Blue Thread of Fate (Rei no Kaado)

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Adachi scowled. The wound was the exact same as the one Anpu had when he was alive, which meant that this "Abel" (definitely the Kimura kid; Adachi was sure of it now) had been trying to send a message to someone. Most likely Atem. He sat back down in the chair.

"I don't get it too much myself, but according to some guys at the station, some of the worlds that we originate from are things like video games or anime in other worlds," Adachi said. "Maybe this Abel guy was watching TV one day... and he saw Anpu on there, and he remembered Anpu's scar from back then, and that's why he..."

Adachi sighed. That kid was still messed up beyond all belief. And that was the thing; the kid had seemed perfectly sane the last time Adachi had seen him. Granted, that had been a while ago... Almost two weeks since he'd last seen that kid, if he remembered right. And a lot could happen in two weeks.

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

Almost immediately after Kaiba had noticed Atem, the two of them had started going at each other's throats. In retrospect, Naoto should have realized this was going to happen sooner. Atem had said he had some things to say to Kaiba, which usually equaled someone getting mad at someone for various reasons.

Kanji clenched his fists as Kaiba and Atem started going at it. So Kaiba was just looking down on Yuugi because he was an amateur in some card game?

"You sayin' that you don't want to talk to Yuugi just 'cause he ain't a giant champion at a card game?" Kanji growled. He stepped forward. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard! You've seriously got some fucked up priorities if that's why you're ignorin' Yuugi. I mean, come on!"

Well, Kanji was certainly getting a little animated over this subject. Naoto sighed, but she had to admit, Kaiba was being a bit of a jerk, for lack of a better word, after all.

[mugenginga]

Bakura blinked, "Video games and anime?"

It didn't seem to comprehend. He hadn't even understood the concept of the multiverse when he'd come to the Island. He hadn't really known what the word meant at all. Now he had a basic idea, but the fact that someone he'd never met might know everything about him was unsettling. Everything about Yuugi, about himself, about... well, everything. He grimaced as those thoughts began to coalesce, and then he shook his head.

"You shouldn't go after him by yourself, Adachi-san. If you have to go... could you at least get help? Maybe from someone at the station?"

After all, Bakura didn't know the trouble Adachi was very likely in by now.

----------

Kaiba opened his mouth to retort to Atem. His expression became more irritated. Atem was holding a finger at him as well, as if he were trying to scold him. Before he could get words out however, Kanji thought it was a good idea to lay into him. He let out a scoffing noise and turned to Kanji.

"I have no time to waste on losers," he told Kanji. It was hard to picture his voice being more arrogant, and he looked almost... amused? As if he were pleased with himself.

"Kaiba..." Atem growled.

Kaiba turned back to Atem, "I see no reason to think of someone who is unable to fight on his own and has to rely entirely upon the actions of another. I really should strip him of his rank as Duel King, you know? After all, if I'm to believe all this nonsense, it was you Dueling all that time. That makes Yuugi a liar and a cheater, does it not?"

"My Partner faced Death-T by himself! When you tried to kill him because you couldn't take a loss, and kidnapped his grandfather to force him to participate!"

Kaiba narrowed his eyes, "And yet who was it that defeated Mokuba and myself in the final stage? The summoning of Exodia was you was it not? Yuugi's other face, 'the other Yuugi'!"

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Adachi scratched the back of his head as Bakura told him to get help from someone at the station. Yeah, he probably could get some help... if he wasn't in massive trouble. Again, there was still the major fact that, yes, he had pushed his boss into another dimension, and thus attempted to kill him. Not exactly something that went over too well with the police.

"I doubt anyone there's going to want to help me right now," Adachi admitted.

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

Kanji clenched his fists even tighter. Naoto spoke before he could object to what Atem had mentioned. He didn't know what this Death-T thing was, but apparently Kaiba had tried to kill Yuugi using it. Naoto was glaring at Kaiba.

"You tried to kill Yuugi... all because you lost a game to him?" Naoto asked disbelievingly. She'd heard of sore losers, but this was a bit much.

"What the hell?! That's the stupidest reason I've ever heard of to try to kill someone!" Kanji yelled. He was about ready to at least attempt to beat the shit out of Kaiba. Technically, though, the events leading up to Death-T were the second stupidest reason he'd heard of to kill someone. Boredom was the first.

[mugenginga]

Bakura was confused at Adachi's reaction, "Why wouldn't they help you? I can't believe they'd pass a case off even if they didn't like you!"

----------

Kaiba gave an angry look towards Naoto. He ignored Kanji as he flipped out. He found himself comparing the other tall teenager to that mediocrity, Jounouchi. They were both fairly hotheaded. Atem had turned to Naoto as well as she expressed her disbelief. It was no worse than some of what he had done in the Dark Games, and he didn't think it was something Kaiba would do again. The man had changed as a result of Death-T and the powers of the Millenium Puzzle, after all... even if it was often hard to tell.

"I didn't try to kill him, I fully expected him to get past all the obstacles leading up to me. And I didn't just lose, the four greatest game players in the world lost, the Shitenou of gaming if you will. And it wasn't Yuugi I was concerned with, anyhow," Kaiba turned back to Atem, "It was him."

"Kanji, calm down," Atem stated without breaking the returned eye contact to Atem, "It's in the past and everyone made out alright. Kaiba, I don't care about that. I want you to stop insulting my Partner! He could defeat you!"

"I find that hard to believe. As I've said, anyone that hides in a corner and lets someone else fight his own battles isn't worth my time. He's worse than that mediocrity. At least he fought his own battles," Kaiba smirked a bit darkly at Atem's growing anger, "If you're that insistent, have him issue a challenge. I'll face him and crush him just like I did the simpleton. You know I never turn down a challenge, even if it is a waste of my time."

Atem clenched his teeth together. Kaiba had a point. He could defend Yuugi in practice all he wanted, but Kaiba had never been one for simple words. The man had to have proof. He would have passed out from laughter had he been told he could have been defeated prior to that first game of the initial localization fo Duel Monsters, Magic and Wizards. Kaiba wouldn't believe him until Yuugi actually defeated him... which Atem wasn't sure he could convince Yuugi to start. Kaiba turned to leave.

"Kaiba, wait," his voice was flatter, but he did seem serious in a different manner than before.

(OOC: FAN WANK OVER DUEL MONSTERS AHOY. XD)

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Adachi looked even more nervous as Bakura asked that. He crossed his hands in his lap.

"Because I tried to kill Takahashi-san earlier," Adachi admitted after a moment. "That friend of Seta's, Teddie, rescued Takahashi from the other side. I'm pretty sure the whole station knows by now."

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

Even after Atem asked him to calm down, Kanji still seemed to be getting madder. He jumped as Naoto put a hand on his shoulder, and looked back at her. She shook her head, and Kanji unclenched his fists. He didn't need to beat Kaiba up... yet anyways.

Atem had said things were in the past. Naoto was sure that was true with Atem, not so much with Kaiba. It appeared that the man still held a grudge.

She watched carefully as Atem addressed Kaiba once more. Was Atem offering to take Kaiba up on his offer? Naoto doubted Yuugi would enjoy this too much.

[mugenginga]

"Wha-what?"

Bakura had to have heard that wrong. He had to have. He didn't sound worried or judgmental. He sounded very startled. His entire body screamed that he thought he'd heard it wrong. There was a nagging voice in the back of his mind about some of what Anpu had said. Some of the encounters. That spear of that Persona being held to Anpu's throat. He ignored the voice. He just needed to get Adachi to repeat himself, prove that Bakura had misheard him and maybe have that kind of panicked stumble the man was known for.

...right?

----------

"I assume you have a reason for wasting my time further?" Kaiba said, his voice both flat and annoyed.

Kaiba caught a familiar movement out of the corner of his eye and found himself turning back towards the tanned teenager. He looked almost amused as Atem pulled out his deck and thumbed through it. He couldn't have guessed what Atem was doing if his life had depended on it. A Duel didn't seem likely, after all. Atem looked at a few of the cards before pulling out one he knew he could summon without a Tribute. He held it up and flipped it over, allowing it to be held between his middle and pointer fingers. Kaiba glared as he saw it was Kuriboh.

"Kaiba, this place is dangerous. I know you, it won't cross your mind to try this even knowing the events of my past."

"Get to the point," Kaiba said. He crossed his arms and looked ready to leave any moment.

"I am," Atem said.

Atem raised the card a bit and in a flash of almost golden light it dematerialized. The light shot up from between his fingers and formed a shape not unlike pom pom. The light faded and revealed Kuriboh, which spun in a circle and made the familiar "Kuri!" noise. Kaiba narrowed his eyes and looked around. Solid Vision system...? He hadn't given anyone permission to use it and he sure as hell knew Atem didn't know the program for it.

"What the hell are you trying to pull!?" Kaiba demanded.

The Kuriboh turned around to look at Atem. His expression was flat and serious, and Kaiba was reaching for his deck. He knew that expression rather well, despite it carrying more weight on the harsher face of Atem. Atem pointed at Kaiba and made a gesturing noise. The Kuriboh looked confused for a moment before widening its eyes and saying its name happily. It rushed at Kaiba and the man's reflexes took over, reaching up to block his face. What he didn't expect, however, was for the thing to actually hit him.

Kaiba's eyes popped open and he was swatting the small furball away before he regained control of himself. It said the first half of its name in an angry tone while glaring at Kaiba. Atem concentrated for a short moment, and Kuriboh suddenly vanished into light before its card rematerialized between his fingers. Kaiba looked pissed, and was back to looking around. That had been physical, and not in the manner of tricking the subconscious in the manner that the Solid Vision system sometimes caused.

"I'll repeat myself. What the hell are you trying to pull?" Kaiba's voice was once more flat, and very dangerous.

Atem put the cards back among his others and talked while shuffling, "Its not a trick, and its not anything related to your Solid Vision system. You were present in that recreation of the past, Kaiba. You know that Duel Monsters are based on real monster spirits, the Ka of people. For some reason or another, this world allows them to be summoned in the original manner. It also means that Life Points are literal, not metaphorical."

Kaiba glanced at Naoto and Kanji for their reactions. He had a deep scowl on his face. He wasn't buying this for a moment. The common sense that Atem had never lied to him was somehow missed by his thought processes. Atem had been telling the truth about being a "forgotten Pharaoh", Kaiba wasn't stupid enough to ignore his experiences in that world Bakura's duel face (was it a case like Atem?) had caused him to experience.

But he saw no evidence to think of this as anything other than a trick, an elaborate hoax. He wasn't sure how Atem had recreated the Solid Vision system or caused a physical tactile response, but he was convinced he had. This was another world, another fact he had been forced to admit. It was possible there was technology here he didn't know of. He'd choose his next plan of "attack" so to speak based on their reactions. He had to rely on that, he couldn't figure out where Atem had hidden the vision generators.

(OOC: Do Kanji and Naoto know about the whole cards contain Ka thing? I can't recall if Yuugi or Atem ever summoned one in their presence. >___> I don't think they were there yet in Souji's TV World and I can't think of any time they WERE for a Ka summoning. If you realize they weren't, there might be an interesting reaction to Atem's stunt there. XD At least from Kanji, Naoto could probably figure things from how often Yuugi and Atem seem to have the cards at ready. XD)

[Firebreath Fishslap]

And that was when Adachi decided to change his story. Bakura's reaction alone had been enough to convince him that it wasn't time to come out with the whole truth. If there ever would be a time for that. His expression changed from the serious one back to his cheerful mask, and he scratched the back of his head.

"I-I said they think I tried to kill Takahashi. You see, we were out the other night, we were kinda drunk, and I accidentally pushed him into the path of a speeding car. He's okay, but he kinda got a little pissed off about it and..." Adachi said nervously. "...Um, let's not talk about this, okay?"

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

Kanji hadn't been expecting much from the card Atem had taken out. After all, Kaiba had said that he considered Yuugi inferior to Atem due to something relating to a card game, so he figured that Atem was going to show Kaiba who's boss. What he hadn't expected was the card to turn into light and suddenly summon what was quite simply the wimpiest and least manly Persona since Pixie, which then attacked Kaiba.

Kanji was rather surprised at this. That thing had to be some kind of Persona, but it looked weird. Actually, it had been summoned a bit weirdly, too. Atem hadn't broken the card.

Naoto wasn't near as surprised as Kanji was about this, though. She had seen Yuugi use the cards once before to summon monsters back in Souji's reality inside the TV World.

"Wait, Atem can do the whole 'summoning lots of Personas' thing too, just like Sempai?" Kanji asked. Naoto shook her head as Atem began his explanation of how that had worked. Kanji looked confused throughout the entire explanation.

...So... these guys use trading cards to summon Persona-type things? Kanji thought to himself. And then kick each others asses with them? Well, that explains why that Kaiba guy takes things so seriously.

[mugenginga]

Bakura looked down again. Was that the truth? Adachi was fidgeting now. His voice had been flat before. Why would Adachi have tried to kill another police officer? That was the thing that was preventing Bakura from giving his full attention to that little voice. Anpu had always seemed so amused by Adachi, that and what Adachi was doing was why he was paying more attention to the voice. Had Takahashi done something? Adachi had seemed rather... dark during some of the interactions with Anpu. Was there a good reason, but it wasn't something Adachi could say? Bakura looked rather divided. What was he supposed to do?

In any case, he didn't seem to quite believe Adachi. And this time it was a more depressive version of not believing. He looked pained.

----------

Kaiba turned back to Atem. Persona? No, the blue haired teenager had shaken his head. So there was just something similar to the Solid Vision system in the world of the bleached blond teenager called 'Persona'. Kaiba realized he knew that term from some of the studies he'd been forced to take as a child. Something to do with psychology, if he recalled correctly. He glared at Atem, his arms crossing once more.

"You're pushing your luck. I was willing to believe that 'recreation of the past' as you called it, but I see no reason to believe this."

"Kaiba, stop being so stubborn," Atem said flatly, "Try it yourself if you don't believe me. You aren't going to find any recreation of your Dueling system no matter how much you look."

Kaiba scowled. Atem had a point. It would be a simple thing to disprove. He reached into his jacket and after a moment pulled out a stack of cards with the same backs that Atem's had. He kept his eye on Atem as he fanned them out and pulled up a card. It was almost humorous, he seemed to have a fairly similar draw "style" as the former Pharaoh. He looked at the card for a moment before looking at Atem. His rival had just concentrated, it seemed. He lifted the card a bit and willed it to surface. If it was real, it should come right up.

...

...

......Nothing.

Kaiba's glare would have rendered Atem into microscopic dust had he been able to kill and he growled as he spoke, "You're not doing anything for convincing me."

"Kaiba, its Blue Eyes, isn't it?"

Kaiba continued to glare as he began to shuffle his cards back together, "I fail to see the need to tell you that."

"Dammit, Kaiba! Try a monster that doesn't require tributes!" Atem growled back.

----------

Near Chill Out Coffee, Kisa felt a nagging sensation, as if someone was calling her. She was in front of the door when it began. She stopped and held her hand to her chest. She was in mid turn when it felt as if someone were trying to rip her soul out of her body. She let out a tortured scream, grabbed her chest with both hands as if she were having a heart attack, and fell to her knees.

She didn't notice that both knees were bleeding as she fell to the side. The feeling that someone was trying to rip out her soul didn't seem to be fading. She had no time sense as her long white hair splayed around her, concealing her face. Inside the store, Jeff had jerked his head up at the scream and had dropped the order he had been making. He'd seen Kisa fall and was running towards her. Screw the customers, he knew the girl.

"Someone call an ambulance!" he shouted as he reached for the front door.

He was unaware that the ripping feeling had already left Kisa. Her eyes were glazed from the sudden pain and panic. She sounded like she was hyperventilating and she was twitching a bit, sweat rolling down her face even though it had taken less than a minute to pass. She was fine now, just recovering... not that anyone who saw her could tell that...

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Adachi looked away from Bakura. Damn. He sure wasn't helping his case any by doing this, that was for sure. He stood up from where he was sitting.

"A-Anyways, you need to get some rest, Ryou-kun," Adachi said. "I'll be out in the living room if you need me."

He made a beeline for the door, but if Bakura objected at all, he probably would stop.

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

To most people that had seen the silver-haired teen approaching the coffee shop and knew him, they would have assumed it was Souji. He was holding himself a tad bit differently, but other than that, mostly no one would know the difference. The only one of two people he could think of that could tell the difference had just fallen outside of Chill Out Coffee as the building came into view for Izanagi. He had looked up at the scream, and his eyes had widened as he saw her fall.

Immediately Izanagi started running. He crouched down beside the still twitching Kisa as Jeff had opened the door and shouted his order to someone inside. Izanagi reached into his jacket's pocket, and scowled. Souji didn't have his cell phone; he'd never gotten it back from Anpu after the incident at the shrine. He looked back down at Kisa.

"Hey! Are you alright?" Izanagi asked. ...This is that girl who could sense me before.

What happened to her? Souji asked.

I couldn't say, Izanagi admitted.

[mugenginga]

Bakura didn't. He felt a bit torn up now, and there was no need to inconvenience Adachi more than he had. Maybe Adachi had tried to kill Takahashi. Maybe he had a good reason. There was no way to know. He still believed Adachi was trying to protect him. He really wanted to know, but he didn't...

He lay back down and held a hand over the gauze on his face. Maybe things would seem clearer after more sleep. He didn't feel all that tired, but... well, if he got up he'd have to face Adachi. At least no one could force him to do anything... at least until the Ring came back. He let his eyes close.

----------

Kaiba looked like he was going to balk Atem for a moment. The teenager was trying to make a fool out of him, wasn't he? If what Atem had said were true, it did explain why he hadn't summoned Black Magician. Still, doing as he'd been ordered a second time wasn't anything he had any intention of doing. He ignored Atem's command and finished shuffling his deck. Atem narrowed his eyes as Kaiba made quite the show of putting his deck away.

"Kaiba!"

"I see no reason to be made into a fool by your tricks. If you still wish to insist your "Partner" could defeat me..."

Kaiba reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a small index card. It was about the size of a playing card, actually. He pulled a pen out of the same pocket and wrote something down. He'd trailed off in the comment and didn't seem inclined to continue. He clicked the pen back up and held the card between two fingers before flicking it towards Atem. It was rather skilled, and the index card only dropped a bit. Atem didn't even blink as he reached down and caught it. Kaiba's throw had been off, but it was probably from the different weight of the card. He looked at what had been written.

"Tell him he can find me there. Not that I expect the coward to take me up on it," Kaiba ignored as Atem crushed the index card in his hand as he looked towards Naoto and Kanji, "At least one of you has common sense."

He turned around and began walking off without saying anything more. He had a smug smirk on his face, well aware he'd actually managed to come out on top in that little encounter. Atem took in a deep breath and unfolded the card and read over the address again. He was more polite about folding up the stiff paper as he stuck it into his pocket. He paused as it hit the Ring and decided to try his other pocket. Naoto might have noticed the odd bulge in his tight pants before, especially now that he didn't seem inclined to put the note there.

"I apologize you had to see that," Atem stated, a slight growl still remaining in his voice.

----------

Kisa heard the shouting. Well, of course people were shouting. She had fallen and screamed. She didn't really coalesce into those thoughts after a few minutes of heavy breathing. Jeff was on the other side of her from Izanagi. He'd noticed the teenager reah into his pocket and then saw the scowl. It would have been nice, but he was sure someone inside the store would make the call. Kisa hadn't responded to Souji's question, so he lifted her hair and saw her eyes coming into focus.

"Kisa, are you okay!?"

She drew in a breath, wincing because her throat was raw. Her head felt light and she swore her heart had tried to rip out of her chest. Still, she seemed to be recovering even with her cheeks damp from the tears she hadn't known she'd given. She gave a weak nod and tried to push herself up. Her arms were still weak and she managed to collapse again.

"..."

"Souji, was it? Help me get 'er into the shop..." Jeff said.

"I-I'm fine..." she said.

She'd recovered enough to sense that whatever other presence Souji had was dominant now. She knew it didn't like her and she didn't want to bother it. She wasn't fearful of it, per se, she just didn't want to inconvenience it. She didn't see Jeff give his pained smile.

"Hey, you just had yourself a bit 'o an attack there. No need to go actin' all tough."

----------

Ryoji shifted in his sleep. To be more precise, his fading sleep. Something tickled under his nose and he reached up to brush it away. He didn't get there in time and he let out a sneeze, jerking into a sitting position and looking around startled. He wiped his nose and realized his scarf had been dragging underneath it lightly. Well, he didn't generally sleep in the thing after all. He had to wonder what time he'd drifted off. He looked to the side and saw Minato on the couch. He was staring at him.

"Did I wake you...?" he asked.

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Adachi went through the door and closed it behind him. Maybe he shouldn't have brought it up at all to Bakura. He was sure he'd sown the seeds of doubt with that. Him and his big mouth. He never had good control over that. It was what had gotten him in trouble before. Several times. Some of them had been intentional, some... not so much.

He sat down on the couch and sighed. He had to hope Bakura believed his lie... or if he didn't, he didn't freak when he learned the truth.

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

Kanji glared at Kaiba the whole time as he walked away. He only turned back toward Naoto and Atem once Kaiba was a bit further away.

Naoto had indeed noticed that there was something odd in Atem's pockets before, but had chosen not to comment on it. Now that she'd seen that Atem didn't seem inclined to touch whatever that thing was, she would have to ask about it.

"...That guy was a douche," Kanji growled.

"It's alright, Atem," Naoto stated. Her eyes moved to the bulge in Atem's pocket, and she looked back up at his face again. "By the way, you seem to have something in your pocket that you wish to refrain from touching. Exactly what is it?"

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

Izanagi scowled as Kisa attempted to push herself up and failed. She still seemed rather weak, and the suddeness of everything, plus this girl's own abilities, was making Izanagi think that it hadn't been some sort of asthma attack or anything of the sort. Most likely, some sort of spiritual attack.

He scowled again, this time at Kisa herself as she tried to claim she was fine.

"Stop being stubborn," Izanagi stated. He moved over next to Kisa and put her arm around his shoulder before slowly helping her stand up. Izanagi was rather painfully reminded of when Souji had been poisoned and couldn't move too well himself. At least Kisa could move; she wouldn't be a total dead weight. If she could even walk.

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

Minato blinked as Ryoji sneezed. He smiled, and then suddenly felt his face get red as Ryoji looked his way. Oh, crap.

Kinda creepy there, Minato. Staring at the guy in his sleep like that, Minato berated himself. "No, it's alright, I woke up first. Sorry." He stood up. "Did you sleep well?"

[mugenginga]

Atem didn't look towards Kanji as he growled. If he knew Kanji, Kaiba was lucky he hadn't been decked. And Kaiba didn't have his body guards with him nor a legal foot for suing to stand on. He didn't look up as Naoto asked his question until he was sure the note was in his pocket.

"It's the Millenium Ring," he looked up at this, "It's the artifact that houses Anpu's spirit."

He didn't specify any further. It would be enough for Naoto to know the situation. There was a chance Kanji would freak. In truth, Naoto and Kanji hadn't seen all that much of Anpu and Atem couldn't be sure how much Souji had informed them. They knew he'd been the one to kidnap Souji and drive Izanagi out. That would be enough to cause problems...

----------

Kisa wanted to object more, but before she could she found herself being hoisted up. She angled her eyebrows down. Whoever he was, he was right. She was being stubborn. Just because he didn't like her didn't mean he was cruel. She nodded to him and glanced towards Jeff. She gave a weak grin.

"I'll be okay, really. He can help me. Get that ambulance called off, okay?"

Jeff raised an eyebrow, "Ya sure your dad'll be okay with it?"

"He'll flip if he hears about the hospital."

"Haha, alright. I'll get a table cleared out for you. Hurry up and bring her inside."

There were plenty of clear tables, something Izanagi was unlikely to miss. Jeff walked into the store and made sure the door was closed behind him. Kisa gave a grateful and pained grin in his direction. She took in a deep breath. She didn't turn her head as she spoke, it would have been an awkward position.

"Who are you?" She asked.

----------

Ryoji blinked as Minato's face got red. Why was his face red? Ryoji looked guilty as Minato apologized and hung his head. He didn't say anything at first when the question was asked. No, he hadn't slept well. Not "well" at all. However, Minato was still looking at him. He stood up.

"...yeah, fine. Did you say we were going out today...?"

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Kanji did very much indeed freak. His gaze narrowed as Atem said that he had the very object Anpu was trapped in held in his pocket.

"Wait, so you've got that bastard who kidnapped Souji and put him through that hell with Izanagi in your pocket?" Kanji asked. "Why don't ya just do something to get rid of him now?"

Naoto looked toward Kanji for a moment before looking toward Atem. She was managing to remain calmer than Kanji was. She certainly didn't like Anpu for the reasons Kanji had said, but for a couple other reasons as well. "I thought the Ring couldn't be removed from Bakura? Something about it being 'clingy.' What happened?"

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

Izanagi didn't react to the large number of empty tables other than a "tch" sound. Must have been a slow day. He looked over at Kisa as she asked her question, and scowled. Well, he'd known that she'd be able to tell it wasn't Souji. She'd been able to tell he was there at least twice, both times being when he hadn't been in dominance, when his energy was most muted.

Izanagi waited until he had Kisa in a chair to answer her, carefully helping her into the chair. Once he was sure that she wasn't going to fall over unconcious, Izanagi answered Kisa.

"I am the god Izanagi. The man you have been speaking to before now is my avatar," Izanagi stated calmly. He looked over at Jeff for a moment before deciding to ask his question. "Do you know exactly what happened to you out there?"

Izanagi was now curious as to what had happened to the girl. He was still sure that she was probably an avatar of whatever god that trading card represented, but he couldn't think of how that would relate to that strange incident that had occured outside the shop.

Plus, Souji was concerned about this girl's wellbeing. Izanagi inwardly chuckled. Allowing his avatar's emotions to get to him like that... well, they were supposed to be getting along better now.

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

Minato still couldn't believe he'd pulled an Aigis. That was unbelieveably creepy. He was saying to himself now that he was never, ever, ever, ever, ever going to do anything that creepy again. If he ever got a chance. The look on Ryoji's face when he'd asked how he was had made him feel a bit depressed himself. Of couse Ryoji hadn't slept well. Ryoji was going through the most hell of all of them.

"Yeah," Minato said. "Do you want to get cleaned up first before we go?"

Well, first they needed an idea of where they were going to go, first. That may have been something they needed to think about.

[mugenginga]

Atem glanced at Kanji as he freaked. There was a glare, and Atem was somewhat certain it was directed at him. Anger towards not having "done something" with the Ring. It was a fair reason to be upset, and Atem had a feeling if he didn't know the full situation he would have been upset as well. He wouldn't have reacted in the same way, but he wasn't... he was not longer the type to overreact. Much. He closed his eyes and managed to not show a bitter grin to the outside world. He still tended to over react when it came to his Partner. He looked up again as Naoto asked her question.

"Bakura was apparently attacked yesterday by someone who knew about the scar Anpu bore back in my time. Considering those who know both myself and my past, it is likely to have been Abel or Cain. I'm leaning towards Abel for various reasons. The rope the Ring is attached to looks to have been cut, and I've been told that's how my Partner found it."

"The Ring can be removed from an unconscious body, but that doesn't change that it is 'clingy'. It was once thrown off the top of a castle into a forest and it returned back to Bakura. One of my friends once gave it to me and it remained with my Partner and I until Bakura came close. And this was all while Bakura was under the influence of the demon Zorc. I can't be sure how much difference there is between him and Anpu's spirit."

"I don't wish to leave it alone until I can be sure it won't return to Bakura. However, even I don't know the full extent of the power of the seven Millenium Items in the modern world. It is unlikely, but possible, Anpu could exert his dominance on anyone that the Ring did not reject. I know for a fact it won't reject me, as the Items have accepted everyone with a connection to my past. Pegasus via his discovery of Duel Monsters, Shaadi, Ishizu, and Kaiba for their connections to three of my priests, Malik for his connection to a tribe that guarded two of the Items and Yuugi and Bakura for their statuses as my and Anpu's respective reincarnations. The Items have 'violent' reactions to those not considered worthy."

"The point is, its a highly dangerous Item and it likely remains clingy to Bakura. The Items seem to be seeking me out again," Atem looked away as a pained expression crossed his face, "My decision possibly means the world will never be rid of the Items and the connected Dark Games."

It was a lot to process. Atem had spouted off a bunch of names Naoto nor Kanji would know. Pegasus, Shaadi, Ishizu, Malik... they knew about Kaiba, but not that he had any connection to the Items. Atem didn't go into detail over what he meant by violent reactions, and that had probably peaked Naoto's curiosity. Not to mention it was probably the first time the group had heard that there were seven Millenium Items. He'd also brought up the issue of reincarnation again, which he had yet to explain to the group at large. Most of all, however, as he finished up he seemed to regret something. Some "decision" he had made. He wasn't specifying on that point either... And of course, there was the whole mess with Bakura being attacked, likely by Abel.

----------

Kisa didn't get an immediate response. The older teenager lead her into the store and helped her sit down. She hadn't needed all that help getting into the chair, but she didn't push it away. Once she was seated he took a chair opposite her and stared her straight in the eyes. She averted her gaze as much from upbringing as intimidation... if not more from the upbringing. Finally he answered her question.

"Izanagi-sama... I only know the name from my parents. One of two creator gods of Japan, correct?" He didn't answer, instead moving onto his next question. She thought for a moment before giving a sort of answer, "Is Seta-san listening?"

She trusted Souji more than she trusted Izanagi. She knew the god didn't trust her, either. Or at least felt he didn't. She remembered the times previous she had met Souji, and wondered how willing he was involved in this situation. She hated to see anyone suffer, even people she had just met. She didn't want to explain what she had felt before she collapsed unless Souji was listening as well. And while she was pretty sure he was, his presence was far harder to pick out with the god active than the god had been when Souji was. She didn't seem phased by Izanagi's confession that he was a god at all, though. Rather an odd response... then again, Izanagi did know about her senses.

She brushed her dress down and felt a damp spot. She bit her tongue to prevent from saying anything. Her knees were bleeding, she vaguely remembered that. She didn't want to interuppt the conversation. She did pull up the front of her pale blue dress, however. Maybe she could the outfit into the washing machine before her father realized. He'd be very upset she had hurt herself...

----------

Ryoji looked down at his outfit. He wasn't sure the last time he had changed pants. They were rather dirty. He'd had a few incidents since regaining his memories that had been less than "calm". He'd need to change shirts as well, and he doubted his usual shirt had been cleaned. Everyone had been too stressed. So he'd have to borrow a complete outfit from Minato. He'd yet to go shopping since he'd shown up on the Island, but Souji and Minato had both helped in that regard.

His hair was rather greasy as well and clinging to his head far more than he should. A shower might help to relax as well. It wouldn't get rid of the stress, that was impossible. The only way to do that would... would be to give into the call of Tartarus. He found his eyes focusing on the door again. It was a horrible conflict. The beckoning call he knew could relieve his anxiety versus his desire to stay with Minato. He closed his eyes in a pointless attempt to shut off the occasional sound of bells he would hear in his soul and turned back to Minato.

"I think I could live with a shower," he gave a fairly relaxed grin. It almost reached the goofier grins the him without his memories as the Appriser was... had been known for. It was mostly an act, but he was able to draw on how nice a shower would feel to boost it, "I'll need to borrow more clothes, though. Do you mind...?"

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Kanji and Naoto had both stayed silent as Atem gave his explanation. Kanji scowled again as Atem said that Bakura had been attacked by Abel. Kanji didn't know what had happened to K1 to make him like this, but it was worrying. Maybe K1 had always been like that, and was only showing it now, kinda like how Adachi had acted differently for a while before revealing his true self to the others.

Naoto went over the facts as Atem explained how the Ring was clingy. When Atem mentioned that Anpu might be able to exert dominance over him since the Millenium Items wouldn't reject him, she felt a bit concerned for Atem. Atem was walking around with the Ring in his pocket, after all, and Anpu very blatantly hated Atem. Anpu might choose to get his revenge on Atem using Atem's own body.

But more concerning was the fact that the Ring and the now-Pendant were not the only Millenium Items. There were seven. Naoto did not like the sound of this. And then there was the reference to reincarnation that kept coming up. What was that about?

"I'm not sure it's a good idea for you to be walking around with the Ring in your pocket if it won't reject you... it's possible Anpu's spirit is still active within the Ring," Naoto said, choosing to bring up what she found most problematic at the moment. "He may attempt to exert dominance on you and use you as his new host. The hostage situation with Bakura may have been working well, but one with you would likely work even better for his intentions."

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

Izanagi nodded. Souji had just been choosing to be quiet since when Kisa had collapsed, wanting to make sure of her safety before anything else.

Izanagi wasn't surprised that Kisa wasn't too surprised by the fact that she was talking to a god. She had some sort of spirit sense, and she lived on this island. She most likely had to deal with these kind of things at least semi-regularly.

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

Minato smiled as Ryoji gave a grin, though Minato was pretty sure Ryoji was faking it. But at least Ryoji was smiling.

"Nah, not at all. I'll go grab some for you, you go ahead and get that shower," Minato said.