foreverwingless | (no subject)

"... Amakusa? What are you doing?"

The silence was broken the moment the girl emerged from the boathouse where she had been inside for a bit until she noticed that her bodyguard wasn't around anymore - even if it wasn't that strange for that guy to do whatever he felt like, he still wasn't a type to randomly run away from her while he was supposed to be protecting her. And when she found him out on the beach on his own, standing there quietly.. it was so different from his usual attitude that she couldn't help but frown a little in worry.

What could be wrong? They were almost at Rokkenjima now, right? And last time.. Last time Kasumi had been waiting there for her, and she had killed the woman and all her bodyguards with the help of the sisters before being whisked off to the end of the fourth game, to help out getting Battler's soul back with her sacrifice. Would she have to repeat the same thing over again, thanks to Featherine's interference with her fate?

... Maybe she shouldn't tell Amakusa to stay back this time, have her come along with her and help her, especially if he knew about magic now because of that fight earlier. But even so, these were all still thoughts for the future, she just wanted to know what was up right now with him being so quiet and out here alone.

It took him a moment to even register that she was speaking to him, he was so deep in thought He was still trying to come up with a way to tell her that he was actually demonic furniture, that he actually knew everything about the games- and what kinds of fates she's suffered. Some of them, were thanks to his own hands, and as if he could explain something like that to her.

He turned to look at her, still wearing a frown on his face, but he had to stop this kind of attitude, she would definitely know something was up.

"Oho... did you miss me and decided to come find me? You're so kind lady," and there was his regular joking attitude, but he was actually still bothered deep down. He had to figure out why that version of her brother was sent to kill her, and just how he was going to tell her he was furniture... it was... complicated.

Even if something still felt slightly off, at least that joke was something she would expect to come from that guy's mouth. Her frown had been a bit concerned at first, but now it quickly dropped to her usual deadpan, letting out a slight sigh as she spoke up in her usual monotone voice. "Yeah, I missed you the way someone would miss a toothache after it's finally gone."

It was then that she started to saunter over to the guy, walking from the boathouse onto the sand until she stopped right next to him, glancing at the water for a few moments before looking up at him instead.

"Was that captain's talk too boring for you that it made you leave or what?"

Amakusa just shrugged off her joke, he was used to it all by now- and even though he was concerned about her, he still had a few come backs to her words, "a really good looking toothache in a hat."

When she asked about the captain's talk, he just turned to look out at the ocean again. He thought the way the moonlight was reflected on the waves in the water was an amazing sight, but now wasn't the time to observe such meaningless things.

He fell silent, but he then finally spoke up, "....that guy... that guy who looked like Battler-san, he was right you know."

Amakusa guessed that she wouldn't get what he was referring to exactly, since he was hinting at what he had said right before he left. That she was hiding furniture, "in a sense, I guess you are hiding furniture- even if you don't know it."

When he brought up that Battler imitation from only a little while ago, she looked a bit surprised. Sure, the whole incident had still been on her mind, since it was unlike anything that happened before to her. It was strange for anything magical to attack her in this kind of world, after all, the only threat had been Kasumi and her men. Not to mention that since he looked like Battler, that had only made the deal worse, and part of her was afraid something could emerge again at any time - the sight of Amakusa lying there on the ground as if he was dead was still burned in her mind. Even if he was still alive, she didn't want to ever have to see that again.

But then he brought up something even more unexpected. "What are you talking about?" She had asked him about it right after the fact and he had just answered as his usual self, after all. And someone like Amakusa wasn't even supposed to know what furniture was to start with, so why was he saying this..? "What am I supposed to be hiding?"

She didn't have anymore furniture. He had seen the sisters, after all, and aside from that the most she could summon was Sakutaro, but he didn't have any sort of magic other than his barriers, so.. she hadn't know what that Battler had talked about, or what Amakusa was talking about now.

Ah, he expected as much from her- that she wouldn't understand what he was talking about in the slightest. He turned to look down at her, his expression growing serious. She had to know... he had been keeping her in the dark for a while- and she at least should know what he really is, since he could tell that she had fallen for him as well.

"...Ah, the real question here is... would you believe me if I even told you," he sighed slightly, reaching up to grab his hat and tip it down slightly. He was still pretty nervous about this, since he had no idea how she would even react. Obviously she knew all about the games, and magic- but this might be a big shock for her, since she's convinced he's just a regular human.

"...I'm furniture as well. That's right, I'm one of the demonic servants of the witches. Bernkastel and Lambdadelta themselves sent me here to watch over you for however long they desired," he was still looking down at her with a serious expression, begging her to believe him, "I guess I've just had enough of lying to you, this is the sixth game after all. I was way overdue."

For a moment she was tempted to just tell him to stop making lame jokes like that, even if he was looking more serious than he had ever been before, but.. no, there were too many details in there about things he shouldn't have known about. But if it was true.. that meant he really was furniture, right? Amakusa, the most down to earth and normal guy she had known, the one thing that had made her feel almost real and normal here in 1998.. even he was actually something magical? Even though he had ridiculed her for it plenty of times before..

She could tell from his stare that he was practically pleading her to believe him, as well, and he would never put that much effort into a joke. "Amakusa, you're..." Furniture. If he's saying 'demonic', then it's maybe as much as Ronove or Gaap, but.. the whole idea felt so strange to her, for him of all people to be something like that. "Why didn't you say so before? I.. I thought you were.. well, normal. .. Human."

Maybe she hesitated a little in the way she spoke because of some fear slowly bubbling up in her stomach - that it might just all have been a lie, that he was pretending all along and that 'Amakusa', the guy she had fallen in love with, had only been something fake. At the very least she hoped that wasn't a lie.

Amakusa could see that fear in her eyes and he sighed slightly. He reached out to her, taking her hand in his. He looked down at her seriously yet again- but then he smiled. He had still fallen for her, but he also knew that such a thing was forbidden, that a servant and master could never be together... and yet, he hardly cared about any of that.

"Oh don't worry, I may be furniture, but I'm still me.... just think of it as a different title. Maybe something like... < cool > bodyguard as opposed to just a bodyguard, hyahaha!"

He wanted to show her just what he looked like in the meta-world as well, but he figured he should at least let this sink in before jumping back into a situation filled with magic.

Oh, that really was just like how she knew him to be - making lame jokes in the most inappropriate of situations at times, and then going off with his Engrish, talking about how < cool > he was.. There was no reason for him to put on an act by now, not now he had told her, so it had to be real, right? Even as furniture, Amakusa was still Amakusa.

Ange looked up at him, her expression still not back to her usual deadpan one but more still a bit surprised. It was slowly fading a little though to a point where it was just slight surprise. After all, if he was still the same, then it couldn't be that much of a problem, right? It just meant he had extra powers - she was a witch too, after all, even if she lived as a human. It was practically the same.

"I'm not sure how all of that is supposed to make you more < cool > or anything, that sure is a useless title." But she didn't sound as annoyed and deadpan as usual, nor did she retract her hand from where he was holding it. They had made it more than clear before that they loved each other, after all, even if they never did get to that kiss because of the interference.

"Aha... I think I might need to explain some things, I don't think we should do it here though, too much anti-magic toxin yeah?" he was kidding about that toxin comment, he had been putting out tons of anti-magic toxin before just so she wouldn't realize what he actually was.

He gripped her hand a bit tighter, and soon it was like the world around them was disappearing, and something new was taking shape. Ah yes, the meta-world had begun to manifest itself, and soon... a familiar tune had started to play.

Amakusa was grinning though, since he knew that she hated M. Zakky, but he couldn't help it- it was already playing in his humble abode. It looked just like a normal room, chairs set up by a table, there was a bed some ways away- hell, there was even a couch for Amakusa's needs. It was a bit darkened in this space though, as it was always in the meta-world, darkened skies and rarely ever any sun. There was a fireplace here though, so besides the faint light coming in through the window, there was that too.

And Amakusa's outfit had changed as well. He still had his hat and bandana on, but his coat was longer, and he was even wearing gloves. There were more belts on the front of his outfit, and what looked like holsters on his pants. He was a demon, but he used guns after all as his main source of weaponry.

"And welcome to my own room in the meta-world... I even get my own fragment, pretty neat huh?"

It was a rather strange feeling to have everything changing around her that suddenly, especially without any witch being near - and she certainly still couldn't think of Amakusa as something fully magical, not yet, so he didn't even count yet. But everything changed all the same, even if it changed to something that looked like a pretty normal room. Amakusa had certainly changed too though with that outfit, and her eyebrows raised just a little in surprise. It was only normal that he would have a more eccentric outfit if he was really furniture, but it was still a little odd to see on him. Especially compared to her usual more normal outfit.

... But.. that music was playing, that music she would recognize anywhere at all, and her eyes narrowed at the very first tones she could hear.

"Yeah, it's neat alright." Her surprise was completely replaced by her usual deadpan and even slight annoyance, if not just because of that music even being here, in a place like this of all places. "Now could you at least turn off that atrocious music of yours?"

"Hyahaha!" Amakusa let go of her hand and walked over to the radio, turning it off. But of course, the first thing she would comment about would be the music, he should have known.

In any case, he turned around and walked over to his couch, taking a seat and putting his feet up on the table in front of it. He looked rather comfortable here, even more so than he ever was in the human world. It was natural after all, he was furniture first before anything.

"I'm guessing you want some questions answered, right? Ask away lady... I have a few things I want to bring up as well."

Ange has seen Amakusa getting quite comfortable with couches before, really, but today tops all other occasions. The way he was sitting there with his feet up, as if he owned the place.. well, he did own the place, but it was still a lazy yet cocky enough position she would expect from him.

She sighed, putting her hands on her hips as she thought of what to ask him. Sure, she had plenty of questions, anyone would have after being thrown into some weird sort of scene like this. The problem was just where to start. ... There was one thing she could think of on the top of her head, since it was bothering her a little.

"Okay, so.. if you're really furniture sent by those witches to watch over me, how much do you know about me exactly?" If he was just human, after all, he would only know that her family had mysteriously died and that would be it. But if not, how much would he know? And how much would she like for him to know exactly?

"And here I thought you would have started out with a hard question," Amakusa chuckled to himself at such a request and just shrugged in his seat. He folded his arms over his chest, and looked up at her with a smirk still on his face.

"I've been there with the witches in the theater going seat, sadly. So I've seen all the games your brother has been through, and I've seen what you had to go through as well. During the fourth game... yikes- getting torn apart like that was murder to even watch."

He paused, and then kept going, "of course, I had to keep up the front that I was human, so just like how you're a witch and a human at the same time, let's just say I can be in two places at once if I have to. But the human me and the demon me are still the same person... got it? So I already knew all about those stories Tohya showed us, but I wasn't about to jump into the meta-world as well, that would have definitely blown my cover."

There was a pause as she just stared at the man, almost as if she was waiting for something more or thinking about something deeply, but then she just scoffed. "Fine." She didn't really want Amakusa to know any of that stuff before, but.. well, it's not like she had a choice now. Besides, he seemed fairly casual about her earlier death, and the rest of it seemed only logical. It was still weird to hear him talking about himself as a demon, but.. maybe it was something that would seem more normal with time. Right now it seemed like she'd never get used to it, either way.

"Then, another question. Why were you assigned to me to begin with? Even if you hadn't been there, they would just have assigned me different bodyguards to protect me from the Sumaderas." Although Amakusa had been far different from any of the bodyguards she had seen around the house. Different in a better way though - she couldn't imagine herself ever getting along with one of those stiff types. "Surely those witches had a reason for making you travel all over the place with me and told you."

"Easier to spy on you when there's demonic furniture around I guess," he said it like it was nothing, "besides, I don't think they'd trust anyone else by me watching over you. Don't you remember...-ah you were pretty young when lady Bernkastel first came to you and told you not to be nice to Eva... do you recall that at all? She was doing that to be mean, I thought it was unnecessary- but the opinion of furniture hardly matters to them."

He yawned and stretched, he was actually tired from all that was going on, but he continued talking to her about this, "I guess you could say they had plans for you in the future... but of course, things changed when I was fired. They weren't too happy about that, but they still kept an eye on you after that... and they said I had to go into the french foreign legion as punishment."

"Ah, so even as furniture a guy like you can't do his job right." It's back to her usual sarcastic remarks against him, but that's actually a good right - it means she was slowly starting to accept the whole deal if she could already act as normal about it again. She couldn't help but frown for a moment though at the part about Bernkastel first coming to her - but maybe she remembered it vaguely, a time she passed off as nothing more than a dream a long time ago..

No, that wasn't the point here. The point was that even though he was making a big reveal here, he seemed as casual as ever about it. So maybe the better way to go about this was just to let him talk instead. Ange wasn't sitting down anywhere just yet though, instead she remained standing there so she could face him as they spoke.

"So, you said you had a few things to bring up as well, right? Why don't you just do that first, maybe part of it involves one of my other questions either way."

"Why don't you take a seat lady, this is some pretty big stuff I need to discuss with you," even though he said that, he still had a slight smirk on his face. It was like it was permanent, that was just the kind of guy he was, always joking even when it's completely serious. He reached up and grabbed the rim of his hat, adjusting it before he continued to talk with her on this issue.

He held up his fingers as he went, "why did lady Bernkastel send Black Battler after you, since I'm telling you everything I should really show some abilities I have, and there's more to kissing furniture than you think."

Amakusa paused, and he had three fingers up, but then he lowered his hand and smiled at her, "that last one is a real disappointment, since we haven't done it yet. But turns out, if you're going to kiss furniture- you had better be ready to make a pact with them."

Even as he told her to sit down she didn't - she was being stubborn as usual, really, even in the face of all these weird revelations. It was hard to not fall back into their old patterns either way with Amakusa acting still so very much like himself. But even though she had her usual frown on her face as she listened to him summing up things, it changed when he got to the end.

Why did he have to bring up kissing of all things. Sure, they had gotten close to it that one time, but then they had been interrupted pretty badly, and.. she couldn't help but have her cheeks flush up very slightly at the thought and one of her hands shot up to cover her mouth with the back of said hand for a moment instinctively before she removed it again to talk.

"What sort of pact do you mean?" She tried her hardest to be casual, not embarassed at all, but it was still hard to hide that emotion. "And why does it have to be a kiss of all things? If I didn't know you better, I'd say this all was just a really lame elaborate joke to get me to kiss you."

He watches her move her hand up to her mouth, and his grin only grows bigger at that. He can't help it, he thought she was adorable when she did stuff like that- even if she tried to hide her embarrassment with that deadpan expression. Amakusa was excellent at reading people, so even though she was mostly always monotone, he could tell when she was angry or flustered. He thought she was cute whatever she did but...

"What? You've never heard about making a demon or something your familiar?" Amakusa chuckled at that, "oh lady- and here I thought you knew all about the occult. When practicing magic way back in the days of knights and whatnot, they used to do that to acquire a familiar. Just a kiss, and it wasn't always human looking either. A toad, or a dragon- but whether it's on the lips is a different story. I'm your bodyguard in the human world, but in the meta-world, I have no obligation to be around you."

...Oh that sounded kind of rude, "ah, I didn't mean it like that. I like you a lot lady- I already told you you're the one who's captured this wild guy's heart. But... I don't want to be furniture to lady Bernkastel and lady Lambdadelta anymore. They never made an official pact with me, so if I'm yours... do you see where I'm going with this?"

Yes he was basically asking for a kiss here as well.

Of course she knew what he meant to ask when he was laying it on that thick. He wanted them to kiss, to seal that pact that way. The very thought of it was embarassing. Even if they had nearly kissed before, that had been a completely different atmosphere and then he hadn't explicitly asked for it, it just.. almost happened back then. She just kept frowning at him, trying to hide her embarassment at that question the best she could, since she knew it would only amuse him.

Maybe she could find some way to rationalise it to herself, at least. After all, right now he was those witches' furniture, so he had an obligation to them while he had none to her at all. So at the slightest command from said witches he could be ordered to do anything at all, even leave or kill her, and.. Ange wanted him to stay with her. Now she had fallen in love with him, she didn't want him to leave. And the easiest way to make her stay with her, no matter what, would be..

"Yeah.. I do." She admitted it almost grudgingly. "So instead of serving those witches, you'd rather serve me, huh? So to make that pact we'd have to.." For a moment she averted her gaze - at least she didn't want to see his victorious grin. "... kiss."

Amakusa noticed her looking away, and it was like an internal victory for him. He had been wanting to kiss her for a while now, and he just never had the chance to. After that day, there was too much on both of their minds to find another time to sit down and... well- get back into the mood. He was too busy trying to think up how to tell her he was actually furniture, and she was still set on the truth of Rokkenjima.

He patted the seat next to him on the couch, and gave her a coy smile. That's right, he really wanted to go through with a pact.... ah but, he'd show her his abilities first. He wasn't too sure she wanted a familiar that could also turn into a werewolf.

"Before we make a pact though... I want to show you something. But don't freak out! You have to promise not to freak out lady."

"Do you think I'm that prone to freaking out, Amakusa?" At that she managed to regain some of her original frown, and after a moment she even managed to look back to him as well. She saw him patting that seat and.. well, she knew he was going to insist that she sat down next to him no matter how much she would resist, so she just decided to skip all that effort. Ange walked over to the couch, sitting down next to him - making sure to not be too close to him, don't get any ideas just yet, Amakusa.

She brushed back some of her hair before turning her head to look at him. She was a little curious what he wanted to show her by now - he had already shown her this differently-clothed form of his, and this place in the meta-world, but.. right, he had mentioned something about his abilities, hadn't he? "Just come on and show me already. I'm ready and won't freak out."

"Okay.... don't say I didn't warn you.."

Amakusa stood up and he walked a ways away from her, giving himself some space. He looked at her with a smile as he started to explain some things, "first off, you know I'm good with weaponry. I can make a gun appear, and it does have magic mixed in with the bullets, that's what Black Battler had to go through. However... there's something else here I've been meaning to show you."

He paused, and then he took a deep breath, closing his eyes. When he opened them back up again, he reached up and moved his hair from his face, revealing his other eye. There was a scar along his face, and his eye looked... animal almost. It was a deeper red color as well. When he did that, suddenly he started to change. Just like that, Amakusa had leaned over, almost looking like he was clutching his chest in pain- and he soon felt his entire being morph into that of a wolf. Eventually, he became... well, a werewolf of sorts.

He looked back at her, and his eyes were still the same color, one red and the other that familiar hazel. There was nothing human looking at all in him- besides the way he was standing and a few features like his arms. And yet... there was still something to him that was Amakusa. When he looked at her, his tail had started to move back and forth, almost like he was wagging. He couldn't talk now, but he still had his senses about him.

Ange had expected him to show her some sort of magic as his ability, but as he explained that part she wondered what else there was to still explain or show by now - but then he lifted that part of his hair and there was that eye. Thinking about it, she had never really seen under that part of his hair, she had never thought there could be something like that, but.. the girl didn't have long to linger on the thought, considering he then started to change more and more.

She almost backed up a little into the couch at that, surprise taking her over. She certainly didn't expect him to change into something like this, and the thought that she had said she wouldn't freak out was quickly abandoned in her mind, taken over by the shock. Her nails dug into the couch as she almost held on to that through it, but after a few moments of just staring at him with eyes wide open she finally dared to open her mouth too.

"Amakusa..?" Would there even be a reaction, would he recognize his name? She didn't know.