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morgiana tilted her head, unsure as to why he didn’t want to watch the movie. was there something wrong with it? she walked closer to him, standing on tiptoes with hands balled into fists in front of her, eyes gleaming as she clearly showed with the look on her face that she wanted to know, “what’s wrong with casa erotica, hakuryuu-san? have you seen it? was it a poor film?”

she nodded at his idea of an adventure movie, having rented one a couple of days ago. she hadn’t watched it just yet, so it would be new to the both of them. she was attracted to the title of the movie, and the animation style seemed nice. still, though, she wondered if it was truly adventure, or if it had been placed at the wrong spot.

when she showed him the casserole, she knew he was lying. she furrowed her brow, looking at it as she tried to find where she had gone wrong with it. “hey, hakuryuu-san, if it looks bad you can tell me. i know someone who’s trying to save my feelings when i hear it. ichigo brought me some leftovers a couple of days ago, so if you want, we can reheat those instead.”

“Er, well I’ve never seen that movie but just hearing the name leads me to believe it’s...inappropriate.”  Hopefully she’d drop the subject.  The last thing he wanted was to have that kind of talk with his friend.  “I’d just...return it.  It’s probably not worth your time...”  He really hoped she would take his word for it.  If she did watch it, he definitely didn’t want to be the person she came to.

The corner of his mouth twitched as he looked at the casserole.  Maybe it didn’t taste bad.  It happened often enough, the food looks atrocious but it was in fact delicious once you moved past the rough exterior.  However...he had a feeling this probably wasn’t the case this time.  While Hakuryuu contemplated making an attempt to eat it regardless, he quickly discarded the idea.  He had work tomorrow and couldn’t afford to miss due to food poisoning.

“I would appreciate that, thank you.” Alibaba said, smiling at the offer of tea. “And honestly anything you can tell me would be more than helpful. I’m just sorry I can’t really pay you back for helping me with all this.” He added, wondering what this ‘Zagan’ was. Maybe it was something similar to this ‘Amon’ he heard about from Aladdin? Were all dungeons named so similarly or just those two? Just thinking about it was making him confused.

“I just hope you’ll be patient with me.” He said, ruffling his hair a bit to ease away the oncoming headache.

Hakuryuu laughed lightly.  “I wouldn’t worry about it Master Alibaba.  I don’t mind walking you through the events.  It could be fun.”  He gestured for his friend to follow him back inside, holding the door open.  “I suppose it would be best if you told me where Aladdin left you off...I was only with you for a short period of time comparatively.”

“It’s no problem at all!” She bowed at him in return. “And my name is Hiyori Iki. I’m glad that I was able to help you Hakuryuu-kun! I’ll see you around!” With that, Hiyori waved him goodbye as her tail swished behind her. 

Wait……tail?

Slowly, Hiyori turned and found her body unconscious on the floor, people crowding around her confused and worried. Worst of Hakuryuu was in the middle of the commotion. 

“Gaaaaaaaah!!!! I thought I had this under control!!!” . Could he even see her in this state?!

Just as the girl cheerfully introduced herself, she crumpled to the ground seemingly unconscious.  Hakuryuu blinked, completely caught off guard.  Did she just have a fainting spell?  As he crouched down to check on her, a crowd of people began forming around him and Hiyori’s body.

“Ah, please don’t get too close...”  He quite honestly had no idea what to do.  She’d seemed just fine a moment ago, in fact she was smiling as she dropped to the ground.  Hakuryuu placed his hand along her neck to find a pulse, breathing a sigh of relief upon finding it.

“It spoils them, this kind of life. Though, I suppose that is one of the charming points of this era.” It seemed that Hakuryuu was from a place quite like her own, then. Idly, she wondered if he’d been a soldier, too. She hadn’t missed the scar on his face, nor the strange arm; if he had been on a battlefield, such injuries wouldn’t be all too surprising.

“The land I come from is quite the opposite of Hinamori; warfare is the norm, there. Seven nations struggling to be the great unifier, or to simply survive. I was a soldier myself, and this place–” This place was suffocating her. It was stagnant, sterile, all the difficulties of life hidden away and ignored in favour pleasant past-times such as this very horse farm. Some may have called it paradise; she saw it as Limbo. She laughed slightly, wry humour filling her voice.

“This place bears absolutely no resemblance to my home. Considering that I’ve spent most of my life striving for this kind of peace, having come to a land where it has been achieved, it’s strange how stale everything feels. Aimless, somehow. The people of this era may be comfortable, but like quite these horses– they don’t do very much. Some may find it pleasant, I suppose.” She did not count herself amongst them; Kyou Kai longed for the excitement of the battlefield.

“Many people here don’t seem to know much of conflict.”  While Hakuryuu wasn’t necessarily from a completely war torn society, there had been plenty of rumblings before he ended up here.  Skirmishes in different cities as the Kou empire slowly began claiming more and more territory, and not always in a peaceful manner depending on who was in charge of convincing that particular area to join.

“In a way I suppose I’m glad.  There are plenty of things I’ve seen that I wouldn’t wish upon others...but at the same time it can be lonely.  It’s not something I’d want to discuss with someone who can’t empathize with me.  Any response would be a hollow one without much thought put into it.  I’m sure you feel the same way, in some respect.”

morgiana beamed, happy with his choice to spend more time with her, but all that showed on the outside was her usual stoic face, with an aura of flowers emitting around her. even though her expression did not change, it was obvious she was happy, “you’re not imposing at all, hakuryuu-san!”

at the topic of movies, she quickly rattled off, “i have many different genre’s to choose from, hakuryuu-san. there is romance, adventure, scifi, angst, comfort.. many more, as well. i even had someone recommend me this new cd. i do not know what it is about, and i haven’t watched it yet, but it was entitled, ‘casa erotica’ or something.”

she tilted her head, perking up when the oven beeped, “the food is done, if you would like to take a seat on the couch-hakuryuu-san. i will bring it in for you! or… if you want, you can come look at it and see if you want it? i don’t want to feed you something you don’t like.”

Hakuryuu listened to her list the movie genres she had to pick from.  He hadn’t actually spent much time watching movies personally -- at first they had been a foreign and borderline scary concept -- he felt they were a waste of money, or at the least rarely found a movie he enjoyed a lot.  His eyes widened and he quickly shook his head, waving his arms wildly.

“N-No, definitely not the last one.”  He had a feeling Morgiana wasn’t aware of the definition of erotica.  “I have no preference...perhaps an adventure movie.”  He vaguely remembered seeing a movie titled “Indiana Jones” on TV a few weeks ago and found it at least moderately enjoyable.  There was a possibility that adventure movies were more his speed.

Hakuryuu approached the kitchen to look at the food Morgiana had cooked for dinner.  As she pulled it out of the oven, he attempted to stay as stone faced as possible.  He wasn’t...entirely sure he knew what was in that casserole bowl.

She could see that his patience was wearing thin and understandably so. “Well luckily for you, the only thing left is to either take out money from your card or put some in.” Hiyori pointed to his card. “That lets you buy things without carrying money around. Don’t have a few coins to spend? The card will take care of that!”

“Er, just make sure to pay it back or else you won’t have any more money in the card…trust me.”

Hakuryuu looked down at the card in his hands and blinked.  This place was so odd; he couldn’t wrap his mind around the concept.  He supposed it was like their transition from gold to paper money, but he didn’t see how this card held any manner of monetary value.  “Pay it back...?”  She must have meant he needed to return money to the machine.

“This is maybe...a little too much for me right now.  If this card will now allow me to make purchases, I suppose I’m done.  I’ll make an attempt to understand this process at a later date.  I thank you for you assistance, miss.”  Hakuryuu clapped his hands on his thighs and bowed deeply.

morgiana nodded at hakuryuu’s explanation, still a bit peeved by the fact that even royal courts did something so tedious. of course, that was something she should have suspected, and thus, she closed her mouth about any more of it. he seemed a bit tense when talking about it, as well, so… she decided it was best to keep him in well bounds.

she put the couch down, a frown on her face as she leaned forward, closer to hakuryuu, and griped out, “movers cost money. you would be moving here solely because you don’t have enough money to stay in that apartment. let me do this for you, okay, hakuryuu-san?” she stubbornly kept eye contact with him.

as if realizing something, though, she gasped, and quickly backed off, a smile on her lips, “as long as you’re over, would you like something to eat? i’ve been making dinner recently, and i’m getting better at it! we could even watch a movie!”

“Yes but movers aren’t exactly the move expensive thing, especially considering the move isn’t that far...”  He avoided eye contact, suddenly every uncomfortable with the distance between the two.  “You could help the movers put things into the truck...?”  Hakuryuu had a feeling that wasn’t exactly going to sate her, but he tried nevertheless.  Luckily, she quickly dropped the subject as another thought crossed her mind.

“I suppose I wouldn’t mind staying for dinner...although only if I’m not imposing.”  Although he knew she was going to insist he stay regardless.  He had a vague memory of Morgiana being an awful cook, but if she’d been practicing it couldn’t be that awful.  At least he hoped.  “You mustn’t push yourself too hard Miss Morgiana; please don’t attempt to make an extravagant dinner on my behalf.”

she beamed, a huge smile overtaking her adorable features. something she had learned to be more open about since coming to hinamori was her emotions. most likely people would not make fun of her for it, and even if they did, she was stronger than that and could handle it quite well, “i like how cheap the dresses are here… i can dress up more..”

“why would people decorate their homes to please others? that’s just…. i don’t know how to word it, but… it seems that people who do that don’t have themselves in mind, and probably need to focus on improving themselves a bit more than keeping attention on other people.” she covered her mouth, “sorry if that was rude of me, hakuryuu-san.”

at the mention of moving things into a new apartment, she turned to her couch and lifted it with her hands, staring at him, “let me move everything for you, hakuryuu-san. i can do it, see? it will be a thank you for helping me back in zagan. if that’s okay with you, of course.”

Hakuryuu laughed slightly at Morgiana’s sudden outburst.  She didn’t normally share her emotions, but if she did they always seemed to come out all at once.  “No, it wasn’t that rude...I think you’re correct to tell you the truth.  I was referencing the royal courts.  They’re never decorated because the current ruler enjoys the way it looks.  It’s always a show of power; the more gold your hallways are littered with the more money you have.”

“I suppose people would find that hard to relate to...if you didn’t grow up with royalty you wouldn’t be able to understand it quite like I do.  The flashy courts are for so much more than mere entertainment.”  He was quiet for a moment as he watched Morgiana moved across the room to her couch.  Hakuryuu’s eyes widened for a moment as he watched her lift the couch from the ground.

She watched him as he fed the horses, gaze distant; she’s assumed that the boy was simply curious about the horses, at first, but it seemed that he’d merely wanted their company, in a way that wasn’t strictly in the horse farm’s regulations. He hadn’t needed any direction to feed the animals their sugary treat, for one. Perhaps her previous judgment, and the stand-offishness that had grown from it, was in error. The horses, at least, seemed to like him. Maybe Kyou Kai should attempt at being less brisk…

“Yes– the horses of my own homeland aren’t quite the same, either.” An edge of wistfulness crept into her voice as she spoke. “Beasts of war, instead of pleasure, for one. Occasionally, when food is scarce, dinner, too,” she said, with a wry twist to her lips. “Though, I can’t say I’ve ever gotten used to the idea myself. It’s a rather undignified end…”

She could only imagine what these rotund ponies would look like as beasts of war; try as she might, her imagination failed her. The entire image was rather– laughable. The next time she felt intimidated on the battlefield, she would imagine enemy steeds as comical looking ponies, instead of majestic stallions.

“Ah, yes a majority of the horses I’ve seen are for military purposes.  That, or means of transportation.  I haven’t seen many that exist solely to...well, exist I suppose.  Although, I’m glad to see them live such a carefree life.”  Hakuryuu ran his hand down the length of the horses head before talking out a few more sugar cubes and holding them for the horse to take once more.

“This place can be rather odd -- especially regarding the types of technology they possess -- but seeing a country that isn’t being torn apart by war, or being held under thumb but some oppressive regimen...”  Hakuryuu pulled his hand away again and rubbed his hands on his pants to remove the last pieces of sugar.  “I suppose it’s a nice change of pace.”

morgiana continued with her changing, not even noticing her friends distress at her clearly seeable nakedness. She wasnt used to social interactions, and thus was aa bit of an airhead when it came to knowing that her actions were, indeed, not considered socially acceptable in the slightest. Once finished, she turned around, facing hakuryuu as she smiled softly at the figure facing away.

one thing he said confused her though, and she tilted her head at him, opening her mouth to voice the question forming into her head, “why are you sorry? You didnt do anything wrong, hakuryuu-san. How do i look?” she twirled then, showing off her dress that flowed around her, paired with some stockings. It amazed her how inexpensive dresses were in hinamori.

when he complimented her decorations, she beamed, a jolly, rare grin spreading across her face, “you really like them? I thought people would be offput due to my personality….clashing with it, is how people would put it. It really doesnt clash?” she inquired hopefully, looking at hakuryuu with sparkling eyes.

Hakuryuu turned his head slowly, letting out a small sigh of relief when he realized she was dress.  “Ah, you look very nice.”  He gestured towards her dress.  “I see you’re still attached to the tunic-like dress that you wore back home.”  He offered her a small smile at her excitement over his compliment, glad that he could change the subject.

“I don’t believe decorations can truly clash with your personality.  Everyone has different tastes, you know.”  Nodding at his own words, he turned to face one of the prints hanging on the wall again.  “I think decorations show you what a person looks like on the inside.  The side they don’t show other people.  Although, there are still some people who decorate their homes to please others...”  His face darkened for a moment before he turned around, attempting to shake off the sudden ominous feeling he held in the pit of his stomach.

“O-oh it’s fine, don’t worry!” Hiyori flailed, attempting to help him though he had gathered the papers as quickly as possible. She nodded once he held out the slip of paper with the code on it. “Yes!”

“Okay, you need to insert your card here see?” She explained as she pointed to a part of the machine. “Then it’ll ask you for the pin!” Hiyori turned to the boy. “I’d like you to do that. You won’t learn anything if you don’t do it yourself you know?”

“Ah, of course.”  Hakuryuu approached the machine and stared at the number pad.  He slowly slid his card into the reader as the girl had stated and punched in the pin he had received.  The machine beeped as it load before a message popped up, asking him to create a new pin.

“How many more commands will this machine make?!”  He was really losing steam; he could only handle the barrage of technology for so long every day.  He stared at the number pad once again before punching in four numbers that he’d know he’d remember.  He had a vague memory of someone telling him the pin was required to take out money.

Fushimi clicks his tongue. Why was this male so persistent? Why couldn’t he just let him pass through. It’s not like he is going to actually spending ten minutes and destroy the garden. If anything it will be a quick pass through and only  a section will be hurt. That part will regrow. He had no reason to be so annoying. Fushimi folded his arms across his arms across his chest and mirrors the male’s action.

Completely ignoring his question Fushimi stares at him pointedly. “Look Mister.You said you can’t stop me yet here you are trying to stop me. Are we really do this right now? Just let me through. Heck if you did I probably already be halfway across the grass. You’re making this ten times more difficult than it needs to be. Does your precious garden mean that much to you?” he asks with a raised eyebrow.

Without waiting for  a reply Fushimi rolls his eyes, chuckles and shoves past him, continuing his merry way across the grass. 

Hakuryuu’s eyes widened as the man sauntered across the grass, clearly not caring about the prince’s concerns.  How irritating.  “Yes, it does mean that much to me.”  He could hardly let this go now; this man had zero respect for public property and Hakuryuu just couldn’t let him walk off like that.

“You see, sir, my job requires that I take care of this parks landscape with the utmost care.  I’m being paid to keep this park nice looking for everyone to enjoy.  When people like you blatantly ignore rules set forth that were created in order for me to do my job properly, I have an issue with that.”  Hakuryuu picked his gloves off the ground and tossed them into his wheelbarrow, following behind the man as he continued his rant.

“Aside from ignoring my signs, you then ignored my plea for you to return to the sidewalk.  While you may believe walking over the grass is the quickest way to your destination you should know that part of the reason we do not want people walking on the grass at this time is because we have a mole problem.  People stomping across the grass aggravates them, and they burrow further into the ground.