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

[helpusduelist]

I'm sorry, no. I just felt a bit relieved about that.

[fluffydeathdealer]

It's fine! It's good to see you laugh.

[helpusduelist]

And it's good to see you smile. So it seems we have a nice effect on each other, don't we?

[fluffydeathdealer]

Un! We definitely do. I'm glad. It's how good relationships work, right?

[helpusduelist]

Yes, it is. There may be some conflicts at times, but any relationship has those strains. It's a matter of if you enjoy each other's company and can stand tough through those bad times that truly define it, I think.

[Henry's eyes draw across the cards Ryou's picking, and he laughs.]

You have a certain draw towards types, I see...

[fluffydeathdealer]

...eh? What are you talking about?

[Silent Magician... Level 0? He's never heard of that card before. But something's calling him towards it. An instinct. Adding it to the pile.]

[helpusduelist]

For all their differences, there's definitely a feel of gentleness among quite a few of these. I think your own innocent soul is calling to what part of them is still innocent... or calling to that part of them that wants to protect it.

[fluffydeathdealer]

...'Innocent'?!

[He stares at Henry with more than a little bit of a wide-eyed look. He never thought of himself as innocent. More ordinary than anything else.]

[helpusduelist]

Mmm. You've suffered a lot, Ryou... and yet, you can still smile so softly, give out such warmth.

Innocence is rarely unscarred... I would go as far to say that true innocence is what persists even with those scars. And yours certainly has.

[fluffydeathdealer]

I've never been called innocent before. But I don't see any reason to be cold. I don't want anyone to be unhappy if they can be helped. Even if it's painful, people can almost always recover from their suffering.

[helpusduelist]

And that's what makes you innocent. That you can still hold such care deeply. You want to learn the best ways to handle things so you don't have to cause others to suffer... even if it's that much harder on you.

Even I can't boast to that.

[fluffydeathdealer]

But, it's natural, right? You've been hardened by war, so it's natural to see things like that. It isn't bad, but it isn't good either. It just is.

[helpusduelist]

Heh... I suppose it is, isn't it?

[He leans on his arm, closing his eyes and smiling contently, almost peacefully. Ryou... just being around you his heart and soul both feel at ease.]

[fluffydeathdealer]

Of course. I don't think it's bad to be guarded against the world, as long as you're willing to open the gates sometimes.

[helpusduelist]

...You truly have a wisdom beyond most of us.

[He leaves it at that, reaching over the table to gently ruffle Ryou's hair.]

[fluffydeathdealer]

[Ryou just grins awkwardly, not minding the ruffling at all - though it makes his already fluffy hair just go floofier.]

[helpusduelist]

[If he'd been younger, Henry might have gone around to just snuggle into it. As it is, he removes his hand and leans back on the table.]

Hm... you're going to need a bit of support for these.

[fluffydeathdealer]

Un. Monsters alone won't work. But I don't know if spells and traps work the same way in your style or not. So can you help me pick out what I need?

[helpusduelist]

Of course, I'd be more than happy to.

[Digging through some things here. He puts out a Black Pendant, first, alongside a Book of Secret Arts...]

These might help a little... a lot of these cards seem to work the same. Pick what seems right to you, and I'll see how they work.

[fluffydeathdealer]

Un! I'll do my best. This is probably the easiest part, after all.

[helpusduelist]

Certainly so! Magic is magic, and since these aren't drawing on a spirit for their effects -- at least not to the degree you work with monsters -- there's no real threat of incompatibility.

[fluffydeathdealer]

...eh? Then using these still calls on something, huh?

[helpusduelist]

It calls on magic, yes. That's a reason why not everyone can learn to duel like this. But it's something more akin to... say, starting a campfire. You're still "calling on" fire, but the fire is just energy of a sort, isn't it?

[fluffydeathdealer]

[Starting a campfire... Of course!]

I get it! 'Nothing can come from nothing', right? The energy is always there, but it needs direction to become something else.

[helpusduelist]

Exactly! Monsters are monsters, but the effects of spells and traps are simply directed energy. There's no need to ask permission because there's no sentience or feelings, but they are still important, so they should be treated as such regardless.