Love on an Adventure

[ladys_night]

LOVE ON AN ADVENTURE meme Lucky you. For a while, you get to eschew a normal life and see life past your door; you're going on a quest! It could be for personal reasons, for fun, for profit, or to save the world as you know it. In all likelihood, it's the latter, given the natural order of things, but hopefully it's not. Whatever the case may be, you won't be going it alone, however. Whether it's just you and a partner or a true fellowship, you've got people to back you up. You may not all start out as the best of friends, that's true - still, the fires of potential life or death scenarios or the threat of losing your booty draw you closer together, and a friendship forms. With one member of your party, more than friendship grows between you. But wait, you have to defeat the dark lord, find the oldest wand, fight evil by moonlight, create a giant robot, or any other number of tasks. There's no time for this sort of nonsense! Actually, you may push them away because of the mission or due to past wounds that tie into said mission. Maybe, though, you can steal moments to get closer, let a romance blossom...or more. HOW to PLAY Comment with your character, preferences, and any other info - ie, keep it PG, etc. Even though I used a fantasy picture, don't feel constrained! In Harry Potter, they have to find a wand, in Supernatural, the Colt, in Avatar, they have to fight the Fire Lord, etc. Feel free to AU your character or include information about them. Reply to others.

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[marksofdeath]

[Allmates were strange to be around; he didn't feel anything from them. Still, he supposed they could do nothing but tell the truth anyway.]

I made him angry, didn't I? [He had to be careful. Anything he did that would be seen as suspicious would end up told to Mizuki.] You know him. Is there anything I can do to make it up to him? I don't want to start this off on the wrong foot.

[blacked_out]

[At that, Fuzzy tilted his head in consideration.]

"Mizuki tries to be truthful in his words lately, so it is best to consider them at face value. You irritated him by your somewhat intrusive questioning and the anxiousness that cropped up in his brain waves, but he will calm down soon enough."

[He sat a little more comfortably, curling his tail around himself. He felt a dim sense of comfort or discomfort, but that was all.]

"However, pressuring him further about this matter is ill-advised. I advise you to be more patient with him. Furthermore, if you wish to find more information concerning Oval Tower and Toue's plot to brainwash the whole world, I don't think it's wise to keep asking Mizuki.

"He already has trouble enough from having his mind destroyed almost completely in one instant. It would be better for his mental health if you acquired your information elsewhere. If finding and asking Aoba isn't feasible, I believe Noiz of Ruff Rabbit is still in the area; you could pay him for the information. Admittedly, it isn't cheap, but those two are your best bets for the information.

"...This is my warning to you. Looking out for Mizuki is my priority function. This includes protecting him from his own nature."

[marksofdeath]

Hm.

[Admittedly, it had gotten further than he normally would have tried to take it, even with his impatience. Mizuki had started talking and when they started it themselves, it was usually best to encourage. With trauma, though, he'd often seen enough people seeming fine only to hit brick walls.

Slower, then. That was what he'd expected when he came into this. Noiz from Ruff Rabbit. He mentally filed the name. Depending on who finished or got the first break, they could check him out but really, they already knew what had happened. Morphine.]

You don't have to protect him from me, I'm not an enemy. A guy has the right to his past, so I won't push.

[That's probably a lie. Hisoka is better at pushing than leading, but that's because he's too earnest in his interactions to be good at mind games.]

Instead, I don't know very much about Allmates. Can you tell me more?

[blacked_out]

[At that, Fuzzy's ears twitched at the suggestion that he didn't need to protect Mizuki from Hisoka. He already had enough trouble helping Mizuki with himself. Still, at the question about Allmates, he nodded, and at once pulled up many transparent windows regarding them.]

"We were created some odd ten or so years ago when Toue took over part of Midorijima. We are composed mainly of the same parts one would find in a desktop or laptop computer, with, well, particular modifications."

[Fuzzy flicked his tail.]

"Some of us Allmates are treated as pets more than the tools that we are. For those who can't afford allergy medication to cats or dogs, we are a cheaper-in-the-long-run venue for those who want a pet but cannot. We have a built-in GPS as well as have access to the internet. To an extent, we can also act on our own, but our desires are not inherently ours, but based on the priority trees in our coding."

[A beat, and he tilted his head.]

"That is the general overview. Is there something in particular that you wish to know?"

[marksofdeath]

Pets, huh?

[Hisoka wasn't the best with computers or advanced technology. He could use the one in their library well enough, but he had been raised in a traditional home and preferred books. That's not really something he can let the Allmate know, though. In this place, they really were advanced.

He'd have to do his own research, so he stands.] No, that's all. Thanks for the overview. Does Mizuki keep any books?

[He had a lot of time to kill.]

[blacked_out]

"He does."

[At that, Fuzzy lead Hisoka into Mizuki's bedroom. It's a little compact, and there's a sketch book laying open on the bed (which is large enough for two people to sleep comfortably,) with what is obviously a tattoo design on the page, sketched in pencil. It appears to be a tribal rendition of a bird of prey.

[Fuzzy skitters past it, and sits himself on the night stand.]

"There are a few in the bottom drawer, though the majority of the books Mizuki has are in my data storage. Please do not open the top drawer; you will wind up seeing more than you might like. If the books aren't to your liking, I can display some digitized works for you on my interface."

[In the drawer, should Hisoka open it, there are only a few books. One is a worn-out romance novel with dog-eared pages (featuring what appear to be a man and a werewolf,) another is tip manual for creating henna art, and a third is a book on tasteful rope artwork. There are also a few books that have terribly worn-out covers, and seem much older than the rest. They're all technical books on tattooing.]

[marksofdeath]

[He could hardly look into that drawer with the Allmate there. Was it a clue to Mizuki's real condition? Either way, it seemed it would have to wait until later.

He wasn't really into romance - a man and a werewolf, though? that was different - and he wasn't artistic. He'd gotten to his knees to check the drawer but would stand then, moving to sit on the bed unless there was another seat in the room.]

What's in the digital catalog?

[That was a shame. He really would have preferred the physical book.]

[blacked_out]

"Just about a bit of everything."

[Pulling up the digital catalog, there was row after row of different books of various sorts.]

"Just touch the book you wish to look at, and the text will display on the screen for you. You can also use your fingers to turn the pages and flip it over, almost as if it is actually there."

[Hisoka would probably have to come back later to look in the drawer in secret, but Fuzzy meant every word about it.

[It seemed that some recent searches on display were books regarding brain injuries, anxiety treatments, and sexual dysfunction. But Fuzzy immediately hid that bit of history after it had displayed for a few seconds.]

[marksofdeath]

[But the blush on his face shows it's too late. He looks away, which was a dumb move in terms of investigating, until the history was gone. He really did just want to read until Mizuki got off work, it hadn't been digging, and he wasn't the most adult when it came to handling information about sex.

But...that was probably a clue, huh?]

Historical...[He mumbled the word, still not looking up. He was embarrassed around a damn Allmate! It wasn't even human. But it really did sound like one, which made it difficult.]

[blacked_out]

"Certainly. My apologies for the flash of browsing history."

[Fuzzy pulled up the section in question, as well as a virtual keyboard.]

"You can reach any subsection by tapping the window before you. Or, if you have a book in mind, you may type it in on the keyboard on the window. My apologies that it's a little awkward. Only Coils have the proper digital keyboard."

[marksofdeath]

[Hisoka's eyes go over the books, and his guard drops a bit more. He really did enjoy reading, in getting himself lost in the books while subsequently gaining knowledge, getting smarter. His looks meant he had a lot of ground to gain to be taken seriously.

He gives off another name and waits for it to come up. He could spend hours like that, lost in the virtual pages of a virtual book. He does miss the physical copy, but this much would do.

Admittedly, if Tsuzuki did this, Hisoka would accuse him of slacking off but if he had to wait, it couldn't be helped, could it?]

[blacked_out]

[However short or long the hours pass, they do, one by one. Fuzzy only gently urges Hisoka to get up once every couple of hours to rest his eyes for a few minutes between reading.

[Fatigued, but fine, Mizuki eventually returns to his apartment after finishing his shift.]

Uugh, so tired....

[Not all of his strength has come back yet, but he still can't help but feel disappointed. Noticing the bedroom door wide open, he heads in there.]

"Mizuki, welcome back."

Aaah, thanks.

[Looking around, and seeing nothing out of place, he puts on a tired, but friendly smile. It's not fake.]

Ah, you like the selection? Some of them are so old that they've become public domain.

[marksofdeath]

[He could get lost in that dark room with the books at his call. Maybe he did. He doesn't notice the shift in emotions right away, he doesn't hear the footsteps that let him know someone was coming. Normally, he was better guarded than that, but there were so many books, and they were all at his fingertips.

The speech does alert him, and he silently cursing himself for letting his guard down. Brought out of the world of fiction, he can feel the shift in emotions he had missed before.

He smoothly stands, bringing himself up to full height.] My family only had physical books. We had a lot, but not even we had this many.

My apologies for the wait! I've been eyes-deep in a Fire Emblem: RD challenge run.

[blacked_out]

I've never had this many in person before, but it's a lot nicer than an electronic version. Where you can hear the sound of pages turning.

It's nostalgic. We mostly had paper books in school in this town. Before Toue came and introduced allmates.

[While Mizuki talks, Fuzzy puts in a virtual bookmark and creates a visible folder titled "Hisoka" and puts it in the folder.

[As for Mizuki, other than fatigue, he's a lot calmer now that he's not talking about himself in relation to his problems. There's only fatigue and the desire to sleep. Just regular sleeping.]

...I know that I wanted to introduce you and show you the territories, but do you mind if I nap for a bit first? You can keep reading if you want. Even here, if you want.

[He isn't sure who Hisoka reminds him of, but... it's not a bad feeling, that he's getting about him. He actually feels pretty calm. They say that someone shows their most vulnerable sides when eating, and when sleeping. And that he doesn't mind that Hisoka stays is kind of weird but not in a bad way.]