the_campus | ANNOUNCEMENT 012

I'm terrible at card games. I try not to bother. [Excepting Duel Monsters, but that's still pretty iffy in his mind.]

...Uh...

[Oh Light, did he really just ask him that. Kai resists the urge to thunk his head into the table, instead propping an elbow up and resting his head on the palm of his hand.]

Not much. [That was an honest answer, but specifics would be useful. For both of them, actually.] We're friends, though. Still. Somehow.

She mentioned that things were kind of strange there still. But she still wanted to be friends. Hell if I know. [He's trying to put two cards together again.]

I'm not going to pretend to understand what happened. But from the gist I get some kid pissed you off, you get him back, but in the process hurt people? Which is a simple version.

[Because he's not ready to start delving into this whole horrible alternate personality undead back from the dead maybe died he doesn't know bullshit yet.]

Kind of strange, yeah. ['Forever screwed himself over', in his opinion.] But friends.

[Kai visibly cringes at that, simple version or not, and turns his attention to the cards. Really, glue's much better for this sort of thing.] Yeah...I knew better. I shouldn't have tried it. I could've- well, she did die, didn't she? I just wasn't the one to...

[Kai shrugs, pushing the thought back. Nope.] Glad my little creepies didn't get you, though.

I certainly wouldn't want of those running up my pants leg. When I realized they didn't care much either way about bullets I just stayed in my room until the strange noises stopped.

[He's getting the next couple set up. So far so good.] I don't know. I might have made the same mistake if it were left to me. It is hard to say. Once I got someone back for picking on me and my cousin. This got my cousin shot.

He's still alive. He still loves me. But he is not happy with me.

Magic's the big thing for them. They don't like that at all.

[Ha, if Kai'd stayed in his room a lot of trouble would've been avoided.]

...Ow. What'd you do to the guy that made them think they needed to shoot your cousin?

[He's almost hoping it wasn't something big, to be honest. He'd feel a little better knowing he's not the only one that overreacts to stupid bullshit.]

I shot him in the eye. [He doesn't look up from what he's doing.] The people he worked for, they didn't care all that much about that. It was circumstances. Cousin makes a fuss, cousin is shot for it.

But the end result is the same. Defending your pride can cost worse things. It is difficult to decide whether to defend your principles, your self respect, and not be walked on, or take into consideration that there might be collateral damage.

Usually if you do nothing, there is also damage, so I guess people are just screwed either way.

[Niko is a ray of sunshine in his card construction.]

Edited 2014-05-02 06:47 (UTC)

[Well, that kills that idea. Kai almost flinches, shifting a bit to fold his arms across the table, being very careful not to disturb the cards.]

...I was only partly defending myself. My pride, whatever...most of it was for Karasu.

[Such a fun thing to admit, but at least she knows about it.] Bakura was...well. It's past, I guess. I've actually been hanging around him lately, I don't know what the hell's wrong with me.

Most of my reasons were for my cousin, too. [Vlad was sleeping with Mallorie, Roman's girlfriend. And it was something he loved to remind them of constantly, that he was still the elite Russian and they were lowly dogs and peasants.]

I hang out with a lot of assholes. If he's just an asshole and not a traitor? You might as well be friends. Assholes can be decent people, just with harsh words and stupid actions. If he's a traitor? Get out while you can. Nothing fixes that.

What if I'm not sure which he's more of?

[See, 'cause Kai knows Bakura's an asshole. But he's trying to deal with him, partly for Karasu's sake.]

I know he'll stab me in the back at some point too, so. Kind of makes the fact I've been teaching him magic really, really stupid.

[And now Kai does thunk his head onto the table, so say goodbye to that card house of yours, Niko. If it's any consolation, he's really sorry about it.]

[Down goes the cards, and he doesn't look too put out. He just starts stacking again.]

I wouldn't help someone I knew would stab me in the back later. [Bakura doesn't seem to have stabbed him in the back yet, from what he's been hearing, just been a dick.]

[Kai's voice is muffled from where his head is pressed against the table, but understandable.]

Neither would I.

[He sighs, gently thunks his head one more time, then sits up, shifting to tug up his left sleeve to expose the jagged scar on his forearm above the elbow.]

I already got stabbed in the front, see? But it was my fault.

[He's maturing, admitting things like that. Kai shoves his sleeve back down, crossing his arms across the table again so he can rest his chin on them, watching Niko stack.]

It feels complicated, but part of it...I'm trying to help him protect someone. So while it's stupid and dangerous, it's a good thing, too. If someone needs help, I can't just walk away from it.

[Sometimes he wishes he could.]

Who are you helping him protect? The girl?

[He decides to shuffle for a little bit, that way he won't be over-eager and screw up his next attempt.]

Karasu? No. Another friend of his.

[Sorry Niko, he can't give you details since he doesn't have too many himself.]

Her though? I'd be her knight if she wanted.

[Oh Light. Why did he say that out loud? Kai simply groans, burying his face in his arms. For the love of- He lifts his head enough that his eyes are visible, glancing first at Niko's hands as he shuffles, then up at the man's face.]

What're you supposed to do with girls, anyway? [As soon as that's out, Kai turns red. That just sounds wrong.] I don't mean that! I mean-

[He doesn't bother to explain what he did mean, opting instead to bury his face again. Geeze.]

[He snorts. He sees what's happening there.] You get them things that are nice and that they like and you remember girls have hard lives.

Most ladies do not have men remember this for them.

[His mother, for one. But at the same time, Niko's met some annoying, terrible women. Hell, it's most of the women he dates. And the last one he fell for? Well, she was faking the whole thing for information and he's still not over it.]

I am unlucky at love. I am not the best one to ask.

Already done the first part.

[The paper flowers and the little vase he'd made for her birthday, the cloak and wooden sword for their games...

He feels like he's back in grade school, suddenly.]

The second...yeah. I'll remember that.

[Sighing, he pushes himself back up, chin going back into his propped up hand. He's pretty sure he's still blushing, but it feels less. He hopes it is, anyway.]

I don't really have anyone else to talk to about it. Well, kind of, but. [Yeah, trying to talk to Ryou about this...same position as Niko, almost, with the added 'bonus' of the Creeper popping out to interrupt. Nope.]

She's just- I never had a crush on a girl, not once. Ever. Great friends, but...and then I met her. And at some point it was like being hit with a tidal wave or a really pissed off Neoshadow wielding a Keyblade of it's own-

[How does the way he describes things make sense in his own head? Kai rolls his eyes.] I wish there'd been someone else before her, it'd make this easier to deal with.

This is... Like you have never felt things for a girl or you are still a virgin never liked a girl?

Because buddy, if this is the case one day you might have bigger things to worry about. But I guess one thing at a time. [Well, it was a matter that he'd think to address.] I the meantime it at least sounds like she would very much like to keep you around.

She has already forgiven a lot of shit just for a friend. That must mean something.

[Kai could be talking about flying sharks for comparisons. There's nothing about this place that makes sense except emotions. That part he can get.]

[Ugh Niko Light damn it. The blush comes back full force, but at least Kai doesn't bang his head into the table. Instead he buries his face in his hands, muttering to himself before raising his voice just enough for Niko to hear him.]

Both. Just shoot me already, would you? And...

Don't know how much it means. If it means anything. I'm her friend, and Karasu's a very forgiving person.

[She'd have to be, after dealing with him and Bakura.]

...Not sure if I should even bring it up again. Not now. Just be happy we're friends and take this whole thing as a learning experience.

Well... [He's amused enough to be smiling.] Learning experience or not, it is better if more learning experiences are based off successes than mistakes. [He's made plenty of the latter.]

Hey, look. You say a nice thing to make her know she's appreciated, don't expect anything back. Sometimes it's good for people to know that they're cared about.

[Niko sucks at advice. His cousin and his mother are the ones that say they care about him, and that only helps him a little. Sometimes he feels like he's much more of a problem for them than someone they should care about. He never masks that he cares back, though.]

[He sees you smiling there, Niko. See him peering out from between his fingers? He's just going to...stay like this a few moments longer, though.

What is his life.]

Well yeah...and I don't! I mean, I say nice stuff and never expect anything because I'm not a creep and I wouldn't know what to do with it anyway-

[So embarrassing. Please just shoot him.]

No no, I mean...

[He holds up his hand, a two of hearts in it.] Nice things. Like all the things you like. Like I say, women are not given many reasons to think well of themselves, or they learn that to think well of themselves they must be very fake.

Telling a girl good things can keep her genuine. Not just small things. The important ones.

She knows I think she's beautiful.

[Still mumbling through his hands here. Sigh.] I drip sap half the time I'm talking to her anyway. And she's smart and brave and-

Yeah, I need to actually tell her that, okay.

[Kai gives the card Niko's holding a look, as if it's responsible somehow for his current misery, before forcing himself to stop hiding behind his hands and sit up straight.]

[He puts it back into the deck to straighten it out again, doing the thing where he makes a point of making sure all the cards are the patterned side up.]

If you have a chance to do normal teenage things here, you should take them. I didn't. I grew up in a war.

We already do the cuddling thing, sometimes. Though-

[Okay, brain stopped at that. He frowns, staring at Niko in silence for a few moments. What?]

Your whole childhood? Or just-

['Just' what, the important bits? All of it was important. Kai sighs, rubbing the bridge of his nose.] Sorry. That must've been- Sorry.

Hey, don't worry about it. It just means I'm an overgrown kid sometimes now. Always with cops and robbers. [He just chuckles a little.]

Cuddling, though, that's a good start. Means that she trusts you close. Probably even likes you close.

I still build pillow forts and play with wooden swords. [Probably real cops and robbers. Kai grins a bit at that, shaking his head.]

Yeah, well...

['Yeah, well'. Really, that's the best he can do?] I sure like having her close.

...This is a conversation I should be having with my dad or even my uncle...No, wait, we did that already. Sort of.

[They had 'the talk' when he was eight and that was it. It wasn't like Kai ever felt the need to go bug them about it after that. Video games and magic were more important than girls.]

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Bad icon, stay on the leash

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