Ryuusei turned to look at the eight judge, giving him a polite head bow, not taking his eyes off the other's face. He wasn't surprised by the sudden appearance anymore, as he was already comfortable with the idea that they were spirits and could do whatever they pleased.
From the looks of it, training under this man wasn't going to be easy
The eighth judge eyed the first judge without any emotion whatsoever.
”When’s the ideal curfew for these people again…?” the white haired judge asked.
”Eleven, why?” the first judge asked as the eighth judge looked back down at Ryuusei.
”When you’re done with dinner… meet me at my court… it should be easy to spot, the tallest building around here with an amethystine and golden color…” the eighth judge stated as he walked out of the dining room.
Kaito was having shivers down his spine. That eighth judge did not made him feel safe around the man. He slowly picked up his chopsticks and continued with his meal.
Koki fell asleep quickly, her mind dropping into a dream. It was pleasant first, a nice day on the beach near a few cliffs. She was watching her sister and older brother playing in the water as she remained on the beach, laughing at their antics. However, a long rumble shook through the earth where she was sitting. Her siblings ran out of the water, yelling at Koki to get out of the way of the cliff, which started to crumble at the top. She couldn't move and was crushed, her spirit seems to float out of her body as her family tried to dig her out, both siblings crying hysterically. Outside of her dream, random objects started to appear in her room, flickering in and out of sight.
(aww poor babu)
Ryuusei nodded as the man left, returning to his food quietly. The eight judge really promised a rough apprenticeship, given his attitude and cold demeanor, but he didn't mind. After all, he was going there to train, not on a vacation trip. He was more than used with hard work, so he really was not worrying about what awaited him.
As soon as he was done, he put down the chopsticks, thanked for the food, and headed out for the eight judge's court, like promised
The outside of the mansion was still misty as ever but thankfully, the eighth judge had mentioned what his court looked like; the tallest of the ten courts which one of them definitely stood out in the height category.
Heading inside, spirits in complete white and tied to chains were walking in a line towards the staircase where at the top, stood a black and golden table with the judge behind it like the first and fourth court.
There was a platform that stood at the middle between the bottom of the staircase and the top of it where only one spirit stood.
”Murder… what was your purpose of killing that someone…?” the man atop of the staircase asked the spirit on the platform coldly.
”I… It was self-defense my lord, I promise! I did nothing wrong!!” the spirit in chains on the platform argued.
The eighth judge kept silent and turned to one of his officers, saying something silently.
The officer nodded and handed the eighth judge a set of papers…
”Alright…” the eighth judge sighed ”… since you are telling the truth and that it is self-defense, you are only charged the sentence of accidental murder, 5 years in the afterworld, that’s it” the judge handed the file back to the officer as the spirit got down on his knees, crying.
”Thank you my lord… Thank you…” the spirit managed to speak out before he slowly stood up and was guided by the officers to walk towards the exit doors which were on the same level as the platform.
”NEXT!!!” the judge shouted out as another spirit got on the platform.
It seemed as if the judge didn’t acknowledge Ryuusei’s appearance. The spirits in line were all sobbing, crying, sweating and were all clearly shaking in fear. The spirit on the platform wasn’t so different, though the same reactions, it was to a much higher degree.
(I’m gonna have to do something with Koki XD)
After observing the line of terrified spirits, Ryuusei turned away, feeling a little sorry for them; it was only normal for them to be afraid of the judgement, as it could decide their fate and even send them to eternal torment had they commited heavy enough sins.
Given the judge didn't seem to notice him, he walked silently to the side and waited patiently. His previous life had taught him it was very rude and possibly very dangerous to disturb a lord whilst they were busy, so out of habit, he just stood to the side quietly waiting until the judge would finally acknowledge him.
A masked officer walked over to Ryuusei.
”Master Ryuusei, please follow me. Lord Dushi will be with you after these people’s fates are decided fairly” the officer mentioned as he started to walk towards a painting and walked right passed it.
Being called "master" gave him a few chills but also a somewhat warm feeling in his chest. It felt nice to be treated nice for once in his life. He nodded and began walking after the masked guard, as silent as he had walked in, as to not disturb the judge.
Judging from the length of the line, he was going to have to wait a bit
Behind the painting illusion was a large well-decorated room with several decorations; golden lanterns, furnitures like structures built with purple jewels presumably amethyst, a dark carpeted floor which was soft even if it only touched the bottom of Ryuusei’s shoes.
The masked officer gestured to the comfortable dark lavender colored looking couch by the wall.
”Please make yourself comfortable… there are drinks, sweets, and snacks that way if you want them…” the officer gestured to the right of himself ”…and if you need assistance, I’ll be there” the officer gestured towards the spiral stairs before he walked up it.
Ryuusei nodded once more as a response to the guard's explanations. Once he was left alone in the room, he looked around for a bit, exploring the room with his eyes, curiously inspecting the structures. He still felt like what he was seeing seemed like something out of a fever dream.
He circled the room a few times before finally taking a seat on the purple couch, at one of the far ends of it, like trying to make himself as small as possible
(Back at the mansion…)
”Master Koki…” the male officer knocked on Koki’s door softly as he called her name.
”Someone is here to tell you about tomorrow’s schedule” the man stated as he knocked once more.
After some time, the eighth judge came back in with his hair messier than before. He sighed heavily once before he made his way to the couch. His face showed no emotion whatsoever… well, the half of his face which was revealed that was.
”How do you like this room…?” the man started to ask, seemingly trying to break the ice.
"Ah, it's… very pleasant, my lord." Ryuusei replied politely, his hands lightly squeezing his knees.
Truth was he did like the colors and the decorations of the room; they were expensive looking, yes, but they were still worth admiring.
The judge seemed a little tired, so it was in Ryuusei's best interest to not step on any wrong strings, just to be on the safe side; he didn't know this man as well as the other judges and knew nothing of what to expect, so it was best to be cautious
The judge nodded softly once before he reached into his pocket to get… something. It was a rubber band. He gathered his messy hair which blocked his eyes and tied a short ponytail behind his back. The man’s eyes were finally shown clearly; as silvery and glittery as they were, they also looked dangerous. With his hair now tied up, his face was revealed to Ryuusei.
”Let’s just get straight to the point… Oscar!” the judge called out as the male officer who guided Ryuusei into the room came down the stairs.
”Yes my lord?” the officer bowed as he spoke out.
”Bring me the item I told you to prepare…” the judge mentioned as the officer nodded and went over to a covered table. He picked out somethings which were tied by a white cloth, the things inside were moderately light but some parts were definitely sharp.
The judge started to unfold the outermost cloth, revealing a set of uniform. The uniform was a white and gray uniform that was designed similarly to Dushi’s (the eighth judge’s) uniform.
”Get changed first, I’ll have to test you on a few simple things and it is completely fine if you don’t pass any of them… I just need to know how much I’ll have to train you” the judge stated without much emotion but his voice gave out a sense of care.
”Master Koki…” the male officer knocked on Koki’s door softly as he called her name.
”Someone is here to tell you about tomorrow’s schedule” the man stated as he knocked once more.
Koki shot up, breathing out a sigh of relief as her dream melted away. All the illusions vanished before she could take notice of them. She ran to the door, smiling sheepishly. "I'm sorry, I fell asleep."
The male officer shook his head as he gestured to the other figure beside him.
”Hello again” the smiling face of the first judge peaked pass the male officer’s shoulder as the officer moved to the side.
”Tomorrow you’ll be working with one of the other nine judges as I’m not free and they’ll be training you in their own ways. Unfortunately, we don’t have time to introduce you to all of them so you’ll have to just choose… six and eight are taken by the way” the first judge mentioned.
"I understand. Thank you, my lord."
Ryuusei took the uniform that had been offered and proceeded to change into it. When was done, he inspected the clothes, feeling quite nice to be out of his old torn clothes. He still gave his old attire a last melancholic glance as he folded them in a neat pile.
"I'm ready."
The eighth judge got out a pen from his pocket. He looked around for a bit and walked away from Ryuusei, keeping a distance between himself and the visitor.
”Let me see your reflexes…”
The judge eyed his surrounding before he threw the pen right at Ryuusei, aiming for his head. The speed at which the pen was thrown was incredible as it created waves of air where their frequencies created a high pitched noise.
Koki's smile didn't reach her eyes, the dream had shaken her up. She thought for a moment. "Well, seven's my lucky number… So, can I work with seven?" She laughed, giving a thumbs up. "If that's alright."
Given Ryuusei had spent a lot of time working around not so kind hearted people, he had learned to dodge things thrown his way. Therefore, when he felt the judge would turn around, he dodged out of instict, the flying pen barely missing his head, instead just passing right next to the crook of his neck, lightly brushing the skin and hooking a few strands of hair along, before embedding into the wall behind the boy.
While his dodging reflexes were pretty sharp, he had never expected anything this fast to come his way; had it not been for his reflexes, that pen would have probably been imbedded in his head instead of the wall.
Ryuusei felt his heart racing in his chest as he slowly turned around to look at the small pen, now imbedded half way into the wall, with a few silvery strands from his hair dangling from the small crater.
"Wo de tian….." he thought as he fought to swallow the knot in his throat.
The first judge nodded and smiled, giving her a thumbs up in return.
”Of course, she will probably be happy to have a girl as her ‘student’” the judge mentioned as he turned back to the officer.
”Anything you’ve got to say?” the judge asked as the officer moved back to where he was earlier.
”If you change your mind, dinner is still being served Master Koki” the officer brought up as the first judge nodded in agreement while the officer walked away.
”Alright, I’ll see you soon” the judge gave Koki a small wave as he followed the officer.
(Thank my Chinese lessons that I understand what you’re trying to convey XD)
The eighth judge took a mental note that Ryuusei was quite a fast fellow. He regained his posture and pointed at the pen which was stuck on the wall… the specially made wall…
”Pull out that pen for me…” the judge asked Ryuusei, stroking his hair once to return the extremely messy hairstyle he had back to his moderately messy style.
Koki smiled and shut the door, falling into the beanbag in the corner with a groan. She didn't like being dead, her skin was cold and she felt weird. Plus I can see in different colors, my hands look like they're covered in blood, and I don't need to breathe anymore. She just had to remind herself.
The boy gulped slightly as he looked back at the pen.
He reached out to it and pulled it. Nothing happened. He pulled harder, but it didn't budge not even one bit. Perplexed by how stubborn it was, Ryuusei climbed the couch, grabbed the pen with both hands and pulled harder, to no avail. He kept pulling it, eventually starting to jiggle it in an attempt loosen it even one bit.
When it still wouldn't budge, the boy propped one of his legs against the wall, pulling with both hands and jiggling it; it was like trying to pull armature wire out of a concrete wall, that's how stubborn the pen was. Ryuusei had done some heavy work before, but nothing had been as unmoving as this pen.
As a last attempt, he started putting his weight into the pulls, trying to get it out. At the fourth pull, the pen finally came out, but due to the effort he had put in that last pull, he was sent crashing on the floor. For a few seconds all he saw were stars flashing before his eyes accompanied by the pulsating pain at the back of his head
The eighth judge eyed Ryuusei’s attempt at pulling the pen out from seemingly one of the densest wall of the afterworld. He was honestly amazed that Ryuusei was able to pull the pen out though he needed to hide with surprise to keep the man in front of him in a stressed state.
”Alright… now throw that pen back at me…” the judge ordered with an emotionless tone. Internally, he wanted Ryuusei to rest a bit first but he had to keep his cold and merciless vibe… at least for now.