soul_campaign | The 17th Roll: May 12th, night [Text/Private to various]

I did. [His expression is a cross of a smile and a smirk, but his eyes and voice are quite serious.] Don't take my words on it, but there's something about that one that reminds me of the other Malik.

...The other Malik...? The one who you lost the Yami no Game to....?

[[That... did nothing to assure his worries. At all.]]

Right. [He shrugs his shoulders. Bakura is still confident that he would have sent the other packing without breaking a sweat if it wouldn't have been for Malik's failure of an inside job.] If it's true that's a pretty useless development since I already have a better figure than him on the board, though.

Eh? [[blink blink]] A better figure? Who?

Wait and you'll find out together with everybody else.

[[Bakura's hand tightened around his double's]]

Don't talk like that when I'm so worried... [[it's a soft, almost pleading request.]]

[He waves his free hand as if to say 'details details' and returns the squeeze confidently.]

I'm keeping him for later for our game. I'm sure you'll like him as long as you don't make him think that you're strong. Then he might just try to kill you. [He chuckles.] Anyway, the gist is that you don't have to worry about neither of those right now. What you should worry about, yadounushi, is what you are going to give me in return for the help you are seeking from me.

[[Bakura flinches, shoulders curling in at the almost off handed comment and chuckle. Any other day, he could have just ignored that, but today...

And then as his double continued, he curled in a bit more.]]

...you still haven't told me what you want...

[[anything but what he had been hiding. He wouldn't give that up. Not even to his double.

...especially not to his double...]]

[His expression becomes more serious as his tone switches to speaking business.]

Information on Ryuzaki and his troupe. I don't care if they're your friends or not, they're the direction the most trouble's most likely going to be from. Especially with the addition of your new friend.

[[he shakes his head, not looking up]] I can't...

[He gives him an understanding smile that might even imply some sort of appreciation for that sort of loyalty - and slips his hand out of his hold.]

Then we have nothing more to talk about, landlord.

...There's really nothing else...?

[[his hand falls to his side.]]

Not here, I fear.

[He already knows about Atem and Yuugi and has an eye and several unwitting agents on the rest of the city. Qilby is gone too, so that venue is no longer interesting either.]

[[Really, he should have expected this and he merely nods.]]

... I just would have thought with how mad you get at me for being weak... [[and he trails off, shrugging]] I'll find another way... [[somehow]]

[If the lack of giving in annoys him or not is impossible to tell as he turns one last time to give his host an amused look.]

Well, then let's hope that you'll do better at it than at your futile attempts to keep a Meister by your side.

[[Ouch. Bakura flinches at that, looking away to the side]]

...or at getting the one who will stay to work with me....

[[sometimes he hates the fact that he hasn't been able find anyone else he resonates with the way he does with his double...]]

Well, that's not much of my business anymore. [He can't resist to rub it in.] You may rejoice, because I have found myself a nice Weapon a short while ago. So you won't have to deal with me any longer on that.

[Maybe he should send her flowers the next time. Yes, yellow ones since she seems to like that color... ]

[[Bakura stares, eyes huge. The Spirit had...?! but...!

There was a pang of something he didn't quite understand. That hope that maybe someday, there would be someway for everything to work out and...

... It hurt. Why did it hurt? Something like that... he should be glad of it, right?

Right...?]]

[Sometimes Bakura isn't sure whether he should find it funny or sad how easily his host's thoughts could be read from his face.]

What, you didn't expect me to remain your forever backup plan that you can fall back onto when nothing else works?

That-- that isn't...

[[he shakes his head]] You weren't the backup plan....

[[The Ring spirit was the seeming inevitable choice he had disparately tried not to be forced into making.]]

You're the one that I resonate best with even though you always say I'm no good...

Yeah, well, we might resonate well but what the hell is that worth if there's nothing else between us?

[[Bakura's quiet a long moment]]

It's not that there's nothing. It's just that what is between us isn't anything like what partners should be....

Because there's been too much for us to really trust each other, hasn't there? And because we fight too much... so even when things are going well... it always lurks underneath, like a trap waiting to be sprung.

Is that how you feel about it?

[He gives him an unreadable look and then switches into a short disregarding laugh as if to say that it doesn't really matter to him anyway.]

No wonder it never really worked between us then.

[[He tenses, fists clenching]] ...because you always do things like that...!

I don't know how I feel about it because you always change everything the moment I think I have it figured out and then make fun of me for it! One moment I want things to work out and the next you do something that makes it seem like it never will, only to change again days later!

[Aw, what outburst. Bakura takes that as an incentive to poke his host in the chest, right where the Ring would usually rest against it.]

So I'm to blame because I can't read your mind and keep acting differently than you expect? Quit being so self-righteous, Ryou. You don't want us to work together. You never did, as you just said so directly only seconds before. Don't go saying that it's obvious and just natural that we can never be partners and then shout at me for it being that way only moments later.

The one who doesn't want us to be partners the most is after all you, isn't it?

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]