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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Dec 20, 2009 2:38:34 GMT -5
(OOC: Yeah, I'm pulling a Mugen here and I ain't typing this out again. If you people are following this plot you already know what I would be typing out here anyway.)
Like Souji had promised, he made it back to the apartments before dark, somehow. But he didn't exactly bother telling anyone of this fact. He was too busy running back to his apartment that it was likely everyone in the building heard him run across the hallway. He didn't stop running until he reached his door and unlocked it. He slammed the door behind him and leaned up against it for a moment to catch his breath before he started walking to his room.
"I'm going to bed," Souji mumbled. He walked into his bedroom, and collapsed on top of his bed, not even bothering to even close the bedroom door behind him. He pulled out the tarot card he used to summon his Persona with, and held it so he could look at the image of Izanagi-no-Okami on the front.
You don't pick the Persona, they. pick. you!
He shuddered. Something about that whole conversation had just seemed wrong. He was definitely sure he didn't want to go with the others to the festival now. Something about that whole thing had just chilled him to the bone. He wanted nothing to do with it.
...She'd called him Izanagi. That had been more than a slip. That guy who Souji was pretty sure was Adachi's boss had said he and Izanami looked alike. What the hell did that mean?
Which was a slightly stupid question. He knew what it meant, but he didn't want to think of the possibilities of such a thing.
Souji suddenly wondered if this was how Ryoji felt at times.
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Post by mugenginga on Dec 20, 2009 2:57:39 GMT -5
If Souji had been in a stable state of mind, he might have thought it odd Ryoji wasn't in the apartment. Might have found it kind of nice that he'd been hanging out with Minato for the past few hours. Then again, he wasn't in a stable state of mind, so it didn't truly matter. Like pretty much everyone in the complex, including those that didn't know them and at best had seen them around, Ryoji and Teddie had jerked towards the sounds. Both of them also winced a bit at the sound of a slamming door.
"That sounded like Souji-kun's apartment..." Teddie said.
"Should we check on him?" Ryoji asked Minato.
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Bakura had stuck his cards in a drawer at one point. Several points, as he kept drawing them out and staring at them. He didn't feel comfortable keeping them on him, but he had a nagging feeling whenever he didn't. He'd taken a nap after spending about half an hour with Yuugi, but woken up feeling nothing like rested. Like he had been awake the whole time. He wished he could convince himself he had been sleepwalking.
Nothing in the apartment looked different. He looked down at the Ring for the umpteenth time and sighed. It was on the outside of his shirt. He just wasn't sure he wouldn't have holes in his shirt if he tried to take it off. The one time he had made a solid decision to remove the damn thing... he still had scars. He looked at his left hand. He had to move it right to catch the scar, it was very light, but the memory certainly wasn't. He was thinking about screwing it and trying it again when he heard rapid footsteps followed by a slammed door.
He walked over to the locks and realized something was different in the apartment. They weren't locked. He closed his eyes and pushed open the door. No one was in the hall. Still, the door had been locked.
"Why can't you leave me alone...?" he muttered, disturbingly confident he wasn't the only one who heard.
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Atem and Yuugi had actually gone out. They'd gotten home only minutes earlier. Yuugi was grinning ear to ear, but Atem seemed a bit embarassed. Yuugi had unpacked what they'd bought. Anzu was usually the one to find sales and such, but they had managed to find a special on male kimonos. They weren't fancy by any means, but Yuugi had insisted they dress properly for the festival. Atem couldn't get Ryoji's words out of his head. And with a mixture of amusement and embarassment he just knew Minato was gonna make a snarky comment if Ryoji didn't beat him to the punch.
Yuugi was hanging the attire when both he and Atem heard the footsteps. They both turned in time for the door to slam.
"Was that Seta-kun?"
"I think so, the sound came from the right area. If it was, something is wrong. Let's go, partner."
Yuugi nodded and the two headed out of the apartment.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Dec 20, 2009 3:42:58 GMT -5
The past few hours had actually been relaxing for Minato. While Souji was out, Minato had time to actually talk with Ryoji. Teddie was somewhat fun too; for a bear, he was a pretty fun guy.
And then the door had slammed just down the hallway. Considering there were very few people on this floor besides Souji, Minato, and Adachi, and those quick steps right outside Minato's door had definitely not been Adachi, it had to have been Souji. Which meant something was definitely wrong.
"Yeah, let's go," Minato said. He was worried. Something had happened while Souji was out. He opened his door and walked out of the apartment in time to see Bakura walk out of Adachi's own apartment. The words that Bakura said right afterward made Minato's heart sink. Poor guy. Minato wished he could do something, but if Yuugi and Atem hadn't been able to do anything about the Ring, Minato doubted he could either.
He moved down to Souji's door as fast as he could and knocked on it a couple times.
Inside the apartment, Souji didn't move from where he was sitting for a few moments. He... he didn't want to talk to them at the moment.
"Hey! Souji, we know you're in there!"
After another moment, Souji put away his tarot card and got up off of the bed. They were just going to get even more worried if he didn't come to the door. His hand hovered over the doorknob before he pulled the door open.
"...Hi guys," Souji said.
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Post by mugenginga on Dec 20, 2009 4:11:58 GMT -5
Bakura jumped when he saw Minato, Ryoji, and Teddie out of the corner of his eye. Literally, as in his feet left the floor for a moment there. Minato would probably notice he wasn't wearing his black trenchcoat. He didn't even have his sky blue over shirt/jacket on, revealing that the blue and white striped shirt was sleeveless. He looked like he'd been working out, there was a definite layer of persperation on his skin.
Yuugi and Atem got to that floor about the time Minato informed Souji they knew he was there. Yuugi looked up at Bakura and smiled. The expression was returned, but Bakura looked weary. Actually, he felt a bit sore. He noticed Atem looking at him and broke the gaze as the door to Souji's apartment opened. His eyes carried not sympathy, but empathy, at Souji's expression. He knew it well enough, it was the trapped exasperation he'd worn more than a few times. If it hadn't been for the locks, he would have felt a lot better...
"You look terrible, Souji-kun..." said Ryoji. It pretty much summed up what everyone was thinking.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Dec 20, 2009 4:54:28 GMT -5
Souji shook his head as Ryoji brought up the obvious, or at least the obvious to Souji. He had been worried and now he looked like crap. Well, Souji had been somewhat ready for that, he supposed.
"I'm feeling a little under the weather, so I don't think I'll be joining you all at the festival," Souji said. He slowly pulled the front door back a little bit with one hand.
"Souji, are you lying to us?" Minato asked. Souji stopped. "...Souji, come on, what happened that you have to lie to us over it?"
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Post by mugenginga on Dec 20, 2009 5:04:15 GMT -5
Things seemed to be piling up. Atem said nothing, and his expression was as hard to read as usual. He didn't look angry, but beyond that it was unclear. The former Pharaoh had a feeling Minato had the best idea about what was going on. It had started this afternoon with the topic of Izanami, which Atem knew was connected in not so simple ways to the events of Souji's world and time. Souji talked to Minato the most about it, hence why he suspected if anyone knew, it would be him.
Yuugi's emotion was impossible to miss. He was worried. He spoke in a voice that held nothing but support, "We can't help if we don't know, Seta-kun."
Teddie looked pretty depressed as well. And then he managed to hit the nail on the head, "It has to do with Izanami, doesn't it? Is she messing with things again!?"
Ryoji glanced at Teddie as he spoke. The blond was talking about a goddess as if Souji had actually met her. He looked lost in thought. As for Bakura, he was hanging back. He said nothing but was aware of everything going on in front of him. If anyone was paying attention, his eyes seemed a bit more distant than usual.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Dec 20, 2009 8:53:36 GMT -5
Souji looked away from the others in the group. All eyes were on him to tell the truth now. And then Teddie had hit the nail on the head. When Teddie asked his question, Souji slowly nodded. "...Why don't you guys come in? It's awkward to stand out here and talk like this."
He walked away from the door, still leaving it ajar. Minato headed in after Souji, and spotted him sitting on the couch, and he looked unsure about something. Minato rarely ever saw Souji look this unsure of himself. Whatever had happened had really shaken Souji, Minato could tell that.
"...So you met Izanami at that shrine?" Minato asked. Souji nodded. "And..."
Souji shook his head. "It's stupid."
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Post by mugenginga on Dec 20, 2009 9:06:21 GMT -5
The crowd was rather large, there was no denying that. Ryoji felt himself feeling sorry for Souji. That look on his face, that almost broken look, seemed familiar. He couldn't pinpoint why. He was blocking the route to get into the apartment when he felt that familiar spike of pain across his forehead. He winced and lifted his head up, walking forward and attempting to change what he was thinking about.
Teddie might have gotten angry, but Souji seemed really broken. He understood as well if not better than Minato why Souji might be upset, but this went above and beyond that. It was similar to his early reactions towards finding out Adachi had been the killer, except it wasn't fading to anger like that had. There was something he didn't want to admit to himself and he was fighting it. For all his flightiness, Teddie was more observant than most gave him credit for. He remained quiet as he slipped in after Ryoji.
Yuugi headed in next, but Atem delayed. He glanced over at Bakura's expression, and narrowed his eyes. He'd seen that look before, back during Duelist Kingdom. He walked over and placed his hand on the white haired teen's shoulders. He'd passed it off then...
"Bakura."
Bakura jerked and looked up, "Oh, sorry!"
Atem shook his head, "Do you want to go lay down?"
Bakura smiled, "I'll be fine. Yuugi-kun-tachi went inside Seta-kun's apartment, we should go too."
Atem wasn't comforted by the smile. However, Souji was top priority and he nodded. If what he suspected was up really was, he hoped the didn't have to worry. Bakura looked nervous at Atem's gaze and headed into the apartment. Atem closed it behind himself as he went in.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Dec 20, 2009 9:48:04 GMT -5
Minato sat down next to Souji in another chair. "Souji, come on. We're your friends. Whatever's going on, we can help with. Just like how you helped me."
As far as Minato could tell, Souji had gotten himself into the same kind of depressive funk that Minato had before. It was painful for Minato to see Souji like this, and now he was getting a feeling this was how Souji had felt toward him over the past week.
"...yeah," Souji said, and lightly nodded.
"So what all exactly happened?" Minato asked.
"...Got to the shrine, and when I got up the steps, I saw Izanami, wearing a miko outfit, tending the shrine. Oh, and Adachi and some other cop were there too. But Izanami was there, tending her own shrine, and she got pissed off at me," Souji said. He was staring down at his feet and avoiding looking at anyone. "We pretty much argued for the next ten minutes, and then..." He shuddered.
"...And?" Minato asked.
"I asked her something I'd been wanting to ask for a while. Both me and Adachi's Personas are Izanagi, and I was wondering why she did this if she hates Izanagi so much," Souji said. He seemed reluctant to go on.
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Post by mugenginga on Dec 20, 2009 9:59:27 GMT -5
The group remained quiet for a few moments, but Souji wasn't continuing. There was definite a heavy silence in the air. Even Teddie was keeping his mouth shut. Ryoji rubbed his temples. He wanted to ask if Souji had any pain medication, but this was the wrong time to speak, he could tell that.
Bakura hung to the back of the group. His head was angled down and his hair was hanging in a way that cast a shadow over his eyes. Atem glanced towards him and frowned.
If that's what I think it is, I hope he at least has the decency to let Souji-kun finish speaking... Atem tried to refocus on Souji, feeling bad for not giving his full support. But a corner of his vision remained on Bakura... and hoped it was still Bakura.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Dec 20, 2009 10:17:11 GMT -5
Souji looked around at the others, and his gaze lingered on Bakura a bit longer than the others. There was something up with him... He shook the thought from his mind and continued.
"She then yelled at me that she didn't choose the Persona, it chose me... and then..." He shook his head again. "She called me Izanagi..."
"...Is that what's been bothering you?" Minato asked. "Izanami hates Izanagi, she probably just tripped up or something. She was pissed."
"Minato, you don't get it, you've never seen Izanami's human form. She looks just like me. She looks like I would if I grew my hair out and had red eyes," Souji said. His hands were shaking a little bit. "And she looked like that before she came to Inaba, before she even knew I'd be coming. I know because she had disguised herself as a gas station attendant so she could get people into her little game more easily. And Adachi recognized her as the same station attendant he'd shaken the hand of when he came to Inaba." She had looked like that before Souji had come there... that uncanny resemblance had not been intentional on her part, Souji knew that.
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Post by mugenginga on Dec 20, 2009 10:35:15 GMT -5
"If I'm understanding where you're going, I'm not sure why its a problem," Ryoj looked hesitant as a few eyes fell on him. And some of them seemed a bit accusatory, "Don't get me wrong, it's weird! But Izanagi isn't a destructive figure! I don't think you have anything to worry about, even if in some twisted way you're an avatar or... or..."
Ryoji trailed off and sat down hard. The only thing near him was a coffee table. It now served as a seat for Ryoji. He was rubbing his forehead. His face was twisted in pain. He took in a breath, "I'm sorry, maybe I hit my head harder than I thought..."
He didn't sound confident in his words. He didn't want to trouble his friends, but his head had been hurting before he almost flipped out on Teddie. Before he collapsed in the kitchen. He knew Souji had noticed how much he'd been sleeping. Most of the time the sleep was dreamless, and whenever it wasn't he had only known he had dreampt. Always on the corner of his mind, but never clear. It had reached enough severity that he'd be taking sick days had he been in school.
"Ryoji-kun!" Yuugi had said about the time he collapsed. Ryoji didn't seem to hear, continuing to rub his head. His eyes were closed as the thoughts passed through them.
Atem looked over towards Minato. He knew this was connected to what the group didn't want to talk about. Teddie looked fairly distant. He was running his own thoughts through his head. Sensei was human, right?
"...I'msorryIhavetogo."
Bakura shot for the door of the apartment. He was begging no one stopped him. He was losing here, and he worried what he... or "he" as the case was, might do if they stopped him. He'd barely forced out the rushed and yet still polite words.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Dec 20, 2009 11:20:53 GMT -5
Souji and Minato both got the same concerned expression on their face as Ryoji took a seat on Souji's nice coffee table. Souji was more concerned about Ryoji's sudden headache , and stood up.
"I'm sorry, I'll go see if I've got any painkillers or something you can take, Ryoji," Souji said. He walked back into the kitchen and opened up a cabinet, before pulling out several spices so he could reach into the back of it. He kept seasonings and pills in the same cabinet, which was probably kind of stupid, but it wasn't like he mixed them up that often.
Minato looked uncomfortable again as Ryoji collapsed onto the coffee table. These headaches... Minato had a feeling that they were because Ryoji's true self was already trying to claw itself out. And all of this talk of avatars, shadows... Minato had a feeling that everyone here wasn't helping at all with Ryoji.
He turned as Bakura suddenly turned to leave. "Hey, wait, Bakura..."
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Post by mugenginga on Dec 20, 2009 11:40:09 GMT -5
"Thank you, Souji-kun," Ryoji mumbled, the thanks being in gratutious English and thus sounding more like 'sank you. It was forced, either way. He didn't notice Minato's concern.
Bakura stopped. He didn't know why he stopped. He didn't know if he stopped. He turned to make his point but his stance shifted to something more light midturn. He straightened up, appearing taller than usual for his shift in confidence and grinned in a manner the original Dark Bakura was infamous for. It was disturbing, and Teddie found himself taking a step back. It reminded him a bit much of Adachi after the group had chased him into the TV World.
"I have to wonder sometimes if I've overestimated your collective intelligence," it was clearly not Bakura by his way of speaking.
One hand was reaching backwards and on the door, and the handle was turned. He popped it open a bit, but his body remained facing the group.
"Anpu, how long have you been active?" Atem said flatly.
"I don't have to answer to you, Pharaoh."
Yuugi turned from Ryoji, but he was still by his side, "Then answer me! How long have you been in control of Bakura-kun's body!"
"I don't see why I need to answer his boyfriend, either," Anpu stated flatly.
Yuugi flushed a bit, but his expression didn't change. He wasn't raging like he had before, but it was a fixed gaze. And it wasn't friendly by any means. It was responded with an even smugger smirk.
Bingo, Anpu thought.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Dec 20, 2009 12:08:51 GMT -5
Minato had stood up the moment Anpu had turned around, immediately realizing that Bakura wasn't in control anymore. He was glaring at Anpu. This guy was an asshole in more ways than one.
"Shut the hell up already, Anpu!" Minato growled. And then, at that moment, Souji took the time to very calmly walk out of the kitchen. He was holding a bottle of pills. He threw the bottle to Ryoji.
"Ryoji, take two of these and go lay down for a bit," Souji said. He turned to Anpu. "I have dealt with a lot of bull today. I'm sure you were listening. So I'm not going to bother listing off all of the bull I've had to deal with today. Get the hell out of my apartment, and get the hell back in that little ring you stay in, or I'll make you get back in it."
Minato glanced at Souji. Oh, he was pissed. Typically, Souji only got this pissed at Adachi, but it looked like Souji had found a new person to loose his anger on.
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