White Demon, Dark Angel
Long, philosophical conversations on rooftops in the evenings. Fun! ^^ Kind of like Night Wind Conversations, for those who have read it.
Disclaimer: I still don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. Or Chibi Me (Sadiera's chibi). Or the Great Emu's song of the day, which I'm pretty sure I'm thankful for. And she doesn't quite own it, because she tweaked a Veggie Tales song or something to make it.
And for anyone who may not believe in God, please don't be offended by the song. I mean, in the fics people are constantly substituting Ra's name in and no one's been offended by that yet whether they believe in Ra or not.
"Sadly, we all learn too late that the only way to protect something is to let it be free," - Anonymous
~+~+~+~+~+~
Chibi Muse: (clears her throat) In about one minute Chibi Windswift says she's gonna get free, so then we're gonna do a song of the day for the Great Emu!
Chibi Ryou: I like to sing ^^
Chibi Me: (looks at the song paper) OH! OH! I KNOW THIS ONE!!!
Chibi Windswift: (runs onto the screen) I'M FREE!!!
Chibi Ryelle: (hands out song sheets that they can't read anyway)
Chibi Windswift: One, Two, um-
Chibi Meawen: -skip a few, ninety-nine, one hundred!
Chibi Muse: JUST SING!!!
All Chibis: (sing very loudly) OH God is bigger than the softball nazi!
Bigger than the Weidmiester who likes to torture kids!
OH God is bigger than the softball nazi!
And he's looking out for softball players!
Chibi Me: (points to Chibi Bakura) He wasn't singing right!
Chibi Bakura: (sings) OH Ra is bigger than the softball nazi!
Chibi Windswift: . . . . . . . I see rehearsals in our future . . . . . Come, my legions of chibis! We depart only to terrorize another day! MWAHAHAHAHA!!!
Muse: Wow, I really _should_ have listened to Windswift when she told me not to corrupt the chibis . . . .
((+)~
Ryou wandered around the back ways and alleys, though he wasn't looking for trouble. Then again, if you call Bakura trouble, then I guess you could say he was.
The directions to Bakura's "home" lingered in the back of his mind like some half-forgotten dream. But Ryou wasn't giving up.
He wasn't quite sure why he was seeking Bakura anyway. Partly it was because he was drawn to the other's strange personality. Partly he felt some need to thank him, though he wasn't quite sure what for. Part of him demanded to know why anyone cared if he walked around here or in the park. It was a free city!
And so, he found himself standing in front of the abandoned building Bakura lived in, feeling more than a little confused and lost.
"I'm up here," a familiar voice called down.
Ryou tilted his head upward and saw the glint of the boy's silvery hair in the evening light.
"You can climb up the fire escape that's around the corner. Your left, it would be."
Ryou presently joined him upon the building's flat rooftop. Bakura was lying stretched out on his back, staring up at the sky.
"Nice place to come and think, huh?" Ryou said softly more to himself than the other. The view of the sky was beautiful, especially as the sun was now setting. A place to be inspired, almost.
~+[Bakura's PoV]+~
Ryou's footsteps approached me as he ascended the roof. I'm not sure why he came to find me - any sensible person would stay away, especially if they didn't want to get mixed up in gang trouble.
I'm not complaining about him, though. It gets kind of lonely when most of the people you know are in fear of you and a few consider themselves only to be your stupid minions. I feel strongly drawn to him. Perhaps it's because he's so dark, yet so innocent. I've heard that all demons were angels once. Maybe that's why I, the demon, am bound towards him like the night to the day.
Ryou murmurs something about it being a nice place to think. He seats himself beside me, and the look on his face tells me he needed such a place to come to.
There was something about him that seemed to see through me, to open me up to my very core. Something that made me think.
~+[3rd Person PoV]+~
"There seems to be two unanswered questions that people always ask: 'What is the meaning of life?' and 'Why me?' But I wonder if the answers to those aren't exactly the same," Bakura murmured aloud.
"You might be right," Ryou replied. "But I think love and destiny are also tied up in there."
By the look on Bakura's face, he hadn't meant to say his thoughts out loud carelessly. He began to continue the conversation anyway.
"Is there even an answer? Is it beyond our comprehension, nonexistent, or different for each person?"
"Perhaps it's all in how you want to see it. For some, it is the unfathomable reason for why things are. For others, the answer matters not so much as the quest for an answer. Some people feel comfortable finding answers that suit them in their lives. Then there are ones who will never know an answer at all."
"You have too much time on your hands to think don't you?"
"Yes, and half of that time spent wondering why it's there in the first place," Ryou sighed. "But then again, you're pretty philosophical for a gangster yourself."
"I suppose I'll consider that a compliment, otherwise I'd have to hurt you."
"More of an observation, really," Ryou replied. He went to the ledge and sat down, staring off into the horizon. "Everyone's not exactly what they seem."
"So, you aren't actually quiet, kind, and innocent," Bakura joked.
"How would you know what I'm like? You've hardly even met me."
Bakura laughed at Ryou's confusion. "Just because you haven't seen me doesn't mean I haven't seen you. It's quite amazing what people would find if they took the time to observe."
Ryou colored slightly - it hadn't occurred to him that he might have been recruited after Bakura had been keeping tabs on him for a while. You don't just make random people join your group.
Bakura grinned. "And, by the look on your face, we go back to the age-old question of 'Why me?'"
They were silent for a moment, each with his own enigmatic thoughts.
"Look at the city," Ryou said softly, hushing the silence. "When the sun shines, it is lit. You can see nearly everything in it if you know where to look. You can see the beauty, the ugliness, and the whole of the city that consists of both and neither.
"Then night comes, and the sun goes away. It becomes dark, and all hides in that darkness. Yet then, because of the sun's influence, the people of the city make lights. Even without the sun, some of the city may be lit."
"So without a sun, the city would be forever dark," Bakura replied. "The ancient Egyptians worshiped the sun. Maybe that was a good idea on their part."
"A lot of people take the sun for granted though. It can be harsh, it can burn and kill."
"Well, there's a risk in everything."
"Why did you take the risk of making me part of your group?"
Bakura started - he hadn't been expecting a question like that.
"It was a number of reasons, all very different . . . .
"The first are the ones I told you already. I don't slay in cold blood, but I couldn't let you go free. Being in the gang would toughen you up so people wouldn't beat up on you and think it was me, and being stronger would have some benefits for you also.
"I may be evil, but I don't abandon my people lightly. You looked like you could use someone like that. I forced you into the gang because you'd probably never otherwise accept a person who's that loyal to you whether you like it or not. I know what pain feels like, whether it transforms you into a cold and cruel person or it overwhelms you in silent despair. As I said, we're all 'one, big family,' and that's all that's keeping us together."
"I thought so," Ryou murmured.
"What?"
"That deep inside you care for others, even if you don't like to show it. You think if you're soft, that the world will take advantage of you. Yet you manage to see that it won't kill you to be secretly compassionate and good in your own way."
Bakura sat silent. No one had ever seen through him in that way before.
"There's a lot of things to think about if you look with your soul instead of your eyes," Ryou whispered.
"Like being able to see another soul," Bakura mused. "You're stronger than you seem, yet more fragile than you realize. You would stand firm beyond mortal men for what you have faith in, yet your spirit is so gentle that it could easily and cruelly be broken."
"Your core is also more delicate than _you_ realize. People think you're a bad person, don't they? I think it's just the way you protect yourself from pain, by hiding your true nature. But not everyone's out to get you."
"And I don't think you're usually this open to people."
Each paused.
"You know, there's something strange about you," the two boys chorused together.
"Er, go ahead," Ryou muttered embarrassedly.
"Well, um, something that makes me feel . . ."
"Safe," he supplied.
"And more human. As if you've found me-"
"-And I unconsciously respond."
"We're either best friends-"
"-Or best enemies."
They laughed.
"But we're keeping this little emergence of our true forms a secret, right?"
"To save face? Deal." Ryou and Bakura shook hands.
"That's good. I don't want to be known as the gang leader who starts randomly asking himself the meaning of life."
((+)~
Semi-long chapter for you! The next chapter, when I get it written, will be fun. I'll be torturing Ryou! Then we can have some Ryou angst in the chapters after that . . . ^^
I'll have a surprise for the first, um, two people to guess the symbolism in the conversations and what it meant. I may come up with some other things for the rest of the people who get it right. There, now I can get reviews, and have fun reading what you guys guess about the chapter! For those who paid attention in their literature classes like I tried to, whatever that class has taught you about the meaning of the story, you should probably forget it because it just doesn't work . . . .
-Windswift ((+)~
Long, philosophical conversations on rooftops in the evenings. Fun! ^^ Kind of like Night Wind Conversations, for those who have read it.
Disclaimer: I still don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. Or Chibi Me (Sadiera's chibi). Or the Great Emu's song of the day, which I'm pretty sure I'm thankful for. And she doesn't quite own it, because she tweaked a Veggie Tales song or something to make it.
And for anyone who may not believe in God, please don't be offended by the song. I mean, in the fics people are constantly substituting Ra's name in and no one's been offended by that yet whether they believe in Ra or not.
"Sadly, we all learn too late that the only way to protect something is to let it be free," - Anonymous
~+~+~+~+~+~
Chibi Muse: (clears her throat) In about one minute Chibi Windswift says she's gonna get free, so then we're gonna do a song of the day for the Great Emu!
Chibi Ryou: I like to sing ^^
Chibi Me: (looks at the song paper) OH! OH! I KNOW THIS ONE!!!
Chibi Windswift: (runs onto the screen) I'M FREE!!!
Chibi Ryelle: (hands out song sheets that they can't read anyway)
Chibi Windswift: One, Two, um-
Chibi Meawen: -skip a few, ninety-nine, one hundred!
Chibi Muse: JUST SING!!!
All Chibis: (sing very loudly) OH God is bigger than the softball nazi!
Bigger than the Weidmiester who likes to torture kids!
OH God is bigger than the softball nazi!
And he's looking out for softball players!
Chibi Me: (points to Chibi Bakura) He wasn't singing right!
Chibi Bakura: (sings) OH Ra is bigger than the softball nazi!
Chibi Windswift: . . . . . . . I see rehearsals in our future . . . . . Come, my legions of chibis! We depart only to terrorize another day! MWAHAHAHAHA!!!
Muse: Wow, I really _should_ have listened to Windswift when she told me not to corrupt the chibis . . . .
((+)~
Ryou wandered around the back ways and alleys, though he wasn't looking for trouble. Then again, if you call Bakura trouble, then I guess you could say he was.
The directions to Bakura's "home" lingered in the back of his mind like some half-forgotten dream. But Ryou wasn't giving up.
He wasn't quite sure why he was seeking Bakura anyway. Partly it was because he was drawn to the other's strange personality. Partly he felt some need to thank him, though he wasn't quite sure what for. Part of him demanded to know why anyone cared if he walked around here or in the park. It was a free city!
And so, he found himself standing in front of the abandoned building Bakura lived in, feeling more than a little confused and lost.
"I'm up here," a familiar voice called down.
Ryou tilted his head upward and saw the glint of the boy's silvery hair in the evening light.
"You can climb up the fire escape that's around the corner. Your left, it would be."
Ryou presently joined him upon the building's flat rooftop. Bakura was lying stretched out on his back, staring up at the sky.
"Nice place to come and think, huh?" Ryou said softly more to himself than the other. The view of the sky was beautiful, especially as the sun was now setting. A place to be inspired, almost.
~+[Bakura's PoV]+~
Ryou's footsteps approached me as he ascended the roof. I'm not sure why he came to find me - any sensible person would stay away, especially if they didn't want to get mixed up in gang trouble.
I'm not complaining about him, though. It gets kind of lonely when most of the people you know are in fear of you and a few consider themselves only to be your stupid minions. I feel strongly drawn to him. Perhaps it's because he's so dark, yet so innocent. I've heard that all demons were angels once. Maybe that's why I, the demon, am bound towards him like the night to the day.
Ryou murmurs something about it being a nice place to think. He seats himself beside me, and the look on his face tells me he needed such a place to come to.
There was something about him that seemed to see through me, to open me up to my very core. Something that made me think.
~+[3rd Person PoV]+~
"There seems to be two unanswered questions that people always ask: 'What is the meaning of life?' and 'Why me?' But I wonder if the answers to those aren't exactly the same," Bakura murmured aloud.
"You might be right," Ryou replied. "But I think love and destiny are also tied up in there."
By the look on Bakura's face, he hadn't meant to say his thoughts out loud carelessly. He began to continue the conversation anyway.
"Is there even an answer? Is it beyond our comprehension, nonexistent, or different for each person?"
"Perhaps it's all in how you want to see it. For some, it is the unfathomable reason for why things are. For others, the answer matters not so much as the quest for an answer. Some people feel comfortable finding answers that suit them in their lives. Then there are ones who will never know an answer at all."
"You have too much time on your hands to think don't you?"
"Yes, and half of that time spent wondering why it's there in the first place," Ryou sighed. "But then again, you're pretty philosophical for a gangster yourself."
"I suppose I'll consider that a compliment, otherwise I'd have to hurt you."
"More of an observation, really," Ryou replied. He went to the ledge and sat down, staring off into the horizon. "Everyone's not exactly what they seem."
"So, you aren't actually quiet, kind, and innocent," Bakura joked.
"How would you know what I'm like? You've hardly even met me."
Bakura laughed at Ryou's confusion. "Just because you haven't seen me doesn't mean I haven't seen you. It's quite amazing what people would find if they took the time to observe."
Ryou colored slightly - it hadn't occurred to him that he might have been recruited after Bakura had been keeping tabs on him for a while. You don't just make random people join your group.
Bakura grinned. "And, by the look on your face, we go back to the age-old question of 'Why me?'"
They were silent for a moment, each with his own enigmatic thoughts.
"Look at the city," Ryou said softly, hushing the silence. "When the sun shines, it is lit. You can see nearly everything in it if you know where to look. You can see the beauty, the ugliness, and the whole of the city that consists of both and neither.
"Then night comes, and the sun goes away. It becomes dark, and all hides in that darkness. Yet then, because of the sun's influence, the people of the city make lights. Even without the sun, some of the city may be lit."
"So without a sun, the city would be forever dark," Bakura replied. "The ancient Egyptians worshiped the sun. Maybe that was a good idea on their part."
"A lot of people take the sun for granted though. It can be harsh, it can burn and kill."
"Well, there's a risk in everything."
"Why did you take the risk of making me part of your group?"
Bakura started - he hadn't been expecting a question like that.
"It was a number of reasons, all very different . . . .
"The first are the ones I told you already. I don't slay in cold blood, but I couldn't let you go free. Being in the gang would toughen you up so people wouldn't beat up on you and think it was me, and being stronger would have some benefits for you also.
"I may be evil, but I don't abandon my people lightly. You looked like you could use someone like that. I forced you into the gang because you'd probably never otherwise accept a person who's that loyal to you whether you like it or not. I know what pain feels like, whether it transforms you into a cold and cruel person or it overwhelms you in silent despair. As I said, we're all 'one, big family,' and that's all that's keeping us together."
"I thought so," Ryou murmured.
"What?"
"That deep inside you care for others, even if you don't like to show it. You think if you're soft, that the world will take advantage of you. Yet you manage to see that it won't kill you to be secretly compassionate and good in your own way."
Bakura sat silent. No one had ever seen through him in that way before.
"There's a lot of things to think about if you look with your soul instead of your eyes," Ryou whispered.
"Like being able to see another soul," Bakura mused. "You're stronger than you seem, yet more fragile than you realize. You would stand firm beyond mortal men for what you have faith in, yet your spirit is so gentle that it could easily and cruelly be broken."
"Your core is also more delicate than _you_ realize. People think you're a bad person, don't they? I think it's just the way you protect yourself from pain, by hiding your true nature. But not everyone's out to get you."
"And I don't think you're usually this open to people."
Each paused.
"You know, there's something strange about you," the two boys chorused together.
"Er, go ahead," Ryou muttered embarrassedly.
"Well, um, something that makes me feel . . ."
"Safe," he supplied.
"And more human. As if you've found me-"
"-And I unconsciously respond."
"We're either best friends-"
"-Or best enemies."
They laughed.
"But we're keeping this little emergence of our true forms a secret, right?"
"To save face? Deal." Ryou and Bakura shook hands.
"That's good. I don't want to be known as the gang leader who starts randomly asking himself the meaning of life."
((+)~
Semi-long chapter for you! The next chapter, when I get it written, will be fun. I'll be torturing Ryou! Then we can have some Ryou angst in the chapters after that . . . ^^
I'll have a surprise for the first, um, two people to guess the symbolism in the conversations and what it meant. I may come up with some other things for the rest of the people who get it right. There, now I can get reviews, and have fun reading what you guys guess about the chapter! For those who paid attention in their literature classes like I tried to, whatever that class has taught you about the meaning of the story, you should probably forget it because it just doesn't work . . . .
-Windswift ((+)~