Iron Bark Tournament (Closed)

"And they call this a celebration."

Kaseki sat in a lavish chair, overlooking most of the young festivities of this Iron Fist Tournament. He pondered entering himself, but decided not to meddle in the affairs of weak willed mortals.

He was a long way from many of the others, few would cast a glance in his direction. Guards were posted all around. Androids, cyborgs, knights, and even Biths stood around him.

"Why did you invite those things..."

"Why not? They're fantastic at making music."

He sat there, lazied, a crow perched on his shoulder as a band continued to play music for the entire floor, and Kaseki himself. He did enjoy the music from any Bith. He believed it was in their blood to make extravagant sounds. But his focus was on the few that would make it to the second round of this ceremony. He was told there would be a prize for them, and he could only wonder what events would arise in such an odd gathering of people.

He looked at the various registration tables, they were some great distance away... so instead, he began to nod his head to the music of the band.

He did quite enjoy it.

She had heard of something new. A party of sourts but for anyone who wished to join. There also seemed to be a tournament taking place afterwards or somewhere in between. The demon had no idea how such things worked. Of course being the woman that wished to understand this world and keep her "children" safe, she decided to join in the festivities. This would be an opportune time to understand the people of this world and their abilities. Only those that truly wanted to show their skills would join, which in turn would point out the more daring of the world and possibly the ones she must feel skeptical about.

There seemed to be many guards about the place, however none of them seemed to notice her differences. Then again as she looked closer, she began to notice they were quite different as well. As she wandered among the crowds of individuals, she came upon a sound that would capture her attention. It seemed to be a kind of music, which was something she didn't listen to very often. Actually, she had never heard of it until she had come to this world. It was intriguing, yet she didn't quite know if she certainly liked it. Nonetheless, she would make her way towards it. It couldn't hurt to listen for a little while.

The demon would find herself standing listening to this music fill her ears. There was one other close but she seemed to leave plenty of room between them. She didn't quite care who this individual was , What this individual was, or what they were doing. The demon wasn't one for normally making friends, unless they approach her first. She was simply waiting for new knowledge to enter her mind.

"Hmph." he glanced over at the nearest man to him. "10-86." he would say. He lifted his hand to point at a demon girl in the distance, her horns shown. "Bring me that girl."

"But sir I-"

"I swear to god if you question me one more time, I'm making you in charge of laundry again."

"... Yes sir."

The android would continue to walk forward, casting hand gestures to the men around the festival. He would walk across the naked stone tiles, a clearing dividing Kaseki from the festivities for a good several dozen meters. Even if he wanted to be a part of it, he didn't want to be in it. A single man would walk in  the girls direction, only to have one man next to her in similar armored attire speak on behalf of the man in change. "I believe your presence is requested." he would say, "The Creator himself would like a word with you."

And so.. it would begin.

Red eyes watched the odd creatures as they played their music. They were oddly shaped and the way their heads looked was almost as if they were highly intellectual beings. Akira had never seen anything like them before. The again, she had never seen much of anything this world had to offer.

Although she seemed to be paying her attention to this band, she could also hear the sound of someone coming closer to her. As they came directly next to her, Red eyes would land on them. Then, she would hear a sentence that puzzled her. ' The Creator huh?' Was this simply a title given to a random man? Or was this something more? Could this be the one that she had been told about?

"Alright."

"It's this way, Mother Akira." The man gave a slight bow, his face hidden behind a mask. His tone rose questions of his past, for he sounded far too noble to be a servant, and far too intellectual to not be a man of free will. There was any things to ask of him, but not enough time to find all of the answers.

A scarlet carpet would roll out towards them. A golden trim bordered the fabric as the crimson material was woven with extravagant designs. It was almost out of a dream. Yet at the other end of the rolled out rug sat a single man, in a single black cloak, with a single bird perched on his left shoulder. As riches lingered in the air as gold and other rare and precious metals were used to decorate, the man himself seemed to wear clothing of ill worth and of tattered quality.

But to those that have met him, it was Kaseki. And nothing he did ever made sense... ever.

"She's the one?" the bird would whisper into his owner's ear.

"She fits the description."

"Then she is the chosen."

Red eyes stared slightly confused by this single being. Had she known him? Was he apart of her village? Nobody of this world called her by the name Mother unless they were apart of her village. Something seemed slightly odd about this and made her fell rather skeptical about what may happen.

Eyes would flicker in the direction of a carpet. One end began at her own feet and the other towards a being that seemed to be of low class. However, he couldn't be low class considering he was known as something and he had people working for him. Who was this being? Red eyes stared at the carpet that was almost the same color. The golden trim complimented it rather nicely.

The woman would then slowly make her way towards the being only lifting her head once she was a good distance away from him. She spoke not and simply stared waiting for some type of instruction. Wouldn't want to cause any problems now.

The guard would escort her to Kaseki in complete silence. The only sounds from him were the boots hitting the tile of the ground.

When she had arrived, there would be just three steps up to the platform Kaseki sat on. His chair being nothing short of a throne. Something made of a metallic substance, only to be trimmed with gold and jade. It was expensive and worth a lot of money in any market. He would sit there, his face resting on his fist as he leaned to his right, the bird perched on his shoulder. As the girl would arrive, his guard would walk away, leaving him to stare blankly for a few moments before uttering a word.

The bird would look at Kaseki, then at the girl, then back at Kaseki. Then he would shrug and fly off.

"So..." Kaseki would begin. "I heard you're my new sister-in-law... I MEAN," his eyes would widen, "I MEAN YOUR THE NEWEST WONDERLAND-ER..."

This beings eyes would stare at her as the two sat in silence. The guard had immediately left but t took the bird a few moments to depart from their presence. The Red eyed demon showed no signs of any emotion whatsoever as she stood silently. However, she surely was curious. Who was this? What did they want? Why her? Then, it spoke.

At first, Akira would blink once as she heard him speak. 'Sister-in-law? What the hell is he talking about?' Then, he would attempt to cover his own words. 'What do sister-in-law and wonderland haveto do with anyting?' After a moment of blankly staring at this rather confusing man, she would respond. "Indeed I am. And do I get the pleasure of knowing who you might be?" Her voice was rather calm and soft.

"Kaseki." his face was expressionless, his eyes ever glowing. To humans and mortals, they described him as Death Himself, or some living nightmare. But in most cases, all of them assumed wrong. Even if his face looked like bone, a skull, or that of a fanged demon, it was his own biology. He was not undead, but he was not quite living. He was intimidating to most. He could only wonder how this girl saw him as well.

"As Neo created Wonderland, I created Pandora." he began to sit upright. And he lifted a foot to rest on his leg, getting comfortable in his chair. "And he chose you to fill the spot of the job I once worked." He gave a slight smile that faded away just as it surfaced. "He must trust you then. And he is not one who simply lives with blind faith."

'Kaseki..." Akira would certainly remember this name. Master Neo had certainly mentioned this one before. So, he was the all powerful creator as she had heard from many. She had to admit it was quite impressive to be in his presence. Then again, she didn't much know much about him so she didn't care for him. Red eyes would stare still showing nothing of emotion. 


However, she became quite interested when he spoke of her having a position he once did. "Hm. So, the all powerful creator of Pandora worked for Master Neo... in Wonderland. That's a bit hard to believe but I suppose if you say it, it must be true." Akia would nod after speaking. She sure didn't seem to care what came out of her mouth. "So, what did you do when you worked for Master Neo?" Akira would ask.

"You could say I was the one that built Wonderland." Kaseki spoke, his mind drifting off to the past adventures of he and his friend. It was one... It was one hell of a trip.

"I was his servant." Kaseki said, his words sounding true, yet hid parts of the complete tale. But he would continue to talk, for in this case, it was necessary. "I watched over him. I made sure he was able to breathe and make it to the next day. I made sure he lived to see many moons. I made sure that my father, Death himself, would find him so annoying, that I would care for his soul." Kaseki smiled, reliving the tale. "From Konoha, to Hargeon, from Gaia to the books, this job is universal." He smiled, his rough metallic skin cracking. "I was his friend."

Akira would blink as Kaseki spoke. His words didn't seem to make any sense. 'How can he say one create a place and another build the place. Is that not the same thing?' The girl would think to herself as she continued to listen. It was sort of one of those moments where you'd want to say Aww or at least from Akira's perspective. However, she didn't exactly understand everything that was being said. "So, your father is Death? Death isn't supposed to be a person though. It's something that happens to people. I don't understand. And I haven't heard of a few of those places. And... is there.. something wrong with Master Neo?" Akira would speak all of her questions, even is he wasn't specifially meaning to ask Kaseki himself.

"Some believe he is nothing more than a myth. But in reality, he is something more than man. And he is real." Kaseki leaned on his chair, his foot wiggling a bit. "Wonderland is much older than the first building made in Pandora. It was later that Necro Wonderland was brought here..."

But he would pause, only to remember the ill fate that they both suffered from. But he leaned over the arm of his throne, only to reach into a bag on the ground. He shuffled a bit, trying to find the object. Soon, he would pull out a metallic cylinder.

"Akira," he began, "I need you to do me a favor." He extended his hand, holding out the object to her. "This is called an Armageddon Drive. They are important and essential to Neo's health. I am the only one who can create them. I need you to bring this to him." He looked at her, hoping she would become the one.

Akira had herself learning more things she don't know. Appearantly, there was more than one meaning to the word Death. She wondered what this death person was like. However, she would soon be distracted by more Wonderland history. This time there was no projections or whatever. There was no crushing of dead children's skulls. That was a relief. 

However, Akira became curious when Kaseki began to dig for something. There was a bag beside his chair that she hadn't noticed until now. Then, he wou pull out some metal thing. Akira would mentally sigh. This world was so complex and different. Would she ever be able to live in this world with knowledge. It seemed she hadn't even scratched the surface yet. 

The demon would stare at Kaseki as he asked her to do him a favor. The girl wild stare at the thing Kaseki held. As he spoke, she felt as if something were unsettling. The demon would move closer until she could grab the item, yet she hesitated. "Uhm.. how do I handle this? I've never seen anything like this before. I wouldn't want to mess it up. If Master Neo needs it, I can't give it to him in any other way but perfect." Red eyes stared at the object. Then, they glanced up at Kaseki and back to the object.

"Normally the metal itself would burn your skin and mutate you into a vile creature. However, the one thing that makes it harmless is me." Kaseki smiled at his joke. "The only thing that prevents Armageddon Steel from destroying the world is Ironbark. And since I'm make purely of it, this will be harmless to you." He looked back at the container, remembering what was inside, and why it needed to get their fast.

"The tin itself is made purely of Ironbark. So have no worries. You can drop it off a cliff and the contents would be fine." He moved his hand a bit, almost pleading for her to take it from him. As if his arm was already getting tired from holding it up.

But no one would really understand why Neo and Kaseki did what they did the way they did. Some say it was because they knew each other for so long. Some say they walked similar paths. But no one truly knew the reason why they always worked together. No one understood why they got along so easily.

Not even Neo and Kaseki.

Akira would listen to Kaseki once more. She didnt pay attention really to his jokes, although she did involuntarily smile when he did. She would listen to everything he had to say. When he finished, she woul notice he was urging her to take it, so she would. Slowly Akira would grab the container and take it from his hand. Red eyes would stare at Kaseki. Akira felt the need to leave right then and take it to him but she didn't know if it was acceptable to leave Kaseki's presence in such a manner.

Kaseki smiled at the thought of Neo having another assistant. It put him at ease to know he was in good hands. After all, with Pandora completed, he couldn't tend to Neo as often as he could. And the droids he did send out to him, would come back in pieces, if they ever came back at all. He couldn't trust anyone else to handle such important goods. But in the hands of this Akira, he would have to carry a bind faith.

Kaseki couldn't help but smile at her and nod. He would sit back in his chair, still unsure on how to end conversations. But perhaps, this would be a change.

"You best get going. If you wait to long, the Iron First Tournament might be over when you get back."

Akira would stare at Kaseki as he smile and nodded. She wondered what it meant. She still hesitated. Then, he would speak and Akira would step back. "Yes, of coure, thank you ever so much." The demon would turn and begin to walk away with the container locked tightly in her arms. However before she was too far, she would turn and smile. Then, she would stare for a moment and continue off. She didn't know why she felt the need for such a thing. It just seemed right. 

(Exit?)

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