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Post by mugenginga on Mar 30, 2010 20:17:19 GMT -5
(OOC: Generic not quite NPC is generic. He's not really a character, but if he becomes one on me I'll app him.)
The only light in the halls of the apartment complex were very dim. They existed more so people wouldn't kill themselves wandering down the hall at night, not for anything practical like reading. The stairways were better lit, but only small pools of light actually reached the halls. Sane people were asleep by now. Even those able to deal with the foreboding Hour between hours were like as not asleep, what with that time having passed.
Anyone that was awake had a chance of hearing the footsteps up the stairs. There wasn't anything special about them. The freakish of the observant people could probably tell you it was a middle aged man of average weight wearing working boots, but it wasn't anything to raise eyebrows.
He came out on the second floor landing. His hair was light brown and his nationality was impossible to pin down. Most would have guessed American just due to the mix. He was wearing worn jeans, a grey shirt and a brown long sleeved coat with large pockets. It wasn't anyone the group had seen and he was generic enough he would be easy to forget about.
He walked to the apartment the man named Tohru Adachi was staying and gave a rhythmic knock. Adachi wouldn't know him from Adam, though.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Mar 30, 2010 20:37:30 GMT -5
Adachi had gotten into a habit of sleeping on his couch lately. Maybe just because he was too exhausted to make it to his bed. Or just out of force of habit from when Bakura had been staying there. In any case, he was sleeping on the couch when the the man knocked on the door.
He blinked awake at the sound of the knock and looked around for a moment. Finally, Adachi climbed up off of the couch and stepped over to the door, opening it with a yawn.
"Can I..." He yawned again. "...help you?"
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Post by mugenginga on Mar 30, 2010 20:51:12 GMT -5
The man looked down and dug into his large pockets. A few chime like clangs could be heard as he put his hand around something. He glanced around the hall like a man being watched before pulling the Ring out of his pocket. The rope was still attached to it, the place where it had been cut before still in that knot Anpu had given it when he got it back the first time before giving it up due to being cornered by Atem and Adachi.
He held it out, but would pull it back if Adachi quickly reached for it so he could speak first. He'd just leave it there if Adachi didn't quickly reach for it. Either way, Adachi would be allowed to have it after the man spoke.
"Don't do anything reckless," the man said in warning. What he meant by it was anyone's guess, but the tone was anything but the arrogance Lucius was known for using.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Mar 30, 2010 21:02:21 GMT -5
Adachi narrowed his eyes at the man as he pulled the Ring out. Lucius hadn't been kidding. He'd said he'd have the Ring by the new moon and he meant it. Adachi hadn't reached for the Ring only because he believed this man was Lucius, and he certainly wasn't reaching for something like that without him expressly giving it to him.
Adachi reached for the Ring once the man was done speaking, and took it from him, not placing it into his own pocket. He raised an eyebrow at the man's speech. Not the way Lucius usually talked. He didn't question it, though. It was late, and he wanted to get this over with.
"What do you take me for?" Adachi asked. "Is that all?"
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Post by mugenginga on Mar 30, 2010 21:13:11 GMT -5
The man opened his mouth to respond to Adachi's rhetorical question. What did he take him for? Someone who cared too much and was going to have that care bite him in the ass. Adachi cut him off before he could speak, and he closed his mouth. It wouldn't do any good, in the long run. If he didn't get screwed over here, he'd get screwed over somewhere else. Adachi hadn't made the mistake to develop his perfect hindsight yet, and while the man had no idea what that mistake would be, he knew it would occur eventually.
"Yes. Sorry for bothering you," the man said. He turned away from Adachi, stuck his hands in his pockets, and began to walk off.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Mar 30, 2010 21:20:03 GMT -5
Adachi closed the door and held the Ring up. He gave a smirk. "Looks like your time's run out, Anpu. No Seta and no Pharaoh to stop me now. No Ryou to take over. Just you and me." He stepped over to the television. "It's been good fun, but our game's over now. Thanks for playing."
Adachi placed his hand inside the TV and let go of the old rope he had been holding the Ring by. He'd let the fog finish things from here. He'd love to see Anpu escape from the other side now. Not like there was a way out other than the one that bear and that slutty idol could make.
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Post by mugenginga on Mar 30, 2010 21:28:33 GMT -5
The man shook his head as he reached the stairs. He told himself he could have warned the man, but at the end of the day he'd end up regretting the decision he'd made. Maybe he could delay it, but maybe it was better for it to happen sooner than later. Not like anything could be changed about it. He was reaching into his pocket to pull out his wallet when he noticed someone on the stairs. He stopped and looked forward.
"Hey, are you alright!"
There was a white haired teenager leaning against the wall. He had tensed up when someone addressed him and looked up in surprise. The man's eyes widened as he saw the various rips in the teenager's clothing, and quite a few cuts and scrapes. There was brusing all over the place as well, and half the teenager's face looked to be more bruise than skin. There was blood gathering around an group of stitches. The teen's breath seemed to be ragged.
"A-Adachi... san..." the teenager said before collapsing. The man had run forward just in time to prevent the teenager from faceplanting.
"Hey, can anybody hear me!?" The man shouted, before processing what the teenager had forced out. Adachi?
Sooner than later, he supposed. The timing was too much to ignore.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Mar 30, 2010 21:38:17 GMT -5
The ripples hadn't even completely faded from the TV when he heard the yell from the hallway. He ran out of the apartment to go see what it was about, and his eyes were practically the size of saucers when he saw who the man was trying to support. He ran forward and looked toward the man before looking back at Bakura.
The white-haired teen was covered in wounds. Bruising, with cuts and scrapes all over the place. Someone had hurt him, and bad. The timing was almost creepy, too.
Adachi looked back toward the man. "What the hell happened to him!?" He looked back toward Bakura. "Get him to my place, hurry!"
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Post by mugenginga on Mar 30, 2010 21:44:29 GMT -5
Under less foreboding circumstances, it might have been darkly humorous. The man who responded to the shout was the man he was sure the teenager's condition was meant to be some kind of message towards. If he had been watching this from a television, if this scene hadn't been real, he might have found it as such.
Then again, he'd probably know the full story better. Not that he needed to know more. He nodded as Adachi barked out his order and carefully positinoed the white haired teenager. He was pretty tall, so it wasn't a problem getting his arm over his shoulder.
Adachi's panic didn't fade on the short walk to the apartment. The door was still open, so the man walked inside and carefully set the teenager on the couch. The teenager then stirred as if just waking up and his eyes looked like they tried to flutter open. Only one managed, the other was swelled to the point that it would take more than half-conscious effort to open. He winced as if in reaction to all the pain hitting him at once and carefully turned his head and saw Adachi. He seemed somehow relieved, but he was still pretty messed up.
The man glanced at Adachi as he set the teenager down and the expression on his face was the same kind of warning he'd given before, just without the words. He glanced at Bakura and gave a pained smile before heading towards the door. He didn't seem inclined to stick around.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Mar 30, 2010 21:58:01 GMT -5
Adachi looked only semi-relieved as Bakura's eyes fluttered open. He didn't notice the man leave, too focused on Bakura in his panic to notice the expression or even care.
"Ryou, what happened to you?" Adachi asked quietly.
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Post by mugenginga on Mar 30, 2010 22:04:45 GMT -5
The man was polite enough to close the door behind himself. Bakura broke eye contact quickly and looked at his feet. He looked as if he tried to lift his hand, but there was a wince to accompany the apparent pain and he gave up on it.
"Someone... someone attacked me and Malik-san..."
He lifted his arm again. It still looked like it hurt, but he fought past it this time. His expression said nothing for it being anything but a fight. He patted his chest and winced with each hurt. He worked a finger into one of the holes and felt the bare skin. He didn't seem to be finding what he was looking for and his open eye widened. His closed one cracked a bit, but that seemed to cause more pain. He lifted his hand and held his head, wincing as best he could.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Mar 31, 2010 6:18:17 GMT -5
Malik? Adachi couldn't recall ever hearing a name like that. It was probably the name of whoever Bakura had been staying with since he'd left his apartment. So someone had attacked Bakura, and... Adachi blinked as Bakura painfully lifted his hand to pat his chest, and finally feel the bare, bruised skin under his shirt. Adachi realized something else was wrong when Bakura's eyes widened. It was like Bakura expected something to be there.
"Ryou, did the Ring get back to you again?" Adachi asked. Even if it had, the Ring was gone now. There wasn't any chance of it getting back to Bakura now.
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Post by mugenginga on Mar 31, 2010 6:28:27 GMT -5
Bakura seemed lost in thought as Adachi spoke again. He looked up at the man when he mentioned the Ring. He broke eye contact, the speed at which he did so causing him to flinch. If he was half as messed up as he looked, it was a small wonder the teenager was still conscious. After a few moments he gave a deliberate nod and turned back towards Adachi.
"I think... that's why I was attacked. I'd never seen the person before, but he just rushed me and Malik-san... I can't remember much. It's all fuzzy, but whoever it was managed to overpower both Anpu and Malik-san. I... Malik-san wasn't there when I woke up," Bakura hung his head, a few tears from any number of possible sources began to well up as he gave a weak clench to his fists, "I don't know what happened to him! And it's my fault! If I wasn't so... so weak..."
His body shook a bit. No tears had actually fallen, and he wiped his face to prevent it. The crying was more apparent in his body then with the tears. He didn't seem aware of it, but he looked off balance for a moment. Considering his condition, it had to be willpower alone keeping him awake.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Mar 31, 2010 21:19:26 GMT -5
Adachi looked pained as Bakura winced. The poor kid had been getting attacked a lot lately. First that fucking demon, now some guy after the Ring. Bakura looked like he'd been messed up so badly he was only barely staying concious. He problably needed to be in a hospital, but that wasn't much of an option at the moment. Adachi clenched his fists as Bakura went on, and then as he began to shake like he was crying, Adachi reached over and gingerly put a hand on Bakura's shoulder.
"It's alright, Ryou. It's okay," Adachi said. "Look, it's late. I'll get you some first aid, and you can go lay down. I'll look for that bastard who attacked you when I go to work, alright?"
Somehow, Adachi had a feeling who the person who attacked Bakura was. He clenched his hand, and felt a light tinge of pain in his wrist, the same one Lucius/Lucifer had cut open that time. No scar, no mark... but it still hurt.
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Post by mugenginga on Mar 31, 2010 21:34:57 GMT -5
Bakura flinched as Adachi's hand was put on his shoulder. Whether the reaction was from pain, shame, or some combination there of, it wasn't clear. He stopped shaking after a few moments and another wipe of his face and nodded. His bangs fell in front of face, concealing most of his expression. What could be seen was a frown.
He stumbled as he attempted to get to his feet, but he'd push Adachi away weakly if the man tried to help him. He seemed more than a bit unstable and ended up almost tripping towards the wall. Once there, he used it for support to get into the bedroom. The door was open, somewhat thankfully. He'd collapse on the bed as soon as he got there. He was exhausted, as no matter what way you looked at it he'd walked from some area of the city to Adachi's apartment in his condition.
On that note... it was a bit odd he was back. As far as Adachi knew, he'd never wanted to see him again. The only possible explanation was that he'd simply had no where else to go. Then again, he hadn't mentioned anything about that either... Nor had he objected to Adachi's offer to look for the "bastard". Exhaustion?
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