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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Oct 30, 2011 21:46:35 GMT -5
Atsuro gave a small nod. He had a feeling he knew what Sugoroku was doing with this little interrogation session. He couldn't just dodge the question again; he wasn't Naoya, able to hide his feelings and bury them down and pretend he didn't have any at all.
"Yeah," Atsuro answered. "He got mixed up in some bad stuff thanks to his cousin, the girl he liked left him, and now he's... gone."
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Post by mugenginga on Oct 30, 2011 21:54:38 GMT -5
Sugoroku looked away, his head still facing forward but granting Atsuro a break from his eye direction. He undid his arms and folded his hands up, putting the formed fist on his lap. He still hadn't sat back from leaning forward. It was impossible to tell what he was really thinking, Atsuro had figured that out already, but unlike Naoya he seemed inclined to have more than one surface emotion. The silence didn't seem to exist for reasons of making the air awkward, at least not intentionally, a contrast to before.
He returned his focus to Atsuro before speaking again, "Have you told Yuugi about this? I don't mean the overall situation. He probably knows that much, even if you haven't told him directly. He's smart, but he's still young, even though he's been through a lot. You'd know about that if you now about the Items and the Tome."
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Oct 30, 2011 22:45:48 GMT -5
Atsuro's eyes drifted to his feet as Sugoroku went on. No he hadn't told Yuugi much more than the overall situation. He knew how Yuugi would react if he found out that Atsuro had lost the will to live, and that the only reason he was staying around was because he was still useful to him.
Hell, that was half the reason he'd stayed around after K1 had become Abel. Sure, he'd sensed the friend in there, and he'd held on to his faith that K1 remained somewhere in there, but most importantly, he was useful to Abel. Someone who found him important even after what he'd done to ruin his world.
"Not really," Atsuro said. "I told him the situation when I moved in but nothing since then... He doesn't need to know any more than that anyways. I can't move on if I keep bringing it up..." He gave a tired chuckle. "I guess I'm not doing too good of a job of that right now, huh?"
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Post by mugenginga on Oct 31, 2011 21:56:21 GMT -5
Sugoroku's expression didn't really change as Atsuro spoke. He put his hands on his knees, paused, scratched his knees, and then folded up his hands again. There'd been a frown there for a moment, but it wasn't aimed at Atsuro for some reason. He gave a sigh.
"Do you consider Yuugi a friend?"
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Oct 31, 2011 22:53:07 GMT -5
Did he? After a moment's consideration, Atsuro decided he didn't. Not in the way he had been friends with K1 and Yuzu and Keisuke, anyways. He and Yuugi enjoyed each other's company, and had been able to open up to each other, and Yuugi probably considered him a friend too, but Atsuro didn't quite feel that close to him yet. He wondered if he'd be able to get that close to someone again after what he'd done.
He shook his head. "We really only just met. K1 mentioned Yuugi a lot before, and we talked before, but I honestly only asked him if I could stay because I had nowhere else to go."
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Post by mugenginga on Nov 1, 2011 7:13:42 GMT -5
And for the first time in the whole conversation, Sugoroku actually looked surprised. His eyes widened and he looked ready to jerk up, although for some reason he caught halfway through the motion. He grimaced for a moment and looked to the side, reaching towards his lower back and rubbing it with one hand.
There was a pause, and rather than seeming planned or any sort of manipulative, Sugoroku seemed to be trying to figure out how to respond. He frowned towards himself for a moment before pulling out Atsuro's papers again and looking at them. He flicked the edges up in a rythmic motion, and Atsuro might realize he seemed to be counting them. After that he lifted them up. He didn't appear to be judging Atsuro so much as confused and attempting to solve a riddle.
"You mean to tell me all of this, which should be the job of his defense, is to help Bakura? And nothing else?" Sugoroku said. He'd lost some of the joviality to his voice by this point, "Does Yuugi know you're doing this research? You've told everyone here you've been gone due to a 'job', but this isn't the kind of work a layperson would do."
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Nov 1, 2011 22:10:47 GMT -5
"No, I didn't mean it like that--" Atsuro started, another nervous chuckle seeping into his voice, but he didn't finish his objection on account of Sugoroku moving on to the next subject. He looked down and away from the older man.
"Er, well... no." Atsuro said. "It's not a particularly... well, safe job. But if it'll help him, that's good enough for me."
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Post by mugenginga on Nov 2, 2011 7:51:05 GMT -5
Sugoroku's expression had darkened again, and yet calling him upset would feel wrong to anyone that attempted to do so. Confused didn't cover it either, but it was closer. He stayed leaned over.
"Kihara, whatever you tell me isn't going to go anywhere. Not even Yuugi, although I think you should be telling him these things," Sugoroku said, "And there are a lot of people who'd buy what you're saying, but I spent years dealing with people whose poker faces were so strong, they'd make you look like you were wearing a neon sign informing the world you're lying in comparison."
Sugoroku scratched his chin, "What I'm not sure of is what you're so wrapped up in that you're willing to attempt to lie even though I'm pretty sure you've got a rather strong understanding of how well I'm reading you. I can tell it has to do with what everyone else is wrapped up in, but you've clearly got a different sort of involvement than everyone else. What's so strong about it that you can't bring yourself to say what's really going on?"
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Nov 2, 2011 22:44:15 GMT -5
Well, he'd been right. Sugoroku was at least as good as, if not better than, Naoya at reading people. The idea that this wasn't going to get to Yuugi if he chose to open up to Sugoroku was comforting, though. It seemed that Sugoroku at least knew that something major was going on with their group too, even if Yuugi hadn't quite told him the details about it yet.
"It's..." Dangerous? Secret? So risky that if I fuck up once, Atem's good as dead? "...related to what I did before I came here. And if I screw it up, Bakura and Atem will both be in danger... I don't want anyone else to die because of me."
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Post by mugenginga on Nov 3, 2011 8:23:28 GMT -5
(OOC: That awkward moment when you realize what the hell would this man be like if he'd had multiple lives to build up his "gaming" skills. Also I wouldn't call him better, Atsuro - maybe not even equal, just really good. And uh, less manipulative. XD ...generally. XD)
Sugoroku's expression didn't change as Atsuro answered, hesitation and all. Not even a raised eyebrow or self knowing nod at the end. The most Atsuro got in terms of reaction was the old man looking down at his overalls, running a finger alongside one of the straps as if in introspection. Whatever it was seemed somehow more related to the clothes than Atsuro. He finally looked up.
"And what was that? What you did that got people killed?"
(OOC: I don't know if Atsuro would remember this line, but its a pretty major one present in both the anime and the manga (which points to its importance) so I kind of think he would - whether he'd connect to that or not in his state atm is far more questionable. Young!Sugoroku said during the Egypt flashback that if he ever lost a game, he'd trade in his suit for a pair of overalls and settle down.)
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Nov 3, 2011 22:37:47 GMT -5
Atsuro watched Sugoroku run his finger along the strap with a sense of curiosity. A line from the anime came to his mind, and he couldn't help but wonder how related that was. He wasn't given much time to ponder it, as Sugoroku then asked him about who he'd gotten killed.
"...I didn't try and change K1's mind," Atsuro admitted. "Me and K1 were gathering information that could have let us change something. But one of my friends died while we were still working on that, and the way they died involved the exact same things I was trying to control, and I stopped trying to convince K1. And now K1's gone, Kaido's gone, and Naoya's gone, all because I didn't think to stop Naoya."
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Post by mugenginga on Nov 4, 2011 22:12:55 GMT -5
Sugoroku crossed his arms, which looked kind of awkward given the man had yet to sit up. It was more that they were kind of sort of but not quite resting on his knees. The position looked mildly uncomfortable, and even Sugoroku unfolded them after a moment's thought.
"So the situation was caused because you didn't talk to those closest to you about your concerns?" Sugoroku questioned. There was a definite leading quality to the words. He looked up and to the side as he spoke, as if seeming to indicate something. Not something there, really, but something about the situation Atsuro was currently in, "Friends or not, given your apparent feelings about this Naoya person, the people closest to you?"
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Nov 13, 2011 0:00:44 GMT -5
Atsuro nervously chuckled again, but it was clear his confidence was gone. That was definitely it, when you stripped all of the external details away. He just hadn't talked about his concerns to the person that mattered most to him. He lowered his head so that his face couldn't be seen.
What could he have done? K1 was dedicated to Naoya. Naoya was always right. Naoya was the smartest. If Naoya thought it, then it was the way to go. And Atsuro hadn't thought any different. Even when he'd started having doubts, he'd thought that maybe Naoya was right, maybe they did need to get rid of God to save everyone.
He was wrong, and he was a fool, and it was all his fault.
"Yeah, I guess you could say that," Atsuro "Haha... I'm an idiot, aren't I?"
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Post by mugenginga on Nov 13, 2011 4:17:50 GMT -5
Sugoroku didn't respond to Atsuro for a moment. Given that Atsuro was hanging his head, there was just silence in the room. Perhaps for a full minute, when the old man let out a highly exaggerated sigh and tossed his hands into the air in what seemed to be a shrug. It was hard to tell, even if anyone had actually been looking at him. He was still leaning over.
"If I could actually straighten my back I'd get up and pop you one," Sugoroku said, his tone far more jovial than the words or then it had been during any point of the conversation. His smile if Atsuro looked up was actually pretty light and quite encouraging, "Look, can't say I know what you've done. Were you an idiot? Sure. I could write a book on the stupid things I did when I was younger, not the least of was running off to see the world when I was about your age. What's important is that you see that and start opening up. Even if you don't see Yuugi as a friend, I can promise you he sees you as one. Just talk to him."
"Now would you mind helping an old man out of his chair? This is ridiculous."
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Nov 13, 2011 23:48:31 GMT -5
Atsuro looked up when Sugoroku said he'd pop him a new one if he could get up. He actually hadn't realized the older man couldn't stand up until now. He considered what Sugoroku was saying. So what he needed to do was start opening up to people... yeah, maybe that was his problem. He was being too closed to other people.
He blinked for a second when Sugoroku asked him to help him up. "Oh, sure, hang on a sec." He held his hand out to Sugoroku and pulled the old man up once he took it.
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