|
|
Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Dec 24, 2009 23:55:58 GMT -5
(OOC: Rei no Kaado, Invite Only, you people know the drill by now
And there's some minor godmoding with Teddie in there, but Mugen said it was fine over IM.)
Earlier that morning, both Ryoji and Souji had gone out somewhere, and never came back. Teddie had gotten worried and come to see Minato about Souji, and Minato had gotten worried enough to call Souji. And Bakura had picked up.
The ensuing conversation had ended with Minato falling to his knees in shock. According to Anpu, Ryoji had awakened somehow. Normally, Minato wouldn't have believed Anpu. But just the day previously, Anpu had been attacked by Death because he knocked Ryoji out. They had known Ryoji was losing control. This was the proof.
He picked himself up off of the floor and ran out of the apartment, slamming the door behind him.
If Ryoji was still human in any way, Minato had to find him and bring him back. Minato didn't have as high hopes for Souji though. Anpu said he'd seen Death chasing Souji. And Souji hadn't been trying to fight back. He hadn't fought back because he knew it was worthless for him to try to fight back. Dammit Souji!
It was likely that everyone else in the building would be able to hear Minato; once again, the walls here were paper thin and useless when it came to blocking out sound.
|
|
|
|
Post by mugenginga on Dec 25, 2009 0:09:43 GMT -5
Minato had told Teddie he'd call to check on Souji. He had told Teddie things would be fine. Teddie had stood outside Minato's apartment. Teddie had seen Minato fly out of his apartment. Teddie had seen Minato's face. Teddie was now panicked.
Somewhere between the door and where Naoto and Kanji were staying, Teddie had shifted back to his mascot form. Some called it his bear form. Others his shadow. Others his true. It didn't really matter what it was called. Teddie called it Teddie. Teddie was now pounding on the door to Naoto and Kanji's apartment. As if there hadn't been enough noise caused by Minato. The two teenagers would know Teddie had taken his normal form by the voice. It was cuter (in the fuzzy mon sense) in this form.
"Naoto-kun! Kanji-kun! Wake up!!"
----------
Atem had bolted upright in his bed at the slam of the door. It was a floor below them, but he had bolted up. He had knocked Yuugi's head off his chest. He had lit up in a manner Yuugi was more known for. He shook his head, the blush fading. Now wasn't the time to be dwelling on how their sleeping arrangement had somehow altered itself.
"Partner, wake up! I think there is a problem!"
Even with a full floor as a buffer between them, Atem could hear someone shouting. That alone spoke of the level of panic and volume Teddie was using.
Yuugi's head hit the bed at an awkward angle. He grumbled and sat up before rubbing his eyes and opening them. Atem was already out of bed and practically throwing clothes on. He was right now wondering why he wore tight jeans. He managed to get them zipped up.
"Atem, what's wrong...?" yawned Yuugi.
Atem turned to Yuugi as he pulled a shirt on, "I think something happened. I heard a door slam. Call it intuition if you have to," Yuugi would find an outfit being thrown in his face, "Hurry up, don't worry about running a comb through your hair. I think it's Minato-kun."
Yuugi's eyes widened. He could only think of one reason that Minato would be panicking enough to wake up the entire complex. His clothes were thrown on with more ease than Atem due to their slightly different styles of dress. Atem shot out the door after getting the Duel Monsters cards shoved in his pocket. Yuugi grabbed the Pendant on the way out the door due to habit rather than real memory. It had taken them less than three minutes from when Atem woke up to get out the door.
|
|
|
|
Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Dec 25, 2009 0:57:24 GMT -5
Naoto, like usual, answered the door. Even with the change in Teddie's voice, she hadn't expected to see him standing there in his bear suit. He had been in human form since he had arrived. She looked down at Teddie and yawned a bit.
"Teddie? What's wrong?" Naoto asked. She had heard someone run down the stairs just a few moments ago. Teddie had been rooming with Souji, so if something had happened to Souji, that would make sense... though Naoto had a feeling it was much worse than that.
--------------
Minato was running as fast as he could. Anpu had said he'd seen Souji running from Death near the Hotel.
It was about eight in the morning now, the sun had already come up, and there were more people out and about. But most of all, Minato was worried. What if he got to the hotel and found Souji dead in an alley? With Ryoji standing on horrified next to him?
Even the mental image was panic enducing.
|
|
|
|
Post by mugenginga on Dec 25, 2009 1:20:53 GMT -5
The indirect source of Minato's panic had stopped by the coffee shop minutes after Takahashi had pulled away. The people tied up in the mess of Fate's ripples had been missing each other by minutes to seconds all day. Ryoji couldn't be aware of that, of course, but it was the case. He had spent significant time carefully looking at each card. There was something to be said for resonating one's spirit with a deck. It gave better readings if one did that.
The one that had taken him the longest was the Duelist Arcana. To Ryoji, it was both familiar and foreign. He couldn't recall having ever read about it, and yet he knew its meaning. It felt like a recent knowledge, and he knew that if he misread any card it would be this one. Every card had multiple meanings, and only as a whole could the meaning of the pieces be ascertained. He had finally gotten to shuffling he cards and was about to draw the first one when he had felt the need to zone a bit. He had looked to the side and some cosmic draw had granted an unobstructed view two blocks down.
He'd seen Minato shoot past. How he had known it was Minato made no sense. He shouldn't have been able to focus that far despite the unobsructed field of view. Even more, he had known Minato was in an utter panic. He stood up in his seat and managed to knock the cards onto the ground. He scooped them up, but noticed two had managed to flip themselves around. The centered skull of the Death Arcana rested upright atop the Egyptian eye of the Duelist Arcana, which rested sideways. Ryoji had a sudden tugging feeling that the way they had fallen was important, but he pushed it to the corner of his mind and got the cards back into their case. He was running towards where he had seen Minato even before the case was fully back in his pants' pocket.
----------
"Souji left early this morning and hasn't come back! I told Minato and he called Sensei and then burst out f his apartment! Naoto-kun, Kanji-kun, I swear I have never seen him so frightened! It... It reminded me of Sensei when Nametame had Nana-chan in his grasp. I'm really really worried about both of them!"
|
|
|
|
Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Dec 25, 2009 1:47:19 GMT -5
Naoto hadn't been shaken completely awake until Teddie had explained things. And then she gasped. She realized Minato wasn't just panicking because of Souji was gone. He was panicking because someone, the one person that had sent Minato into a panic like this before, was involved with Souji's disappearance.
"Kanji-kun! Get up and get dressed!" she yelled into the apartment. "Souji-sempai's in danger, and Ryoji may be involved!"
Kanji clamored up off of the couch. Despite the two bedroom apartment, Naoto still had him sleeping on the couch. "Huh? O-Oh crap! I'm goin' as fast as I can!"
Naoto turned back to Teddie. "You go ahead and run after Minato-san. We'll meet you in a couple of minutes."
----------------
Minato didn't stop running when the cafe door opened, and it didn't look like he'd stop until he reached the Hotel.
He had to hope Souji was there. If he wasn't... he didn't know where else to look.
|
|
|
|
Post by mugenginga on Dec 25, 2009 2:04:51 GMT -5
Teddie nodded. He'd taken this form for a reason. He'd never tried fighting with his claws in human form. He didn't know if he even could. He didn't want to have to take the time or energy to change once the group got to a situation where they wuld be needed. He could run at the same speed in this form, and considering the layout of the Island, he fit in even more as a mascot at Junes.
He did, however, almost tackle Yuugi and Atem into the wall. He whirled towards the two teenagers. Atem had jerked Yuugi back. He was now looking Teddie in the eye.
"It's Minato-kun and Ryoji, isn't it?"
"I just know it involves Minato-kun and Sensei, but Naoto-kun thinks Ryoji-kun might be involved!" Teddie nodded, which always looked odd in this form, "Naoto-kun told me to run ahead after Minato-kun!"
"We'll come with you! Arisato-kun-tachi are our friends too!" Yuugi said.
Again with the odd nod, "Alright, but you have to keep up!"
The two teens and the mascot bear headed out of the apartments.
----------
Damn, he really was in track!
Ryoji was barely keeping Minato in his site. This was like some kind of screwed up mix between a marathon and tag. Minato's path was horribly erratic. He was zigzagging and looking through alleys. As far as Ryoji could tell if he saw movement in an alley he made it a priority to shoot down it. What the hell was he looking for!? All the teenager knew was that his friend was panicked. It had to involve one of their friends in a life or death situation.
Death. The upright symbol of change over a sideways symbol of fate. Tarot cards weren't arranged sideways, but the suspicion that every aspect of that accident had meaning. If he were to take it at face value, a potentially good change could occur, but fate had not decided if it would allow it. As if some outside force relating to Death would effect fate. The card had landed sideways of its own accord. That threw him the most.
Not now, Ryoji! Minato-kun is still panicked! Ryoji found that he was mentally chastising himself.
|
|
|
|
Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Dec 25, 2009 2:28:01 GMT -5
After exiting yet another alley, Minato stopped to rest. He may have been the top runner, but even the best runners had to stop and rest every now and then. He turned around as he heard footsteps, and his eyes went wide as he saw Ryoji approaching. Ryoji. He never thought he'd be happier to hear that name in his life.
"Oh god, Ryoji... please, please tell me you haven't seen Souji," Minato pleaded. There was one thing of note about that statement. Minato had said "haven't." Which implied a great many things. The most major of which being that Minato believed whatever had happened to Souji had to do with the thing they couldn't tell Ryoji about.
------------------
Naoto and Kanji both ran out of their apartment, finally dressed. They needed to catch up with Minato, not an easy task. Despite his resemblance to K1, Minato was not a slacker, and in fact, he could run very quickly. Which meant it would be extremely hard to catch up to him unless something interrupted his panic induced run.
------------------
Yuugi, Atem, and Teddie would pass by a bus stop just as a bus pulled up to it. Stepping off of the bus was a silver haired teenager who looked and sounded like the Seta Souji they had known. He watched them run before starting to follow after. He didn't need to run. He could sense the darkness coming off of the pendant the shortest one wore. It was like a beacon to him.
He suddenly ducked into an alley and waited there until Naoto and Kanji had passed by him. Once they were gone, he ducked back out.
Why the hell did you do that?! Souji screamed in his head.
Those two would instantly realize who I am. I am not prepared to reveal that I have forcibly retaken my body to them quite yet, Izanagi stated.
I'd tell you to go fuck yourself, but that's my body you'd be using for it, Souji growled.
Silence, Izanagi growled back, and he returned to following after the dark energy of the Puzzle.
|
|
|
|
Post by mugenginga on Dec 25, 2009 2:40:16 GMT -5
"Mina-"
"...haven't seen Souji"
Ryoji stopped like Minato had slapped him. He had pleaded that. His eyes were full of fear and worry. Ryoji's first thought was to ask why. He felt like a jerk for that. That would string Minato along. But Minato looked terrified. It meant that if he had seen Souji, it was a very bad thing. Souji had said it would be very bad if he found out what they were hiding. He hadn't told Souji that.
"No," Ryoji shook his head. But he couldn't hold it, "...why? When you ask me that you sound like you are worried about Souji's life, Minato."
----------
"Partner, Teddie, hold up!"
Yuugi slowed down to a trot, than a walk, than stopped. Teddie pivoted on one foot, his arms and other foot causing an odd balance as he turned to Atem. He looked angry.
"We can't stop! Sensei could be in trouble!"
Atem looked behind him, "I tried to pass it off, but I can't. I'm fairly sure I saw him getting off that bus back there."
"...you didn't say anything because you were trying to tell yourself it couldn't be him? Was something wrong?" Yuugi asked.
"Something. I don't know what. I think he was avoiding us. Teddie, do you know why?"
"You're mistaken! Sensei wouldn't avoid us!"
"He was carrying himself wrong, too. It wasn't as drastic as Bakura in relation to Anpu, but he seemed almost full of himself. Noble. Yuugi, you know the look. It's how Kaiba carries himself. I'm sure it was Souji, but something was wrong. I can't help but think of the dark sides those tied to the Millennium Items and their history can develop. To be truthful, I can't honestly say I'm sure its tied only to those Items."
"What could have happened to give Souji a dark side!?"
Teddie had shifted from insulted to concerned. What if they were right?
|
|
|
|
Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Dec 25, 2009 2:59:15 GMT -5
Minato froze, his eyes still wide with panic. "I..."
There had been no way to ask that without gaining Ryoji's suspicion. Minato had been too panicked to think about some of the implications of that kind of question. Now that he knew Ryoji hadn't seen Souji and that Ryoji hadn't awakened...
"Shit!" Minato yelled. "That bastard Anpu lied to me! Which means... Dammit! Izanami's got him!" Minato ran past Ryoji again. With the speed he was running, it wouldn't take him too long to find Yuugi, Atem, and Teddie.
--------------
Naoto and Kanji stopped when they caught up with Yuugi, Atem, and Teddie.
"Hey! What're you standing around for? We've gotta find Minato!" Kanji said.
"That won't be necessary," Naoto said. "He's coming our way."
Minato had just ducked out of another alley further down the street and was running towards Yuugi and Atem.
|
|
|
|
Post by mugenginga on Dec 25, 2009 3:05:36 GMT -5
Ryoji looked worried about Minato's forthcoming explanation. And very surprised at the blatent but loud topic change. And what...?
"Anpu and Izanami and... wait, what!? If An- Minato, wait up!" Ryoji dropped the suspicion to chase after Minato. Sometimes he wondered why he even tried to keep track of these things.
----------
Teddie opened his mouth to reply to Teddie when Naoto got to it first. Yuugi and Atem looked up to see Minato, and moments after he ducked out of an alley he saw Ryoji behind him. Nothing seemed to have happened in that end.
"I think Souji is nearby," Atem shook his head, "But I can't shake the feeling it isn't Souji the way Anpu isn't Bakura."
Might have been confusing. After all, the only cases of that had been at least indirectly related to the MIllennium Items.
|
|
|
|
Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Dec 25, 2009 3:19:29 GMT -5
Minato practically skidded to a stop in front of the group. "Teddie, did you wake everyone up?! Anyways, that's not important; we have to hurry to Bonsai Village now, Izanami's got him!"
"...Ah, yes, about that, Minato-san. Atem-san believes Souji-sempai is nearby, just not Souji-sempai..." Naoto said.
"There you guys are!"
Minato, Naoto and Kanji turned at the sound of someone's voice. Walking up to them was what looked like Souji, though there was something off, something Minato couldn't put his finger on.
"...Minato-kun, you look like you've seen a ghost. Did something happen?" Souji asked.
"...Just a dirty trick from Anpu. Where the hell were you!?" Minato asked. Souji's face twisted with anger.
"I went out to get a coffee this morning, and somehow or another Anpu poisoned it with the same poison we were talking about yesterday, the one he was asking Adachi-san about, remember--"
"You're not Souji."
"Eh?" Souji turned toward Minato.
"Souji doesn't call me 'Minato-kun' and he sure as hell doesn't call Adachi 'Adachi-san'," Minato growled. "Who the hell are you and where's Souji?!"
Nice job, Izanagi, Souji said mockingly. Didn't think that one through too much, did you?
Shut up. Izanagi growled back. "...I suppose I should have expected his best friend to notice. Souji... is no longer among us."
Liar! Why the hell did you tell them that?! Souji screamed.
It'll be the truth soon enough. Izanagi said back.
|
|
|
|
Post by mugenginga on Dec 25, 2009 12:30:44 GMT -5
Atem looked up at Souji's voice. He was still carrying himself wrong. Yuugi could see what the former Pharaoh had been talking about. He was talking oddly to. Souji was rarely rude, but he came across as more polite. He seemed forced, too. Minato and "Souji" talked. Atem caught the honorific for Minato. And his gaze turned into a glare at the one for Adachi. Minato covered it just fine. And then "Souji" let the shoe drop.
"No way," Teddie's already large eyes were even more huge. He took a step back and put his mitts over his ears. He closed his eyes and his entire body shook as he shook his head, "Sensei... you... no way, no way, no way!"
Yuugi's hand went to his mouth. The gasp was more than audible. More noble. More polite. That meant...
"You..." Atem said. It wasn't polite, but there was griefstricken disbelief lacing the anger, "You pushed Souji-kun out of existance...? You couldn't even let him maintain partial control, Izanagi? What gives you the right!? I don't care if you're a god, you had no right!" He was now snarling.
Ryoji had lost all color from his face. If it had just been that Souji was dead, it would have been one thing. It would have been a horrible one thing, but it would have been one thing. Ever since Souji had expressed his concern about Izanagi, Ryoji had focused on one thought. An avatar had no control. They were the same person, they were not supposed to be autonomous. To Ryoji, it sounded horrible. To lose yourself completely, to the point of being unable to regret it because yourself was lost. Not dying, merely ceasing to exist.
And now Souji had. He had held a sliver of hope before. That Izanagi would allow Souji to remain. It was up to the whim of the god and its purpose if a personality could stay. If the avatar's artificial personality refused to "play nice" and live by the god's rules, the god would crush them. Souji had known that. Ryoji didn't know how. He didn't know how he knew to such an extent, his knowledge of mythology wasn't that extensive. But he knew. Souji was now gone, and couldn't even reincarnate because he had merely been a personality housed in a shell that wasn't his.
He found himself surprised to be speaking, and what came out was a loaded statement. It was unclear that he hadn't awakened by these words. What overwhelmed even that, however, was a combination of grief, anger, and fear. He could get the formers, but he didn't understand the latter. Why was he frightened of something like this?
"You... you couldn't even let him remain? Izanagi isn't a god of anything destructive, and yet you couldn't even let him remain with is friends!? Even if he fought you, there had to have been a compromise!!" He ended with a word mortals had been uttering since Death had come to the world, "Why!?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Dec 25, 2009 21:36:39 GMT -5
Great questions, Ryoji. Amazing questions. The only thing I can think of is Izanagi's an asshole. But let's see what his answer is, right? Souji mocked. He felt Izanagi try to make him fade out again. Izanagi had definitely heard that, and was trying to make this annoyance disappear now.
"It was to be expected. Once I took full control of this body, he had no choice but to be consumed by me," Izanagi said. "He would have been unable to remain. He was nothing but a personality birthed from me, a powerless Shadow. It would have been more painful if I let him slowly fade away instead."
"Like hell!" Kanji yelled. "If you really cared that much about us, then you'd have let him stay, you bastard!"
"You devoured Sempai's existance, caring nothing about the friends he had left behind, and you have no regrets... you're despicable," Naoto said. "Even Adachi is less despicable than you."
"Do not speak to me about that man. He truely believed that a world filled with Shadows would be the best result for everyone. He and Izanami both nearly succeeded in that plan. Do not get me wrong, I care for humanity. But if I need to make sacrifices along the way, I will do so," Izanagi spoke.
You could make this a lot easier on yourself if you just told them I'm still here, Souji said.
You will have faded away by morning, Shadow.
Stop calling me that, Souji growled.
Izanagi ignored Souji.
"You bastard. Give him back. Give our friend back!" Minato yelled. He took a few steps forward, and he was looking at Izanagi like he had Takaya in the past: with absolute hate.
|
|
|
|
Post by mugenginga on Dec 25, 2009 21:55:57 GMT -5
"I refuse to accept that!" Atem said of Izanagi's excuse, "Two souls can share a body! Even with nothing to house the dormant soulll, it can happen! The only reason one has to be lost is if the other refuses to let them stay!"
"Why was it a need?" Yuugi looked up. He was talking a bit softer than usual. Less than angry, he sounded like he was truly trying to figure it out, "Why was sacrificing Seta-kun a need, like you implied? Atem's right, two people can share a body if they're willing. I can't believe Seta-kun would have been that adamant about kicking you out if you'd just talked to him..."
Ryoji had turned his head. The miasma of emotions was almost overwhelming. He heard Minato speak and looked up. He took a step forward and placed his hand on Minato's shoulder. It was a firm grip, he expected Minato to balk it.
"Minato-kun, if he's really gone we can't do anything. Harming Izanagi won't bring Souji-kun back..." he sounded griefstricken as he said that. How could Izanagi do that?
Teddie was still speaking. It was muted, more of a whispered mumble. Over and over the words "no way" escaped his lips. He seemed in his own shattered world at the moment.
|
|
|
|
Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Dec 25, 2009 22:14:20 GMT -5
Minato looked back at Ryoji, and then stepped away. Made sense the one person who would be losing himself next was the one to understand the most. But he still couldn't believe Souji was gone.
"Were you not listening? I did not say he was a soul. He was a Shadow. One that had a human form, just like your bear friend here. The only difference being his body was fully human, instead of still holding traces of Shadow," Izanagi said. "Just as one's Shadow rejoins the psyche upon its acceptance, I accepted him back into me, and--"
"And how does that explain you, Izanagi-no-Okami?!"
The voice came out loud and clear; it was Souji's voice. Izanagi looked more than a little shocked at this development. Somehow, Seta had managed to gain control of his body again, if only for a moment before Izanagi had managed to supress him again. Minato heard the voice loud and clear. He stepped forward again.
"That was Souji!" Minato growled. "You were lying about him being gone!"
Izanagi's face twisted into a nervous smile. "Don't expect that to happen again, Arisato. He won't survive much longer. He hasn't the strength to regain control of this body, and even if he did, he'd just be delaying the inevitable."
|
|
