Alteteriquin

Hakuryu Kenson, heir to the ruler's throne, stood in front of the court in which ruled underneath her beloved, and previously deceased, father known as The Ruler. Thankful to her, it was because of mere old age, and he had died peacefully, not in pain or by assassination. Now that the old Ruler was dead, and no other qualified to do so than her, she was to be presented forward as the new Ruler of the lands. She had to dress nicely and attempted to not show how nervous she was feeling. Her nerves were calmed slightly by the feeling of her two most trusted guards near her as she was lead to the second highest. They exchanged a greeting before she was properly initiated to be the next ruler of Alterteriquin.

Whilst this was happening, there was news spread over of the Ruler's death and his daughter's succession. It was hard for someone to miss all of the fuss, for it was known throughout everyone of how harsh the old ruler had been to most everyone that was considered 'below' him. Even with that said, he wasn't always the kindest towards his own daughter either. His main thought was that it would be beneficial to help make her callous to being mistreated or being hurt emotionally or mentally. Of course this was not right, but he was her father and that is whom decided what did and didn't occur. She was very annoyed with the fact that he was so cruel herself, but knew she as well was the same way at times.

She was never allowed to see really anyone else that would pose a threat to her or could end up doing so; this meant she did not get to see more than possibly 2 people depending on the circumstance. A lot of the time, she was only capable of taking to her clairvoyant, servants, or those that also were of a form of power in some sorts that was relative to her. She disliked the responsibility she was given, and the new threat that now hung over her head from the lower classes to be a proper successor of her father or perish. She knew that she was special, and could fend for herself very easily, but at the same time she also was very paranoid sometimes when she woke of what may happen to her whilst she is sleeping. With as many servants and guards as she did have, though, this truly wasn't a concern. Since most of the lower classes didn't have the same luxuries that the priority classes did, it was less of a concern about how threatening they could be all together.

There was always the treat of what they could end up doing, though. This day of her initiation after the ceremonial granting of leadership, she was brought out with her guards and then some around her and introduced to the public as their new ruler. She was uncomfortable with this, but it had to be done and it would thankfully soon be over and she could be alone again. Whilst they walked, she glanced around at some of the faces of people onlooking her. Some were neutral, some disappointed or unhappy, and some were pleasant. It was a mix that made her stomach churn slightly. She purposely had made them stop at some of the stores to talk and greet some of the people that were working, and she was kind enough to give them a few bins here and there as she went along. No matter who's gaze she met though she managed to just keep a smile, almost condescending in the way it was being kept on her face, throughout her walk. She was nervous yes, but this also meant she could now have control over the lower classes, and she seemed ready to take care of anything that stood in her way of keeping that power.

She finally was able to go back to her place, though that gave her nothing in the sense of having any sort of privacy still. If anything, it was just the same as it had been and had instead introduced her to merely more of the higher castes. She met the public overseer even. 'Saku' or 'Suzu' or something of that sort was the only part of his name that she could remember though all of the ridicule fussing about. She calmly walked off and went about her day upon this. She didn't know of the lowers that had already started to dislike and distrust her, and it was not even a day into her being the ruler. For those outside her home, they started to gather a few people and move off to the side, away from where they could be heard and taken away for what they were to talk of.

When they started to talk to one another, it was a sort of meeting in which they invited others to join in at will with. They seemed to be talking of how 'Now is the time to take down the hierarchy before it is stabilized again' and that 'who's to say this new ruler wont be as bad as her father'. It was a bit intense in the sense of hostility and aggravation in their group, but they seemed to be making a point with each other and were perfectly happy with the idea of starting a rebellion. They dispersed and started to plot separately from each other in order to not get caught conspiring against the new ruler, Mistress Haku. Though it took a while to really reach everyone that was around day and night, it was soon known throughout that there was both a new ruler and talk of rebellion against the hierarchy already.

Many of the higher castes hearing about this talk of rebellion found it to be humorous or ridicule. Even some of the middle class did too, though it also seemed they were both humored, weighed by the possibility and danger of a rebellion, and were slightly fearful of what could happen to them if they got caught on in the scheme. Overall it seemed to be a big mess between all of the classes and their opinions on the new ruler and how everyone thought that they should handle it. It always seemed to be evident that there were those that wanted to rebel either for the sake of rebelling and causing an issue or those that wanted to truly take down the hierarchy, but that was a moderately small amount of people at that point in time. Other than that, though, it was shown that many of the others were either neutral, curious of how she was going to rule, or too afraid to talk of anything relative to a rebellion at that time from all classes alike.

From the point of view of Suzu, Suzuki Natoko, though, we can see that he was first to find out about the standpoints of most. He was the Public Overseer, so it was his job to know what was going on throughout the talk between the lower classes. It also wasn't too hard for him to keep away from everyone either and stay concealed, especially considering that he was unliked by many both high and low classes alike. It was, at times, a dangerous job for him, but he could handle himself, and was quietly listening in whilst people were conversing about the new ruler. The rebellion talk, the fear, the curiosity, and the neutral; he had heard all of it throughout the different classes towards Mistress Haku.

Suzu remembered seeing her whilst she was on her walk, showing her newly obtained status and power. He believed she was very attractive. 'Stupid!' he had caught himself drifting off from what his goal at the current time was from remembering her again. He shook his head and went off to report his findings to the others of the court. They were glad that they had someone whom could easily move unnoticed or uncared about through the lower classes, though they were not thrilled that it was him specifically that was doing so. He knew they didn't like him and, to be fully honest, he felt he really didn't seem to like them either let alone care if they did like him or not. Suzu didn't frankly care if anyone did so long as he was still friends with Mistress Haku.

That's one of the few people that really mattered to him, considering that she was both his close friend and only friend. He had pretty much no one else that he could trust or befriend really, especially considering his job. In a sense, he saw his job as being one that was a 'snitch' more than a 'public overseer' as a 'title'. He was a snoop and acted as the hidden eyes and ears of the council as to make sure everyone stayed in their proper place in the system. He wasn't the only one whom was an overseer either, too, but he was one of the topmost ones they relied on for important information or to help confirm any suspicion that may happen within the different classes throughout the days. It was a very risky task to be set off to do, but that was his lifestyle and, having no one else to worry about him, he didn't have to worry much about upsetting anyone if he met an early demise while doing his job.

The system itself though was obviously not just a mere monarchy, but had a low tone somewhat of what could be described as a sort of dictatorship truly. It wasn't something that was favored to admit, and was kept silent if ever brought up. It was a 'monarchy' and their ruler was one that was truly 'Gifted' in the sense of who was fit to rule. With both the power that each ruler has always been bestowed and the family roots to back up the genetics that passed the power down, it seemed that it truly was deemed to always be a sense of who was fit to rule by those circumstances and never anything but. This was most likely one of the main factors in which helped to keep those below in line; the power of the Ruler and the rulers of the past.

Copycat is what the unique power was, and though it seemed slightly unuseful in a practical term of living wise, it was a very useful power when it came to manipulating others gifts to be used for themselves. The could copy any one power from someone that they wished and use it as much as they like until they found some other power they liked or got too tired to be able to use the said power any longer. It was the power in which helped to divert attacks or turn the attack against the one attacking, and always was disadvantaging when only in a physical fight. Through that small detail, there were loopholes though that were found, and Clairvoyants that had been blessed with the power of future sight would be taken away for use as much as the Ruler wanted; this helped them to not need to constantly use Copycat for that single power when its merely available in the form of someone else. Best of all, the said Clairvoyant is conditioned to obey the wish of the Ruler whenever their power was needed. It wasn't a great life for the Clairvoyant who was taken, but it was most likely a better life than those that were not taken and instead had to find a way to continually support themselves.

All the classes had to deal with the matter of trying to take care of themselves throughout hardships, and it was obvious within jobs that class still was a very big factor in how much one would get paid or if someone would have a job even. Many lower class people had either no job or one that was tedious or paid a small amount. The lower classes always had it worse off than the middle and high class, and that is how the ones above them liked it to be and stay like. It kept them from having too much ability to cause an uprising, and also kept them from technological advances easier unlike the middle and upper classes. The middle classes were split towards low or high in their own sense too; many could have enough to live off of, but not necessarily have enough to have a little extra for certain things without extra effort, or else they could have enough to live off of, but not enough to be seen as any better than their class even when there was enough left over to have comforts others may not be able to have. Upper classes almost never had to worry in the slightest about finances unless it had to do with helping keep the system in check or of being robbed.

It wasn't unusual for many lower class people to be thieves because of the incapability of getting a job, and instead many resorted to stealing from the highers or from each other. It wasn't unusual for there to be a moderate amount of crime throughout the city and the different stores, though the highest rate of crime always was Robbery or Theft. It was surprisingly not as common, or at least not as often caught for, in terms of people committing other crimes asides that like treason or murder. Though, with the rate of development being leveled out between classes as low to high, it made so that there was not too much technological development in the beautiful surrounding landscape; Though this made it easier for someone to either hide from society, or get away with murder if desired when it truly came down to the wire.

Other than robbery caused by lower class people, it was a mildly calm society that had been made, and was not bothered until the change in leadership within it. It was unknown to many what was brewing between classes about this ruler, and it was hard to say what would happen in the time to come with the following new leadership. Though it seemed as if Mistress Haku would be a bit more merciful, no one truly knew what to think of her and her condescending smile that was almost always present on her face. No matter though, there was talk that something would end up happening to the system whether it be destroyed or merely shaken slightly, maybe even freed up more, but no one knew for sure and it was obvious that time would only tell as to what was going to happen.

Hakuryu herself, though, was unfazed by the talk of rebellion that had been reported to her. Many had tried to rebel against her cruel father beforehand, and failed even when it caused civil wars between the different classes. She was confident that her clairvoyant 'friend' would help her when needed, and knew that with both her council and her quiet eyes and ears at a constant that she would be ready. No matter how secret a plot or plan would be attempted to have concealed, there was always a way for it to leak into the ears of those whom should not be hearing the information. With the current information, the support she knew she had in the beginning, and those that surrounding her would protect her life with their own down to the last guard, she was completely content and even curious to see if they would truly try to rebel against her. No one could see if it was her thinking it was funny or actually being curious though. Deep down, it seemed like she truly was a bitch, just like her father had been, but she tended to not really 'show' that side of herself full on when she was with others. She knew it herself though, and knew that no one else should know, only think or theorize about it.

Even through the night of that day, it was still evident that some had been stirred about by the Ruler being replaced, and there was of course talk in the small stores and bars around town about how people were thinking; of course her eyes and ears were there always, even when she was asleep in her own bed and the night watchmen of the city, such as one like Hemoro, patrolled the streets for any burglars or robbers that at times may be snooping about under the stars of the two moon sky. There were also some that were homeless once in a great while that they may come across and need to be shooed off to one of the shelters made for those without a home any longer. Much of the time, though, it was silent aside from any bars or night clubs. Whilst it was silent and one of the patrol officers on graveyard shift stumbled upon one another, they would stop and talk. They too though also were wondering what was going to happen now with Mistress Haku as the new ruler, and what would start happening during the day, and what could stir up during the night from all of the talking having to do with rebellion. No one was safe from the talk that lingered in the air, for no one wanted another civil war to break out within the classes, and no one wanted to spill blood once again as it had been not too many years ago with the last ruler.

After talking, the patrolling deputies would go on their way and continue their work until the next morning crept into life, and once again everyone started their days as they would, trying to act as if the tension from the previous day still was not there or had never happened. It was hard to ignore for some, but the rest decided to accept it and move on so as to not ruin the lives that they had now in being undisturbed with their peaceful lives. Not everyone seemed to want to do so, but many either made themselves do so or had already just embraced and became happy at the possibilities of what could happen in the very near future. Thus with this, a closer look shall be taken upon some of the citizens of this world, and the fate of what is to come in the future will slowly start to become unraveled before all.

Shin was unfortunately sharing a room with his house mate. Mate wasn't really how he'd explain it. More like house burden. Shin would much rather be alone but he couldn't exactly afford the fees the college charged to live alone on the campus. So for some reason this guy offered to share his room for a cheaper price. Shin actually refused many times, he hated the idea, he'd rather go live with his parents but he didn't want to burden them either. And so after much annoyance from the stranger, he finally accepted. He still didn't know why this guy was so keen on having him share the room, perhaps he was really soon. "How pitiful." He thought to himself as he was up late studying as usual. This was usually the best time for him, his roomy would usually go out at night to the bar or something stupid and time wasting. But it was good for him, he got to be alone and avoid the blabbering of his roomy.

As the hours passed by, his roomy finally returned, sadly. "Hey Shin! You're still up studying huh? Ya big nerd ha ha!" And he was clearly drunk. "D-Did ya hear about the Rebellion forming? Hey how fun would it be to join in? It's like an action movie! He let out a chuckle and Shin cringed.

"Yes I've heard about the Rebellion and the new ruler now can you ple- who is that." Shin interrupted himself as he noticed a female hanging off his roomy, she looked out of it with a stupid grin on her face. "No way, you know you can't have fema-"

"Lighten up Shin! Shhh I know you won't tell 'cause you're such a good boy." The idiot interrupted him. Shin sighed, stood up, grabbed his books and study material and left the room. There's no way he could just sit there and study while the two drunks openly had sex in front of him.

"Disgusting." He said out loudly bluntly and coldly. He shot his roomy a cold glare who was far too wasted to realise his roomy was pissed.

See ya Sh-! SLAM! Shin shut the door behind him in his face. He adjusted his glasses with his index finger and ran his slender fingers through his short, blonde hair. Letting out an irritated sigh, he was off to where ever he could go. There was an exam tomorrow, an exam in one of his weaker subjects and he wanted to ace it. No time for nonsense such as clubs and the sort. So he thought the only place really to quietly study at this time of night was the park. The central park was clearly, in the center of everything. It was a large park and usually a lot of homeless found places to hide and stay the night there, they didn't worry him though, he could defend himself.

Reaching the park, he found a bench and seated himself on the seat provided, placing his lot of books and study material on the table bench and continued his studies. It was a pretty cool night, nice temperature, quiet. Just how he liked it.

Word got around quickly of the new ruler and the Rebellion. Things were becoming intense and the fact that the new ruler was the old one's daughter only made things worse in his opinion. Considering how much of an asshole the old ruler was, he only assumed his daughter would follow suit and be just as unforgiving and cruel. Politics bored him and annoyed him. He hated the idea of their being different classes and he just had to be born right at the bottom. It wasn't fair and he couldn't do anything about it. He would be much help to the rebellion as good as it sounded. All he could do was steal and get by. Would being able to make a fire out of sticks be useful to them? Certainly not.

Yuu had just finished bathing in a clear, refreshing river nearby the abandoned house he had been staying in. So far no patrol officers or correctional officers had discovered his small sanctuary. As he dried off and got changed back into his clothes, his stomach beckoned him to get some food, growling furiously. "Shit, didn't realise I was this hungry..." Yuu usually tried to go as long as possible without food, trying his best to save money and use it only when he needed it. He was trying to save up to get his life on track, to get fancy clothes to get a job, to get a house. To eat good food.

Heading back into the house, he rummaged through his things, looking for food. All he found was empty packets of instant noodles. His face showed the expression of someone filled with much doom and gloom. "Dammit." He'd have to find someone to steal off. Around this time of night a lot of drunk idiots roamed around, they were easy targets.

Yuu wondered the streets, hands in his black jeans pockets, hoodie sleeves rolled up. He thought if he had his hoodie up shrouding his face, he'd look more suspicious. Being out in the open with his dark, magenta red hair, made him stand out like a sore thumb. He didn't exactly enjoy stealing, and he didn't like roaming the streets at night; he had more enemies than friends.

He headed towards an establishment know as Darker than Black. Most who left that place were drunk, he'd hang around that area for a bit until he found someone easy to rob.

At the moment, a non-threatening appearing patrol deputy was calmly walking down the roads, alerted and glancing around. at that specific point in time. They always were very paranoid in how they moved and shifted, but this was normal for really anyone who walked alone at night nonetheless. Hemoro, though, didn't truly care about the fact they probably looked a bit lost, because that was the point. They knew many thieves attempted to always attack those that seemed vulnerable or confused.

Whilst walking, they took a bit of a sigh and passed by and away from Darker than Black, knowing that it was always possible for a fight to break out at the bars and for someone to get in trouble. At the time, though, it seemed there was no one yet that had caused an issue tonight asides from those that kept talking about the rebellion that was lingering in everyone's conversations.

They didn't like the talk of it, and they knew that they would have to be put into a lineup to fight if a civil war broke out, and they really hoped that wouldn't happen. They hated unnecessary fights more than they hated most other things.

Hemoro noticed another deputy and waved to them, "I had a feeling you would loop back around this way somehow." They gave a slightly off smile, the deputy returning the grin with one of his own.

"Still won't tell anyone your secret Hemo?~" He chuckled, "Not even if I bought you a drink?" The other deputy 'joked'.

Hemoro shook their head, "I don't know what you're talking about and I don't really wish to know nor do i wish to take a sip of poison in a bottle tonight thanks." They had a small hint of edge to their voice as they answered the deputy, "I wish you safe rounds."

And with that, Hemoro started off away from the other to be alone once again and walk quietly down the empty and calm streets. That was one nice thing about their job at least was the option to work at night and to be able to be alone. They let their shoulders slowly fall once again from their tense position as they walked and relaxed a bit once again in the temporary solitude.

Hemoro sees themselves as having a decent life, and they hoped that wouldn't change from the fuss over the new ruler. They didn't want to lose their job or their life potentially.

Dominic leaned on the wall of Darker than Black, in the shadow of the building. If it weren't for his silvery hair and the faint glow from his cigarette, he would've been completely hidden in the alley. Being hidden wasn't his goal, however, he wanted people to find him. Just specific people, desperate to get away from their troubles. The method of escape he provided was drugs, plain and simple. It was a steady mode of income, since troubled folk could be found anywhere he went, if dangerous.
He'd been hanging around this area for a week now, and he'd just barely avoided getting frisked by some officials yesterday. There was something about a new Ruler, so that was probably why there were more guards mucking about than usual.
It probably wouldn't be a good idea to stay, but he figured another day or two wouldn't hurt. Business was good here. He wasn't broke, but he still couldn't afford to waste even a few bins. Medicine was too expensive for that.
Dominic had one arm crossed over his middle, cupping his elbow in his palm, and held his chin in his other hand. Business was good here, sure....But it was awful today because of all the guards.
He cast a glance into the street, seeing a few people meandering around.
"C'mon, where are all those desperate idiots....Usually there's at least one around here."
Dominic muttered under his breath, returning his gaze to the dull, dirty wall in front of him.

Haru, the Clairvoyant in mention that served Mistress Haku, was actually quite glad himself to be able to get out and walk around the city as well with her and another guard. It wasn't very often that he got to go anywhere, and he hadn't ever gotten the luxury of hanging out with her whilst he was allowed to go out either. He grinned and calmly walked alongside her. He let her stop when she wanted to in order to give the Bins to those that she wanted to, then continued walking with her. Haru was a quiet guy, but he knew that as long as he stayed with her and didn't step out of line, his life would stay as nice as it was. He knew how horrible off many people were that were lower classes, and he knew that if he hadn't been taken away as a child and had met Hakuryu that he would be in a similar position most likely. Who was he to complain anyways? He had a place to freely stay at, food, showers, money, and if he ever did really want something, Haku was fine with requesting it for him. It was a nice life, and sure he didn't have as much freedom as he would like, but living nice like he was obviously had to come at a price, and it seemed to be fair, at least to him. He glanced around and kept an eye on Mistress Haku to make sure she didn't try to sneak away or someone try to do something to her. Even if he would be able to see it coming before it happened, he wasn't the strongest, and the most he could do was use telekinesis to move them away long enough to escape. Lucky for him and her, this wasn't going to happen at the time being and instead he could also relax and enjoy himself alongside his childhood friend.

Before Shin knew it, he had fallen asleep. Face planted down on his note book, study material sprawled out on the table around him. How careless of him. College was becoming more and more tiring and stressful lately, and Shin tended to put a lot of pressure on himself. He hadn't even had dinner. The man woke up to someone rummaging through his backpack. Shin stirred before realising his situation and jolted up, discovering a homeless man about to steal some bins from him.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" Shin exclaimed, scolding the man with a hellish, cold glare. He stood up, glaring at the man, looking down on him with a condescending look and a face full of disappointment. "I'll give you 5 seconds to give me back my money and run away. 5... 4..." The man simply looked panicked at first, then amused by Shin's rather cocky words and took the money and ran as he continued to count. "3...2..." His eyes closed, concentrating until his senses picked up on a crow nearby. "1." His eyes jolted open with a furious look on his face; at that moment the crow took off, after the man and was in pursuit. Shin was confident the crow would be successful, the crow seemed to have been watching Shin for a while now it seemed and was kind enough to agree to get him his money back.

Of course as he had planned, the crow swooped down, scratching, clawing and pecking at the man. The man attempted to shoo the large bird away but to no success over how vicious and determined the bird was. He didn't get far and Shin finally caught up. "H-Here! Take it!" The man yelped as he was forced to the ground by the constant damage of the bird and threw Shin his money at him.

Shin knelt down, picked up his money. Good it was all there. The man looked at him for mercy. "Thank you." He said with a fake, devious smile. "Do what you want with him. Eat him I don't care." Shin spoke out loud and to the bird. Knowing he didn't have to speak out loud to talk to the animal, he just wanted to scare the thief before collecting the rest of his things, and wondering around the park a little longer. Today was a nice day after all, would be a shame to waste it. The crow? Oh yes the crow continued to torment the weak, mid 30s looking man. He mustn't have eaten in a while. Oh well, Shin only pitied the weak, he saw them as lazy and never felt sympathy for them.