Duel 002: Peaceful Days! The Fluffiest Training Montage Commences

[fluffydeathdealer]

[It's a bit of a pain, being in a school with no teachers.

Ryou Bakura isn't the type of kid who really likes being too active; he's about on the level of most ordinary teenagers. But after being laid up for so long with the burns to his arms and leg, not only is he extremely restless, but he's sure even his metabolism won't hold up much longer, with the amount he eats. That's why, after checking to see that Henry isn't home to take him up on that training offer, he's decided to try treating this like school and taking an hour or so to do his very own gym class, all by himself. It'd be easier with teachers, but... he doesn't have a choice right now.

Most kids probably would just take the break and be lazy, but right now, Ryou's working hard. Apart from the occasional break, he can be found pretty easily in the east wing, dressed in gym clothes and doing everything from running laps on the track field to climbing ropes.

...though that last one is more like 'falling off ropes'. Stupid mats... they don't cushion that fall at all. Hopefully nobody's dumb enough to stand below him.]

Ow...

[Time for a banana and some water, he thinks.]

Ah, I'm so tired...

Comments

[fluffydeathdealer]

I know some of the people here use guns, but I haven't seen anyone getting shot lately, so I'm hoping that means a lot of the people here tend to be more controlled. But you never know what happens when someone gets a weapon and realizes a lack of consequences.

[helpusduelist]

Or rather, the illusion of such. No action lacks consequences. It doesn't matter what time you're from, where you are, or the state the world is in, whatever you do will have an effect and it will come back to bite you. No matter what.

[fluffydeathdealer]

Un... that's true, too. Even if there's no 'law' here, people will probably react badly enough to random wickedness that it'd keep a lot of those types in check. That's something...

[helpusduelist]

...Ryou. Do you know what happened to Malik after you were inflicted with those burns?

[fluffydeathdealer]

...I don't know anything. I woke up in the infirmary, and then again a while later, but Malik-kun had been gone a long time already by that point. Or at least, I hadn't seen him when I came out. When he came back, he was going by the name 'Malik' instead of 'Namu' and told me that he was the reason I was hurting, but he didn't explain anything. He just kept taking care of my injuries.

[helpusduelist]

Some other side of him took control and attacked you -- or rather, that Spirit. He came to us for help and went went to stop him. When we tried, he killed Rosenkreuz. Eleanor went temporarily insane and slaughtered him in cold blood. Being a gentle soul as she is, the fact she had just murdered someone caused her to mentally break for a time, crying and unable to accept it. Harriet had to take care of her almost constantly for the next three days to make sure she would actually survive well.

[He closes his eyes, lacing his hands together and resting his chin on them. When he speaks, it's softly, but with the laced, powerful tone a king would give a command with.]

No action is free of consequences. Not to yourself, or to others.

[fluffydeathdealer]

[Other side...

'I understand'.

He remembers those words. Then was Malik, too...? But to cause that much pain... and...]

'Killed'...? 'Slaughtered'?

But... he was...

[Holy shit people come back from the dead here?!]

Aha...ha... That's pretty terrifying...

...

Those sorts of things... None of those people deserved any of it.

[helpusduelist]

It was horrifying. Seeing such a thing... it frightened even me.

[Henry turns his eyes to Ryou gently.]

Death, for whatever reason, is not so permanent here. Which means the consequences of actions are all the more prominent than they would be elsewhere instead of less so.

...Do you understand, Ryou?

[fluffydeathdealer]

...un. I understand.

If people come back from the dead... that's both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, it lowers the 'strain of guilt' on the minds of those who're more inclined to it, but even with that reduced strain, minds are fragile. And it does return those who need not have died to life, and give them another chance.

But it's even worse on the other hand... because it means there's no 'release from suffering'. So it becomes almost worse than death itself, because the memory of the events beforehand can stack up... and the 'punishment' of death is easy compared to the punishments people can come up with when they need to be creative.

[helpusduelist]

Precisely.

[Henry stares at him a moment, an odd, sort of far-away look, then simply smiles and reaches out to pat him on the head.]

But... that's enough on that for now, I think. Don't you?

[fluffydeathdealer]

[Ryou smiles a little at that, nodding.]

Un! Brighter subjects, then? I finished the five figures of 'you' and the others here.

[Huh... this one doesn't seem nearly so bad as the others. Still a little difficult to lift, but it feels kind of... comfortable.]

[helpusduelist]

Ah, did you? I'd like to see them.

[He notices that, watching Ryou handle it.]

Does it feel comfortable? It looks as if it sits about right.

[fluffydeathdealer]

It does... It feels a little strange and kind of heavy, but it doesn't hurt my hand or anything.

I'll get them after we're done here, then. I have the feeling I'm going to be needing the rest by then.

[helpusduelist]

That would be about perfect, then. Let's see...

[Henry digs in the bag and finds the sheath, showing Ryou how to put it away then fastening the belt around his waist to let the weight settle in.]

How does it feel?

[fluffydeathdealer]

[Thankfully, the burn to his side is high enough that it isn't affected by the belt. But it's weird, having something that oddly shaped and heavy on his side.]

Ahaha... Kind of imbalanced. And a little weird.

[helpusduelist]

[That's why Henry chose that side specifically. He won't do anything that could hurt his precious son.]

It feels like that at first. For the time you have free, carry it around like that. You don't even have to do anything with it; just have it on your waist. Drop it off in our dorms before you take the Ring again, or just bring it to me if necessary. You won't see the changes immediately, but it's a start to something better once you heal.

For now, why don't we address something more important: Do you have a deck of your own?

[fluffydeathdealer]

Aha... kind of.

[That doesn't sound too clear, so he clarifies.]

The deck the Spirit uses used to be mine, but he's made so many modifications that I hardly recognize it any more. I keep meaning to make a new one.

[helpusduelist]

Then while you've got your free time, let's make you one. If we're going to get you set up to duel the way we do, the first thing you're going to need are cards that are loyal to you. The ones the Spirit calls... they won't be, not even remotely. Their master is the one in the Ring, not you... and considering we want to hide this information from him, trying to call on his creatures is one of the worst things to do.

Furthermore, it can be a more intensive test of hiding your mind from him. I'll keep ahold of the deck, and if you can manage to avoid letting him find out about it by the time your monsters are summoned into it... then you should be strong enough to keep the England Duel information away.

[fluffydeathdealer]

Hm... I understand! I'd be happy to do that. Duelling with his deck is fine, but using it for something like that would be kind of troubling even if it wasn't designed pretty much entirely to lockdown opponents.

[Oh, that's right, he hasn't explained it...]

The Occult Deck he used to use and the Lockdown Deck he uses now are both designed to render the opponent helpless. It's neither fair nor particularly useful. So it'd be better to make a separate one anyway.

[helpusduelist]

Well, I can't hold not being fair against him. That's something you do have to drop when in war. But I understand where you're coming from.

Let's go to our dorm. The other Duelists and I have been gathering up as many cards per day as we can in case there's something vital in them or for a situation like this. We can look through everything in one of the empty dorms nearby it.

[fluffydeathdealer]

There's not being fair, and there's the Lockdown Deck. It's designed to make you unable to even make a move, if it's drawn right. I built the Occult Deck myself, but the Lockdown makes even me feel kind of nervous. It's hard to get attached to a deck like that.

[His voice is quietly serious.]

Un, let's go then.

[...and then he nearly overbalances after about one step.]

[helpusduelist]

[Henry's hand snaps out in case he needs catching, chuckling softly.]

Easy, there. One step at a time.

[fluffydeathdealer]

[He has to grab onto it for a moment to steady himself, before letting go.]

Right! Sorry, I forgot already.

[helpusduelist]

It's all right. Feel free to hold onto me if you need to until you adjust to the weight a bit more.

[fluffydeathdealer]

Thank you. I'm not the best at balancing at the best of times, so it's really good to know. It's part of why I wanted to get back to doing gym stuff today. I'm sick of falling over all the time.