tushanshu | 001; video

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001; video

Hello! [The video opens up to a nice shot of Ryou's smiling face, and he's even waving. He seems a little nervous, but it's not enough to deter him from pressing on. After all, if he's going to be stuck here long term he might as well get to know people.]

My name's Bakura Ryou, and I've been here fooor...about a week and a half. This only my second time using the network though, so it's nice to meet you all! I don't usually use things like this, but it's kind of convenient, huh?

[He's quite now, looking thoughtful and worried again. It's a few seconds before he starts up again.]

I enjoy playing games with my friends and cooking... I'm not sure why I was brought here though, because I don't think I'll be much help. The only wars I've fought in were imaginary.

[Ryou nervously fidgets, rubbing the back of his head. There's another awkward silence.]

Speaking of, I bought some tabletop games at the market, but I can't read the directions... Would anybody be able to translate them for me? I wouldn't mind paying for the trouble, since I know it's a lot to ask. [And a lot in general. The directions were quite a few pages long.]

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[ It's the same voice but not; without the need to mimic the teen anymore, Bakura's tone and inflections, even the cadence at which he speaks, are markedly different. ]

The mistaken identity is to be expected, I suppose.

[There's no response from Ryou's end for a few minutes. When he finally does he sounds anxious, but firm.]

Who is this?

Don't play stupid, landlord, it doesn't suit.

Though it seems I have little necessity to call you that now, doesn't it?

[More silence follows...

All illusions Ryou might have had were just swiftly shattered. He's at a complete loss, and somehow the lack of video just makes it worse.]

How...? This doesn't make any sense! You're supposed to be inside the Ring...

[ Ironically, Bakura had left the video feed off as a means of not upsetting Ryou unduly. ]

This place makes a habit of breaking expectations. It was no more disconcerting than arriving in what I thought was your body without you in it.

[How oddly considerate, when Ryou thought he had done it for the exact opposite reason.]

Ah... [What an eerie thought.] But if you were here first, what does that make me?

Aren't you happy not to be defined in terms of each other? I certainly am.

I didn't mean it like that! I meant... [Nevermind. He's not even sure what he meant.] Why do you have the same body as me? And why are you using my name?! It's mine...

[He hesitates a moment after that, trying to find the words and the strength to not sound completely distressed. It's not working out too well.]

And now I keep getting mistaken for you! Do you know how hard it is to convince people I'm me?

Edited (so many edits sorry lmao) 2014-09-05 15:11 (UTC)

I don't know why I look like you; believe me, I don't find it ideal either. As for your name, it was easier to pretend to be you for a while and that's the name people remember. Besides, Bakura was my name first. I'm not giving it up.

The easiest way to correct that is to show people there are indeed two of us. A message like this one with both should solve it.

["I don't find it ideal either." Ryou can't quite figure out if he's feeling indignant or just getting goosebumps. All this coming from the same creep who had once called his body "comfortable"...]

Okay, that makes sense... But where's the catch? Are you really going to help me that easily? [He makes his distrust pretty obvious.]

Simple: I don't want you trying to reclaim the Ring while you're here. Agree to that, and we'll have a deal.

[ He's not sure what the magic of Tu Shanshu will with the the Ring's peculiar method of ownership if they both wanted it and with everything going on, it'd be an inopportune time to find out if it went poorly. ]

Ah... [He sounds disappointed somehow, even if as far as stipulations went this was hardly the worst he could be asked to do.]

I was wondering where it went, when I showed up... [Of course he wanted it back, but what choice did he have? How would he even reclaim it in the first place?]

Does that mean you're still inside of it?

Just be thankful there aren't two.

... Perhaps.

[ He's been in a living body ever since his arrival but he can still feel the connection to the Ring. If someone else were to possess it, would he be rendered intangible as a sport again? That was an unwelcome thought. ]

Come over, then: Huo-Hao, in Fire.

...H-how do I know you won't try to hurt me? [Because honestly, just waltzing into this guy's house by himself seems like a bad idea.]

You can take your chances with those who assume you're me, if you think you'll have better luck there.

Ah... [Ryou trails, mumbling his next words as he finds himself backed into a corner.]

O-okay... I'm in the Wood Sector, so it's going to take me a bit.

I knew you'd see it my way.

Don't mind the turtle downstairs when you get here, although if she likes you, you can have her.

[ He pointedly ignores Emily-Helen's indignant shout in his mind. ]

[Ryou's already regretting this decision. Why was he letting himself get pushed around? There had to be another way to get what he wanted, right?]

Um, okay... I'll see you in a bit. Bye.

[Sometime later, after parking his bike outside the suite. Ryou steels himself and anxious knocks at the front door.]

... [For a moment, he considers running while he still has the chance.]

[ Most days Bakura feels like he has the suite to himself; his two other building mates are scarcely around. He doesn't mind; one he's broken faith with in a falling out and one seems too righteously noble for Bakura to show much inclination to get along with. The thief keeps to himself and they do the same, and it's been working all right for a while.

As promised there is a Volkswagon-sized turtle in the main part of the suite, who greets the knocking with a cheery mental reply, eve though she has no idea who it is. Hello! Please come in, I like visitors! Are you a friend? ]

[Even with all Ryou's unfortunate experience involving disembodied voices in his head, this one still manages to scare him. He whips his head around for a source, but eventually remembers some of the details he was given regarding turtles here. That or he was going crazy.

Figuring that he was invited anyway, Ryou cautiously reaches out to test the handle before pushing the door open. His jaw drops at the sight of the second largest turtle he's ever seen in his life, and then...]

Eeeyyaaah!! [Hi Bakura, Ryou's here.]

Must you do that?

[ Bakura asked as he came down the stairs from the individual second floor suites. This was really the first time they'd see each other in the flesh, and the only other exception being the time they'd faced off over the Monster RPG incident, and even then they'd looked precisely identical, as it had been merely a projection in their minds. Now, with no purpose or intention of mimicking Ryou a second time, Bakura had not bothered to alter each aspect he was used to carefully reproducing. ]

Didn't I just tell you there was a giant turtle in the main room?

[ Don't be rude! Emily-Helen chastises him, though she's yet to find a method of doing so that seems to register with him. (Spoilers: there might not be one.) Instead she ambles sunnily toward Ryou, mental happiness and excitement radiating off her.

Do not mind him! He says things like that all the time. I am Emily-Helen. Oh, you two look very much alike. Why is that? ]

[He just hadn't realized how big the turtle was. That's what Ryou had planned to say before he looked past her and paled at the sight of...his own face. A cold and nauseating dread creeps through him as he takes a step back before freezing in place.

What is now surely the turtle's psychic chatter earns a truly baffled look, and then his eyes are back on the spirit. Never would he have guessed that there would be a day where a giant psychic turtle was the second weirdest thing in the room.]

Y-you really do look...just like me... [No wonder why it was so hard to get people to believe him. He wouldn't have believed him.

Now there were a million more worst case scenarios running through his head.]

Yes, that's why we're making this publicly known.

[ The thief sounds exasperated, like he has better things to be doing than coaching his (former??) host through this step by step. ]

And don't be rude, you're ignoring my... [ a vague gesture at Emily-Helen ] ... ward.

Huh? Oh! [Ryou looks back at the turtle.]

...Um, I'm sorry about that. I'm a little distracted, s-so I'll speak with you in a bit. [He gives a small and polite bow of his head, finding this entire situation to be surreal.

With that taken care of, Ryou looks back over at Bakura.] So can we go over this again, uh...

[He's not sure what to call him, so after a moment's deliberation he continues.] Spirit-san. You help me prove to everyone there's two of us, and in exchange I... [There's hesitance in his voice.] ...I can't have the Ring.

Right?

Edited 2014-09-07 23:36 (UTC)

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