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]

Keh. Malik apparently decided to 'borrow' me and try to tap into my power. It's too annoying, you know? I've warned him before that it's not healthy for him, but of course he's too young to even think of the consequences of his actions.

[Bakura scoffs a little, sitting on the table rather than the closer couch. He really had assumed that to be a sarcastic threat rather than seriousness.]

Sometimes I wonder why I put up with him so much.

[helpusduelist]

[Sigh. Foolish child. Henry won't comment on that, though. He doesn't like Malik and his original outburst is still weighing on him.]

Well, then, which would you prefer for a messenger? In the case it comes up. There aren't many beyond Dharc I have that would be willing to be civil. Though I suppose Hiita or Eria would want to, because of their... talents.

[fluffydeathdealer]

Dharc will be fine. Just as long as he listens to you. I don't really want to become some puppet, after all.

[helpusduelist]

Don't worry. Even if he doesn't understand, he knows that I wouldn't ask something if it wasn't vital. I think, at worst, he'll be curt and rude to you, but not hostile in any way.

[fluffydeathdealer]

Rude and curt I can handle. I'm more thick skinned than pretty much anyone else I've ever met. Barbs penetrate, but never sink deeply enough to last.

That bastard just bothers me with that power of his, though.

[...he'll have to test how obedient Dharc is. Hehe...]

[helpusduelist]

Then he should be a good enough messenger, I think.

[...Henry raises an eyebrow at the look on Bakura's face.]

Planning something?

[fluffydeathdealer]

Hoh? Are you so paranoid as all that, king-sama? Why do you think I've planned anything?

[helpusduelist]

Because you have a look about you that screams of scheming even beyond your natural look.

[fluffydeathdealer]

I'm just wondering how far your creatures' loyalties lie. Dharc-kun wouldn't even let me touch him before, after all... I doubt he'd be so obedient if he wasn't allowed to use that power to keep me away.

[helpusduelist]

I don't know how yours act, but those that I trust my life to are equally loyal to me. If you intend to rile him up, I sincerely doubt it would work; I have the utmost faith in him.

[As if responding to Henry's feelings, Dharc's spirit appears, going to stand boldly in front of Bakura with a cold stare.]

[fluffydeathdealer]

Eh, he's so loyal as all that?

[Nosebeep.]

Kind of amazing... I don't think any of mine would be so obedient if riled up. Necrofear is probably the only one I'd trust not to eat someone I was fond of if they pressed too much on their buttons.

[helpusduelist]

[Dharc looks taken off guard, his expression showing he isn't sure whether or not be confused, angry, or insulted.]

...What a pity. It's good that you don't understand our techniques, then. Working with such creatures, you'd hardly survive long.

[fluffydeathdealer]

I don't have bonds like you do.

[Hair ruffle.]

Most of my monsters are loyal to me out of their own choices, after all. But that doesn't mean they're safe, either.

A deck reflects the heart of its owner, after all.

[helpusduelist]

[...Okay, NOW he knows what to do. Which is to flip Bakura off.]

It certainly does. [The lack of any other word is surprising, but Henry has no intention of explaining anything further about the War Duels to him.

Bakura's gonna have to work for that... assuming he can find something enough to push Henry's buttons.]

[fluffydeathdealer]

Hm? What, are you hiding something from me? Your answers aren't usually so short.

[Just for that, he leans down and kises the offered finger... and then Dharc, on the cheek.]

[helpusduelist]

[Dharc's reply is disgust and horror, and he very quickly retreats into the deck. Henry, himself, simply shrugs.]

The only thing I hide from you is the information on our War Duels... and with all due respect, Spirit, I'm not inclined to teach you any about it.

[fluffydeathdealer]

Hehe... Hahahahahahaha!

[He throws his head back, laughing. It's half at Dharc, half at Henry, and he isn't even clear which is more amusing.]

Is that all? I thought you had more sense than that. I don't care about your dueling style. It doesn't apply to me.

After all, your 'War Duels' are things that only you five know, right? So it wouldn't even be any use to me.

Though I wonder if you know how to duel the modern way.

[helpusduelist]

Heh... I suppose that is correct.

["Don't be so foolish" is his thought; dismissing knowledge your enemy has is suicide! But the less interested he has Bakura, the better, so he keeps the thought off his face. To the question, he gives an honest answer.]

No. I don't, in fact.

[fluffydeathdealer]

[Suicide only applies to the living. Henry has less knowledge of just how easily Bakura sacrifices even himself, let alone others.]

Hold on.

[Brb stealing Malik's Duel Disk.]

Here. Try to get that on your arm. [A slight pause.]

I'm not asking you to duel me. I don't have my duel disk anymore, so it'd be a pain if you were using that.

[helpusduelist]

[...What the hell is this thing? Henry stares at it a bit blankly, taking it gingerly like he's not sure how sturdy it is.]

What... exactly, is this?

[fluffydeathdealer]

This is a Duel Disk. It's a little piece of the future that's only recently become a thing in my time. It allows for entirely non-fatal, non-harmful duels. Heh... as long as you're using it normally, anyway.

Slip it on your arm and fix it on. I'll show you how it works. You might find it interesting.

...the jutting bit goes outwards. Like a bladed gauntlet.

[helpusduelist]

[Hm... Henry fidgets with it some, almost putting it on backwards, before he finally manages to put the thing on properly.]

Like this?

[fluffydeathdealer]

That's right. Hold on. And stand still.

[A little effort, and the holographic projectors detach, their glow lighting up the room as he fiddles with it and...

LP: 4000]

There. It's on 'dueling mode' now. Any cards you place on the disk will be projected by those devices there. It isn't an actual summon... the disk simply 'reads' the card and recreates the original monster behind it in a harmless illusionary form. So there's no threat... and no energy drain.

Dueling as you know it disappeared from history some time ago, until one very odd man discovered it... and decided to turn it into a game. Heh heh... Because of that, once those 'life points' go down to zero, or you can no longer play, you've lost. Try it out.

[helpusduelist]

[It's... an interesting concept that takes a moment for him to wrap his head around. A "projection" to make this completely harmless? He's had or overseen War Duels before where the idea was to entertain or blow off steam, but those had always been so tightly controlled out of necessity. To create it into something totally recreational, at least intentional...?

How strange. But he'll try it. His hand goes down to his deck, mentally asking permission about which of them to test this with. Eria responds, and so he takes out her card, frowning at the spots on the disk before guessing and placing her in one of the open card zones.

At least he picked the right one, it seems, since she manifests right there. ...it's strange, though.]

You said these were just... "projections"?

[fluffydeathdealer]

...

[Oh, that's right...]

In your case, it's probably a little different. You said your cards have the souls of your monsters sealed in permanently, right? So the holograms probably at least have traces of them in.

But normal cards just get scanned and recreated. Usually, the projections will have something of a personality, but won't talk or act without command. They're simple creations, after all. Here.

[Drawing a card from his pocket, he tosses the Earthbound Spirit onto the slot, watching as the glow around it forms. With no soul in it, it's clearly a pure projection... just an image that rises up out of the 'ground' to hover there above the floating card image.]

It doesn't recognize an opponent, so it's not going to do much of anything.