[CAMPUS/IC]

[fluffydeathdealer]

[This is a general post for threads that can't go anywhere else, to prevent making closed posts for one or two characters.

Threads here are 100% IC for the_campus.

05/10/13 - A Soft Heart Breaking. (Date Mislabelled on actual thread)
05/10/13 - What Family's For
8/10/13 - Trespass of the Soul
13/10/13 - Fears of the Past
13/10/13 - The Great Evacuation
14/10/13 - A Beach Date! Jokes Spiralling Out of Control
31/10/13 - Questionable Intentions
03/11/13 - Secrets of the Mind]

NEXT

Comments

[awishforfriends]

Sure. Where do you want to go? Should we find an empty dorm?

[fluffydeathdealer]

Un... please. I'd like that.

[He rubs his eyes, feeling the sting of tears, and leads Yugi towards the farthest dorms to the one he came from.]

[awishforfriends]

[Yugi is only getting more and more worried as they go, but once they get to the dorm he moves over to sit on the couch, looking at Ryou worriedly. What could have happened to make him so upset...?]

[fluffydeathdealer]

[Ryou sinks down onto the couch beside him, fingers curling into the fabric of his jeans. He looks paler than usual and fairly drained. How much can he even say? "I just found out the spirit and I are actually the same person and we're both parts of some crazy psychopath from three thousand years ago" doesn't quite cover it. He's already regretting bringing Yugi into it.]

Sorry, Yugi-kun... I don't feel quite well right now. Please don't worry.

[awishforfriends]

...But you're my friend, so I am worrying. After all... friends want to help share pain and problems, right? So you don't have to hide it.

Bakura-kun will always be my friend, no matter what. So you can tell me anything!

[fluffydeathdealer]

Yugi-kun... Please... will you do something for me?

[awishforfriends]

Sure! What is it?

[fluffydeathdealer]

Please... don't call me by that name.

Even if it's impolite... I don't want to be known by that name right now.

[awishforfriends]

[...And suddenly, something clicks. Yugi's face softens some, and he looks over.]

It's because of that "Great Thief King Bakura," isn't it?

[fluffydeathdealer]

...?!

Yugi-kun, you know him-?!

[awishforfriends]

He...

[Yugi debates on how much to say, but if he wants Ryou to be honest with him, then he has to do the same... right?]

He was the one who tried to take my Puzzle... no, he took my Puzzle. Mahad got it back, but...

[His hand drifts down to his leg, resting just above the wound on the knee.]

[fluffydeathdealer]

...

[Ryou reaches out slowly, not touching the wound. He did this... In a way this was his fault.]

Yugi-kun... I'm so sorry...

[Those tears won't stop coming somehow.]

[awishforfriends]

...Ryou-kun, why are you crying? This wasn't your fault at all. You don't have to apologize for anything.

[Remembering Mahad, Yugi gently reaches up to try to dry Ryou's face.]

[fluffydeathdealer]

You're wrong, Yugi... That man...

[His voice shakes and he has to swallow down a sob in order to say it. But he has to say it. It'll be more real if he does, but he has to say it.]

That man and I... are the same.

[awishforfriends]

...What are you talking about?

[Sorry, he's just really confused now, because... eh?]

[fluffydeathdealer]

...

[Right. Right, he has to be clear.]

Yugi, what do you know about reincarnations?

[awishforfriends]

[Reincarnations? Why would that be...

...Ohhhhhhh.]

I know that it's about a soul being born into another body later on after they die. Do you think that you're reincarnated from him?

[fluffydeathdealer]

I don't need to think it. I know it... That man... was me.

[His hands twist into the fabric viciously.]

I'm one third of his soul... and so is the spirit within the Ring. That why... he won't leave me alone.

[awishforfriends]

[So that was it... Yugi tilts his head a little, blinking some. He doesn't seem angry, or even upset, just a little confused. It's bad news about the Ring, but...]

Ah, that's bad... but... why are you so upset, Ryou-kun?

[fluffydeathdealer]

I've been lying to myself all this time. "It's not my fault", "I can't do anything yet", "I didn't hurt them, so stop feeling bad". Things like that.

But...

All that suffering is from my hands. Even if I didn't choose to do it... he and I are the same person after all.

And that guy...

Once he figured it out, he said something frightening.

[awishforfriends]

What are you talking about? You've never done anything bad at all. It was never lies, Ryou-kun... because you didn't do anything at all. You never hurt anyone.

[What could that frightening thing be... it must have been bad. But first thing's first.]

So what if that's what you were before? That's not what you are now. Ryou-kun is who Ryou-kun is! He's not a mean thief, or a bad person, and he's never hurt anyone at all!

Ryou-kun is my really dear friend, after all!

[fluffydeathdealer]

...Yugi...

[The name is spoken in a hushed whisper, almost an exclaimation of surprise. It takes more than words to remove guilt so deep-seated, but even so... for Yugi to say something like that soothes it, dulls the guilt and leaves him wanting nothing more than to just hug the other boy.

So he does, crying into his jacket like a frightened child.]

Yugi-kun, I'm sorry! I shouldn't be thinking things like this...

[awishforfriends]

[Yugi seems surprised about that, but wraps his arms around Ryou after a moment, trying to hug him tightly and give him whatever comfort he can.]

It's okay, Ryou-kun. It's probably scary, isn't it? Mahad told me I was the Pharaoh he knew a long time ago... I thought it was kind of cool. But for someone mean like that... I can't really imagine how it feels.

But... just because they're a part of you doesn't mean that you're guilty! You'd only be guilty if you wanted to do and did it yourself, but you didn't. They're different from Ryou-kun, aren't they? They think differently and do things on their own.

If my other side was mean like yours... would you hate me for what he did?

[fluffydeathdealer]

Of course I wouldn't! I couldn't never hate you.

[Sniff. He's bottled up this guilt for a long time now, and he can't seem to stop the tears even now. But they're almost tears of relief now.]

I've... always blamed myself for not being able to stop him. So finding out like this... just what sort of person I was back then... It's like all of my fears came to life all at once.

But... you're right... Even if that guy is 'me', he isn't me... [Sniff.]

[awishforfriends]

...

[Yugi's hands awkwardly rest on top of Ryou's head, a shy sort of affection to try and help. His friend is hurting... but he told him, and Yugi smiles a little, trying to cheer him up even if he can't see it.]

Ryou-kun... is Ryou-kun. Bakura and the spirit... they aren't Ryou-kun. And Ryou-kun is my friend and always will be no matter what.

That's all there is to it.