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

[shadowscall]

Hey, remember the first time these two met, when Kai wasn't paying attention to where he was going? Guess what? Except this time he actually manages to realize she's there at the last second and not literally crash into her. That'd be because of the crying.

"Karasu? Hey, what's the matter?" Who does he get to beat up?

[moderndaydragon]

K-Kai-kun... s-sorry...

[It's a miracle she can see at all, with how heavy's she's crying.]

I-It's... nothing.

[shadowscall]

"Naw, it's okay, kind of my fault...It can't be nothing. Tell me?" Kai holds out his hand. "We can go talk in my room instead of out here." He doesn't have much experience with crying girls, so hopefully she'll forgive any stumbling he does.

[moderndaydragon]

[Karasu sniffs hard, trying to wipe her face and failing. After a moment, she takes his hand, nodding.]

Y... yeah. That's... okay.

[shadowscall]

"All right."

Kai gives her hand a squeeze and gently tugs her along. Luckily they're not too far from his room, so pretty soon he's digging in his pocket for his keys, still holding her hand.

"You want a soda or something? I made cookies yesterday too. Lemon. They look kind of funny, but they're good otherwise!"

Stupid lock, open already- ha! Kai gives the door a kick before he pushes it open, finally letting go of Karasu so she can go sit if she wants to.

[moderndaydragon]

[Karasu wraps both her hands around his, tears still falling freely and making it a little hard to see. Kai is a welcome relief right now, and she doesn't seem to realize what signals the clinging might be sending.]

S...sure... that sounds okay.

[She hiccups a little, going inside to just throw herself on the couch, burying her face in a cushion to cry.]

[shadowscall]

Kai's not even thinking about signals and how much of a crush he has on this girl. All he's wondering about at the moment is how to make her feel better, and who's ass he gets to kick for this. After she throws herself on the couch, Kai winces and goes to grab a soda and some cookies.

Really, the only experience he's had with something like this was with 'Jem, and that was totally different because she was a kid and no one takes it the wrong way when you hug a crying child.

"So...what happened?"

He sets the plate and soda on the coffee table, then stands there a little awkwardly. Should he try and squeeze himself onto the couch with her? No, standing's probably better at the moment.

[moderndaydragon]

Ah...

[She sits up, rubbing her face with her arm. Crying in front of him like this... it kind of makes her feel awkward and ashamed all of a sudden.]

I... I got upset... over something Bakura-kun said.

[She takes one of the cookies, not really tasting it as she just chews on it idly.]

[shadowscall]

"Bakura?"

What twitch, there wasn't any twitch. Kai manages to keep his frown to himself, and moves to sit down on the couch once she sits up. He'll just give her a little space, there.

"What'd he say?"

Depending, he may or may not go punch the Creeper in the face, and apologize to Ryou later.

[moderndaydragon]

[She rubs her face, sniffling again. It... probably would just bore Kai, but she just feels like talking.]

He saved my life when I first got here, and he's... he's been sweet and nice and kind to me, trying to take care of me and help me and everything. I... really crushed hard on him, you know? But... Malik-kun, his friend, he gets too jealous... so I told Bakura-kun it'd be okay if we just stayed friends forever. But then he saw me with my top off while we were working out in the gym and joked he'd see it tonight in his dreams, and...

[Nope, she loses it to a fresh wave of tears.]

...It hurt more than it should have...

[shadowscall]

Wait. What?

No, really, what?

Kai hadn't been expecting this. First he's trying to make sense out of the Bakura being sweet part because what the hell, and then to hear she had actually wasted any feeling on that creep...okay, he's not jealous.

Yes he is.

But he's going to be mature and ignore that to focus on the rest of it.

Okay, maybe he doesn't want to focus on the rest of it too much. When the tears start up again, Kai automatically scoots over and carefully wraps an arm around her shoulder. He's not thinking of putting moves on her or anything else. It's just-

Karasu's crying and she needs a hug.

He's not even sure what to say. Definitely nothing he's thinking right at this moment.

[moderndaydragon]

[The hug is definitely accepted and she turns around, wrapping her arms around him tightly. It's the comfort of a friend, one that she desperately needs... a magician like this, he wouldn't hate a dragon... right?]

S...sorry...

[shadowscall]

He's a little surprised she's returning the hug, but it's okay, he's good. He'll just hug her back and picture siccing a Shadow on the Creeper. No, bad idea. Very, very bad idea.

Kai really doesn't like it when his friends get hurt...and he doesn't need to be the reason for it either.

"For what, crying? Everybody does that." If she's also apologizing for clinging to him, he doesn't mind that either.

"Everything'll be okay."

[moderndaydragon]

...Yeah. I know. It's... really silly to get so upset over someone I wasn't... even more than friends with ever, isn't it?

[Kai feels surprisingly warm and comfortable. She doesn't want to let go.]

But... he...

[It spills out, the floodgates already opened.]

He was the only one who I knew that accepted me... all the way. He saw me go crazy... he saw that... monster half of me angry and willing to hurt someone and he still... he still came looking for me later on...

...I just... can't have anything like that... I've never even had any friends until I came here, so... I should be happy with that... right?

[shadowscall]

"Not that silly."

Yeah, he likes hugging her too. It's been a while since he's hugged anyone. Since right before he ended up in this stupid place, actually.

Kai's eyes widen a bit at that. She'd done that? He wants to ask who, but- He's willing to bet he knows why Bakura had gone looking.

"He's not the only person in the world that'd still be willing to be your friend after something like that. There's me, and I'm sure others..."

Kai trails off, not sure what else to say.

[moderndaydragon]

[She sniffs a little, calming down some.]

...Can you? I... could end up even... killing someone, if I got angry enough in it...

[Still, a part of her wants to believe it. More than anything, having another friend to accept her like that...]

[shadowscall]

"Yeah, I could. ...And you're not the only one capable of awful things, you know."

Kai closes his eyes and hugs her tighter for a second before loosening his grip some. He was still hugging her, but she could pull away if she wanted.

"Every time I use those Corridors of mine, or open a portal, I'm playing with a power that's dangerous. I know that, and I'm careful, but still...sometimes it calls to me enough that I don't really care about consequences. I know I should, but..."

Kai laughs softly and shakes his head.

"Aren't we a pair."

It isn't quite the same thing, but it's close enough to him.

[moderndaydragon]

[Corridors... that's right, those portal things. The reassurance is making her relax a bit more, though she doesn't pull away. It's just... too comfortable right now, like this. The contact is something she's craved, even if not from this specific person.]

...I guess that's... similar to it.

[She wasn't tempted, persay... more just losing her temper. But even so...]

Yeah... I guess we are.

[shadowscall]

Honestly, despite the fact he's hugging a girl he really likes, and the conversation's been so serious, Kai wouldn't have a problem just curling up with her here and napping. Not a single issue. The thought does kind of give him a kick in the head, and he lets out a snort. He's not going to ask, is he?

Naw.

"Feeling better?"

He can ask her that instead! More important, anyway.

[moderndaydragon]

...A little. Thanks, Kai-kun.

[She pulls away, rubbing her face on her sleeve and sniffing a few more times. The crying's stopped, if nothing else.]

Sorry... I know you probably didn't want to hear about that. But it helped to talk about it.

[shadowscall]

"A little's better than nothing...and you're welcome."

Kai settles himself back on the couch and eyes the cookies on their plate while he thinks about how to respond to that. He really does still want to go punch Bakura, but he manages a smile at Karasu instead. He'll grump later.

"No, it's okay! I didn't mind." Well, not listening to her, anyway. "I'm glad it helped. I'll be around if you need to talk about anything, don't worry about it."

[moderndaydragon]

[She nods some, managing a smile. It's not her usual bright ones, but it's genuine none the less.]

...Thank you. I'm really lucky to have someone like you as a friend, Kai-kun. I... I'll probably want to talk some more later. Since that's okay.

[shadowscall]

Friend. Ouch. Well, what else is he right now? Besides, slow is good. It's normal, right? Unlike suddenly having a crush on a girl for the first time at seventeen.

...Maybe that's genetic too. Thanks mom.

Kai brightens some at seeing Karasu smile, and his turns into an outright grin. "No problem. Even if it's the middle of the night." He means that. "I don't mind."

[moderndaydragon]

I don't think I'll be coming to you in the middle of the night! I prefer sleeping in. But... I'll remember that, just in case.

[It's a bit like a poison, maybe. It still hurts, but having gotten it out, she feels much better.]

[shadowscall]

"So do I, but when you spend about two years being poked awake at dawn, you get used to sleeping weird hours. This place...it's kind of odd how quick I got used to just being in one spot again. Even if I'm still not really fond of it." Kai shakes his head and reaches out to grab a cookie. He doesn't take a bite, just turns it around in his hands. "I found some books on magic in the library, after our practice. There's one that's got spells pretty similiar to the stuff back home. I've been working with one." Kai laughs softly. "It's neat."