[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

[obeytherod]

[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.

[fluffydeathdealer]

[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?

[obeytherod]

[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?

1/?

[fluffydeathdealer]

..."Twenty or so"?

2/?

[fluffydeathdealer]

...you don't even know?

3/?

[fluffydeathdealer]

Twenty or so...?

[His lip curls in distaste.]

4/?

[fluffydeathdealer]

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

5/6

[fluffydeathdealer]

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

6/6

[fluffydeathdealer]

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

[obeytherod]

[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.

[fluffydeathdealer]

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!

[obeytherod]

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.

[fluffydeathdealer]

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.

[obeytherod]

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

I'll make whatever I have to.

[fluffydeathdealer]

...

[Letting go of him, he sits back.]

It's your funeral.

[obeytherod]

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.

[fluffydeathdealer]

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

[obeytherod]

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

[Beneath that rising fury, Malik sounded hurt.]

[fluffydeathdealer]

Why not? It's obvious that you don't respect me.

[Folding his arms over his chest, he looks away.]

If you did, you'd treat me like a person instead of acting like I'm some sort of toy for your amusement.

[obeytherod]

Fool. I already told you... [He doesn't want to say it again...that Bakura was more than just a "thing" to him. It was hard enough the first time.]

[Malik reaches down, pulling off one of his fingerless biker gloves so he can show Bakura the scar stretched across his palm.]

If you were just a toy...I wouldn't have done this! I'm not beyond manipulating others to achieve my own goals, but what benefit would this possibly have for me? It's not like you listen to a damn thing I say anyway!

[fluffydeathdealer]

...

[He moves to take Malik's hand, pressing a light kiss to the scar. That's right... As unkind as Malik acted, he had made that promise regardless, hadn't he?

A sigh ghosts over the raised flesh as he lets it go.]

I listen. But the way you talk is sometimes... a lot colder than that. Sometimes it sounds like you don't care for me at all.

Heh... I guess I'm the same, aren't I? Old habits die hard.

[obeytherod]

[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...?]

[fluffydeathdealer]

[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.

[obeytherod]

... [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!

[fluffydeathdealer]

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.