arrays | [closed] for ari

[closed] for ari

[ Sakakibara Yasumasa is dead, and with him, Ookurikara’s obligation to stay in the past, on this mission to protect Tokugawa Ieyasu. It’s almost a relief, to be free to return home, with only one small detour before he pulls the time travel device from a pocket and activates it with a soft sigh.

When he opens his eyes a moment later, however, it isn’t to the sight of home. There’s no sound of tantous getting into mischief, and no laughter of the old men who somehow always manage to avoid their work. There is no familiar engawa, no device in the courtyard, no bells dangling from the overhang. Ookurikara doesn’t recognize this place at all, or even the architecture - that structure in the distance might be some sort of castle, but he’s never seen one like it - and the truly eerie thing is that there aren’t any sounds at all, without a trace of the people who should have lived here. It’s all just… empty, and there’s only a gentle breeze to keep him company.

What the fuck.

He decides to try the device again, only pausing when he realizes that it’s gone. Looking around proves that he didn’t just drop it, and it isn’t anywhere on his person… In fact, everything he’d been carrying except for his sword, even the omamori full of dried flowers that Nobuyasu had once gifted to him, is gone.

Now what? Fists at his side, he glares at the castle ahead. All the paths seem to lead there. Maybe that’s where he’ll find answers. He’s careful in walking down the paths, sticking to shadows and always checking around corners before he moves, just in case this place isn’t as empty as it appears, but nothing gets in Ookurikara’s way even when he reaches the open castle gate and stands on the threshold, frowning. Is it a trap, he wonders…? Even if it is, does it matter? It isn’t like he has much of anywhere else to go.

Hm, well. At least if it is a trap, it means there’s someone here to get answers from. He’s confident that he can fight his way out of it, anyway. So he steps forward, up the path toward the castle doors. ]

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[ For all the shenanigans the phantom thieves had brought into her life, the good, the bad, and the little weird family they’ve made in between never did she think that it would end like this. It’s a one hit k.o. from the holy grail and they’re on the path for utter defeat. But if they’re lucky, if Futaba can only get Necronomicon to respawn them at the safe point then maybe-

The blast that comes whites out the whole area before she can try.

Which it’s why with a gasp, she sits up, eyes immediately taking in her surroundings and- What??? Where???? This?? Is not Tokyo?? This isn’t even Kansas?? Did she transmigrate into Oz?? ]

Guys....? Joker?? ........Queen?

[ oh no did the holy grail separate them into different dimensions?? (...... can it do that?) She’s relatively sure there’s no castle like this in Japan but- ]

Heey, this isn’t funny....!!

[ oh no. oooh no. she really is out here all alone. BE STRONG, FUTABA. YOU’VE GOT THIS. ]

....... Is anyone there?

[ ...........she really doesn’t got this ]

[ a sound filters through the doors just as kara reaches them, and his hand immediately goes to the hilt of his sword. the words are indistinct, but he's on alert as he reaches for the door to pull it open, ready to draw at any moment in case of an attack.

he isn't expecting to see a human child here, seemingly unarmed. but he knows better than to trust appearances, so once he’s standing in the open doorway, he doesn’t approach any further. not yet. instead he simply levels her with an accusatory stare. ]

Are you the one who brought me here?

[ it's bad enough she's stuck here- alone for that matter but now there's some strange rando samurai wannabe accusing her of shenanigans?? for once, she didn't actually do it!!!!

excuse the wordless screech at her interrupted panicking ]

Do I look like I'm the cryptic mystic welcoming you in??? I don't even know where here is!!

[ FIGHT HER, JERKFACE ]

What if it's you who brought me here!!

[ what does that mean and also does it look like he's the one who did this? the kid's got some nerve. ]

You're the only person I've found here.

[ wherever the fuck they are. that said... he's going to continue staring at her suspiciously for a moment before giving a minute shake of his head and stepping further into the castle. ]

If it isn't you, then stay out of the way.

[ everything leads to this castle. whoever did this should be here somewhere, and kara intends to find them.

[ and he's the only person she's seen thus far so congrats on your new sticky burr for the rest of existence ]

I'm not staying here to get eaten!?

[ have you never watched a horror movie in your life?? that's a recipe for disaster my dude. she's gonna follow him because clearly this is the smarter choice here. ]

There isn't anything that would eat you here.

[ probably. what does he know. to be honest, he doesn't particularly care, either, as long as it doesn't keep him from finding the one who did this.

he gets halfway up the stairs before pausing. ]

Don't follow me.

[ the squinty stare his back gets certainly reaches firey levels. good thing he doesn't see the scrunched up expression and tongue she sticks out at him? ]

There's only one way up so you're gonna have to share eventually.

[ after all, she's absolutely sure he's gonna bypass any useful notes or whatnot given his Mr. I'm the baddest bitch on the block attitude. But she absolutely waits until he's at the top before nyooming up and ahead of him like the tiny gremlin she is. Who's following who now??

........Of course, this does put her in the front so what if she just observes this very nice door while he passes her again to make sure the way is safe? It's fine. She's fine. ]

[ if he gave even half a shit he'd roll his eyes, but kara pays her little attention as he keeps walking, carefully opening doors to check each room. they're all... alarmingly similar, apparently bedrooms, each with a set of names on the door but clearly unoccupied. so the one who brought him here has either done this before, or plans to do it again. cool. just what he didn't need.

the only other rooms he finds on this floor are the baths, so... back to the stairs he goes, stepping around futaba without even sparing her a glance. he has no manners. ]

[ talk about being a stereotypical asshole protag? wow rud-......................oh.

oh my god.

she's in an isekai anime. (where are the others???)

don't mind as Futaba barrels through the next floor looking for a window or whatnot. the ballroom doesn't even get much of a glance before she slams into one of the balconies, gaping at the outside. THIS IS NOT TOKYO? HONESTLY IT DOESN'T EVEN LOOK LIKE MODERN EARTH. OH SHIT. ]

I'VE TRANSMIGRATED.

[ what the fuck ]

[ kara ignores her, opting instead to remain on the lower floor to frown at the mysterious music. it's nothing like he's heard before... he might enjoy it, if the distressed yelling didn't rip through the air. this is where he finally moves to send her back a glare before heading, once again, for the stairs. ]

Keep your voice down. They'll know someone's coming if you keep yelling.

[ and he likes having the element of surprise, so shut up. ]

[ she's gonna fuckin fight him instead of the mysterious cause at this point. which, whenever she tries to summon necronomicon is gonna cause another round of yelling but hold off on that one. gotta be subtle around the normies, etc. ]

If they're not already expecting us I'll be surprised.

[ it sure would go with the trope right now. ftr, she's still yelling from said balcony before following after him yet again. though if they really are waiting up there, her and her lil chicken legs are sure gonna be displeased. can't they install elevators in these dang buildings?? she's not cut out for all this running around. ]

If you want to make a target of yourself, then fine. But stop following me.

[ HE HAS

A MISSION ]

Like, I said. It's not like there are multiple ways up.

[ so suck it up, sunshine. not to mention despite the absolute prissiness of her new buddy here, who... hey!! HE NEVER INTRODUCED HIMSELF? RUDE.

mr. sunshine it is then.]

Unless you wanna try scaling the walls?

[ he's not going to dignify that with an answer. so. bye.

to the library he goes. ]

[ futaba: 1, mr. sunshine: 0

but at least the next floor has plenty to explore and her electronic senses nyooms for the lab. YES GOOD PERFECT, HER AREA OF EXPERTISE. time to see what sort of things she can lovingly pull out of these babies. that should make grumpy happy while she learns more than he ever will about this place.

though also..... what the fuck, what the fuck where are they that there's such timey whimy old buildings and modern electronics oh my god ]

[ bye.

kara lets her go so he can wander the library in peace. still nothing, though, and the same goes for the next room with all its gadgets and assorted weird things that he doesn't recognize. he pokes around those for a moment, hoping to find his time travel device among them, but... no, it isn't here either.

a bust. so he heads for the nearest staircase, leaving futaba to the other rooms only because he has a feeling she would be making more noise if there was someone there. the door at the top of the stairs, he thinks, is nothing interesting; the room itself, rather boring. at first glance, there's nothing and no one in here, either, so he takes another step-

and immediately draws for his sword when a voice speaks in his head. but again, as he turns to scan the room... there's nothing.

what the fuck. ]

[ well there’s certainly plenty of interesting things on the computers but nothing pointing to the purpose of them being here. and so futaba goes wandering back out, looking for sunshine glory to see if he’s found anything and- that fucker. he left her!!!

she stomps up the nearest stairs, grumping quietly. of course, with no navigation to guide her, the room above is quite honestly very empty except......

that. sure is a voice. speaking to her. with nobody here. oh geez, here we go- ]

…..BUT THAT DOESN’T TELL ME ANYTHING??

[ is she just gonna yell up at the roof of the tower now? yea. ]

AT LEAST GIVE ME A GUIDEBOOK OR SOMETHING.

[ no hacking your way out of this one futaba hahaha

but it is getting really frustrating, huh? since nothing is magically revealing itself, even after he pokes a few things with the tip of his sword to see if there are any trap doors or walls or whatever, kara grumpily heads back down the stairs to climb the northern tower instead.

only this time, he hesitates when he reaches the door at the top. it's as bland and unfamiliar as the other one, but all the same... something about the sun on this one almost seems like it's beckoning him closer. and kara... doesn't like that.

what if he leaves that door unopened for now and heads for the south tower instead. ]

[ she’s gonna damn well try as soon as they’re done here. JUST WATCH HER.

but for now, she’s grumped her way down one flight of stairs and up the next, incidentally beating him to the south tower door. ....it sure is A Door. you’d think it was poisonous or something the way she was eyeing it. ]

Hey is it me or are you getting weird juju vibes?

[ what if she just makes him open the door for her ]

[ once he arrives, he only gives her a passing glance before turning back to the door. this door is the same as the others, save for the star design in lieu of a keyhole or a moon. there's nothing remarkable about it, he thinks.

he considers answering futaba, noting that he has no clue what she's talking about... but more important is to figure out what it is. so he reaches for the door to push it open, and it. doesn't move. so kara tries one more time, and it still refuses to move.

so he only rolls his eyes and turns to head back down the stairs, and down again to head for the basement level. ]

[ futaba just puffs her cheeks out his back again, now officially a gremlin on a mission. she’s gonna find his talking spot or so help her. ]

You could at least say no.

[ and grumbles behind him all the way down to the basement, which- hey. that’s weird. another set of doors with a symbol on them? but unlike certain someones, her curiosity gets the better and she flings it open before grumpy can puff at her. and it looks.... familiar....? HM, BAD. ]

Oooh, I don’t like that.

[ he doesn't know what juju means how is he supposed to know how to answer that??

anyway while she explores, kara prepares to check out the other rooms down here - cells? it's a dungeon, after all. he doesn't get far before she catches his attention with that, though, so he turns back to peer inside the doors suspiciously, grip tightening on his sword. ]

What is it?

[ nothing about the room looks familiar to him, and it looks as empty of people as all the others, from where he's standing. so what's got her so rattled? ]

[ get with the times Kara!!!

anyways, Futaba’s cautiously stepping through the doorway, taking a slow circle around the strange room and Frowns ]

It feels like I know it. Y’know? Like deja vu?

[ almost like her palace if she’s honest with herself. a place she’d never seen before arriving yet she knew every step of it intimately. It’s weird. which is why she skitters out, rubbing her arms as she presses herself against the opposite wall. ]

Too Creepy! I don’t Like It!

I don't know.

[ what's a deja vu

anyway he doesn't take a step inside, merely glancing at the room from the doorway because he's rude ]

Is there anything useful in here, or not?

[ she’s just gonna ignore that unlike she doesn’t’ feel like crawling out of her skin. suffer. ]

There’s nothing there..!!

[ but!!!!! there’s definitely something weird!!!!!!!!! what the fuck!!!! what if she just angrily rubs her arms until the heebie jeebies Go Away ]

You go look!

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