Bel: The Exodus (Invite Only, Sensitive Subjects)

[mugenginga]

Yuugi flushed as Atsuro asked his question. There had to be fifty million questions he had. There had to be. And yet Atsuro had picked that to ask first. One he probably even hadn't had until Abel and Atem had their confrontation. It was probably answer enough to Atsuro's question, although maybe not. Yuugi was pretty easily flustered, any of the scenes involving Anzu were sign of that. And besides, its not like your average teenage boy's mind went there first.

Atem glanced over at Yuugi and sighed, but had a kind smile, however small, "I believe my Partner has just inadvertently answered your question."

Nyarlathotep frowned. Well, that was no fun. Abel wasn't the only one that had picked up on something different about Souji, though. In the case of Nyarlathotep, it only meant he was more interested in the Wild Card. Cain ignored Nyarlathotep as the demon refocused someplace else. On Yuugi, Atem, and Atsuro. Kaido was keeping his focus on Atem. If they had to worry about anyone now that Souji had left, it was Atem. He'd focused on them just after Atem had more or less answered, Atsuro. So he didn't know the source of Yuugi's embarassment.

[Firebreath Fishslap]

"But, wait, then that means... but... you... and..." Atsuro stopped walking and was pointing to Atem, and then Yuugi, and then back at Atem again. He appeared very broken. Well, he did have the mind of an average teenage boy.

"Congratulations, you broke Atsuro's mind. No small feat," Abel said in mock congratulations. "We're wasting time. Come on, let's go."

Naoto sighed and continued walking. She gave a quick look toward the demon following the group, the one that had been introduced as Nyarlathotep. It unsettled her too, but obviously not to the same degree as it unsettled Souji. On that note, she had to wonder about his sudden obsession with coffee. Naoto had initially thought Izanagi had something to do with it, but Souji had said Izanagi was only a Persona now...

[mugenginga]

Atem made a point of ignoring Abel. The King of Bel would be aware that the former Pharaoh had heard him. He would also be aware Atem was ignoring him on purpose. Yuugi looked a bit anxious as K1 gave his order and glanced over at Atsuro. Atem had no intentions of moving until Atsuro did. The two may have been friends, but Atem suspected it was from before Abel had become the King of Bel. Likely far before.

"Kihara-kun...?" Yuugi said, his face still tinted by the blush having gone down.

Atem sighed, "I don't know much about the 'show' everyone claims we're from, but I'm rather certain it never revealed that. You had other questions, correct?"

"Abel-ousama, pardon my rudeness, but are we really in that much of a rush...?" Seth asked. Cain raised an eyebrow but said nothing. If anyone could get away with that it was Seth.

Nyarlathotep acknowledged Naoto's glance, but it was rather cold. There was definitely a different attitude towards Naoto than the demon held towards Souji. He was quick enough to break the gaze and focus back in on the the Captain and the two he was talking with. Kaido let out some air, not as much a sigh as an annoyed exhale, but said nothing. Well, Abel had probably expected this, but it didn't change the fact the delay would be annoying the King.

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Abel glared at Atem. He was well aware the Pharoah had heard him, but Atem was purposefully ignoring him. Abel was getting more than a little pissed off, but at the same time, he was still trying to watch his temper. And failing. He stopped glaring long enough to turn when Seth adressed him. He sighed.

"I suppose not," Abel said. "Atsuro, if you're done tripping over the fact that, yes, Yuugi and Atem really do like each other, then you can continue."

Atsuro rubbed the back of his head. "...Geez. I just always thought that, y'know, that kind of stuff only happened in doujins." He shuddered. "Er, yeah, let's move off of this topic. Uh, so why do you have your own body, anyways? And why are you so tan, too, for that matter?"

[mugenginga]

It was time for Yuugi to blush again. Doujins!? He knew the term in passing, and the implication was enough to make anyone blush. Did Atsuro really think their relationship was like that!? Atem facepalmed as well, more in regard to Atsuro's shudder than anything else.

"It's not like that, Atsuro," Atem said, "As for your question, it's a bit complicated..."

Yuugi tried to bring the blush under control. He was having a bit of trouble. He'd seen shows that weren't what most would consider age appropriate despite his being a teenage boy, but that was different. For one, they weren't what he'd heard a few girls at school call "boy love". Two, he actually liked Atem. Relationships were a lot different than smut, and Atsuro was implying smut of a certain aimed at girls type. Yeah, the blush wasn't going away. Because he was now stuck with mental images. He was walking a bit awkwardly now too.

Atem glanced over at Yuugi. Yeah, Yuugi had more than gone there as well. He sighed, realizing Atsuro was still expecting an answer. There had been two questions. He'd answer the easier one first.

"I'm not sure about your second question, as this is the skin tone I've had since birth. I'm Egyptian, not Japanese. Was I incorrect in assuming you knew that," It was a mostly rhetorical question, "As for your initial question, it is tricky to answer. Do you know of the Games of Darkness?"

He had gone into the conversation assuming Atsuro knew about both the Dark Games and his history. Minato seemed to, but it was possible that being from different worlds the two had seen different incarnations of his world. While that was partially the case, there was no way for Atem to know the difference between the manga and anime(s) he (and somewhat Yuug) was the titular character of.

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Atsuro felt rather embarrassed as Yuugi continued to blush and Atem continued on. And then Atem had made his mostly rhetorical question. Atsuro had attempted to answer it before Atem went on.

"Oh, I know about that, it's just that you never looked like that any other time on the show except the..." He stopped talking as Atem went on. "And yeah, I know."

By this point, Atsuro was starting to feel like a bit of an idiot. He'd gone all fanboy on three people so far, made himself look like an idiot, and now he had implied things that totally weren't like that. Though he still had questions to ask, and this would probably be the only time to ask them, so he'd ask them now.

[mugenginga]

Atem glanced at Yuugi, "I believe I forfeited my chance to seal them away, then. It's a rather long story. No insult to your intelligence intended, but some of the details would take some time to explain. The short version is I had to choose between my past and my present due to certain developments. By choosing my present I severed all my ties and rights to my past aside from my memories. This included the ability to seal away the Dark Games, which I believe was my original purpose in being revived."

Yuugi looked at Atem, "Are you still beating yourself up over that?"

"Partner, whether I am or not does not matter. It is the truth," Atem stated. It was pretty clear the answer to Yuugi's question was yes, however.

(OOC: Okay, fandom times. One of the purposes of the Ceremonial Duel from what I can gather was to seal away the Millenium Items and as a result the Yami no Games. When Atem's memories told him that he had to choose one time period at the cost of the other, he chose the present cause I'm a shippy fangirl. By doing so, however, he removed his status as a soul with a specific purpose and became a human with a standard one. So the canon method of sealing himself, and as a result the Items and teh Yami no Games, were lost. He only has his memories, and I'm heavily implying he sacrificed his "right" to meet with his friends and family from the past in the afterlife, as well.

If Atsuro is a fan, he'd know all the purposes of the Ceremonial Duel. Atem also totally just heavily implied he and Yuugi never had the Ceremonial Duel. XD As for the group, assume they're just doing the same thing unless I write otherwise.)

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Atsuro went over that in his head. From the sound of things, Yuugi and Atem never had the Ceremonial Duel. That explained why Atem wasn't dead, still didn't explain the separate body thing. He was at a loss as far as any other questions. Those really had been the big ones he'd wanted to ask.

"Well, that was all I really wanted to ask at the moment. I mean, I guess I could ask for an autograph, but that really doesn't matter anymore back home anyways. Plus everyone would think it's fake," Atsuro said. He sighed, and noticed that the silver-haired teen that Yuugi had introduced as Souji wasn't with them now. Atsuro hadn't noticed him leave.

"Hey, where's that Souji guy?" Atsuro asked.

"He went to go get coffee or something like that," Abel said.

[mugenginga]

If Atsuro had just said that everyone would think it was fake, Atem wouldn't have been concerned. But he hadn't. In fact, that comment had been more of an afterthought. Yuugi had come upon the same conclusion, as well. His blush had faded finally, and he was looking at Atsuro. He remembered K1 had been taking the road he had now passed to protect humanity. Atem hadn't liked the idea, but had conceded that perhaps it was his best option. At least at first. Yuugi glanced back at Abel, being too polite to ask what Atsuro meant. Atem wasn't that polite.

"What do you mean, it wouldn't matter?"

The former Pharaoh wasn't after being asked for an autograph. Although at least Atsuro implied he wanted one from him, and not Yuugi. His Partner didn't really handle celebrity status well. How his thoughts kept going back to the KC Grand Prix was somewhat humorous. It really was the main time he'd seen the fan following his Partner had. He had, technically, as no matter how much he knew his Partner could beat him, it had been him doing most of the Duels. That unsettling duel with Rebecca had been Yuugi, though. Unsettling because somehow, according to Yuugi and his grandfather, it had been an exact mirror of the Duel her grandfather had had with Yuugi's grandfather many years ago.

They'd reach the Apartments shortly. If one tried, they could actually see the buildings in the distance now. Atem had his focus on Atsuro. He'd asked, and he meant it. Had Abel's claims to protect humanity been thrown out the window when he lost most of his? Atem wasn't an optimist about things like that, but he felt the need to believe Atsuro and "Seth" that K1 was still there. Abel still showed signs of that personality, however faint.

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Atsuro gave a quick glance back at Abel, and once again, he looked nervous. Would now really be a good time to talk about that? The moon had been waning, but Abel had been acting more like it was waxing today. He might not take this well. Atsuro shook his head. It wasn't worth risking it.

His voice dropped quite a bit as he answered Atem. "You've got a COMP, right? Our COMPs should have registered each other by now, I'll mail you tonight."

Abel looked up as they started getting close to the apartments. He could see the buildings in the distance now. Good, they were getting close. Maybe he could get some real answers now.

[mugenginga]

Atem's expression didn't change. Yuugi looked a bit puzzled, but he'd caught Atsuro's glance towards K1. It probably had to do with that, even though he hadn't heard Atsuro. When Atem did nothing more than give a slight nod, Yuugi was convinced he had guessed the situation right. Atsuro was worried about K1. Yuugi looked at his feet. Even K1's long time friends couldn't talk openly around him, anymore. So maybe the way he was being treated wasn't abnormal for... for Abel. It wasn't that Yuugi had trouble thinking of two people in one body, but he did have trouble thinking of K1 as the suppressed half. What had happened to them, anyhow?

----------

Ryoji was rather heavily asleep. Heavily enough that at that point something would have to explode to wake him up. Or Minato would have to yell. It was only his subconscious that was aware of that much, though. His back was to the bed, he hadn't even pulled the covers up. At least his sleep was dreamless.

Manifested as little more than a prominent presence was Nyx. Izanagi had to mention Erebus. She wasn't easily angered, despite what that display earlier had implied. It was just that Izanagi had found her one sore point. And proceeded to put salt over that wound. He didn't know the full story, but he was right. She knew the full story of the Seal, and was also quite aware that the teenagers that Death and its former host had once known would have nothing but negative feelings towards him. It was not their fault, after all, that they could only see that form of her brother and husband.

I know you can not hear me, Ryoji. I am sorry for earlier. I doubt you would accept such an apology if you were awake. You don't realize this, but you are like a son to me. I'd say child, but you and Death... Even I am not sure where one ends and the other begins... if only you could understand I don't want you getting close to him for your protection. I know more than most that precious moments only make the seperation more painful...

[Firebreath Fishslap]

The group was finally starting to get pretty close to the apartments. Abel turned to Atem, then decided against what he was going to say, since it was clear the Pharoah still disliked him. Not that Abel minded that Atem disliked him, but Abel didn't like being ignored, which was how Atem was showing his dislike.

Souji still wasn't back. Abel didn't trust Souji now. Maybe before he had trusted the silver-haired teen, but with what he now sensed from him, he did not in the least. Abel had too many problems with his kind in the past, and he didn't enjoy the thought of spending a week catatonic thanks to Souji. If not him, Cain probably would. After all, Souji practically despised Cain.

Not that anyone would have been able to see these thoughts cross Abel's mind, what with the emotionless look he was still giving the outside world. He looked over at Nyarlathotep. That demon seemed to enjoy taunting Souji a bit much, from what Abel had seen, but he also worked well for surveilance. It had only been a few days, apparently, but some rather major things had obviously happened. And Abel needed as much information as he could get at this point.

He decided to make Nyarlathotep keep an eye on Souji later.

Atsuro saw the sign for the apartment complex as they got close. "Is this the place?"

[mugenginga]

"Yeah, Arisato-kun and Ryoji-kun are on the second floor, end of the hall," he glanced towards K1 and gave a slight smile, "Same apartment as before. Ryoji-kun is staying with Arisato-kun now."

It might have come as a bit of a surprise to Abel. Not that he'd show it either way. When he'd left, Minato had been almost frightend of Ryoji. And Ryoji had seemed really bothered by it. Cain had noted Abel's glance towards Nyarlathotep, but said nothing. He suspected he knew what Abel was thinking, he wouldn't be the first that had used the demon for surveillance. After all, he knew better than most of the group how Yuugi worked as a reincarnation of Atem because of it. Nyarlathotep had looked up as if expecting a comment from Abel, but when none came went back to focusing on Atem.

"Do you want me to go first, your majesty?" Cain asked.

It was actually pretty common for things to work that way. Kaido tended to be too hot tempered to take the head. Atsuro tended to be too kind. Cain was also the best in a fight and least likely to spare a life or lose his cool. Man didn't lose his cool for much of anything, really. Seth never liked wandering far from Abel, and in the case of a surprise it was a rather bad thing when Seth got hurt. As much as Abel disliked Seth's recent proximity, he also disliked it when the Prince was put in harm's way.

Atem looked up towards Cain. That was perhaps the most unsettling of all of this. Cain deferred to Abel. He pulled back. In some cases he was downright submissive. That wasn't like Naoya had been towards K1. Atsuro had mentioned a killing rampage earlier. Atem saw Abel out of the corner of his eye. He also couldn't read Abel like he'd been able to read K1. The "teen" poker faced better than even Cain did now. Atem considered for a moment going ahead, but decided against it. They didn't need the conflict, and he didn't want to admit it but Abel probably could kill him. He didn't feel like testing his theory that Tributes were not needed to summon Ka in a situation like that.

----------

Nyx looked up. It was still faint. She couldn't check it out, either. She did not have the freedom of movement Izanagi had, as unlike that god she was the equivalent of at least hundreds of light years away in the dimensional void. There was a reason The Fall required a Harbinger, and a reason why if she wanted full movement she had to take control of her avatar. Still, she could communicate with him.

Ryoji, you need to wake up...

_{"....shut up, Nyx..."}

Nyx sighed. Even in his sleep he was fighting her. She sent a force of energy towards the human emotions that made up Ryoji and he mumbled again before opening his eyes. He still felt absolutely exhausted. He wasn't sure what had woken him and turned his head. It had only been a little over an hour since he had fallen asleep. He closed his eyes to go back to bed when Nyx spoke to him again.

".What do you want...?" he said in as much of a growl as his tiredness allowed. It was pretty hard to make out the words, as well.

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Abel turned to Cain and nodded.

Naoto had noted how submissive Cain was to Abel now as well. Completely different from how Naoya had acted toward K1. It was probably the most disturbing aspect of things to her, besides Abel's eyes. That lifeless look in them reminded Naoto a bit too much of when K1 had Apathy Syndrome. Only instead of being a catatonic, apathetic person, the person before her was a completely aware demonic human.

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

Souji was on his way back to the apartments, but it wasn't likely he'd make it there until the group had already started heading up the stairs. Well, at least Izanagi had his coffee.