GambolMuse

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

Oops, kind of killing the mood with that one, probably best to move off of that whole discussion. "Of course they're gonna give us food, why wouldn't they? I mean we helped out when Uuonoe was attacked, so I bet they'll be throwing food at us," Takeshi replied with a grin, "In fact, I doubt we'll even have to ask. If we want food I bet they'll just go ahead and give it to us." Maybe that was a little fanciful thinking, as no one was going to wait on them hand and foot regardless of what they might do. Besides, even if they weren't handed food they planned on hunting anyways, so it wasn't as if they were going to go without. It would be more fun hunting too, and it was a pretty safe bet they were going to do that regardless; was T'charrl going to be joining them on the hunt though? "Well... If we hunt things that aren't in the water then you can hunt with us, right?" Takeshi asked eagerly, "So you can come hunt with us, no way are we making you sit alone while we go have fun, that's not cool, you know?"

"I bet there's ton of stuff we could go and hunt too," Haku added, smiling slightly as he wrung his hands together nervously, "Uh... Maybe something not so big though? I mean... We can definitely find a lot of small things, that would work too, I'd think." That way they weren't having to fight anything massive or threatening; after their encounter with the monster on Namek he was just about all set with giant animals for a while. Really he would be fine with just little things, so long as he got to go along for the hunt instead of being left behind.

Vegeta wasn't trying to come across as an ass, he just wanted to teach Kiton to know the difference between fantasies and reality. It was well intentioned, but he knew he really wasn't coming across as that. All of his work with Viral had left him more exhausted than he though, and right now he was pretty much hanging on threads with regards to his sympathy. Letting out a sight he shook his head, getting the last of the food in place to cook before going about washing his hands and the utensils. "I know you're not an idiot, I never said you were. Even intelligent people can make mistakes, that's all, I know I'm certainly prone to them. I guess just exert a certain degree of caution is all. And I don't mean towards us, as I've said, there's no reason to be afraid of us." The only single person Kiton may need to worry about was Viral, and that was only due to the unpredictable nature of his condition; with the Beastman being cured there wouldn't be a single person in this group who might threaten the Frost Demon.

"I suppose it's reasonable to be afraid of strangers, and as for T'charrl's healing he needs energy to perform it," Vegeta explained, turning to face Kiton as he leaned against the counter, "He borrows energy from the person he's working on to heal them, or someone around them. If I had to make a guess he uses that energy to mend their body, kind of how the Namekian did it. Only in the Namekian's case they can use their own energy, where it seems like... Maybe T'charrl's own isn't compatible." A lot of conjecture there, but he had been wondering why the same process worked differently for two people. It made sense when explained that way, as the Namekians used Ki like them whereas T'charrl used his own energy. "Well... Hospitality is what a decent person gives someone, stranger or not. You were injured when we found you, we won't well leave you there to die," Vegeta said in a matter-of-fact attitude. Looking at the Frost Demon for a moment he smiled slightly,

Watching Viral lash out so blindly was fairly painful to witness, if only because Aito knew the conflict it must be causing. Viral would never do this normally, something was seriously wrong if this was how he reacted. Even if he had been given the order to attack before it would have been in a more collected, controlled manner, not this vicious lashing out. Seeing no purpose in provoking the Beastman further he promptly pinned Viral down, getting Yumi to come over and do her part. Watching as Viral gradually came down from the rampage he smiled with relief, glad that his plan actually worked; he'd never really seen Yumi exert that influence before, certainly not to this degree, so the fact that it worked this time was a welcome relief.

"You can't kill me Viral, not this time, so don't worry about it," Aito said gently, releasing the Beastman as he got off of him, "If I felt that I was in any real danger I wouldn't be doing this alone, I've no desire to go back to Otherworld so soon. Trust me, I'm not an idiot, I know what the threshold is here and what is and isn't safe." It was why despite wanting to work alone he was bringing Yumi along, she was the buffer between them. If Viral were to go on a rampage again it wasn't a question of whether he could stop the Beastman or not, but what kind of damage might be done in the process. Having Yumi not only kept him from having to fight Viral, but with luck meant that they would never reach that point again. Looking over at the aforementioned girl he noted her dejected look, hardly fooled by the small smile she wore as she saw to Viral. "You're an integral part to his recovery, you know that right? Without you he may not get better, take pride in that. You are in effect saving someone's life here, that's not something to be sad about."

She knew that, what a big part that she was playing here with Viral. That wasn't the problem persay, it was more that it was the only thing she seemed to be now. What would she do once Viral did recover? There didn't seem to be a ton of options, and she really didn't know what she might offer. Vegeta was smart, he could help the others and pilot ships, plus build all kinds of things to help them out; Choi and Kai were excellent cooks, they made sure that everyone was well fed; T'charrl could heal them and was one of the strongest fighters, and Shu and Takeshi were in a way the pair that brought this whole group together, but what about her? It made her feel awfully out of place in regards to the rest, and she was sure even those who were new to their team had more to offer. At best she could be there as support, but what could she really do otherwise? Nodding her head silently she began to help Viral get to his feet, pausing and looking at Aito confused when he put a hand on her head.

"You're a martial arts expert, aren't you? I remember you always loved to train in it as a child, and I know you've spent some time training since then," Aito said, smiling as he rubbed Yumi's head before taking his hand back, "When this is said and done I'm sure there are some people who might need training. You've got some intimate knowledge that others don't about how to fight, and I'm sure you'd be able to teach them. Who knows, it may be time for you to become an instructor yourself." That made her lighten up a little, but it would probably take a little longer until she was perked up again. Looking at Viral he reached out and helped steady him as well, glancing up at the Beastman apologetically. "I hope that proved my point, but now I know where our work will start. Shall I explain so you've some idea, or shall I spare you the boring exposition?"

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

"Heh, wow squirt, I'm surprised you know what 'mutant' even means!" Takeshi teased with a grin, "I don't think there was a single person upset about us killing that thing, so we should be fine. Weird though, I wonder how something that big got into the lake..." Things like that didn't really just grow big on their own, at least he didn't think so. Usually big fish were in big water, water far larger than the lake they had found it swimming in. "Hey, if we can eat the monsters after then I'm all for fighting them! We probably gotta start thinking about food soon anyways, I don't know how much we got left. Do you figure the Uuonians might have some they can give us?" They had been attacked and all, but Takeshi figured their stores of food ought to be alright. Plus it was a huge world anyways, and far as they knew there was only that one city; realistically speaking there was more than one, but they had never seen the others.

Slight problem there with T'charrl, hating the water and all. This whole discussion was about a fish, and there was only one place you really found fish: water. Takeshi hadn't really thought about their friend's aversion until now, definitely seeing some problem there. If the guy wanted to he could just sit by and watch, he didn't really need to fight, not when it took only three of them before to kill one. "There's probably all kinds of things on Uuonoe, just waiting for us to eat them!" Takeshi mused, smiling brightly as he rubbed his hands together, "Probably loads of stuff that doesn't even go in the water, you know? I'm sure if we went outside of the city a bit we could find tons of creatures to hunt, and I bet they'd be just as yummy!"

"I suppose asking someone to look at a story objectively isn't easy, especially when it might concern your people," Vegeta admitted with a dismissive shrug, "There's nothing wrong with drawing inspiration from them, but it can be dangerous if you try to swear your life by them, especially if what you were told isn't the truth. Far as I'm concerned following a false hero is as bad as not having one." That was when caring mostly for yourself came in handy, you didn't really need to look to others for an idol or hero. For him personally it had saved him from some disappointments, particularly when he learned of the man whom he got his name from. His father he could draw inspiration from because he knew the man, his mother too, but those who he only heard of in stories he'd hold his reservations.

"You do realize we all are fighters, don't you? And that we fought that monster without your help?" Vegeta asked rhetorically, "Not for nothing but we don't need your power, we have our own. You'd be a welcome addition, but you wouldn't be a tool to us. Take T'charrl for instance, he can heal all of us if we told him to, but I believe we've used that ability all of once since meeting. Just because someone may prove to be useful in some way doesn't mean we're going to exploit that, or even utilize it. Whatever you do in this group is of your own accord, we don't make each other do anything." Carrying on with the meal preparation Vegeta placed the filet in a pan, throwing in some oil and placing a screen over it to hold in spits as he began to fry the fish. The potato was easy enough to handle, just some thin slicing and another pan to cook them in a manner similar to the fish; vegetables would be cooked last and likely steamed, as he hated burned greens. "Nervousness and anxiousness are practically synonymous, so yes, you are nervous. There's no reason to be, there's no catch or anything with this," Vegeta said, grabbing the potatoes and tossing them into a pan, "As I said, we're going to get you food and I'm doing precisely that, no funny business."

Viral's aggression was certainly higher than expected, as he fought with almost reckless abandon. If he had his wits about him then this might be a far more dangerous duel, the Beastman had plenty of weapons to try and harm his creator. Aito didn't need to expend very much energy on this effort and he intended to end it soon enough if no visible changes took place; if Viral was far too feral to connect the dots then he saw no reason to go on, especially when it was visibly causing problems. Watching the Beastman sadly as he moved back, Aito vanished when he was swiped at, simply reappearing where he had been just a second ago, shaking his head slowly. This wasn't going to work, or if it was it would be impossible to tell until Viral was calm. Taking a step forward his image faded a little, reaching up and grabbing Viral by the neck, trying to sweep a leg out from under him and knock him to the ground to pin him. Once the Beastman was down he removed his hand from his neck, sitting on his chest as he pinned both arms with his feet and held his head down by the horns to keep him from lashing. "Yumi, please try to calm him, this has gone on long enough."

"Oh... Uh, right!" What had even been the point of that? It certainly hadn't made Viral any better, in fact Yumi would say agitating him only made things worse, much worse. Watching her friend warily for a moment she walked around to his head, giving the pair a wide enough berth as not to be lashed out at. Once she stood before Viral she knelt down, smiling sadly as she placed her hands on either side of his head. "It's okay Viral, Aito's not going to hurt you," she said gently, closing her eyes as she leaned down and placed her forehead on his, "It's alright... You just need to relax now, okay? Take a deep breath, you're fine..." She played an important role here in acting as Viral's controller so to speak, but she still felt quite inadequate in doing so. Was this all she was going to be from now on, just something to keep around to calm down her friend? It wasn't a bad job and she knew it to be necessary, but when everyone else was probably going to be traveling and helping people she felt a little useless being stuck here.

Legend of Zelda: The Templar Crusade

Uh oh... General fall down :o

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

"That fish was awesome... So soft and flaky, and it tasted really buttery..." Takeshi said, reminiscing as he began to drool slightly, "Man... I hope there's another one of those things..." The Uuonians didn't seem to mind their killing the fist, so he could only guess it was probably either a monster or nothing special. If they could kill another they probably would, it'd just mean a big meal for them to enjoy. The only problem with that was, much as they could put down huge amounts of food, that fish was a little too much even for them. There was a solution to that though, another celebration! Takeshi didn't know what they might celebrate nor did he particularly care, he just wanted more delicious fish. "We'll only kill bad things buddy, and we'll only kill what we've gotta kill. No reason to go nuts and start hunting everything, you know? Gotta leave something for them to eat." On a planet like Kaesstra they could pretty much eat what they pleased seeing as the locals didn't much care for meats, but on Uuonoe it was the total opposite.

Glancing back at T'charrl, the older boy grinned and nodded his head, gesturing to himself with a thumb to his chest. "Damn straight we did. Shu and I were kicking the crap out of it, then Vegeta came along and helped kill it off. And hey, it's not like we fight a ton of dangerous stuff already, you know? It's not any fun hunting something that can't fight back." Was it a bit twisted to say that it was fun? Takeshi supposed it wasn't really 'fun' persay, more exciting. If you needed to work for your food he'd rather enjoy it somewhat then just smack something once and be done with it; really tasty food like the giant fish was well worth the effort. "Tell ya what though, we won't go and pick fights with anything scary, okay? We'll keep it nice and simple... Maybe."

"I suppose its what you take from the stories that matters in the end. If you model yourself after tales of genocide then you'll only repeat the atrocities, and if you follow the tales of heroes then you're bound to try living up to that," Vegeta mused, "But as I said, there's no way to know the entire story unless you were there. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with having an idol or someone you look up to, but just bear in mind that sometimes the truth isn't what it seems." Sounded a little paranoid, he would admit, but that was just the reality of his situation. When you were told your parents had died in an accident, for example, only to learn your friend had been manipulated into killing them your outlook on things kind of changed a little. "He owns Capsule Corporation, its a very successful business on Earth. We specialize in medicine, technology and space exploration, and a few other things I suppose," Vegeta said, sounding almost bored as he recounted it, "It's a bit dull though, running it. I'd been doing it for the last few years, but I suppose dad will be taking it back soon."

In fact, Vegeta was more than okay with Aito taking the reigns back, he was counting on it. There were things he wanted to do for himself that he'd never been able to, so often tied down to his chair and desk. Back when Viral had gone on his hunt for the Dragonballs he had so desperately wished to join them, but responsibilities at Capsule Corporation kept him from going. Now that he was getting a taste of adventure he wanted to remain doing this; making his father go back to work may be a little selfish, but somehow he suspected Aito wouldn't mind that much. "But what reason would they have to pretend? By your logic they would be pretending to gain something from you, but as you said you lost near everything on the ship. No money, no personal belongings, they've nothing to gain from deceiving you. If someone here becomes your friend then its genuine, I can guarantee you that."

Now that they were in the kitchen Vegeta found it a touch difficult to think of much else other than food. The group before had been courteous enough to clean up after themselves, but the room still reeked of food which only served to agitate his hunger further. He wasn't even sure what he might have to eat, nor did he particularly care, he just wanted food. Pushing open the swinging doors to the kitchen he held them for Kiton, pausing at the counter as he questioned the Frost Demon as to what he wanted. "Well of course I'm letting you decide, its your meal," Vegeta responded, giving Kiton a funny look of confusion, "You don't have to be so nervous, we're only eating. And fish is easy enough to prepare, just give me a bit to prep it." Rolling up his sleeves he went and dug through the refrigerator, finding a sizable filet and placing it down on the counter with a cutting board. Hm... Maybe he'd just fry it in some light oil, make a bit of hand-cut potato chips and a side of vegetables with it. Could Kiton even eat this food though?

Aito knew his order was causing conflict, but then that was the point. What was more powerful; Viral's need to obey, or his self control? Could he keep himself collected even when given such a tough order, or was he going to lose himself to a frenzy? Despite all of the protests he was going ahead with his plan, nigh demanding that the Beastman do as he was told. Watching as the first attack came in he made no effort to dodge, simply reaching up and catching both of Viral's arms as though they were nothing. It wasn't that there was no power behind the swings, because there certainly was, but it wasn't enough to pose a threat. Smiling he pushed Viral back from him, giving his hands a slight shake before dropping them down at his sides.

"If you want your strength back then we have to treat you, but to do that you have to let me treat you. You can't kill me Viral, not again, and I'm going to prove it," Aito explained, smirking as he waved the Beastman to come after him, "So come on, let's see what you've got." Not much more invitation than that was needed as Viral came rushing in once again, this time looking like he was trying to skewer someone. Putting one leg behind himself Aito reached out and caught the two horns, sliding slightly this time as Viral's full weight proved a little tougher to halt. Watching as the arms began to swing too he pushed Viral's head up, swiftly deflecting the incoming strikes as he tried to keep the Beastman well away from Yumi. Would he be able to recognize what was he was trying to show in this display? Or was he far too gone in his mania to acknowledge it?

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

"Hey, the last big monster we found we ate, remember? That stupid fish thing!" Takeshi said, grinning as he rubbed his stomach, "That was delicious, I hope we find another one. Or maybe a giant pig... Ooooh, giant strips of bacon!" They had only just eaten and yet Takeshi was hungry again, as only a Saiyan could be. The unusual notion of giant farm animals seemed like a fantasy come true to him, and it could just be that some planet out there had exactly that. Or the alien counterparts to farm animals, he really doubted there were space cows. Really it didn't matter much what they found, only that it was edible. Shu could have his fruits and leaves or whatever, Takeshi would be damned if he had to stick to those for every meal. Humming to himself as they left the mess hall he wondered where they should head to play, losing his train of thought when he saw Vegeta and Kiton up ahead. Smirking he gave the pair a wave, wondering what they were doing down here.

"You can gain respect without having to take on that kind of duty. My father commands that kind of respect and he's only head of a company, not some ruler." Though with Capsule Corporations influence perhaps Aito was a ruler, just not in the traditional sense of the word. "Legends are told by the victors, you hardly ever hear the stories from the defeated party," Vegeta pointed out, frowning as he shook his head, "Stories can obscure what happened, especially if its a story from the winning side. Someone who is dubbed a hero by some is a villain to everyone else, a deed that was called pure and just in one tale could be genocide for all we know. Unless you know the full story behind something it's best not to put your entire faith into it, that's just naive." It was like how his father had tried to tell him what a great man Vegeta had been, only for his grandfather, Trunks, to share the real information. Two different accounts of the same thing, both shedding a completely different light on an individual. So yeah, you didn't tend to hear legends about how awful people were, but then that was usually because no one was left to tell them.

Convincing Kiton that the others could be befriended wasn't easy, but then this was hardly Vegeta's area of expertise. Someone like Yumi would be far better suited for this conversation, or even Shu despite his manner of speaking being a bit odd. Furrowing his brow as he mulled over what was said he finally shook his head, looking over at the Frost Demon, "You don't know that unless you do try. They have made friends out of plenty of people already, there's nothing to say you won't be among them. The only thing holding you back from doing such a thing is yourself." It may not be easy, and it may in fact not happen, but Kiton needed to at least give it an effort to have a definitive answer. Curious as to why the alien had gasped he looked ahead, wondering where those four might be off to. Only giving them a nod as the two groups passed he paused at the door, watching as Kabocha, Kai and Choi all left as well.

"You're a living creature, it's absurd to think you don't need food," Vegeta said plainly as he went into the mess hall, "You'll have to eat lightly though, we don't want to make you sick. If there's anything you've got in mind I'll see about making it for you." What did a Frost Demon generally eat anyways? His information on Kiton's kind was grossly lacking, he couldn't even pretend to have knowledge of them. Given it had been some days since his last meal he figured Kiton would eat whatever he was given, but it just seemed a courtesy to ask before shoving food at him.

Was provoking Viral a foolish idea? Most certainly. June would likely be throwing a fit if she knew what he was doing, which was precisely why he'd not told her any of his plans. Insane as this might appear to Yumi he knew precisely what he was doing, he would be in control during this entire process. It was a little surprising that the Beastman so readily took the order despite his concerns about attacking just seconds earlier; the ability to command Viral was still there, perhaps stronger than ever. Standing motionlessly in the middle of the corridor he did his best to make Viral attack, hoping Yumi's interference had no bearing on this. Her words would fall on deaf ears, and with a vicious snarl the Beastman went on the attack, darting right ahead with claws poised to strike. It would be easy enough to dodge this attack, but then that wasn't the point of this exercise. Viral had to be shown how fruitless his concerns were, how there wasn't any reason to fear potentially attacking Aito. Smiling right up to the point of impact the Saiyan raised his hands, and without budging even a centimeter caught both of Viral's arms, halting him in place.

"If you were healthy like before I doubt I could halt you so easily, but in your current state it's hardly any kind of effort," Aito said, looking up at Viral, "I suppose you still won't believe me though, that maybe this is a fluke. So then, try it again!" With a push he tried to force the Beastman back a bit, taking a small step backwards as well and motioning for Yumi to do the same. Glancing back at her curiously he frowned seeing how pale she was, clearly not enjoying this demonstration at all. A shame, but it was necessary for Viral's sake, she would just have to suck it up. "Come on then, Viral. Surely you can manage more power than that, what with that frame of yours? How do you expect to kill me if you can't even move me?"

Avatar: The Price of Freedom

Katsu really didn't want to make that proclamation, but he could tell Siku wouldn't leave him alone otherwise. Who knows what kind of response he'd get out of the girl either, whether she'd buy into it or completely call him crazy; plenty of people had made the claim of being Avatar over the years, he even knew some of those people, so it wasn't anything new. As he had pretty much expected she began laughing at him pretty soon thereafter, obviously not buying into what he'd said. Hey, if she didn't believe him then that was fine, he didn't much care. Or he wouldn't have if she didn't start taking jabs at him, feeling himself growing defensive over what she was saying. Closing his eyes his eyebrow twitched in irritation, reaching up and pinching the bridge of his nose before staring back at the Water Bender. If he said anything he'd likely still be doubted, so he'd have to show her.

"I don't exactly... Know many styles," Katsu admitted, his face blushing a bit as he folded his arms with a huff, "It's not all fun and games, you know! And it's not exactly a cushy life that I left either. Everyone thinks the White Lotus dotes on the Avatar, but they were hardly even nice to me. It's just a job to them, I'm just some brat they were supposed to train, they didn't want anything to do with me really. So why would I want to hang around for that when I can be out here, doing what I want to do? Here I actually have people I like being around, and I do things that I enjoy doing. So yeah, I escaped and came here to Republic City, why is that so hard to believe? You have no problem with the fact that I'm leader of a gang at such a young age, but have you ever stopped to wonder how that happened? How I was able to do something like that?" It was because of his training that he'd risen through the ranks, and why people didn't mess with him even now. When you could knock down the leader of a gang at 14 years of age people learned pretty quick not to mess with you; much as Katsu was opposed to violence he could fight, and when he did he did it damn well, as the White Lotus members earlier could attest.

Hmph, him, bad at lying? Well okay, maybe he was, but then he wasn't lying here. It wasn't his fault that Siku refused to accept the truth, whether out of disbelief or denial. He had laid himself out for her to see and whether she bought into it or not wasn't his concern, he'd sleep just fine if she never believed him. Actually it was best she didn't, then maybe things would get back to normal and he could get working again. Just as she had begun to question him again a man's voice echoed in the tunnels, drawing both Katsu's and Siku's focus down to the opposite end. Wonderful, all of this fricken chatting had let those morons catch up, now he had to work on getting away. Cussing under his breath he debated on turning to run, though glanced at Siku preparing to fight and let out a low groan. Damn it, he couldn't just bail on her and leave her to fend for herself, not against three White Lotus.

Their first concern was the slab of rock barreling towards them, taking up most of the walkway in the sewer. When it got close enough to them Katsu jumped into the air, placing his hands on the top and using the stone itself to vault himself over, easily avoiding getting pancaked as it went past and slammed into the walls. A small flurry of fire blasts came their way next, which he answered in turn with a flurry of his own; flames smashed into flames, the hissing of fire filling the otherwise silent tunnel as they engulfed one another and burst into a flash of embers before ultimately vanishing from view. Right, so now there was just the water bender, right? Oh great, it was a water bender, why did it have to be another water bender? Looking across at the man, Katsu frowned and readied fire to attack, having to rethink his strategy when the shards came flying at him and Siku. With not a lot of room to move he instinctively crouched down, grabbing the ground after driving his hands through it and pulling up a slab, easily blocking the ice as it shattered against the stone. Pushing it back down then he kicked the ground, driving up a pillar across the way and catching the man in the chin, knocking him out easily.

Looking to the remaining two men, the young thief engulfed both of his hands with flame, leaving Siku to wade in the sewage as he began to run at them. Ducking under a few blasts of fire he increased the flame on his right hand, driving forward a straight jab and releasing some energy to blast through another slab of rock, sending shard scattering all over the place. When he had gotten into striking distance he again ducked under a swinging fist, driving his own hand into the man's gut and letting loose fire, blasting him back and into the water some few yards away. Lifting the same arm at a ninety degree angle he caught a roundhouse kick with his forearm, immediately grabbing the man's leg and with a grunt of effort pulling him off balance, swinging him around and sending him flying across the waterway onto the opposite side. Slamming his foot against the ground again he used stone to bind each of his limbs, leaving him pinned for now.

What a mess this was turning into, he should have been long gone by now. Siku had really soiled his escape plan, and now he probably had to come up with something else. Glancing back over at the Water Bender he smiled tightly, moving to rejoin her and give her some help. "If you wanted to go swimming so badly you could have gone in the ocean, you know," Katsu teased, grabbing her arms and helping her out of the water, "So, Miss Snooty Pants, can I go or are you going to interrogate me more?" There was an uncanny feeling of being watched, something the thief hadn't noticed in the middle of his fighting. Frowning in confusion he turned around and expected to see more White Lotus, surprised when instead he saw Asha and Hiresh further down the tunnel. Oh great... It was a regular party down here now!

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

Takeshi had to bite back a groan at Shu's words, finding it unbelievable the little guy actually thought of trees as friends. Laying his face in one of his hands he looked up when his brother began bouncing around, smiling slightly before reaching out and poking his forehead. "Yeah, we can tell it makes you happy buddy. We'll play with tons of tree friends on Uuonoe, okay? Just gotta get there first," he said, rolling his eyes before glancing at the others curiously. Neither the twins nor Kabocha felt like joining them, but it did seem like T'charrl and Haku were up for it. Good, maybe they could find something all four of them could play together. With the Kaesstrian being back to his more normal size that hopefully meant some games were open to them, as it was a little tough doing some things with a giant player. Shrugging off the others in the mess hall Takeshi shot his brother a smile, nodding his head to the door before making his way for it.

"Royalty is a lot of fluff and not much else. I have no desire to lead that many people, or take that kind of responsibility. As it stands I'm not overly thrilled being the de-facto "captain" of this ship," Vegeta explained, giving a shrug before letting out a sigh, "Famous or infamous? It depends on what circle you're in, and I'm sure quite a lot of people aren't fond of my grandfather or whoever came before him." After all, the original Vegeta had hardly been the kindest of people, even in his more mellow years. Prior to meeting Goku, as he understood, he was actually quite the bastard too, which meant there were loads of people both on Earth and abroad that likely detested the man. When you looked at it that way it was a little difficult to take pride in one's name, especially when it was synonymous with terror or cruelty.

"That attitude right there is precisely why you're seen the way you are now," Vegeta pointed out, "You can't threaten people to make them change their minds, it's foolish. Take what is said in stride, use it as ammunition to work to be better and prove those people wrong. Unless you always want to be viewed in the same light as your predecessors you need to step away from that line of thinking." Threatening people to quit criticizing him was just childish, it was something he expected out of Takeshi if anyone. Speak of the devil and he shall appear, there was the very same boy now coming out of the mess hall just up ahead. It looked like some others were going with him as well, goodness knows what they were up to. "It is their decision ultimately, you're right, but make an effort to encourage them. You won't get anywhere in life if you sit by idly and hope things fall in place for you, you've got to take action sometimes. Now then... How about we find some food, hm?"

You didn't have to be empathetic like Yumi to feel the fury from Viral, it was almost palpable. So he was quick to anger, Aito surmised, something a little different from before. That was not to say that the Beastman never got angry before, but this was an unusually quick rise to it. Hm, what could be causing that then, he wondered? It could be just Viral feeling threatened, and being more animal-like now it was natural that a threatened creature would become angry and defensive. There may be another explanation too, one more in line with what Vegeta's research suggested; being treated so poorly and having his genes thrown out of sync could be causing the shark genes to behave erratically, and in turn produce an unusually high level of testosterone. Should that be the case it would explain both the aggression and the anger, and why a good portion of shark physiology was showing itself now. That would have to be the starting point of the actual treatment then, as having Viral randomly go into a rage was obviously a bad thing.

Why was Viral so on edge with him? Aito couldn't make sense of it, he'd never shown any aggression towards the Beastman, not in the past or present, and he'd not really said anything to warrant it. Could it be the shark genes again? He knew that it could cause a rise in confrontational behavior, but in a way it seemed more like the Beastman was trying to avoid conflict. Continuing to question Viral further he would get his answer, a little surprising but not wholly unexpected. So that was it then, he worried that he may try to kill his creator again? Given the circumstances Aito couldn't fully debunk that fear, but it was unfounded. This wouldn't be like before, when he and June were totally unaware and unprepared; kind as he was being to Viral there was no way that Aito would let history repeat itself. Deliberating on how he should quell those concerns he looked down the corridor, a smile crossing his lips when he saw Yumi walking towards them. As soon as their eyes met she must have somehow picked up on his intentions, looking fairly worried as the Saiyan began to make his move.

"Do you honestly think you could kill me, Viral? In your current state?" Aito asked, glancing over at the Beastman, "It's not like last time, I won't be caught by surprise no matter what you might do. And frankly, even if you did somehow sneak up on me you're simply not strong enough to kill me now." Vanishing from Viral's side he reappeared a few meters ahead of him, facing him with a slight smirk as he held his arms out to his sides. "I can tell that you need convincing, so come on then. Yumi's here, she'll stop you if anything bad happens, so come at me then! Let out all of your anger on me, your fears and your anxieties, let them go and attack. That's an order, show me just how strong you are!"

Yumi had paled considerably hearing Aito speak, thinking he was absolutely out of his mind. What in the world was he doing, trying to make Viral fight? It was crazy, he wasn't ready to fight right now! He had to know that so why was he pushing for it? Standing a bit behind the Saiyan she looked past him at her friend, frowning and giving a shake of her head. "Viral, don't! Whatever he's trying to prove there's got to be another way, don't do it!"

The War for Baji (open)

Dude... Not cool ;o; Now he won't be in your harem, Kitsune!

Far From Home [ Scout & Vena Sera ]

Suto didn't quite expect the regular fanfare that came with a clearing party, so to see things toned down a bit wasn't any surprise. There were people lost in raids before to be sure, but never such a number of them like this time around. Nearly everyone present had lost someone they knew, and it no doubt put a big damper on enthusiasm for clearing this floor as well. For Suto things weren't quite as bad as they could be, even with the complications surrounding Yari; his friends were alive, that was all that mattered to him. Nero, however, already didn't seem to be having nearly a good a time of things, promptly seeming like he wanted to retreat back into the inn. No sooner had his friend come into view did the shouting start again, all of it directed at Nero himself.

"Hey, it's not his fault! He only had one crystal!" Suto shouted back, frowning as he looked at all of the scrutinizing faces before them. He was normally good-natured, yes, but screaming at his friend like that quickly did away with that. "If he revived someone else we'd still be having this problem, and you'd only be blaming him for a different person! He had it, he saved his friend, are you honestly going to tell me you'd save someone else over your own friend if it were you?" This was absurdly selfish of everyone, enough to the point where Suto found it hard to even sympathize with them. They were all in this game together, and that meant they had to stick with each other no matter what. If every time someone died like this and fights broke out then the players were going to kill themselves long before the game ever got a chance of it.

Suto wasn't the only person to come to the defense of Nero either as a total stranger began to argue on his behalf. He didn't know who this other man was or why he was taking their side but he sure was grateful for it. Chances were the effort wasn't going to completely stop the criticizing, nothing would other than time, yet it was an appreciated effort all the same. Watching as the crowd began to move back to the party itself he let out a sigh, smiling exasperatedly as he rubbed at his head. These were going to be a long couple of days, hopefully they could spend most of it out in the field, away from all of these people. Feeling someone looking at him, Suto glanced back to meet the gaze of the selfsame boy who had fought for Nero, smiling back uncertainly as he gave a little wave. Okay, what was he so cheery about?

"Me? Oh, well kind of I guess!" Suto responded, letting out a small laugh, "I help get it started but I wouldn't say I d it alone! And we were kind of, uh... Busy." He didn't want to say what with, that was personal stuff and he didn't want to put it on anyone else. Taking and shaking Titus' hand he looked over at Nero, a little disappointed to see his friend being quite reserved and crestfallen now. Not that Nero was ever exactly lively, but you could tell that brief exchange had gotten to him. Poor guy, he really had to understand that things weren't his fault, and he'd only done what was right. He might say that if it hadn't already been said too, he saw no use in repetition.

Suto didn't really know what to say to Titus now, a little confused by his line of questioning. "Eh...? Oh, my name is Suto! Well, kind of my name I guess," he replied, chuckling as he itched at his nose, "And yeah, I usually ditch once things start to slow down. Since I'm usually one of the first there I get tired pretty quick, so no reason to stick around, you know? And uh... Secrets? I don't get it." This person definitely had to be an American, he just looked the part. Odd, he hadn't seen many Americans in the game yet, or actually any for that matter.

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

Of course Viral was going to get better! He had to... Right? Whether it was some kind of cosmic nonsense that Takeshi was buying into he figured that the guy was due getting healthy again, and Aito was just the person to help him do it. It would be awesome to have a healthy Viral again, especially since that meant they could get to fighting like before, not to mention his sword training might resume. There was a lot more to it than that too, everyone was going to be happier if Viral was healthier and there would be way less to worry about. Though Takeshi and Shu probably didn't worry about it it was probably a safe bet others were concerned that their friend might go nuts again and attack someone; supposedly he'd already gone for Yumi, yet she didn't seem like she'd been attacked at all. So it wasn't just Viral who would benefit from his getting better but everyone, and that was why he needed to recover now.

"It is nice, yeah, which is why we're going back!" Takeshi said with a grin, reaching down and snatching his brother up to his feet, "If we don't know them then we either keep not knowing them or make friends, seems pretty simple to me. Knowing you buddy you'll try making friends, even with the fricken trees if we let you." While the older boy didn't mind more friends he wasn't exactly going to run around trying to make them, he'd just befriend whoever came their way. Or not, he wasn't exactly buddy-buddy with the likes of Ricken or even Sasha, even if the latter was easier to get along with. Everyone on this ship with the exception of Kiton was a friend far as he was concerned, and even the Frost Demon may find himself in that circle if he played his cards right. "How's about we go play a bit Shu? Anyone else want to come?"

Haku wasn't too confident about his ability to make friends, he was still trying with the people already here. Kiton might be a friend by now but then he was the only person who he hadn't wronged, everyone else had reason to dislike him. Takeshi and T'charrl were alright with him, though he got the uncanny feeling they were doing that just for Shu's sake, someone who he knew disliked him. Even if he didn't feel completely welcome he was going to try and come along for this play of theirs, hoping if he kept it up and played nice maybe they'd include him more. Getting to his feet he smiled slightly, glancing over at T'charrl to see if he'd be joining them too.

"Play? Nah, I'm going to go train," Kabocha said, waving a hand dismissively as he too got to his feet, "We might be left out of fighting but I'll be damned if I fall behind you guys. So go ahead and clown around, I'll be making myself stronger."

"It might have been, I don't know. I'm only 25, I don't know what generations before mine used for names," Vegeta responded with a shrug, "Nor do I really care. If you look at my name, lineage wise, it'd suggest I'm royalty or something like that, which isn't the case. Shu and Takeshi have that to their names and they can keep it, I want nothing to do with it." Too much responsibility to other people, he was a little more self-serving in most regards; Vegeta helped his friends with his problems, but unless the duty aligned itself with his own interests he didn't much care to spend time on it. Far as he was concerned his family had no claims to the throne or anything of the sorts anymore, he was content with simply being a half-Saiyan living on Earth.

"Your appearance, I would think. But if people are so short-sighted enough to only judge you based on looks then don't waste your time with them. You don't need everyone to like you or accept you, and realistically not everyone will. Take what you can get and forget the rest." A bit backwards considering he had been preaching changing Kiton's ways to make him more accepted, but Vegeta didn't think people like that were worth the energy. There were some like their group who were hesitant, and those should be the people who he tried to win over; people who were against Kiton from the outset had no right or need to be taken into consideration. "Takeshi is... Weird. I wouldn't say he's a typical soldier because he isn't, but he shows signs of it sometimes too. I wonder what his life was like before us..." Vegeta mused, shrugging it off before glancing at the Frost Demon. "We take in people who we help, or who request to join. The crew are all people we saved from the Saiyans and they offered to work for us instead, and I suppose you're just someone who we helped. As I and others have said though, what you ultimately decide to do is your choice. If you don't want to be with us then that's fine, we'll find somewhere to set you and that'll be that."

Viral likely wasn't up for conversation right now, not with him, but they had to give it a shot. Aito needed some form of basis to begin his work from and he could only do so much with what others told him. Notes were helpful, yet they hardly compared to having first-hand experience with someone. And much as Aito might claim that he knew Viral the fact was that now he really didn't; it had been almost two decades since he'd last seen this man, and chances were quite a lot was different now. Any simple conversation wouldn't give him the insight he'd need, but the Beastman had to be comfortable to just talk before he could even attempt extracting what he might need.

"I do need to hear from you though, or rather I want to. I can't make any progress without your input, that's how this sort of business works. I understand you may not want to recount some of the more unpleasant things but whatever you can share will ultimately make your recovery all the quicker." You could only gain so much from being in Otherworld, and the few glimpses he'd had of his son and Viral over the years were hardly sufficient. Besides, hearing things from the Beastman himself would give a completely different perspective than what Vegeta or Yumi could offer, and ultimately, he hoped, a far more vivid picture of what the situation was. "I figured that I had lived my life, and you were living yours. I simply had no right to pry or watch over you, so I didn't. There's no nefarious undertone or lack of care to it, Viral, I simply respected your privacy, all of you," Aito explained casually.

"And all of that... It's a lot, and I really can't offer any sort of apology or condolence that will make it all just wash away. If you wouldn't mind though I would like a little more information on some of that, particularly being sold and enslaved in particular. Again I know talking about it won't be easy, but it may be pertinent to your treatment that I know these things. But a hallway is hardly a proper place for a conversation like that now is it? Let's go get comfortable," Aito said, smiling as he fell in line with Viral. Taking a brief pause he looked over at the Beastman, his lips pulling down slightly into a frown as he let out a sigh. "Listen... I can tell you're having problems being near me, and I don't hold it against you. But you have to tell me right now exactly what it is that's bothering you. I want to help Viral, but if I can't even be in your general proximity then it'll never work. What is it that you feel when I'm near?"