the_campus | The Self-Proclaimed "King of Thieves"

[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.]

Like this?

You look constipated.

[But it'll do. Even without the scars and the hair...the similarity was striking. Ryou's face was a little rounder in his youth, and his skin much lighter, but even so...

A menacing smile spreads across his lips.]

S...sorry...

[That smile was unnerving and he really didn't like being this close to the guy. Maybe he wasn't looking serious enough?

...maybe if he imitates Malik or the other him...]

Is this better?

Yes, that's...better. [He seems distracted.]

Tell me, Ryou Bakura...what do you see?!

You look a lot like me... eerily so, in fact. The facial structure is so similar it gives me the chills to see it. Though your eyes are a lot narrower and you're a lot, uhm... [more intimidating] ...larger than me.

Even father doesn't look so much like me as you do... it's kind of frightening.

[That's what he wanted to hear. That reassurance that it wasn't just him seeing this.

In the mirror, he had two faces.]

Ryou...h-hehehe...I think I just realized something interesting. I have one more question to ask you...

Do you know how long ago it was, since that bastard of a Pharaoh, Akhenamkhanen ruled?!

Edited 2013-10-08 00:02 (UTC)

Akenamkhanen...

[He has to think on that one. His father's favourite subject was Egypt, but it wasn't the name of any Pharaoh he was truly clear on. But he's sure he knows of it. Wasn't there some Egypt display that mentioned it? That was right...]

Uhm... I think it was three thousand or so years ago. But I'm not really sure. He didn't do anything too important, so he wasn't recorded too well beyond the usual preservations of his name. But the display where I saw his name was from around then, so it's probably right.

[It was all coming together.

There was not a single doubt left in him. This weak, pale-skinned boy had to be a reincarnation of at least one portion of his soul.

Why and how he was seeing him now was something else all together, but that didn't change the fact of the matter.

When he speaks, it's with exuberance.]

That's funny...I remember seeing them seal up his wretched tomb just a few days ago!

Eh-?! I knew you weren't from my time from the style of dress, but to be from such a long time ago...

[How could someone from that long ago have his face? Of course, it could be chance. There were a limited, if huge, pool of possibilities and doppelgangers existed even today... but for someone with that face to be pulled here was beyond coincidental. It was almost terrifyingly so.]

But, I've met people from centuries years in the future, so I guess it isn't so strange.

[Why did this man have his face? Were they related? Was it chance?]

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