Koki swung herself onto the platform with a small giggle, feeling a bit less grumpy now that she wasn't sick to her stomach. She turned to the judge, smiling a bit. "Oh, and to your remark earlier about my language. I'm Italian, it's very unlikely that you'll find an Italian with a clean mouth. Other than when our mouths are scrubbed with soap."
Kaito turned to Ryuusei, the side of his cheek with the glowing character facing the man.
“I would assume so… even then, I still need a doctor” he gave a small sigh as he turned around to look at the building itself in surprise. It had looked bigger than when he was on the boat, his eyes were playing tricks on him weren’t they? He felt the urge to just head into the building to see the doctors but as manners go, he should wait for everyone to be ready first.
The second judge gave a small giggle to the child. He looked warm for a dead man.
”There—“ he pointed to a faraway building which looked almost identical to the first court ”—that is the fifth court, Yanluo’s place. Let me tell you all a secret—“ he leaned a little closer to the group ”—not a lot of people like him, in fact, none of the other judges do” he laughed a bit at the end.
"Why is that?" the boy questioned, approaching the judge after looking at the faraway castle.
He had discovered a few remnants of the rope he had been tied with, still strangling one of his wrists. He tried removing it, but as wet as it was, the effort was futile, therefore decided to let it be, moving his attention to the information provided by the judge.
"Okay… But like, why?" Koki raised her eyebrows, she hoped he wasn't mean. Then she would end up scolding the shit out of him, that was the most likely outcome that would happen if he was mean.
”Well, he’s a rude and harsh person who is not extremely respectful of anyone. Anything to get him what he wants, he will do. He’s also a biased man who has a soft spot for children for some god forsaken reason. So whenever he has something to do with children, he’s a soft and patient man, in other times, don’t annoy him as that can get you a fast-pass to Hell” the second judge explained casually but with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
Koki nodded. "Alright. So I'll be fine, y'all are on your own if you fuck up." She decided. That was a lie if they got into some sort of trouble she'd just cry or something to distract the judge from them.
Kaito had his hands on his hips.
“‘A fast-pass to Hell’, thank you for the easy explanation good sir” the man raised a brow with a teasing smile when he spoke up.
”My pleasure” the judge replied with a smudged look on his face.
(I’ve gotta go~)
A rude and harsh person that was easy to annoy. Great. Ryuusei had met plenty of people like that back at home, they had been everywhere honestly, and he'd dealt with those enough times to know it was not good to challenge them.
Only, unlike the human world, instant or painful death had been replaced by a guaranteed one way trip to Hell if he did end up getting on the judge's bad side, so he better be careful.
"So, where are we going now?"
The working children and the reason they were doing what they were doing had caused Jennifer to go silent, but she couldn't help but chuckle at Koki's remark. For someone her age, she definitely had a bold streak. "Got it, stay on his good side," she said. Or just avoid the guy like the plague, whichever is more convenient at the time.
(By the way, I won't be able to RP all day tomorrow as I'll be on a field trip and I don't have a cell phone. I can try and get a quick post or two in before I get on the bus, but other than that, I'll be gone. Just a heads-up)
”Into the building, though I doubt the fourth judge has arrived. At least you all can go heal up first” the second judge mentioned as he started to pace towards the building in front of them which stood at a large structural standpoint.
”This isn’t the building you all are staying in, that one’s behind this one, this is the fourth court itself” he reminded.
Shie, the female spirit in white, had gotten off the boat and stood by the shore in silence.
(Gotcha’)
Looking up at the large building, it looked even more intimidating up close than it was from far away. The thought they would be staying near this place gave Ryuusei chills.
He took a few steps forward before remembering the spirit in white. He turned around, looking at her then back at the judge.
"What about her?" he asked, pointing at Shie.
The second judge turned to the spirit by the shore.
”She’s a wandering spirit, on her last day of work here before she’ll be visiting the tenth and last court… she’s been carrying spirits across the river with me for more than twenty years now so it’s about time she has her fate decided” he answered, turning back to the building as he opened the doors.
Inside was a beautiful blue hall with decorations like a glass chandelier, a golden and white diagonal staircase leading up to a black and golden table similar to the first court’s, glass sculptures in shapes of deers and horses, several silver totems of fire which are lit with blue flames, a carpeted floor with the colors of azure, white, and bluish gold, a surprisingly beautiful three-layered fountain in the middle of the whole room which is surrounded by concrete structures of fishes and other aquatic animals, and paintings of the sea and the ocean on each side of the hall.
There was a platform which was set in front of the fountain which held four people who were all in a seated position, each holding an instrument; a Shakuhachi (Japanese Flute), a Koto, a Shamisen, and a Biwa, in order the left the right.
All the people holding the music instruments were masked in different colored masks which covered only the bottom half of their face; red, green, yellow, and blue respectively though all were wearing a black yukata with white edges, all were male with dark brown hair accompanied by equally mystifying darkened blue eyes.
Ryuusei's gaze wondered all over the hall in awe, amazed by its size, grace and the intricate details of the paintings and sculptures. He'd never been inside a rich home, so he was overwhelmed by everything around him.
Eventually he noticed the four (supposed?) musicians standing still. He inched closer to the judge to get a better look at them.
"Who are they?" he asked slowly
”They’re healers who use music to heal people from the inside out” the second judge explained.
From the floor above, the sound of running broke the weird silence.
”Hiyaaaaaaa~~” a bright female in a white and blue knee-lengthened yukata with a watery design of waves showed herself over the ledge before she made her way to the stairs, sitting on the handle and sliding down. She had black, straight chest-lengthened ponytail tied by a blue ribbon accompanied with a silver fish hairpin in her front, she also wore circular glasses with silver frames, and a blue Oni mask tied to her neck in front of her. She jumped off the handle when she was on the same level as the visitors.
(Eyy, i managed to draw Ryuusei :D Ded as he is)
(Holy…)
(Wow… that is just pure talent right there! Luv that!!)
(And now I am tempted to draw Kaito… maybe another day, it’s late for me already XD)
(Haaa, thank you :'D ❤❤ I also have a drawing of him post-healing but i kinda wanna keep it for later, when he gets healed. Unless u wanna see it now, then i'll post it 😅)
(I could try sketching him if u want o3o)
(Ah, I can wait definitely [also just followed your insta •3•])
(As much as I want to see that, I’m trying to improve my art ability so this might be a good opportunity for that :3)
(Oki :D I'd keep replying but i should probably wait for Unseelie, and im also a tad bit stumped so :'D)
(Ah, gotcha’, I get that :D)
(ah i might also change his story a bit, since i got a new idea. Instead of loan sharks, it was an angry lord that ordered for him to be drowned because he tried to protect someone from being wrongfully abused. Ties in better with his "protecting" job)
(Ah, that’s really interesting indeed)
(Also…)
Despite noticing the judge, Kaito did not pay attention to her much as his sight was still a bit blurry.
“Hey…” he tapped Ryuusei’s shoulder “… you are from Japan, right?” He asked with a soft and quiet tone, almost a whisper.
Koki smiled widely at the woman, another girl! "Hi! I'm Koki Popoli! I like your hair." She complimented the other, holding out her hand to shake before putting it away. They don't do that here, I guess. Don't want to be rude.