Drawing of Boundaries (Invite Only!)

[mugenginga]

Atem didn't turn his gaze away from Anpu, but his hands had rested with five cards gathered. They were halfway out of the pouch. Yuugi wasn't sure who he needed to pay more attention to. What was Anpu talking about? He and Atem had been so involved in the events of the Island they hadn't really had time to talk.

Really, neither of them had ever talked about their past that much. It was always battles or worries, never about each other. Yuugi chose to focus on Atem as he heard the former Pharaoh start to speak. His eyes widened when he saw that Anpu's comment had hurt Atem.

"My father..." Atem took in a breath and looked back towards Anpu. The next part was an enraged yell, "My father gave his life to make up for that mistake! He didn't know about Kul Elna and when he learned about it he killed hiimself!"

"...Atem..." Yuugi said softly. He could feel Atem's pain in his own chest, almost like they were still linked.

Anpu laughed, and Yuugi felt something quite different from pain rising in his chest. It was anger. Here Atem was suffering and Anpu was laughing at him. The glare that came from Yuugi was more than a bit like his Shadow had borne.

-----

Ryoji had been taking a nap when his eyes fluttered open. What was it with this place? Was yelling some kind of prerequisite for living here? He sat up on the couch he had dozed off on and looked over to the window. Teddie walked out of the kitchen. Souji had been making an early dinner when he had heard the yelling and told Teddie to check on it. The blond walked to the window and "grrrr"-ed when he saw the scene outside.

"Sensei, it's Adachi!" Teddie shouted, causing Ryoji to wince.

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Adachi paled. Something told him he wasn't going to be pawning Bakura off on the Yuugis any time soon. He pitied Bakura. He was a nice kid caught up in the worst situation ever: he had this asshole taking control of his body. Talk about horrid luck.
At least when Adachi had been possessed, he was possessed by a disco eyeball who had been doing things for what he thought was humanity's wishes. Anpu? Because he was an asshole, from the sound of things.

----------------

Souji dropped his spoon into the pot he was cooking with, looked down at the boiling water, made a mental note to grab it later, and ran over to the window. He glared down at Adachi, and looked at the others. There was Yuugi and Atem, and Minato... Yuugi was glaring at some white-haired person Souji didn't recognise. But standing next to the white-haired person was Adachi for sure.

"Dammit! Ryoji, stay here, I'll be back," Souji said. He ran and grabbed his sword case before running out of the door.

[mugenginga]

Ryoji couldn't have argued even had he wanted to. Souji had flown out the door. He'd done so in such a fluid manner he hadn't even slowed down as he grabbed the sword. Wait, the sword!? He wasn't going off to kill anyone, was he!? Ryoji quickly headed towards the window. There wasn't anything out there that made murder seem reasonable.

"Teddie-kun, who's Adachi...?"

-----

Anpu's cackling darkened as it trailed off. He had a hand in his own pocket and took a step forward, "One life does not repent for the deaths of my entire village! You lost a father, I lost friends. My entire family were hacked apart in front of my eyes by the soldiers you inherited! All on the orders of the throne you bear!"
.
Atem had actually bared his teeth by this point. He understood, at least via sympathy, Anpu's rage. He pulled the cards the rest of the way out when he heard an enraged shout from the last source he expected.

"How dare you!" It was a wavy voice, and Yuugi shook his head and squeezed his eyes for the tears, "How dare you laugh at him! How would you like it if someone laughed at you for your life! If someone made fun of all that you lost! Losing someone hurts! It doesn't matter how you lost them or how many you lost! It still hurts! But Atem has gone past his hurt! He's taken it and become better because of it! How dare you come here and claim you have the right to hurt anybody from the same kind of pain my other self has!"

Anpu was taken aback by the force the weak seeming teenager put forth. The way he was raging... Anpu smirked. So that was the situation. His eyes flicked back to Atem, and the shock and pain in the Pharaoh's face confirmed his suspicion.

"Partner..." Atem was shocked by the emotional reaction Yuugi was having.

He'd often thought of Yuugi as the kind one. His power came from tenderness, not from skill or brute strength. But here his partner was, reminding him of himself in some of his darker moments. It was an awkward role reversal. He glanced at Anpu and shook his head.

"Partner, calm down!" His voice waved in a fashion it only ever seemed to when Yuugi was in danger.

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Minato's eyes widened as Yuugi practically raged at Anpu. Yuugi never got mad at anyone. He really did care for Atem, it looked like.
He looked up as he saw someone run down the stairs of their building.

"What the hell's going on out here?!"

Adachi whipped around as he heard that all too familliar voice. Standing behind him was the Seta kid... and shit, shit he had his sword on him. Why did he always grab that thing when Adachi was involved with anything!?

"...Anpu, now would be a GREAT time to RUN," Adachi said nervously.

Minato glared at Adachi. "Adachi's been hanging out with Bakura, who's apparently possessed by the Thief King Bakura, whose name is apparently Anpu."

Souji raised an eyebrow. "Who?"

Oh, right, Minato reminded himself. Souji had never seen the anime. "It's a long story."

[mugenginga]

Anpu shifted his glare to Adachi for a moment. It turned to a scowl of extreme annoyance. The officer had a point. They were rather outnumbered here. The Pharaoh had Ka. He probably still those annoying phantom gods, too. The weakest of the bunch didn't seem armed, nor did the blue haired teenager. But the silver haired teenagerb Adachi had mentioned earlier did have a sword Anpu had never seen the likes of. They were outnumbered and outgunned.

He turned towards the Pharaoh again, "You always do seem to rely on reinforcements, don't you?"

He took a step back as Atem turned back towards him. Yuugi's knuckles were white they were so balled up. Anpu launched off one foot like a track racer might and was bolting out of the area. He'd summon a Ka if they gave chase, but they didn't seem to. Adachi would be left standing there. Atem glanced at Souji for a moment before turning his focus back to Yuugi. The short teenager had his eyes squeezed shut and was crying. Atem could tell it wasn't just from concern for him now, but that was the majority of it. It was so much like... was it?

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Adachi's eyes widened as Anpu broke off in a run. That bastard was leaving him here, knowing Adachi couldn't run fast enough to catch up.

"R-Ryou-kun, wait!" He yelled. Souji came up behind Adachi and put a hand on his shoulder.

"You better have a damn good explanation for this," Souji said. He was glaring at Adachi, like he always did.

"Er..." Adachi said. "I was telling the truth before... he showed up half-starved at the police station, passed out, woke up, er..." He really didn't like the way Souji kept glaring at him and took a step away from him. "...and he wanted food, so I got him some... and then all the sudden that ring thing appeared, he stole my gun, he was threatening to kill me, and I got mixed up in this mess."

"Right," Souji said. He was still glaring at Adachi.

[mugenginga]

Atem had to decide between making sure Souji wasn't going to kill Adachi and checking on Yuugi. Yuugi's eyes were still closed, there were still tears. He hesitated in an uncharacteristic manner for several moments before turning to Minato.

"Minato-kun, check on them please?"

And then he was beside Yuugi. He had to crouch a bit, three inches of height made a difference. He had placed his hands on Yuugi's shoulder. Yuugi opened his eyes, but it stung a bit. Atem waited patiently for his vision to come into focus.

"Partner, are you alright?"

"Are you? He acted like your father's life was nothing!"

Yuugi winced a bit at the bit of pain that was in Atem's face at that comment. Atem saw that and quickly shook his head, "It was bound to come out eventually. You didn't answer my question. Are you alright?"

"...I'm fine." Yuugi looked away as he said that.

Atem blinked. Okay, now Yuugi was acting mad. At him.

Atem had learned a lot of things in their time together. He'd learned how much stronger kindness waasa than harshness, or at least could be. He knew that somewhere Yuugi had picked up on Atem's kind of strength as well. So the fact that he'd basically blown up wasn't the world's biggest surprise, although it still had Atem off balance. But now Yuugi was putting that towards him.

"Are you mad at me?" Atem was surprised at how much worry was in his voice as he asked that.

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Minato ran over to Souji and Adachi. It looked like Souji was interrogating Adachi, but it didn't look like he was going to kill him. Thank god.

Adachi gulped. "I-I'm telling you, I'm telling the truth..."

Souji sighed. "I didn't say you weren't. Crap, what are we going to do now..."

Minato looked away. "Bakura's Yuugi's friend, it's just that the spirit in the Ring isn't. And the Ring's kinda... clingy."

Clingy? Adachi thought to himself.

"So what you're saying is, we can't do much about Bakura, or rather, Anpu, because Anpu is attached to Bakura," Souji said. He turned to Adachi and was about to say something when he caught a bit of Yuugi and Atem's conversation. It looked like there was some kind of tension between them now. Anpu had caused this, obviously.

The way they're talking, you'd think that they're... Oh, you have got to be kidding, Adachi thought to himself. This day couldn't get any weirder could it.

[mugenginga]

Yuugi and Atem seemed in their own world at the moment. Neither of them were reacting to the conversation right next to them. Really, it didn't look like they'd react if the apartment building suddenly blew up. Atem looked worried, but Yuugi kept quiet. He was working at not looking Atem in the eyes.

"You can't be mad I didn't attack him, right?"

"...it has nothing to do with that. I mean, not right now."

Atem looked extremely puzzled, "Then what?"

Yuugi hesitated, "Why now?"

Atem didn't say anything. He'd been told he was good at reading people. He always knew what his partner was feeling. But right now he couldn't get the frustration and the hints of anger. Yuugi said it wasn't about the situation with Anpu. It had felt like an honest response. But if it wasn't that, then what?

Yuugi turned back towards Atem and jerked away from his grip, "Why do you care all of a sudden now!? You've been avoiding me since you got your Persona! Every time we get into a conversation, you change it! You stop talking before you want to, you change the subject, anything but saying what you want! It's like you're trying to go past your shadow by going past me!"

Atem's expression changed to one of pure horror. It looked as if everything he cared about was made of glass and someone had brought an oversized sledgehammer down on it. Shattered. He looked shattered and horrified. That's what Yuugi thought? He thought he was ignoring him, avoiding him?

The former Pharaoh was aware of the eyes on him. He was aware all three of them, Souji, Minato, and Adachi, were staring at them. But that didn't matter right now. If he tried to dodge the situation again, the rift that would form would never mend. None of the words seemed right but he had to force them out.

"I don't want to hurt you,,, I'm afraid," Atem paused. His face, despite the tan, was showing a level of blush that until now only Yuugi seemed capable of showing, "I'm afraid that if I tell you... you'll be hurt because you can't return the feelings! Dammit, partner, I like you!!"

Yuugi's expression changed as drastically as Atem's had. Whereas Atem had looked shattered, Yuugi just plain looked broken. As if the words didn't register. Somehow he managed to get words out... if only barely.

"W-w-w-w-w-whatdidyoujustsay!?"

Somewhere, a whole salad bar exploded into a blazing inferno.

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Souji and Minato blinked, exchanged a glance, and both thought, About time they admitted it. Souji crossed his arms and smiled. It was pretty obvious those two liked each other. Souji and Minato had known since the incident with Atem's Shadow. Everyone knew. It had been that obvious. But those two would NOT spit it out. It was kind of cute.

Adachi's jaw had dropped. His eye twitched. "W-W-Wait, what...?!" He took a step back. This was getting too weird. Right now would just be a good time to go find Bakura, get him something to eat before he passed out somewhere, and maybe...

"You're not going anywhere, Adachi," Souji said. Adachi flinched.
There was a reason the Seta kid creeped him out. And really freaked him out in general. He really didn't like this kid...

[mugenginga]

It wasn't a rejection, at least... Atem sighed. Right now he'd rather face down Zorc again than repeat himself, but he forced the words out. To his surprise, they came out a bit easier this time. He wasn't making eye contact.

"I like you... as in like you..." They came out easier. Not easily.

Yuugi didn't look capable of speaking. He still looked broken. As if the rushed words before had been the last thing he'd ever be able to say. His face was still a Christmas tree. Atem's blush had gone down, but Yuugi's face was as comparable to a tomato as ever. He looked at his feet and fidgeted. He'd never gotten to this point even with Anzu.

_{"I... I like you too..."}

Atem turned towards Yuugi, "...what?"

"I-I-I.... that is... um... also?"

The shift in the air was comparable to the ground vanishing. As if some giant weight had been pressing on the entire group without anyone being aware of it was suddenly propelled to outerspace with the force of a a million magnets.

"Partner..."

"We should look for Bakura-kun!"

Atem blinked at the force Yuugi said that. Yuugi turned towards the group, still looking awkward. He pointed with far more energy than was necessary and practically shouted, "We should really look for Bakura-kun!"

Atem shook his head and gave a small but content grin. That had to be the hardest hurdle, right? He looked towards Souji and Minato and awaited a response.

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Souji and Minato both nodded and took a couple steps forward. Finding Bakura was the most important thing at the moment.

"W-Wait!"

The two turned around to look at Adachi.

"The chief's gonna kill me if I lose him somewhere! I need to find him and make sure he's okay!"

"...No."

"You are NOT coming along!"

"I could lose my job if Ryou-kun goes missing!" Adachi cried. "I'm on thin ice as it is."

"...Ryou-kun?" Minato asked. Souji, on the other hand, was more worried about how eager Adachi was to find Bakura. It was possible they were planning something. The thin ice comment was completely possible; Adachi was the most useless cop in existence.

[mugenginga]

Yuugi was more than grateful the conversation had taken a turn. His cheeks still felt flushed, but he felt like a weight had been taken off his shoulders too. Atem wasn't avoiding him, he'd just been worried about hurting him. The fact that he was showing that side of himself when before he'd only show it when they were alone...

Then again, that connection wasn't there. He had to show that side of himself in public. Yuugi shook his head. Atem only had to show it to him. He realized it ha come out like this because Atem didn't want to push him away again. The blush was mostly gone, but he had a somewhat embarassed smile. He tried to push it off his face as he took a step forward.
.
"We should let Adachi-san come.."

He felt several surprised eyes fall on him. He looked away and was surprised to hear Atem speak up.

"He's right," Atem wasn't happy by his tone, "Adachi is a police officer, it'll be easier to get help if he's with us."

Atem gave a dark look to Adachi. If the police officer had forgotten the promise he had made shortly after coming out of the TV World, he'd have issues. After the little display between himself and his partner, it was also probably clear what "those I care about" truly meant. He continued to speak.

"Adachi, does Anpu want Bakura to be found?"

If Anpu didn't want to be found, it would be nigh impossible to do so. Atem had to admit this to himself. Yuugi frowned as Atem asked his question. He knew what he meant by it. Anpu was regarded as the king of thieves in Ancient Egypt. People like that weren't found unless they wanted to be.

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Adachi smiled. They were letting him come along. As long as nothing too bad happened then they went searching for Bakura... which was entirely possible, considering the company he was in. Hopefully Atem wouldn't decide he needed to be Mind Crushed after all.

When Atem asked if Anpu wanted to be found, Adachi thought to himself for a moment. "Well, he told me to get him some food, because he was literally starving... and I hadn't gotten him anything other than a couple sandwiches he'd had earlier. So I think so."

Adachi really hoped he could find Bakura. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he was getting a bit of a soft spot for the kid.

Of course, Souji caught this and chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Adachi demanded.

"Nothing. Let's go," Souji said.

[mugenginga]

Atem looked relieved and nodded, "Zorc, or Dark Bakura, didn't seem to eat much. Bakura always seems starving when he comes to. The fact that Anpu told you to feed him is a welcome difference."

"Should we split up?" Yuugi seemed to be calculating something in his head, "There are five of us, we could.. um..."

"Adachi can come with us," Atem cut in.

Atem wanted to keep an eye on Adachi. He wanted to stay with Yuugi. He wanted Souji to be kept seperate from Adachi. And if what he was reading between Souji and Adachi's interactions and how Bakura had acted earlier was right... It didn't make him happy that a murderer and Bakura seemed to be getting along, but if it was someone Bakura could trust... that warning look from before went back towards Adachi. Bakura didn't need to be hurt any more than Zorc, and now Anpu, already had.