fluffydeathdealer | [CAMPUS/IC]

[Malik was sitting at the table by now, eating from a plate of sliced mango and grapes. When Bakura walks into the kitchen he raises a hand to him in a silent, but friendly greeting.

The presence of the knife in the other man's hand doesn't go unnoticed though, and Malik does what he can to simply look back at his plate of food. It would be even more suspicious if he stared...so he'll just push a piece of mango around idly as he chews.

There was no way Bakura had noticed that quickly; he was just being paranoid. After all, Malik had put a fraction of his soul into the Ring that had managed to go unnoticed until it made itself known.]

[Bakura ignores him utterly, tugging open the cupboards and looking for something. Here... This looks fragile enough. This bowl is just frail china. This is a revenge that runs cold and still, like a creature from the depths of the ocean that can barely move unaided.

Setting it on the counter, he sets the knife beside, resting his hand on top of it. Energy seems to surge inside of him.

This is going to be uncomfortable.

Soul Transfer!

It's like something ripping away inside of him as he forcibly tears the soul fragment out, throwing it into the bowl as he keeps his back to Malik, shielding his actions from sight.]

Did you have fun while I slept, Malik?

[His voice is pleasantly cheerful.]

[Malik felt a twinge of something in his chest, unexplained and worrying. He hadn't been looking at Bakura, and so he hadn't the slightest idea of what he'd done.

The voice seemed cheerful enough though, so maybe it really was just paranoia.]

I got some training done...and managed to summon a 5-star monster for the first time.

Is that so...? I'm impressed. But you know, Malik...

[Lifting the knife, he slides it back into its sheath - currently placed under his sleeve - and picks up the bowl.]

You've been a very bad boy. If you'd admitted what you did, I might not have felt the need to go this far.

DISAPPEAR! You trespassing piece of shit fragment!

[Whirling, he throws the bowl at the ground, with all the strength he can muster, his foot slamming down onto the pieces that were left.]

Wait--! [Malik's eyes widen, the realization that Bakura knew sinking in swiftly and deeply. He went to stand, to reach out and stop Bakura from whatever he planned to do when that bowl was shattered on the floor.

In his chest, he could feel something else shatter, and the pieces carved at his insides. He could feel it so vividly...a part of himself had died.]

A-aaghh! [Malik fell back against the chair, his hands twisting in the fabric of his shirt as he trembled in pain.]

Edited 2013-10-08 18:12 (UTC)

...

This is the punishment for betraying me, Malik Ishtar.

[He expects guilt, but feels little of it. Strange. His anger seems to have swallowed his guilt down, like a hungry beast. It's just a fragment. Malik will recover. But...

Turning on his heel, he steps over to Malik, pushing his plate aside to sit on the table beside him and look him over. What pain... it's exciting to see. Malik's body wracked with tremors of pain, his body helpless...

He moves to place his feet either side of Malik, on the edges of the chair.]

Do you understand?

[The pain was starting to dull, but Malik's shoulders were still shaking, his breath coming out in laboured gasps as he kept his head bowed and his eyes out of sigh from Bakura.

He wasn't exactly mad at Bakura; frustrated and annoyed was more like it. Malik knew this was a possibility, and it had been a risk he was willing to take. He just didn't know it would hurt like this.]

Yeah...yeah. [He swallows, relaxing a little as the pain starts to become more tolerable.] I understand.

[He'd expected more anger, but it seemed Malik was resigned to his punishment. How weak... But it made things easier for him. There was a concern in the back of his mind, though. Malik had already sealed two fragments that he knew of before this one. If he was so free and easy with his soul, how many pieces was it in? Surely even Malik wouldn't tear his soul apart that far?]

But, Malik... it's strange that you're so willing to split your soul apart. How many fragments do you even have?

[Oh, Malik would get Bakura back for this later in one petty way or another...but for now he just didn't want to hurt anymore. He was never good at dealing with pain.]

How many...? I don't know. Uh...

[He falls quiet, trying to tally up the fragments he'd made...

There was the Ring, the sheath, the now-smashed bowl, Strings, Arkana, Seeker, Bandit Keith, Jounouchi, Lumis, Umbra, Anzu...Harriet...a handful of other Ghouls he needed to control from a distance...]

Twenty or so?

..."Twenty or so"?

...you don't even know?

Twenty or so...?

[His lip curls in distaste.]

WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SAYING THAT SO CASUALLY FOR?!

What kind of idiot splits his soul so many times that he doesn't know about it?!

Soul fragments are meant to be handled with care and made only under extreme circumstances!

[Malik's brow twitches as he's yelled at, and while he's still in too much residual pain to really bark back, his words are cold and firm enough that it has the same effect.]

The Rod doesn't work from a distance. I needed soul fragments in order to control the Ghouls and others from afar. My plans wouldn't have worked without them. It hardly matters anyway...as long as I can finish what I set out to do.

Idiot! If you're not careful, there'll be nothing of your soul left! You'll never reach your goal if you keep splitting your soul until there's nothing left to keep going on!

Tch...I'll be fine. Besides, before coming here, I was almost there.

[The Battle City Finals...it was cruel to have been ripped from home when he was so close to the finish line.]

I wouldn't have needed to set any more fragments if it weren't for coming here.

Kh... I'm three thousand years old and I don't have as many fragments as you!

[Leaning over, he grabs Malik by the shoulders.]

Malik... please. Promise me you won't make many more of them.

[The grab surprises him and Malik tenses in response. He looks Bakura straight in the eyes, defiant.]

I'll make whatever I have to.

...

[Letting go of him, he sits back.]

It's your funeral.

I'll be fine. I'm sick of you not having any faith in me, Bakura... I'd stop if I felt too weak, but the fragments I've been putting in most people have been small.

I have no faith in you because you don't give me reason to have any! Respect has to be earned, Malik, not demanded.

You insolent...are you saying you don't respect me?! After everything we've been through...!

[Beneath that rising fury, Malik sounded hurt.]

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