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Post by mugenginga on Mar 31, 2010 22:21:41 GMT -5
(OOC: The little bit with Souji was done with permission from FF)
Yuugi and Atem had spent the last few hours of the afternoon previous trying to track down Malik. They'd only spent that long because Atem was stubborn and Yuugi thought they could find him if they tried hard enough. Despite Atem being the one who thought they'd not find him or Bakura, it had been Yuugi that had called the search to a close. His feet were sore from walking, and even Atem was showing signs of tiredness. It had taken Yuugi mentioning the job in the morning to get Atem to concede.
There hadn't been much talking on the way back to the apartments, either. Atem had retreated inward, a clear sign of depression with the former Pharaoh. Depression and guilt, Yuugi knew. He blamed himself for what had happened with the Ring. It wasn't like they had had much chance against Enjin, but... well, he didn't blame the taller teenager for the guilt. He felt pretty badly too. What was that guy going to do with the Ring now that he had it?
The sleeping arrangement was still what it had fallen back into after Atem's attempted advance. Yuugi took the bed and Atem took the couch. At least they fell asleep quick enough. Both were concerned about the Ring as well as the coming Fall. They had about fifteen more days, give or take with the moon's twenty-eight day cycle. Fifteen more days until the full moon, and both of them knew they were underpowered compared to the rest of the group. They'd have to use their Persona in that fight due to the effect the Dark Hour had on the cards, and lack of experience made them weaker.
The following morning, Yuugi woke to his alarm about an hour and a half before it was time to head out. He noted that Atem didn't wake up when he wandered through the living room. It was somewhat of a relief and depressing at the same time. Atem was a light sleeper, so remaining asleep meant he really was exhausted. Yuugi woke Atem up after taking a shower and getting dressed. But the time everything was said and done they had half an hour to get to work.
Yuugi didn't know if Souji was awake, but he had to be at work about an hour after they did. He seperated from Atem at the second floor and knocked on Souji's door. After a few more tries he got told by Souji he knew what time it was. When Yuugi had tried to ask him if something was wrong, he got passed off. The short teenager considered pushing it, but he did have to get to work.
The walk was quiet the way the walk home had been the day before. The air was a bit cold, causing Atem to actually wear his jacket properly for once. Yuugi had a jacket thrown over his school uniform.
The shop was just being unlocked by Jeff when they got there. He looked up and waved at the two teenagers with a characteristic wide grin. He opened the door for them. Yuugi slipped in first and rubbed his arms. The temperature was going down quickly, although it seemed a bit odd it hadn't snowed. From what he could tell, Void City had a four seasons climate.
"Didn't expect you two to show up fifteen minutes early, I'll hafta say."
"Is that a problem?" Atem asked.
Jeff let out a laugh, "Not at all. Nice to see you two are dedicated. Sorry for the short notice yesterday, but I recently had to lay off a bunch of folks. I hate doin' that, but things happen. Anyhow, all you really need to know is how to take orders and clean up."
"..." said Atem.
"....Hey, don't get all tense there! I'll have someone help you. Yuugi, was it? I dug up that uniform I mentioned, you should probably try it on though. And if anyone gives ya any flack about your age, lemme know. The crowd doesn't generally hit until about an hour to two after opening, I try to open early for anticipation of that."
Yuugi nodded and gave a sympathetic grin towards Atem. The former Pharaoh really didn't have a lot of basic living skills, at least when it came to the modern world. He'd never thought of it before, but he probably should have tried to teach Atem things when they were still linked. It wasn't that he was incapable, he just hadn't had practice.
A few minutes later had Atem talking with a young woman in the back of the shop. Atem hadn't had to do much for a uniform being in the back, he just had a dark red apron with the shop's logo on the front, similar to what Jeff wore. Yuugi was in a more obvious uniform, although it wasn't anything terribly fancy. Dark red shirt and black pants. He had a left breast pocket and the coffee shop's logo was on top of that in white stitching. His nametag consisted of a stick on thing with his name written in both kanji and romaji. He'd been informed he'd get a more permanent one soon.
Jeff was right. It was slow, as in no one was showing up. Well, Jeff had said it could be up to two hours...
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Apr 1, 2010 6:12:01 GMT -5
K1 had snuck out of the hotel early that morning. It was a lot easier now that Seth wasn't rooming with him, and he didn't want to see him anyways. He doubted Cain had missed it. The man had always been observant like that. K1 supposed he had to, what with the lives he'd lived.
He was going to the coffee shop. Wasn't sure why, but he guessed some coffee would be good. He couldn't remember if Yuugi had actually responded to his email or not. To be honest, he'd spent most of the previous day sleeping. He still hadn't left his room. The past few days had been hell because of him; it would be nice to let the others have a nice relaxing day to themselves for once.
As far as clothing, K1 wasn't wearing anything all that different from what he'd worn the other night. He'd gotten that jacket fixed up, and was wearing it zipped up due to the cold. He was starting to find it odd that it hadn't actually snowed yet. It was the right season for it, but still, no snow.
He sighed as he walked into the coffee shop, and looked up. His eyes widened. Yuugi was at the cash register, while Atem was talking to someone in the back. K1 sighed, and waved to Yuugi before sitting down at a table. Well, he had said that they needed to talk. He took a look around at everyone in the room. The Death Clocks were all the same. They all read nine. It looked like they'd be needing to leave soon.
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Post by mugenginga on Apr 1, 2010 6:20:41 GMT -5
Yuugi noticed K1 wave to him. He gave a pleasant grin despite himself. The short teenager had always been good about that. Even stressed out beyond belief, he could usually smile at his friends. And despite how insane it probably was, he still considered K1 a friend. And it seemed to be K1, not Abel. Considering the situations he'd been in with the Millenium Items, he found it odd that division confused him. Probably not for the last time, he wondered how his friends had dealt with it.
Yuugi glanced around the shop. No one else was there. He noticed Atem give an exasperated look at the young woman he was talking to before walking out of the sight of both him and everyone in the shop. Yuugi gave another quick glance before walking out from behind the counter and going over to where K1 was sitting.
"Is everything okay?" He asked.
The situation with Enjin came up in his memory. He pushed it aside. If Atem managed to talk to him it would come up. There was no need to bring up what was likely a very unpleasant memory, after all.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Apr 1, 2010 20:54:28 GMT -5
K1 gave a small smile as Yuugi walked out from behind the counter. Atem had left, but Yuugi was still coming over there, so it looked like... Yuugi wanted to patch things up after all. Well, of course he did. Yuugi was kind of like that. It was half of why K1 had wanted to talk in the first place. He looked up as Yuugi got over to the table and asked his question.
"It could be a lot better," K1 admitted. "...You can sit down if you want."
He wasn't going to force Yuugi to stand. Today was a day to actually talk to him like... they were normal people. K1 felt a little pain at that thought. Damn he was depressive lately.
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Post by mugenginga on Apr 1, 2010 21:07:56 GMT -5
Actually, Yuugi would have preferred to stand. But he made no objection to the offer to sit down. He looked around the shop to make sure no one was there or about to walk in before pulling back a chair and sitting down. K1, seemed depressed. Well, of course he did. K1 seemed depressed.
He didn't say anything more. He'd been offered to sit down. In Yuugi's experience that meant there was more to be said. A lot more. He gave a small grin with genuine friendship behind it. Because after all, Yuugi was also like that. He waited for K1 to continue.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Apr 1, 2010 21:18:03 GMT -5
K1 took a deep breath and bowed his head. This was something he'd been wanting to say for a long time, but he hadn't really gotten the chance to due to... various things. Damn himself. It was his own damn fault, after all.
"I've... been wanting to apologize for a while. For... just everything I've done," K1 said. "I treated you like shit over that stupid wallet, I left without even properly saying goodbye... I've just felt like shit over that for the past three months. And then I came here, and the first thing I did was just act even worse towards all of you. I even attacked some of your friends..."
He put his head in his hands for a moment before looking back toward Yuugi. "...I just wanted to apologize for everything I've done. I don't expect you to accept it, but just... allow me to say it. I'm sorry, Yuugi. I'm sorry for everything I've done towards you and your friends. I just..." He looked away from Yuugi.
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Post by mugenginga on Apr 1, 2010 21:35:54 GMT -5
Yuugi waited patiently for K1 to speak. He put his full focus into listening to the blue haired teenager. For a moment he seemed pained. He didn't blame K1 for any of it. He'd come close a few times, and he knew Atem did. But he'd never actually reached it. In fact, a tension raised from his shoulders as K1 spoke. As K1 went on, he began to give an almost annoyingly forgiving and kind smile.
"I'm not upset," Yuugi said, his grin possibly causing K1 more pain than it helped with, "You did what you had to, right? I'd never blame you for that! I mean, even what happened before... I don't know the full story, K1-kun, but I saw Keiji-kun! Anyone would have reacted badly... K1-kun?"
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Apr 1, 2010 21:58:28 GMT -5
K1 did look more pained as Yuugi grinned. How could Yuugi not be upset about that? He'd been spying on them, he'd attacked Bakura, he'd been just doing all sorts of awful things to everyone... and Yuugi still didn't blame him. He was still looking away from Yuugi when he responded again.
"It's not just that. I've been letting the power I gained because of this stupid throne get the better of me... who the hell thought it was a good idea to let a high school student become a demon overlord?" K1 asked himself. "I've attacked my friends... I've hurt Keiji more than a few times. What kind of person attacks his own brother? And I've gone after people... I've killed people, Yuugi. I'm a murderer." He looked away. "It was a mistake for me to leave the Demon Realm with how I am now."
He looked even more depressed. Really, he was just using Yuugi as someone to vent to now.
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Post by mugenginga on Apr 1, 2010 22:11:30 GMT -5
Yuugi opened his mouth, but closed it. He knew how Malik felt about the actions taken by his dark side. They were all his own, born from his own hatred. And he didn't like Malik, so why was the situation different with K1? He thought for a moment. It was because K1 had done his actions for everyone but himself. Some of the earlier conversations, K1 had only done it because he saw no other way. And maybe there hadn't been. Yuugi gave his head a quick shake.
"I don't think it was, K1-kun! This may sound nuts, but maybe... maybe it was the best thing that could happen. K1-kun, Atem killed people too. I don't know if you know that, but he... in a way, we did," Yuugi winced. What his Shadow had said, what Atem had said. It had been fueled by his own emotions, right? "That doesn't... necessarily make you a bad person. I don't think you're a bad person... you have to keep trying, right?"
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Apr 2, 2010 6:20:00 GMT -5
K1 was still looking away from Yuugi. Yuugi... didn't think he was a bad person? Yuugi still had faith in him after all of this. It almost seemed preposterous to K1. He knew now that the only reason Atsuro still followed Abel was because he'd promised K1 he'd stick by him no matter what. K1 doubted that would stick once the demonic emotions took over.
"...I guess..." K1 mumbled to himself. "...There's days... when I feel like it would be better to just let myself go, though. Maybe I'm not a bad person for what I've done... but I'm still Abel. I'm still the demon king."
He tapped his fingers on the table. "Keiji told me once that I'll always be more clear cut than him or Naoya in regard to my past life. I never knew Seth when he was alive, but Keiji's completely dropped his name in this life altogether... and Naoya and Cain, well, I can't see a difference between them. But I'm... a lot more clear cut. I have distinct human and demon sides, and they conflict with each other a lot. Naoya told me recently that if I didn't learn to reconcile the two, I'd lose myself as I currently am. Sometimes I think that might be the better decision..."
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Post by mugenginga on Apr 2, 2010 7:03:07 GMT -5
Yuugi had a rather determined look on his face. For all the uncertainty the situation had raised for him, some things he'd never wavered on. K1's friends had to be there for him, that was one of them. There had to be a way to stop the Fall. That was another. Call it naivete born from never wanting to give up, something that he'd learned over the past two or so years in his world. He opened his mouth to make a point as K1 began to tap his fingers on the table. Yuugi closed it when K1 began again and patiently listened. After that, there was a pause. K1 still wasn't looking at him. Yuugi waited to see if eye contact would be given again. When no indication was given as such, he spoke again. "You're still Abel, you're still the demon king. But that's not everything, K1-kun. You're also still K1-kun, still human. What I'm trying to say is you're not all one or the other. Naoya said you had to reconcile the sides, right? I believe you can do that. You can't give up, K1-kun!" He noticed someone coming to the front door of the shop, and he stood up, "I know you don't really like Atem, but he's right. The only way to really lose is to just give up. I can't claim to know what you've been through, but you as K1-kun are still here. Doesn't that mean anything?" The person was no one in particular. A nine floated above his head like it had everyone else K1 had met. Yuugi glanced at the new arrival with a friendly smile and headed back to the counter. He'd wanted to say more to K1, but he was technically at work. It was 7:30 AM when Yuugi went back behind the counter and began to talk to the customer. It was 7:32 AM when K1's COMP gave the new message beep. He wouldn't like what he saw, nor how well it was written. Even the first one he'd ever received had not had such a clean farewell message at the bottom. (OOC: Here, have a list of the messages received in-game: megamitensei.wikia.com/wiki/Laplace_Mail I hope I got the formatting right.  Sorry for having to take charge of the other thread, but I left it vague with living dolls so we could still be flexible about it. XD And yes, Xiu is the Chinese girl you think she is.  ) |
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Apr 2, 2010 15:36:44 GMT -5
K1 didn't look up even when Yuugi tried to encourage him to not give up. He had been about to retort with something when the man who had just walked in headed to the counter and Yuugi stood up. Right, Yuugi was at work still. He shouldn't have bothered him at work. K1 sighed and stood up when suddenly the COMP in his pocket beeped. He pulled it out to read the message. His eyes widened as he saw the message and he ran out of the coffee shop, nearly running into Souji as he did so. He stopped to look at Souji for a moment before continuing to run.
"...Abel?" Souji said before heading into the coffee shop. He was technically early, but he'd finally gotten tired of Teddie prodding him about what was bothering him and decided to leave early.
K1 was reading the mail on the go, heading toward the ITS as he ran. This was bad. This was really bad. He'd thought the Laplace Mails had stopped, but one had come. And today of all days, too. He didn't care about the message with the living dolls, what mattered was that the Island was about to be cut off, and the Fall was only in nine days too. This was not good.
He exited the Laplace Mail and opened up a message to Cain.
He hit send, and continued running, checking the clock on his COMP before he closed it. There was only about five minute until what was supposed to happen would. Not that he could do anything once he got there.
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Post by mugenginga on Apr 2, 2010 19:06:09 GMT -5
Yuugi had been ringing up the cash register when K1 practically knocked his chair over getting up. He paused what he was doing for a moment and watched the blue haired teenager barrel out of the shop. He had his COMP in his hand. Yuugi looked extremely worried when he heard someone ask if he was okay. He jerked his head up towards the person he'd been dealing with and gave an embarassed apology and continued with his work. Whatever it was, it would have to wait. Odds were it had to do with the Throne of Bel, anyhow... not that it prevented Yuugi from wanting to help.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Apr 21, 2010 21:55:57 GMT -5
(OOC: Timeskip gooooo~))
The rest of the day passed without much of an incident after K1 departed. Souji had remained at his station for the most part, brewing up coffee and not really talking to anyone else. Whenever anyone asked about the bad mood he was in, he just brushed them off and continued working. He really didn't feel like talking about what had happened the previous day. Things were complicated enough without Izanami.
No one really noticed the glowing green object until after it had fallen from a vent. Well, it wasn't so much falling as directing himself that he landed snugly in the bosom of the poor woman.
"Eh?" The woman looked down from her coffee. "What was...?"
"Hey, this is a pretty nice pair you've got!"
"EEK!" The woman dropped her coffee, causing it to spill everywhere. The green object popped out from between her breasts and landed on the table.
"Aw, come on! First day on the Celestial Plain and I can't even take a decent nap," the creature complained.
"Bug! It's a bug! Ewwwww!"
The green object suddenly turned red and started hopping angrily. "It's Issun! ISSUN!" the "bug" wailed.
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Post by mugenginga on Apr 21, 2010 22:07:35 GMT -5
After spending about half the day observing Souji, Yuugi, and Atem, Jeff had thought it okay to take a small break. It wasn't like he went far. He'd gone to the apartment above the shop (accessible only from the outside) for the break. Of course, he'd picked the exact timeframe the chaos would be taking place to do so. In any case, Jeff wasn't there when the woman had a "bug" land in the space her overly large v-cut shirt allowed.
Yuugi had tried several times during the day to talk to Souji. He'd been brushed off each time. The last time he'd looked to Atem for help, but that nonverbal communication skill of theirs meant he understand Atem's look. It didn't seem anything that was hindering Souji's work, and the silver haired teenager would probably talk about it when he was ready. Yuugi had left it at that and continued to work.
Atem was cleaning a table when the chaos began, while Yuugi was behind the counter talking to someone. Business had slowed down again, so Yuugi was just having a friendly conversation. Atem looked up with a bit of annoyance as the woman pretty much leapt up and began trying to smash the bug. The former Pharaoh noted that the "bug" changed color. Even not giving the Island, that didn't seem anything a standard bug would do. On top of that, there was a possibility said color changing "bug" was talking, although Atem was having trouble making it out.
He glanced around and grabbed an empty paper cup off the table he was cleaning. He tore off the lid and quickly walked over to where the woman was now trying to smash said "bug". Half a second of observation later and Atem had the cup down on the bug with some rather amazing reflexes. It was not impossible for Issun to dodge, but it wasn't like there was much chance he was expecting a cup to come on top of him. Atem had to quickly move his free hand to prevent the woman from smashing the "bug", cup and all...
"Atem, is everything okay!?" Yuugi asked, having broken off his conversation during the yelling and now concerned. There was more going on that what was readily apparent, he could tell it just by the expression in Atem's eyes.
"Smash it already!" The woman huffed as she jerked her hand free from where Atem had caught it.
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Sorry for having to take charge of the other thread, but I left it vague with living dolls so we could still be flexible about it. XD And yes, Xiu is the Chinese girl you think she is. 
)