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Duet
A Magical Tree: Obscured by Petals
At the edge of Tokyo, a tree grows. No others like it are around, and flowers bloom on its branches despite the current season. A door is on the side of the trunk facing the city. A little girl and her black humanoid companion look up at the pink petals, some of which float lazily to the ground.
Bgammax
*Gamma walks with a purpose around the edge of the city, staring intently at a small device in his hands. He looks up for a moment and catches sight of the pair, putting away the object of his attention and instead walking up to the pair* Its been a while hasn't it? Hope the Nexus is treating you fine. What are you doing all the way out here anyways?
Beethoven
[Beethoven walks to the tree, next to the little girl and black humanoid.] Beautiful. What may you two be here for?
Bgammax
*Gamma looks over to Beethoven and sighs* Another has joined us I see. May as well get introductions out of the way. *Gamma briefly bows before standing up straight* You can call me Gamma, may I get your name?
Duet
"Oh, hi Gamma and Beethoven! Well, we followed this really weird person, and found this tree!" The little girl, Alice, points up at the flowering tree. "It feels really familiar... kind of like the tree back home. Right, Deemo?" The black humanoid nods, then grabs the handle, opening the door. Alice tilts her head. "Oh, right, our tree didn't have a door. Wonder what's inside?"
Beethoven
[Beethoven bows after Gamma, giving a kind smile as well.] My name is Beethoven, pleasure to meet you Mr. Gamma. I've been around here for a while, but I'm not quite used to it yet. A fairly interesting world so far though. I assume you've been here for a while as a first impression.
Bgammax
*Gamma moves closer to the door and examines it for a moment* Perhaps someone lives here? Its not too unusual after all. Literal treehouses. You mentioned following someone? Then whoever you followed is most likely the resident in question. *Gamma steps around Alice and Deemo in order to get a better view of the inside*
Bgammax
*Gamma looks back at Beethoven and nods* Yeah, its pretty hard to adjust to at first, but you'll get used to it. I've been here for months so after a while you've kinda seen everything. *Gamma sighs and looks back inside the door, turned away from Beethoven* Guess that sort of makes me the resident explanation guy.
Duet
The inside of the treehouse is much larger than the outside implies. The floor is covered in mossy gray stone, and a staircase spirals around the edge to get to the higher levels. A window at the highest point acts as a skylight, but even the staircase stops just out of reach. In front of everyone is a mahogany door with a strangely-shaped hole.
Bgammax
*Gamma walks over to the door and closely inspects the hole, as though waiting for something to come out* Alright, well they don't seem inclined to greet us, whoever the owner is, but perhaps we can find them soon enough?
Beethoven
[Beethoven looks around inside the tree, then at the hole in the mahogany door.] Odd, maybe the owner's past this door?
Duet
"They didn't say a thing when we saw them, so maybe they're a really shy person?" Alice looks into the hole, but only sees the back of what appears to be a wooden box fixed into the door. As for the door itself, no amount of pushing or pulling from the little girl would budge it. "They must be really shy to have a weird lock thing like this..."
Bgammax
*Gamma looks closely at the lock and sighs* Its probably something magic. But if they're inside, they've almost certainly heard us talking. They must be too busy to notice. Perhaps we should look around? *Gamma slowly begins to walk up the staircase, looking around for anything else he can accomplish*
Duet
As he walks up the stairs, he reaches the second floor, which has books of all kinds. The third floor has some books as well, although it also has a piano. He can just make out what appears to be a birdcage suspended near the window of the fourth floor.
Beethoven
[Beethoven looks up at the skylight window, assuming the time from what light he can see.] I'm sorry, but I have to attend to something. Goodbye, hopefully we meet each other once again.
Duet
"Oh, okay... bye!" Alice waves to Beethoven, then she and Deemo follow Gamma up the stairs.
Bgammax
*Gamma walks back to the third floor and decides to begin reading some of the books* Alright, seems the owner was quite a bookworm. I wonder what it is that interested them so?
Duet
The books on the third floor are mostly about music. Some are even collections of songs. A few pages are missing from one of the books Gamma picked up. Since the songs in here are in alphabetical order, the missing songs probably start with "Ma."
Bgammax
*Gamma picks up the book with missing pages and sighs, walking back down to the second floor, checking out the books there as well* You'd think they would take better care of this stuff. Honestly, that's irresponsible. Though, maybe they have a younger sibling?
Duet
Alice and Deemo are looking around the second floor as well. Alice is flipping through a very used coloring book, while Deemo is straightening some papers that fell onto the floor.
Duet
ooc: boop
Bgammax
OOC: Sorry, I figured you were a bit busy being in two different threads across two accounts.
Duet
ooc: It's cool. Doesn't help that I was eating dinner too.
Duet
ooc: I may as well bump this. Anyone is free to hop in, as not much was done yesterday.
Duet
The sun is setting, but the little girl and black humanoid return to the tree once more. The pink petals are over halfway gone from the branches, and many have gathered just in front of the door.
Duet
ooc: final bump?
Sunbreaker-Titan
*he walks to the tree looking around the area* This place looks nice.
Duet
"Oh, hi, mister!" The little girl waves at him. "Did you see a weird masked person going into this tree's door?"
Sunbreaker-Titan
Hold on. *he summons his Ghost and scans the area*
Duet
For some reason, the inside of the tree is difficult to scan. It's almost as if a big area is condensed in one small tree.
Sunbreaker-Titan
This place has some interesting aspects. I'll help you on finding the masked man.
Duet
"Great! Let's go, then! Oh, and I'm Alice, by the way." She smiles, then runs inside. The humanoid follows her onto a stone floor. The inside is massive, with a spiral staircase connecting the four floors. A mahogany door with a hole sits just ahead.
Sunbreaker-Titan
Nice to meet you Alice. My name is Zidrez Vem. *he follows her*
Duet
"Zidrei... Zidra... I'll just call you Zid!" Alice grins, then runs up to the second floor. Zidrez is free to go to any of the upper floors, or examine the door.
Sunbreaker-Titan
*he ascends to the next floor and sees a door* Interesting. Wonder what's in here. *he enters in*
Saeko
"How nice..." She spoke with a smile. Saeko had been passing by, on her way home. Instead she found herself at the base of this tree, her eyes focused on the branches in bloom. It had a natural beauty to it that stood out to her. The city sights, she is used to. But even now, seeing such pleasant wildlife, is something she always finds refreshing.
Sunbreaker-Titan
*he sees Saeko and waves* Hello there.
Duet
The mahogany door doesn't open. It's not budging anytime soon. Outside, a cluster of petals are blown away by the wind, revealing a short person sitting in the branches. Their face is covered by a white mask, and their white hooded outfit sways in the breeze.
Sunbreaker-Titan
*he notices the short person walks walks up* Hey there. You seen the a tall masked man?
Duet
The masked person climbs down, wondering how this person can see them from inside the tree. They walk inside, silently looking around at the somehow large interior.
Saeko
Saeko catches sight of white as the wind sweeps petals away. With a tilt of her head she walks closer, towards the figure, but doing so carefully. "Uhm... Excuse me?" She asked quietly, after being close enough to get a better view.
Sunbreaker-Titan
You lost? *he couches to the masked individual*
Duet
The hooded figure turns around, noticing Saeko as well. "Two more intruders... First that pink-haired man, and then you two..." Her voice is muffled by her mask, but it seems feminine. "I suggest you two leave. You'll only cause harm to us."
Sunbreaker-Titan
I'm not intruding, I just founded this place and caught interest. *he gets up* If you want me to leave you can show me the way to the exit.
Saeko
"Pink haired man...? Mister Gamma was here as well then?" Staring at the strange figure, she nods, a bit confused. "Well... I understand. If you do not wish for me to intrude than I shall be on my way." Saeko steps back a few, slowly continuing on her path, but her puzzled gaze remains locked on the tree and the masked figure nearby.
Duet
The masked figure nods and points at the door leading outside. Caws are heard from above as two black birds descend from the fourth floor. "Look at the little mistress!" "Wanting to hide everything!" "But we know better!" "Oh yes we do!" The two end their little dialogue with crackly laughter. The masked girl tries to shoo them away, but they just land on the staircase railing. "But they can leave if they want!" "Their choice!"
Sunbreaker-Titan
*he heads to the door and leaves*
Kazuya_Minegishi
Kazuya walks into the scene and looks around the grassy field surrounding the tree. His blue eyes glisten with reflection as he sighs before sitting in front of the tree unaware of the interior of it. He looks over towards the sunset and deeply contemplates his recent actions which he still wasn't sure were his own. "Sure is a pretty sunset."
Duet
The notable things Kazuta can see are Saeko and an ajar door on the tree trunk. The faint cawing of crows is heard from inside.
Duet
ooc: *Kazuya gg me
Kazuya_Minegishi
Kazuya looks at the door with a passive gaze. He was starting to get used to the somewhat chaotic flow of this place, however, this didn't mean he wasn't still on guard. Kazuya gets up and walks over to where the door and Saeko were and begins examining the door carefully before looking over to Saeko. "Hey, do you have any idea why there's a door here? I don't imagine you would but it doesn't hurt to ask."
Duet
The door opens a little, with some nudging from a black beak. Beady black eyes stare at Kazuya. Small hands pull the dark bird back, and there's the sound of a door opening then closing from inside.
Kazuya_Minegishi
Kazuya just looks at the door with a passive glance as he begins walking towards it and slowly opening it. He wasn't sure what was waiting on the other side but whatever it was he felt as if he had no reason to be afraid. As he opens the door he slides one hand into his pocket and holds onto the small device he's come to know as a Comp.
Duet
Kazuya finds himself in a structure much larger than the tree himself. The floor is mossy gray stone, and a spiral staircase connects the four floors of this circular place. A mahogany door with a hole sits across from the entrance. As he enters, two black birds fly up to the fourth floor, their wingbeats nearly drowning out the humming from upstairs.
Kazuya_Minegishi
Kazuya slowly walks into the room while looking around and observing the area. He doesn't remove his hand from his pocket as he looks around. After observing the room further he decides to check the door opposite of him first. He walks up to the door and tries looking through the hole before doing anything else.
Duet
Through the hole is more mahogany. This hole seems to be structured so that something can be placed into the "box" fixed into the door... Although "box" is a loose term, since it's more of a rectangle that narrows around the middle before widening at the top and bottom.
Kazuya_Minegishi
*Kazuya steps away from the door and ponders his next course of action. It was strange that a door had a hole like this but he decided to leave it alone for the time being. The humming was a more urgent concern in his mind because it could only mean one simple thing. He wasn't alone in this building. He decided to ascend to the next floor to see what it was exactly. He queitly attempted to walk up the stairs using one hand for support while keeping the other in his pocket. He wanted to be ready for whatever could be awaiting him on the next level.
Duet
As he reaches the second floor, he finds the source of the humming: a little brown-haired girl, who is looking through one of the many bookshelves. A black humanoid flips through a book a few feet away. Eventually, the girl starts shifting from humming to singing softly. "Your lie lies on frozen lips as pale petals 'bout to fall off. Hopefully I'll get used to this hoax that our love made..."
Kazuya_Minegishi
Kazuya looks at the two curiously but his attention seems to be more fixated on the black figure. He wonders if this figure is some kind of demon and what its relationship was to the girl. However, he decided the best way to handle the situation, for now, was through words. He kept his hand in his pocket and looked over to the girl with a composed look in his eyes. "Hello, who are you exactly? And who's the...uh, person, next to you?"
Duet
Before she can start the next line, the girl is interrupted by Kazuya's approach. She nearly drops the book in surprise. "Oh, uh, hi mister! I'm Alice, and this here's Deemo! He doesn't really talk, so I have to introduce him myself." She points at the black humanoid. Deemo shakes his head, a little amused by his small friend's antics. He looks through the book he is holding, then closes it. The torn page in his hand doesn't match the size of this book's pages.
Kazuya_Minegishi
Kazuya briefly looks at the book in Deemo's hands before looking back to Alice. Though he's curious as to what Deemo is holding he doesn't want to come off as rude for not introducing himself first. "I'm Kazuya. Kazuya Minegishi. I'm a high school student or...uh, I was but I guess that doesn't really matter anymore. If it wouldn't be too invasive to ask, what exactly are you and your friend doing here?"
Duet
"Nice to meet you, Kazuya! We're just searching for a way to open the door downstairs. I haven't found anything, but Deemo's looking for the book that goes with those torn-out sheets," Alice explains. Deemo shows Kazuya the pages, which are sheet music of various songs. The edge of each one is jagged, as if someone tore them out in a hurry. The books down here range from coloring books to novels. A few music books are on a shelf, although Deemo has been checking those books for a while, judging by the small pile beside him.
Kazuya_Minegishi
Kazuya's interest perks at the mention of music. Although not a musician himself or even knowledgeable about the music he did remember that certain songs could actually summon demons into the world. He didn't believe that this was related but he also didn't want to take any chances. "Maybe I could help out. Is there anything I could do?"
Duet
"Let's see... Maybe look on the third floor? We tried to go see the books up there, but the crows were too scary..." Alice shudders. "They kept calling me 'the little mistress' and pecked at my face..."
Kazuya_Minegishi
Kazuya looks over at the stairs ascending to the next floor before looking back to Alice with a warm smile. "I think I can do that. Crows should be no issue for me." Kazuya begins making his way up the next flight of stairs towards the third floor. Carefully walking up the stairs to try to avoid disturbing these crows that supposedly were attacking Alice.
Duet
The third floor has fewer shelves than the last one, but there's a piano as well as some papers lying around. One book is slightly protruding from the shelf, as if someone had moved it. Two crows stare down at Kazuya from the railing of the staircase, but don't move.
Kazuya_Minegishi
Kazuya looks at the two crows cautiously and pulls put the Comp as a precaution. He approaches the book slowly and tries to pull it off the shelf with his other hand.
Duet
The crows blink, but stay still. They merely watch curiously. The book is a collection of sheet music, arranged in alphabetical order. However, upon further examination, a page is missing... The missing page is between songs starting with "Ma" and "Me."
Kazuya_Minegishi
Kazuya briefly examines the book before deciding to head back to Alice and Deemo. Not being knowledgeable in music he knew that his judgment may not be best in this instance so he proceeds to head down the stairs and back to the 2nd floor.
Duet
The two are waiting for him when Kazuya returns. Alice runs up to the blue-haired teen. "Oh, you found something?" Deemo slowly follows, holding the torn sheets. "Jumpy Star," "Magnolia," and "Melody of Elves."
Kazuya_Minegishi
Kazuya hands the book to Alice having no further use for it. "I found this but I'm not quite sure what it means" Kazuya continues looking around the room passively.
Duet
Alice takes the book, and opens it. "Hey, I recognize these songs! We used to play them back home. Look, there's Aragami, Entrance, and-" She frowns. "One of them's missing..." Deemo scans the book, then holds out "Magnolia" and "Melody of Elves." "You think it's one of those? But which one?"
Kazuya_Minegishi
OOC: Sorry, I really don't know how to respond here.
Duet
ooc: Ah, my apologies. Was aiming for you to guess one, but I suppose I was a big vague or directionless. I can move on regardless, if you want.
Kazuya_Minegishi
OOC: Uh, I could try to guess.
Kazuya_Minegishi
Kazuya thinks for a moment before pointing out the song "Magnolia". "I'd guess this one but that's more based on personal preference than anything else. I'm not sure if that's the one but it's worth a try, right?"
Duet
"Hm... let's try it! But what to do with it?" Alice hums as Deemo puts the page in. A perfect fit. The book glows as the tear seals up. "Oh, there was a piano on the next floor, right? Deemo could play that! Maybe that song's the key to the door..." An odd leap in logic, but it was perfectly sensible to the little girl. She begins to run upwards. The crows take flight and circle the piano.
Kazuya_Minegishi
Kazuya follows Alice with his Comp still out in case the crows decide to attack Alice. He walks up the stairs cautiously as usual.
Duet
Deemo stares at the crows, then sits down at the piano. He neatly sets up the book and begins playing. His pitch-black hands flow over the keys with ease. The tune is familiar... Kazuya soon recognizes it as the song Alice was singing. Once the last note rings out in the "tree," an hourglass appears in a burst of white petals. The two crows descend and land on either side of the hourglass. They begin speaking in low, croaky voices. "You figured it out!" "This shall start things off." "Once it runs out..." "That 'hoax' shall unravel!" "What fun we shall have!" "The mistress will finally let us be with her!" "Soon." "Soon."
Kazuya_Minegishi
Kazuya looks at Deemo with a curious expression as his attention shifts to the crows. He memorizes their ominous words as he walks around the room and examines it more thoroughly. "Hoax? I wonder what hoax they might be talking about. Kind of a strange thing to mention."
Duet
Alice picks up the hourglass, a little surprised that the crows weren't pecking at her. They both bow as she hurries away. "Goodbye, mistress!" "Take that to the door, and when the sands run out, it shall unlock!" "We'll be waiting!" Deemo follows the little girl, waving at Kazuya as he heads down. The area around Kazuya is not much more than sheet music and bookshelves, but above him, he can see... a birdcage? It's large, large enough to hold a human. Maybe more. It danges above the second floor's stairs, near the window in the ceiling. As the sunset turns to night, the light from the window fades. Everything is in motion. Now to rest. And wait. ooc: aaaand it's midnight so bye
Kazuya_Minegishi
OOC: Alright, it was nice RPing with you. Goodnight.