[IC] Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

[Vena Sera]

"I have freedom, whether I'm in the house or not. It's what is best for everyone though, I guess..." Yumi replied dejectedly, shrugging it off. It was worth noting how Viral seemed to be getting impatient with her, or at least annoyed, and she didn't want that. It was hard though, seeing the people responsible for your misery and being incapable of doing anything about it. Stepping over some low brush and into the back yard she made a beeline for the door, swinging it open and having it nearly snap off the hinges from the force. Yumi made it halfway inside when Viral questioned their spending time together, or more precisely how she behaved with him. Frowning she turned to look at him sternly, placing her hands on her hips. "What do you mean annoyed? I wasn't annoyed with you." Yumi huffed and turned round again, storming towards the kitchen and dropping herself into a chair. She didn't get annoyed with Viral... Did she? It was hard seeing him like that, and harder still to help it, but she didn't think it had come across as her being annoyed by him. Hearing him come into the room behind her the Beastman laid her arms across the table, her head down across them with a heavy sigh. "How do you do it...?" she mumbled, closing her eyes, "How do you deal with what they did to you? It's driving me insane..."

Takeshi hesitated for a moment as Shu asked his questions, not entirely sure how truthful he wanted to be here. The orders were not the kindest in nature, he had known that when receiving them, but was willing in order to keep his friend in good graces to heal. "My orders were to find the city and whoever was in charge and bring them to the General..." he said, frowning as he looked straight ahead, tensing slightly. "I was also told to eliminate anyone who tried to stop me, as they were responsible for attacking towns. They were all supposed to be the bad guys, you know? But from what you're telling me they might be the victims here... Wow, dodged a bullet there..." The Queen sounded like someone who could handle herself, and definitely not a pushover. That might be why whoever had been given orders had asked a Saiyan to do the job, maybe by Kaesstrian standards she was really powerful. It made sense, in a way, seeing as no one had yet tried to fight her themselves. Hearing the sounds of the city starting to fill the woods as they drew closer Takeshi smiled a bit, trying to get into an act that wouldn't show he was snooping. "Figure we'll be on a tour of the city, yeah? That's our excuse for walking around."

[Mogtaki]

Viral felt the tension straight off and didn’t actually know how he was going to deal with it if she got really angry at him; instead, she went straight for the house before he had even managed to get by the bushes. Grumbling away to himself as he forced his way through the shrubs as he stumbled away towards the house, just going inside when Yumi suddenly stopped him. All he could do was stare at her; it wasn’t exactly a question he could answer. Watching as she stormed off once again this time to the kitchen, he had set his mind on retreating to his room or at least somewhere else that wasn’t burdened with having to get angry glares from her. Moving off towards the room, he made a stop when she spoke up again, this time looking a little calmer but with a question that stung a little. Scratching his claws through his hair, he let out a sigh and looked away, shaking his head, “You’re probably feeling fear more than the pain they may had caused you, even if it was only for a few days”, he spoke, looking back at her, “They didn’t want you dead, they didn’t care whether I died or not. You’ll get over your fears eventually”.

Shu frowned a little and lowered his head, figuring they were looking to get the Prince back and take in the Queen. They sounded as if they had been awfully cruel to the Prince and killing anyone who got in their way was just pure evil, “Well, I’m glad you didn’t do it. Killing people is really, really bad…” he sighed, pressing his fingers together, “At least you know they’re not bad guys, they’re really nice people and really curious and with glowy stuff down there! They gave us gifts, even something worth a lot of money…” He didn’t like any of this, who knew how many people had died because of this conflict and the civilians barely knew what was happening either. Upon approaching the city Shu was sure enough feeling a little nervous, looking up to Takeshi for some support. Walking around on a tour sounded alright to him, a little smile appearing on his face before he nodded, “Okay…okay! Maybe we can see the people for what they’re really like…I mean, the people underground were really nice, maybe these people are nice too?”

[Vena Sera]

"Yeah, I'm glad I didn't do it either. Especially not if you and Yumi were down there... That would have been awkward." Takeshi mused, chuckling sheepishly with a small smile. He could almost picture himself storming in, all fired up to get that deed over with, only to run into his brother and their friend eating with royalty. If that wasn't going to make them some enemies then goodness knows what would. As they entered the city once more out of the corner of his eye he could see Shu becoming a little unnerved, probably not keen on what they were doing. To help with that he slung an arm around his sibling's shoulders, hugging him against his side gently. "Yeah, we can get to know some of the people too. If they turn out to be jerks though then I guess we know who the good guys really are, yeah?" Right now these city residents, or their leaders anyways weren't looking too swell. Handing down an order to kill people wasn't something that was done lightly, and doing so through a Saiyan was another matter entirely. Either there was some really big misunderstanding here, or someone was going to great lengths to be done with the other side. "No more talking about the Queen, okay? We don't know anything about that while we're in public."

From being denied any proper sort of payback to lashing out at her closest friends Yumi was feeling a bit emotionally drained. It was hard to hold everything in and not express her fury or discontent on working with who she considered to be the enemy. Viral had to understand that much at least, he'd been put through the same thing by Saiyans. She heard the Beastman enter the room after calling out to him, immediately regretting saying anything as she wasn't sure if she wanted the answer. In his typical blunt manner though Viral have his opinion on the subject, making her cringe inwardly. It wasn't fear that was driving her crazy, not exactly. There had been pain, yes, uncertainty too, but she didn't think she felt afraid. He could be right though, it may just not have sank in yet with all of the turmoil going on around them. Lifting her head up for a moment she turned and held Viral in her gaze, rising out of her chair slowly and going over to him. For a brief moment she kept silent, not entirely sure what to say to that at all. Eventually she took one of his paws in both of her hands, looking up at him with a pained expression. "What about you...?" Yumi whispered, giving his paw a gentle squeeze, "Do you have fear or pain...? Something really bad was done to you... You have to be feeling something over it. Talk to me Viral?"

[Mogtaki]

Shu didn't exactly have the mind to think about the consequences of what might had happened, he really didn't want to think about it at all. He probably would had been hated by an entire nation and by a relatively nice royal family when it all came down to it, he was glad that his brother thought otherwise despite his background with these sorts of things. While being in the city should had been something calming now that they were around the public, something about it made him very uncomfortable, like he was in a glass box with everybody peering in and yet there was nobody looking. Frowning a little, he looked up to Takeshi when he felt his arm come around him before he nodded, trying to force a smile, "Hopefully they're not jerks, I mean...seeing the people last time before the underground people was an alright experience", he spoke calmly, "I think the people are nice, but the ones in charge aren't. It seems weird when the Queen was the nicer looking one...I-I mean, she looked just as scary, but she was nice too...I-I won't talk about her anymore! I swear I won't, it's just...it was nice there..."

Viral did wonder whether he had done any good in telling her that, it was probably better than being told that she might have a hard time getting over it but when it all came down to it without some encouragement it would probably take a little longer. It must had been like going to the hospital to get rid of a painful problem while also causing pain after the operation, just with the fear from the thought of possibly never getting home left to deal with. Now that she was back with them she should be able to recover, it was only the fact that the ones who captured her were here that was pretty difficult to deal with. Just as he moved to turn away and leave her alone, her grabbing his paw caused him to come to a halt as he turned to look at her fairly confused. At first he wasn't understanding what was going on, but eventually she spoke, the expression on her face telling it all. Frowning, he let out a low growl as he looked away, definitely finding the very thought of revisiting those memories to be the worst possible thing to do, "Who says I even have emotions..." he mumbled, keeping his eyes off her as if trying to hide what he was denying, "Artificial creatures don't have emotions...what, are you kidding? Whatever they did to me doesn't matter, whatever happened after that doesn't matter...I don't see why talking about it would fix anything. I am just-...I should be out in the sun. I apologise if I made you unhappy..."

[Vena Sera]

"I'm sure it was buddy, and you can tell me more when we get back home." Takeshi was curious to see this city for himself, and this Queen that Shu and Yumi spoke of. He'd give it that it didn't take much to unnerve his sibling, but if the Beastman seemed timid as well then the woman had definitely left an impression. Focusing more on the matter at hand he kept an arm around his brother, starting to glance around at various structures and the people around them for some kind of clues as to what was important. There were military personnel every few dozen meters or so, mostly just gathered around chatting with one another, hardly reason to raise red flags. With the city being so militaristic it might be tricky to move around freely, depending on what kind of clearance if any the general had given them. Putting on a false smile Takeshi leaned down to whisper in Shu's ear, gesturing to a building vaguely to feign pointing it out. "Keep an eye out for anyone who looks important. We know what the regular people look like. Someone with colorful clothes seems to be powerful, so that's who we want, got it?"

Yumi couldn't settle for a "it will pass" reply. It wasn't what she wanted to hear, and she also knew it wouldn't work well. Telling someone that an issue will go away was the most passive-aggressive thing you could do when reassuring somebody. It didn't help at all and ultimately it made the issue fester, becoming worse gradually. As these thoughts passed through her mind she had somewhat of an epiphany, coming out of her moping to look at Viral concerned. Wordlessly she went to him, taking up a paw in her grasp and trying to ask him once more how he felt. "You keep saying artificial... But you're still a person. You laugh, you cry, you get angry. Everyone but you considers yourself a person. You're not human, sure, but you are a person." How absurd to say he had no emotions, he was displaying some now even. Looking up at him Yumi held the Beastman's gaze in her own for a moment, searching for something in his eyes that might elude to how he was truly feeling.

"Don't apologize, please stop that. You have nothing to apologize for." Shaking her head dismally Yumi then abruptly wrapped her arms around Viral in a hug, hiding her face against his chest as she held him. He had it all completely wrong and backwards, and thus far they hadn't really addressed that. "It DOES matter what happened to you, Viral. What is going on now certainly does matter too, don't say it doesn't. Please, don't act like you're unimportant, because you ARE important. To me, to Vegeta, to Shu and Takeshi, to so many people." Tearing her face from his person Yumi looked up at his eyes again, her own starting to tear up as she shook her head. "You just what? Viral... Talk to me. I know you can't be okay after all you went through. I care about you, we all do, and we want to help. But we don't know how if you don't talk to us. Please... You can tell me, I won't think any less of you for it, I swear."

[Mogtaki]

It felt weird being back in this city again as opposed to the underground one, probably because the glowing veins and massive tree had left an impression on Shu more than this place ever did. It was fantastic looking, but it lacked that unique quality that came with the underground city. Giving a little nod to Takeshi, he looked around a little cautiously, giving the citizens as well a staring at just incase they were under suspicion too. He didn't like moving like this, he barely knew what he was looking for, "Umm...if there was someone who was bad...would they be outside?" he asked curiously, looking around before up to Takeshi, "I just don't know what I am supposed to be looking for, is all. These people look kind of the same to me, maybe this was a bad idea..."

Viral had little need to look at Yumi, knowing she'd drastically change her expression to something a lot sadder if she did take a look at him like everyone else did. He wasn't someone they should waste their time pitying; if he couldn't fight then that should had been that and move on with their lives, if he couldn't extinguish what had happened in the past then there was no reason to continue either. He felt so weak as Yumi continued to press on with it, even forcing her gaze upon his to try and get an answer out of him. He didn't want to revisit those memories, he didn't want them to bother him but the longer he was existing the worse they became. He had already managed to unlock a rather nasty part of him he previously had control over before when he let his past experiences get to him, he didn't need for it to happen again. Looking to her at her denial of his physical existence, he looked away again, slowly shaking his head, "Only four out of hundreds..." he mumbled, trying to pull his paw away, "You would call a pet rock a living creature..."

Before he could get anywhere without her clinging onto him, she suddenly moved in and embraced him in a hug, his arms moving up when she did. There was no way he was getting away from her now, she had him in a lock and struggling would only make it worse. He felt stuck, everything was beginning to press down on him hard and he was struggling to do anything about it to make her feel better. All she was doing as she tried to press on with the subject was bring the horrible memories back to him, pulling in all he had tried to bury deep inside. Lowering his head, he almost struggled to breathe, his chest tightening as the memories were just forcing their way back. Staring at Yumi as she spoke just made it worse, he could barely stand it and all he could do in response was take her by the shoulders and move so he was at arm's length as she became an immovable object, "Just-...just please stop. I can't do this, I can't reveal all when all that does is tear me to shreds! I am not weak...but I can't-...I can't do it. The voices, over and over...the burning and tearing; are these scars mine or artificial? These memories, are they artificial too?? Forgetting all and then bringing it back, just...what did I do? They always knew, didn't they?? Tearing it out of me...just who the hell do they think they are?? What are you doing...? Just-...stop it, will you...? Go lay down, make everything better..."

[Vena Sera]

"The person we're looking for doesn't know we're looking for them, so why would they hide? Besides, the best place to hide sometimes is in plain sight, in a crowd." If they were doing that too though then wouldn't they be dressed to blend in? That completely ruined their plans of just picking a face out of the crowd, albeit that wasn't the best of plans to begin with anyways. "Maybe we should rethink how we're doing this..." Takeshi commented, frowning as he came to a gradual stop with his sibling. Gazing around them he could see plenty of people, but goodness knows who any of them were or what they were doing. An idea came to mind though, one that seemed rather simplistic. Why not inadvertantly question someone they knew, someone in power, to see if they could get anything? Smiling the Saiyan looked around for a familiar landmark, spying a towering structure with an insignia on the side as one. The military headquarters was beyond that a ways, so that's where they'd go. "Come on, I think we're going to pay the General a visit. He might know something about all of this," Takeshi explained, leading his sibling off towards their new destination.

Prying and pushing for sensitive information wasn't the ideal way to go about anything. It was risky, often intrusive and in many cases painful, but Yumi couldn't see any other way to do it. She'd only been with Viral again for so long, but by his behavior she could imagine none of the others had ever spoke with him about what happened. A traumatic event like experimentation didn't simply go away, not that easily anyways. She knew Vira would be reluctant to speak, so Yumi clung herself to him in a hug, refusing to let go until he started to open up. Sooner or later it would all come out one way or another, it was better to do it while support was available. Looking up at her friend hopefully she almost smiled as he started to speak, vaguely but still he started. Hearing him talk like this was heartwrenching, and it gave some insight as to just how truly beaten up the Beastman was. Tentatively, as he spoke Yumi lifted a hand, starting to gently rub his back in a gesture to assure him she was there for him.

"I'm not just going to lie down, not while we have to talk," Yumi stated bluntly, though in a gentle enough tone not to sound demanding. This time she embraced Viral again, but rather than her hiding she managed to get a hand behind his head, easing it down onto her shoulder as her free arm wrapped around his midsection, holding him close. "Tell me what happened, let it all out," she whispered, giving his head a gentle rub to try coaxing him. "Cry, shout, I don't care what you do, I won't think less of you. Everyone can express themselves Viral, and that includes you." He was obviously having difficulties, now more than ever, and at the moment they were closer to a breakthrough than ever before. The most challenging part now was to break through the shell he had formed around himself and get to the grit of it all, where the damage really was. It wasn't physical, not really, Yumi was certain of that now. "Talk to me Viral... What did they do to you?"

[Mogtaki]

Shu really had no idea what was supposed to be happening right now, it didn’t seem as if this would be going anywhere if they were going to wander around looking for someone to whom he had no idea what they even might look like. He did trust Takeshi, he didn’t think it wasn’t a bad idea; he just didn’t know how it was going to go and whether it would even be able to be called a successful search. Giving a little look around, he let out a sigh before his eyes went to the sky, just watching the people fly around up above. It wasn’t something he noticed when he had first arrived in the city, but that meant the person they were looking for could easily be up above them too. Scratching his head, he squeaked a little when Takeshi suddenly spoke up again, his eyes going to him instead, “Ooh? Okay! He’s really scary, though…” he said quickly, nodding a little, “If not, then maybe we can go back to the house…? Yumi and I were given a big rock and it’s apparently really good to sell for moneys…”

Viral didn’t mean to gradually become panicky, he had tried to be calm and deny everything but it was all forcing his way back to the surface and into his head again. He didn’t want it to be there; he didn’t need for it to be there and definitely didn’t actually want to talk about it. His eyes weren’t very focused, he was struggling to get his mind together and just wanted to leave. While he was trying to turn around and get away from her, she was already closing in and wrapped an arm around him to rub his back. He felt really uncomfortable, he wasn’t used to this kind of contact except for the hug he usually got every so often for doing whatever it was that initiated it. His arms were fairly out there still, he didn’t really know how he was supposed to react to this and sure enough she was not doing as he said and instead pulling him closer, this time his head going onto her shoulder. The pressure to tell her everything was fair great, he was feeling completely enclosed and probably unable to go anywhere else until he told her what exactly happened.

Viral was fairly stuck, his eyes looking to Yumi as he had a very mild panic attack. He wasn’t going to cry over something stupid, he didn’t want to shout around her when she was easily spooked. Groaning as he realised how stuck he was, he grabbed onto her arm, holding it as if for support in this awkward stance, “What…why? No…I don’t do such things…” he muttered, trying to pull away a bit but was unable to manage to get anywhere, “I don’t know why you want to hear such things! They did everything that was necessary…everything that you managed to avoid! Did it even happen or is it just a side effect…? They tested how well I could heal myself…or did they? Did they really tear into me and try to cut my limbs off? The searing heat of the sun to try and advance me…did they really do it or did I just imagine it as an excuse to try and kill everyone? Maybe…who knows…their words burning into my mind, going over and over again! I can’t get their voices out of my head! Probing my brain, damaging my spine on purpose…inventing that collar…I’m responsible for a whole new wave of forced slavery…”

[Vena Sera]

"Maybe after this we can go back. I want to make sure we cover plenty of bases before we do though, and that might mean checking more people out." It was a fairly important task they were handed, and he sincerely doubted that they would find their culprit right away. It was annoying to be scrambling for clues, but not impossible. "And why did they give you a rock...? I can understand the fruit I saw, but a rock? Maybe it's too special to sell," Takeshi pointed out, smiling thoughtfully, "We should have someone look at it before we sell it, just to make sure. Sound good?" While interesting the conversation was detracting from their task at hand, and could accidentally lead to discussion of the Queen. Wanting to keep away from that topic as much as he could Takeshi signaled for Shu to be quiet for a moment, especially since they were nearing the military compound. He had to release his brother by the gates, going up to the guards and presenting himself so they'd know he had come back. One of them went inside for a moment, coming back and nodding his head while the iron gates were swung open. Gesturing for his brother to follow the elder boy made his way into the structure.
Like before they were asked to wait in the main room, which mercifully wasn't nearly as packed with soldiers as before. Even if they weren't an actual threat Takeshi found himself getting agitated when a lot of military were around, it just always seemed to lead to bad things. For both him or Shu it was difficult not to speak then and there, mostly with the elder boy wanting to reassure his presumably uneasy brother. After a few moments of uncomfortable pause the General emerged from one of the doors, flanked by an assistant of his dutifully.

"Ah, Takeshi, I was wondering when you'd get back." the General mused, smiling as he came to a stop, hands folded behind him. Noting that Shu was with him his smile wavered slightly, giving the Saiyan a curious stare. "Why is he here? This mission was solely for you and you alone."

"We were taking a tour of the city after I got back, and figured I'd stop by to give my report," Takeshi lied, smiling meekly and bowing his head in a rather uncharacteristic manner. "He goes where I go though, at least while we're in the city. As for my report..." he paused briefly, having not exactly thought of a lie just yet. "I found them, but the people you wanted weren't there. No one wanted to talk, so I took care of them like you asked. Nothing that I could see was even worthwhile, just an outpost I'd wager."
Yumi listened diligently to every word that Viral said, hanging on to every little bit. Her eyes widened slightly in horror and disgust at what she was being told, finding most of it hard to stomach. Viral certainly had his healing abilities, but all of that should have killed him. The more detail he went into the more panicked he became, unnervingly his tone also reflected that. How could anyone in their right mind do this to someone else? What's more, how could anyone fathomably endure that for an entire year? There was a small voice in the back of her mind wondering if Shu had a similar experience, but he would have to wait, Viral was the concern right now. Right up until he finished speaking she wasn't sure of what to say, shocked and saddened by it all. The very fact that Viral was here now, moving about was amazing, even if he didn't think so. It wasn't his deficiencies that were haunting him though, not entirely. It had to be what happened while in custody.

"You're safe now, and none of that is ever going to happen to you again. You're far away from all of that and with friends." Yumi still wasn't completely certain just what to say, but she knew she had to say something. Hugging Viral again she kept him close, gingerly beginning to rub his back. "You are not responsible for anything, Viral. You didn't cause any of this, the Saiyans did. You're a victim, one of the people who suffered. And... It's okay to feel afraid from it. It's normal, it means you're alive..." Giving a sad, breathy chuckle Yumi looked at her friend's face again, removing an arm to wipe at her eyes tearfully. "Don't you see that? You're alive, you made it out. You were stronger than what they did to you, stronger than any of us ever could dream to be. No one else could have endured what you did, certainly not well enough to be up and about like you are. What you're feeling, it's normal Viral, but you'll get better. And we'll be here to help you along the way."

Opting for a change in scenery the Beastman gingerly tried to lead Viral to the family room, easing both of them down onto a couch. As soon as they sat she wrapped her arms around him again, wanting him to feel as comforted as possible. Tucking his head under her chin she resumed rubbing his back, smiling sadly. "It was real, I'm sorry to say," she continued, "But so is this. You will get better, you will heal, and you will be strong again. You didn't deserve any of that, and you didn't cause anyone else to be hurt, me included. I know you, and I know that you can rebound from this. You'll be stronger than ever for it, and you'll be right there with us to help put a stop to this..." He just had to be, there was no other way she could see this resolving itself. All of them together at the end, fighting to keep one another and everyone safe, that's how it would be. Easing her grip on her friend Yumi looked down at him tenderly, giving a timid smile as she placed a hand on his paw. "Don't be afraid to talk to me about things, okay? I'm here to help, and in their own way, so are the others. We may not always come across like it, but we do care about you. You're a member of our family whether we're related or not, and we want to help you, just like you want to be there to protect us."

[Mogtaki]

Shu gave a little nod as they continued onwards, his mind not quite settled on the fact that they were basically looking for evil rather than finding it. Sighing a little bit as he looked around, the thought of the rock not actually being something they should sell confused Shu a little bit. The Queen had mentioned they should sell it which meant getting money, it would had been good to do that but if not then he didn’t know what the rock could be used for. He couldn’t exactly play with the rock, it was too awkward to play around with but he’d trust Takeshi in knowing what they should do with it. As they gradually made their way to the base, Shu came to a halt when prompted to, his eyes on Takeshi the entire time before it was safe for him to keep going. It was hard to understand, he was a Saiyan too but he needed to be told he could finally go through and see the General.

Shu didn’t know what to make of the General still, he wasn’t anything like the other one they had met and had a much colder air about him. Maybe that’s just what the military were typically like and the underground city’s one was just an exception. Slowly moving around his brother when they arrived, Shu stared at the General before letting out a squeak when he was noticed, his eyes going to Takeshi before he slowly moved behind him, tilting a little to see the General. Frowning a little at the insinuation that he wasn’t allowed to be here, he stared up at Takeshi as he spoke, knowing it was a lie but not exactly something they wanted the General to find out. Sighing a little, he moved a little out from behind Takeshi, nodding at the General, “S-Sorry if I shouldn’t be here, s-sir…”

There was very little that Viral felt he could say about it, his mind was in such a confusing place right now and he couldn’t actually fathom what he was supposed to feel about it all. Whether his memories were fake still confused him, he shouldn’t had been able to fall for false memories when he should had been smart enough to tell the difference. His main problem was what Vegeta had told him about what he did, he might had been able to handle his sudden mutation better if he hadn’t been told such a thing. There was so much still burned into his mind, the trial had just managed to break his mentality even more. He didn’t need to go into depth over stuff like that, maybe just speaking about a few of his problems was enough to get her to let go.

Yumi had said it quite plainly; he was the victim. He didn’t want to be the victim, he was supposed to be the one who would come out the winner but how many times had that actually happened. Letting out a mild groan, Yumi moved away slightly to look at him to which he felt quite a bit of regret for talking about his experiences. All he had managed to do was make Yumi upset, he didn’t want that to happen. Looking away from her he shook his head, letting out a sigh, “I’m not afraid…I didn’t want to die…especially to them…” he muttered, keeping his eyes off her, “Unless I’m just a walking corpse…hard to be certain…”

Just when he thought he was free to move around again, he was sure enough taken away off to another room, this time one where he could finally sit down and try to relax himself some more. Slowly sitting down on the couch, Viral let out a sigh and slowly moved his hand to the back of the neck, his eyes only getting to close to a moment before Yumi clang onto him again. He was feeling confused, he thought she was done with that but it seemed she still wanted to keep him close to her incase he tried to run away or something. Closing his eyes again after looking at her, he frowned as she spoke, feeling fairly uncertain about his own future at this point, “Strong…?” he questioned as if the very concept had become completely foreign to him. Opening his eyes to look at her, focusing on her hand holding his as she continued to try and comfort him, his mind not finding it too easy to concentrate on the positive side of this. There she was talking about how he was afraid again, he didn’t want to be considered afraid of speaking but rather concerned about letting others know about it. Letting out a groan he looked away again, his claws gently rubbing his eyes, “I can’t protect you, I’m weak…I am not as strong as you think I am”, he spoke, growling slightly, “Everyone is stronger than me, I can’t fight…I’m useless in battle, always losing. Since when have you seen me win a battle without coming close to eating my opponent? I can still taste their blood…the very thought of food disgusts me…even food defeats me! I can’t come out the winner, but I’ll sooner die in battle than cower and beg for mercy…”

[Vena Sera]

The General wasn't thrilled with the other boy being here, but if Takeshi insisted his brother tag along then he could scarcely object. Keeping his eyes on the younger boy for a moment longer he looked back to the other as he spoke, frowning at what he was told. "An outpost...? So our intel was incorrect then..." he mumbled, lifting a hand to rub at his chin thoughtfully. All signs had shown to quite a bit of activity there, it should have been far more than a simple temporary base. It was disheartening news, but he supposed these things were unfortunately possible. "Very well... I'll have to have the recon group survey the area again then, see if we can find anything left inside."
He hadn't planned for that, and now Takeshi was stuck trying to find reason for another search never to happen, lest their lie be found out. "Actually... About that... I sort of blew the place up..." he mumbled, feigning uneasiness at the glare he got, actually finding it rather amusing. "Sorry! I figured they might go back to retrieve something, so whatever might be inside I destroyed." Stuffing his hands into his pockets he shrugged his shoulders, looking away with a sigh. "That's what you get for hiring a Saiyan though, you should have known better." He couldn't help it, pushing buttons was fun and seeing the angry look on the Generals face as rather satisfying. "I'm still available for more work, if you want me to do any that is. I'll not blow anything up this time."

"That would be for the best, I think..." the General replied, still strained in keeping his disappointment under control. So no Queen and nothing to show for the raid, how utterly pitiful. At least some of the enemy had fallen, he could take slight solace in that fact. The boy before him was certainly a rash one, he ought to have known that initially after all. Sighing to himself the General dismissed his attendant, waiting until she was gone before walking closer to the boys, hands folded behind his back. "May I just remind you that you are a guest on this world? You're here on peaceful terms, and I'll respect that, but do not take advantage of our hospitality. Another blunder like that and we'll have you leave, am I clear?"

Takeshi gave a nod of his head, doing his best not to smile in the process. "Of course sir, sorry," he replied, giving a bow for show, "It won't happen again." Not that it ever happened in the first place, but that's what made it oh so funny. After the brief exchange the General turned to make his leave, but Takeshi stopped him quickly. "Oh, General! Wait please, I've got a question." When the man turned around he hesitated again, trying to find the best words for this. He had to be tactful and not give anything away, and being sneaky wasn't quite his forte. "I was just wondering... This war has to be costly. I'm curious is all, having come from the Saiyan military myself, how do you fund war efforts?" It seemed like an innocent question enough, though as soon as it left his mouth he could certainly understand why it might seem loaded too. "I'm only wondering because I hardly see any campaigns to raise money, so I was hoping you might tell me, for curiosity's sake. Is it all state funded, or does the military do it all?"

"You Saiyans really make very little sense, don't you?" the General asked, smiling slightly. This time he got a little rise out of Takeshi, the boy's smile wavering just for a second in annoyance, but long enough for him to take notice. "I suppose there's no harm in indulging you. The military has very little funds of it's own to be honest, we rely on benefactors in the form of politicians and wealthy families to fund our operations. There really is no 'state' so to speak, our city is governed by the military and those who support it. We keep order, keep people safe and help expand for growth, and in turn the people are happy to abide by what rules we set. I hope that sates your curiosity. Now if you boys will excuse me..." Nodding to both boys in a bid farewell he turned and went back through the door he had come out, his assitant hurrying right behind him, throwing a curious glance at the boys over her shoulder before sealing the room.

Yumi eased her grip on Viral as not to be overbearing, but kept close incase she felt he needed comfort. She'd hoped to make some breakthrough perhaps a little too quickly, as seeing him still down on himself was a hard pill to swallow. Refusing to give up though she listened to whatever he had to say, carefully thinking over her replies. "Everyone loses Viral, no exception. You had a poor streak, and you were in bad health, no one thinks less of you or blames you for losing. In fact I think everyone holds you in high regards for trying even when you're not at one hundred percent. Right now you're weak, but you will get better and get stronger. You've never been one to just roll over, and you still aren't. All we need this time is to give you a push in the right direction."

"That thing that attacked those men, it wasn't you," Yumi reassured, smiling sadly as she lowered her gaze a bit. "Just like we don't blame Shu for when he changes we don't blame you either. Besides... Who knows how many people those men had killed in their time. It wasn't like you did that to good people, right? You probably even saved more lives." It was hard to justify someone's death, but when it came to Saiyan soldiers it seemed a bit easier. When food was brought up the Beastman's eyes shined a bit, getting up from the couch quickly and heading towards the door. "I'll be right back!" Into the kitchen she went, finding the basket and delving into it, pulling out a familiar fruit before coming back to the family room. "Here, try this," Yumi urged, smiling as she sat back and offered over the fruit. "It's not meat, so it should be easier. It's delicious, I promise. Just one little bite, please? For me?" If they could get him eating again that should help with his healing, which would in turn benefit his healing and his mood.

[Mogtaki]

Shu just thought to keep quiet right now, the guy was obviously not going to care about what he had to say but was still going to acknowledge that he existed. He wanted to try and hear if there was anything he was missing that might label the man as the bad guy, he was the only guy they had direct contact with so he was the only one Shu could put under suspicion as bad. As Takeshi and the General continued to talk, it was becoming less obvious that it was the guy and could had easily been someone else who was higher up. He didn’t know what politicians were or what made a wealthy family, but maybe they were to blame for wanting this in the first place. Slowly scratching his head, he looked up at Takeshi and frowned a little, giving a little nod, “Is that what those blast noises were? It was awfully loud, at least to me…” He really didn’t know what to make of the General, he spoke of being here peacefully and yet he was asking them to kill other people who were actually very innocent. He didn’t like it very much, he didn’t see it as peaceful at all.

Viral had little he wanted to talk about and get into the open, but Yumi keeping him down until he talked was a little difficult to refuse. There was still way too much that concerned him, even the fact that Yumi didn’t seem to like his abilities at all and he could only worry what might happen if she ever saw his Enki. Vegeta probably wouldn’t like it either, it was just a massive war machine created using his spirit alone into something physical, even if its body and innards were mechanical in nature. It was just as artificial as he was, just as destructive as his other form. With Yumi releasing his grip on him he slowly removed his fingers from his face, looking down at her hands before he let out a sigh and looked away, looking fairly angry through a fairly neutral looking expression, “I refuse to die anywhere else other than the battlefield…if I can ever die. Those tests they ran on me sure does make me think otherwise, I could make the King jealous…”

There was Yumi denying that the form he took on was him, but what was even harsher was she kept calling him a ‘thing’. It made him a little angry, stinging him pretty harshly, but he wasn’t going to show it especially when she seemed quite adamant before with pretending it was like Shu. The difference between him and Shu was Shu’s transformation just seemed to be a small Oozaru, a transformation that was completely natural to Saiyans except his came randomly and was probably something that evolved through his strange lifestyle. With Viral, he had always had that form and only accessible when he was severely beaten and in a dire situation; the only problem he had was it manifested in the form of madness, his battle against the voices lost. Letting out a grumble as she went away again, he had half a mind to go outside and try to forget all of this before Yumi suddenly came back, this time with a strange looking fruit. Staring at it, he let out a sigh, not entirely sure to what to make of it, “And what do you suppose I do if I can’t get into meat again when it’s obviously what I should be eating in the first place?” he questioned her, taking the piece of fruit but holding it at a fair arm’s length, “I seriously don’t think I’m ready for such a thing…especially when it’s essentially fleshy on the inside…”

[Vena Sera]

Takeshi was glad to have that discussion over with, but not so keen on the lack of information they had gathered. Now they knew there were people backing the war, but that didn't give them any specifics. If anything that meant more work, as now they had even more suspects than before. Leaving the building with his brother he kept quiet well until they were beyond the gates, not making any immediate answer to his question in the mean time. Once they were out of earshot of the guards he sighed, giving an exasperated smile in Shu's direction. "I think the blasts were from everyone fighting, I didn't blast anyone, remember?" the older boy mused, smiling cheekily. Shu bought the lie at least, hopefully he was that convincing to the others as well. Frowning slightly after a moment of thought he crossed his arms, tilting his head to the side slightly. "So we know there are other people involved, but we've got no clue who they are... Which means now we've got to figure that out. So how do you go about picking the most wealthy people in the city..."

Death, death, why did Viral obsess so much? It's almost like he wanted to die sometimes, with how much he talked about it. Maybe it was his depression getting to him, but Yumi was hearing just about enough of it. After returning with the fruit she tried to stay cheerful, but that tidbit quickly changed that. "Instead of focusing on the end, why not focus on the now?" she suggested hopefully, folding her hands in her lap. "You talk about how you'll ultimately die, but you never even consider how you'll live. That's more important, isn't it? And... You should enjoy how you live, right? So..." she paused, gesturing to the fruit again in hops he'd eat it. Instead of doing so however Viral moved what he was given a fair bit away, not looking at all pleased with the food. Frowning sadly the Beastman then nodded her head, drawing her knees up and resting her chin on them with a soft sigh. "Okay... Well... What will you eat? Bread? I'll make whatever you want, just please try something okay?"

[Mogtaki]

Shu felt confused, he didn’t know what to make of the situation right now and was just glad to be heading on out without anybody watching him anymore. He felt uneasy when someone stared at him, especially when he had no idea what they were thinking or whether they really were friendly. Letting out a sigh, he kept his head low until Takeshi spoke up, giving his reassurance over the blast and what had caused it. Tilting his head a little he looked away, scratching his chin, “Ooohhh, it’s only because we were far away and we didn’t know why the fighting started”, he sighed, shaking his head, “What will happen when they find out about the others…?” Shu didn’t have it all sussed out at all, there was so much that was still confusing to him and having that visit was probably the least helpful thing to happen right now. Letting out a sigh, he eventually nodded, giving a little smile to Takeshi, “What’s a politician? Maybe we should look for those people?”

While it probably would have been better and probably delicious eating the fruit, Viral just couldn’t put his mind towards trying to take a bite. All thoughts of eating was just getting to him and it was hard not to upset Yumi right now, especially when he had probably managed to do that several times already. Groaning a little, he looked to Yumi, giving a fair sharp look before he looked away again. He saw no reason to think about such a thing, he didn’t exactly know how he was supposed to enjoy living either so he wasn’t going to bother responding to that. Letting out a sigh he instead placed the fruit on top of Yumi’s head, moving slightly away from his spot on the chair, “It’s alright, I’d rather you didn’t waste effort trying to make something that I’ll probably not eat in the first place”, he spoke, giving his head a shake, “I’m used to not eating, anyway. They didn’t exactly feed me much in custody and I’m still here”.

Viral was feeling completely stuck now and all he could do was feel reminded over everything he had experienced over the last year and a bit, it was just circulating over and over again at this point. Even if he had told her, opening up was just causing him to remember it all over again and definitely not for the better. He didn’t know why people bothered opening up like that, it was definitely doing him more damage than good as he was now feeling just as bad as ever for opening up. He was just going to end up making Yumi upset and that was definitely something he wasn’t prepared for. Giving Yumi a quick look before he let out a groan, turning away, “You are trying, I get it, but you don’t have to make an effort. You wanted to go out and do some investigation work, you don’t need me to lower your mood some more”.

[Vena Sera]

"A politician is someone who is voted to lead people... Usually..." Takeshi mumbled, chewing on the inside of his cheek thoughtfully. That was democracy anyways, going into all the different types would only leave Shu even more puzzled than now, so he'd leave it at that. Nodding his head in agreement with his brother the elder brother motioned for him to tag along as they trekked back into the main part of the city. "Good idea, they'll probably be able to point us in the right direction, or at least we can see who looks guilty." Politcians and rich people, they had to have big houses right? There were some large buildings around, but judging by the number of people coming in and out of them they weren't houses. It would help a bit more if they knew whether or not the city was broken into districts, then they could find the wealthy sect and go from there. "We can probably ask people about this... I don't imagine that asking about their leaders is going to seem funny. I just don't know what people exactly to ask."

Yumi watched Viral hopefully with the fruit, half expecting him to finally eat after so long. Rather than do as she wanted though he had another idea in mind, placing it on her head carefully. Blinking in confusion at that she looked up at the item on her head, frowning confused. He was a bit averted to food, sure, but after a while he must feel hungry, right? So why was he handing over a perfectly good piece of food? "But having a full stomach would help you feel better..." she mumbled, pouting as she snagged the fruit off of herself and rolled it in her hands. "It'll help give you some energy... And that will help healing too... Right?" She figured it was a moot effort to try arguing further, but it was worth a try.

"I know I don't have to make an effort... But I want to. There's enough people working on the investigation anyways, they don't need me helping them." Six people were out and about, and if she was out there too she'd be alone. Without a partner helping her it'd take even longer to cover ground and get anything done. Yumi wanted to denounce what Viral said about her mood, but she'd be lying if she said her spirits were high at the moment. Not sure for a moment as what to do she finally looked back to her friend, a small smile on her face. "If you won't eat then I won't make you, but maybe you'll help me cook?" A change of pace might do the trick, at the very least it would get their mind off of things. Getting up from the couch she set the fruit on the coffee table, giving her friend a hopeful smile as she extended a hand. "We should get the boys something to eat when they get back, I bet they'll be hungry."

[Mogtaki]

Shu stared at Takeshi, not exactly too sure what he meant by that “Voted? Ooohhh, sounds complicated”, he sighed, looking around as they finally got a little more room to breathe without worrying over being eavesdropped upon. They would have to look through this pretty thoroughly, maybe they would eventually have to leave the house and find somewhere else to live just so they weren’t under the guilt trip that the General would probably bring up if they were to start doing their own things. That guy couldn’t have been the head of the planet, there was a royal family on the other side after all. Bouncing a little around Takeshi as he looked around for clues, his mind was gradually beginning to wander to the thought of the other Saiyans before Takeshi spoke again, his head tilting into his direction, “Really? And they won’t get suspicious? Okay! We can talk to people! I like normal people more than people with swords and other pointy things…maybe we can look for some food too?”

Viral looked back to Yumi before he let out a sigh, giving his head a little shake, “Not unless I just throw it up again, then I’ll just be put off fruit for good as well”, he spoke, scratching his stomach, “You wouldn’t want to have to deal with that, I’m sure”. He didn’t know what else to do about that, he just had to wait until he would stop feeling so sick when it came to food and hope that it would pass if he was to ever enjoy eating again. He could eat as much as a Saiyan any day and not gain weight, but the most he had eaten in a month or so was a fish steak that he wasn’t too fanciful on eating anyway when it belonged to the rebels, the last thing he had tried eating being an Elite. He had gotten used to the hunger, but the very thought that his hunger nearly had him eating his opponent disgusted him to the point of feeling sick.

Viral didn’t want to think about it, everything was just making things worse for everyone else the longer he talked and groaned about it. He didn’t want to talk and groan about it, however, it was everyone else who wanted him to and that was just making everyone upset with him or springing up memories he wanted to avoid. Hearing Yumi refusing to go and do her own investigation work just made him feel just that little bit annoyed, but the suggestion that she’d cook instead confused him a little, “What? Help you cook even after I said I don’t want to go near food?” he questioned her, but found it hard to put down that suggestion. Groaning as he slowly reached out for her hand, he pulled himself up before looking to the kitchen only to feel a little bitter, “Tch, sure…to feed them…sure, I’ll help you stuff their faces with food I can barely look at. It’s just the thing I need to do”.

[Vena Sera]

"We should keep working, not eating." Takeshi chastised gently, giving his brother a small wag of the finger. When his own stomach growled though the Saiyan smiled sheepishly, putting a hand on it and flushing a little. "Well... Maybe we could make a break for some lunch. We can walk and eat probably." Not having eaten since this morning himself it was probably due time for a meal, though that brought up a small dilemma. Stuffing his hands into his pockets he frowned feeling nothing in there. "I've got no money though... I spent it all on that staff of yours. And we don't have any meat left over from dinner, or fruit from breakfast..." Looking between himself and Shu they likely didn't have a single thing they could sell between the two of them either. Unless they went back into the forests they wouldn't be eating, at least not if they were going to spend money. "We could always... Steal some food? Or see if someone in the military will help."

Eating was out of the question unfortunately, but there was still more they could do. It might take a little longer to convince him to eat, especially if he couldn't touch something as simple as fruit. At the suggestion of their cooking together Yumi thought she might get a little lucky, figuring that it'd be a little different anyways. Instead he seemed terribly reluctant even for that, which told her that it was a poor idea. "Okay... We won't cook then!" she said, smiling a little as she released Viral's hand. "How about instead you decide what we do? We could have fun, you know? Just like we used to?" Yumi liked to think she was doing a decent job of hiding it, but she was desperate to stay with the Beastman. Leaving him alone in her mind was the worst thing possible to do. Plus, now that he knew he was able to talk freely maybe he would eventually relax and talk to her. "Whatever you want to do, let's do it. Want to train? Or maybe just go out? Whatever makes you happy."

[Mogtaki]

Shu let out a sigh, lowering his head, “Okay…no eating”, he nodded, looking back to Takeshi, “I look forward to walking and eating! I’m always feeling hungry”. He didn’t want to mention it since it would just guilt-trip Takeshi into buying him food, but he had been struggling with his hunger and trying to keep it from bothering him for quite a while now. He had received barely any food when he was locked up and ever since being able to eat again had made him realise how hungry he really was, his love for food coming back in full force. It did make him a little upset that he wasn’t allowed to eat quite yet, but he wasn’t going to let his brother onto that fact. Smiling at Takeshi, he nodded quickly and bounced around him, feeling fairly excited, “I love my staff, I can’t wait to use it! I hope it doesn’t break”, he said quickly, giving a nod before bouncing a little back, tilting his head, “Steal…? Maybe we’re best not asking the military again, they’re scary…but…steal food…? That’s so strange, that’s not like you. Won’t that get us in trouble with the military, though?”

Viral nearly fell back into the couch when she suddenly let go of him, a flow of rejection suddenly washing over him. He didn’t mean to stop her from cooking, if she wanted to cook then that was fine. Frowning a little, he looked away and towards the window, “What I want to do? Huh”, he sighed, not entirely convinced that she was actually wanting to spend time with him or she was just putting up with it all. Looking back at her at the mention of training, he slowly scratched his ribs as his eyes drifted towards the door, “I’d train if you’re willing to hit back, otherwise I’d rather just go out into the sun. Being happy may be a little harder to do right now; I can’t even find a fair fight to be happy with, not unless I start beating up the locals…that might make me feel better”.

[Vena Sera]

"It's not that we can't eat, just not right now..." Takeshi explained gently, smiling a bit. There was so much for them to do already, taking time off in order to have a meal was going to put them even further behind schedule. It stunk, as he was hungry too. There was a big issue of just where they might get a meal as well, as there was really no food back at the house any longer. "How about we steal some food later? Then we can eat," he suggested, giving his brother a sneaky look. Clearly Shu didn't agree with that idea in the slightest. It was strange to suggest, but realistically the only other option was to either go hunt again or make mooney, both of which would eat up too much time. Sighing to himself he rested his hands behind his head, glancing skyward as he shrugged. "Just an idea, and yeah, we'd probably get in trouble. We'll have to find some way to get food though, since we're out of cash."

"Yeah, whatever you want." Yumi urged, backing it with a smile. If she couldn't make Viral happy doing her thing then they'd give his a try. Not uttering a word until he spoke up she was a bit curious that he was so quick to jump on training, especially that he wanted to be hit in turn. She'd said they would do as he wanted though, and she intended to stick with that. "I'm not going to use my full strength, but sure. I'll give you a good sparring match if that's what you want." The bit about locals made her giggle, smiling bashfully and shaking her head a bit. "We can't fight them, you know that. That General though... I'd almost say you can hit him just for being a creep." Giggling once more she turned and walked out of the family room, humming along in a bit better spirits as she went to and out the back door. This could work in her favor too, trying to get him to eat. If they worked up an appetite then just maybe he'd have a meal, even if a tiny one.