soul_campaign | The 15th Roll: May 2nd, Evening. [Text]

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The 15th Roll: May 2nd, Evening. [Text]

[[It was like being in a fog. Half asleep, but his feet kept moving one in front of the other, the grip on his suitcase so tight that his knuckles were white. Silent, not even seeming to realize that anyone else was passing by, even if they waved or said hello, he just kept walking.

One foot in front of the other. Move forward. Get where you need to go. The key in the lock. The turn of the handle, ignore the stairs, take the elevator. His hand hurt. Both his hands hurt. Even the grip he had on his apartment key was too tight, like everything else.

First floor. Second Floor. Third...

Across the hall, vision so narrow as to only see the nameplate at his door. One name. His name. His last name. He paused for just a moment, fingers trembling as he reached up. In a swift motion, the carefully lettered paper was ripped free, leaving an empty space behind; glaring metal reflecting the light of the hallway above. The paper crumpled easily in his fist before he let it fall.

Unlock the door. Push it open. Let go of the suitcase. Untie sneakers. Not even looking up at the sound from inside the apartment. Not even acknowledging the person inside. Sneakers off. Door locked. Grab the suitcase. Walk to the bedroom. Let the suitcase fall.

For a moment, everything was still. What now?

His breath seemed too loud. Shaking. Echoing. Without any focus, he couldn't see. He needed to know what to do next.

A shower. Take a shower. He could do that.

He turned, emptying his pockets of his keys and wallet and leaving them on his dresser. His fingers paused, however, when they brushed against the mirror in his other pocket before tightening around it painfully.

He should let someone know. He should... should...

His breath caught as his hands trembled. What could he do? He'd done everything he could. Everything he had been expected to do. To what end...?

Slowly, he sank to the floor, vision blurring as something within him broke. Fingers shaking uncontrollably, he fumbled with his communicator. Just a short message. Something to let them know that Ryuzaki was in danger again and didn't care. Something...

Focus. Just this last thing... It took several tries before he got the right screen. It took even more to get the right letters.]]

i cant

[[His finger slips and hits the send button, the words vanishing onto the network, incomplete and useless. No. No, he didn't mean to send that. He had to fix it. He couldn't.... couldn't...

Instead of trying to correct his mistake, he simply stares at the screen as if somehow by doing that, it would fix the words into what he had meant to say. Even if he wasn't even sure what that was any more.]]

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Yako was not in a good state. There was something about Ryou's responses, brusque and black-and-white and irregularly spaced, something that scared her on some level. She didn't know the specifics, or the incident or series of events that led up to this...this tiredness but damned if she wasn't going to do her best to help him.

And Heaven help anybody stupid—or jerkish—enough to get in her way.

She was visibly distraught, and it only got worse as she waited, her imagination exploding with worse and worse scenarios. What if Ryou was seriously hurt? What if he was suicidal? What if he had almost killed himself and had backed out at the last moment, and was trying not to fall off the horse again?

Bakura secretly cursed.

The connection that had been running through their resonance stopped abruptly as the whole frame of the spirit straightened. He was tense like a viper about to strike as he glared in the direction of the apartment's door.

Those bastards, could they have chosen any worse timing?!

Bakura's fingers tightened around his double's as it felt as if the support the spirit had been feeding him was yanked out suddenly from under him.

'Don't be mad, please, things were going so well, don't be mad again...' The thought wasn't even conscious, just a quiet, desperate clinging. He couldn't deal with any arguments right then. He couldn't deal with much at all at that moment. The spirit had, for just those few moments, acted how Bakura had always hoped he would; as a friend, someone who supported him when he needed it most, in ways no one else could.

Yako's breathing was growing a bit more short, her eyes glassier, her form tenser. She sondered if the rioting had hurt him, or if something even more dangerous had.

More than anything, though, she wished that the stupid door would open, even if it was that jerk on the other side rather than Ryou himself. She hated being left in suspense, because some of the demons Kaworu had accidentally poked awake were still twisting around her head despite Takuto's help, and were not helping her mood at all.

The weak mental plea startled Bakura enough to direct his attention back to his host.

What the hell was he going to do now? A part of him wanted to just ignore the disturbance and go on until he had what he wanted. He had already invaded the inner chambers and laid his fingers on his prize. Having to retreat now with his hands empty seemed like an insult. For a moment he considered just taking it by violence. But no, he needed his host alive. Kill the intruder, then? He concentrated for a moment and his Meister ability picked up the faint aura of a soul he knew. The wench, huh? Taking her out wouldn't be a problem. But if he did that it'd get in the way of his other plans...

His silence stretched for a moment longer before he came to a decision. Giving Ryou's fingers a faint squeeze in return, he allowed the faintest level of a resonance to be established between them once more. 'The girl is here. Let her in if you want to.'

Bakura nodded, clinging to the resonance and his double's hand as he attempted to get back up to his feet. His legs were shaky, the utter exhaustion making it hard for him to pull back from where he had nearly fallen asleep. It would be so easy to just fall back there again...

But if it was Yako-chan...

He leaned heavily against the wall a long moment, steadying himself before reluctantly letting go of his double's hand and heading back to the entry way. He fumbled slightly with the lock before getting it undone.

Yako was still for barely more than a second, scanning the white haired boy in front of her once to determine just which one he was, and then once more to examine his physical condition once she had confirmed it was Ryou. He didn't look gravely wounded, but there was a soul-deep weariness about him that made her heart ache horribly.

There was really only one course of action she could take at this point, and she didn't hesitate at all.

Two quick steps forward and she was wrapping her arms around him, careful not to squeeze to hard as she pressed her cheek against his chest. "You look like you've been through the wringer, Ryou-kun," she murmured, mostly because otherwise she would start demanding names and crimes and that wasn't what he needed right now at all.

There was a tired blink before Bakura all but melted into the embrace. It wasn't the same as resonating with his double, but the warmth of his friend supporting him was a close second and after the day he had had, it felt like water in a desert.

"Sorry for worrying you..." he mumbled, leaning against her shoulder.

She smoothed one hand up his back, rubbing as soothingly as she could manage. The poor guy hadn't been through what the worst of her imagination had cooked up, but he had certainly been through some trying times.

"Never apologize for that," she told him seriously. "I'd be much more worried later on if you hadn't let me know something was wrong and I hadn't been able to be there for you. You're my precious friend, so I don't want you to suffer through whatever happened silently. You've patiently listened to my worries and troubles, so I want to repay your kindness no matter what."

Bakura's eyes began to water freshly at that and he hid his face against her shoulder, hugging her tightly. This was what real friends were supposed to be like... there for you and supporting and understanding. Just the simple reminder that yes, he had real friends in Death City was powerful enough to shatter what few barriers he had managed to put up to deal with the situation.

First the Ring's Voice, now Yako and the words from everyone else... It was a warm feeling. So very warm...

She squeezed him back, keeping her voice gentle and open. "But, that said...We don't have to talk. If you just want to stay like this, then that's fine too. I just want to help you feel better. I know that sometimes it takes a while before you feel like you can talk about something stressful or hurtful."

One of her hands drifted up to card through his hair, though she was careful not to knot her fingers into and snarls in the fluffy mass.

"I don't know what I want any more..." Bakura admitted, voice muffled against Yako's shoulder. "I just want things to go right... and not to have to worry about everything or feel like this... I want things to be different but I don't know how to change anything without it all falling apart... I thought things were better... thought I was getting stronger..."

The exhaustion showed in his voice even as his words seemed to make no sense to his own ears. "I don't know what to do anymore, Yako-chan...."

Yuugi understood just enough of Bakura's texts to know that he needed to find his friend, and he flat-out ran the whole way to the other boy's apartment.

"Bakura-kun!" He called for him as soon as he saw Bakura and Yako from down the hall, hurrying over to the doorway where they still stood. "Yako-san," he added as soon as he'd slowed to a stop beside them. The greeting was a bit breathless and accompanied by a short nod; he was glad to see her here too ~~despite the embarrassment that had accompanied their last encounter~~.

A part of him recognized the importance of the moment Yako and Bakura were sharing but he was too upset to keep quiet and let them be. "Bakura-kun, are you okay? What did you mean, you only have one hp?"

Yako was cut off before she could even begin thinking of how to respond. She lifted her head, blinking in surprise at the sight of her boyfriend's roommate. "Yuugi-san," she greeted back, before her brain caught up with what else had jumbled its way out of his mouth. "Wait, one HP? As in 'health points'?" She pulled back very slightly to give Ryou a more thorough once-over.

Se hadn't seen any debilitating injuries on first glance, but as an energy-draining Weapon she knew that not all pains were shown through torn flesh and spilled blood. Her eyes narrowed. "Did you have a Resonation accident? Do you need an energy boost? I can do that much, if you do."

Bakura shook his head. "Used it all to heal... I'm not good at that one yet," he explained. "Ryuzaki-kun was hurt, I couldn't use his energy too..."

So as he always did, he had sacrificed his own well being for others. Only to have that rubbed in his face that it was the only reason he was there....

At the mention of offering energy he shook his head. No... no he had gotten from the Ring... the energy that had felt so much like his own being given back, that he could still feel if he just let himself lean back just a little...

Speaking of the Ring and its spirit, Bakura had watched and overheard every detail of what had happened in the corridor. The silent rage was still boiling high inside of him as he suddenly stepped out of Ryou's bedroom to glare daggers at the intruders that had gotten into his way. Should they know that he was there and watching them!

With the wench, he could deal. But that Yuugi out of all people had felt the need to be needed to come to the rescue again as well...!! The muscles in his jaw tightened visibly even as he forced the rest of his to remain in a neutral pose that was utterly ruined by how hard he had clenched his fists. Stupid Pharaoh, getting into his way even when he wasn't there, stupid host of the puzzle, thinking he had any right to stick his nose into this, stupid wench that was going to ruin his host even more by making him think that friends could be anything but harmful to somebody..-!!

He wanted to kill them. Bakura wanted to kill them like he had never before, to paint the walls red with their blood, pull off their skins and hang them out of the windows, chop their bodies apart and strew them over the whole house while he had their souls torn into thousands of bits until eternity- Shuddering visibly, the ancient thief forced himself to stay still and do none of those things yet even as he glared daggers at them.

Edited 2013-02-12 04:52 (UTC)

Yuugi frowned when Bakura turned down Yako's offer and opened his mouth to protest, but the words never left his mouth, interrupted by a sudden prickling on the back of his neck. He turned his head and all at once he was looking into the face of murder, standing a short distance away in the shadows of Bakura's apartment.

His jaw clenched, and rather than soften with fear his own expression grew hard, the look he gave the other Bakura searing. Something had very clearly changed since the last time they'd crossed paths--where before there had been tentativeness and caution, now there was open distrust and a faint trace of challenge.

If the situation were entirely different, this might have been the time for a duel.

But it wasn't different, and so Yuugi forcibly tore his eyes away from the spirit and returned his attention to his friend, once again leaving the other Bakura to make the first move, should he so choose.

"It might be a good idea, Bakura-kun," he insisted, unwilling to see the other boy sacrifice himself again.

"If this is some sort of gentlemanly gesture of strength and you really do need an energy transfusion, there will be words later on, Ryou-kun. But I'll trust your judgment...for the moment." Yako was grateful for Yuugi's support, really she was, but she didn't want to push him. She tucked her chin back over her shoulder, her eyes darkening slightly as she calculated Ryuzaki's position in all of this. She was already drawing up some words for the gaunt Weapon who was somehow at the root of this breakdown when Bakura's presence finally registered.

Her eyes flicked up to meet his own and she carefully blanked the rising, protective fury from her face, since it wasn't directed at him. Instead, in a sick way, she was unspeakably relieved that the ancient thief was there, and let it seep out. The correlation she had made between him and Neuro had grown over time, leading her to a strange, almost-apt understanding of the relationship of the Bakurae; it was almost like looking into the past, when Neuro had seen her as slave instead of a partner.

One, downtrodden but increasingly defiant, with relapsing periods of dependence. The other, imperiously possessive and semi-abusive.

No one liked their 'things' getting broken, especially men like Bakura and monsters like Neuro. Her grip tightened around Ryou's lax frame, but her gaze was almost deferential as it met Bakura's. What does he need? She seemed to be asking without words.

Oblivious to the killing aura behind him the way he often was about the Ring's presence, Bakura merely shook his head. "Just need to sleep..." he insisted, voice stubborn despite his exhaustion. "It comes back when I sleep, like in an RPG..."

And as testimony to how worn out the teen was, he hummed a short tune; the sound one of his games made when his character rested at an inn.

He met Yuugi's challenge head-on, only to near instantly dismiss the younger duelist as utterly unimportant and beneath his consideration in a way that would rival even Kaiba's worst snubbing.

Yako's reaction was already better and so his pale eyes focused on her before they glided towards to his host. Still as silly as always, even in such a situation and after what had just happened before. His lips pulled into a mirthless ghost of a derisive smile. Raising his hand demonstratively, he showed them the thin red thread that still connected them for a moment.

Then he cut the connection of their resonance.

Takuto had looked for Yuugi in the apartment only briefly, and was a little relieved to see his roommate's rather galactic hair poking out of Ryou's doorway. And when he got closer, he saw that his silver headed friend had quite the crowd.

"Looks like I'm a little late." Still, Takuto was very much comforted by the thought that Ryou had all of these people around him that cared about him. Even the other Bakura was there... though Takuto had the sudden feeling that the tomb raider wasn't entirely pleased by this turn of events. Had that been the red thread signifying resonance with Ryou...?

It was like a marionette's strings being cut. The moment the red thread vanished, Bakura slumped more fully against Yako, eyes closing as the support from his doppelganger vanished and he was left with nothing but his own lack of energy once more.

Yuugi had some very unkind thoughts for the other Bakura in that moment--the snub was one thing and though it frustrated him he was accustomed to it. The way the spirit severed their resonance without any kind of warning, however, made Yuugi burn with anger.

He reached for Bakura's arm, trying to give Yako some assistance in supporting him. "Takuto-kun, is it okay if he stays with us tonight?"

Yako offered a slightly forced smile of greeting to her boyfriend, before huffing out an exasperated breath. "Trust withdrawn." With Yuugi taking on some of Ryou's weight she was able to slip her hand up beneath his hair, touching the back of his neck and concentrating on ripping out some of her own energy, refining it, and transferring it to him without either of them shifting forms. It took major effort, since Weapon-Weapon resonation was usually weaker to start with.

So, when she heard Yuugi's offer, her input was delayed and distracted. "N...not sure he's really in a state to get shuffled off, Yuugi-san." Not that she didn't understand the sentiment; worry for Ryou was simply at the forefront of her mind right now.

Bakura had kept his full attention on them as he watched his host slump forward. That much had been expect, just as much as it didn't surprise him that Yuugi would find something in it to blame him for. Had he known what exactly the smaller duelist was angry about and if he had cared enough about such a thing at that moment, he would have laughed and sneered in his face while he would have asked whether Yuugi and the Pharaoh also always announced every time out loud when they shared strategies or suddenly switched places in the middle of an ongoing match.

His voice sounded rough when he finally spoke, full of rage that was controlled by something that could tear at any moments notice. "Take him and get lost! I'll take care of the rest." The part that wasn't said yet clearly implicated was that they wouldn't want to be there when he got to 'work'.

The 15th Roll: May 2nd, Evening. [Text]

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action (it's going to get confusing with them both thinking of themselves the same, innit? :))

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action /hopefully tagging where you guys needed me to tag, ahah

action wow yuugi leave a tender moment alone gosh

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action pardon the tl;dr

action tl;dr is awesome and SORRY YAKO, 1HP is serious business...

action sorry for Yako's messed up interpersonal traumas

action No apologies needed for anything in this thread :D

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[action] finally here~

[action] Jumping order a moment.

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