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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Aug 27, 2010 21:09:19 GMT -5
Naoto had been going over the facts in her head on the way back to the apartment. Due to that, she hadn't really been in the mood to talk. Just as well, no one else was in the mood to talk either. Anzu seemed nervous over whatever the contents of her bag were, but they didn't seem all that important to Naoto. The group reached the third floor with no incident.
Naoto had looked up in surprise at the crash she heard from the bedroom. There wasn't much that could be. It could only mean that Malik was awake. She pushed her way to the front of the group and ran to the bedroom door after Yuugi and Atem headed for it. Kanji followed after her.
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Post by mugenginga on Aug 28, 2010 1:17:48 GMT -5
<* "I'm not going to fight you," *> Haytham stated to Malik.
He raised an eyebrow as Malik stood up. The teenager was still poised, but he didn't look like he was going to attack anymore. He kept an eye fixed on Haytham and rubbed his shoulder where it had hit the counter. He took a step backwards. Haytham made no move to stop him, and the reason why showed itself when the door flung open. Malik barely avoided getting hit in the back of the head.
< "What did you do to him?" > Atem demanded in Ancient Egyptian.
Haytham looked dead serious as he responded, < "I haven't lifted a finger against him. ">
"Malik, calm down! We just didn't want you to hurt yourself!"
Malik was standing on the other side of the bed due to his dodge of the door. Naoto and Kanji would reach the room at this point, but there wasn't really any space for them with Atem in the door way and Yuugi at the foot of the bed after slipping past the former Pharaoh. Jounouchi and Honda had exchanged a look before running forward. They now stood to either side of Kanji. Anzu had dropped the bag and run forward too, but she was observing from behind Naoto and the guys.
"My dark form surfaced and you brought me back to your apartment?" Malik stated. He shook his head, "You're too trusting."
"He's not surfaced now, right? I know you're better than that, Malik!" Yuugi stated.
< "And how the hell do you know this language!?" > Malik demanded of Haytham. His pronunciation was a touch off in places, a sign of a fluent bilingual but not native, < "Give me a straight answer about who the hell you are!" >
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Aug 28, 2010 1:25:38 GMT -5
Naoto couldn't enter the room from her position. It was likely no one had noticed, but she had her card ready, in case Malik tried to pull anything. She trusted neither Malik nor Haytham at this point. While this was obviously Malik's normal side, she didn't know what would cause Malik's dark side to surface.
As Malik began to speak in Ancient Egyptian, Naoto made a mental note that she needed to learn some kind of basic Egyptian, or she would never find out what the Egyptian members of their group were saying.
"Hey, it wasn't like we could take you to a hospital with how Abel had beaten you up!" Kanji said. Naoto shot Kanji a glare. Malik wouldn't know about Abel attacking him.
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Post by mugenginga on Aug 28, 2010 5:31:38 GMT -5
Malik looked at Kanji with a dark expression. Abel? Had his other self encountered people he hadn't? It was quite possible. He had a feeling if he dug for them he could pull up the memories of what he'd done, but he was terrified of the thought. He'd put a seal on those actions since he was a child, after all.
< "I asked you once before, Ishtar. Can't you tell who I am?" >
Haytham flared up energy like he had before, but this time he pushed it just a bit further. His eyes gained a pale red glow to them. The intensity made it a bit pink. Jounouchi felt a chill shoot down his spine and he looked like he was going to collapse until Honda grabbed his shoulder and gave him a flat look. It seemed to be enough to calm him down. Malik, on the other hand, had wide eyes.
< "The god cards have human forms...?" > He shot his look towards Atem, < "This is your fault, isn't it?" >
< "Stop it! Malik, calm down. Your rage will just bring out your dark side again," > Atem hadn't questioned that Malik knew Ancient Egyptian. He'd realize later it made a sort of sense, but right now he was just dealing with the situation at hand. However, he continued in Japanese, "If you want me dead, I won't blame you. You're justified. But your hatred won't stop with just my head, and you know that."
"Atem!"
"Partner, he's justified. I don't know why his family did what they did for my memories, but the fact is I'm at least partly to blame," Atem turned back to Haytham, < "I want you to leave, but I want some questions answered first. Why can't you take the Millenium Items?" >
Malik's eyes widened at Atem's words. Somehow... somehow that admittal just made it worse. He didn't know why his family did what they did either, but he didn't need the Pharaoh playing matyr here. Haytham opened his mouth to respond when Malik yelled.
"I never asked for your pity! Don't give me those empty words! If you really felt it was your fault, you should have died like you were... were supposed to..."
Malik reached up to his head. Damn, he knew that headache... he closed his eyes and willed it away. Because the Pharaoh was right. If his other self surfaced he'd attempt to kill everyone in this room...
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Aug 28, 2010 5:39:57 GMT -5
Naoto narrowed her eyes at the light red glow Haytham's eyes gave, but she didn't react otherwise. She did note Jounouchi's reaction, though. Bad prior experiences? She looked back toward the group in the room. Kanji clenched his hands into fists as Atem continued to speak in Japanese. The guy was continuing to blame himself.
Naoto directed her gaze toward Malik as he yelled, and clenched her hand a bit tighter around the card. If Malik flipped here, someone would have to stop him. However, he trailed off and put his hand on his head like he had a headache instead, and whatever had happened then seemed to pass. What had that been? Lingering injuries from his encounter with Abel, or his other side trying to come out...? Somehow, Naoto was more inclined to think the latter, especially with what Atem had said before that.
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Post by mugenginga on Aug 28, 2010 18:36:55 GMT -5
Of Yuugi's group, everyone but Atem had given a worried and apprehensive look towards Malik as he yelled. Anzu seemed to be trying to get a better look at the situation, and she managed to slip past a small opening between Kanji and Jounouchi to get into a more central position. There was an advantage to her slim dancing body there.
"Malik, it's okay! Atem would never do anything to hurt you intentionally!" Anzu stated.
Malik looked up at her with a pained glare, "That doesn't change he hurt me and his name has been dragging my family through suffering for hundreds of years! You've seen my back!"
"I never gave the order for someone to preserve my memory," Atem said. His voice was a bit flat, "It was supposed to stay sealed so Zorc would stay sealed."
Yuugi looked at Atem in surprise. Actually, that's what everyone had assumed. Some mission from the ancient past had forced Malik's family to keep the memory. He shook his head and looked towards Malik again. He wanted to tell Malik that Atem would never consider ordering something like that, but he couldn't lie there. Atem was the type to do what he felt was necessary... sometimes the end would justify the means.
< "This conversation needs to be taken elsewhere," > Haytham stated. Even though most of the group couldn't understand him, there was a dangerous urgency to his voice.
Malik looked a little ill as he held his head. There were a few beads of sweat on his forehead, and his veins were prominent. Anzu had taken another step towards him as the conversation had gone on. Atem looked at Malik with a flat expression before nodding.
"We need to continue this outside," he stated.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Aug 28, 2010 19:06:49 GMT -5
Naoto was still watching Malik's reactions the most. She was now sure that it was Malik's dark side trying to take control again. She frowned as Atem spoke. So he hadn't been the one to give that order? It must have been someone else, a subordinate of sorts. She looked toward Haytham as he spoke. Though she couldn't understand him, she could tell there was something urgent about his tone.
After Atem indicated they needed to take the conversation outside, Naoto spoke up. "I think I'll take my leave here, as well. There are things I need to do before it gets too late. Yuugi-kun, please text me if anything else important comes up." She grabbed Kanji's jacket. "Come on, Kanji."
"Wha--? Arg... alright," Kanji growled. He shot another glare toward Malik and Haytham. Only reason he was leaving Atem alone with them was because Jounouchi and Honda were there to beat some sense into Atem if he decided to pull anything stupid, like Kanji knew he was going to.
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Post by mugenginga on Aug 29, 2010 1:28:13 GMT -5
"Stay away from me," Malik stated as Anzu put her foot down. Her eyes widened.
Yuugi had nodded at Naoto as Malik responded to Anzu's movements. He looked towards the Egyptian teenager in worried surprise. Naoto was already to the front door by this time, presumably trusting the situation to be handled as it was. Haytham had looked towards Kanji as he went off, but the expression was neutral. If Kanji read agression or taunting, it would all be in his own head. It was merely observation.
After the two left, Haytham took a step forward. He noticed everyoen was focused on Malik, < "Pharaoh, either you or your Partner should leave. You both hold an Item." >
Atem shot a dark look at Haytham. He'd be lying if he told himself he didn't know why he was upset. He didn't appreciate Haytham referring to Yuugi with the term he used for the other teenager. It even outweighed the suggestion they seperate. He looked at Yuugi.
"Partner, head out with Anzu. I'll be right behind you two," Atem stated.
"Atem, I-"
"Don't argue. If the situation is me I'm going," Malik said.
The teenager stepped between Yuugi and Atem and attempted to slip past Jounouchi and Honda. They looked at each other for a moment before both grabbing towards one of his arms. Malik managed to side step Jounouchi's grip, but Honda caught him in the upper shoulder. It was met with a swift spin and a kick to the back of Honda's right leg, sending him down into a startled healing position.
"Leave me alone!" he warned, his voice carrying dangerous implications.
"Honda-kun!" Yuugi shouted in surprise.
"Jounouchi-kun, stand down!" Atem ordered.
Malik turned towards Atem, fire in his eyes and his veins remaining prominent, "My issue is with you, Pharaoh. I don't intend to involve your friends this time unless you force me. But for now, I'm leaving. I won't let you stop me."
"Hey, hold up you bastard!" Jounouchi shouted. He jerked when he felt a frim grisp on the wrist further from Malik. He spun around and glared at Atem, "That guy is going to try and kill you! Don't you give a damn!?"
-----
Teddie hung up the phone with a sigh. It had been the fourth time he had called, but this time the hospital had finally given him information. Souji would be released tomorrow. He wasn't clear of the charges, but the report from the officer that had questioned him confirmed he wouldn't be detained. He frowned and looked towards the door.
"What's going on with you, Sensei...?"
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Aug 29, 2010 2:06:52 GMT -5
Naoto noticed Kanji seemed unnerved as they headed down the stairs. He seemed rather preoccupied on the events going on upstairs, which, from their position, they could still hear.
"What's wrong?"
"That Haytham guy pisses me off."
"A lot of people make you mad. What's really wrong?"
"That Jounouchi guy pisses me off too."
Naoto groaned. Kanji was trying to dodge the question. She stopped and put a hand on Kanji's shoulder, causing him to blush a little.
"Kanji, we have been living together for a few months now. You are well aware of the fact that it is impossible to hide anything from me," Naoto said. "Now tell me what is wrong."
Kanji groaned and finally relented. "Alright, alright! I'm worried about Atem. That guy's gonna end up hurting himself bad if he doesn't stop being so depressed about everything. That Malik guy's gonna kill him if he ain't careful, too."
Naoto gave a nod. Kanji had noticed it too, then. She sighed. "I'm sure Atem will be okay..." She took a few steps over to Souji's door and knocked on it a couple times.
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Post by mugenginga on Aug 29, 2010 2:45:05 GMT -5
"Honda-kun, are you okay!?" Yuugi ran forward and crouched down.
Honda gave him a noncommital grin, "Damn, he can move faster than I thought."
Atem jerked his hand away from Jounouchi. He tried to walk towards the door but the blond stepped in front of him. The Egyptian teenager looked up at Atem and narrowed his eyes, it was returned. The tension was tangible. Anzu had been running after Yuugi but stopped when she saw the standoff between Jounochi and Atem. The former Pharaoh tried to step past Jounouchi, and he was rudely grabbed by the upper arm and yanked in front of him again.
"Jounouchi-kun, stop it!" Anzu said. This was... a lot different thent he fights she'd seen them have before. This was even worse then when Jounouchi had gotten mad at Atem for his behavior after the Orichalchos incident.
"Hey, Jounouchi, relax!" Honda said. Yuugi looked very surprised.
"Honda, take Anzu and Yuugi and get out of here. I think it has to do with the Items," Jounouchi didn't turn from Atem as he spoke.
"Jounouchi-kun!" Yuugi said.
Haytham had watched the entire situation. Well, for all his power in the past Atem was a teenager. Jounouchi was one all around. He stepped forward, * "One Item seperate doing good for now. Friend should be listening to." *
Honda looked at Haytham for a moment. He grabbed the hand Yuugi still had extended, giving a small pull first to cause the short teenager to brace himself. After that he got to his feet. His knee only tinged, Malik hadn't put as much force behind it as he had thought.
"C'mon, Jounouchi won't hurt the guy," Honda said. The look he gave Jounouchi turned the statement into an order, "If that stuff about Zorc is true, we should get at least one of the Items seperate."
"Honda-kun..." Anzu stated. There was going to be a fight here! Was he just going to let that happen?
"Anzu, he's right," Yuugi said, "Ah... * Haytham... a-auto? Kamu?" *
He looked like he was swallowing something unpleasant as he forced out the attempt at English. Haytham gave him a confused look at the words. He hadn't understood what Yuugi had said, although the evidence was that he'd tried to say something in English. Anzu looked between the three groups for a moment before finally nodding.
* "Yuugi ask if you be coming." *
Haytham's eyes widened. That... that was more painful now that he knew what the teenager had tried to say. He didn't respond with words, merely giving a nod and walking past Jounouchi and Atem on the opposite side of the rest of the group. Atem was glaring daggers at Jounouchi as the group closed the door behind themselves.
"I can't believe you're that clueless," Jounouchi stated as the door clicked close.
-----
Teddie's feet came off the ground at the knock. They didn't land quite right, and the blond took a spectacular fall onto the floor. There was rather the crash as he managed to sweep the phone right of the counter in his attempt to catch himself. His head spun a bit as he sat up and rubbed the base of his back. He pretty much forgot the door and it would probably take him a few seconds to remember it. Naoto and Kanji would have heard the noise, though.
"Oww..."
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Aug 29, 2010 2:50:27 GMT -5
Naoto frowned at the crashing noise from the inside of Souji's apartment. Well, that confirmed one thing. She put her hand on the doorknob and twisted it a couple times, frowning at the door. Someone had forgotten to lock. She pushed the door open.
"Teddie, are you home?" Naoto called into the apartment. She spotted Teddie fairly quickly, but didn't comment on the fall he had taken.
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Post by mugenginga on Aug 29, 2010 12:08:09 GMT -5
"Jounouchi-kun, release me," Atem stated. He didn't even know what the blond was talking about, but he wanted to let him go now. Jounouchi responded with a incredulous stare.
"You seriously don't know?"
"..........."
"Since when have you been such a stupid coward?" Jounouchi released his grip on Atem. The former Pharaoh rubbed his upper arm as he walked towards the door. That had been a rather firm grip, "I can't believe you claim to care about him with this behavior."
Atem stopped three steps past Jounouchi. He lifted his head and looked towards the other teenager. He'd said him.
"What?" His voice sounded a bit dangerous.
"Yuugi. You're ripping the guy apart inside, and you can't even see it," Jounouchi gave a somewhat bitter smile, "He's not gonna say anything about it 'cause he's afraid it'll hurt you, but you can tell it in his face. You're more then friends, right? So how can you be so blind?"
"I... don't know," Atem stated.
Jounouchi blinked, "Eh?"
Didn't know what? How he was so blind? Tone didn't seem... right for that. He would have expected the guy to defend himself, and Jounouchi had a response prepared for that. But for this? The blond looked very confused and his tone of voice was even more so. Atem had lifted his hand and run it through the top of his hair.
"I don't know if we're more than friends. At the rate this is going, it might be better if we weren't. I don't know what's going to happen here."
-----
Teddie's head jerked up, and he looked in surprise at Naoto and Kanji. It faded quickly enough into a sort of shattered expression.
"Naoto-kun, Kanji-kun! Sensei is in the hospital because of Adachi-baby!"
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Aug 29, 2010 12:12:37 GMT -5
Naoto and Kanji walked over to Teddie, while Kanji held out a hand to help Teddie up off of the ground. Naoto nodded, and she had a fairly grim expression.
"We heard. What exactly happened earlier, Teddie?" Naoto asked.
"Yeah, we heard Izanami was here. Why the hell did she come?!" Kanji growled.
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Post by mugenginga on Aug 29, 2010 15:08:09 GMT -5
Add a second response onto what Jounouchi hadn't been expecting. In the slightest. He looked towards the door the others had gone out and then back to Atem. Anzu had been informed about the relationship earlier. By who? Both of them? Yuugi? In any case, now he was being told by Atem that he wasn't even sure it was there. And given Yuugi's reactions earlier...
"Stop it."
Atem looked up, "What?"
"You know what, at this point I don't give a shit if you're involved with Yuugi or not. I do care that you're dragging the guy along," Jounouchi's voice was far more serious than usual. He closed the distance Atem had put between them, "Stop being such a god damn coward. What happened to you? You weren't like this before."
"Have I changed that much?"
"The Atem I know wouldn't be running from this situation. He'd be facing it head on, and he wouldn't let the unknown frigthen him so much."
"You're thinking of Partner, not me," Atem stated, "We're not the same person."
Jounouchi paused at that. He... hadn't ever really thought about it that closely. Atem had been the one fighting the most. In fact, he had't had a Duel with Yuugi since before Duelist Kingdom. The events of the past two or so years played through his head and he realized that the strength always had been Yuugi. The memories of Atem after the incident with the Orichalchos seal was the clincher. His frown deepened.
"Exactly. This is why you're an idiot," Jounochi pointed towards the door, "Yuugi is out there worrying about you, and all you can do is try to keep him at a distance? Let me tell you something, Atem, something I would have thought you were smart enough to realize. You can't keep pushing people away. Hasn't Yuugi taught you anything?"
-----
"What's he saying, Honda-kun?"
Anzu was standing just to the side of Honda, who looked rather annoyed. He had his ear to the door, and Yuugi was to his other side watching anxiously. Haytham was a bit back from them, and he seemed less pleased than Honda did. Was it the business of any of them what that Katsuya teenger was discussing with the Pharaoh?
"I told you Anzu, I can't hear a thing they're saying," Honda straightened up, "Sure is quiet with how Jounouchi looked. Thought for sure he was gonna pop the guy."
"Maybe I should go in..." Yuugi said.
Haytham's frown deepened. That was the last thing they should be doing. The Pharaoh's reincarnation had the Puzzle, it was the whole reason they had left the Apartment to begin with. He wanted to tell that to him, but it was only the girl that could understand a thing he said. He'd move if they decided it was a good idea after all. For now, he just observed.
-----
"I don't know, but Sensei is acting all funny around her!" Teddie responded to Kanji's question, "I don't get it, doesn't he hate her? And.. and... he completely flipped out when Adachi-baby shot her! I think something's really wrong with Sensei, he keeps doing weird things because of Izanami!"
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Aug 29, 2010 15:29:05 GMT -5
Naoto put a hand on her head. It occurred to her then that Souji had not informed Teddie of a few things, such as how Izanami had approached him one day and offered to save him when the Fall hit, nor had Souji informed Teddie about Izanami's infatuation with him. If Souji was acting "funny" around her, something seemed rather likely. And for that reason she was facepalming. Souji had hated Izanami, but only because she had tried to kill them before.
"Teddie, I can assure you Izanami's done nothing to Souji-sempai that has caused him to act like this," Naoto said. Kanji blinked.
"...So what's wrong with him, then?" Kanji asked. Naoto sighed and held up a single pinky.
"Ohhh..." Kanji said.
"Not that I agree much with his choices there, but considering the facts..." She groaned. Quite honestly, she hadn't seen this development coming. She had begun suspecting it when Yuugi said Souji had attacked Adachi because he'd shot Izanami, but this just confirmed it.
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