Le Mort d' Shounen

[mugenginga]

Yuugi frowned at Atsuro's expression. It had to be because Souji had brought up the whole gods and avatars thing. Which meant he was thinking about Abel again. Yuugi had never lost anyone close to him... he'd come close, but it had never actually happened. He gave a genuine seeming smile.

"Hey, Atsuro-kun, you're not going to pick up anyone looking like that!"

Atem gave a soft smile at his Partner's attempts. Jounouchi noted the words and elbowed Atsuro after a quick look at Honda, "Hey, he's got a point. You don't look like you can pull off the emo look."

"Unlike him," Honda jerked a thumb towards Minato, chuckling, "You're gonna lose to the pretty boy over there if you keep that up."

Teddie looked up with a fork sticking out of his mouth. He gave a swallow and spoke with the fork still held to his mouth, "I make a pretty girl, too!"

"If you're sure..." Anzu asked. She looked towards Atsuro as the guys talked. She hoped they'd have some kind of effect on his mood.

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Atsuro blinked at the sudden encouragement and looked up toward Yuugi. A sudden elbow in his side caused him to turn toward Jounouchi, and then toward Minato as Honda indicated him, and then back to Jounouchi and Honda. Were they... trying to cheer him up?

"'Pretty boy'?" Minato repeated somewhat sarcastically.

The whole group looked toward Teddie as he spoke up. Minato and Atsuro both blinked uncomprehendingly, while Naoto looked rather amused. Souji and Kanji both tried to make it look like they weren't listening.

"Yes you do, Teddie," Naoto said. "Though I think Souji-sempai makes a rather pretty girl too. Wouldn't you agree?"

"I thought we agreed never to speak of that again?" Souji growled.

By this point, Atsuro's expression had brightened considerably, and he gave a laugh. "You guys are awesome, you know that?"

[mugenginga]

The group from Yuugi's world just looked confused as Teddie went on about making a pretty girl, although Yuugi and Atem did both note the reactions from Souji and Kanji in regards to that. An inside joke of sorts, it seemed. Anzu wasn't quite following, but the various expressions seemed enough to make her want to giggle. Jounouchi's face twisted in an attempt to not laugh at Souji's comment, and Honda shooks his head.

"You can't just say that and not give an explanation," Honda said, "Did you guys dress up as girls once or something?"

"Why not?" Teddie asked, "It was fun! Although no one ever explained to me what "hit that" means..."

Jounouchi jumped up from his seat and gave an entirely overdramatic pose, "We are the very incarnation of awesome! Took you long enough to notice!"

"Jounouchi-kun, sit down!" Anzu said, her tone making it clear she was just harassing him, "You're acting like a buffoon!"

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Souji and Kanji both looked rather uncomfortable as Honda demanded an explanation. It took a rather long time for Souji to finally speak.

"...Yes," Souji said. His hand was rather tightly gripped around his fork as he said that.

"Women are scary..." Kanji groaned. All throughout this, Naoto had a rather smug expression on her face.

Minato gave a laugh. "That's amazing. Naoto, you wouldn't happen to have pictures of that, would you?"

Naoto reached into her jacket and handed them to Minato. Both Souji and Kanji wheeled around toward Naoto.

"You took pictures?!"

"Wh-Why the hell do you even keep those on you?!" Kanji cried. Minato took one look at the photos before starting to crack up.

All throughout this, Atsuro was just cracking up. Jounouchi's antics and this whole deal with Souji and Kanji both apparently crossdressing was enough to take his thoughts off of Abel for the moment.

[mugenginga]

Honda had gotten to his feet to sit Jounouchi back down when Naoto passed the pictures. He managed to catch site of Teddie's and he stopped with his hand outreached towards Jounouchi. He leaned over and grabbed one of the photos and looked at it, looking between it and Teddie several times.

"That's him?!"

Jounouchi leaned over and looked at it, "Why does he look prettier than Miho does?"

"Hey, no need to bring up a sore point!" Honda snapped at Jounouchi, looking very annoyed, "And he does not."

Yuugi was chuckling at this time. The way she'd turned him down had been so... polite. He'd felt kind of bad for Honda at the time, but the exchange between Jounouchi and Honda was priceless. Atem snirked at the image as well.

"He's adorable!" Anzu said, looking at another one of the images, "He looks like a doll!"

Teddie looked rather pleased at that, "I look that good all the time, Anzu-chan!"

The conversation had gotten nice and derailed by this point. It wasn't just Atsuro that had forgotten about his shortly previous funk.

Ryoji was looking at the photo Minato was looking at, "Souji-kun does do that better than Kanji-kun. Naoto-kun's got a point there. Although Teddie-kun doesn't look like a girl to me."

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Souji crossed his arms and grumbled to himself. "I can't believe you actually had those..."

"I like being prepared at all times," Naoto said.

"What the hell kinda situation would you need pictures of me and Sempai crossdressing for?!" Kanji cried.

Minato frowned. "I think you can only say that because you already know it's Teddie. Trust me... I've seen more convincing ones in the past..." He shuddered a bit. He'd actually... tried to hit on that.

Atsuro leaned over to get a better look at the pictures. Teddie actually looked like a really pretty girl. The guy was already really pretty to begin with; he was practically the definition of a pretty boy, but here he actually looked like a girl. And he was dressed up as Alice... that brought a bit more pain, though it wouldn't be clear why to anyone who was watching Atsuro's expressions.

There were three more photos in there. One was quite clearly Souji. He was wearing what was probably the girl's uniform for his school and had that characteristic grumpy expression on his face. Another was most definitely Kanji; there was nothing feminine about that. And the third was some guy Atsuro didn't even know, but appeared to be in a different school uniform.

Atsuro pulled the picture out from the pile and held it toward the others. "Who's this?"

"Yosuke Hanamura," Naoto said. "Another member of our Investigation Team and the one responsible for all of this."

"You and Chie-chan and Yukiko and Rise-chan are the ones responsible for this!" Souji cried.

"W-Well you signed us up for the Miss Yasogami Pageant first!"

"I told you, I had nothing to do with that!"

"Yeah! It was all Yosuke's fault, not Sempai's!" Kanji interjected. Minato groaned. There they went again...

[mugenginga]

Anzu was still looking at Teddie's image, although she'd put it on the table because others wanted to see it to. She leaned over to look at it closer and then blinked for a moment.

"Is Teddie-kun wearing glitter...?"

"What?" Jounouchi asked.

This lead to Yuugi's group standing up. Even Atem did so, although it looked liked he'd considered not. They were all standing around the table. Ryoji lifted the image up a bit, angling it so the others could see while he got a closer look.

"Was the... glitter necessary?"

"Naoto-kun said it really made it pop!"

"She's right, it really makes you look cuter," Anzu said.

Anzu had leaned over to get a closer look because of the way Ryoji had angled it. Anzu seemed to have gotten relaxed enough among her friends to space exactly how what she was wearing accented certain aspects. Ryoji seemed quite aware of what he was doing when he ever so slightly angled it closer to Minato, causing Anzu to have to lean over more. She didn't even seem aware she was leaning over more. Nor did anyone else, actually. One had to give him credit for the way his expression was remaining the same, though.

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Naoto looked a bit flustered as Teddie mentioned the glitter. "Ah, well... it did certainly add to the effect on stage, what with the way the lights were angled."

"So that was glitter?" Souji asked. He was standing up as well so he could better see the photo. "He did seem rather sparkly when he got up on stage, but with how bizarre that particular experience was, I just thought that was due to Teddie being... Teddie."

Minato was quite well aware of how Ryoji was angling the photo, but he said absolutely nothing on the matter. After all, he had quite the view from here, and there was no reason to disrupt such a wonderful view. To the others, it would just look like he was looking at the photo of Teddie.

Atsuro was sitting in a place where he could see the photo well without standing up, so he'd remained sitting. After a moment, he stood up. Kanji looked over at Atsuro as he pushed the chair under the table.

"Where're you goin'?" Kanji asked. Atsuro smiled.

"Bathroom. I'll be right back," Atsuro said. He walked to the bathroom door and pushed it open.

[mugenginga]

Atem looked at the way Ryoji was holding the photo and let out a sigh. He didn't seem as much upset as disbelieving. He stood up, only to be surprised by Atsuro standing as well. Atsuro didn't even seem to notice him before giving a forced smile and walking towards the bathroom. Anzu straightened up as well, and at least some of the table probably noticed Ryoji grab the pictures and hand them over to Naoto. Atem stayed standing and watched Atsuro go towards the bathroom, giving a worried expression before shaking his head and sitting back down.

"Is he going to be okay?" Anzu asked, now standing up straight again. It did seem the majority of the table had missed Ryoji's little stunt.

"I think..." Yuugi looked down, "I think he lost a really good friend. I don't really know everything that happened with K1-kun, but I'm not even sure we can call him that anymore."

"It's likely he's become little more than Abel, the King of Bel," Atem said, his attempt at monotone sounding slightly pained. He shook his head, "Not everyone gets a happy ending in this world."

Just like that the conversation had seemed to get depressed. Ryoji looked down at the table as well. He'd gotten his second chance, and Minato and the others had made it end well this time. But even with the fuzzy memories, he'd once been a part of Nyx. And Atem was right. In a lot of worlds, the best ending one could hope for was bittersweet, as best.

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Naoto had noted Atsuro's expression before he'd gone into the bathroom. With what little she knew of the situation, she could only assume, but it was clear Atsuro was depressed about Abel. She wordlessly took the photos from Ryoji and placed them back inside her coat.

"So that's what happened..." Souji said. Souji couldn't claim to know much of anything about Atsuro; their interactions had been limited due to Abel's estrangement from their group, but he could guess at Atsuro having known Abel back when he'd still been K1. If Abel had lost that last remaining humanity, then it was understandable that Atsuro would have deserted.

"Man, I still can't believe that K1 guy turned into such of a jackass," Kanji growled. "I guess he was just another Adachi after all."

"Kanji!" Naoto scolded. Minato just shook his head at Kanji's statement.

"He was different before he went all demon," Minato said. He looked down. "I think I can understand what Atsuro's going through." He'd grieved similarly when Ryoji had left before, after all.

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

You look like shit, Atsuro.

Atsuro splashed his face with more water and looked up at his reflection in the mirror. What was he doing? He'd been fine for a moment there, and then that stupid picture of Teddie had come up. If it had just been Teddie in a stupid dress, he would have been fine. But it had been Teddie in a stupid dress looking almost exactly like Alice.

And it had been just that simple fact that had reminded him of things from before. In a way, Alice had been the trigger for things ending up the way they were. It was only after the incident with her had Abel started drawing away from the power high he'd been on for the two months following his taking of the Throne. Somehow, Atsuro had a feeling he would have just accepted the slipping of K1's humanity in the end had things continued going on the way they had been.

He turned off the water faucet and wiped his face with a paper towel. He stared at the reflection in the mirror, and his reflection stared back. Well, of course it did. He was looking at a fucking mirror. He took a breath, and attempted to compose himself. He didn't need to worry Yuugi-tachi when he headed out.

He was forcing a more convincing smile when he headed out of the bathroom and back over to the table. He frowned as he saw everyone's expressions.

"Come on guys, I was just going to the bathroom," Atsuro said. He grinned. "Hey, you guys done eating yet?"

[mugenginga]

Yuugi looked almost angry at Kanji. He'd only seen bits of Adachi's potential, but he knew how Souji's group talked and felt about the man. Jounouchi and Honda both jumped at Naoto's criticism. Atem was watching Yuugi's expression. Teddie looked depressed, but it was more because everyone else at the table did.

"If we have anyone to be mad at, it's Cain for forcing K1 down the path that lead to this," Atem said. His expression was very somber, "And according to Atsuro, he was killed in the events that lead to Atsuro's defection. Kaido as well, although I can't claim to know him beyond a meeting here and there."

"K1-kun tried to do what was best," Yuugi said. It was another instance of his voice coming close to Atem's, "Most of his friends left when he chose to pursue the Throne of Bel. Atsuro-kun was the only friend that stood by him. If you'd seen the hell he went through before he left the Island the first time... Kanji-kun, you wouldn't say that."

Ryoji looked towards Minato as he spoke, giving a bitter smile. Right, the reason he'd wanted Minato to kill him... both times. To avoid what Atsuro was going through. He closed his eyes for a moment. No one should ever have to suffer like that. He wondered if they needed to worry about Atsuro. It was the wish for an easy out that summoned Nyx, a wish for death...

Ryoji jumped as Atsuro spoke after coming back, his eyes popping open. He wasn't the only one who jumped, but Ryoji was the most severe. Yuugi returned Atsuro's smile with a wider one, "You've barely even touched yours. Why are you asking us?"

Anzu bit her lip for a moment at Atsuro's reaction. She didn't like all this stuff staying all locked away. They were friends, weren't they? She didn't really know Atsuro well, but... she jumped a bit as Atem tapped the side of her foot with his own. She looked down and Atem shook his head. This lead to a worried frown.

"Anyhow, Atsuro-kun, me and Atem were considering heading to the mall to see if we could figure out this world's Duel Monsters cards. I wanted to teach Souji-kun how to play if we could find cards that followed the same rule sets. They sure look like they do. Did you want to come?"

"Hey, no one said anything about that!" Jounouchi piped up, "If you're buying booster packs, I want to come too!"

"With what money, Jounouchi-kun?" Atem said, an eyebrow raised, "You don't exactly have a job."

"Urk..." Jounouchi said, looking embarassed, "Well... yeah, that..."

"Oh shoot, I completely forgot!" Anzu said. Most of the group looked at her, "I went by a store recently, and they had this big poster up that said something about having to pull their current stock of cards for copyright reasons!"

"Copyright...?" Teddie looked confused.

"Who could make that claim?" Honda asked.

"I dunno, but that's what the poster said," Anzu said. She thought for a moment, "Oh, but I think there was something about a new set coming out on the first of next month, which is like three days from now. I should have gone in and asked for details... I mean, if they had to pull them due to copyrights, does that mean the new owners are rereleasing them? That seems awfully quick action, doesn't it? And Honda-kun's right, it does seem a bit odd..."

Atem's eyes widened, "Has anyone talked to Kaiba lately?"

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Atsuro sat down. He gave a nervous grin as Yuugi noted he hadn't hardly touched his food. "I guess I wasn't as hungry as I thought I was. We never ate a lot back when I was with Abel, so I'm not really used to having a lot of food at once."

That would work. It was obvious they'd made the (completely correct) assumption that thinking about Abel was what was making him depressed. If he talked about Abel without looking depressed, they would at least worry less.

"First of the month, huh..." Kanji said to himself. "Oh yeah, isn't that your birthday, Sempai?"

Souji nodded. Minato blinked and looked toward Souji.

"Your birthday's coming up and you didn't even tell us?!"

"I don't like making a big deal about it since it's on New Years," Souji said.

Everyone looked toward Atem as he brought up Kaiba. Atsuro frowned, and thought about something before speaking up.

"Wait, I thought Pegasus had the copyright on Duel Monsters?" Atsuro asked.

"It's possible Kaiba-san might have taken advantage of Pegasus not being on the island to claim copyright here," Naoto commented.

[mugenginga]

"Really?" Yuugi looked surprised at Kanji's words.

"I can eat it!" Teddie said, looking at the barely touched dessert in front of Atsuro.

"Did everyone need to-go boxes?" asked Anzu.

Atem gave a nod towards Atsuro and Naoto, "Last time we saw Kaiba, he looked like he was moving out of his apartment. It was when we asked him to watch the Items, so I didn't take the time I should have to consider the reasons. He would have had to argue the point that he has more claim to the cards than the people before him. I have no doubt if he took that effort he found a way to lay claim to it over Pegasus as well."

"Wait, do we have to worry?" Jounouchi said, "I mean, we can summon Ka from the cards from our world, right? What if a bunch of those cards are knocking around?!"

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Minato raised his hand at the to-go box question. "Yeah, get me and Ryoji both one."

Atsuro frowned as Jounouchi brought up the Ka. After a moment, he smiled and shook his head. "I highly doubt he'll be able to manufacture cards that can summon Ka. He'll be making these using presses from this world; whatever it was that made the cards able to summon Ka in this world is only from you guys' world."

He looked over at Teddie, and pushed the pastry over toward him. "Eat up."

"We should probably test these new ones just in case, though. I'd hate to think of what would happen if normal people could get their hands on this kind of power," Souji said. "Oh, Teddie, you can have mine too, if you're still hungry. I don't think I'm going to finish my meal either."

[mugenginga]

Atem seemed surprised by what Jounouchi said. He thought for a moment and shook his head.

"I don't understand it, actually. Back in Ancient Egypt, only people who used the Millenium Items could summon Ka," Atem paused and shook his head, "The only exception I know of was the woman who sacrificed her life and Ka for Set, Kisara I think her name was."

"Honda-kun can use them, though," Yuugi noted, "So Souji-kun might be right... we should look into it."

Teddie blinked as pretty much everyone gave their food to him. Anzu had nodded and gone off before Atem had reacted to Jounouchi-tachi's statements. He pulled Atsuro's in front of him since it was closest and began eating. He frowned.

"Thanks Anzu!" Ryoji said as she walked off.

"Ka are those not Persona monster things, right?" he asked.