fluffydeathdealer | [CAMPUS/IC]

[Malik watches and feels that affectionate gesture against his skin, his anger cooling with it.]

You are the same. [He says flatly, taking his hand back and pulling the glove over it.]

We're... [His fingers were still gripping the edge of his glove, stuck there in mid-motion. Where had he even been going with this...?]

[Resting his arms on his knees and looking down at Malik from the table, he ponders it.]

We're both new to this. It's only natural.

[Sigh.]

But you know, I'm worried about you.

... [Malik hunches over, wishing he could rest his head. All of this...it reminded him of being a child again. The novelty, the intrigue, and the fright of it all.]

[A bit of irritation enters his voice again.] I hear that enough from Rishid and my Sister. I'm doing what I have to do--and as long as it doesn't let that other half of myself out again, I don't care!

But it might.

[His voice is quiet. Sitting back, he looks at the ceiling, almost expressionlessly. It's an eerie look for his usually expressive face.]

The more your soul divides, the weaker you'll get. And the more easily he'll be able to corrupt it.

...Why? [His voice is soft, almost a whisper. Malik's head droops then, his eyes pointed to the floor. It was a desolate sight, a defeated look on what was usually such a confident boy.]

Why do I have that thing inside of me...?

[His gaze softens at the sight and he shakes his head despondently. He has no idea what to say. It must be hard, having something like that inside of you.]

I don't know. If it was possible to separate him from you, I would... but it's not within my power.

[It was frightening. Whenever he thought about it, Malik felt as if the darkness itself was going to swallow him up.

There was nobody who could possibly understand what it felt like...to have something inside you that would destroy everything you cared about the instance it had the chance. To be trapped in your own body, out of control and blind to the world around you.

...Wait.

There was someone who might understand. Malik himself had told that boy he understood how he felt not that long ago. But the last thing he wanted to do was reach out for comfort from Ryou, of all people. Even if that kind-hearted fool had held him when he was having nightmares...]

I know...it's fine.

[There was nothing he could do. Bakura had no idea how it felt to be as vulnerable as Malik must. He didn't know what it was like to be afraid of yourself, to hide from yourself, to know that you could wake up to find everything you loved gone. He was discomfitted enough by what it felt like to care for someone at all.

But despite Malik's words, he knew it wasn't fine. His rage was gone, his irritation dimmed. There was little he could do save for this. Slipping off of the table, he drew Malik into his arms in a tight embrace.]

...I do respect you. Even if I don't act like it.

[Malik doesn't try to deny himself the comfort of Bakura's embrace. He just doesn't have the strength for it.

All he can do is press his face into the other man's shoulder and sit there, one hand lifting up to rest at Bakura's side as he tried to ignore the numbness taking over him.

If splitting his soul really made it easier for his other half to corrupt him...maybe it was too late. Maybe that's why he was able to come out in the first place.]

Bakura...

[He brings a hand up to cup the back of Malik's head, fingers stroking through his hair. He keeps forgetting how young Malik really is. There's still only a small amount of guilt, but it grows the more he sees Malik like this. It's a spiral of unending darkness.]

What is it?

Nothing. I was just saying your name.

[It was kind of silly, now that he thought about, but...

Whatever. He was just going to stay in this hold as long as Bakura would allow it, slowly easing his worries down to their usual tolerable toxicity.]

...heh. I see.

[He lets the hold stay until he feels Malik is safe to let go, before drawing back to look at his face seriously.]

How are you feeling?

[While still looking melancholy, Malik looks considerably less hopeless and desolate than before.]

Better... [He lifts his scared hand, looking down at the glove wordlessly. Despite everything...he still wanted to put a fragment of his soul directly into Ryou's body.

Maybe that would have been a better idea than the knife. Chances are Bakura wouldn't have even noticed.]

But I didn't expect it to go away that easily either. Until I'm sure my alter ego can't take over...I'm always going to feel like this.

It's like a knife hanging over our heads... that guy. Keh...! I'll rip him out of your mind someday!

[With that sharp threat, he looks around thoughtfully. The shards can be left for Ryou to clean up... Malik probably won't feel like food... Nope, nothing of too much interest to be done to distract him. Too bad. But he has to do something...]

With any luck, we'll be out of here soon anyway. He'll surely disappear then.

["Our heads". No, wasn't it just his? But Bakura cared about him, and he cared if that alter ego took over. In that sense, he was in this with him...he had something to lose, too. That thought alone was comforting.]

That's right. Once I kill the Pharaoh, my other half won't have anything to fuel it. That's why getting out of here is so important.

[But wait, hadn't Henry said something about that? It's coming back to him now, those words that stuck with him so firmly at the time. "Hatred and rage are a terrible burden . . . with no end and no way to satiate it."

Even if he succeeded, and he was sure he would...would that other half of him still remain?]

Edited 2013-10-09 23:21 (UTC)

That brat won't know what's coming to him... Heh.

[Taking a seat on the table again, he swings his legs idly, looking for all the world the picture of an ordinary teenager.]

But you don't look too confident... are you going soft on me?

[Malik gives a shake of his head, clearing his doubts by pressing them back into his subconscious.]

No, of course not! I've only been getting stronger. I wasn't lying earlier, you know. I really did summon a 5-star monster. And that reminds me...

[That confidence of his seems to be coming back with a vengeance.] Harriet gave me a "hint"...she'll definitely fall into my hands soon.

...? A hint about what?

[Bakura stares at Malik as if he's grown another head. Could he be talking about the Ra thing?]

Awhile ago, I asked Harriet to teach me her style of dueling in exchange for the use of my Rod--I told you that already. She refused, of course...but then about a week ago she approached me on the beach.

[Malik leaves out a lot of the finer details. His brooding mood at the time and what he'd told Harriet when he'd shown her his back, for one.]

She asked me to consider my deck...what was my favourite card, and do I feel a connection with my cards. It sounded like nonsense at first, but the more I thought about the way I summon my monsters--especially the higher-level ones--the more it started to make sense.

Keh keh...she'll crack soon, I can feel it! [His teeth flash in a grin, and Malik reaches back to pull out his deck.]

I didn't really care for most of the cards in my deck, to be honest. I picked most of them based on how rare and powerful they were, since my Rare Hunters left me with plenty to spare...

So for this exercise, I've been trying to build a new deck.

Edited 2013-10-10 01:31 (UTC)

...

You're that mediocre a duelist...?

[Only picking strong cards with no strategy beyond their rarity... how pathetic. Even Ryou and Jounouchi picked their decks with more care than that.]

... [What--]

What do you mean mediocre?! I almost beat the Pharaoh myself twice, and you've never even seen me duel!

There's way more to dueling than just having strong monsters. Even with the weaker monsters in my deck, I almost beat him twice myself.

I have strategies too! You haven't even seen my Ra or Osiris decks!

[Not that he has it right now. Quite a few of the cards had to be put into his new deck that he was currently shuffling in his hands, expression sour.]

Tch...anyway. I was testing my connections by reaching inside the cards. I noticed out of the ones I could summon, some lower-level ones were easier than others...

Edited 2013-10-10 01:53 (UTC)

Ah, is that so? They must be the ones that resonate best with you.

[Right, good, change the subject before he ends up either punched in the dick or dumped like a sack of bricks.]

The ones 'closest to your heart' can be felt out quite easily, right?

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