fluffydeathdealer | [CAMPUS/IC] II

[Kai turning up here isn't exactly strange, or at least it hasn't been this last week. No, no matter how 'usual' it was, it would always be strange. But him yelling and banging at the door? That was utterly bizarre. The door creaks open after a moment, Bakura's confused eyes staring out through the gap at him.]

Will you be goddamn specific for once in your life? Who. Do. You. Want. To. Talk. To?

[...huh? Except something's wrong. Unlike the recent appearances of this week, Kai was acting... stranger than usual. His voice is panicked, his eyes wide... And what the fuck is he holding a cloak and a sword for?

Bakura hesitates, then tugs the door open.]

Come in. I'll bring Ryou out if you're looking for him.

[The door opening is a relief; even the fact that the Creeper's the one behind it is. Kai doesn't bother to answer his question, because he doesn't know. Instead he just shoves the cloak and sword at Bakura as he stumbles inside, going to drop onto his couch. He doesn't give a damn how rude it is.

Well, if it'd been Ryou...]

Karasu's gone.

[Yeah, straight to the point. It's about all he can manage at the moment, since it feels like he can't quite catch his breath.]

What did you say?!

[Bakura's voice is filled with disbelief. Gone? She was... gone? His first thought is the other Malik, who's skulking around somewhere, but 'dead' wasn't the same as 'gone' in a place like this. Gone meant... well, gone. It was a loaded and troubling word. He pushes the door shut numbly, clicking it closed.]

You're sure?

[Wait. Wait, why is he asking, the island is only five miles long! There isn't a part of it that's not in his range!

Snatching the Ring, he focuses on it. Karasu... Find Karasu for me right now, he orders, and the prongs lift, chime and waver in the air... and then go dead.]

...kh...

[His dragon... was gone? The girl who'd tried to be his friend even after finding out he'd been lying to her for months... was gone? Karasu, whose brightness was painful as it was drawing, was... gone?

He sat down on the ground suddenly, right where he was standing.]

She's gone.

[Kai just watches him check with the Ring, a small, humorless smile crossing his face. Lot of good that thing'll do.]

Been everywhere. She just...isn't.

[Oh. Well, at least he's not the only one taking it badly. This is nice. Kai starts to pull his feet onto the couch but remembers his shoes at the last second, dropping his feet back onto the floor.]

I went to- to take her those. [He gestures toward the cloak.] I'd forgotten...I'd forgotten her. And she's not anywhere.

I just missed somewhere, right?

[Right? The Ring's actually wrong, and Kai just skipped a place.]

...

Don't be a fool. This thing... can't be thrown off so easily.

[Bakura lets it drop to his chest. His lip curls, draws back to expose those sharp fangs of his - Ryou doesn't have them, so where the hell do they come from? - as he mulls this over.

Malik - crazy, Harriet - comatose. Anubis, fine, for now. Henry - pretty much missing in action, for how much he'd seen him recently. Sera - missing. Karasu - missing... He focuses on the other Ryou suddenly, not knowing or caring why. That kid was just a backup body... that's all. But he was warmth, and light, and human. He might do for occasional company, until he can find a way to dose Malik with the antipsychotic medication that the nurse had given him. The Ring picks him up just fine. That was good... he wasn't alone.

Otherwise, they might as well... have just stuck him back in the Ring. Where there was nothing but emptiness. He needs more power. More of it, more of it, he needs to get back and open the Gate and never have to put up with being under someone else's control again!

Anubis whines, sensing Bakura's worry, and comes out of the bedroom to go lick his face concernedly. Without even looking around, Bakura lifts a hand to pet him.]

This place... can go right to hell!

Got to have hope, right?

Right. Hope. Hope that he'll get out of here and back to 'Jem. Hope that he can make things right with Karasu. But-

So much for that.]

Only just decided on that now, huh? [Kai rubs at his eyes, trying to force the tears away. He doesn't need to be doing this crap here, in front of him. Talk about endless teasing.]

...Why do they keep leaving...

[It's almost a whisper, and then he shrugs. Who cares. He's done with this.]

I'm done. Screw it.

...'hope'?

[Bakura's voice is filled with mocking.]

Hope is what you have when you don't have the power to do anything. It's a pitiful human thing... A mere crutch.

[He can't... just collapse like this. These wretched, pitiful, worthless human emotions... He has to crush them. Getting up, unsteady though it is, he doesn't look at Kai.]

Don't give her the luxury of making you break. If your other crutches are gone, then cling to your sanity out of spite. You've weathered worse things. Even if it doesn't feel like it.

After all, it's not like even death is an escape from this.

[Is he talking to Kai, or to himself? It's not exactly clear. Perhaps both.]

Edited 2014-04-16 00:12 (UTC)

It worked pretty well up to this point.

[Just...going to slouch into the couch here. He should go. He knows that. But he's tired...and his chest hurts.

Light damn it.]

Wasn't talking about death. Was-

[Kai raises a hand, summoning Howling Flame. It's the closest thing to a not-Light aligned Keyblade he's got, aside from Heart's Shadow. It shouldn't bother Bakura all that much, though he's not sure why he cares.]

This. And people too, I guess.

[Except he's not sure what he means about the Keyblade. What, just not do it anymore? But that's ridiculous. He's always wanted to be a hero.

Not like he's done such a great job anyway, and without her...

Howling Flame vanishes, and Kai shifts to sit up properly, eyeing Bakura. If she was really his friend...had he actually given a damn?]

So what now?

[Why's he asking him of all people?]

[Bakura's expression flickers at the sight of that. It's interesting... How many of those things does Kai even have? It's like he has a hammerspace closet of Keyblades.]

I meant... that since death was no escape, the only true escape here is to go mad. And I doubt you'd make a good lunatic.

[His words hold little of his usual mocking humor. This entire situation... bugs him. Karasu had told him about her past, about her home... She didn't deserve to go back to that loneliness. If she'd been one of the few that wanted to leave, like Malik, even if he'd had to be left behind, he wouldn't have cared. But the small part of him that's capable of feeling sorry for people is tuned on her now.]

Now? I don't know. I don't even know what I'm going to do, let alone what you should.

I know what I want to do, but... [His fist hits the wall suddenly and sharply.]

I don't have the power to destroy this place and make it stick.

[Feeling powerless like this is a bitch.]

[Sadly, only four. Five if you include the Keychain for the Blue Eyes that Karasu made him, which Kai is trying desperately not to think about.]

I don't think I could go crazy. Not that lucky. ...The Heartless didn't count, that was a lapse in judgment. [Yeah, downplay that all you want Kai, it doesn't change the fact it happened.]

Maybe if you just kept trying, it would. Or if you had more energy to draw from.

[He sounds eerily serious about that. Enough that he seems to realize it and drags himself up to collect what he brought with him.]

I've got to get rid of these. Can't keep them. Hell I'm putting them back where I found them though, with what happened last time. Wish I could remember any of that.

Heh... I wonder if it can be called a lapse... or a smart move. Sometimes one has to make moves they don't agree with in order to eliminate a threat. Whether it's to sacrifice themselves or others... it comes down to whether they're capable of living with their choice.

[More energy...? Perhaps. The magic generated by the Ring isn't enough for anything major.]

My power is nothing compared to that woman. If the Gate was already open... I'd be able to crush her. But I can't open it unless I return home, and I can't return home until either she wills it or we find a way out.

I doubt all the darkness in your Corridors could boost me enough. Though I'd be willing to try.

[But what it would do to his host, he doesn't know.]

Leave them here, if you like. I'm sure my roommate won't mind.

[Being comatose and all.]

...I sure wasn't as long as she was involved.

[But she's not now, is she? It's not like Karasu's coming back, is it? All he's got to keep himself out of trouble is himself...and Ryou, if he bothers to drag him into it.]

I'd rather vote lapse. I'm not completely screwed up yet. [By which he means that no, he's not serious about helping out with the Darkness, even if he sounded so before. But to clarify:]

I'm not. It might get us out, but I don't want Ryou hurt.

[He still feels bad about that, damn it.

Wait a second. Roommate?]

But Ma- [Shutting up now.] Going to give Anubis the sword as a chew toy?

Too bad! I'll admit I've been fascinated by your particular brand of darkness since day one. Not that I ever made a secret of it.

But you're right about that... I don't want my host ruined.

[Even if he has a spare. Ah. That's right... that kid slipped.]

...

I know. Malik's no longer living here. But a friend of mine is taking shelter here. Hence the locks.

Anubis might like it. We got him a lot of toys, but animals always seem to enjoy the ones you don't get specifically for them.

...Anything in particular you want to see?

[Oh Light, oh Light, what is he even saying. Kai frowns at himself before looking toward the bedroom, then glancing back at the door.] Maybe you could try reinforcing the door with magic. The library's got enough books, you could probably learn something.

[He's only briefly entertaining the idea of suggesting Barrier, but he doesn't think he could hold someone else's door while he was across Campus, and the hell he'd stay here, even temporarily.]

Ah- yeah, they do. Surge likes my sneakers. But- [Unconsciously, Kai's grip on the sword and cloak tighten.] I worked really hard on this, and the cloak was a pain to find, so maybe...Maybe I'll just keep them someplace out of sight. In case... [Giving up her things so the dog could chew on them would just be a betrayal, whether she comes back or not.]

I'm fascinated by any of the things you're capable of. Your corridors... your spells... and even your summons.

[Huh...? Learn magic to secure it properly?]

I? ...it's possible. But I don't know the first thing about magic. Though it would be a great advantage.

[Ah... yeah. That's an unfortunate thought. The idea that Karasu might come back... it's possible, and if she did... having discarded her things would be sorrowful.]

...yeah. You should keep them. And hope.

[...didn't he just basically say hope was pathetic?]

[Cue the eyebrow raise. Yeah, what was that about hope? But he doesn't comment on it, instead going to lay both sword and cloak gently on the couch before crossing over to Bakura.]

The book I learned Barrier out of...it's not magic from my world, but I was still able to make it work. And- ['And Karasu learned Blizzard and Cure from me' nearly follows before he chokes it back.] -you could probably manage that. You'd just have to be careful not to let too much Darkness feed into it, I'm not sure how much it affects the spell.

[To demonstrate, Kai holds out his left hand, making sure he's not pointing at Bakura. Accidents would be bad (and probably considered intentional). The spell activates, the air solidifying with it's usual translucent sky blue tint. The barrier's not that big, about the width and height of a binder.]

This is what it usually looks like, and it can hold up to some pretty decent hits. Drawback, you tend to feel an echo of the impact.

[Kai's nose wrinkles at the memory. Drawback number two, it's a pretty draining spell if held in place for a long while, but he doesn't feel the need to tell him that yet.]

This is what it looks like when you feed Darkness into it.

[Kai turns so he's facing the door, and the spell expands to cover the entirety of it, the blue bleeding away to the familiar purple and black.]

[He raises an eyebrow as Kai comes over, not sure whether or not to back away. He decides not to, not least of all because it'd look weak. Instead, he watches, as Kai draws out the spell.

He's seen it fed with darkness before, once. But for Kai to do it intentionally is interesting. He would have flinched away from it before, wouldn't he?]

You do that so easily... it's quite interesting. Seeing you feeding the darkness into your spells... it shows a level of control you didn't have before.

[He reaches out to touch the spell, curiously.]

I've spent a lot more time practicing since I tried to kill you.

[It's said matter-of-factly, and Kai shoves his hands into his pockets, just watching Bakura reach out. It'll feel weird, he knows, almost like tapping on a piece of Jello...except somehow much more solid.]

And if it amps up my magic some, why not.

[It's not like he's hurting anyone this way.]

Heh... Do you ever think of anything else?

[He admires it, though he'd never say it. Growing stronger. Growing more powerful, in order to win, to destroy one's enemies. Though the kid needs to have more fun... Lots more fun. But it doesn't matter. It's not as if he actually cares.

The feel of it is absurd. But the solidity... A barrier like this might be useful. He's seen Kai's barriers stand up to one of his strongest monsters. If he can learn this... Heh. It might be useful indeed.]

You said you found this spell in the library?

What, killing you or practicing?

[There's an amused little smirk playing around his mouth before Kai shrugs, moving on.]

Yeah. It was in a massive book...I've still got it, I don't know if there are any other copies.

[He's keeping the book, by the way, if Bakura can't find another one, so tough.]

Guess you could come bug me about it if there aren't.

[Okay, he needs to distract himself from thinking about Karasu, but he's pretty sure this is the wrong way to do it.]

Either. Both seem to be your focus of late! I feel rather flattered!

[Hoh... if there is no other copy, then that will be a problem, but...]

I'm going to have to, it seems! I don't wish to have my guest eliminated... so I'll gladly spend as much time as I have to forcing myself into your presence!

Of course, you could spare yourself the indignity of having me as an unwanted companion... and just lend me the book in that case!

[What is he getting himself into.] Well, I promised-

[But she's not here to see it, is she...but he can't.] You're like a cockroach, I don't think a nuke would take you out. So I should just focus on finding a better brand of bug spray.

[He snickers, letting the spell dissolve. Oh, that's much better. He's happy it's not as exhausting as it was the first time he used it like that.]

Uh, no. I'd rather put up with you than let it out of my sight.

[Really, Kai's very possessive of his magic books. Hell, any of his books.]

You're smarter than Sibyll. She had the bizarre believe that a nuclear weapon would destroy me. How foolish... Mortal weapons cannot even scratch this Ring. I've yet to run into any force that could.

[And as long as the Ring exists... so shall he. Unless his soul is destroyed. Thinking of that... this truly is folly, to grow attached to the short-lived mortals.]

Then you'd better get used to my presence, it seems.

Really? How'd you convince her otherwise? Or don't I want to know? [He probably doesn't.] The Keyblade's the same way.

[He's yet to run into anything to prove otherwise, anyway.]

...This is just going to be disturbing all around.

I just let her try to destroy it. Same with that kid with the bandanna. She didn't have any nukes, but she tried a few other things and gave up.

...though she threw it into the sea in a fit of rage afterwards. I still haven't bothered to let her know I'm still around.

[He snickers darkly, amused by the mental image.]

And yet you chose this fate...

[CAMPUS/IC] II

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