Shuffling and soft sounds akin to a pillow being thrown into a wall stumbled out of a room, feet shifting and rotating to keep balance or to avoid staying still too long. Sharp breaths, gasps, and the occasional victorious cry. The door was closed, a sign on the outside with the warning: Sparring inside, Do Not Interrupt. The handle was locked. One ear pressed tightly against the door, a man with a blue ponytail listened intently with furrowed brows under the pretense he wanted to listen to the ladies fight. The reality, of course, was that he was worried sick about Silabus doing a play match with Haseo. She could have asked Kuhn. He was safe. He was her big brother figure - he would play nice. Haseo… he was worried she would find a way to kill the brunette with a foam bat. This was the Terror of Death! He really would not have been surprised.
"…you pervert." Pi sneered as she walked by.
"Yes." Was Kuhn's only response, pressing his ear tighter to the door. The scuffling stopped. Muffled voices. Silabus was saying something to Haseo, who as usual was refusing to respond. Kuhn would not have refused conversation. He would have responded. Joked. His friend was there, he had nothing to do… this was a perfect time to hang out. Instead, she agreed to spar with Haseo. He really was beginning to hate the silver-haired woman.
"When they open the door, I hope the brat kicks your balls in." Pi informed her with a slight nod.
"Probably will." Kuhn answered, just as distracted as ever.
"…they're probably wearing safety equipment over their normal clothes, you know." The pink-haired woman added.
"More than likely." Kuhn was increasing the words in his sentences one at a time, giving the illusion he was paying more attention but in reality he was not.
"Wonder if I could get a good spar in with the delinquent."
"Maybe." Back to one word.
"This is unusual for you." Pi finally relented, and walked over to stand behind him as she pressed her own ear against the door. "What, did they actually go in their naked or something?"
"No. If they did, this would just be weird for me." Kuhn admitted, and pulled away with a frown before looking up. The frown quickly turned into a lopsided grin - not a bad view from down below, he had to admit. Knuckles made contact with his skull, before the librarian pulled away with several curses as herself for falling so easily for the trap.
"Why?" Pi inquired, arms at the ready along with her legs - wearing stilettos had its upsides, especially on days like these with Kuhn.
"Silabus." Kuhn answered finally, and then put his ear back to the door. "Nice girl. Don't want to see her that way. Kind of nice to have a platonic friendship with a woman." At this, Pi's brows went up. Then the door opened, effectively smashing the man between the wall and the door. Had it been the brunette, Pi would have commended her. However, it was Haseo and she merely shrugged. "Have fun?" She asked, intentionally asking the girl in green because she did not want to deal with her currently least favourite person.
"It was… a work out." Silabus said, laughing a bit nervously. The Terror of Death had crazy agility and power behind her - she was relieved the two had used foam bats, although that did not stop the other from giving her a nice collection of bruises. Her muscles were also burning, unaccustomed to actual combat and the usage of muscles her normal practice and jogging did not demand of her. A man crawled out of the wall and a hard door.
"M-maybe next time you should practice with me…" Kuhn offered, somewhat meekly.
"Fine." Haseo agreed.
"N-no, I meant…"
"Good luck, Kuhn." Pi smirked, and turned to walk back down the hallway. "Good to hear, Silabus." She added with a wave, her heels clicking along the way as her hips sashayed with her movements.
"Hey, Kuhn. Where are the showers in this place?" Silabus asked suddenly, patting her shoulder before rotating it in circles. Next time Haseo asked her to spar, she was going to stretch before hand no matter how abrupt the offer came. "And the kitchen? Depending on what you have, I might be able to whip us up something afterwards." She needed something to do.
"And where are the computers? I have homework." Haseo added, stretching while she arched her back. That's right… she takes online classes…
"…P-Pi…?" Kuhn called, looking hopefully down the hall. "Of course…" He gritted his teeth. Distracted him with that fine ass… and now he had to show these two around. Okay. He would show Haseo where the computers were first, and then Silabus the location of the showers. He did not want to get stuck with the Terror of Death. Alone.
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"Are you sure?"
"Definitely. One of those two has a Factor. Unfortunately, they're always so close together it's hard to say which one has it."
"She's really taken to it here…"
"She?"
"Haseo. Her eyes lit up when you told her she was allowed to beat the shit out of the Infected, so long as we could verify it wasn't a trap. Like someone replaced an old, dingy light bulb with some of the fancy shit…"
"Yes. Frightening, in a way. I suppose it's because of the Factor, Skeith. She doesn't even know what Skeith did to her all those years ago, either…"
"Sir?"
"Nothing. That's irrelevant. She's on our side, and that's what counts. They have three of the Eight Factors. There's still one missing out there… we just need to get to it first, and we'll have the numbers in our favor."
"Which Factor?"
"Innis."
"Hmm. Hasn't even shown up?"
"Not even a flicker. Wherever Innis is, it doesn't want to be found. These Factors are strange… Skeith didn't even start showing up until about a month ago."
"Wonder why."
"I'm sure Haseo has the answer, whether she realizes it or not. Speaking of which…"
"Should I tell her the good news?"
"Next chance you get."
"Yes sir. Let's hope she doesn't cream her panties in her excitement…"
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"We're in Lumina Cloth!" Silabus blabbered, for what must have been the millionth time since the Grunty dropped the group off outside of a hotel close to around twenty-three stories high. Kuhn smiled at her, and nodded his head in agreement while Haseo quietly tried to remind herself that once again, punching the brunette was a bad idea. Why, she was no longer quite sure because ever since she got the other kicked out of her own home… well, it was not as if Haseo had to be worried about getting kicked out by her anymore. The black-clad female sucked in a breath through her teeth, which were currently grinding as she tried to maintain a semblance of patience. Their mission was simple. Go to Lumina Cloth. Enter in one of the Tournaments. Reach the final round, and take down the team "Macha the Temptress." Drag the sorry bodies of Mia and Elk back to Serpent of Lore, so Yata could discern which of the two was their missing Factor, and try to invoke Fidchell in order to speak with Aura so she could Purify him or her. Haseo knew she could manage her end - it was Yata's trying that had her question the plan's efforts. Barely been at the Lore for three days, and already she was sent off to work.
As for Silabus? Only reason she was there was because Kuhn had begged and pleaded with Yata to let her go. He knew she loved going to the tournaments, and felt the whole process would be more believable if they brought a 'groupie' with them. Also, after only three days she had an interesting case of cabin fever - Haseo lost count of the number of times she asked her if she needed anything to be done. If nothing else, the woman learned how badly the brunette needed something - anything - to do. Now she had something to do, but still would not shut up. If only Kuhn was not there, she could just…
"Haseo, think you'll be okay signing us up? Remember, it's you and me." The man advised with a nod and tense smile.
"…just you and Haseo? What about Pi?" Silabus inquired, her voice suddenly curious and… was that worry?
"She couldn't come. Got to keep up appearances. Also, if something happens at Mac Anu…" Kuhn trailed. Someone needed to be there.
"Then how are you going to enter?" The brunette pressed, peering between the two curiously. "You have to have a party of three. They stopped allowing anything less - made the distributions murky. Not to mention, they discovered it was easier for people to cheat in a party of one." Naturally, she would know these things. Only spent most of her vacations in a visit to the tournaments.
"…we'll find a third person." Kuhn decided, nodding his head.
"Welcome to the team, Silabus." Haseo decided, and turned on her heel to head off to sign them up.
"WHAT? NO! DON'T YOU DARE HASEO!" Kuhn hollered, as the brunette cringed while the rest of the people walking the streets paid him no mind. This was Lumina Cloth - people were always yelling at each other, usually over misplaced bets or 'goods.' "WE'RE GOING TO FIND SOMEONE ELSE, DAMNIT!"
"Tch." Haseo's lack of response was not… especially reassuring. The blunet looked from where the woman was walking off, to Silabus - torn. He could not leave her alone. Especially in a place like this (ignoring she had been to Lumina Cloth more than he had, and learned how to handle herself while simultaneously protecting her young friend, Gaspard)!
"I'll just check us into the hotel and gather our things, okay?" She offered, giving him The Smile. Damn.
"Thanks." Kuhn sighed, before hurrying after the Terror of Death. "WAIT UP, HASEO!" He hollered. She did not 'wait up,' and if he did not know any better he would say she increased her gait. Realizing a power walk would do him little good, he began to jog after her. By the time he caught up, Haseo was twirling one of her daggers in hand as she waited for him at the registration desk. Damn. She is fast, Kuhn thought begrudgingly.
"So how do you propose we fix the missing a third person problem?" Haseo asked distantly, watching the neon lights of the city glint off of her blade. Was she threatening him? "Besides, what's so wrong with letting Silabus join? She didn't seem to mind."
"You've already put her in one dangerous situation." Kuhn's throat tightened, his temper peeking over the surface as he fumed. He did not get this girl's game, but he had a feeling that whatever rules she was playing by in the end did not include much in the way of the brunette's safety. "I'm not letting you put her in a second one."
"The tournament's harmless." Haseo reasoned with a shrug. "Worst that happens is a bunch of bruises. All kinds of technology in there. The whole arena is just a virtual reality - all injuries sustained aren't real unless you hit your opponent too hard." She added.
"Normally. But…" Kuhn glanced around, and lowered his voice. "But combine that with an Avatar, and… listen, I'll explain back in the room." He sighed. Why couldn't Yata drop the enigma act for once, and do the explaining himself? Lately, it felt like Kuhn was doing all of the legwork. Waltzing over to the woman at the counter, he casually leaned over and switched off his temper and on his charm. Not that this would do much - she got The Charm every day, from all kinds of guys trying the same tactic as the blunette. "Say… my friend and I," He nodded to Haseo, "We're contemplating on joining the tourny here. Know where we might be able to recruit a third person?" She gave a thin smile.
"If I had a GP for every time someone asked me that…" She sighed, and took a deep breath. "That board over there. Lists everyone searching for a party, or member, with their ranks and classes listed. Find someone you like, come back here to let me know. I'll contact them for you."
"Thanks cupcakes." Kuhn winked at her, and sauntered over to the board. The woman rolled her eyes. Cupcakes, dumpling, sugar… why couldn't men choose a pet name not associated with fattening foods? What about celery stick? Or even cuddly-winks? Really, a woman appreciated some variety! At the board, Kuhn poured over the listings. Apparently everyone was having the same issue as he and Haseo - needed a third person, but no one was available. Logic said to split, at least that way the two would have a better chance… "Haseo?" A grunt. "I think we should split. We'd have a double chance at winning, and there's so many people looking for a third member we could probably jump into the tournament immediately." He reasoned, and turned to the other.
"Sure, what the hell." Haseo rolled her shoulders, indifferent as usual… but there was also a glint of interest. She wanted to hop to her job as soon as possible. If this was how, she was all for it.
"All right, I'll go with team Razzle Dazzle." Kuhn nodded, and hurried off to the office. Glancing at the board, Haseo noted that the listing for that team just happened to include two women. Of course. A minute later, he was back. "I'm going to the room to check on Silabus. Razzle Dazzle won't be fighting until later this evening, so before I meet up with them I am going to check to see if she's comfortable. Don't get into too much trouble - and let me know what team you're in. Got that?" Another roll of shoulders. "Oh, for… whatever." He sighed, and took off at a run towards the hotel. Someone was antsy to get back to his 'sister figure.' Almost made the Terror of Death sick to her stomach.
Red eyes inspected the list. One name stood out at him - Fallen Emperors. Alkaid and Sirius, ex-wielders of the title the Temptress team now held. Haseo suddenly stood still, eyes furrowing. Macha the Temptress had three members, it had to. Elk and Mia. So who was the third? Moving over to the rankings, she peered up at the top. Endrance. So there was a third member. Why had Yata not mentioned the last guy? Was the three-person rule new? Or had the man already verified it was not Endrance? More importantly… had Yata let Silabus go because he knew they would need three people, or knowing Kuhn expected something else entirely? Haseo did not like being toyed with. More importantly… I promise you, Terror of Death… if you help us deal with the Infected, Tri-Edge will appear. I checked all of the data. He always appears where the Infected are. Always. Those were Yata's words. Now to see if there was any truth in them.
"…T-Terror of Death…?" A meek, timid voice asked in a small squeak.
"What? …oh…"
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"…and that's why men don't always wake up with a hard-on." Kuhn finished explaining, his face flushed while he attempted to bury his embarrassed visage into his hands. The three were sharing a hotel room, and Silabus was just curious to know if she needed to be forewarned of any surprises in the morning.
"I guess that makes sense." The brunette murmured, brows furrowed as she registered this new information. And here she thought after puberty men always had morning erections. The door opened, and immediately both individuals inside snapped at attention. "Haseo?" She called.
"Is that your name?" A girl's voice exclaimed. "Such a wonderful name…"
"Yeah. Very nice." Haseo's voice - exasperated. She walked into the room, a slightly annoyed look with a young woman around her age following after like a lost puppy. The girl had short, slightly spiky blonde hair and wide green eyes. She wore a green sundress, with turquoise tints and white designs on them. Wrapped around her shoulders was a cowl, shaped in the back to look like wings. Her gold dress shoes clicked with her steps, white stockings trailing up and beneath her dress. A white sunhat rested atop her head, and she seemed rather well-dressed for the warm summer temperatures.
"Oh! You must be her friends!" The girl exclaimed, and ran over to Kuhn and Silabus. She took the brunette's hand. "It's so nice to meet you! I didn't even know she had friends!"
"F-friends…?" Silabus repeated, feeling a sudden surge of hope. Haseo suddenly wanted to jump out a window.
"Friends, huh?" Kuhn repeated as well, a devious grin on his face. "Are you one of her friends, as well?"
"Oh, well no… not yet, anyway. I'm trying to be, though! I offered to be her teammate!" The girl beamed. "My name's Atoli!"
"Nice to meet you Atoli!" Silabus returned the greeting, standing up so she could politely shake the other's hand.
"Teammate?" Kuhn's grin disappeared. "Haseo… this isn't…"
"I know." Haseo sighed, rubbing her temples. At least this gave the lone man enough reassurance that the Terror of Death was not going along with this because it was her idea. The girl seemed… blissfully unaware, actually, that the woman was even annoyed with her. That the silver-haired teen was supposed to be scary. Frightening. One to fear, not admire.
"We just need a third person! …are either of you taken?" Atoli continued, her voice chipper and bright.
"W-well, I'm not…" Silabus suddenly found herself trying to suppress a smile - all of Kuhn's work, now effectively thrown out the window. Where Haseo seemed unusually tempted to follow after. "Haseo…?"
"We're going to lose…" Came a whispered, barely audible response.
"Haseo? Oh! Is it all right if I call you that?" Atoli inquired, covering her mouth as if she spoke a bad word instead of a name.
"It's… fine… Atoli…" Haseo answered, teeth gritted. Murder was not the answer. Murder was not the answer. The Fallen Emperors looked so promising… with them, she knew she was going to win! But no. Atoli came along… and now she wanted to bring Silabus. Not that the brunette was bad at fighting. However, Haseo doubted the woman could carry on in the tournament for long before being bogged down with guilt over knocking a few guys and gals in the head. The blonde was not much better.
"So. Atoli." Kuhn's eyes were narrowed, firing glares at Haseo though his words were directed at the newcomer. "How did you two… come to this decision?"
"Oh! Well," The blonde blushed, one hand reaching up as she began to twirl her hair in her hands bashfully. "I saw she was looking for a group… and I thought she looked familiar, so I asked her. And it was her! Ever since she saved my life, I've been wanting to repay her somehow… so I offered to help her in the tournament! At first she said no, and I asked again because… well, how often does a person get a chance to repay someone they owe so much to? Eventually she said yes." Atoli beamed, pride evident in her voice and body language, as her back became straight and her shoulders set forward.
"Seriously?" Kuhn fought whether to laugh or walk over and kick Haseo's face in. Of course Haseo would bend to the will of some random girl. But Kuhn? No. Of course not. That would have just been too easy, and make too much sense. Now Silabus was involved in the tournament again. And there was this chick they were not even sure if they could trust joining. After such a mental list, at length he knew what he wanted to do. Shoot the woman between the eyes. Just one grievance after another…
"This is going to be so much fun!" Atoli cheered. "What's your names, by the way?"
"I'm Silabus, and that's Kuhn." The brunette introduced them, still smiling. She was Haseo's friend… she was not even trying! And yet… yet she was. It was a dream come true that did not even realize it was a dream. "It's nice to meet you! Have you ever participated in the tournament before?"
"Nope!" Atoli replied in a singsong voice. "I was just in the area with my friend, Sakaki… he wanted to ask some friends in other Guilds for help. There was this really big a few days ago…"
"You're a member of Moon Tree?" Silabus exclaimed, eyes lighting up as she started to bounce. Shit. They're like mirror images. The three hadn't signed up just yet. Haseo still had time to rush out of the room, take that empty slot with people who actually knew what they were doing, and maybe even get her own hotel room. She was not dealing with this. She wasn't.
"Whoa, whoa… okay. Calm down. Silabus… why don't you explain to Atoli how the Demon Palace Tournament works? Explain the rules, the jobs, and all of that…" Kuhn suggested, and glanced over at Haseo with a sharp look. "We'll both go and get some dinner. Sound like a plan? You two just wait in here, all right?" The Terror of Death raised a brow at him.
"You sure you don't want us to get something?" Silabus asked, while Atoli nodded her head eagerly.
"No, it's fine. Atoli, anything you like in particularl?" Kuhn asked, and looked between the two.
"Oh I'm fine with anything! Thank you… Kuhn, right?" The blonde smiled when he nodded. "Here!" She pulled out some GP, and offered the pieces to the blunet. "For my portion!"
"Don't worry about it, Atoli." The man shook his head, and pushed the coins back to their owner. "On the house. Or, hotel room in this case." And with a wink he started towards the door. Haseo, while hating to be told what to do, hated the idea of remaining with the two do-gooders more and followed after. The blonde and brunette looked at each other.
"Well… here, let's sit down and I'll explain everything the best I can…"
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"This doesn't look like take-out." Haseo stated bluntly, arms crossed as she watched Kuhn pace inside of the unisex restroom.
"We need to talk, and I don't want anyone overhearing." Kuhn hissed in a low whisper, his voice just barely audible. "Listen, I get your hell-bent on tracking down Tri-Edge. That's fine. But don't… don't drag innocent people into your problems." He ignored Haseo's beginnings of an indignant response and kept speaking, "High, extremely advanced technology. Avatar. Do you not realize how dangerous the two being combined is? Do you even know why we're after Macha the Temptress? Undefeated champion. Almost every person that group challenged had an unusual injury afterwards, or turned into an Infected." At this, the Terror of Death's brows rose slightly. "Yes. One of them has an Avatar, and the Avatar is causing the injuries. The Avatar itself might even be Infected, and if it is we need to try and cleanse it. Purify. Now… you and I are safe in battling that, but Silabus and Atoli…"
"So it's fine bringing other innocent people into the mix?" Haseo answered flatly. "So long as they aren't innocent people we know personally."
"Damnit, Haseo that's not…" Kuhn continued in a string of curses, before slumping his shoulders. "That's not what I meant. Listen. The less a person knows about the situation, the higher percentage chance they have of just becoming injured and not becoming Infected is when they know as little as possible. You think Yata just blindly shipped us into this? No. He's sent moles in, to challenge Macha the Temptress. Each one became Infected. Everyone else… yes, they were hurt, but they recovered from those injuries. Curing an Infected… it's time-consuming, it's difficult, and it isn't always a guarantee. Fighting alongside people that know nothing… no, it isn't safer. But they're better off."
Haseo said nothing. But she did cast Kuhn a brief glare, before looking away with a huff. "Fine. You try telling those two that, though. I already tried, and you saw how well it went over for me."
"…deal."
A/N: Well... that only took me a day and forever. BUT SEE? I HAVEN'T ABANDONED IT! Haven't abandoned "Ordinary World" either. But... I have more inspiration for writing this, and I just... I am trying to update OW. I know everyone likes that one better. But... bah. I'm just made of fail.
Disclaimer: I do not own nor have any affiliation with the dotHack franchise.