Blue Thread of Fate (Rei no Kaado)

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Adachi's eyes widened as Lucius mentioned Takahashi. How the fuck did this kid know about him?! He felt a pressure on his wrist, and looked back up at Atem, and scowled.

"Because it was so much safer with you, right?" Adachi growled. He grasped the Ring tighter. "I'm not going to take any chances of this bastard getting back to Ryou. That kid's got a lot of shit to deal with without having a damn ghost with a vendetta against you taking over his body."

He glared at Atem now. "I had just got done talking to your little boyfriend five minutes before you showed up, too. You know what he said? He said that the Ring would be safe with you because the items originally belonged to you. Ha, that's a laugh, huh?"

Souji came up behind Atem as the latter stopped and put a foot on Adachi's wrist. He was going over something in his head. And then he looked at Lucius, having suddenly realized something. "You're that other guy Teddie found in the TV World. How the hell did you get in there?!" Souji knew that Adachi wouldn't have been able to push Lucius in once someone realized Takahashi was missing. He wouldn't have had a reason to either; Takahashi had been pushed in because he was a danger to Bakura. The only options Souji could think of were that someone else who could summon a Persona did it...

...Or this guy was a Persona user himself.

[mugenginga]

Lucius watched as the exchange happened. He blinked a few times as Adachi gave his response to the tanned teenager. Wow, okay he hadn't been expecting all that. He'd known the item Adachi had was "special", but a ghost with a vendetta against him was inside it? And apparently said teenager had a boyfriend. That almost got a chuckle out of him. Man, he'd known about the ability to use Persona, but this group really were messed up for a bunch of humans, weren't they?

"Leave my Partner out of this," Atem growled. A slight level of pain was present in the growl as well. Why did Yuugi trust him so much? He crouched down, causing enough pressure on Adachi's wrist to cause a bit of pain, and closed his unhurt hand around the Ring. He looked at Adachi, "I don't like the situation with Bakura either, but I can't even guarantee the Ring would stay in the TV World if you threw it in, Adachi. It's more dangerous than you realize. Even without Anpu's influence."

Lucius had opened his mouth to give a smartass opinion on the whole situation when Souji yelled at him. He blinked and looked towards the teenager, who managed to only be an inch or two taller than him despite their "age" differences. He really did look like a high schooler.

"Why the hell should I tell you that?" Lucius stated. He smirked and crossed his arms, "I saved that old man Takahashi's life from some monster, shouldn't that be enough information?"

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Adachi glared even harder at Atem as he crouched down and put more pressure on his wrist. Especially once Atem grabbed hold of it. Adachi still wasn't letting go of the Item, and he wasn't planning on doing so until he was tossing it (rather literally too; he was going to throw and go) into the other side.

"At least I can get Anpu out of it this way. I'd rather the Ring make it back to Bakura without Anpu in it than with," Adachi growled. "I don't care what happens to Anpu after he's out of the Ring. As long as he's out."

It was after this that Lucius responded to Souji's question, and Adachi looked over at the two of them. Souji was practically glaring at Lucius after he made his response.

"You saved Takahashi from a Shadow? So... you're a Persona user then?" Souji asked. "Kinda funny... my friend was attacked by a Persona user while he was in the other side recently. Got trapped over there for two days. And then he rescued both you and Takahashi... seems a little suspicious. Especially since you were in Takahashi's reality over there."

[mugenginga]

Atem returned the glare. There was a literal staredown going on between the man and the Egyptian teenager. Atem tightened his grip around the Ring, but he didn't tug at it.

"What I'm saying is that if the Ring makes it back, the odds are Anpu would as well. And there is no guarantee he'd be expelled from the Ring."

He'd thought about that a lot since making his choice. His guess for why he had regained a body meant that it was possible Anpu wouldn't. Even more than that, it was likely. Anpu seemed to see the "value" in sharing a body with Bakura. While Atem was now aware Adachi would kill Bakura to get Anpu, and he was leaning in that direction rather fast, there were those that wouldn't approve of it. Not only that, but Adachi didn't realize that unless Anpu was the surface personality, he would only be killing Bakura. They'd probably be free from the Ring until it found the next reincarnation, but it wouldn't make it any less of a waste.

"If that's what you wanna call them. The old man seemed to think the were demons," he paused as he thought about the next thing Souji said, "Wait, that messed up mascot thing's your friend? Oh man, you pick some crazy friends, don't you?"

Of course, the teenager hadn't answered a single one of Souji's questions.

[Firebreath Fishslap]

At Atem's tightening of his grip around the ring, Adachi only tightened his own. Adachi was as convinced his way was the only way as Atem was that Adachi's way wasn't guaranteed.

"There's no guarantee he won't be either. Why don't you just let me throw the damn Ring in the other side and let us see what happens, then?" Adachi growled back. It really was getting to be a literal staredown before he looked away from Atem. "Ryou told me the other day that... if I got the chance to put the Ring into the other side, I needed to do it. Even if he's still attached to it."

Souji was more focused on the situation with Lucius than the situation with Atem and Adachi now that Lucius had just implicated himself further in Souji's head. Souji was glaring even harder at Lucius.

"You didn't answer my question," Souji growled. "Did you or did you not attack my friend and lock him in a room inside the other side for two days while you wandered into Takahashi's reality?"

[mugenginga]

Atem paused as Adachi said that. It did cause a slight loosen of his grip, but it wasn't enough that Adachi could get it back. The man was making a point of not looking him in the eyes, so Atem let that part rest. That sounded like Bakura, all right. Twice the teenager had tried to thrown his life away because he thought it would save others. Both in Dark Games that the original spirit inside the Ring had caused. He glanced at Souji, not sure he wanted to admit this to Adachi of all people. The voice he used to speak with was almost a whisper.

"I understand wanting to get rid of him," Atem said, "But murder isn't the answer. Bakura's suggested that twice before, both because of the damn Ring."

He didn't say anything more. He knew he couldn't say anything that his mind wouldn't balk at. He really did understand where Adachi was coming from. If Adachi's method was guaranteed, Atem had a feeling he would be trying it himself. But it wasn't. And if it didn't work, the potential for the problem to be greater was far too high. Besides, it was something his Partner was adamant against. Maybe the Ring wasn't safe with him... but they couldn't attempt to kill Anpu.

"What reason in any world would I have to do that? Anyone ever tell you you're paranoid?" Lucius responded, once again not answering a single of Souji's questions.

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Adachi had thought Bakura was a bit too eager to throw his life away like that. Atem had all but confirmed it. The guy had offered up his life twice just because of the Ring. And something about the way Atem had spoken made Adachi think that Bakura had nearly succeeded in that regard.

"...I don't want the Ring getting back to Ryou, though... but I can't think of anything else to do. Maybe an exorcism, but there's no way I'm going back to that shrine after what I heard happened to Seta," Adachi said. He still wasn't looking Atem in the eye, but he wasn't struggling to pull the Ring from Atem now. "By the way, you can get off of me now. I'm not going to run."

"Rightfully paranoid in my opinion," Souji responded to Lucius. "Considering that my previous experiences with rogue Persona users haven't been what one would call pleasant."

[mugenginga]

Atem felt put on a spot. Because no matter how much he wanted to admit it, Adachi had a point. He looked down at where his foot still was and stepped off. He still wasn't letting go of the Ring. He trusted the man about as far as he could throw him. He had the feeling if he let go of the Ring, Adachi would try and get rid of it. Atem didn't know the specifics of opening the portal, and he wasn't running the risk of Adachi being able to throw it. He also didn't trust that the man wouldn't run... even if he was being honest now, a mind could change quickly.

"I don't know what to do either," Atem was still almost whispering, "But I'm not going to give up and take the easy way out. I'm sure you know how much I don't trust you, so I'm not leaving the Ring with you. Want the truth? I don't know if I can keep it from Bakura, but I know I can keep it from you," he was glaring again by the end.

"Rogue?" Lucius snorted, "What makes a person not a 'rogue' user? Don't tell me there's some kinda license for the things?"'

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Adachi went back to glaring at Atem as he made his comment. He had been hoping the two of them were on the same page now, but Atem was still worried he was going to run and throw it. Well, Adachi knew none of them trusted him, for obvious reasons. It was the reason Bakura didn't trust him now.

"Fine then. But you might want to start staying away from Ryou if you being close to him caused this to happen," He looked pained as he said that, and finally let go of the Ring. He backed away from Atem and stood up. "There."

If it was possible, Souji was glaring even harder at Lucius. "So you can use one. How the hell did you get the ability to summon one? Did you face yourself, or do you use an Evoker?" Souji was trying to press Lucius for details to find out what the hell was up with this kid at least. Lucius just bothered Souji, and not only that, but the guy was definitely intentionally trying to piss him off.

[mugenginga]

Atem could't hide that he was relieved that Adachi had let go of the Ring. He understood what Adachi was saying, too. He hadn't known the Ring would do that with Anpu as the spirit. He also hadn't had any intentions of being near Bakura, it had just happened. He kept one eye on Adachi as he pocketed the artifact.

"Did something happen?"

It might have shocked Adachi Atem had come up with that. The fact was the former Pharaoh had seen Bakura's expression before he told him to get away. The teenager had seemed depressed. And he'd gone out on his own with no place Atem could think he needed to be. Bakura didn't go out much unless something was making him. He was sure he'd been shy before getting the Ring, and Zorc hadn't helped matters.

"I guess you could say I 'faced myself'," Lucius' expression had bordered on dark, and for half a second there his expression was something that would have reminded those who caught it of Cain. Just as quickly, it was gone. He rolled his eyes and jerked a thumb towards Adachi, "Shouldn't you get that guy to the station?"

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Adachi looked even more nervous as Atem asked his question. How had he figured that out? This kid was creepily observant at times, that was all Adachi could say. He fidgeted quite a bit as he finally spoke up.

"...I had to explain my past to him and... he doesn't feel comfortable staying with me anymore. I don't blame him," Adachi said. Souji's attention was finally caught, and he looked over at Adachi and Atem for a moment before looking back at Lucius, still scowling.

Lucius was officially weirding him out. And he hadn't shown any confusion at the mention of Evokers. Except everyone besides those in SEES forgot Evokers even existed. And then there had been that smirk that reminded Souji a bit too much of Cain. Quite a bit too much of Cain. It was at this that Souji was officially convinced that Lucius was playing with him.

"As much as I'd like to, there's more important things to worry about. Like you," Souji growled. "How do you know about Evokers? You weren't in SEES; Minato never mentioned you."

[mugenginga]

Atem scowled as Adachi mentioned what had happend. So it was that. Of course Bakura had left. The teenager didn't like anyone getting hurt. It was why he was willing to throw his life away, why it was so terrible that the Ring had attached itself to him. Yuugi... he wasn't quite the same way. He'd fight back if he had to, even if he was the only one at risk. Atem didn't think Bakura would.

"He doesn't have any place to go, Adachi," Atem said with a flat voice, "If you want to protect him that much, you should have made arrangements before telling him all that. He trusted you, something he doesn't extend to much of anyone. What's he going to do now?"

Lucius had glanced back towards the conversation Atem and Adachi were having. He didn't know the full story behind the Ring, but he knew it was demonic. Nothing about how he glanced at them indicated that. In truth, he just seemed to be enjoying the show. He only looked back towards Souji as he spoke again. He raised an eyebrow.

"What the hell are you talking about. Sees? Sees what? I don't know anything about any of that, I just figured you meant something that "evoked" something. Y'know, summoned? Then again, I guess the cards do that... Hey, its your business if you wanna let this guy run free, but don't blame me if he ends up killing one of your friends."

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Adachi gave Atem his most hateful glare at that. If he had known this was going to happen, he would have. He completely would have. He hadn't expected to tell Bakura that he was some kind of serial killer, and to be honest, he'd been more focused on Bakura's injuries than the possibility of that. "You actually think I intended on telling him? I would have never told him if I'd had a choice."

Adachi was done with this conversation. He pushed past Atem and glared at him again. "By the way, do something about that friend of yours before I do something first. That Kimura kid's the guy who attacked Ryou." Adachi remembered how Bakura had described the encounter. The demon had been playing with him. Liked the taste of blood, apparently. Then had cut a scar into Bakura's face just to make him look like that damn spirit. And then did whatever he did to make Ryou pass out like that.

Souji was being reminded a fair bit too much of Adachi with this Lucius guy. He returned Lucius' raised eyebrow with yet another glare. "He's tried that before, and he failed badly at it. Are you done trying to get a rise out of me?" Because it was certainly working.

[mugenginga]

Atem's expression wasn't positive. He hadn't seen Adachi slip up that much, but he knew the stories from Souji. If he hadn't intended on it, it was more than possible he'd let it out without meaning. He was taking a step towards Adachi to speak to him when he mentioned who had attacked Bakura. He didn't think Adachi had met Seth, and Cain wasn't a kid. That left what he had been suspecting..

"Be careful, Adachi. Abel isn't the same 'person' Keiichi was," Atem said, not believing the words coming out of his mouth, "Believe it or not, Bakura would be depressed if you got yourself killed over him."

"Well, even if you ain't gonna bring him in, the old man should be told," Lucius turned and took a few steps. However, he stopped and turned his head towards Souji. He was smirking again, "Might be a little upset you knew and didn't say something, though..."

And then he was walking again. He'd stuck his hands in his pockets. If Souji remembered the direction of the police station, he'd realize Lucius actually was headed in that direction. The teenager had full intentions of telling Takahashi about Adachi too. His smirk widened as he walked. He had no intentions of painting any of them in a positive light.

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Adachi closed his eyes and nodded. He figured that would be the case. Well, he wasn't planning on getting himself killed. He had been planning on asking for help, like Bakura had said. He couldn't go alone. He probably would just get himself killed that way. He was pretty sure something had happened to the Kimura kid to make him like this. The Kimura kid hadn't worn a cape before. Sure as hell didn't have a cat's eyes and he didn't carry a knife. He'd been carrying around this weird DS.

He stopped walking when Lucius spoke and turned back toward the blonde. Souji had still been glaring at Lucius when he had announced his intent to tell Takahashi about Adachi. On one hand, Adachi would be getting in trouble. On another (and Souji couldn't believe he was admitting this), Adachi didn't need to get in trouble right now. He had enough on his plate. And on a third hand, Souji did not like the idea of it being Lucius who told Takahashi. Lucius, who seemed to enjoy getting a rise out of him. And would definitely paint him in a bad light.

"I didn't say I wasn't going to tell him," Souji said. He walked ahead of Lucius. "Stop jumping to conclusions."

Adachi scowled at Lucius. He hated this kid already.