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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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 Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 8:17 pm
One day in late Fruition, after that horrid bloody monster has finally left her alone, Shuuken is walking through the marketplace, close to where she had met the blond-haired man in Ascent, when she once again encounters him -- in a rather different position than before.
At the side of the street, the eccentric old man kneels on the ground, his limbs slack; he would fall forward onto his face if not for the person standing over him, holding his head up by a handful of his scalp hair. This person is a young adult, unearthly beautiful, with long, silky black hair and and elegantly embroidered, beautiful clothes, some of the finest Shuuken, herself a princess, has ever seen -- and yet her silver eyes are vicious and horrible, burning with hatred and rage.
She seems to be communicating with the man privately; every few moments, she gives him a brutal shake. Bizarrely, none of the passerbys on the street seem concerned by this scene, perhaps because the man gives off no projections of pain or distress -- though it shows, silently, in his face.
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Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2009 2:06 pm
Shuuken doesn't notice the clothes, the beauty, or those fierce eyes; all the former princess can see is red. Shuuken's sorcerer is in danger, and the worst sort of anger accompanies that revelation. Rage jerks and twists from her as she breaks into a run politely engages the woman in dialogue via an arm bar for her throat.
Shuuken the Diplomat has struck again.
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2009 3:17 pm
As if the woman had seen Shuuken coming for minutes, she instantly and effortlessly raises a hand to block the child's assault; her arm is amazingly strong, as if those many layers of beautiful fabric conceal some sort of monstrously bulging muscles. She grasps for Shuuken's elbow as she does so, pinching at a sensitive spot on it.
It is only after this that she finally turns her head to regard the young princess, gazing down at her coolly -- but not quite as cold and imperious as one might expect. Indeed, the lady's face seems to have become sort of blank, with only a vague hint of emotion showing in a single, slightly angled eyebrow.
"... Is he yours?" she finally asks, in a surprisingly deep voice.
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Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2009 3:26 pm
And Shuuken sinks to the ground, surprise quickly replacing the once prominent anger. The princess gasps before clenching her teeth and shaking her head quickly as if such a simple motion would throw away the pain radiating up her arm.
While the woman is the exact picture of ice at this point, Shuuken models herself after fire. She growls, her hair flying from side-to-side as she attempts, futilely, to slip away from the grip as she regains her senses as well as her earlier rage.
"What--what are you doing to him?" gasps Shuuken as pain and anger flash through her mind, making her a beacon of negativity for those who are passing.
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2009 3:33 pm
The woman lets Shuuken go shortly after she begins struggling, but it seems not as if Shuuken has escaped, but more that the stranger has deigned to release her.
She stares Shuuken down for a few seconds before her posture slightly changes, becoming more soft and relaxed, and her expression quieter, gentler, yet malicious at the same time it is bored. "I was trying to remove him," she says, casually, glancing down at the silent man whose hair she is still grasping. "... But if he belongs to you, then I suppose I cannot."
She suddenly lets go; the man falls forward with a loud thump and lies face-first and still upon the ground. Yet despite the woman's callous behavior, his lack of movement, and Shuuken's rage, the passersby still fail to take much interest in the scene, though those nearest-by seem uncomfortable and move to skirt the trio as they walk past.
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Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2009 3:41 pm
"Sorcerer!" cries Shuuken, her hands moving to catch his form as gravity sends him forward. The princess quickly forgets the demon, her aching limb moving to support the wise madman, her eyes darting across his features, checking to see if he's even still alive. It takes a few moments for the woman's words to register.
... Remove him...
And then Shuuken's face twists into absolute hate as she looks up at a creature so powerful that she is merely an ant. Despite the difference in power, Shuuken blasts the woman with absolute defiance. What has the Sorcerer done that makes him so dangerous?! What bit of flawed logic has this devil consumed to think that the Sorcerer is some sort of possession?!
Her arms squeeze the man protectively as her teeth are bared much like an animal's.
Who the hell is this woman, to think she is some goddess?! Shuuken can only see a devil!
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2009 3:46 pm
The woman stares blankly at Shuuken through her entire outburst, neither showing nor emoting one ounce of a response. A few moments later, though, she tilts her head and smiles a bit -- perhaps ironically or a little bit sadly -- and pauses to slowly and elegantly draw a loose bit of hair out of her face.
As she pulls that black veil aside for a moment, Shuuken can see that she also does not wear makeup.
"... You should take better care of your dolls," she finally says, "and put them away when you are done with them."
With that, she lifts up her skirts with a telekinetic touch, turns, and begins strolling slowly away, in the direction of the Palace.
... whereupon the dull, almost-lifeless eye of the abused man, whose tremendous weight is still unsupported by his own limbs, blinks quickly and rolls towards Shuuken, his eyebrows quirking in a quizzical way.
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Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2009 3:55 pm
And Shuuken freezes before beginning to shake, both in horror and rage. For nearly a year, the princess has searched for the Silver Empress and here she seems to be. The Silver Empress, the one who would save the Golden World, is right in front of her and she is every bit as cold and unmoved by emotion as one might expect.
Shuuken is torn between cursing the heavens, cursing the existence of the cruel, distance deity, and weeping for her guidance, protection, and, most importantly, help.
"... It wasn't supposed to be like this," whispers Shuuken meekly as the devil disguised as a goddess wanders away. Her head bows as her arms squeeze at the Sorcerer again, more for herself now than for him.
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2009 3:59 pm
The man slowly manages a smile, though it seems as if the all the tugging on his scalp has distorted his face, giving him quite a frightening appearance.
No, no, he finally projects, perhaps it was not. But, well, they'll just have to make the best of the situation and confess their undying love like this.
With a grunt of effort, he throws a massively heavy arm over her shoulder and gazes deep into her carnelian eyes with his own stretched, crazed golden-yellow ones.
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Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2009 4:05 pm
And Shuuken slowly lifts her sorrowful, tear-filled eyes to meet the madness that lies in her own...
... before she clamps her teeth down on his nose. While the attack is by no means hard enough to draw blood, it reminds him his place in their relationship. How dare the Sorcerer say something like that so soon after so much sorrow?!
Does the Sorcerer realize he almost died? Shuuken releases his nose and jerks back, fuming at the man; if Shuuken hadn't arrived at the moment she did, the Sorcerer might have perished! After those words, her eyes soften as she inspects his wild appearance.
... Shuuken needs a brush, notes the Porcelain with a bit of resignation.
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2009 6:22 pm
Rather than reacting to the attack, the man simply crosses his eyes in a fruitless attempt to inspect the injury. After a few moments of feeble straining, he gives up, and leans his weight slowly backwards to take it off Shuuken and send him falling over onto his back, where he smiles up at her.
Oh, Gan can't die. Shuuken doesn't have to worry about that; there are far too many other problems facing her for her to distract herself with such irrelevant matters. Like the blood, for instance.
Was it fun?
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Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2009 6:28 pm
Shuuken should kill Gan.
One of the princess' eyes twitches as she looks down, her hand settling uncertainly on her own stomach. To imagine that women went through that horror. Shuuken shudders before biting lightly at her lip and eying Gan uncertainly.
... Shuuken is more concerned about Gan, however. The Sorcerer--why was he being attacked like that? Shuuken pauses for a moment, her brows knitting as she eyes the ground.
... And was that the Silver Empress attacking him?
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2009 6:35 pm
Gan's eyelids close to shield his eyes as he tilts his head back, catching the warm sunlight on his face with a serene smile.
But doesn't Shuuken realize how many boys of nine or ten have sat alone in their rooms, weeping because they were born without wombs, never to give birth, never to partake in the social and generative power of women? How lucky a young man Shuuken is, to be male and yet to still have that power.
But when she asks for the identity of the assailant, he opens one eye and peers at her, his expression one of surprise. Does Shuuken really believe in that old goddess? And even if the Silver Empress were real, would the Silver Empress, supreme creatrix and overseer of the universe, really be out strolling among the common folk? On a hot, sweaty afternoon like this?
That was Brain's good old friend, whom Shuuken has already heard of: "J-J-J-J-Jin." Gan stutters as if he were still being rattled by that cruel hand, and he closes his eye again and wears a pained expression, as if he cannot yet speak aloud without discomfort.
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Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2009 6:47 pm
And just as Shuuken prepares to rebuff Gan for his words, she freezes and turns pale as he reveals the name of his attacker. ...
Shuuken has been looking for this Jin for a long time, the princess admits feebly has a hand moves to her face. One of Shuuken's friends, Jilan, he... he was actually tutored by Jin.
Uncertainty flows over Shuuken as her mind flees in a thousand directions: Is Jilan alright? Is he safe? Then darker thoughts begin to trouble her.
... What if Jilan had been working with Jin the whole time for some purpose? The princess, plagued by hormones, widening hips, and shadowy conspiracies suddenly curses, her hand striking against the ground.
"Damn, damn, damn!" shouts the princess with no real concern for those around her. Gan might note the widening of Shuuken's vocabulary since they last saw one another--obviously she's been training in anticipation for her days with him.
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2009 6:50 pm
It is not good for Shuuken's health to linger on such unproductive anger, Gan notes mildly. ... He also wonders why Shuuken is so eager to condemn Jin's actions as cruel and immoral. Doesn't she remember what Chaos is, what Sorcerers are?
He rolls over to face her, his eyes opening wide and his mouth forming a smile -- still slightly distorted by pain.
Wrongness.
Is it so wicked, then, for Jin, for Jilan, for good little children of Name like they, to try to protect their loved ones from those who would corrupt, pollute, and pervert...?
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