#this applies here and on hakuno as well

[babilun]

I’m sorry if I’m slow with replies and stuff, I’m fighting a cold.

[egofelt]

     ❝   ––– a digital war on the moon ?   ❞   

      well, if elsyia and her comrades were able to make a realm of consciousness on Earth, it would make sense that you could apply that kind of technology anywhere...  even the moon of all places. plus, the idea of ‘summoning’ heroes from the past was especially interesting. from the brief description given, it was almost reminiscent of how the elysian realm had preserved the memories of the thirteen heroes of their era, which included elysia herself – did that make her similar to these servants hakuno had spoken of ?  ( and how on earth had they managed to catalogue all those historical figures ?  )  

     moreover, to wage a war within this ‘moon cell’, and to pit these heroes against one another in a battle for a ‘holy grail’... well, that was quite disturbing. 

     the charm of the elysian realm, at least in elysia’s eyes, was to learn and experience the feelings and thoughts of departed heroes. it was a story book to be cherished and preserved for years to come, so that her friends would never be truly forgotten. the idea of pitting the flame chasers against each other – although ever a possibility with how disjointed their group was, and how quick certain members were to get riled up – had never been her intention. in fact, her wish had been for the opposite !  but of course, explaining the elysian realm to someone unconnected to the reality of her world would just get plain confusing – better to think about the here and now !    ❝   Thankfully, you’re safe now. It would be a shame to lose such a cute young lady in a pointless conflict like that. And you know, I don’t know what I’d do with a wish, truth be told. I’m already this beautiful and strong, right ?  ♡   ❞

@codecasts​

[madamhatter]

With the weird mechanics and lack of limitations in Sophie’s magic, I’ve been through a long fuss of trying to place it into one of the five categories. All things said, the best way to describe and label it, if there is ANY way of doing so, is sixth magic. Or, in a terrifying but as real realization, true magic.

It is magic and not a magecraft. Considering how little preparation, thought, and discipline Sophie doesn’t even have to use, it is safe to say this anomaly fits the label well. The limitations themselves are (1) the language system and (2) Sophie. It is extremely active and endless flow is supplied by Sophie - she has never experienced burnout or any consequence (in book canon) from her magic. (Note: I will be adding consequences to that in order to balance it out/make for more interesting situations).

Her origin is “life,” to make things simple. I juggled between creation and two more, but I’ve stuck with that since the beginning and it seems it’ll stay that way. 

As for her magic circuits, it’s a case where I follow with my ‘Sophie cursed herself to forget her magic’ theory and apply it here. A shortened version is that at the peak of her magic and before the disassembling of her autonomy/dehumanization, an 8-year-old Sophie enforced/altered/rewrote herself to believe herself incapable/unable to do magic. Her magic operates latently, however. 

In universe, this means a great portion of her circuits have long since in hibernation or have frankly lost its usage for long how it has been. Many of these circuits are located in her throat and mouth, let’s say. They can still be awakened and even if they can’t be the little that can still be used are already powerful. 

It is an anomaly that could overstep the idea of miracles (wishes, even) through the insertion of absolution. Which can lead her to having a target on her back. 

...Which she isn’t too pleased about.

(Hence this acts as a big apology letter to ruler!Muska and alter ego!Hakuno because her magic did some big time fucky wuckys)

[fuwafuwamedb]

The Rayshift Thefts (Cu Chulainn, Rin Tohsaka, Hakuno, Gilgamesh)

He couldn’t help it.

Sometimes, when his master wasn’t around, he found himself closing his eyes, thinking about that brunette. His other selves were in the midst of a good poker game with Gudako, laughing it up or simply grunting as Gudako made poor jokes. The whole place was cheery enough, filling the air with a collection of sounds that were hard for any servant to imagine before coming to this place.

A facility that summoned servants not to fight one another but to protect humanity.

“You’re remarkably easy to persuade to help us fight,” Gudako had once commented.

He’d laughed at the remark, asking if it should be difficult for him to agree to such terms. However, he’d just been avoiding the answer that had been in his mind.

His eyes still saw the brown hair, glinting in the light of that basement. He could still see the eyes that had finally held fear in them, the pain and the torment slipping away as he pulled Gae Bolg from the body of the priest that had been trying to destroy her life any further.

Sometimes it felt like he could feel her hands on him, lightly touching at his armor as all that mounting hope broke into pieces.

“I need to smoke.”

Cu glanced over at his other selves.

“Oi! Who needs a break?”

“I smoked before I came,” Caster him complained, glaring over at Gudako.

“I don’t smoke those flimsy twigs,” Alter growled.

“I’m going cold turkey,” Proto replied.

So just him.

Lancer shook his head at them, climbing to his feet and fixing the turtleneck he had on. Guess all this meant was that he was meant to be ponderin’ that cute brunette a little longer. He could imagine the knee high socks, the long coats and the tumblin’ dark hair that she tied up on the sides to keep out of her way.

Wandering through the facility, he looked out to the lakes in the distance, just below the mountains, noting how the blue color seemed to look like the depths of those intelligent eyes.

He was an obsessive old man, wasn’t he?

Confident women with brains and a lack of ambition for ruining a man were hard to come by. Too often, he’d ended up with women like that Medb or his master; women who had their own ambitions and were all too happy to mow you down just to get to their goals.

That Rin Tohsaka had been a rare gem.

“You look entertained.”

“Hmm?”

It looked like he wouldn’t be smoking alone, after all. Not that he could call the other company, but…

“You got a light, Gorgeous?”

Gilgamesh rolled his eyes at that, flicking a thing from his pocket and handing over the cigarette he’d had close at hand.

If nothing else, the other’s taste in good tobacco hadn’t changed at all. Cu found himself settling against the wall of the rayshift room, knowing full well that they’d have to run the damn fan in here when they were done.

Worth it though, he thought.

“Mutt, I’m bored. At least bark a little.”

“Woof woof, Goldie. I ain’t up for that shit. Entertain yourself.”

“Entertain myself?” The man’s eyes glinted. “Are you truly thinking yourself that cocky after all we’ve been through?”

“Oi, leave it.”

“I remember a certain man volunteering to look after the vessel candidate, insisting on twenty-four-hour surveillance.”

“I miss that woman.”

The words came out far too easily. He wasn’t sure how, wasn’t sure why, but there they were. They hung in the air between him and the archer, lingering like a storm cloud.

He remembered being stuck around the church. The memories were far too persistent, despite his best efforts otherwise. He could also remember her though, the small conversations, the blush could form as she misunderstood something or simply became too naïve to realize the truth of things.

“You miss a mongrel like that?”

“You never met her.”

The man clicked his tongue. “I met something close enough… This conversation bores me. Go get her if you are so lonesome, mutt. Who’s going to stop you?”

“Gudako?”

Gilgamesh laughed, smashing the butt of his cigarette against the wall and pouring himself some wine. “That fool? She lacked the courage to address many things in this place until they became unavoidable. A little mage hiding in your room will hardly be worth noting.”

“I don’t see you summoning anything here.”

“Me?”

“Is there nothing and no one that you miss?”

It was obvious that there wasn’t anyone. Why would there be? The great king of Heroes was not one for entertaining himself with women and liaisons other than sadistic trysts with malignant priests. He entertained himself with ideologies and the chaos of the inherently good becoming corrupt. A man like that-

Gilgamesh made a small hum.

“Should I allow you to assist me then? I suppose you do owe me for my forcing Kirei to treat you so well.”

“I ain’t interested.”

“No?”

The man was ruining his smoke break. Pulling the cigarette out, he went to kill it when the other spoke up.

“Not even for that Tohsaka fool?”

“Eh?”

He laughed, those red eyes meeting his own. “I’m talking about that little fool your lovesick for, you fool. You wish to go get her, but you don’t want to break any precious rules. Hate to have Gudako see you wet the floors or scratch up the furniture, right?”

“I ain’t givin’ up my place here just to catch a glimpse of the girl.”

“Control the command room when I fetch someone and I’ll control the room when you go to fetch your mongrel.”

“Who are you going to get?”

Gilgamesh eyes closed, his expression deflating until he looked about ready to leave. “I have other things to do. Decide quickly and cease your wasting of my time.”

“How do I know you won’t betray me?”

“Betray?”

He began to nod a second before that face was close, he could see something dark in that gaze, the smell of smoke hanging between them in the intimate space.

“What a strange word coming from someone who spread me before that useless priest and allowed his slop down my throat. Do not think I’ve forgotten a second of that. That or what else you helped him with.”

“You did the same, Goldie.”

“And now we both stand here, with the man dead and the sins of that time lingering only in memory. You want something. I want something. I see no reason why we should allow a little red headed fool tell us what is and is not to be done about our needs… do you?”

“So you’re saying that sexual shit-“

“My time is precious, don’t waste it further, Celt.”

“Fine.”

“Excellent.” Gilgamesh moved to the other room, tapping the glass with his knuckles as he settled into the command room seat. “You’ll fetch your woman first. Be quick. You know how loud this place is and I want who I want tonight as well.”

Be quick.

Funny words from someone who shifted him to the other side of the damn city. He found himself leaping from roof to roof, looking about the strangely offputting city of Fuyuki. Mid-Grail War, obviously, if he could take some damages here and there as any indication. Things had been changed, buildings torn apart and stores collapsed from what had to be a few good battles.

The woman’s own home was quiet, a lone woman lying in the center of the bed in a state of disarray. The bandages on her were numerous, her first aid kit was emptied out, a pile nearby showing that she’d bleed through enough already.

“…Rin.”

The woman jumped, spinning around only to gasp.

A stab wound.

She hadn’t had that. Cu Chulainn yanked at the bedding, bunching it in a rush as he found the woman struggling against him.

“Let me go!”

“Woman, you’re dying.” He grabbed her turtleneck from the floor as he made her hold that blanket to her chest. Her coat nearby was grabbed next, alongside her scarf and stockings.

“What are you doing?! How did you get-“

The shift back came the moment that he had the woman in his arms.

“You would find an idiot sporting a fatal injury, wouldn’t you?”

Gilgamesh stormed into the room, leaving Rin to jump again. Her body clung to him, looking around in shock.

“Kit’s on the chair. I’ve written down the instructions for my shift. Do not fail me. My little toy to keep the place distracted won’t last long and you’ve wasted my time again.”

“Right.”

He didn’t have time to argue, not with Rin like this. Getting her into the other room, he could see the chaos on the monitors. Gil’d unleashed a selection of Avicebron’s golems into the hallways, leaving the place to collect them and that fool Spartacus.

“What is this? Where am I?”

“Chaldea.” Cu typed in the shit on Gil’s paper, shifting him off before he grabbed the kit and looked to her. “Watch the monitors for when that golden guy has whatever he’s searching for. I need to treat your stomach wound.”

“I’ve tried healing it. Nothing’s been working…”

“Yeah, well, let’s just say I’ve had my fair share of these, as you know.”

“I don’t know who you are.”

She what?

Cu Chulainn stared up at her, watching that blue gaze try to understand what was happening. His clever Rin had been a shit liar, even worse at hiding feelings. She should have been raging, kicking and shouting ‘lancer!’ or ‘you idiot’ at him.

Instead, there was just a tired look of shock on her face, as though the world was ending but she still found herself running into that one last problem.

Where did that golden asshole send me?

It had been during the war, he knew that. The damage was obvious. Rin was the same. Right down to the hair style and the weight of her, she was the same.

“You’re a servant, I know that.”

“Shit, Rin.”

“How do you know my name?”

“What do you remember from the Holy Grail war?”

“The war… you mean that my sister won?”

Her sister-

He’d gotten an alternate time’s Rin.

That damned bastard, shipping him off to steal a Rin that didn’t know him. Whatever had happened to this one, she was clueless as to who he was. Who knew what had-

Cu paused.

“…Did anyone try to touch you?”

“W-What the hell is wrong with you!?!” The woman slammed her foot into his chest, sending her computer chair flying back as she did. The bandages he’d been applying fell loosely around her exposed waist. “WHY THE HELL WOULD SOMEONE DO THAT?!”

Thank the gods.

“HEY-“

“You don’t know how glad I am to hear that, lass. Come here and let me tend that damn wound before ya die on me. I didn’t save your ass in one life just to lose your alternate life like this.”

“…Alternate?”

He motioned her over, watching her hesitate a moment before listening.

It took a minute, ultimately ruining the outfit she was in. He pulled his shirt off and shoved it over her to give her something clean to wear.

“…I don’t get you.”

“Yeah, I get that a lot.”

He ruffled her hair a moment before checking the monitors again.

Most the golems were rounded up now. It looked like time was almost up.

Gilgamesh meanwhile was moving through a school building, slipping into a room and pulling a slumbering woman out of bed. It looked like he had what he wanted, judging by his waving of one arm.

Cu slammed the shift button and glanced back to Rin.

“What am I supposed to do here?”

He hadn’t thought that far.

Embarrassing as it was, he had no clue how to handle things from here. He’d expected to have his own Rin, the one that had yelled at him and demanded his aid in fighting that red archer. He’d expected swearings and stompings and a collection of colorful insults to fill his evening. It’d have been long enough for him to think of a reason to keep her around other than that he liked her.

This Rin was just sweet.

It was like gaining a bird with a broken wing. No matter how powerful, they still couldn’t fly. He’d have to nurse her back to health and figure shit out on the fly.

“Are they still gathering those beasts?” Gilgamesh asked, hauling the woman into the room over his shoulder.

“Last few.”

“Then move it. I won’t be caught this early just because you want to play nursemaid with the woman you missed.”

“Missed?” Rin stared at him next, earning a scoff.

“Figure your own fool out on your own, mongrel. I have things to do.”

Things was currently holding onto his shoulders, her face pressing against his neck. Whoever the woman was, it was clear she was entirely asleep, lost in a warm and comforting dream that would burst the moment she woke up to the asshole archer.

“You mind trusting me a while longer?” Cu asked the woman in his shirt, offering his back to her.

“…Since you helped me not die, fine.” Rin shifted, her body wrapping around his carefully before he grabbed her soiled clothes and the first aid kit from the floor. Her head leaned over his shoulder. “I want an explanation of what’s going on when we get to wherever we’re going.”

Yeah, he’d figured that she would.

Shame he didn’t have one for her.

[fuwafuwamedb]

A Case of Bureaucracy Pt 2 (Siduri, Hakuno)

Thus Far: 1

___

“Are you ready?”

Hakuno glanced over at Rin and Gudako, nodding.

Today was the day she was going to get her patents and her inventions were going to be safe from corporate theft. She had to manage it today. Waiting, even for a week longer, would mean that the patents would be saved by the company that she had worked for before. She’d seen the similar composition. She knew they bore her signature, but the company would be faster getting through the process. BB had been intent on luring her back to Moon Cell.

Mounting the steps, Hakuno took a deep breath, preparing herself for the process at hand.

A few cameramen were stationed outside for some reason. There were a few others that were lingering, signs in hand.

There must have been a civil case going on that was spurring them to congregate.

Weird, but it wasn’t her business.

No, instead, she needed to save her creations.

Rin and Gudako followed her up to the doorway, standing just outside as she proceeded alone. She mounted the steps inside to the second floor, taking the stairwell to the left after she passed through the metal detectors.

“Thank you, gentlemen.” A woman was saying down the hallway. “I’m sure that my employer will greatly appreciate what you’ve done for him and his wife. Newlyweds are so enamored with one another, you know.”

Hakuno glanced at her phone.

Seven in the morning sharp in room three o’ five.

She glanced around at the hallway markers over the doors, noting that the woman who was chatting with some of the men in the doorway were in front of the door that she needed to enter.

They really pushed cases back to back, didn’t they?

Well, it didn’t matter.

Hakuno brushed her skirts off, giving her best confident stride towards the doorway.

“Ms. King!” The woman paused from her conversation, laughing a little. “Here I had thought you would be busy with your husband.”

“Wha-“

“Gentlemen,” the stranger grabbed her arm, pulling her over to them. “I’m sure you are at least somewhat aware of the former Miss Hakuno Kishinami. Her patents we’ve finalized and reserved the rights for are unique and deserve to remain with their owner.”

Hold on- hold on.

Why was she a former Miss Hakuno Kishinami?! What was this woman talking about her patents for? What was the last name King about?

The woman didn’t even dare to explain, merely turning her in a hurry and throwing a bright smile to the men.

“I think we’ve ruined her husband’s surprise. If you’ll excuse us.”

“Miss,” Hakuno hissed.

“Keep your head down, hold these papers, don’t speak.”

In a matter of a second, the jovial tone was gone. The papers- her creations’ patents- were thrown into her hands, signed and ratified as hers.

In the matter of a minute, her entire career’s worth of work was safely in her hands once again, but she felt no sense of pride or joy. No, not when she looked closer at the documents in the elevator.

Hakuno King (maiden name: Kishinami)

“What is this?”

“You’ll need these,” the woman next to her murmured, handing her a scarf and a pair of sunglasses. “We’ll be leaving through the back of the building, but that doesn’t mean much. The hounds will be all around the building-“

“Why do these say King on them? My last name hasn’t-“

“You were at the courthouse last week, were you not?”

Hakuno paused, glancing to the woman.

“Weren’t you?”

“Yeah. I was summoned for Jury Duty. I was excused because I told the lawyers that I thought government was a big conspiracy where the man wanted to keep smart people from gathering in one place too much. Those in power kept those with brilliant minds down, blah blah- I didn’t want to be sitting around in that court room for weeks on end while someone stole my creations.”

“And you remember signing the documents you had, don’t you?”

“How could I possibly remember that?” The elevator paused on the main floor, the back door opening so they could leave. “There was this absolutely arrogant asshole there that was having the loudest phone call I’ve ever heard. The other end of the line was screaming and he just laughed and laughed until finally the priest nearby threatened to swap out his paperwork.”

“I was wondering how such documents could have been swapped. Nondisclosure papers look a lot different from the paperwork that was signed.”

Hakuno continued to follow, only to be stopped as the woman fixed the scarf around her face and fixed the sunglasses upon her face.

“Did you sign any other paperwork? Did you leave your paperwork for even a moment?”

“The guy that was yelling on the phone lost one of his precious rings underneath the bench we were on and didn’t want to grab it because of a spider web.”

“Yeah, he’s special.”

He was something. The look of disgust that the man had held had only made her roll her eyes, opting to say nothing as the priest moved around paperwork next to that idiot.

But still-

“We need to get my name fixed on these documents,” Hakuno told the woman. “I haven’t married anyone. I still have my maiden name.”

“Temporarily.” The woman opened the door, glancing around a moment before she looked back at her. “We don’t have much time before the paparazzi realize that Gilgamesh King’s newfound bride is here. You’re not necessarily dressed for receiving attention and you aren’t accustomed to public relations so please. Spare me some trouble.”

“Gilgamesh… What?”

She took a step back.

She’d thought that idiot had looked familiar, but for him to be that multi-branded socialite from VideoTube?

“Miss Kishinami,” the woman before her sighed loudly. “I don’t understand all the details of what happened, but you and Gilgamesh King now share all assets. Both his wealth and notoriety and your mysterious patents that you applied for here.”

No…

Of all the things, he couldn’t have these.

These were organic compounds and mixtures that would do away with so many common problems. Severe skin conditions, allergic reactions, certain aging responses in the skin; she had delved deeper into resolving these problems after having finding so many people suffering. These were creations that would allow people to save money and get what they needed to be happy.

For someone- especially someone of such materialism- to hold these…

Access to products for personal happiness is more important than money.

“Ms. King.” The devil of a woman before her held out her hand. “We don’t have time for you to have this response right now. Forgive the rudeness, but you can have your breakdown in the car on the way home. Your husband is… of a similar state of mixed emotions.”

“He can’t have these.”

The devil simply smiled. “I think you’ll find that he feels very similar about some of his things as well. Come along, Ms. King.”

She rushed straight into the private, running car destined to traverse straight to hell.

Her companion, meanwhile, looked comfortable.

[fuwafuwamedb]

The Apsu From the River Euphrates (Hakuno, Gilgamesh, Enkidu)

“These roots here?” Her adopted mother had told her, “these will cause a man’s skin to develop large red welts and can only be helped with gentle care and time. You need to be quite careful when you pick roots. If you see the leaves, you know what it leaves.”  

Hakuno stared at the guy raging to his friend, storming back and forth across the riverfront. His hands were rubbing at his face, increasing the problem. His friend was laughing, joking and looking around for the roots that the other had no doubt used to clean his face.

There was no one else around.

It seemed that, whoever these two worked for, their companions had abandoned them to suffer. The more the guy tried to fix his face, the more he worsened the red welts.

The friend applied more of the root paste.

The blond sunk to his knees, calming before the worse storm.

At the rate they were going, the two were going to end up probably killing one another before the end of the day. The best cure for that stuff was a weed that looked much like a poisonous weed. The cure would take time too, something that this guy clearly would not wait around for.

Which was why groups needed apsu.

“Enkidu! Find something!”

“Excuse me!” Hakuno raised her voice, looking between the two as she stepped forth from the brush. “Sir-“

The blond delved behind his friend.

You’d think he was a king with that kind of vanity.

“Can we help you?” Enkidu- the green haired one asked, their voice darkening.

“I- I heard shouting and saw your friend has… a problem.”

“We’re fine.”

Calm, threatening; the being’s voice said she was playing with fire, but Hakuno shook her head, pulling her bag from her shoulder.

“I said we’re fine, Miss.”

“Then you’re as naïve as you are stupid then.” Hakuno pulled out her vial of that treatment the blond needed, setting it a little ways in front of her. “Use this. Liberally. I would cover the face, the hair, and the neck with the stuff. Maybe the shoulders too if there was any contact from the dangerous root to the shoulders as well. Hands are cleaned off pretty fast so that shouldn’t be an issue.”

The two waited, watching her.

“I’ll just wait here.”

“How long does it take?”

“Two days.”

“You do know that if we use this, you will have to stay with us for that length of time, right?”

“OR- and this is just a thought- you could let me apply it.”

“And why would I do that?” the being asked.

Probably because her capability would far surpass even a palace apsu. She had a talent and a gift for healing. Her magic was weak and rather pathetic, but her mind for herbs and her meager abilities blended beautifully into a dominating strength.

It was something that this being would definitely not understand.

“Fine. I’ll come back in a day to bury him. Blond Man, do you prefer a few of the river or of the forest?”

“Get the damn woman and her bottle over here,” the man growled.

“We don’t know her, Gil. She could be from another kingdom.”

“I was born on the river.”

The two paused at her statement. The sounds of the birds and the cicadas sang in the background as Hakuno waited for the decision to be reached.

“Who are your parents?” Blond Man- Gil- asked.

“I don’t have any.”

The being narrowed their eyes. “All humans have parents.”

“Then consider me unlucky. Mine decided I was a waste. Tossed me out to the Euphrates.”

The two went quiet, but there was finally motion. She found herself pulled over to the blond, the vial’s contents spread along her arm and face before it was used on Gil. She could sense they both had something to say about her upbringing, but-

It was the same reaction that most had.

Family was everything in this world. No family meant no prospects.

She still had adopted parents- or rather, she had. She’d seen them to their end not long ago, listening to them both tell her to go to Uruk.

It was the most peaceful of all the lands, filled with more vitality and prosperity than anywhere else. The only qualm was finding a place.

“Done.” Hakuno smiled a bit, pulling her hands back. “Give the stuff a few minutes and we’ll both wash off in the river.”

“You look like me on a cold day, Gil,” Enkidu teased.

“Give him a break, the welts had to hurt. Besides, what kind of idiot plucks the roots of spotted leaved plants?”

“They’re good for you.”

“The non-spotted ones are.”

The being hesitated, earning a small wave from the golden-haired man now covered in clay and plant paste.

“Leave it, Enkidu,” the man chastised. “Anyway, maiden, where are you planning to go?”

“Uruk. I heard there are places for apsu.”

“You want to be an apsu?”

“No, but everyone has to have some kind of life’s work, don’t they?”

They sat along the shore for a while before going to wash off.

She’d come across an unfortunate blond sporting nasty welts and a mounting impatience, accompanied by an untrusting and possibly dangerous friend. When she washed the root paste from her own face though, she found herself coming up from the waters to the sight of a golden haired man far too handsome for his own good. The green haired man nearby beamed proudly, leaping into the waters without a stitch of clothing.

She felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist.

Gil’s laugh rang out in the air.

“An apsu from the river Euphrates. Enkidu, I think we should bring her back with us. The woman does commendable work.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Enkidu replied, beaming. “Miss Apsu, I can already tell we’re going to be good friends.”

[fuwafuwamedb]

The King’s Dumu Lugal (Hakuno, Caster Gilgamesh, Gudako)

A king was only as good as his kingdom and the management of his world therein.

A great king could understand the pieces on the board before him. He could understand how people were and what motivated them. He could understand what he needed to do and how he needed to proceed to build up the walls around himself. He knew when to be lenient. He knew when to push someone forward.

Kings could push through pet peeves. He could find the way to work around any flaws he possessed.

“My king.”

Caster paused from the screens before him, glancing back at the woman nearby.

Ah, his saving grace.

She had singlehandedly applied a Sumerian dictionary to the computer system, making all of this possible. She had spent hours upon hours on this system, building it up bit by bit until he had found that he could enjoy the full benefits of the Chaldean computers through a Sumerian filter. In return, Gudako and the others could see the work he did and make use of his decisions.

His chestnut-haired savior. His whiskey eyed genius.

Even more astounding to him was the fact that she had asked for nothing in return.

He had gone to her chambers, knocking upon her door and finding it only opening enough to let him see the large sitting room a bit and the hallways that went further back from this door. She had looked up at him and told him that servants were not permitted in her space when he asked to enter.

When he offered to return her great deeds, she’d told him she merely wanted to have the opportunity to help him.

“Then I shall have you remain at my side.”

She remained…

“I brought dinner for you,” she told him, holding up the soup and the vegetables that rested upon the tray she held.

“Are you going to keep me company this evening?”

He’d noticed that she would gaze upon him at times. He was no fool. Those brown eyes would linger on him for several moments when he was working. She would fidget with her hands at other times. Sometimes, he would even see her bite her lip or have her gaze turn so somber.

What is it that you think about when you look at me?

He desired greatly the chance to ask such a question, but she eluded him. They may have been alone, but the work he did with fine tuning Chaldea and improving the technologies with the aid of Da Vinci took precedence over his opportunities to speak to Hakuno.

That and-

“I have things to attend to.”

She often had things to attend to, he had noted. While she would linger near him, remain at his side and coax him into a few minutes of sleep to keep death from his door; she would always have to leave him. It was troublesome to hear time and time again.

There she turned though, after setting down his tray. The skirts of her dress were sashaying around her hips, her hair swaying here and there as she went.

It reminded him of his dream the other night.

Caster closed his eyes, turning his attention back to his food after she left him.

The help was much appreciated.

He would denounce her for her efforts to assist him. He wouldn’t criticize her efforts to remain both helpful and distance.

It was different from Siduri though.

Siduri had a natural distance between them. She had made her intent clear and she held no airs about her that said that she wished to close the distance between them.

Hakuno…

Hakuno had all those airs.

She had those thick lashes that she could look over at him from underneath. She had those sweet lips that moved in a way that beckoned his eyes. She had that collarbone, bereft of all markings, begging for his lips to cover in bitemarks and bruises.

When she would reach around him, all he could see were dainty hands that would look remarkably fragile to his eyes.

His hands in return would feel inclined to reach forward to grab her. His mind will fill with the images of stripping the dresses from her body. He longed to press her to his desk and undo the zipper of her dress with his hands of his mouth. He longed to kiss every inch that that dress revealed to his eyes.

But he was a king and a man of incredible restraint. He held himself back… despite the glimmer in her eyes that said he could go ahead. He stopped himself despite the way her body seemed to lean closer and closer to him.

He couldn’t eat tonight.

Why is her area of the facility off limits?

Why did she know Sumerian?

Why did he find himself thinking about her so often?

Gudako had given him no help, but her gaze put him into a mental spin as well. At his few questions he’d thought to ask, the woman had hesitated. She’d looked to Mash and quickly patched together tangent after tangent.

He moved from his desk, thinking about this more.

It was high time for some answers. He wanted to know what it was that made Hakuno so mysterious. He wanted to know the truth.

No more somber looks.

No more subject changes.

“I’ll be with Ur if you need me,” the woman could be heard saying to Gudako now.

Gilgamesh found himself pausing, pressing against the wall at the corner of the hallway adjoining the one the two women were in.

“I’ll pick up the tray in a bit,” Gudako promised.

He waited, watching Hakuno walk passed him, heading for her private part of the facility. He looked back, seeing Gudako looking towards the outdoors.

Ur?

Caster moved up behind his master, leaning in close as the woman enjoyed her pretty outdoor view.

“Who is Ur?”

The redhead paused, shivering a second before she spun around.

“Caster,” the woman dared to exclaim.

No, that wasn’t what he had asked. He moved to his full height, looking down his nose at her.

“Ur?”

Gudako hesitated.

“Who is Ur, Gudako?” he asked once more, softly.

She was incredibly lucky.

Despite his displeasure at repeating himself, he had now asked thrice about who this Ur was. She needed to stop wasting his time and begin to tell him what was going on.

“Ur is… well… He’s someone precious to Hakuno,” Gudako answered, albeit reluctantly. “…Has she still not told you about him?”

“Why would Hakuno need to tell me about him?”

“Because he’s your… Never mind.”

No, that was not an acceptable answer. He went to push the subject, but Mash called for her, joined by Ozymandias and Francis Drake.

Riders.

He pulled back, allowing the woman to escape him.

Hakuno would be letting Gudako come get the tray she had been carrying.

He could go himself to get it.

There were no other thoughts on his mind other than to invade her space. He could seek reconciliation after he had transgressed.

The door was unlocked for once.

Not that I come here often.

He slipped the door open, closing it quietly behind himself.

The room was more opulent than he had first thought. The rich golden and crimson banners showing lions and riches hung high on the walls. The furs and blankets adorning the couches and on the floor with wood blocks and hand sewn dolls were rather interesting.

Why would she have such childish toys here?

He settled onto the blanket, looking at the dolls.

They showed improving sewing technique, the careful stitching and repairing efforts showing on a few of the dolls.

What was this?

“Aaaabum.”

Gilgamesh paused at the sound of the voice nearby. He looked up, turning his gaze away from the toys to look at the small figure crawling to sit near him.

The red robes around his shoulders were adorned with golden thread and black accent. The golden hair gleamed proudly from the top of his head.

Those red eyes looked up at him excitedly, his ‘oof’ of a sound accompanied by his waving his hands for him as he sat close to him.

“Ah-bum!”

Caster could feel the reels and gears of his mind coming to a halt. He could feel his heart hammering away in his chest as he looked down at the young boy.

“Abum!”

More hand waving, the boy was intent on this.

Caster glanced at the hallway a moment before he moved a bit closer.

He leaned in close, brushing a hand through that head of blond hair and tilting that head up to look at him more.

The boy was small, perhaps three or four?

No, he was too small.

Maybe younger?

“Ur!” Hakuno’s voice was calling loudly for him. “Ur! It’s almost time for your bath! Come here!”

The toddler didn’t pay any heed to that, instead climbing onto his lap and sighing happily.

This was her secret? This was why no one is permitted in her chambers and why she vanishes so often?

It would make remarkable sense why she would leave him so often now. A youth needed time with their parents. They would need to have time to become accustomed to talking and walking. They needed guidance and entertainment.

As he looked down at the boy again, he could see him grab one of the dolls and begin chewing on its leg. Those red eyes looked up at him, glimmering as though looking up at the sun itself.

Who is his father?

Who… what a ludicrous joke to ask.

The room was adorned in Sumerian culture. His people’s teachings were all over this room from the tablets to the treated furs and blankets. The boy himself was adorned in Sumerian clothing. He bore a name that was like that of his time and people.

A poor city name choice, sure, but it still remained that he had a name that one of his people would bear if he had been born in their time.

What’s more, he bore a hair color of gold that no other could manage. He bore red eyes that looked like that of a snake, or the more divine of people in the universe. His mana was young and weak, but only because he had not begun using his magic quite yet. He possessed mana of the old world, not of this time and age’s mages.

And he called me Abum.

Caster leaned in close, pulling a spare fabric from his gates.

“Hello, my dumu lugal.”

His child prince, he had called him. Was that not what he was?

“Ur!”

Hakuno was still calling for him as Ur pressed his face against him and closed his eyes happily. There was a bit of food still on his face. Caster wiped at it lightly as he leaned against the couch nearby and watched the boy settling in to rest.

“Ur! Where are you? Ur!”

Running could be heard. He could hear the doors being pushed open nearby, but he didn’t dare move with his son resting on his lap.

His hand brushed through that mess of blond hair. His head leaned back against the couch a bit as he looked down at the child.

“Ur! Ur, this isn’t fair to ummum, where-“

Hakuno paused, coming into view.

Her robe was wrapped around herself haphazardly. Her hair was loose and hanging around her shoulders. At the sight of him, she froze, eyes widening.

“I came to speak with you, but it seems my son felt more suited to greet me,” Caster murmured to her gently. “Would you care to have a seat? There’s much for us to discuss with one another.”

For example, how he’d manage to bear a son with her.

[fuwafuwamedb]

A Practice of Respect Pt 17 (Hakuno, Gilgamesh)

Previously in our adventure: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16

_____

They dragged her further in.

She could feel the dirt brushing against her skin, cutting into her person. She could feel the memories from before, the rush of fear running rampant beneath her attempt to be brave. The others that had gone after her had been this way. They had taken one look at her and given chase, making her flee as fast as she could.

These people wouldn’t even give her that.

“The king spoils us,” one of the men murmured.

“Let’s make her beg first.”

She stopped listening. She didn’t want to know what they had planned. Her body was being dragged and the pain was worsening. She needed to counterattack.

They stopped her in the center of the temple. The priests were lying behind a pew.

…They didn’t seem to be breathing.

“You know,” one of the men growled to her. “Utu is the god of justice as well as the sun. He made it so that fairness wouldn’t apply. We have been given the short end of everything. Your king does not care. Why would he?”

They would see the stick if she used it now. She needed this man closer. Just a little bit closer. Maybe if they let her do this one at a time.

As if sensing her indecision, she felt something tug at the belt of her robes. The belt was coming loose, faltering around her waist. They were moving in, coming slowly closer. One of them was grabbing at her hair, the mess of brown hair becoming a source of discomfort.

The movement was instant.

She slammed the stick into one of the man’s eyes who was holding her. Her body fell forward, agony piercing through the air as the man screamed to high heaven. She could see the others splitting, some rushing her, some running to the man. She let herself fall to one of the priests, feeling them for something and grasping an object as the men grabbed her.

A writing stick.

She stabbed the next man, hitting his wrist. Her body was thrown, unfortunately into the middle of the room. The others were rushing, slamming their feet into her. She could hear two people crying out.

Stopping wasn’t an option.

Her arms wrapped around one of the men’s feet, dragging him forward. Her robes fell open, but that was someone else’s problem for having to look at it. She let the man fall forward and slam into another one of the men. She slipped under his legs to avoid another attack and rushed for the door.

Outside, the air hurt her lungs. It might have been also the fact that her body felt like it was beaten and wounded. She didn’t pause to look or think. She made a break for the wagon and around to the crops. The fields were high and the plants would give her cover. She let her robes billow until she hit the rows of plants.

She held them tight to her body as she made her way into the depths of the fields.

“FIND HER!”

There were footsteps running after her. She could feel her heart pounding as she kept running and running.

Everything was beginning to burn inside her.

Humans and gods; they were all the same. Always causing her pain, always going after her or thinking of her as nothing more than Aya’s shadow.

She was Hakuno.

Grabbing one of the rocks from near her feet, she turned as one of the men called out. She slammed the jagged stone into the man’s face and listened to the sound, closing her eyes to spare herself the sight. The body fell and she kept on running.

Further now, she could hear the others. They were closing in.

Her heart was racing. She didn’t want to be found. She wanted to hide.

Turn left and run without stopping, a voice whispered into her ear.

She didn’t even hesitate.

Turning to her left, she booked it. As hard and as fast as she could run, without knocking anything out of her way so that she wasn’t beaten by the tall plants, she ran for it. Every part of her body pleaded for her to stop, but she didn’t dare slow for a second. The edge of the fields came into view. She leaped out from the depths and-

A pair of arms wrapped around her. The sound of a thousand gates or doors opening could be heard a second before heavy metal fell behind her. The screams were loud, filled with a strange note in their voices that made it feel like they hadn’t known it was coming.

“Look for survivors.”

Gilgamesh’s voice filled her ears.

Looking up, she could see the gold hair, the red eyes, the stern expression that said that he wasn’t in the mood for what was going on. He wore it during some of his less pleasant audience chamber visits.

The moment he glanced to her, Hakuno leaned her head against him and kissed the only part of him in reach.

He leaned in to speak and she opted for his lips next.

“Had I known their heretic ways…” he began quietly.

“I love you.”

The man stared at her.

She had heard the phrase before, but she felt it. It was a strange and pleasant warmth. It had been the feeling that had run through her, giving her the strength to go after all of those men. It was why she had run out into the fields.

There were so many men. It would have not ended well.

A small part of her had known that Gilgamesh would come. He would come and he would stop every problem. He’d done it before, finding her in that strange place where she’d been hiding. He’d waited her fear out, taken her to his home.

When the gods said she would become stone once more, it was Gilgamesh who said no.

He would never allow anything to truly take her from him.

“I love you,” she told him again, holding him tightly.

Love was the feeling of knowing there was a safe place in all the world, a place where no man or god or anything could truly hurt you. It was a feeling and a comfort to all the pain and suffering, where a mind could find peace and a body could find a strength to do what would otherwise be impossible.

The king’s outer robe was wrapped around her, the man leaning her against him as the bodies began to be dragged out. She didn’t bother to look, didn’t bother to care.

She was safe and sound.

Gilgamesh was here.

[fuwafuwamedb]

A Dip in the Time Pond (Rin, Hakuno, Siduri)

“My Lady?”

Hakuno found herself looking back, seeing the maiden from the ziggurat bowing lightly as she entered. The green attire hugging her person was amongst the finest of the kingdom. Her sweet expression was half covered by the veil she wore over her lower face.

“Our king will be postpone the arrangements for today. It seems there are business matters to attend to for today.”

He’s postponing again, Hakuno sent off, listening to the curses on the other end of her mental connection.

“WHAT AN ABSOLUTE BOAR!”

“Thank you,” Hakuno told the woman, bowing her head lightly.

“Of course, Lady Hakuno.”

Glancing back at the mirror nearby, she could see easily where this was going.

Perhaps… Perhaps things were just doomed.

She had been alive and well with her friend in the modern times. They had ended up in the same Holy Grail War, finding themselves facing off against Rin’s sister and her friend, Sakura. Well, a blast from the girl’s power had thrown them both deep into the path of weapons, ending with them both killed by their own servants.

She’d looked up at Gilgamesh and watched the king’s neutrality shatter.

Rin had held onto the lance through her body and tried to say something to him.

Next thing they’d known, the two of them had awakened as tiny tots in their servant’s worlds.

Listening to Rin talk in her head had been the only peace she’d had as Hakuno had found herself learning language and how to survive in the world of ancient Uruk. She’d found herself spending half the day brewing liquor and the other half of the day either caring for her appearance or reading.

Rin, from what she’d gathered, had begun magic training. Each and every day, deep in the woods when she would go to do laundry or some other menial chore, she would begin trying to do her magic.

She’d tried to follow suit, but getting magic in was hard.

Both times did not see magic as wholly worthwhile. Uruk seemed to regard men better for the task.

The king postponing again will mean that I am sold, Hakuno confessed to her friend.

They had both come to the conclusion that perhaps finding their servants would help them get freedom. If Gilgamesh could remember her, then that meant that she could request the man take her back to Fuyuki. Hell, she could probably snag Rin and Cu Chulainn on the way as well.

“You should see the cesspit I found,” Rin threw back. “Honestly, a bridal market sounds less perverse than here. If someone isn’t bleeding out, they’re drinking. If they’re not drinking, they’re probably dead.”

No Cu?

“I think he’s already passed through. The town’s complaining of an evaporated lake nearby.”

She wasn’t sure how that related to Cu, but that was fine.

“Why don’t you go to work in the palace as a servant rather than a bride perspective?”

Again with this option. It wasn’t that easy in Uruk to come before the king. She’d been trying for ages, slipping in through servant’s halls and carrying flowers in with some of the men tending to the gardens. The more she tried, the more things seemed to backfire.

Hence, her hearing about the first ceremony in need of a woman for the king had been proceeded by her creating makeup and taking direction from Rin on how to apply them. The kingdom had taken one look at the calloused hands of the others and the tired or flawed expressions of the others and had taken one look at her before deciding that she would be it.

Gilgamesh was dragging his feet for his coming of age ceremony though.

“Threaten to give yourself to one of the gods,” Rin suggested.

That, of all things, had her laughing a little.

Oh?

“You said they worship multiple gods, right? Pick a god and, should he postpone the ceremony tomorrow, just tell the nice lady that comes to visit you that you’re going to give yourself to that god since the king can’t be bothered.”

So like a temple maiden?

“Gross. No. Just… threaten it and, if he says no, demand an offering for the god you mentioned and take that money to go and become a rich recluse.”

She could…

There was a small kingdom near Uruk that was for the sun god. If she went there with the money from Uruk, she’d easily be able to get her own place. She could focus on magic and maybe become strong enough on her own.

Alright.

“That’s the ticket!” Rin cheered. “Alright, it looks like I’m cornered in this damn tavern. Cu Chulainn better be ready because when I find him, I’m going to make him clean every bit of filth from my shoes!”

You have shoes?

“…Don’t make me jealous, Hakuno. You know my shoes broke three towns ago in that fight. Go back to looking pretty and preparing for your meeting the king.”

Good luck, Hakuno murmured to her friend.

The maidens caring for her in the noble’s home were entering again, offering to help her to the baths. She waved them off and went to lay down in bed for now.

Tomorrow she’d claim the god Utu had told her to abandon the king.

She could only hope that the king would pay her off, since he did not want her.

[fuwafuwamedb]

Cutie at the Beach (Proto Cu Chulainn, Hakuno)

The sun was bright today.

Stepping off the elevator, Hakuno could see it was going to at least be a day of promise. Classes were canceled due to the holiday week. The tourists and the citizens alike were all meandering over the sidewalks and the city streets, dressed for the festivities and the events going on in the center of town.

That sounded all well and going, going to the festivals and seeing all the games and joyrides that had been set up, but she wanted something entirely different today.

Instead of noise and music blasting from speakers, she wanted the sounds of the ocean waves crashing against the shore. She wanted to feel the wind blowing through her hair and the sun kissing at her skin today. These feet were sandaled for sand and summer, not concrete jungles and cement sidewalks. She was going to let the waves of the beach wash away the hand cramps and the former headaches of the past few weeks of studying.

It was fun to walk passed the others on the streets though. The bright kimonos and the paper umbrellas were flashing around her. Children laughed as they tugged their parents along.

A few back allies had her seeing small groups of friends gathering together.

Classmates were waving her way, earning a small smile and a motion to her picnic basket.

A few of them laughed at her, trying still to egg her into staying in the stale city streets. They pushed for social hours and games.

That wasn’t what she was in the mood for though. She left them to their cellphones and their shopping trips, carrying on through the back allies towards the shoreline.

Her hands brushed against the leaves and vines that hung over the sides of the stone fences and gates, feeling the nature that thrived despite the wild civilization that had grown to be in this place. Further and further, she found the leaves to grow in more abundance. The world had left these streets behind, cracked concrete showing where even the city officials and the people of the area had forgotten their own.

A few kids stopped to wave her way, earning a small smile before she found herself back on the main streets.

The beach lay ahead, clear of most company at this time of the afternoon. Those who were there had gone towards the festivities that were being held near one of the corporate buildings nearby.

She’d stay away from that today.

Her basket was set in the sand, her dress cover pulled off a moment before she grabbed the blanket from her basket. The blue fabric was spread over the sand, set in place with a couple stakes she’d fashioned for the thing. Next came her book, her sunscreen, and her sunglasses.

After all, it would be silly to try wearing a sunhat while laying in the sand, wouldn’t it?

“You’re lookin’ like you’re gonna spend the night here.”

Hakuno paused, sitting crosslegged on her blanket with her sunscreen in hand.

“There’s still some sunlight left.”

Sunset wasn’t until nine that evening. Since it was only five, that meant she had four hours to drown herself in sunlight and soak up the feeling of the world and its peace.

Yet, Mister Blue Hair didn’t seem to be paying that much mind. He walked over with his red shirt unbuttoned, plopping down at her side with his fishing equipment and bucket.

“There might be, but it’s a little later than most people, isn’t it?”

“I like the peace.”

The man laughed, shaking his head. “I think you’re the first person I’ve spoken to that would think comin’ to the beach in the evening is peaceful. The whole town’s a damn ruckus.”

She hummed, offering her lotion over to the man.

“Can you get my back, Mister Beach Survey?”

“It’s Cu Chulainn, but sure. Yeah…” He stared at the bottle a moment before Hakuno glanced over his face.

“…You must be from somewhere with less sunlight, right?”

“It does rain a bit more where I’m from, yeah.”

That would explain the talking to strangers a bit more willingly.

Hakuno smiled, pulling her hair clip from her basket and tying her hair up really quick. She did have one other bottle in her basket. To think she would need it for someone else.

“Hmm?”

“Don’t move for a second,” she told him, moving over to his side. “You burned your face badly fishing today.”

“It’s a part of the trade-“

“That’s why sunscreen is a thing. If you put on sunscreen, you wouldn’t have this problem.” His poor nose was going to probably peel. He’d probably sport a tanline where his shirt didn’t cover too.

“That shit’s cold.”

“Can you take off your shirt?”

He stared at her.

“I want to make sure to get everywhere that was burned.”

“In that case,” Cu pulled his shirt off, showing off a collection of redness along his shoulders and chest. As blue as his hair was, his skin seemed to be fighting it with a bold red hue…

But Hakuno found her eyes trailing over the man’s person.

Wherever he was from, he must have been a wrestler or something. The man didn’t have arms, he had tree trunks. He had a chest and body that made up those superhero movies that her friends liked inviting her to.

“As you can see,” he purred. “I burned practically all over. I’m lucky I didn’t burn my pants right off.” He laughed, but Hakuno found herself handing him the little bottle of aloe.

“I can’t.”

She was good. Today was her day to rest and relax. She didn’t need to be ogling poor tourists that were burned to a crisp.

No, he was best just applying it himself.

“Hey, hey!” Cu leaned in, pressing a hand to her shoulder. “It ain’t that ugly, is it?”

“I-I’m sure your girlfriend will find it to be fine.”

“Girlfriend?” He laughed. “I don’t get that lucky with women. I smell like fish, ya know? Most women take one wiff and want to toss me back in the ocean.”

“You do take showers, don’t you?”

“I have terrible fish lips too,” he pointed out, smushing his lips in a way that had her rolling her eyes.

He was cute.

Geez, he must have just gotten so distracted fishing or something that no woman caught him instead.

Ah, but this was her day to relax…

“Let me get your back like you wanted with your other stuff and then you can help me with mine. That sound fair?” He leaned in a little more, that smile making her heart flutter like a fool. “I promise, I’ll be good the whole time.”

She wouldn’t.

But still, she kissed his cheek a moment before laying down.

“Just be sure not to miss a spot, please. I don’t want to be peeling.”

“Miss, I don’t know how to tell you this, but I find you very appealing.”

Damn it…

She smiled into her arm, letting him rub the lotion in.

He was so cute.

It may not have been how she wanted to spend today, but she was really in the mood for a last minute change of plans. Maybe for today. She had the whole week, after all. It couldn’t hurt to spend one afternoon with a foreigner who was looking to enjoy the beach as well.

He rubbed all of her back, almost doing more of a massage than a simple rubbing of lotion. Her returning the favor was met with hissing and whimpers, the man looking up at her with a pout on his lips.

“I liked it on my face, but damn, girl, that shit hurts.”

“You need to be more careful then.” Hakuno teased. “I don’t think there are too many people like me running around the beach in the afternoons with aloe in their basket.”

“There aren’t too many pretty girls like you around in general.”

Hakuno kissed his nose.

“…I can call you pretty all afternoon,” he offered, face lighting up a bit.

“Oh yeah?”

That smile. Ah, but he smiled in a way that made her think of those darn golden retriever dogs. Fangs lightly poking out, joy written onto every bit of his face; he could have been looking at a thousand perfect days and it wouldn’t have made him half as happy as that smile said he was.

“You know, I think I know a way to help cool off your sunburn a bit.”

“Yeah?”

She grabbed her water bottle, squirting him a bit.

“It’ll help you wake up from seeing me as pretty too!”

The man laughed, hauling her up.

“AH! What luck! I’ve got just the thing for you too!”

They were running, rushing for the-

“NO NO NO!”

Hakuno screeched, noting where they were heading. She hadn’t finished putting on sunscreen and she’d just applied his aloe! They were gonna-

SPLASH!

Straight into the depths of the waters. She could feel the fish swim passed, freaking out at their new neighbors that had come without invitation. Hakuno kicked and waved her arms, propelling herself to the surface only to hear Cu laughing. He hauled her close, letting her hold the dock a moment as he lifted himself up.

She found herself pulled out of the water to sit next to him.

“That help? You’re cuter than shit.”

“I think dinner would help.”

“Cutie, you’re in luck. I happened to have caught a large dinner that would make the finest restaurants in town crumble to their knees.”

“My name’s Hakuno.”

“And now I know a cute girl’s name. Today’s just filled with success.”

She held his hand as they headed back to her blanket.

She’d definitely see what his week looked like before she went home.

Cu Chulainn was just fun.

[fuwafuwamedb]

Woman of the Treasury PT 10 (Hakuno, CasGil, Siduri)

Previously: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine

_____

The brief span of time was tending to her head wound.

Slowly and carefully, he unwound the wrappings around her head and tenderly touched the sore spot upon her head. His arm extended, having a jar of salve offered by a servant nearby before he was applying it to her forehead.

Hakuno didn’t look up at him. She focused on his necklace the moment that he started to touch her wound.

She could see that arm reach out again. There was ruffling a moment before he was holding thin wrappings in his hands. She found him wrapping the fabric around and around once more, leaning her against him before she felt it end.

Then there was a light touch.

“Leave us.”

The servants were clearing the room, as were the guards. Hakuno found herself soon enough left in the audience chamber with Gilgamesh.

“Are you too shy to show affection in front of the others?”

Show affection?

Was this about his oiled person? Was he wanting to talk about Siduri’s comment from earlier? The kiss…?

She had to pause as the thought crossed her mind again. Seeing Gilgamesh so pleased, so genuinely happy that she was covering her mouth to protect herself from being kissed by him while he teased her, had been something new.

As though sensing her thoughts, the man leaned in closer and pressed a kiss to her hand. When her hand had gotten to her lips, she’d never know.

“You’re touching the wrong thing,” he told her.

“I’m fine.”

“No, let me see these.”

“Gil!”

But the man laughed, slipping her hands beneath his robes a bit. She was holding his thighs now.

She didn’t dare look down. She didn’t dare move.

“I feel quite hard compared to you, don’t I?”

“…You’re very strong.”

“You’re welcome to feel more, move your hands-“

He was cut off when she reached further back.

Her Gilgamesh was the same way, always teasing her and taunting her with his person. He made it a point to talk about his body in the most ridiculous of manners. It was high time she bothered to be audacious for a moment.

She groped his behind, feeling the smooth curve of his ass.

“My king,” Hakuno all but cooed loudly to him. “You’re so soft under here. Here I had thought you were nothing but muscle, but this feels quite nice. You fit in my hand so nicely.”

The man gave a moan, stilling her to the bone.

The man leaned back and turned that narrowed gaze on her, smirking away. “Your mouth can replace your hands when you wish.”

Her mouth-

A knock came, showing Siduri walking backwards into the room with her tablet blocking the sight of them. “M-m-my king… the audience chamber requires you for a couple more hours.”

Hakuno found a turban placed on her head, the king himself wrapping his arms around her waist and turning her around. Her hands were pulled from his lower robes.

“Bring them in,” the king beckoned. “Let’s be done with this.”

“As you wish,” she replied. “We’ll ah- make arrangements for the Lady as well.”

Arrangements?

The glance in their direction from Siduri as the next person came in was too excited. She was whispering too much to a few servants.

Why did she have a bad feeling about this?

[fuwafuwamedb]

Proto Pop (Proto Gil, Hakuno)

“Thank you!”

The lights waved in the crowds. The cold air and the sweat on her person were starting to get to her. Truly, there was nothing better than the fact that she was going to be able to escape from the main concert hall and get a chance to drink some water and be off her feet.

A breeze drifted through the open ceiling, making her almost shiver.

Actually, she was pretty sure she had.

Damn.

Her manager would see it.

She wasn’t sure who her manager was, but they knew whenever she shivered or faltered. There was punishment that would come from this. She could already sense the complaints, the demands for financial compensation for the losses that covering up her shiver or her face fall would require.

She smiled passed all the crew as she went back. She held herself together until she reached her dressing room, collapsing onto the couch once the lights stopped flashing around her.

It had been foolish, but a part of her had been hoping that she would be able to keep some of the money that she had made from this concert. The cover ups were becoming more and more expensive and she was still managing to find some tabloids worrying about her. Her fans were becoming more and more handsy as time went on as well.

The flashing lights, the endless streams of people and calls, and even her assistant who seemed to be intent upon keeping her running; there was hardly enough time to breathe.

Which was why she was currently devoted to this couch she’d found in her dressing room. The leather almost hugged her, embracing her with a warmth and a blanket that said nothing more than simply, ‘come hither, child. Rest.’ The silence in the room, since the room itself was soundproof, was the most beautiful sound she had heard in so long.

She hated her songs.

She hated the endless hours.

This room understood so well. It merely took one look at her and went, ‘don’t worry about it.’

I’m humanizing a room.

It felt good to have something on her side, at least.

Her coffee was something she had to have to keep herself alive and upright. Falling asleep in this room, no matter how tempting, would end with her getting into trouble. She was hyped up on coffee and no longer able to think clearly. Thankfully there were a team of people that would ensure she got to her car and got driven home.

The warmth, now that she was warmed a little, was now becoming her enemy. She was getting too lethargic. She had a shoot in the morning and she needed to be ready to go home, not rest here. She had to shower and apply all the usual things.

Which meant a rigorous two hours of work.

“Miss Kishinami?”

Hakuno stood up, giving the blanket a small hug before she followed the new strangers to head towards the car.

She was so used to this. It was becoming such a chore to get up every day. Eventually, she would get this right. She would smile and laugh and show off just enough without her mind getting in the way. She’d be able to handle the cold and the excessive heat without reacting. Maybe she’d stop sweating or becoming tired.

Her building came up.

Hakuno found herself climbing out the moment the doors opened, smiling for the few members of the area that were no doubt paparazzi. She bounced up the stairs with a vigor she didn’t feel, thanking the doormen and heading towards the elevator.

Her guards didn’t join.

Why bother?

She received a room key from one and pressed the elevator buttons.

Up the thing went, ascending up to the heavens. She would be able to have her space once more. No smiling, no giggling. Hell, Hakuno already ripped her damn skirt off.

Fuck how short it was. She’d rather walk in her panties to her room.

When the doors opened, Hakuno stepped onto the landing.

There were no rooms occupied on the floors under her room or on her floor. She’d learned that the first time she’d gotten sick.

Each door felt like a waste of space. Each light felt like it was left on as just another means of wasting money that she really didn’t have. Truly, when she opened the door, the only thing she would have found nice was that her old things that had been placed in this room.

Would have…

Staring at the bloodied space and the writings inscribed across the walls, the weird tablets of stone and whatever else strewn about said she had the wrong room. There were no worn out hand knit blankets here, no candy stash to raid quietly before going for a shower.

She turned, but there was something wrong.

Her eyes drifted back to note that the elevators had closed.

Hurrying, she shut the door and waited, surveying her happened upon room.

It didn’t seem that anyone was here. There were no signs of company. Was this an occult room? Was it a murder scene?

She hurried forward, glancing around at the doors nearby to find them empty.

Okay, so no one was here, but there was a lot of blood.

If she had a phone, she could call for help, but there were no phones in this room. She still had her shoes on too, so no one would be able to tell she was here.

The tablets…

Hakuno inched towards them next, keeping her mind focused on the area for any kind of noise. She used her skirt to hold the edge of the table, looking over the writings.

Nothing deadly…

She spoke the words aloud only to find them oddly lyrical. It was more like a summoning spell or something, since it seemed like it was calling out to someone. Maybe this was an author?

Her wrist veins glowed for a moment, making her tumble back.

The floors began to glow, a strange energy building up. It sounded like someone had turned on a helicopter in the room. The winds were whipping at her outfit, the lights growing more and more. She couldn’t see. She couldn’t hear anything. It was getting worse and worse and then-

A figure appeared.

She did the only thing she could think of: she threw one of the tablets in front of her at the man.

“MASTER! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!”

One second, the figure was away from her- the next, he was grabbing her hands, stopping her from throwing another. Those blood red eyes glared at her, the blond hair fell partially into his face. Hakuno felt her heart hammering in her chest as she looked up at the fool.

“You’re… ah… You’re not dressed…”

A fan?!

She landed a blow to the fool, running again. This time, she threw the door open, running to the elevator and slamming her finger on the button until the doors opened. The moment they began to, she jumped in, spun around, slammed that close button, and watched as the blond held her skirt and glared in her direction.

The doors closed though.

She pressed the button for her floor, finding she was a few floors short.

And up she went.

What the hell had that been?

Coffee or not, she was wide awake now. Her heart was going a thousand beats a second as her floor came into view. She hurried, running to the door to her apartment and all but diving in. The doors were locked, bolted, chained; hell, she grabbed the shoe cabinet nearby and shoved it up to the door.

Fuck leaving.

“Why are we hiding?”

Hakuno screamed.

The blond was behind her, looming over her as he still held her skirt. Her apartment was around them. They were in her home-

“HOW ARE YOU HERE?!”

“Hmm? Why would I not be? You are my master, after all.” His hands stopped her next kick to his privates. “And I do hope you have a reason for assaulting me, dear master, or I might actually become angry with you. Beautiful and ethereal as you may be: no one strikes me and lives.”

She slumped against the cabinet.

Her fans had found a way to invade her apartment. Nowhere was sacred anymore.

A wetness came to her face, her vision blurring.

“Mast-“

“Stop…” Hakuno closed her eyes and shook her head. “I’m so tired. Just… whatever you want, I don’t have anything. I can’t even get a night of sleep. Take whatever you want and just let me sleep.”

[fuwafuwamedb]

Beneath the Euphrates Pt 13 (Hakuno, Gilgamesh)

Previous Parts: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve

___________

“You saw her wounds?”

His mother’s words were like a spark against flint. His eyes drifted to the woman nearby, watching her shift slightly and her hands tighten on the robes covering her legs. Glancing at the floors in his room, he could see there were spots here and there.

Was that blood?

The sheer audacity of causing the woman, whom was not even human but was instead something of a mythical beast in and of herself, bodily harm was absurd. Even if she wasn’t dangerous upfront, she still possessed enough superstition around her to make others lunge for her. Other kingdoms themselves were coming into his kingdom’s waters to seek her out now.

No, his mother had acted without sense. She should have conferred with Enkidu before lashing out at Hakuno.

He had no words.

Simply, he could not think of any that would not sour his mother’s temperament.

“We can speak later,” he dismissed. “I want to know what you know of Kalullu when we speak. Gather that information well.”

In the end, it was his mother that was the problem.

Leniency for her position would be given, only to a point.

As the door closed, Gilgamesh turned his attention to the only other person whom had been in the room. He could see her avoiding his gaze.

“What did she make you do?”

“Nothing I didn’t agree to do,” the woman replied softly.

Cheeky, but that wasn’t answering his question.

Moving was a bit difficult, considering his joints were feeling stiff and his body was feeling a bit lethargic, but he slid closer to the woman. His hand caught hers as she started to move.

“Kalullu-“

“Please.”

She pressed a hand to his chest, shaking her head.

“I’m so tired of being called that,” she murmured softly. “I don’t have my fins or anything. I’ve been in this form and I can’t swim away like this. I’m not a Kalullu.”

He watched her close her eyes and sigh. His hands reached out and turned her face to look at him properly.

“Hakuno,” he addressed. “Show me these wounds.”

He left his voice soft. Not because he wanted to be gentle. On the contrary, he had no desire to water himself down. She was still suspicious since she was something foreign and unknown to his people in terms of reality versus fiction, but…

The woman shook her head.

“You won’t show me?” he asked.

“You would get upset.”                                                                                  

“I’m getting upset now.”

Still, he found her being difficult. Her free hand tugged down her robes a little more before he simply undid her belt.

Welts met his gaze. The sores and the cuts were jagged and in varying states of care. The bandages, for what little there were and for how poorly they were applied, did little to cover the sight. It must have been hard when her legs and her knees possessed the same look.

Gods, but he could still see dirt.

She wasn’t cleaning these wounds.

“I bandaged them,” she told him, tugging her robes back into place.

“Do not leave this bed.”

Gilgamesh stood up, climbing off his mattress and walking slowly to the door. The moment he passed through it, his stomach churned. His vision blurred slightly as he tried to find balance.

“King Gilgamesh!”

The woman tried to call him back, but he held his ground.

“Guards!”

The men came to him immediately.

“I need bandages. Bring me a couple servants and make sure they have a fresh basin of water and proper linens.”

He made his way back into the room only to find himself frowning.

The pain was gone.

“You’re… linked, I think.”

So it seemed, he thought.

She would have to accept being trapped in Uruk then.

[fuwafuwamedb]

Rescued Pt 2 (Hakuno, Edmond)

He checked the wrappings three times a day.

Sometimes, he would take her into his arms, carrying her out to where the surf and the sea were. He would let her dip her feet into the ocean and would talk about his adventures. There was always a chattering coming from the man.

He spoke of the seas and smuggling products to ports.

He spoke of prisons and crimes that should never have been committed, much less thrown upon his name.

He spoke of the feeling of freedom, of feeling the gentle caress of a cool breeze after so much darkness and pain.

The touch he had when he gave the barest of touches to her neck sent a shiver through her from time to time. The medicine was applied so liberally. His lips pressed to her neck as the wound began to fade as a scar.

And yet still, she could not breathe a word.

She tried when he would turn his back.

In the middle of the night, when he was asleep, she would try to say his name.

She tried and tried, straining at times to be able to tell him that he had the wrong woman. She wasn’t Haydee. She wasn’t this woman that he needed to covet and protect in his arms in the evenings and through the nights.

A part of her had feared her coming to find them.

The woman would bust down the door and this man of tender hands and gentle words would vanish from between her fingers, turning into the great and fearsome character of his tales.

But the days kept passing.

Her neck, fully healed, was hugged by scarves and ribbons; she began to wear anything that the Count gifted her. He waited for her on the doorstep, holding his arm at the ready for her to take.

He let her lean against him, pressing kisses to her forehead and walking them through the countryside.

The world… stopped.

There wasn’t another way to describe it. There was no Moon Cell here. There were no servants or wars or deaths to bear.

In fact, there wasn’t much of anyone in this world around them. She saw animals scamper here and there. She saw fish in the streams and in the waters by the rocks. Life was all around them, living and enjoying the peace and tranquility of this world.

But there were no people.

Where was civilization?

“Haydee.”

Hakuno looked up, watching the man smile into the distance.

“I hope I don’t bore you.”

Bore her?

She moved in front of him, taking his hands into her own.

Was that why he seemed to change at times? Was that why he seemed to begin to look more and more like the vengeful count of his stories when he thought she wasn’t looking? Was he toiling away here, building doubts from her lack of speech?

Hakuno looked up at those golden eyes, watching him hesitate.

She pressed her lips to his knuckles, hugging them to her cheek.

The sunhat she wore fell from her head, but the warmth of the sunlight and the warmth of his hands were a welcomed feeling.

He pulled her closer, freeing his hands to hold her to himself.

“You speak with your lips more than the most well-spoken aristocrat,” he marveled. “I am not a good man, mon coeur. I bear more sins in my little finger than you could ever bear in a lifetime…”

He kissed her forehead, closing his eyes and allowing for his heart to begin to beat in time to the heart that beat in her chest.

“But I suppose for you, perhaps I am enough. Perhaps I can become someone new again, someone who can be what you see when you look at me. I have bore the guise of many men, after all.”

She held onto him tightly, listening to the gulls and the surf not far from them. The flowers around them swayed in the breeze.

“I pray you never leave me, mon coeur.”

I pray you never learn the truth, Hakuno thought to herself. 

He deserved his peace. 

[fuwafuwamedb]

Entirely and Then Some (Prequel)(Scathach, Cu Chulainn, Hakuno)

Following Part

____

It was only natural that she wouldn’t necessarily feel comfortable in this building.

Having been with one person only, she was more accustomed to keeping her sexual escapades private. Each endeavor into the sensual was normally something that Gilgamesh directed, having decided that he had gone on long enough on the matter.

The first time they’d been together, it was when she had stumbled in his coat closet while getting her coat and found him napping on a bench. He’d decided to kiss her in order to make a hunting associate in the Sumerian firm think that he had found his own company for the evening. She’d gone exactly with that train of thought… but the kiss had sparked the two of them falling to the floor and beginning what would be a long and interesting night.

She’d awakened the next morning in a condo she didn’t recognize, her hair tangled and her face pressed against a man’s chest.

They’d tried oral next, but…

Well, she wasn’t sure how that worked.

The attempt had been sloppy, making her gag reflex go off so often that she’d opted to climbing up his person and shoving him back against the couch, forcing him to just accept that she could only do it in what he had called the “vanilla” way.

They still had sex after that, but it was pretty standard.

He grumbled if she took charge too much.

She coughed and hacked for ages if he pushed the idea of oral back into the conversation.

Between the two of them, they had become so accustomed to being with one another and so used to one another’s company that things had dulled.

Things had dulled far too much.

Which was why she was here.

The boldly emblazed emblem of the sex store loomed overhead, almost proclaiming in Gil’s own voice that she was too novice to entangle herself in the world of toys and gimmicks in the bedroom. Everywhere she looked, there were things she almost wished to close her eyes against.

“Hmm?” A man nearby glanced her way, blinking in surprise as he caught sight of her. “Are you looking for something in particular?”

“I-I’m just looking.”

“ARE YOU BOTHERING COMPANY, CU?!”

The sound of yelling made them both jump, the man growling as he stood up.

“I WAS ASKIN’ HER IF SHE NEEDED HELP, OLD HAG!”

The woman seemed to throw the back door open, glaring his direction.

The fight began almost immediately.

The two seemed intent upon fighting with one another, drawing her eyes back to the door.

There were other stores nearby… The fluffy windowed one with the man inside that looked about ready to go apeshit couldn’t be that bad…

“Can we help you find something?”

Hakuno jumped at the sound of the ‘Old Hag’s gentle voice. She glanced in the woman’s direction to find that she had the man in a chokehold and was starting to calm down.

“Miss?”

“I-I told your friend I was just looking.”

“He’s my pupil…” She shoved the man towards the back. “Go restock. I’ll help her.”

“Really, it’s fine. I just was curious if there was anything interesting for… that kind of thing.”

The two glanced to one another, their eyes both turning to her after what seemed to be unspoken conversation.

“New relationship?” the man asked.

“I’ve been with him for a year. I catered his business event.”

The two nodded a little, pulling her further and further from the door to the outside world.

“How often do you find one another doing-“

“We haven’t really been sleeping in the same bed in a little over a month. Sometimes he comes back after being up for days working in his office.”

“He’s staying in his office?”

Hakuno nodded.

It was becoming a concern.

She knew that there wasn’t anything he would be doing. If he was tired of her, then he would have simply cut things off and gotten her set up in another apartment. There wouldn’t be any secret affairs or other women… but still…

At the rate he was going, he would stay in his office permanently.

He would end up working himself to death.

He was already showing signs of going too far.

“What stops you from coming onto him?”

“We ah… have different opinions of certain things.”

She was fine with being on top of him. He was fine with having himself in her mouth so he could enjoy dirty talking her to the point of no return.

“Cock ring?”

The blue-haired man’s offer had her shaking her head quickly. “We don’t have that problem.”

“It isn’t about problems. It’s about dominance.”

“Ignore him. What does this guy like?”

“Scathach, let her look at more of the-“

“Shut up, Cu Chulainn.”

Cu Chulainn rolled his eyes, placing the bag with the ring back on the shelf.

“Gil wants to have successful oral.”

The woman frowned. “And?”

“I can’t-“

A tube was placed in her hands, the man nearby smirking as he gave her the thing.

“You have a sensitive gag reflex, don’t you?” he all but purred.

She nodded.

“Alright, just a second.” He popped the cap open, earning a growl from the woman on Hakuno’s other side. “Sheesh, shut it for a minute, woman. I’ve got a royal pain at home that has the same damn problem.”

He let a bit of the clear gel get on his finger before placing his finger in his mouth a moment.

“Sho-“ he told her, “thish shtuff hash a numbing agent.”

“Cu-“

He waved off Scathach again, continuing. “It has a numbing agent that blocks that reflex. It really handles that problem well, but just make sure you can breathe, alright?”

“You’re paying for that tube, Cu Chulainn.”

Again, he waved the woman off. “You don’t have to put your hand in deep to use it, just make sure to stick your tongue out a bit and apply the little amount liberally near the back. When you close your mouth, you swallow a couple times and it really handles itself. Lasts ah… maybe a couple hours?”

“So… I can use this and not have any gag reflex?”

She really wasn’t sure that she wanted to listen to Gilgamesh go on for ages, but…

He would be home again.

The nighttime felt like it lasted eternity when he wasn’t there. Their condo, despite its opulence and its comfy blankets and cushions, felt more like a stifling museum rather than a home.

She didn’t like the bed when he wasn’t in it.

When Gilgamesh had become so vital to her life, she’d never know. He simply was a requirement.

“How are you plannin’ on getting him to come home?”

“Gilgamesh has been gone for six days,” she told them both. “Siduri told me that he has to come home once they finish the project they’ve been working on. He had to nap earlier this morning to keep from losing his temper.”

“So he’s coming back tonight?”

She nodded.

The two were looking to one another again, leading her in the direction of the lingerie.

“What’s your preference on clothes?”

“I have things from him. Some panties and ah… things.”

“Heels?” Scathach asked, motioning to the collection.

Hakuno glanced at the cheetah print pair and sighed. “Can you grab another tube of this numbing stuff, Cu?”

“I’m on it.”

“And I think I’m a size seven,” she told Scathach, pointing at the heinous heels nearby.

The responding amused smirk was only the start to her talk.

Cu Chulainn talked about heels and how to connect them to pants to pull someone closer. Scathach talked about how to wear barely anything and seem like you were wearing a full suit of armor. The two pulled her deeper into the store, talking up practices until another guest came in.

Hakuno remained hidden as Cu went to help the woman.

“Just do as we taught you,” Scathach murmured, ringing her up in a quiet corner of the building. “You’ll do fine.”

She hoped that was true.

Stepping out into the streets with her nondescript bag in hand, Hakuno sent a silent prayer to the gods above before heading home to change.

There wasn’t much time left.

She had a lot of work to do.

[fuwafuwamedb]

Volume Control Headphones Pt 2 (Caster Gilgamesh, Hakuno, Nefertari)

“You’ve seen my credentials.” Caster Gilgamesh looked at the two women, crossing his arms as they hummed and flipped the pages of the resume he had created. “What are your hesitations?”

Nefertari hummed.

“We’re more of a small business,” she told him. “we take pride in that fact and our invention is meant to help those who need it. Some of the information that you’ve offered seems to almost make the invention insulting.”

“Not at all,” Caster argued. “The fact that the invention was created to allow one to turn down the voices of others who are loud speakers is one of the most blunt, refreshing, and humble starts to an invention. The fact that you’ve expanded it to this point is admirable, but your marketing campaign is overly sweet and your financial handlings are in need of overseeing.”

Nefertari hummed again, making him almost flinch.

She hadn’t liked that.

She hadn’t liked that response at all.

It was absurd to be applying to his own woman’s company, he thought, glancing to Hakuno as she flipped through the pages of the resume.

“What are your thoughts on boasting?”

“Pardon?”

“Should you get this position, there would be a factor of acquisition. You’d be able to boast about it to… say… Archer and Ozymandias.”

“That’s true!” Nefertari agreed.

“I wanted to know what your intentions were with that regard.”

His intentions had been to grin, to enjoy the looks of frustration on their faces. Perhaps even throw a few comments their way to watch them whine and drink.

“Do you have a policy in place?” Caster countered. “I know that many businesses express confidentiality and conduct.”

Hakuno shook her head. “We don’t have anything like that.”

Then he was well within his rights to boast that he had their women for himself. Their empire would be his as well.

Time to persuade with charisma.

He cleared his throat a bit.

“I would like to take the liberty of congratulating you both on your efforts. Your targeting, plotting, and execution of this product to resolve the issues that you both were experiencing show a great intelligence that could very easily be expanded to resolve other problems. The money you earn is doing a great deal of good with ensuring that servants less dressed here have more attire to choose from. You are doing immense work and it shows. There is nothing I would change, I would merely seek to ensure that your security was in place and your finances continuing to be accounted for.”

“Aww, Caster,” Nefertari smiled, charmed at his gentle smile and kind words.

“We’ll contact you with our answer,” Hakuno told him. “Good day, Caster.”

He blinked, finding Nefertari bouncing up to grab some coffee.

“That’s it?”

Hakuno brushed her hair back, nodding as she glanced his way. “Yeah. That’s it.”

He held his tongue, nodding and leaving.

He paused outside the door.

“Caster was really sweet there.”

“I wouldn’t know. I turned on my headphones since I saw that charisma starting up. He may be good for marketing though. Let’s give him a three day period of waiting to see if he gets mad about having to wait. If he holds his temper, we’ll give him the job.”

He smirked.

The job was his.

As were the women and their empire.