immediately huff, clicking her tongue lightly. A tentacle would reach over, pulling the lid off the cloche and revealing the untouched cake underneath.
"Master Kannazuki lying about your health will only make things worse." She'd respond in her usual respectful, polite fashion though there was a bit of forcefulness to her words now. "Obviously you seem to lack an appetite, as well as seem to be running a fever like I assumed earlier. It would be prudent to attend to whatever ails you sooner rather than later. Now if you'll allow me to examine you...tsk tsk, I don't have the time to change into my nurse uniform..." A slimy tendril would wrap around Kannazuki's leg, and a second would quickly wrap around his waist as she'd attempt to pull his clothes off.
Much to his fears, the earlier spiel didn't work (probably due to the untouched cake and sweating). Immediately following Nyla's declaration of giving him a check-up, Shizuka found himself being wrapped up by a few tentacles. He felt his clothes suddenly being forcefully taken off. He had to admit, this certainly wasn't how he envisioned his night to go...
"Gaah! Nyla, please wait! I'm sweating because, you see, it's actually rather stuffy in here! The ship had more insulation than I initially realized." He said as he struggled to break free, and keep his clothes on. "As for why I hadn't eaten the cake, I was actually about to turn in for the night in just a little while after I finished looking at all the paperwork! It isn't healthy to eat right before bed, wouldn't you agree?" He saw that he situation was getting worse by the second. Well, they say that desperate times call for desperate measures. But, he'd rather it not come to that.
"As for the cake, I promise that I'll eat it first thing tomorrow right before we arrive on shore! Besides, I've eaten plenty today as it is! Just please, enough with the tendrils!" In case his pleas didn't work, Shizuka started to channel a bit of chi into his hand. Hopefully, the force of the shockwave he'd unleash would be enough to only break him free should things take a worse turn...
"Master Kannazuki," She'd say, seeming none to pleased by his protests. Stuffy in here? Well, it was quite warm and pleasant to her, though perhaps that was just her nature as a slime or some such desiring more warm environment. Well, regardless she was fairly certain he was lying about all of this. Why else wouldn't he eat the cake? Unless...he didn't...like it. The thought alone made Nyla redouble her efforts. "Hm...no, very well if its that hot in here, then fresh air should be prudent, correct? Sleeping in such conditions will only make your health worse so we can get some fresh air out on deck-ah..."
Of course, she hadn't been holding to him tight enough to resist such a release of energy. She hadn't expected such fervent resistance. If nothing else it made her pause for a moment to re-evaluate.
"...Master Kannazuki, you realize I am just concerned for your well being, yes?" She'd state, now standing between the human and the door. Her words were calm and they certainly made sense, but the general vibe she was giving off was of someone not having any of whatever nonsense he was saying. "Now, either you can hold still and let me thoroughly examine you for any signs of illness or you can eat part of the cake to convince me otherwise. I assure you, it is perfectly safe, or do you mean to tell me you do not trust Mistress Kyouko's loyal servant who would never do anything to harm any human on this mission?"
This seemed to be a very much 'final warning' statement before she got more forceful.
Thankfully, his gust blast was able to free him from Nyla's tendrils, and it didn't cause any damage to the rooms or injury to her to boot. However, it did little if anything at all, to deter her advance to 'examine' his body for sickness. At this point she offered him an ultimatum: either eat some of the cake or either spend the rest of the night being pinned down for a full body physical. Shit, he said silently in his mind. Why is this happening? Although, given his situation, he couldn't be too surprised. What did he honestly expect with a boat full of monstrous supernatural entities with such an infamous reputation Well, at any rate, this had to end one way or the other. One of Shizuka's most important lessons he had to learn in his life is that sometimes, you just had to bite the bullet.
He sighed for a moment, then adopted an expression that said, 'why the hell not', and picked up the fork that was next to the plate. Using it, he cut a piece of the cake large enough to where it should satisfy the maid. He did his best to keep his hand from shaking; he slowly brought the piece to his mouth and then began to chew. He noted the sweet, flavorful taste it had and how the texture was nearly flawless. It was, of course, never the taste that he was worried about. After a few more chews, he gulped it down.
"There. As you can see Nyla, I'm perfectly fine. Now, have you any further concerns for tonight? If not, I'd need to make sure all information is reviewed for our dock at the destination point."
Little did the poor swordsman know that a little later on, he start feeling strange sensations swelling up inside of him…
"Ah...you ate it~" Nyla's mouth would contort into a decidedly off-putting smile as she'd seem to visibly relax after Kannazuki ate part of the cake. "Fufu, well, I suppose I should apologize for being clearly in the wrong here, Master Kannazuki. I suppose I am still working on the whole...'don't be overbearing part' Mistress Kyouko-sama has been telling me..." She'd sigh, regaining her composure as she'd offer the young human a bow. "Well then, seeing that my services are not needed here, I should find lady Hinami. She was quite enthralled by my baking skills and I wouldn't want to disappoint If you have need of a little something else later...hehe, I'll find you~" That probably was not the most comforting thing to come out of her mouth this entire evening.
The maid would thus, proceed to leave the room and Master Kannazuki.
Having finally de-escalated the situation, Shizuka calmly watched as Nyla left the room. Good thing, too, as he was slowly starting to lose himself to the side effects of her dessert item. When humans ate food filled with monstrous energy, they themselves filled with monstrous thoughts. The swordsman's heart started pounding fiercely, and he felt his pants getting tighter. He began to be filled with lascivious thoughts involving the maid who just left his cabin. He broke into a cold sweat as he feel to the floor on both knees, struggling to resist the carnal feeling welling up inside of him.
But, Shizuka wasn't an ordinary human, he was trained in how to utilize his chi and various meditation techniques. He calmed himself and began to focus his energy, as his body would digest the physical aspect of the food, his chi would filter out the demonic energy until it fully dissipated. It seemed to be working so far, the thoughts that started to take him over were now fading, and the tight feeling down below started to fade.
The warrior shuddered to think what would've happened if he ate the entire cake, however...
"Kyōko-sama, I didn't sign up for this..." He uttered weakly.
