Crimson Flame
Skinner35
PlatinumSkink
Akiko's room in the Dangeki was simple and plain for the most part. Aside from a humidity emanating from the bathroom nearby, no doubt indicative of shenanigans, her bed was neatly made and the table in the room held a small bit of what could be assumed as her inventory. A chipped shortsword laid neatly atop it and juxtaposed the golden arrow beside it, not long after a smoky cat appearing to sit over both of them as a way to safeguard the treasures. Akiko herself sat down on the bed, her legs laying beside her and an arm keeping her up carefully.
"First things before we start accosting eachother for our little pals, you said a card had rejected you earlier?" Definitely one for business, it seemed, though you couldn't exactly blame the cat for wanting to get down. Whatever Kanbaru's friend was definitely sent a malodorous waft across the room, and it didn't make Akiko want to loosen up.
This little excursion did confirm the uniformity of the rooms to Kanbaru, it's sole treasures standing out amidst the wooden interior. Should she have felt insulted by the spectral cat hovering protectively over them? Probably hypocritical given her JSTR, and was it a delight to speak so openly of her. "Yes, we're both delighted you'd have us over, and I'll keep my nun on her best behavior."
Her expression soured at the mention of her latest acquisition, the Serei's hostile presence still making it's displeasure known even without actively attacking her. Settling on the bed alongside the lounging cat, she tipped back her hat and plucked the card from where it was sweating between her breasts. "To be perfectly honest with you, we've been lucky not to find more cards that don't agree with us, but this one seems to hate me for the nature of my partner. Rather intensely. Perhaps she knew the JSTR in another form, but she certainly won't work with me willingly. At least she doesn't seem inclined to kill me outright."
"Given what I think about this tower and the floors we've been to, I wouldn't disagree with that assessment" She chose to ignore Kanbaru's chosen spot to place the card in favor of continuing to brainstorm. "These Serei are incredibly useful, but even when one disagrees with the user as seen earlier with... the Henry Card, I believe, they can at least be used. A card outright rejecting seems to be something of more importance." Akiko eyed the ery card she was referring to, the rejecting one, and simply watched it for a moment with her eyes. "I think I could assess the past of that card, if you would like. Maybe figure things out a little more."
Castle had apparated behind its master as she brought up the past of the card, the golden arrow having been taken and now being nowhere in sight.
Kanbaru shrugged, tilting the card towards Akiko to let her grasp it if she wished. "Feel free. I'm still unsure what I plan to do with it If I can't convince this Bastion to play along. At least we have a store to trade her if she's not gonna budge an inch."
That Castle was now hovering over them both was a bit odd, almost defensive when even the JSTR wasn't making an appearence. Crossing her legs she leaned back, boots idly poking at the floating feline. "Though I have to wonder what you're angle is in all this. Curiousity? Some desire for this card?"
"Well if you can't use it clearly you don't need it, but ignoring that little tidbit I have only one desire for what I wish to gain here." Castle's form hovered down to meet Akiko's head, the eyes on both user and stand glowing red for a moment. The girl stared into the card for a solid few seconds before she retched back and basically slammed her hands on her face.
"Gah! Son of a BITCH!" At first, it'd seem that Castle had disappeared, leaving the user to rub her eyes in anguish. Though, that was only the surface level, as above the bed against the wall was a fresh crater in the shape of a hand. Was... waes that new?
"God dammit, of course the wall was where we'd take out our frustratons... dammit. I hope I don't wake up and taste drywall..." Akiko chafed, one eye open and the other clearly still being rubbed.
Naturally Akiko reaction elicited a wild peel of laughter now that someone else could finally understand the pain that card had put her through. Plucking off her hat she dropped it over the cat girl's face lest the light of the room irritate her spltting migraine.
"Just be glad you weren't eaten by a snake after that. Still, this does show we've found a card that really hates our guts. Best not tell anyone or we won't have a chance in hell of conning them with it into trading for something more agreeable." Sliding the Bastion card back where it came, the orca stretched luxuriously backwards, flopping beside Akiko without a care.
"So what was the second issue you wanted to discuss, kitten?"
Akiko pushed the hat up with a face of annoyance at being called kitten. Lest she wanted to get into the specifics of who could and could not call her that, she knew for sure that Kanbaru didn't sit in the first category. Bah, whatever. "I am fairly sure the card just hates your guts. I was able to see gently into the veil of that past, though unfortunately not much. What I was going to ask second however was regarding what your JSTR was."
Akiko sat up, the hat flopping onto her head and her ears gently poking under it. "Is it like Castle? A Stand? Or is it something more?"
"A Stand? Hmm, that must have been an interesting arrow you bought then. But alas, my lovely, luscious, psychotic nun isn't any creation of mine. Really the nun look is the giveaway if you've ever seen those Conjuring movies." Kanbaru snorted, willing the visage of her parasite to waver in the air, just a glimpse before letting it slip away.
"The JSTR....well, when i first met it, it was a malignant program in a video game- No, she didn't meet me, but another me. Guh, multiverse theory is a bitch and a half to explain when it's jammed into your skull with an ice pick!" It was her turn to grasp at her brow, a quiver of pain from forces she didn't properly comprehend. "It seems...some version of me attracted the attention of a parasite. So when I came here, it latched onto me. Was ingratiating itself till we went to Umbra, where it revealed itself fully."
"She's....clingy, in odd ways. A great fuck in bed, and the best partner in a fight I could ask for, but I don't think she's as well intentioned as your Castle."
Akiko nodded along to Kanbaru's explanation. Multiverse theory was something she was suspecting, but some of this was a bit interesting to properly converse about. "Sounds more like a mutualistic exchange than a parasitic one, if you ask me, and she clearly isn't as well intentioned as Castle, but if she isn't a Stand I'm not surprised."
Castle rematerialized on the bed, sitting in a catlike position despite being its humanoid form. "Assuming that what I learned from gazing through the arrow is true, Castle would be effectively a manifestation of what my Soul is, which sounds different than what JSTR is. However, since only Stands Users can see Stands, I'm inclined to believe that the JSTR and Castle are more similar than I would originally envision." Akiko mused to Kanbaru, Castle shrinking to a smaller, more quadruped form before hopping onto Akiko's shoulder and watching. "Assuming that this is true, I believe the JSTR and Castle meet at a crossroads of the Soul, and that... whatever the JSTR is has become fiercely entangled with yours. As you put, like a great fuck that would be clingy in odd ways." She chuckled at her joke.
"The multiverse idea also explains all these odd versions of Earth-like worlds, and I would be lying if I didn't say that what your JSTR is I think I may have encountered before. Only a far-reaching hunch, mind, but definitely noteworthy." She kicked back on the bed, crossing her legs over eachother. "You remember when you and Rose went off to get arrested in the woods after a threesome while I wormed into the local government?"
"Funny you talking about great fucks when your bathroom still carries that delightful fragrance. Hmm, I don't see Castle being the sort, so you must be enjoying a friendly relation with a Serei of yours." Kanbaru smirked, poking the cat girl's side to lighten the mood amidst discussions of existential dread and the pollution of Kanbaru's soul by foreign entities.
"Oh right, that threesome was fantastic. Wish I had gotten her card. Mmm, I would be hard pressed to find a reason not to have had Solanne out at all times~" She dreamily looked up at the ceiling, rather enamored with that floor of the Tower, before focusing on Akiko again. "I take it you were having a more productive time joining the local government?"
"First things before we start accosting eachother for our little pals, you said a card had rejected you earlier?" Definitely one for business, it seemed, though you couldn't exactly blame the cat for wanting to get down. Whatever Kanbaru's friend was definitely sent a malodorous waft across the room, and it didn't make Akiko want to loosen up.
This little excursion did confirm the uniformity of the rooms to Kanbaru, it's sole treasures standing out amidst the wooden interior. Should she have felt insulted by the spectral cat hovering protectively over them? Probably hypocritical given her JSTR, and was it a delight to speak so openly of her. "Yes, we're both delighted you'd have us over, and I'll keep my nun on her best behavior."
Her expression soured at the mention of her latest acquisition, the Serei's hostile presence still making it's displeasure known even without actively attacking her. Settling on the bed alongside the lounging cat, she tipped back her hat and plucked the card from where it was sweating between her breasts. "To be perfectly honest with you, we've been lucky not to find more cards that don't agree with us, but this one seems to hate me for the nature of my partner. Rather intensely. Perhaps she knew the JSTR in another form, but she certainly won't work with me willingly. At least she doesn't seem inclined to kill me outright."
"Given what I think about this tower and the floors we've been to, I wouldn't disagree with that assessment" She chose to ignore Kanbaru's chosen spot to place the card in favor of continuing to brainstorm. "These Serei are incredibly useful, but even when one disagrees with the user as seen earlier with... the Henry Card, I believe, they can at least be used. A card outright rejecting seems to be something of more importance." Akiko eyed the ery card she was referring to, the rejecting one, and simply watched it for a moment with her eyes. "I think I could assess the past of that card, if you would like. Maybe figure things out a little more."
Castle had apparated behind its master as she brought up the past of the card, the golden arrow having been taken and now being nowhere in sight.
Kanbaru shrugged, tilting the card towards Akiko to let her grasp it if she wished. "Feel free. I'm still unsure what I plan to do with it If I can't convince this Bastion to play along. At least we have a store to trade her if she's not gonna budge an inch."
That Castle was now hovering over them both was a bit odd, almost defensive when even the JSTR wasn't making an appearence. Crossing her legs she leaned back, boots idly poking at the floating feline. "Though I have to wonder what you're angle is in all this. Curiousity? Some desire for this card?"
"Well if you can't use it clearly you don't need it, but ignoring that little tidbit I have only one desire for what I wish to gain here." Castle's form hovered down to meet Akiko's head, the eyes on both user and stand glowing red for a moment. The girl stared into the card for a solid few seconds before she retched back and basically slammed her hands on her face.
"Gah! Son of a BITCH!" At first, it'd seem that Castle had disappeared, leaving the user to rub her eyes in anguish. Though, that was only the surface level, as above the bed against the wall was a fresh crater in the shape of a hand. Was... waes that new?
"God dammit, of course the wall was where we'd take out our frustratons... dammit. I hope I don't wake up and taste drywall..." Akiko chafed, one eye open and the other clearly still being rubbed.
Naturally Akiko reaction elicited a wild peel of laughter now that someone else could finally understand the pain that card had put her through. Plucking off her hat she dropped it over the cat girl's face lest the light of the room irritate her spltting migraine.
"Just be glad you weren't eaten by a snake after that. Still, this does show we've found a card that really hates our guts. Best not tell anyone or we won't have a chance in hell of conning them with it into trading for something more agreeable." Sliding the Bastion card back where it came, the orca stretched luxuriously backwards, flopping beside Akiko without a care.
"So what was the second issue you wanted to discuss, kitten?"
Akiko pushed the hat up with a face of annoyance at being called kitten. Lest she wanted to get into the specifics of who could and could not call her that, she knew for sure that Kanbaru didn't sit in the first category. Bah, whatever. "I am fairly sure the card just hates your guts. I was able to see gently into the veil of that past, though unfortunately not much. What I was going to ask second however was regarding what your JSTR was."
Akiko sat up, the hat flopping onto her head and her ears gently poking under it. "Is it like Castle? A Stand? Or is it something more?"
"A Stand? Hmm, that must have been an interesting arrow you bought then. But alas, my lovely, luscious, psychotic nun isn't any creation of mine. Really the nun look is the giveaway if you've ever seen those Conjuring movies." Kanbaru snorted, willing the visage of her parasite to waver in the air, just a glimpse before letting it slip away.
"The JSTR....well, when i first met it, it was a malignant program in a video game- No, she didn't meet me, but another me. Guh, multiverse theory is a bitch and a half to explain when it's jammed into your skull with an ice pick!" It was her turn to grasp at her brow, a quiver of pain from forces she didn't properly comprehend. "It seems...some version of me attracted the attention of a parasite. So when I came here, it latched onto me. Was ingratiating itself till we went to Umbra, where it revealed itself fully."
"She's....clingy, in odd ways. A great fuck in bed, and the best partner in a fight I could ask for, but I don't think she's as well intentioned as your Castle."
Akiko nodded along to Kanbaru's explanation. Multiverse theory was something she was suspecting, but some of this was a bit interesting to properly converse about. "Sounds more like a mutualistic exchange than a parasitic one, if you ask me, and she clearly isn't as well intentioned as Castle, but if she isn't a Stand I'm not surprised."
Castle rematerialized on the bed, sitting in a catlike position despite being its humanoid form. "Assuming that what I learned from gazing through the arrow is true, Castle would be effectively a manifestation of what my Soul is, which sounds different than what JSTR is. However, since only Stands Users can see Stands, I'm inclined to believe that the JSTR and Castle are more similar than I would originally envision." Akiko mused to Kanbaru, Castle shrinking to a smaller, more quadruped form before hopping onto Akiko's shoulder and watching. "Assuming that this is true, I believe the JSTR and Castle meet at a crossroads of the Soul, and that... whatever the JSTR is has become fiercely entangled with yours. As you put, like a great fuck that would be clingy in odd ways." She chuckled at her joke.
"The multiverse idea also explains all these odd versions of Earth-like worlds, and I would be lying if I didn't say that what your JSTR is I think I may have encountered before. Only a far-reaching hunch, mind, but definitely noteworthy." She kicked back on the bed, crossing her legs over eachother. "You remember when you and Rose went off to get arrested in the woods after a threesome while I wormed into the local government?"
"Funny you talking about great fucks when your bathroom still carries that delightful fragrance. Hmm, I don't see Castle being the sort, so you must be enjoying a friendly relation with a Serei of yours." Kanbaru smirked, poking the cat girl's side to lighten the mood amidst discussions of existential dread and the pollution of Kanbaru's soul by foreign entities.
"Oh right, that threesome was fantastic. Wish I had gotten her card. Mmm, I would be hard pressed to find a reason not to have had Solanne out at all times~" She dreamily looked up at the ceiling, rather enamored with that floor of the Tower, before focusing on Akiko again. "I take it you were having a more productive time joining the local government?"
