[EFFECT ROOM] Dresses for the Dressing Room!

[noisycircus]

[Welcome to Lapin Angelique! Everyone who enters this room will suddenly find themselves wearing a Gothic Lolita Dress. They may also have other gothic accessories such as tiny little hats, frilly parasols, vampire capes, or spooky plushies.

Bizarre things will happen if you try to take off the clothes. Maybe it will just be downright impossible, they're stuck to your body. Maybe you'll start to FEEL GOTH and the BLACKNESS OF YOUR HEART compels you to put the clothes back on. Maybe you start taking off the clothes, only to find that doing so causes you to slowly morph into a bunny until you put them back on (or until you're a bunny. But was that REALLY worth it?) It's all up to fate!

Either way, these dresses are probably staying on, at least until the effect wears off. Which could be anything from a couple hours to the rest of the day.]

Comments

[moderndaydragon]

[Sigh.]

You know what? Fine. He tried to kill me, so I guess it's what he deserves. But if I bring the Rod back, it counts as a favor. Note I said "if I bring it back." Even you can agree to that, right?

[stealshinies]

[That would leave him at...what? Two more favours? Two more favours for two more items. He supposes he's not directly teaching her this time either, so he can let the defiant suggestion slide.]

I can agree to that, but the favour only gets counted if you succeed.

[moderndaydragon]

That was what I was getting at. I may not like you, but I'm not going to be cheap on what I owe you.

I'll be back.

[stealshinies]

H-heh heh, just making sure we're clear, Karasu... I'll see you then.

[Without another word, he allows her to leave. He could have told her where Malik lived, but if she's so friendly with "Bakura-kun", chances are she already knew...

And if not, oh well, she'll just have to manage!]

[moderndaydragon]

[She does know where it is, in fact, but despite what she told the Thief King, she has no intention of carrying this request out.

Instead, when she finds the right dorm, she raps on the door loudly, hoping Malik is home.]

[obeytherod]

[Malik was home, and alone too. When he opens the door to peek out at Karasu he immediately narrows his eyes.

What the hell was this girl doing, just showing up at his dorm?!]

Bakura's not here. And don't try again later, either. [He moves to shut the door.]

[moderndaydragon]

I was looking for you, so that's fine.

[She moves her foot in to catch the door, preventing him from closing it.]

The other Bakura -- that Thief King -- is after your Millennium Rod. I don't know why, but it was enough that he was trying to get me to steal it from you.

I'd be careful. That man's dangerous and crazy. I should know, since he's attached to me and won't let go... and seems to get a kick out of threatening me. Who knows what he'd try doing to get it from you, or who he'd send after it if he can get favors in the right places.

...Just letting you know. That's all.

[She pulls her foot back, letting him slam the door on her if he wishes.]

[obeytherod]

[Except this time, Malik just opens the door wider, his eyes following suit as his lips draw into a concerned scowl. There were several questions running through his head, among other things.

Bakura had told the Thief King about him, he knows that much, but he said he's strung enough half-truths and lies to keep him at bay! This was bad...

But more importantly, he asks with confusion, and not a hint of his usual malice:]

...Why are you helping me? If the Rod is taken from me, that doesn't concern you at all.

[moderndaydragon]

...You tried to kill me. You certainly hate me. And it's because of that that I can't see Bakura-kun very often or do much with him, even if all I want is that friendship and absolutely nothing else. By all rights, I should hate you just as much, if not even more.

But... for some reason, I don't. And it has nothing to do with Bakura-kun's feelings on you at all. I just don't hate you, and I couldn't tell you why if you asked.

So, why?

[There's a pause, as if she genuinely has to think about it.]

Because even if I don't know what the Rod is, I know it's important to you somehow. If it didn't have at least some value, the Thief King wouldn't want it. And since that's the case, you deserved to be warned.

That's really all there is to it, I suppose.

[obeytherod]

...Feh. [His words are matter-of-fact if anything.] You're far too soft, you know that? I would criticize you for letting others walk all over you, but after you nearly killed me, I know that isn't entirely true.

[Even if you naively let Bakura manipulate you.]

Still...helping me after everything I've done to you. [He doesn't get it, but he'll take the warning to heart. But he'll do little else, as far as openingly allowing Bakura to hang around her.] I have another question, then, if you'll be willing.

Does he know where we live? We've already moved three times now, we're going to run out of options at this rate. This place is too small to keep running like this.

[moderndaydragon]

Yeah, I know I am. I should've just tossed the Thief King off a cliff the second time he threatened me, but I'm just too soft to do anything like that to someone. Abuse a dog enough and its tolerance becomes so high it doesn't resist, I suppose.

[She glances up, then nods.]

I don't know for sure, but since he tried to send me after you, I'd say it's a safe bet he probably does. You guys can take my room if you want; he doesn't know where that is and I can move into the dorm you were originally in. I don't have a lot to bring around and I was moving out of it anyway.

[obeytherod]

Even if you'd have tossed him off the cliff--and you really should have--there's a chance he might have come back. There's really no way to dispose of your enemies here, which is why it's so important we stay away from him.

[But he's saying too much now. Not that Karasu was any harm, and she obviously wasn't fond of the Thief King.

Malik waves a hand dismissively.]

Hmph. I'll have to see what Bakura wants to do. It's annoying, after all...we have some furniture to move.

Did he say anything useful?

[moderndaydragon]

Figures. Nothing can be that easy here.

I'd offer to help, but I'm sure you don't want that, so just tell me if you want to through a note or something and I'll leave the door unlocked.

Useful? No, but he's threatened to cut out my tongue a lot, so that's probably funny, I guess.

[Ug. She has no idea why she feels so gloomy and sarcastic right now. Maybe it's just Malik that puts her in this mood.]

Anyway... that's all I had to say. You don't have to worry about me; I don't plan on stealing anything from you.

[obeytherod]

[Hmm, just how much was she talking with Bakura's past self? He thinks of the Rod on his belt, wonder what his most useful option was here.

Use another soul fragment to eavesdrop, or simply read her memories? If he choose the former, there's other possibilities. He could force control and get the Thief King off his tail, if she's that poor at lying.

Keh keh, he could even spy on her when she was with Bakura, and ruin things...

His eyes narrow. No, that would be too obvious. Besides, if he destroys her connection with Bakura, as much as it angers him, then she might send the Thief King right to their front door before his soul fragment has a chance to stop her.

Utility would triumph over his personal feelings today, but then, he'd already given up on sympathy for strangers a long time ago, hadn't he?]

I see. In the meantime, I advise you stay away from the Thief King. He's dangerous... They may share a name, but he's not the same as the Bakura we know.

But you know, Karasu-chan... [He settles a hand gentle on her shoulder, forcing a fragment of his soul into her body. Unnoticed, it hides within the darkest corner of her soul. Malik speaks nonchalantly, except for that little laugh that trails off at the end of his sentence.] Notes are unreliable. If I need to speak to you, I'll use the Rod. So try not to jump when you hear my voice in your head, hmhmhm...

[moderndaydragon]

I know that. Trust me, I do. But there's no way I can stay away from him, much as I'd like to. Like I said... he's stuck to me. He seemed to know about that dragon half of mine, so I accepted his offer to show me what he could and he apparently thinks that's made me his property or something. I've tried just dodging him, but he always finds a way to show up and bug me.

[moderndaydragon]

[And then Malik is touching her. Why is Malik touching her?]

[moderndaydragon]

[She gets kind of a weird feeling on top of that, but at least that passes after a moment. Though he's certainly getting a confused, somewhat unsure look at the suddenly friendly contact.

...wait, what?]

That thing lets you use telepathy? Useful.

[obeytherod]

Feh, what a troublesome person. I really wish we could get rid of him.

[Not bothering with explaining his telepathy further, Malik smirks as a malevolent idea comes to him.]

Actually, now that I think about it, there might be a way... If you take me to him, I might be able to get rid of him. "Might", mind you, it depends on what I can find locked away inside his memories. I'd have him do the deed himself, of course, to keep suspicion off of us.

If he does come back, no harm no foul, right?

[moderndaydragon]

I'm not helping you with murder, Malik. If you want to do it that way, you're on your own.

[Her voice is firm and a little cold, and she steps back from him a little.]

I know it makes me soft and weak... someone like that, the world would be better off without him. But I can't -- won't help you.

[obeytherod]

Ehh, it's not murder! I'm only going to stir up some bad memories, and hope he does it himself.

[He knows that a punishment game had been inflicted on the Thief King that had truly done some work on him. If he could tap into that, and whatever fears it fed from...]

He still can choose not to, he'll have his free will. But at the very least, if he doesn't, it might traumatize him enough to keep him off both our backs for a little while.

[moderndaydragon]

[...It's tempting, she has to admit. Scaring him like that? Maybe it would help out both of them, to make it so he backs off. But Malik's intending to dig up so much bad that he wants to kill himself. There's no telling if he could even resist that.

...that time in the dorms, he'd seemed... horrified. Beyond horrified. And just one word had set him off. If Malik...]

Sorry. My answer's still no, Malik. I can't stand by and watch that done to a person.

[The very idea is horrifying... why does Bakura like this person? She'll never understand.]

[obeytherod]

Ughh. [And he can't just go and do it himself. He needs somebody to split the blame, and somebody with Karasu's powers was perfect for it. She could defend herself, after all. Not that Malik couldn't, at least now that he could summon both monsters and deck leader armor, but he'd still rather stay back.

Casually after her rejection, he opens the door the rest of the way and shrugs before resting a hand on his hip. He was wearing a sleeveless vest as usual, showing off both the scars on his midriff and the new, dark and grotesque keloid scars on his left arm. It looks as if a wild animal had attacked him.]

Fine, fine. What if I just scare him then? Like I said, killing him is probably pointless anyway.

[moderndaydragon]

[Just a scare... could she trust him to do that? That was something she could actually bring herself to help with, after all. It seems too good to be true, especially with how vicious Malik is. But...

...okay, hold the phone a mo'. What the fuck is that SCAR?]

Did you piss off a bear or something?

[obeytherod]

[He waits for an answer with surprising patience, granted only to him by the confidence he had that she would accept.

And then she totally changes the topic. Malik lifts his arm up, inspecting the nasty, raised scar on it with a bit of a thoughtful frown that soon enough pulls into a smile. It was like a disturbing memory that brought about pleasant thoughts.]

One of my monsters attacked me. Keh keh...it's okay though. They're ugly, but good things will come from it...

[He lowers his arm again, that mumbled musing of his cut off as he settles Karasu with a sterner gaze.] But your answer--what was it?

It's too dangerous for me to go in alone, and I'm sure you don't want to get Bakura involved, do you?

[moderndaydragon]

[Good things... well, he didn't seem too worried, so she wouldn't worry about it either. He's Bakura's boyfriend, after all... if it was a threat to Bakura, he wouldn't be so nonchalant. Not with how possessive he was.

As for that...]

How do I know you'll just scare him?