The light of Ryu's power envelops them before she's delivered to an empty cell; as quickly as her knees collide with the uncompassionate, dirt floor through the splash of a cold, murky puddle, Umeko looks up to where she was dumped from. Seeing the floating, red door of light shrink to dripping orbs of magmas glow, not even a glimpse of Ryu's host's face is possible.
Shivering in silence, the heated presence of countless others blanket the girl with invisible, fiery chills and eye-watering nauseousness. Recognizing the innate fear some of the nearby monsters draw out, it becomes difficult to look away from her own petrified reflection (as she hopes none of the others can see).
Wide, cinnamon eyes of forsaken fright gets illuminated by the taunting bounce of light, dimming on its path to reach her and other confined souls awaiting their fate in darkness.
Focusing on any thought that enters her mind, appearing foolish enough to help her get up, Umeko gets lucky on the loudest one; remembering that Ryu can't afford to let anyone kill her, tense, toffee features slowly relax into an ironically cynical, chain-breaking breath.
Closing her eyes, intent on regaining control of frozen, disobedient limbs, she notices the melody of trickling water down many distant walls. Surprised to hear utter silence in her first dungeon, the short-lived peace becomes an awkward welcome to her evening's accommodations; once the weighted mass of the emperor's skin-tingling aura disappears without a trace, the dense air cheers from the infectious, radiating fear of Ryu's anticipated, destructive boredom on his way out.
Various sighs of relief rumble through the captive crowd like an echoing tidal wave, perplexing Umeko's mind to perceive how enormous the dungeon's gigantic capacity is. Deep within the soldier's mountain, she suspects her cage is in the very middle of a level playing field; through cowardly glimpses past the curtain of hair hiding her face, between the shadows of figures filling her peripherals, she spots the wayward glimmer of cell block wall beyond cell block wall in every direction her eyes can see without flinching.
Chatter slowly erupts in tiny, distant bursts that seem to creep closer like an impending shrill of angst or deathly hunger radiating with murderous intent; feeling the yokai closest to her silently interrogate every pore covering cocoa flesh, unnerving eyes of every shade that burn through dim light like sparking fires keeps her jaw clenched tight.
Counting in her head to steady her breaths, numbers soon become a screaming mantra, Tsukiyomi's power protects me from Ryu! It's stupid to be afraid of anyone!
Distracted from the confidence she uses to trick her body into moving, Umeko's ears pick up the heavy, rhythmic breathing of the prisoners closest to her. Whether ill, pained, snorting, or enraged, every creature's natural sound of existence blends into the distant orchestra of alienation and despair.
Drowning in the music of the gloomiest place she's ever been, her imagination speculates each sound to its own story to keep from dwelling on her own circumstance. Catching creatures, spirits, and disfigured animals return to what they were doing before her arrival, she swallows dryly at the array of sounds that continue all around.
Trapped in the Largo, white noise of a doomed existence, squealing cries, maniacal laughter, and randomly psychotic giggles syncopate; a more menacing, dissonant harmony strums to life, coaxing her heart into faster beats.
Joining the melancholic harmony of malice floating all around, an unsettling, rhythmic POP and CRUNCH of bones BREAKING instills a sense of urgency to flee.
Traumatized by the fantasy that whatever is harming the others is coming for her next, Umeko recognizes the newfound fear as illogical. . .until the SCREAM of flesh being TORN open, RIPPED from bone, and SPLATTING on different surfaces quakes down her spine.
Metal CLANGING, chains RATTLING, and skin SLAPPING stone resounds in every rolling direction like an inescapable fog of morose forlorn. Goose-pimples encase her body when she finds it difficult to steal another sideways glance through her hair's cloak.
Watching the gaps between enclosing creatures kept at bay by the four cell walls close in to stare, she must focus on breathing steady and not looking like a total wimpy weakling. Cautiously peeking with her head down, managing only to rise into a four-legged crouch, Umeko secretly watches through the water reflecting under her as they whisper amongst each other; scrutinizing her every heartbeat, the girl's not numb enough to lift her head proudly.
Avoiding the risk of direct eye contact with anything, she stares at her mirrored, desperate face as the ends of her hair just barely touches the puddle; successfully concealing her emotions from prying sights, she doesn't need to look up because she knows about about the peering, leering, glowing eyes stalking her in depressingly poor, gray light.
Brown eyes stutter when they come close to locking on to any shade of illuminated danger signaling for her attention in all four directions. Crouched legs warily carry her from the puddle to the edge of dry dirt that makes up most of her cage's floor.
Learning the diameter of her cell as she moves in a circle close to the ground, with her head down, Umeko finds no visible way out.
No friendly face.
No glimmer of hope to escape.
Exhausted from the overwhelming sense of being smeared in shit by the universe, cinnamon eyes finally land on her own, defensively poised body. In disbelief of her mind's ability to repress that she is naked, the girl scuttles dumbly to the nearest corner. Made of standing, T-shaped, gray metal support beams, she inhales the musk of mossy stone and putrid waste.
The scent of sweaty metal and charred flesh is the strongest of all. Wishing she had enough hands to cover her nose and mouth, hiding her nakedness with muddy hands is the highest priority.
Tensely emanating a casual demeanor as she protects her loins from sight with her legs and hugs herself, Umeko starts to feel silly; after all the anxious, sweat producing effort spent to look fearless while 'secretly' cowering, every set of eyes suddenly turn from her– completely disinterested.
Giving up a leaning crouch against the corner, she collapses onto her butt; sitting with her legs bent close to her chest, she hugs her knees and a rounded back rests against cold, smooth metal. Getting a closer look at the flimsy-looking walls protecting her from the others, she realizes the giant support beams that make up the four corners of each cell are all connected by chain-like walls linked together.
Forming different patterns from top to bottom, she sinks into the reality of her current imprisonment. Humiliated Ryu's callous abandonment of the girl in her birthday suit, the vicious sting of fresh, hot tears fill her eyes.
Straining to breathe silently, emptying her mind until she detaches from her body, Umeko tries her darndest not to let a single one fall.
Swallowing so hard she nearly holds her breath, Umeko wills control over her eyes; patting her lower lids with the backs of her clean wrists, she inhales proud at dry cheeks. Shaking her head, biting her bottom, quivering lip, What the fuck do I do now?!
With an angry pout, staring at the ground in agony, Everyone I know keeps dying, and sooner or later, I'm next!
The last adhesive bondage of Umeko that kept everything together weakens to a record-breaking catastrophe. Sprawling out, face down onto dusty earth, she disregards all shame of being as naked as the day she was born; the hopeless girl belts out agony and grief in mournful wails that echo louder than any other sound.
Missing every other sound falling to silence, Umeko's whimpering, sniveling cries fill the depths of a dank, once-spacious-yet-nearly-filled dungeon. And all eyes from land or air, capable of spotting the source of delicious sorrow, do so.
"SHUT! UP!"
A growling, fed-up, snoring voice BOOMS to her right behind a bloody, skinless skeleton and a furry, goat legged, big-tittied humanoid. Beyond the faceless others' whose features she doesn't want to make out, she notices the chained wall to their cell is strewn into three circles within three squares all pierced by a cross through the middle.
Ignoring the beast's disgruntled opinion, Umeko thinks back to all her woes.
Clawing at the dirt, pounding the earth hard enough to wake the dead with feeble fists, she cries harder– louder than before. Reaching a new height of weeping grief, Umeko's ears ring through the haunting screams lamenting uncontrollably from her own, gurgling throat.
Grumbling, "Shut up," heavy steps pound the ground as he walks from what sounds like the back of his cage, "Shut up! Shut! Up!"
A large beast, even larger than the thorned ones he pushes past unharmed, approaches the wall connecting to hers, "Ya ugly, warugaki (brat)!"
Blubbering, sobbing grunts and gasps stutter to an eerie halt.
As if there's some kind of croaking creature in his thick, double chinned neck, the green-scaled, humanoid crocodile shakes his fist at her, "Some of us are trying to sleep, you pitiful, whiny lil' shit!"
Drying her hands with the backs of her wrists, roughly sucking up snot, she sits up on her legs. Staring at the leathery yokai with razor sharp teeth, blank and numb, Umeko watches the long, brown nails of his reptilian fist target her within his cell's walls, "Knock it off or I'll give you something to cry about, ningen whore."
Tilting her head slightly, she pans cage walls to catch idle faces, muzzles, and horned monsters avoiding staring directly at their exchange. Though they make it obvious they will not interfere, the twisted, amused grins painting their faces makes her sick.
Grateful she's alone in a cage large enough to fit nine other people lying down, she withholds an entitled chuckle at seeing how filled the cages around her are. Following the ornately strung, chain-link walls rising taller than the largest inmate, the same chains create a patterned roof above (within the mountain's stone stronghold).
Wide platforms, or walkways, are highlighted by the bouncing white orbs' light that is too weak to brighten the spaces where most of the prisoners reside below. Seeing as far as she can in every direction without getting up, she's sure she's the only one to have her own cell.
Peering through the cellmates of the tailed reptilian threatening her, she can visibly identify five others that stand taller than Tsukiyomi seemingly stuffed inside; raising her eyebrows briefly before returning dead-pan, three of them are thrice her size plants that stand on roots covered in thorny vines with yellow eyes.
The scent of vomit and rot hits her nose with a PUNCH. Out of left field, the metallic JAB of infected blood mixed with the acidic pungency of dark urine almost gags her. Scrunching up her nose, trying not to display disgust after already shining hopelessness for all to see, Umeko's oddly drawn to the mysterious glow of white orbs wobbling far apart, high overhead.
Amazed and confused by the way fluffy-looking lights move easily in and out of the cages, through the chains' undisturbed patterns, she wonders why Ryu would waste time with such intricate art that's not even impenetrable.
Nodding once, I guess if I wanted to sacrifice myself to ruin his plans, this is the place to get it done.
Staggering to her feet like a fool drunk on life's disappointments, intent on making bad decisions she won't live to regret, Umeko walks dumbly to the voice-bearer while crossing one arm over her breasts and shielding her groin with the other hand.
Approaching the three yokai closest to her wall, scrutinizing each one's potential threat level, she dares the reptilian to repeat himself with the vicious determination to fuck shit up emanating from her human eyes.
Passing a horned goat with a womanly chest and visible phallus, Umeko faces only the rude, upright gator standing on two short legs with a huge, round belly. Glancing to see if the yokai on the other side of the reptile, a humanoid skeleton with black eyes pierced by sparkling ruby eyes stands taller than all the others in the cell.
The oozing bone-yokai and dual sex goat back from the chain wall and sit on opposite sides of the cell without a word. Watching them watch a game of rock toss develop with the others, Umeko has confirmation that the only person interested in ending her life is the reptile.
Narrowing her eyes with her chin up to look at him, "Please," her tone goes cold and lifeless, "Please give me something to cry about."
Staring deep into sea-foam green eyes with black slits unafraid, the gator clears his throat and straightens up surprised. Pressing his belly into the wall, "Keh," he snickers, "You're only saying that because this wall's between us."
Glancing back at his silent cellmates for rambunctious support, he grows uneasy when they all avoid his eye contact.
"You don't think I'm saying it because the host of Passion's Prefecture dropped me off himself?"
Fuck, I hope that sounded good. I'm pretty sure that's what Sane called it. . .
Finding her question steals chuckles and affirming gasps from those tuning in to potential entertainment, she grows confident in being able to trick the monster into getting angry enough to attack her. Watching him with unwavering, brown eyes that mimic the way Tsukiyomi examines everyone apathetically, the reptile coughs uncomfortably through an insecure laugh.
It isn't long before the towering creature grumbles some more, finding everyone's curiosity scrutinizing their exchange before he returns big, bulging eyes to Umeko. Webbed hands at the ends of short, buff arms with curled claws secrete slime onto the laced metal separating their cells with a touch.
Smirking at him skeptically, hoping to goad him through an ego insult, "You don't have the balls to touch me, you gross, smelly, shit-for-brains. Let me guess," she tilts her head up incredulously.
Bouncing her eyebrows while embodying Sanemaru's energy, "You got captured because you're too weak to win in battle?"
Lowering her eyebrows to inspect him closely, scanning up and down scales that go from light to dark green as they wrap to the back of his body, "What a pathetic excuse for a demon."
Adapting an attitude as being the superior one, she spits at the creature; flinching at the gull of the girl to launch her saliva at him, he blinks as it lands on his cheek and his jaw razored teeth drops.
Responding with a quickly approaching fist BUBBLING with translucent, green slime through the wall's opening, "You're dea-AHCK!"
Raising her eyebrows with her lips pursed tightly, she doesn't need to surrender to death because the enchanted cage created a sudden lightning-like charge before he could connect with her; zapping the gator-demon, abruptly ending his deadly strike, she witnesses him fall like a tree with smoke emanating from his unconscious form (and the thorny plants scoot further away from his sparking, smoking body).
Damn. . .sure as hell didn't expect that! Hmmm. . .he's still breathing.
Pondering, resisting the urge to cup her chin, I wonder if I. . .?
Reaching for the wall with closed eyes, anticipating the same zap to be strong enough to kill her, Umeko jumps anticlimactically at the feel of cold metal beneath undamaged. Opening her eyes, staring at the chain-links, she taps multiple strands a few more times in search of the one with lightning.
Returning her hand to cover her groin disappointed, Nothing.
Concerned by the lack of harm and how it ruins her plans of stopping Ryu, If they can't get to me. . .and I can't get--!
A snicker from the cage that connects to the left side of hers deters conflicting, self-sacrificing thoughts. In a nasally bark, "It only hurts the ones that want to hurt others."
Glancing to a wall of strewn chains to resemble a large star within a box within a circle, the screeching bark of words in her language, "Everyone that's in here's got a special kind of end waiting for them by Tsukiyomi's hand in the name of the once great, Emperor Ryu."
Scanning through the crowd as she reaches the center of the wall, Umeko finds a short, mahogany-fur animal standing on deer-like, hind legs with a bushy tail, "If you're tryin' to off yourself, you should lay on your back and bite off your tongue."
Considering it seriously for a moment, Umeko quickly raises an eyebrow at the long-haired creature standing about the height of a large dog. Before she has the chance to interrogates, he continues with, "Worked for the last one of your kind to get dumped here. Guess he wanted to go out on his own terms. A fate some of us are a bit jealous of in these recent times."
Wishing she could rub her eyebrows to relieve the building tension behind her eyes, We're in a pen of cages inside a bigger cage. Do they get food? Water?
Swallowing dryly, aware of her own, growing need for sustenance, Do they eat each other to survive?! Some of these things are stuffed in their cage like dumplings!
Watching a thumbed, clawed paw cup his chin, the furry creature tilts his head back and forth while inspecting her, "What could your lil' naked ass do for the almighty, Pussy-Pumping Prince of Passion's Prefecture to take time out of his busy day to drop you off personally?"
Ew. . .is that really the kind of reputation Ryu's built on Tsukiyomi's name. . .?
Staring blankly at the cross between a fox and a small child, the canine's fingers snap nonchalantly to draw her from her mind.
"Don't worry, we love interesting stories. There's no such thing as one that's too long in a place like this."
*****
Growling annoyed, "What is the word on Tanaka-taisho?" an armor-less Ryu snaps three times at his female in command when she takes too long to answer.
Ayako, standing on the other side of his desk as he watches her from his chair, wears a white, wrist length dress stitched with golden-stitched spider webs. The skirt of her white dress has high slits on both sides. Tied shut with a black bow adorned in gold webs, blood red pants with slits down to the knee, revealing a taste of snowy skin until sanguine fabric balloons out the sides of her dress' slits around lean calves to be tufted into black and gold, ankle metal cuffed heel boots.
A black leather breastplate, molded to form against her tight bosom and tiny waist, displays a large, golden spider with red jewel eyes; long black hair is bound into a tight ponytail atop her head and cascades down her back in a twisting dark curl until she bows forward out of respect for her leader, "Your highness. . ."
The thick mass of hair falls down the front of her shoulder and when she straightens, the glossy hair lays down the front of her feminine physique donned in silk and armor. With a mane that ends in a curl at her middle thigh, "I have expended every resource to both summon, and locate, Tanaka no Taisho, with no avail."
Sucking her teeth as visible fangs stick out from blood-red painted lips, she reiterates concisely, "He appears to be a demon that wishes not to be found."
Narrowing his eyes before relaxing into apathy, the Ryu-possessed-Tsukiyomi waves to dismiss her. Clicking her heels together at attention, her entire form is encased by a cocoon of pure white webs that materialize before sinking her into the floor without a trace.
Muttering to himself, alone in the study, "What're you up to, uncle?"
Tsukiyomi's voice taunts the dragon in control of his body from within the confines of his mindscape prison, "You deceive yourself into believing You can rule the realms."
Ryu tilts his host's head with a raised eyebrow in the outside world, while holding a conversation on the inside of his head, "You have the strength to speak?"
Scowling on the outside, Ryu scoffs at Tsukiyomi internally, "Your last moments of sanity would be better spent dreaming of the human you long to bury yourself within before consuming at her death's door to return home."
Ryu regains his host's emotionless exterior while maintaining the verbal battle taking place within himself in case there are open ears spying on him.
Emotionless, Tsukiyomi's words flow smoothly, "Your words, not mine. Have you become as much of me, as I, you?
Before Ryu has the chance to answer, Tsukiyomi continues his tangent, "How could the dragon emperor fall prey to the wiles of a human whose heart belongs to the very god he possesses? A secret you would bury with your death, lest your desire to have her gives you away first."
Hearing the clicking purrs of a dragon reflecting upon his words, Tsukiyomi reminds Ryu of his confident prediction, "You should have chosen a different god to influence. This mistake will be the source of your undoing."
"You're right," Ryu's sudden, nonchalant approval silences Tsukiyomi.
"I deserve to be punished."