[MINGLE]

[roadroller]

[Thanks to your friendly neighborhood Vocaloid, a helpful IC FAQ is now written on the whiteboard in the first classroom of the West Wing which has been moved to the Nurse's Clinic.



Gather round and be amazed... and you better not erase anything or she will find you. Or just rewrite it, depending on how long her attention span is.]

Comments

[moderndaydragon]

I remembered recently that I live there too. You're trying hard to encourage me, so I have to ask...

Maybe we could be friends. Both here, and not here.

[memorypuzzle]

I'd be happy to be your friend, Karasu.

[moderndaydragon]

Then it's official!

[Bakura lives in Domino too... so that makes two people she could turn to, if the timelines lined up.

...she'll assume they do, and not worry about that.]

Thank you, Yugi-kun. Really.

[memorypuzzle]

[He gives her a firm nod, a smile twitching at his lips. Things have truly come a long way in what feels like a short time.]

It isn't any trouble.

[moderndaydragon]

That's good.

[Huh... she really has changed, coming to this place. She could at least thank the intercom lady for that.

Not that she actually would. Bitch needs to get smacked.]

If you need anything, you can always come find me and ask!

[memorypuzzle]

Yeah, I'll definitely take you up on that.

[Though he doubts she can answer most of his questions. The only person that could do that most likely wouldn't... As if sensing his concerns, a familiar voice piped up.

At least we're not alone here, right? Even if everyone's waiting back at home, there's still people here that are on our side.
Yes, I agree... And we're going to need all the help we can get. It'll be best to try to build what bonds we can.]

Thank you, Karasu. You've made what could have been a far more jarring experience that much more tolerable.

[moderndaydragon]

I'm happy to help! After all, we all have to work together. Or at least live together!

[Though she'd probably help out regardless.]

You can usually find me on the roof, or in the lounge. If you're having trouble, Bakura-kun or Kai-kun probably can find me easily.

[memorypuzzle]

Bakura...?

[Bakura-kun's here too?! Yugi's voice exclaims, and he pauses. Well, since she used the honorific and she doesn't seem crazy, it's probably the one they know. Though that does mean the spirit is likely here too. He'll have to keep an eye out.]

I know Bakura. I'll keep an eye out for him. If any of the rest of our group are here, he'll probably know.

[moderndaydragon]

Just don't go knocking on his dorm door or anything if you can help it. Malik-kun is a little... [How can she say this politely.] Antisocial most of the time. It's better just to find him out of it.

[memorypuzzle]

...

[Bakura and Malik are rooming together? There's an odd couple he never expected. That just sets off warning bells, but he dismisses them. Most likely, Malik was making amends for what his other self did to the other boy during Battle City. He'd leave them to it.]

I don't even know what his dorm room is, so I couldn't do that if I wanted to. I didn't even know he was here until you mentioned him.

[moderndaydragon]

Just the same, I figured I'd warn you in case. As for Kai-kun...

[She gives a quick description of him.]

He's a close friend of mine, too, but he's from another world entirely. I am trying to teach him how to duel, though, so don't be too hard on him.

[memorypuzzle]

Don't worry. I'll give Malik his space.

[He needs it, after Battle City... Noting the description of the other one - my, it seemed all the white-haired kids were hanging out together - he nods.]

I don't go easy on people. It's an insult to them, to hold back. But I'm sure he'll try his hardest and have fun doing it. That's what's important.

[moderndaydragon]

He's not very confident about it, actually. Because he's not from our world, he doesn't really understand what a duelist is, or the pride they have in what they do and the decks they build, win or lose. I think I'm helping him to understand that, slowly, but that's why I asked in the first place.

I never actually thought I'd be seeing it from the other side, though... it's strange imagining people who don't understand that, isn't it?

[memorypuzzle]

Everyone has to start out somewhere, but that pride can't be built up without experience. The pride of winning a difficult duel through your own skill... it's nothing that can be explained, only felt.

But in this day and age... it is definitely odd to discover someone with so little knowledge of what a duelist truly is. These 'multiple worlds' you speak of... they're hard to conceive of.

[moderndaydragon]

I know that feeling... why do you think I want to challenge you sometime? Win or lose, I know I have to fight tooth and nail against you, and just that idea makes me excited.

[She nods a little in understanding at that part, though. She can't blame him much...]

The best way I can explain it is to think of it like a set of doors. Every world -- or "room" -- behind each "door" is radically different, from time to technology to social workings, but every "door" connects to the main hallway -- in this case, the Campus.

Everyone from those "rooms" are here, in a place they've never seen before, with other people they've never seen before.

[memorypuzzle]

You have a true duelist's spirit... I'll definitely enjoy dueling you.

[It's good, meeting someone like this here.]

This Kai can't possibly develop that understanding without experience. Holding back will only slow his growth as a duelist. Of course, if he's brought down too fast, it'll damage his ability to learn... but there's a difference between fighting your hardest to defeat an enemy, and refusing to hold back. A duel between friends is a battle that shows the true nature of the people behind the cards. He may surprise you.

[Those 'rooms' they spoke of... with all of them being worlds... it's a difficult concept. But she has little reason to lie. He'll trust her on that one.]

[moderndaydragon]

Heheh... it's flattering, to hear that from someone like you.

[She almost seems embarrassed about it. However... he does make a good point, and she nods after musing over it for a bit.]

Yes, you're right. I suppose this is why I never tried to teach anyone before.

[She doesn't seem to mind too much about that, though, if the sheepish laugh is any indication.]

[memorypuzzle]

[Lifting a hand, he shrugs his coat further over his shoulders. She's the awkward type, it seems... Not necessarily negative about her skill, but not entirely assured of it either.]

I doubt you're doing him any harm. I'm sure he'll become a great duelist in time... whether he decides he prefers playing for fun or for some goal.

[moderndaydragon]

Probably for fun. I think he prefers his magic for any other goal.

[Even if some of it is that dark one. Brrr. Still not entirely happy with that.]

But, thank you. I just thought we needed some more duelists around here, to be honest!

[memorypuzzle]

...Magic?

[That was never a good sign. Not that magic was necessarily bad, but it depended on the goal.]

Heh. Are there really so few of us?

[moderndaydragon]

Mmm. You, me, Bakura-kun, Malik-kun... I think that's all of them. There were people named Kaiba and Pegasus here at one point, but as far as I can tell, they've just disappeared.

The England Duelists are duelists themselves, but they don't seem to actually duel all that much. I think they have their own style they focus on, but that's all I know.

[memorypuzzle]

...Kaiba and Pegasus were here-?!

[He hadn't seen Pegasus since Duelist Kingdom. But if Kaiba had been here... that definitely led credence to her earlier belief that people returned to their worlds at the point that they left. Kaiba hadn't disappeared, after all... Unlike Pegasus.]

There are duelists from England here? I don't think there's been that many I've ever met.

[moderndaydragon]

Yes, a while ago. A few months, I think?

[That's the best guess she can give him.]

The England Duelists... they're the proof that this place takes people from different times on top of everything else. They're from our world, but the year of 1485, during the War of the Roses. They're...

Different.

[She means that in the nicest way possible without saying "The King of England looks like you."]

They're all friendly, though. Even Rosenkreuz-san.

[memorypuzzle]

1485... Dueling wasn't even invented back then, so how-?

[This is really confusing him, Karasu. Pegasus only made the cards a few years ago at most...]

[moderndaydragon]

It was invented back then, but from what I understand -- which, I admit, isn't much -- it was a lot different than it is now. You'd have to ask Henry-san or Rosenkreuz-san about it, though... but Henry-san, at least, has seemed busy, so I don't know if he'll be easy to find.