When You Absolutely Need a Vacation (Invite Only)

[mugenginga]

Kaini didn't claim to understand what the hell a full moon had to do with anything. But it seemed Minato had his own issues. He wasn't sure about the whole coming back from the dead bit, that sounded a bit like Jesus to him, but he chose to use his concern for Keiichi to cover it up. He gestured towards Yuugi, who nodded. The two teens helped the two Lost outside.
-----

Kaini nearly jumped out of his skin as the bracelet Himitsu had given him began to glow. Yuugi stepped back as he heard a voice, but realized from Kaini's next reaction it wasn't anything to be worried about. The voice was of a young woman, so he was a bit surprised when Kaini called her Himitsu.

"Himitsu...?"

"Yes, I'm here. Put Keiichi and Naoya together and make sure you have one hand on either of theirs."

"Thank you, Mutou-san. I think I can manage from here."

Yuugi looked confused, "Um... what's going to happen? And why are you calling her Himitsu? The Himitsu I know is an old lady...."

"Is that Yuugi? Tell him I'm the granddaughter of the Himitsu he knows. Grandmother asked me to watch the shop for a while."

Kaini didn't buy that for a second, but nodded, "You hear her?"

Yuugi nodded, "I'm going to go back inside... e-mail me if anything comes up..."

Kaini had heard that in Japan they were more polite, but Yuugi was almost annoyingly soft spoken. He nodded and waited for Yuugi to turn back towards the cabin before telling Himitsu to go ahead. Yuugi thought of something to say and turned around just in time to see a bright flash of light. He blinked as his eyes readjusted nad saw that Kaini, Keiichi, and Naoya were gone. He sighed, it hadn't been important.
-----

Atem pushed open the door to the living room and looked outside. It didn't seem possible what with how well Yuugi and hair could hold up, but he actually managed to have a case of bedhead. He looked exhausted still.

"Did something happen?" He sounded rather awake though, although the more observant and awake members of the group would be able to tell he was forcing himself to not sound half-asleep.

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Souji turned to face Atem, who didn't look any less exausted than he had the night before. He nodded. "Kaini came and took Keiichi and Naoya. They should be safe at that shop, and we can always stop by to check on them should we need to."

Minato didn't seem so sure, but then again, he hadn't been to the shop like the rest of the group, having elected to find some other way to get his weapons after arriving.

He was more worried about Kaini. He'd never met the teen before, so he had no idea how he acted, or what he would do once no one was around. He was sure he wouldn't hurt K1, but Naoya...

[mugenginga]

Atem's brain felt a bit sluggish, so it took him a few moments to put the evidence together. It was probably a good thing he was as good at that kind of thing as he was, most people wouldn't have managed it with how tired Atem was, "That old woman's shop...?" He shook his head, "You're right. She knows too much but she isn't violent. Is Yuugi outside...?"

"Atem, you should be in bed!" Yuugi saided, his voice full of an adorable kind of concern. Atem looked dully at Yuugi before nodding and going back into the room, closing the door. Yuugi was alright, which had been the point of his question.

Yuugi glanced at Souji, who looked rather tired. Minato looked like he'd been having terrible luck sleeping himself. Naoto seemed in good enough shape, and Kanji was rather bright eyed as well. Yuugi sat down, "I'm sorry about that, Minato-kun... but K1-kun and Kimura-san will be okay. I don't think Kurosawa-san would hurt Kimura-san unless he had to."

Yuugi actually hesitated a bit as he finished. "had to" was the kind of thing that could be interperted a lot of ways. Kaini had some connection to Keiichi and Naoya, and it seemed to go beyond that of a long lost family member. He opened his mouth but stopped himself from speaking. He couldn't ask any of the current group about biblical myths... they didn't know about the Cain and Abel thing. He couldn't believe he had almost slipped up. He stood up and headed towards the room, pausing when he had his hand on the door.

"I'm going to go back to bed..."

He couldn't even talk to Atem about it. The taller teenager was to exhausted for things like that. Which mean there was no one he could try and figure the situation out with. He seemed somewhat dejected as he opened the door and shut it behind himself.

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Souji waited for Yuugi to leave before turning to Minato, Naoto, and Kanji. There was something he wanted to discuss.

"Has anyone else noticed?" Souji asked. Minato raised an eyebrow, so he continued. "There's something odd about the Kimuras, Kaini included. I'm sure you've all noticed. The way they dance around questions about their pasts. Keiichi just avoids it all together, or throws up one of those completely transparent lies about it. And then there was when Kaini had said K1 'turned away from God.'"

"That part's news to me," Minato said.

"You were still asleep from the TV World then. But I've noticed that K1 gets nervous when things like gods and the such are mentioned, except when the Judeo-Christian God himself is mentioned. And then there's how close he is to Naoya. I know Naoya's like a brother to him, but I don't trust him," Souji said. "And I heard K1 muttering in his sleep on the way down here."

"What was he saying?" Naoto asked.

"'I'm no Messiah.' He only said it once before he went silent for the rest of the ride. I'm sure Naoya noticed it," Souji said.

Naoto seemed to have made a deduction. "Judging by what you've told me, and what I've seen, Keiichi-san has some connection to the Christian Church, or something like it inside the Lockdown, as does Naoya-san. It's likely Kaini-san is connected as well, as he was the one who brought God up in the first place. And judging by what Keiichi muttered while he slept, they wanted him to be their Messiah, their savior. Possibly to deliver everyone from the Lockdown. K1 didn't want to be the Messiah, and decided to help Naoya."

"Kaini did ask if it was Naoya's fault K1 turned away from God. I'm still not sure where Naoya fits into all of this. It's obvious that K1 practically worships him, but..." Souji trailed off.

"Hey, what about those burns on K1's fingers?" Kanji suddenly cut in. "I saw him changing the bandages he had on them. Those were electrical burns! You don't get those from cooking ramen!"

"And I saw some burns on Naoya's fingertips earlier," Minato added.

Something clicked in Souji's head. "K1 went to the weapons shop with us... and suddenly dropped a rather old club he found. He kept hiding his hands the whole time after that. And I wouldn't doubt it if Naoya made a beeline to that shop right after he found out about those burns."

Naoto figured it out too. "I need to do some research when we get back to Void City."

"I'll... ask Yuugi about K1 when he gets up," Minato said. He still sounded somewhat depressed. "Yuugi and Atem both know a lot more than we do about K1 and Naoya, and I wouldn't doubt it if they know a lot about Kaini too."

[mugenginga]

The day went by completely uneventfully. Neither Yuugi nor Atem woke up, a clear indicator that even Yuugi was more tired than was apparent. He could hide how tired he was just as well as Atem could when the situation called for it, it seemed. And he was less exhausted then Atem, hence the difference in how tired they seemed.

It was just after six in the evening, the time of year meaning the sun was already mostly set, when Yuugi carefully picked his way past the remains of the door to the room. It seemed little more had been done for it other than pushing it into an inconveniently placed pile. Inconvenient enough that Yuugi managed to catch his left foot on it and only just managed to not fall down. He startled "eep" noise he made was enough to wake up Atem.

Atem still felt tired, but at least he felt functional. He looked towards the window in the back of the room. It was evening already. He was only now realizing what Souji and the others from his world meant when they said the TV World could exhaust you. The best explanation he could come up with for his current level is that one's Shadow used the same amount of life force to stay in existance that it took to keep one's normal self in existance. He climbed out of bed.

Yuugi glanced around the room after he finished recovering. No one was in the main area. It was likely they had gone out. But he said something, just in case, "Everyone?" He said it fairly loudly in the hopes that anyone in their room would hear.

(OOC: To flex my Japanese. "Minna-san?" *shot*)

[Firebreath Fishslap]

There was a sound of the toilet flushing from the bathroom before Minato stepped out, and caught view of Yuugi. He gave a small smile. "Hey. Souji and Kanji went out to go get some more food, but they should be back soon." Other than melon bread and leftover smores materials, they were pretty much cleaned out of food.

He dropped the smile. "When Souji gets back, we have to talk. About K1."

[mugenginga]

Yuugi was relieved to see Minato. With everything that had happened lately, he had been wondering if everyone had just vanished. It didn't seem anywhere near out of the question. Not much did anymore. He nodded at Minato's comment.

And then Minato brought up K1, making Yuugi look extremely nervous. K1 didn't want the issue to be brought up. He didn't have any right to go against the teenager's wishes. Atem stepped out of the bedroom as Minato said his last statement. He turned away and headed towards the bathroom. It had to happen sooner or later. Yuugi would avoid saying anything incriminating unless it had to be said. And he had confidence the shorter teen wouldn't bring up things until he knew what the group knew.

Yuugi nodded weakly, the refreshed expression having shifted to a concerned one. How hard would they press him...? Naoto reminded him of Atem in some ways, so he knew he would have to choose his words carefully.

[Firebreath Fishslap]

At that moment, Kanji and Souji both walked in carrying a few grocery bags. Souji looked at Minato before nodding and setting the bags down on the counter. "Kanji, you go ahead and put away the groceries. Minato and I have to talk to Yuugi."

"Sure, no problem Senpai." Kanji said. He set the bags he had down as well before getting to work stocking the fridge. It looked like they'd just gotten enough for Souji to make dinner.

Souji walked over next to Minato.

"We know you know about K1's past. You and Atem are probably the only ones here who know the whole story. And we need to know," Souji said.

"K1 always confides in you. He won't tell any of us anything about the Lockdown," Minato said. "And we're starting to get worried. And then there's Kaini..."

"The point is, we're worried about the Kimuras," Souji said. He took a deep breath. He really, really couldn't believe he was going to say this. "Even Naoya. But if we don't know the whole situation, we don't know how we can help them. So we're asking you to tell us what you know. Please."

[mugenginga]

Yuugi hesitated, "I... I don't think it'll help that much..." he was fighting not looking away, "And... it won't help you with Kurosawa-san. I don't know what his issue is either."

Yuugi felt really uncomfortable. He got where they were coming from, but he couldn't see how knowing would help the situation. In fact, if they knew about Naoya it might hurt the situation. At the worst they'd write K1 off. Which was an absolutely terrible thought. K1 had already lost friends thanks to the whole mess, what would happen if it happened again? Atem came out of the bathroom. He had left the door just enough cracked so he could hear. He leaned against the wall roughly between the two places the three teens were sitting.

"I understand where you're coming from," he stated, addressing Souji and Minato, "But it could effect how you treat Naoya. Probably more than how you treat Keiichi, although I doubt the relationship will stay the same even with him. And as much as I get your point, you have to understand that this is a complete break of trust... Both Yuugi and I are concerned about that. Let's start with this. How much do you think you know?"

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Souji didn't let Atem's comment about what he thought he knew get to him. After all, it was all guesswork at this point. At the same time, he was rather aware of that it would probably change his whole perception of K1. After all, after he had found out about Adachi's past, his whole perception of the man had changed from that of humored respect to disgust. But he still had to know the truth.

"We know that K1 has some kind of connection to the Christian Church, and that he has 'turned away from God' somehow. We also know that someone wanted him to be a Messiah. Other than that, we know nothing," Souji stated. "And we think that he has some connection to Himitsu-san's shop."

[mugenginga]

Atem nodded, glancing towards Yuugi. Unspoken words seemed to pass between them. Yuugi sighed and nodded as he began to speak, "It's... more than a small connection. I guess..." he shook his head, "I don't know how much this is going to help..." he took in a deep breath, "They're... well, K1-kun is Abel's reincarnation, Kimura-san is Cain's."

Yuugi closed his eyes. There, he'd said it. He hoped the current group was accepting of the idea of reincarnation. It would be extremely unlikely they were not. After all, they were both Japanese. It was only in the more Western cultures such an idea was balked. Ironically, Christianity being one of the main religions that balked such a concept. But still, the bag holding the cat had been torn to shreds. His biggest worry remained how their interactions towards K1 would change.

K1-kun... I'm sorry...

While Yuugi was looking at his feet, feeling like the world's biggest jerk for breaking his promise, Atem kept his eyes on Minato and Souji. The biggest hurdle had been gotten over, the rest would be downhill. But he wanted to see their reactions before the conversation went any further.

[Firebreath Fishslap]

The expression on Souji's face went from confusion to shock. Cain and Abel. Cain killed Abel using a club. Probably made from a ram's horn, like the one K1 had been looking at in the weapons shop. Himitsu had made a comment about a shepherd's crook soon after that, and K1 had gone pale immediately after. And Naoya... oh god. Naoya was Cain. He'd killed K1 before. And yet K1 was still following him around like a baby chick. He bet that if he told K1 to stay away from Naoya, K1'd say Naoya had changed.

And K1 had been chosen to be the Messiah because he was Abel. And he'd decided to go with Naoya because...

"What did Kaini mean when he said K1 had turned away from God?" Minato said. He had figured it out too, though not to the same degree Souji had. Hooray for world literature studies at Gekkoukan and that crazy magic obsessed nurse.

[mugenginga]

Atem took up the conversation, as Yuugi still seemed to feel bad. He shook his head, "I'm not entirely sure. Kaini hasn't shown signs of knowing much about the situation, and Souji has seen more of him than I have thanks to my exhaustion. As said, I don't think Kaini is very in the know, and as such I don't think he knows of K1 and Naoya's connection to Abel and Cain," Atem paused, "It might have to do with following Cain, but there is another aspect of this that we haven't said yet. Yuugi, revealing this is bothering you the most. Should I continue?"

Yuugi looked up, a bit startled. He looked away and nodded. It was no use breaking the promise halfway. Atem looked pained, but his expression hardened as he returned his focus to the group.

"K1 is attempting to go after what a demon has called the Throne of Bel. Apparently powerful demons are warring to see who will be their ruler. The conversation from before implies that it has to do with names. K1, that is Abel, had a conversation with a demon named Belphegor about it. It's how we know about all of this. If we hadn't been there, we'd likely know no more than you. I don't entirely know what the Messiah thing is all about, however. It seems likely that is what God was trying to push 'Abel' into. I'm not sure he's not going after the Throne in retaliation against fate being decided for him," Atem paused again, "Although I think it was more Naoya's idea than K1's..."

[Firebreath Fishslap]

So K1 was in the middle of some giant war between the demons, because his real name contained "Bel." "...But... doesn't that make K1 a demon if he's part of a war between demons? Or at least like one?" Souji asked. It would certainly make sense. At least something like a pseudo-demon would be needed to participate in a war between demons. And he'd probably have to fight this Belphegor demon too.

In fact, that was probably why he'd come to the island in the first place. To fight the one Bel demon not in the lockdown. But why did he have to fight all of them? Was it some kind of tournament.

Minato thought it more likely that K1 needed to absorb the power of the Bels. So Naoya probably wanted him to become super powerful for some reason. And considering Naoya was Cain, it was probably for some raging against the heavens. So Naoya was taking advantage of his cousin (or rather, his brother's) true self...

[mugenginga]

Atem sighed, "I'm not sure. That's bothered me too... my knowledge of Judeo-Christian mythology really only includes the Judeo part. I was sealed before the time of Jesus. And the myths I know best revolve around Moses."

"Atem says he does feel kind of dark... Atem, you still have that ability right? After the split?"

Atem blinked and looked at Yuugi. The shorter teen was trying to change the subject. He finally nodded, "It's muted, and I need the Pendant, but its still there. I think it would only regain its former power if the other Millenium Items were nearby."

(OOC: DO I SMELL ME A NEW SUBPLOT FORESHADOWED?

Also, now would be a good time for someone to remember Atem never explained his theory on that there split. XD)