The Prisoner and the Magician [Yaku]

The prisons beneath the Zou Empire's imperial palace were dark and filled with the sound of dripping water. Dim lights bathed over the stone structures that held all the prison cells. The only light in the area was from the torches mounted along the walls. They shed light on the thick iron bars that kept each and every prisoner in place. Prison guards made their rounds, walking up and down the halls with either stern or bored expressions on their faces. They would look at the prisoners and frown. The prisoners in this facility were all high classed criminals or political prisoners. The majority of them were older men or foreigners.

Inside one of these cells was someone a tad different though. She was young, perhaps a bit too young to be in such a place. Her long black hair hung loosely as she moved, covering her like a drape. She was dressed in a large black shirt that was usually tucked in properly. Her pants were also baggy, dragging across the floor as she paced in place with her arms crossed. That prince... She wasn't fond of their meeting together. It seemed clear that he didn't believe her, and that infuriated her. Taking in a deep breath, Arashi looked out of the cells at the passing guards. She had been in this cell for several days by now, waiting for them to come and announce her execution date. How odd that they hadn't...

Sighing, she tried to push her long hair from her face. Standing around wouldn't do her any good. Taking in a deep breath to calm herself, Arashi dropped down on all fours. With a hearty shove, she began to preform pushups. After all, what use was being alive if she let her body fall behind her mind? Her soft voice would fill the air of the prison as she began to count her pushups.

”One! Two! One! Two! One! Two!”

There was one man walking through the Imperial Palace today whom would have normally been barred from entering at the gates. He was an Imuchakk magician with no affiliations to any country or creed and no ill will for anyone within the imperial walls despite the fact that he was an intruder. Yakuroro was the infiltrator's name and the method by which he entered the imperial court was one that only he could perform. Having captured the world's very first dungeon, Yakuroro possessed a power unlike any other save for the magic of the most accomplished light and sound magicians. The Imuchakk performed his weapon equip and then hid the blade up his long sleeves as he cast Marax's magic "Marx Vanish" to become invisible to the naked eye. This would allow the eight foot tall Imuchakk who normally stuck out like a sore thumb to go unseen as he walked right past guards and soldiers with ease.

Hidden from view, Yakuroro would tour the palace simply to see the sights and enjoy himself. His purpose there was to test how effective his illusions were in practice, but when it came down to it Yakuroro was treating the situation more like a pleasure stroll than an experiment on the limitations of his powers. The blue haired giant made his way through most of the ground floor and got to see many sights normally forbidden to the common folk including the face of the "True Emperor" himself! When the invisibility finally wore off Yaku simply cast another spell, "Marx Canvas" and created a fake version of the emperor to "escort" him. The guards wouldn't dare question the emperor or try to touch him which made the illusion like a free pass even though he was now visible plain as day.


The Imuchakk was about to go to the upper levels when he heard the Emperor's voice nearby which meant trouble. If he encountered the real emperor with this fake guiding him then his cover would be blown no matter how perfect the illusion was. The Imuchakk quickly turned into a door which lead underground into the dungeons. While the gloomy atmosphere was not something Yaku would have preferred to the surely glamorous second floor, he decided to descend the steps anyways. With the "emperor" leading him, the guards inside would silently salute for fear of incurring their lords wrath no matter how curious they were about the large blue haired Imuchakk happily following behind him. Through the power of Yaku's illusions the fake emperor would speak up only to order the guards away, "Begone! I must speak to one of the prisoners' alone."

"Yes! Emperor Gao Yuan Zu!"

Yakuroro chuckled to himself as the soldiers left which allowed him to cancel the illusion causing the emperor to fade away into nothingness. The blue mage then made his way through the prisoner holding area looking around out of sheer curiosity. Most of the people locked up appeared to have been there for years and were nearing the edge of their natural life spans. Almost every single person seemed to have had their will to live broken long ago. Everyone save for one spirited prisoner whom was exercising in an attempt to keep her body in shape, or perhaps to take her mind of the mind numbingly long amount of time she'd been stuck there. Yakuroro couldn't be sure without asking. So as the blue robed man finally reached the barred cell where Arashi was exercising he stopped and whistled before speaking, "You're pretty energetic for someone locked up in a place like this...how come?"

Spoiler:

Magoi 140/200

Arashi tried to focus on her pushups as she continued to count. All her life, this was how she handled things. When she was upset, tired or even in pain, she continued to work. Work was what her family had taught her. To work was to live. That was all that was on her mind at the moment. She was trying to push away the fear that had begun to consume her from the inside out until she forgot about it temporarily. Arashi was sure this wasn't a healthy method of dealing with it, but she didn't quite care at the moment. Anything was better than sitting around growing weaker and weaker while fear consumed her. Looking towards the other prisoners, she saw that they had allowed that to happen to them.

Her pushups stopped for a moment as she heard the heavy metal door creak open. Taking in a deep breath, she switched to one handed pushups, shoving herself off the earth one arm at a time in a rhythmic fashion. When she heard the voices from the visitors, her heart froze. It was the Emperor. What was he doing here?! Had his son told him something about her? Was her execution to be scheduled for that day? Her pushups became more and more rapid as she tried to push the thought from her mind. She closed her eyes, counting softly to herself even more quickly.

Finally, a voice aside from her own spoke. Arashi was afraid to open her eyes, but the whistling sound managed to catch her attention. As the man spoke, she stopped for a brief moment. That wasn't one of the previous voices. Who was that? She continued her pushups, trying to act as if he hadn't bothered her. Opening her eyes, she peeked towards him. He was a tall, muscular and blue haired man with a look that kind of crept her out. The Emperor was nowhere in sight. Why?

Stopping, she looked at him, canting her head to the side. ”To work is to live. Rotting in stillness is not something someone down here can afford,” she said, nodding firmly as she watched him with her saucer like eyes. Then, she went back to work, only this time, preforming crunches. If he looked at her cell, he would notice it was reinforced with extra horizontal iron bars that laid across the vertical ones. There were also several different locks on her cell door.

Arashi continued her crunches, keeping an ear out for her surroundings. In the prison below the castle, one could hear everything. The walls were designed so noise would echo in order to help guards keep watch over the prisoners. Arashi couldn't hear anyone else aside from the prisoners. ”How did you get down here? Was the emperor not here but a moment ago?”

Yakuroro silently watched the young girl as she continued to train even as she spoke. The diligence towards keeping herself occupied was admirable to the Imuchakk, too bad she was spending that time honing her body rather than her mind. "The emperor? You could say that he was here...in a fashion. But that's not really important." The large man gestured with his hand as if the EMPEROR were some insignificant detail that could simply be waved away. From his perspective, the emperor of Zou was just another man, albeit one with a lot of power. But did it really matter if the ruler of these lands was there or not? "So long as that man isn't here to see you, whether he is her or not is of no consequence." A sudden light would shine from within Yakuroro's sleeve as he sealed his weapon equip allowing his left hand to emerge from the long sleeve with the hidden sword replaced with a simple purple ring. Yakuroro wanted to conserve his magoi, but he also didn't want to startle the girl be revealing a demonic looking sword. Regardless, the light would probably catch her attention despite its brevity and if it hadn't then Yaku's next actions might.

The blue haired giant kept a simple smile on his face as he sat down cross legged in front of Arashi's cell and placed his staff on the ground at his side. The Imuchakk's blue eyes settled on the girl as he became curious as to why she had so much more vigor than the others here. "As for how I got in here, I'll tell you if you answer my questions first...Why are you imprisoned here and what would you do if you could get out?" Yaku's voice was surprisingly gentle for a man of his size, but despite this softness it also carried a kind of authority one would expect of a king. The question itself was a test of sorts as Yakuroro probed the girl's reactions to gauge the truth behind her response.

As he spoke, Arashi's curiosity was peaked. What did he mean by he was there in a fashion? Was it some kind of disguise? Something of that level would most likely require a lot of skill... Was this man an assassin of some sorts!? Had her father sent someone to take care of her death to ensure she would stop shaming the family!? Black rukh began to flutter about her as she stopped working out, staring at him with wide eyes while her thoughts began to run wild. Had her father finally decided to finish her off!? The more he spoke, the more suspicious Arashi began to become. He had used illusions to enter the prison... So he was a powerful magician like the prince. Her eyes narrowed as she scanned the cell, searching for something she could maybe use to defend herself with. Arashi felt like a cornered animal.

However, when he sat down, a smile across his face, Arashi found herself confused. An assassin wouldn't sit down in front of her cell with such a relaxed smile. Was this a ploy to gain her trust? No... An assassin wouldn't have any need of that. As he spoke, Arashi blinked slowly. He didn't know why she was in the cell? Now she didn't know what to make of the man. Still, she found herself answering him. As she sat in a cell waiting for her execution day, there would be no harm in telling the truth. ”They needed a scapegoat...” she muttered softly, her rukh began to flutter once more, the inky black shapes orbiting around her.

When he asked what she would do if she got out, Arashi blinked. She seemed conflicted. ”I don't know...” The black rukh died down for a moment as she spoke, ”I might visit someone's grave... but..” She rubbed the side of her head, closing her eyes silently. ”Or I might kill someone... So it's probably best if I stay in here.”

"I don't know... I haven't been myself.."

The smile on Yakuroro's face didn't fade as it was originally fake in the first place. The Imuchakk's smile was almost always just a mask even if he could produce one that seemed by all accounts genuine. However as the black rukh began to flutter around Arashi, even the talented actor almost let his fear show. His eyes widened and the narrowed as if to make sure he wasn't just seeing things. The smile remained as friendly as ever, but behind that social shield, Yakuroro was in a bit of a panic. He felt the warmth leave his body as a cold sweat begun out of fear for what dangers those black creatures posed. Thankfully as Arashi continued to speak the emissaries of darkness faded away one by one until she looked as normal as she had when Yakuroro first arrived. The magician's muscles had tensed slightly with the advent of the black rukh but now that they were gone he could feel himself relax once more.

As far as the test question went, even Yakuroro wasn't sure if the girl had passed or failed. The black rukh made him weary however, his knowledge on the subject let the Imuchakk be aware that just because she had generated SOME black rukh, it did not mean she had been fully consumed. From her words and the timing of the rukh he could tell that the girl harbored resentment towards her imprisonment so in a way, it let him know that she probably was jailed under false accusations just as the girl had claimed. It was strange to say black rukh "saved" someone, but that perhaps was the case as Yakuroro's empathy reached out to the poor Arashi. She said that her two choices if freed were to visit a grave or to take the life of another. While the latter was not something Yakuroro would condone, the girl didn't produce any more black rukh with the words so he could only guess that she had a viable reason for such animosity towards another person.

"Hmmm..." Yakuroro pondered for a moment and rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he considered the situation. If Arashi was left to rot in this cell then surely the black rukh would devour her heart until there was nothing left Yakuroro could do for her. But if he freed her now, the magician would have to bare the burden of keeping an eye on her to ensure she did not walk a path of self destruction. After a good 5 minutes of not saying a word, even if spoken to, Yakuroro finally sighed as he made his decision. "Yosh, it's settled then. The Imuchakk placed one fist in an open palm as he declared his choice in a manner that made it seem as if Arashi didn't have a say in the matter. Yaku pointed at Arashi as he continued, "You will serve me as a body guard for one month. In exchange, I will free you from this cell and take you to this grave you spoke of." Yakuroro then got to his feet and took his staff in hand as he gathered water from the atmosphere to surround the bars before freezing solid. He then used his Imuchakk strength to deliver a powerful chop which obliterated part of the cell bars creating an opening large enough for the petite girl to slip through.

The blue magician then turned and began walking towards the exit as if breaking her out of jail was no big deal. The man knew that he had just forced Arashi to follow him lest she wanted to die as the rest of the prisoners began screaming and yelling "Jail Break" or "Take me with you" depending on their personalities. If the girl remained behind she would surely be killed for an attempt at escaping even if she wasn't really responsible. Then again, with all the ruckus, guards would likely be returning any moment now, so perhaps following the blue haired magician was equally suicidal. "So what's your name and where is this grave?" Yakuroro turned his head back to Arashi's direction and asked the question casually as he pointed his staff towards the stairs just as a pair of guards came rushing down only to be blasted in the face with a powerful current of water from the blue mage's medium. Ok, so the Imuchakk took care of palace guards without even looking, perhaps it wasn't a fool's errand to join him after all.

Spoiler:

Magoi 90/200

Arashi didn't like his smile. When people smiled a lot, it was typically to hide something. At least, that's how it went in her family. Still, her eyes watched him as he tensed for a brief moment. What was wrong with him? Why was he tensing after having entered into a secure prison secretly with illusion magic? Still, the tension wasn't by much, Arashi simply watched him, still unsure what to make of this unusual blue haired man.

Taking a deep breath, she turned and began to do her push ups once more. Whatever this strange man wanted, Arashi wasn't sure if she wanted to be part of it. He was strong enough to break into a prison, but she couldn't get a good read on him. He was too odd for her to be sure if she could trust him. She wasn't in a position to be trusting anyone, let alone this weird stranger. She stopped her pushups for a moment when he began to speak once more, as if to himself at first. Then, he became quiet once more. Shaking her head, she continued to do her pushups, not quite sure if he was going to actually do or say anything. However, after five minutes, he finally spoke. Something was settled? What did he mean?

Arashi fell flat on her face as he spoke. Serve him as a body guard for a month!? What?! He was saying he would take her out of the cell in exchange for helping him? That didn't make any sense. Why would he do such a thing? However, before she could process the offer properly, he snapped the iron bars of the cell apart, making a hole large enough for her to go through. What exactly was he thinking!? Still, Arashi found herself staring at his back as he walked off. In the next few seconds, the entire prison was full of shouting inmates, begging to be taken with them.

Almost without thinking, Arashi slipped through the bars, chasing after him. She didn't trust him, but she didn't want to be left behind. When he wiped out the guards, Arashi finally answered him. ”A..Arashi..” she said softly, unsure if this was a good idea despite still following him. ”He's in a cemetery in a private grave outside of the capital.” As she spoke, Arashi scooped her hand into a nearby wooden bin, grabbing hold of her sling and the small sack of her marbles.

When Yakuroro saw that Arashi was following him his smile widened a bit into a truly genuine display of happiness as part of him worried she would have chosen to stay in her cell. Yakuroro then turned his attention forward as shouting from above told him that more guards were on their way. "Which direction? North? South? East? West?" The Imuchakk asked as he reached for the jade green obi tied around his waist and began to undo it. From Arashi's perspective Yakuroro would likely seem to be a mad man to be undressing in their dire situation. However as Yakuroro pulled the cloth from his waist and it unraveled into a majestic flying carpet that hovered in mid-air, the reason behind his stripping would become clear. "Alright, time to go." The Imuchakk stated plainly as he reached out with his large Imuchakk hands and grasped Arashi by the back of her shirt and lifted her onto the carpet giving her only just barely enough time to have grabbed her things from the chest. Yakuroro then joined her on the flying carpet and willed it to speed forwards up the stairs at 25m/s. The guards that were on their way down would find themselves run over by the speeding carpet which burst out into the hallway and then crashed through a nearby window carrying Yakuroro and Arashi out of the palace.

The carpet would soar 60m into the air and turn for whatever cardinal direction Arashi said the grave was located. The air swept past the two causing their hair to dance in the wind wildly as did Yaku's blue robes revealing his muscular frame and the seabeast tattoos on either breast which covered up markings that labeled him as a "demon" in his home village. As the two sped on through the sky Yakuroro laughed heartily as he could still feel the adrenaline rush of having escaped. "Bwahahaha! That was easier than I thought it would be! Ah...but I guess I can't show my face back in Zou anymore..." Yaku made a stern expression as not being able to move around freely in Zou was honestly a problem if he ever wanted to visit Lady Shousui, a teacher and friend of his, ever again. However upon realizing that Arashi might blame herself for his troubled look, Yaku reclaimed his smile and finally let go of the back of her shirt before placing a giant hand on her head, "Don't worry, if I don't show my face then there is no problem!" He then gave her a smile that was much different from the other ones displayed thus far. White rukh would be attracted to the man as his expression was a warm and reassuring smile intended to let Arashi know that her fate was not as dark as it had seemed back in that dingy prison cell.

The smile on his face gave Arashi a small amount of confusion. How could he be smiling so genuinely in such a situation. Her eyes widened as she continued to run behind him. She looked down as he spoke, replying in an unsure tone. ”It's... to the south!” she said, looking up with a firm nod as she smiled weakly. However, her smile was cut short as the man began to undo his sash. Was he going to strip!? Arashi's face turned a pale color for a moment as she considered running back to the guards. However, when the obi flew out into a large carpet, Arashi was left more confused than she had been in his cell. What was that thing?! She had never seen anything like that! When the back of her shirt was grabbed, it took Arashi a few moments to realize what was going on and stop trying to run.

She found herself gripping the fabric of the flying carpet tightly as they flew down the halls, guards close behind them. Arashi's hair whipped wildly in the wind, blinding her for a brief moment. By the time she managed to get her hair out of her eyes, all she could see was the giant man laughing with his robes danced with his hair in the wind. He had large tattoos over his chest. However, she only saw them for a brief moment before looking over the edge of the carpet and paling. Arashi quickly scooted to the middle of the carpet, not being fond of the view. As the man spoke of not being able to show her face, she frowned for a moment. That wasn't good, was it? However, before she could worry more, he spoke once more. Nodding slowly, Arashi spoke, ”..Er.. thanks..” With that, she stared down to the fluttering fabric as they flew south towards the cemetery.

[End]