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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Dec 1, 2009 19:10:39 GMT -5
Minato thought about it for a moment. "...Why not go to the arcade? It's been a while since we've gone. Not since the first day we met, in fact." It would work well to keep their minds off of what was troubling them, Minato included. Really, Ryoji was the last person he wanted to be around right now.
And Yuugi and Atem... they both probably didn't want to think about K1 and Naoya at the moment.
Naoto had pulled out a notebook, and was writing something down. "How do you write that?" she asked.
Souji walked around behind Naoto and looked over her shoulder at the notebook. Written next to Ryoji's name was "suspicious". And it was double underlined.
Well, no one ever said Naoto was dumb.
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Post by mugenginga on Dec 1, 2009 19:30:16 GMT -5
Yuugi looked up and realized things had been a bit simpler then. He had still been confused about the new world then, sure. But the hope of getting back home had still been there... it wasn't that he wasn't sure he could get back home, now. It was that he had no way of knowing his friends were okay. That cave in...
"Partner...?"
Yuugi shook his head. It was simpler when he could talk to Atem without others hearing. He forced a smile and turned towards Minato.
"That'd be good," he nodded.
Ryoji blinked. She wanted to see his name written? Well, that was a new approach. He thought for a moment. She didn't seem to want to show him the notebook so he couldn't just write it down for her. He held out four fingers and lowered each one as he described the kanji that made up his name.
"Mochizuki is written like it sounds, the combined symbols that make up the phrase full moon," Ryoji used two seperate words for full and moon to differentiate it from the word that made up his surname, "and Ryoji uses the kanji "aya" followed by the kanji for "ji" when used as a time suffix. Uh, why do you want to know, by the way?"
Minato probably tripped over that. Ryoji had just indicated that when said in proper order his name roughly meant "Full Moon (of the eighth lunar month) Figure of the Hour"
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Dec 1, 2009 19:41:26 GMT -5
Minato had been about to say something to Yuugi when Ryoji had explained his name's meaning... and he went very pale. Oh, that was concerning. Very concerning. And disturbing. And horridly meaningful. He looked away and back at Atem and Yuugi.
"R-Right, so you guys wanna go now or later?" Minato asked.
Souji raised an eyebrow before looking back at Naoto's notebook. She'd written the kanji down as indicated, and below Ryoji's name, she wrote, "you have some explaining to do, senpai". Souji sighed.
"No reason," Naoto said as she snapped the notebook shut. She slipped the notebook back into her pocket.
Souji turned to Ryoji. "I really don't know what to do with you at the moment... I guess you can keep staying at my place for now." He really didn't know what to do; if Ryoji was this Appriser thing, that meant he'd bring about the Fall by existing... but they couldn't kill him either. And Souji couldn't bring himself to kill someone like that anyway. Really, he didn't think he could bring himself to kill anyone... well, maybe Adachi.
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Post by mugenginga on Dec 1, 2009 20:05:13 GMT -5
Atem raised an eyebrow at Minato's reaction towards Ryoji explaining the kanji used in his name. He'd also noted Naoto's intense interest in that. She'd angled the notepad more when he'd tried to get a look at it, so he hadn't been able to make out what she had written down. He seemed lost in thought for a moment when his eyes widened.
Minato had been acting weird around Ryoji. Ryoji and him seemed to know each other, and the teen seemed to regard Minato as a close friend. Mochizuki? Full moon? The Arcana shadows appeared on the full moon... the timing of it all was far too large a coincidence to ignore. Yuugi had turned to Atem. He seemed confused.
"Atem...?"
"Later, partner," he nodded towards Minato, "Now is good."
Atem turned around and walked out quickly. Yuugi could tell something was eating at his friend's mind. He glanced at Minato. Did Minato know? Atem was stoic at times so it wasn't guaranteed Minato had caught the mix of thoughts in his mind. Yuugi made a note to corner Atem about it later. He smiled a bit more sincerely to Minato and waited for him to show signs of going before chasing after Atem.
And something was. Ryoji seemed normal. Like Jounouchi. But if he had some connection to the shadows, to Minato's perceived fate... Perhaps it was something like Bakura? He hoped not. That would put the entire group in terrible danger.
Ryoji let it slide. Naoto seemed rather mysterious, but that was a charm all itself. He turned towards Souji and shook his head.
"Couldn't I stay with Minato-kun?" He paused and turned to Minato, "Is that okay? Or are you still mad?"
One had to feel sorry for Ryoji. It was obvious he considered Minato a close friend. It was equally as obvious he couldn't get the fidgeting and near cold shoulder he was getting from the blue haired teen. Minato hadn't seemed the type to let being forced to move away put a rift between them. He looked down, somewhat depressed. He hadn't sent a note to Minato about it... he'd just vanished. It was probably understandable he was upset.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Dec 1, 2009 20:16:07 GMT -5
Minato had been on his way out the door when Ryoji had asked if he could stay at his apartment. He turned around, and he seemed even more nervous as he talked.
"...R-Right now's not... I mean, I'm not mad at you, I'm just... it's a bad time, and..." Minato said. He got even more fidgetty as he spoke and started rubbing that spot on his neck again. "...I'm sorry if I've been giving you a bit of a cold shoulder lately, I just... I mean..."
Souji looked to Atem. "Maybe you guys should go. Ryoji, why don't you and Teddie hang out at my apartment for a bit? I'll buy you guys Topsicles..." He was trying to get Ryoji out of the area so he could talk to Naoto and Kanji; they didn't need Ryoji overhearing what they were saying about him.
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Post by mugenginga on Dec 1, 2009 20:26:50 GMT -5
Ryoji looked concerned for a moment, but finally nodded. The smile seemed genuine too, "If you need to talk about something I'm there, okay? And... uh, you're gonna give yourself a raw spot if you keep doing that."
Ryoji was pointing at Minato's neck as he said the last bit. He wondered if Minato had cricked his neck lately. It did seem he was rubbing it a bit much. Teddie nodded his head quickly at Souji's comment. He gestured with a waving arm towards the hallway.
"Let's go, Ryoji-kun!"
Ryoji had already headed towards the door, "I don't think I got your name..."
"I'm Teddie!"
Ryoji nodded. The two of them headed out towards the hall. The taller teenager had apparently decided to let Minato alone for a while. He'd done all he could do by extending the offer to let Minato bounce the problems off him.
Yuugi looked really concerned as he looked up towards Minato. Atem had stopped at the stairs and turned around. He glanced at Ryoji as he and Teddie made their way into Souji's apartment, but returned to waiting for Yuugi and Minato after they went inside.
"We should go, Minato-kun," Yuugi said. He headed out towards Atem.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Dec 3, 2009 20:09:30 GMT -5
Minato watched as Ryoji and Teddie headed off to Souji's room before following after Yuugi and Atem. Yeah, lets go."
At that moment, someone who obviously wasn't watching where he was going ran up the stairs. He tripped and all of the papers he was carrying scattered everywhere.
"Hey, are you--" Minato drew back. "Adachi!"
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Once everyone was out of Minato's apartment, Souji quietly closed the door.
"Senpai, who is Ryoji-san?" Naoto asked. She meant it in a sense beyond the obvious.
"He's a Shadow, like Teddie," Souji said. That wasn't far from the truth.
"Why is Minato-san so afraid of him, then?" Naoto inquired.
"He's not a normal shadow. Two nights ago, Minato left to prevent what's called the Fall. Basically the end of the world. He failed. Ryoji's here because soon the end of the world's going to happen." Souji said.
"Senpai, are you shittin' me?" Kanji asked.
"Yes... this all seems rather unbelieveable," Naoto said.
"I wish I was," Souji said. "But, for right now, Ryoji's a normal human. I... I don't know what I'm going to do. But for now, I'm going to treat Ryoji like a normal person."
Naoto looked away. She hadn't seen Souji this unsure of himself since that day at the hospital...
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Post by mugenginga on Dec 3, 2009 20:33:12 GMT -5
Atem nodded towards Minato and gave a sympathetic look towards Yuugi as they joined him. He didn't really miss K1, or what K1 had become. He'd never liked Naoya. He did have a decent level of sympathy for Keiji, but all in all it wouldn't have been an issue for them to return home... if it weren't for Yuugi.
Atem didn't consider himself good at the emotional side of things. Another example of strength of fight vs strength of heart, he told himself bitterly. He could feel Yuugi's pain, but it was a rare case of him not sharing it. This reminded him a bit much of Noah... except he didn't see K1 coming back out of the darkness. Then, Yuugi had placed his trust in the computerized child even after the hell he'd put him and his friends through. At least K1 has started good... he sighed, causing Yuugi to look up.
Yuugi was about to ask the former Pharaoh to say what was on his mind when said former Pharaoh had to hop backwards. He'd been in the front of the group and as Adachi tripped up the stairs. Atem recognized the man even before Minato did, and merely gave a flat and somewhat dangerous look to the man sprawled out.
Yuugi hand windmilled his arms, somehow not hitting Minato. He almost fell on a piece of paper that had slipped under his foot, but he managed to catch himself on the wall. He looked down at Adachi with a look that was neither friendly nor aggressive. The fact that this was Yuugi, however, meant anything other than a friendly look was comparable to a bit of a glare.
However, even then, he was picking up papers off the ground. He didn't like Adachi, but there was no need to be really rude about it. One paper did have a bit of a boot footprint on it, though, from where Yuugi had tried to slip on it.
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Ryoji was looking at Souji's bookshelf. Some part of his mind was nagging at him somehow. Like the solution that hung on the tip of your tongue. Teddie was sitting on the couch looking at the door. It had just now hit him that Souji had probably ushered him away. He was a bit annoyed about that. If it had to do with the TV World, with his home he had the right to know. He turned to Ryoji.
"Ryoji-kun?"
Ryoji turned from the book shelf, "Yeah?"
"Can you think of any reasons why shadows would be scared of you?"
Ryoji smiled his standard silly grin, "You scared of me?"
Teddie looked annoyed, "Of course not! I meant back on the other side. Didn't you notice Shadows avoiding you?"
"...I did hear a bunch of high pitched squeals as I walked. Actually, I remember the first one after blacking out..." Ryoji paused. He'd had a few issues with blacking out after meeting Minato. He couldn't bring up any memories of that in the time he'd spent away. How long had that been...? He shooks his head, "Uh.... why?"
"You blacked out?"
"I don't really... know. I could have fallen asleep on my feet."
Teddie looked away. Ryoji seemed odd to him. He looked up at the ceiling now. He remembered that unknown Shadow he'd felt on the battlefield. It was gone as quick as it had come. He was swinging his legs as he thought, like some kind of little kid. Souji had said Ryoji had fallen in. He turned to ask Ryoji another question when he saw Ryoji was flipping through a book from Souji's shelf.
"What are you looking at?"
Ryoji looked up, "Oh, just this. Did you know Souji-kun was into tarot?"
Teddie tilted his head. He got up and looked at the book Ryoji had. It was a fairly detailed book on something called the "Rider-Waite Tarot". He finally answered Ryoji with a shake of his head.
"I'm into it myself, actually... I can read it. It's basically a form of fortune telling, people use it as the means to reveal things," Ryoji actually seemed really into the book. He was talking less to Teddie and more to the air as he flipped through the book. Teddie's eyes widened as he saw the names of the major Arcana.
They matched the classifications Shadows were given!
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Dec 3, 2009 21:15:43 GMT -5
Minato scowled and picked up a paper from off the ground. "This is about those people with Apathy Syndrome..."
Adachi scrambled to his feet. "Oh, you know about those? Apparently everyone who had it woke up all at once a few days ago," Adachi looked over at Yuugi, and then at the papers Yuugi had pickhed up. "Hey, no hard feelings about the--"
"You nearly got us all killed," Minato growled. He couldn't believe this man. "Not just Atem. My Persona nearly killed us all." Really, it only needed to kill Minato.
Minato turned away. This man had tried to kill one of his friends.
"I-I should go..." Adachi snatched the papers Yuugi had picked up from him and ran down the hallway.
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Post by mugenginga on Dec 3, 2009 21:31:27 GMT -5
Yuugi wasn't sure what to do with Adachi's apology. The guy seemed sorry enough. And Yuugi had to admit, if Adachi had learned about the Dark Games it was enough to make anybody who accepted them as fact to panic. Minato, however, cut Adachi off before Yuugi's thoughts could arrange themselves.
Atem felt almost grateful that Minato spoke first. Adachi didn't play Duel Monsters, Atem was sure about that. It wasn't just the issue with the former Puzzle that bothered him, either. Souji had indicated in nonverbal communication that Adachi would never learn his lesson. Seto had learned his. Pegasus, Malik, and Dartz as well.
The one opponent Atem had been forced to destroy (Yami no Malik being an expression of Malik's inner darkness as opposed to its own entity) after Yuugi accepted him had been a demon that had abused one of his and Yuugi's friends for most of his life. It was almost an overwhelming desire to subject Adachi to his own inner darkness. Really, at this point Yuugi's disapproval is all that held him back. However, Adachi didn't seem to be threatening Yuugi, Minato, or himself. It was possible the man had taken the former Pharaoh's earlier warning to heart. He still, however, disliked him. A lot.
Yuugi looked startled as Adachi snatched the papers from him and ran down the hall. He saw the anger on Minato's face and the somewhat dark expression on Atem's. He lifted both his hands and waved them, momentarily forgetting about K1, K2, and Naoya.
"H-hey, its okay, right? He didn't try anything, right? We should go..."
Atem's gaze softened and he looked towards Minato. He said nothing, unsure if any words he could give would be any help. The thought that perhaps he should be grateful to Adachi still lingered. The choice he'd had to make in that fight versus his Shadow... he was convinced that if the fate of their world had advanced as it should, he would not have had much more time with his partner. They were seperate now, and while similar it was clear there was only one Yuugi... and he hadn't had to lose his partner to prove that point.
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"Everyone can be identified with an Arcana...?" Teddie said.
Ryoji nodded, "It's kind of like a person can be defined by an Arcana. It's not commonly recognized in a lot of circles, but it can be kind of fun finding the one that fits you the best. I'd say you're Star."
Teddie's grin looked like it was going to break his face, "Exactly! You know I'm a shadow. That's the classification I fall under! What about you? Do you think you resonate with any Arcana?"
Ryoji grinned and flipped back a few pages. Teddie's eyes widened as Ryoji pointed to the thirteenth Arcana. Ryoji grinned a bit more, seeming more relaxed. He chuckled a bit at Teddie's reaction.
"I know it's weird, but its not all doom and gloom like a lot of Westerners think. The Death Arcana is a symbol of change and recognizing opportunities brought by change," Ryoji nervously rubbed the hair on the back of his head, "I guess I identify myself with this cause I can't change the fact that I move all the time. Inevitability is another aspect of this Arcana. I've learned to accept the changes that have to come. If I didn't, I'd have never met Minato-kun."
Ryoji was genuinely grinning by now. Teddie seemed comforted by the change. Ryoji was strange, but he seemed to really know his Tarot. And was obviously enjoying talking about it.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Dec 4, 2009 20:21:47 GMT -5
Minato glowered after Adachi before turning to Yuugi and Atem. They needed to go, definitely. He wasn't sure if the fact that Adachi was still hanging around was a good thing or a bad thing... oh, who was he kidding, it was definitely a bad thing.
"Let's go," Minato said as he started down the stairs.
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Souji stood up. "I don't know what I'm going to do, but I'm not going to sit around and wait. But I'm not going to be afraid of Ryoji. He's a normal person now, and I'm going to treat him like one. Even if he is the Appriser, that doesn't mean I'm going to leave him by himself. And if the End's really coming..."
"Senpai?"
"I'm gonna stop it. And I'm going to do it in some way that doesn't involve Minato dying," Souji said. He turned back to Naoto and Kanji. "You guys can go. Kanji, if you want Teddie's suit, I saw it back in Minato's room."
"Score!" Kanji ran off into Minato's room, barely raising an eyebrow at Minato's door as he passed through the doorway. Souji walked out of Minato's apartment and headed back down the hallway to his own apartment. He opened his door just as Ryoji was giving the explanation of the Arcana he best identified with. He supposed it only made sense that Ryoji identified with Death--hell, he WAS Death, from what Minato said--but it was still concerning. And it meant that Ryoji probably subconsciously remembered more than he realized.
"Hey, I never said you could look through my books," Souji said, but he meant it facetiously. He walked over to Ryoji and Teddie. "Personally I identify myself with the Fool Arcana. New beginnings, endless possibilities, unlimited potential... the tendency to make stupid mistakes... Inaba was one big fresh start for me, really. And it turned into the greatest adventure I ever had." He nodded to Teddie.
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Post by mugenginga on Dec 4, 2009 20:36:45 GMT -5
Ryoji caught the lighthearted way Souji had spoken and turned to him with a smile. He closed the book as Souji gave his speech. Ryoji nodded, "I would have probably said the same thing. Actually, Minato-kun fits that Arcana well, too."
Teddie nodded energetically at the last bit of what Souji said. For him it hadn't just been a big adventure. It had been a lot more. He'd have never been able to come to terms with who and what he was without Souji and his friends. He'd blamed himself so much for Nanako's near-death he'd almost completely lost himself. Souji had saved him.
"I'm kind of surprised to see someone else into tarot, though," Ryoji put the book back on the shelf.
"Sensei, were you talking about the TV World to Naoto-kun and Kanji-kun? I have the right to know!"
"That place is odd... What was up with that thing in the sky, anyhow? It... was disturbing..." Ryoji rubbed his arms without even realizing it. He couldn't shake the feeling he knew that place, and that thing most prominently. He shook his head, "Man, this isn't like me. I really don't usually stress out this much."
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Dec 4, 2009 20:50:38 GMT -5
"I'm not actually, it was because of--" He stopped as Teddie cut in and asked about the TV World. He shook his head.
"It was about something else," Souji said. Okay, it was time to come up with a quick excuse. Ryoji had to be getting suspicious at this point. The fact that he was obviously being left out of conversations like this? Yeah. And Souji wasn't going to tell him about the appriser thing.
"Ryoji, did you see how Minato kept rubbing his neck?" Souji asked. "He's been having some trouble with his Persona for a while now. And I think it tried to kill him the other night. He said that he thinks he's safe now, but I'm not sure. I didn't want to worry you, after all... I'm sorry."
If that wasn't a convincing response, he didn't know what was.
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Post by mugenginga on Dec 4, 2009 20:59:23 GMT -5
Ryoji looked startled for a moment, but quickly shifted expressions. He waved his hand in a manner to let Souji know it wasn't a big deal. However, he was beginning to wonder about things. Even though they'd only known each other for a month, Ryoji felt he'd known Minato for years. Back when he had shown up at Gekkoukan, he'd actually been a bit surprised at the blue haired teen. That nagging feeling that he knew Minato was in a way similar to the feeling the knew that thing floating in the sky back in the TV World.
But the smile he had given Souji was absolutely convincing. Atem nor even Naoya would have caught anything other than a genuine "don't worry about it" expression. He really wasn't used to worrying this much, he was the type that had often been described as going with the flow of things.
Teddie was a bit more annoyed at Souji not giving him a clear answer. It was evident as Ryoji began to speak, "You were saying you had this book because of something?"
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Dec 4, 2009 21:07:24 GMT -5
Souji nodded. "Shadows are apparently separated into different types. And so are Personas. The types are the same as the Arcana in the Tarot. So I bought that as part of a bit of research."
He'd actually bought the book after he realized that the Shadows in Yuugi and Atem's Personae didn't have an Arcana he recognized. The fact that the Duelist Arcana wasn't in that book was... odd.
"You can keep that book, if you want," Souji said. "I don't really need it anymore."
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