the_campus | The Self-Proclaimed "King of Thieves"

[Bakura had told him to run, so he'd ran.

It felt like he'd been wandering forever, not sure whether he was safe yet or not, when he finally walked around a tree...

...and slammed straight into the man he'd been running from, landing on the ground on his backside.]

Ow-! ...!

[Red. White. A scarred face with dark, glowering eyes. He stared up at the familiar-but-unfamiliar face with wide-eyes.]

...h...hi.

[The King of Thieves was currently the King of Butthurt. He doesn't even blink as he reaches down and grabs Ryou harshly by the collar, pulling him off his feet so he can leer into his face.]

Where's the Ring. [The words are harsh and cold, an unsettling anger behind them.]

Uwah-!

[Ryou stares at him with eyes filled with fear. The Ring? Was that what this guy was after? Why would he be after that? Hearing that voice is like hearing the one inside his head all over again, albeit far more terrifying.]

I don't know! It hasn't come back to me yet!

Edited 2013-10-07 20:28 (UTC)

[Maybe this boy really didn't know. After all...he himself had a gap in his memory from when the Spirit of that Ring took over his body. But that didn't mean Ryou was off the hook just yet. The Ring would "come back" to him, he said. Then it was a waiting game.]

Okay then--what about the Eye?! [His grip tightens threateningly.]

Edited 2013-10-07 20:44 (UTC)

Ngh... [The question doesn't make sense at first - what Eye? - until he remembers. That's right... back then, after Duelist Kingdom, he found Pegasus' Millennium Eye in his pocket. At the time he'd panicked, tried to get rid of it, but the Spirit returned it to his person every time. In the end, he'd simply let it stay there, trying to ignore it.

He doesn't know what this man wants with the Items, and whatever it is, he can't endorse it, but there's no hesitation as he reaches into his pocket and draws out the Eye, holding it out.]

H-here... It's yours. [...oh hell with it.]

If you keep it on your person, even if he tracks it down... he probably won't be able to take it... this body isn't strong enough to handle yours.

Heh... [That lifts his mood a bit. He plucks the Eye from Ryou's fingers and sticks it into a concealed pocket along his shendyt.]

Shut up! I don't need your advice. [Despite the snappy nature, Thief King's obviously in a better mood now.

More so when he suddenly hefts Ryou up over his shoulder and starts off down the hall.]

You're coming with me.

UWAH-! W-what are you doing?!

[Oh, this is dizzying. And sort-of weird. No, thinking about it, it's really weird. His sense of weirdness got thrown off long ago, or else he'd have put this higher on the scale of 'disturbing shit happening to me'. His legs kick helplessly out of reflex.]

You said the Ring would come back to you, right? H-hehehe...

[He opens a nearby door, leading Ryou inside and tossing him onto a wooden chair as he looks for some rope.]

Now be a good boy and stay put!

Edited 2013-10-07 21:25 (UTC)

Ah-!

[Ow, jeez. What a rude guy. Still, he dutifully sits up straight, hands on his knees, looking for all the world like a polite guest. No sense in running away when this guy would just stab him anyway, most likely.]

That's right. It always does, no matter what I do. It's like an annoying relative who doesn't get hints.

[Finding some rope, and amused that Ryou really had stayed put like a polite little hostage, Thief King ties the boy to the chair, his arms pinned uselessly at his sides.]

Good, then as soon as it comes here, I'll just be taking it off your hands!

[Idly, like an amusing afterthought...] And if you're fussy, I might just take your hands with it.

[MEEP. He doesn't doubt for a moment that he'd do it.]

I... I'll behave!

[Ryou heaves a sigh. What is it with scary people and him? It was like he was a magnet for them.]

But you know, I've been trying to get rid of it for a long time now. I don't see a reason to be fussy over you taking it away anyway...

[Since they'll be waiting who-knows-how-long, Thief King takes a seat on the table behind Ryou, watching the door and nothing else.]

Is that so? Now, if only the annoying spirit in there wasn't so determined to stay inside of you, this would be easy!

[For now, though...he'll have to capture the Ring and avoid directly touching it. Hopefully that will do the trick.]

[Well, he'd be bored stiff otherwise, so he might as well talk...]

He's been attached to me for years now. Or at least to my body. There's a point where clinginess gets creepy and he passed it a long time ago.

Father's been trying to find a way to pull the spirit out of the Ring, so maybe you'll have an easier time of it if he finds one.

... [And this was the same spirit that claimed to be him from the future? He hardly sees the appeal of such a weak body.]

Who's this father of yours? [He sounds like a magic user. It would be foolish if Bakura didn't follow-up on that hint, just in case he was a threat to him.

Or of use.]

...

[He could just say it outright, that he's been adopted by King Henry Tudor VII of England. Or he could answer a different way, with an honest lie - after all, he didn't ask which father...]

My father's name is Yuichi Bakura.

[He swings his legs as best he can.]

He's an archeologist who finds all sorts of weird things. Actually, he's the one that gave the Ring to me in the first place.

[A look of shock crosses his face. It's rare for him, but it's there.]

...Bakura? [No way...how could this pale kid have his last name?! His entire family was killed at Kul Elna, and he'd never met another man with the same surname as him before.

And if what the annoying Spirit said was true, and he really did fail...]

Well, well...that's a new one! My name's Bakura too. Maybe your father and I should talk some time...

[He chuckles in such a generically evil way, it's almost funny.]

If I see him, I'll pass on the message. Assuming I get out of here alive, anyway.

[His voice is almost casual, even as his mind whirrs. Same name as him? How weird... he's never met anyone with the same name before. It's absurdly rare even in Japan.]

I'm Ryou Bakura. A lot of people just call me Bakura-kun, but since you have the same name, I guess that won't work too well. It's nice to meet you.

[Bakura didn't seem the be listening at all to the other boy, his own mind whirring.

The same name...and this kid had been wearing the Ring. The Spirit in that Ring had said he'd been in there...how long?

Three thousand years.

Three thousand years, since his supposed "failure", and three thousand years was how long it took a human soul to reincarnate. If it was true that he'd failed--and Bakura wasn't a fool, he knew things here weren't adding up to his success--and only one portion of his soul had made it into the Ring...

He turns to look at Ryou, eyes lacking their usual haughty nature. Did they look the same? It was hard to tell...the hair color matched, but Thief King hadn't exactly seen his reflection enough to pin-point similarities.

Still saying nothing, he tries to get a better look at his own reflection in one of the many bracelets he was wearing.]

[Ryou squirmed a little, feeling rather awkward under that fierce gaze. At least he didn't seem hostile right now. That was something. The guy was starting to freak him out, though.]

Uhm...

[What did he even want to say?]

Are you alright...?

You...

[He still couldn't get a clear reflection, but as he raised his arm so his bracelet and Ryou's face were at the same eye-level...he continued to stare.]

Just shut up and hold still!

...u...un.

[Obediently he falls silent, staring curiously at the bracelet. But... the silence doesn't last for long. The guy looks like he's trying to see his reflection.]

I-if it helps, there's mirrors in most of the bathrooms... they're better at reflecting things. I'll shut up now.

[And shut up he does.]

Edited 2013-10-07 23:27 (UTC)

[Except now Bakura doesn't want him to shut up. He grabs Ryou by the collar, glowering right in his face.]

...Where are those? [Using his knife, he cuts the ropes binding Ryou and hops to his feet, dragging the boy up with him before shoving him in front of him.] Be useful and show me!

Y-yes!

[EEP THE GUY HAS A KNIFE NOW AND HE'S MAD. The fact that he has a knife of his own doesn't cross his mind.

Obediently, he leads him to one of the dorms - not really caring which, as long as they're unlocked - and to the bathroom within.]

There.

[He points at the mirror.]

[Thief King drags Ryou in with him, holding him by the back of the head as he forces his face to point towards the startlingly clear reflection.]

... [And then he goes back to staring, studying the two faces before him. It doesn't take long for him to grow irritated again, barking an order.]

Stop looking like a frightened kitten and make a serious face, will you?!

That's easier said than done...

[He stares confusedly into the mirror, glancing from his own reflection to the unnerving man's. How weird... even their scars were almost mirrors.]

LATER...

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