Song of the Chapter: "We Suck Young Blood", by Radiohead (Hail to the Thief-
-stupendous CD)
NOTE: Hey, guys, I'm not going to send you music file via e-mail . . . or at least, not on the chapter alert thingamajig ^^ Icky viruses make me sick, and they probably have a similar effect on your compies, SO I won't send the alerts with attachments. Tell me if you'd like me to e-mail you again with the chosen music file, and I'll give it to you independently, if you're determined.
Otherwise, go to radiohead.com and listen to the intro into the site. It's the song of the chapter . . . except you can't hear the creepy words and all that. Shameful, shameful ~_^
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"There was a boy . . .
A very strange, ~enchanted~ boy.
They say he wandered very far,
--very far--
over land and sea . . .
A little shy, and sad of eye
but very wise, was he.
And then one day,
one magic day, he passed my way.
While we spoke of many things,
fools and kings,
this he said to me:
'The greatest thing you'll ever learn
is just to love . . . and be loved in return'"
- Massive Attack & David Bowie, "Nature Boy"
~*~*~*~
The tapping of his thin-skinned fingers halted. As his head remained lowered, and his face contorted from completely speculative, to mulling, it seemed as though he was doing some very thoughtful thinking. In the dim lighting and his gaze downcast to nothing in particular, his eyes looked particularly like deep dark depths of a darker world than most people were aware of. Ryou found himself overtaken by the strong similarity in his eyes with the Shadow Realm, which was amazingly comforting given it's purpose and past experiences with the hushed boy.
At least it was something that he couldn't forget, something that wasn't so utterly unnatural in the murky halls of doom and psychological destruction he had become so accustomed to in the recent years. Folly mingled about his opinion of the other man, unseen but suspiciously sensed, so Ryou remained silent; his Yami was much better in stressing social situations than he.
It was difficult to express oneself to others if they were the quiet type, however, he wondered with satisfaction if he would learn that smoothness of speech that Bakura was renowned for.
The silenced continued to span for the immediate future, and gave no apparent plan to stop any time soon. His lips tightened to a nervous gesture, curled away, but definitely not a smile. The contortion was quick and trembling, which suddenly made him quite aware of just how tired he was.
Stealing a glance at his Yami, he noticed that his other half was determinedly not looking away from the dark man on the opposite side of the table. Ryou recalled, indistinctly that looking away from one's direct eye- contact in most societies was suspicious behavior.
Instead, he fingered Bakura's gaudy pendent in one of his numerous coat- pockets, finding it startlingly warm to the touch of his fingertips. Of course, he found that his hands were almost always too cold.
Still, it was rather comforting somehow.
"You must forgive me," Ryou jumped in his seat at the unexpected drawl of the dark man, Alucard "but you must admit your story seems rather far- fetched."
Bakura snorted contemptuously, his upper lip curling into a familiar sneer "Not as far-fetched as many."
"So true."
"You believe us, don't you?" Ryou said, out of curiosity more than anything.
Alucard chuckled deep in his throat, darkly turning away. "I do not trust anyone, not now, not in these times."
"But you believe us." The boy pressed on, trying not to yawn.
Those red eyes were calculating and comparative.
"No, of course not."
Bakura made a sound reminiscent of a growl, as his barriers strengthened considerably out of more than simply discontent.
"But I wonder . . . " Alucard suddenly allowed his eyes to narrow a fleeting moment, and Ryou was startled. There it was again, that unexpected sense of humanity behind those inhuman eyes and too-pale complexion. Pity, or something resembling it, he realized.
"Wondering means nothing." Said the Yami.
"Wondering can lead to so many more possibilities than you could imagine, O Impatient One."
"Don't lecture me on the nature of humans, vampire, I have had no such ties to their world for centuries."
"And yet you are a parasite to one?"
The room went tense.
"Can we please leave these philosophical discussions for another time?" the boy cut in, annoyed. "We have more important things to tend to, then an argument in which I am sure you are both ~quite~ determined to win."
Alucard felt surprised at the variance and initiative of the quiet child. "Excellent idea."
The Yami spirit rose swiftly, moving closely to his weary Hikari whose vision was decidedly doubling at the late hour. With their mirroring apparel, mirroring appearance, and mirroring survival stress, their contrasting expressions appeared unnaturally odd.
"I won't let you kill him."
"Now predicting the future--a rare gift indeed."
"With all due respect Mr. Alucard, don't attempt witless sarcasm when you have no possible idea of what you could be initiating."
Again, the two inhuman characters in the room turned a startled look to the young one, or at least, startled as they could allow. /I want this over and done with,/ thought Ryou, highly irritated in his somnolent dizziness and dry mouth. /If I am going to die tonight, I want it through quickly so I won't have to suffer any more of this absurdly immature situation./
"For being as wise and as great as you both claim, you act like little more than children." He growled softly. "~Get on with it~"
With that troublesome and absolutely useless silence returning to utter revelation, Ryou noticed that his reprimand was not going along nearly as he had hoped. A clock struck the hour somewhere about the lofty apartment.
And quite suddenly, all chilled aloofness seemingly forgotten, Alucard began to laugh.
~*~*~*~
The buoyant boy smiled. Smiled wider, that is, because he always smiled. And it was a particular trait of which he was most fond of.
Of course that bubbly sort of happiness had absolutely ~nothing~ to do with skipping school, or visiting an infinitely interesting foreign country at no cost of his own, or being able to, shall we say, ~express~ himself in ways that the general public would find most unbelievable. Of ~course~ not.
He almost giggled to himself out loud, just in awe and contentment that he could be there at that moment, under those extraordinary (not to mention relatively harmless, as far as his record went) circumstances.
He needed something to huggle.
//Patience Hikari.// his Yami cooed soothingly.
Best. Huggle. Victim. EVER!
//Why do you make that seem as though it isn't a promising prospect?//
/Dunno,/ his face metamorphosed into a wry grin /you tell me./
Their good-natured bickering halted once they heard a soft ~*click*~ of the door to the room from behind them. Yuugi Motou pivoted around quickly in his homely wooden chair, feeling his mass of unruly hair disturb itself in the movement. A stray strand of his blonde bangs intercepted his perception, so he brushed it away hurriedly to pay more attention to the old man who had entered.
He was the tall and thin sort, rather than short and plump as most old men were prone to be, favoring a slight hunch in his posture that accentuated his approachableness. He sported a long beard, silver with years, and knowing, twinkling eyes behind reading glasses and faint crinkles. His hat was pointy and a most startling shade of violet, while his eccentric robes matched it impeccably.
Yuugi trusted him immediately.
"Ah, Mr. Motou I presume?" the man smiled calmly.
He scrambled up with the undignified clumsiness of one who had grown a great deal in a short span of time. While the boy was still noticeably shorter than others his age, he had grown nearly five inches that past summer, which left him physically drained and even leaner than before.
Feeling slightly in awe of this old man with the ease of his pace telling of supreme self-confidence, he bowed low and courteously to express his immediate respect.
"Yes sir." He said, suddenly finding himself quite shy.
"We've been expecting you for a week, now." The old man gazed down at him fondly, examining him. The boy didn't seem like much, but his magical auras were mind-boggling in their brightest magnificence.
Yet for all that potential, here sat a young, innocent, and shy young man who had only just discovered his potential recently.
Yuugi scratched the back of his head apprehensively. "Ah, well, I had to prepare myself to leave, which took awhile--"
"Do not worry yourself, Mr. Motou, I had no intention of reprimanding you. I understand."
The boy with the conspicuous hairdo shut his mouth with a snap, inspiring a bit of excess pain from the translation spell performed less than an hour ago. He flushed easily, in shame.
"My apologies," the man looked genuinely concerned "I did not mean to sound frank, but we have much to discuss. Too much, I'm afraid."
"Oh no no no, I'm sorry for being so dense and everything." He gave a goofy sort of grin "I've been in a plane for the past day or so, and my brain feels like mush at the moment."
The old man chuckled, suddenly clucking in disapproval.
"Where are my manners, dear me, my name is Professor Dumbledore, the current headmaster of this school."
"Pleased to meet you."
A small silver machination began whirling incessantly without any apparent use or purpose. It stood lopsided, flipping from one side to the other, yet remaining in the same position on the headmaster's desk. Yuugi actually thought it quite cute.
Dumbledore stilled it with a strict look and a stilling gesture that was reminiscent of a parent holding their child back from a street before they looked both ways.
His deep azure eyes focused back on the young man sitting on the opposite side of the desk, turning abruptly sobered and businesslike.
"Now, I'm certain you're wondering what sort of 'business' this trip to Britain requires."
Sensing a little more, a deeper purpose than any pleasantry could convey, Yuugi felt himself gently pushed away, which he was only relieved to comply with.
"Why of course." Said Yami, his esoterically-shaped almond eyes narrowing curtly.
~*~*~*~
"So you're saying," the pharaoh began skeptically "that there is a mad maniac who has no sense to stop destroying the world as we know it . . . "
"I suppose that's one way of describing it, yes."
" . . . and it is therefore in my best interest to relay all knowledge I possess to you, in order to kill one man and therefore make the world a brighter, happier place for all girls and boys?"
"Alas, I doubt that plan could be as effective as what I am about to propose."
Yami bit back another nasty comment.
"You will stay here, and be the knowledge. I have no intention of dismissing you out of the war against Voldemort, when you are perfectly capable of doing anything yourself."
"You seem convinced that I was waiting for this privilege with all positive enthusiasm."
"From what I understand," Dumbledore said wisely "there is little that I cannot actually ~allow~ you to do at the school. Of course, what I understand about your particular branch of magic is very little, but if you are at all concerned about leaving your friends behind, certain accommodations could be afforded. Besides, if you are at all the sorcerer I suspect, you will need a . . . 'court' of sorts, to maximize your power."
"But I'm afraid you ~still~ haven't answered why I should remain here, and not return home where I could remain infinitely more comfortable."
Dumbledore blinked. This was a most unexpected change of events . . . he had suspected this wide-eyed Yuugi Motou to be driven by the purpose of helping others . . . what was this boy implying . . . ?
Yet the boy's gaze suddenly softened back to the point previously, taken with himself and transitorily focused on himself. His mouth tightened.
The old man felt his inner peace of thought tilt out of balance and into a panicked overdrive. / . . . The character of the boy is turning out to be precisely the opposite of what he had assumed . . . damn you, Albus, you shouldn't assume anything, that tells of weakness . . . yet how on earth- what do I ~say~ to the boy?!/
Amazingly, it was the boy who somehow realized the purpose behind kindness and heroism for himself.
"Because it's ~right~" Yuugi whispered. And that was that.
~*~*~*~
The chuckles turned into full-blown cackles as he threw back his darkly glorious head and threw his chosen expressions of mirth into the cool air like broken kites. His hands gripped imaginary coattails, balancing on the table and shaking with every laugh and mirroring the movement in his lower jaw.
The boy scowled, glaring to his more venomously-glaring counterpart, hands drifting to clutch the sides of the wooden chair in obvious disapproval. His eyes narrowed to wicked slits.
The older-appearing man seemed not to notice.
Ryou finally felt his lip tremble, and his nostrils flare in indignation.
"Shut up." He hissed, considerably annoyed.
Alucard responded by, if at all possible, laughing harder and more boisterously into the seeping silence.
With an angry pound on the table, Yami Bakura dove into the mix.
"You heard him, stop this infernal laughing you insignificant little wretch![1]"
"Oh, ~that's~ rich!" the vampire cooed, finally calming himself down enough to comment and defend himself through his giggles prone to carnival-like enthusiasm. Rather disturbing, once the other two contemplated it.
Their expressions tightened, as the dark one's face was bowed down and his hair forming a ragged inky-black curtain around his expression.
Ryou looked at his Yami, who still looked close enough to explode into darkness. That expression on his face was making him uneasy; he hadn't seen that look for years. Since, he swallowed, Battle City.
Whether it was the time to simmer down, or a supposition on the purpose of Ryou's agitation, the Yami closed his almond eyes and his shoulders finally sagged to relaxation.
"No matter," the other man finally spoke up, his face still bowed like a livid little boy "I believe you, and your complacent story."
The Hikari blinked.
"Why?"
His breath racked in with an unintentional hiss, as if he were agnowledging a sudden pain. In fact, his eyes, which had just become visible again over dark circles imprinted on his ivory cheeks, expressed that same soreness through undeniable misery.
Ryou noticed with a faint jolt, that his questions were not at all satisfactory to the situation. He was asking all the wrong things in all the wrong places.
This man, this very very lonely man was much like himself in both Yami and Hikari contexts. And he thought through patterns distinctively argumentative, stubborn, and avoiding.
He would gain nothing by skirting around the bluntness and plainness, as he might with an ordinary, worriless soul.
Leaning forward, his expression softened, forming those sincerely expressive large eyes, small nose, and thin set mouth. Alucard focused on him menacingly.
"What has hurt you so," he whispered softly, without further echo "what event has made you the way you are, Mr. Alucard?"
The vampire tried to turn away in disgust, but Ryou held the fire in his eyes and the passion in his heart.
"I can sense it in your eyes. Your eyes . . . your eyes are empty, as they simply should not be. Your existence is obviously swarmed in self-doubt and self-deceit, and I ask of you, with my open soul, what is it that you still remain afraid of?"
Alucard flinched now, noticeably disturbed, but ponderous. He still seemed unsure of the young man's purpose of accusing an ages-old creature with a penchant for dark and otherwise incapable things.
But things were not always that way for the man in the loft apartment, in the shady complex. Things such as that could never be explained with sustained cruelty.
Loss was what made dreadful things.
"TELL ME."
Yami Bakura looked at his young Hikari with a distressed expression, suddenly feeling the energies in the room change drastically. The natural magic that existed in all places seemed to still itself at that moment, and even the physical air chilled as the lights grew suspicious and dim.
The world in every sense imaginable shifted under Ryou's gaze. Alarmed, Yami Bakura realized that he had only seen this effect on reality once before. Once before, in his time before time . . .
Both the ring and the eye glowed and glittered in a glowering fashion, comprising themselves with the generally weak and unstable power of the Hikari soul. Their victim was the vampire, who actually reflected an expression of distress plain as a child's.
Ryou's eyes were opened wide, power seeping around the edges of his soul with the consistency of maple syrup.
"I can't tell you."
The effect abruptly halted, the lights became yellow and bright again. Ryou shook himself, as if out of a daze.
Bakura braced his arms for Ryou's disoriented fall to the side, cradling his soft head in his arms like a lost child's. Patting the boy's hair awkwardly, the shimmer of eyes blinked up at him in confusion.
/What happened?/ Ryou seemed to gasp in his mind-voice, as he groaned and suddenly clutched his head in pain. Even Yami Bakura saw the red of throbbing that framed his eyesight.
His eyes shut tightly as he tried to turn away from the light.
//I'm not sure,// responded the darker soul, warily.
As the Hikari struggled in his arms with the shot of unexpected fire through his head, which was still burning with a passion, Bakura glanced back over to Alucard with an unreadable expression. His mouth formed a taught line and his brows furrowed. He was beginning to suspect that they were not necessarily enemies, not like the enemies he recalled from his life.
The vampire's lost appearance, staring off to the side with his head nearly balanced entirely on his shoulder, only accentuated that gut-feeling. If there was anyone doomed, he realized, it was not he, nor his light.
His matted hair hung with tiredness and wasted vengeance. The eyes were open, glassy, and portraying that he was so close to giving it all up.
"I can't tell you," he whispered through chapped, blood-red lips, not looking up "I am unready for facing the entirety of my past."
Ryou shuddered and his eyes tightened.
"That makes for a weak soul." He mumbled blindly, gripping himself further into Bakura's version of the black trench coat.
"A poisoned soul." The Yami added, trying to adjust their true body before it slipped to the floor.
Those dark eyes, resembling empty, infinite tunnels slackened their focused perception of the world.
He spoke again, weariness etched into the edges.
"I care little. It is you I have been waiting for. You my subconscious has so eagerly awaited . . . "
"Huh?" Ryou's eyes shot open, he stared at the dark-haired man in profound surprise.
He didn't understand at all, Bakura realized with a dread-filled jolt. Did this mean--did this mean that all of this was unintentional? That his Hikari . . . ~really~ had no perception of what he possessed? The potential . . .
"You . . . I am unsure of what to call you." Alucard said thoughtfully, quietly "You are weak--yet you are most stunningly powerful behind your naivety."
The young man still mirrored the confusion of having absolutely no idea what he was talking about. Bakura found himself stiffened, his mind swimming in--
--horror. This was destructive, it could lead to so much, and yet he couldn't speak to explain.
"I-don't understand" Ryou flinched away, averting his eyes to his hands.
"You don't need to."
Bakura made a faint choking sound
" . . . Just kill me." Alucard continued
"I can't do that!"
He sounded scandalized. The vampire seemed not to notice.
Rising as though in a trance, he scooped a silvery piece of clothing out of a trunk behind his chair. It whispered with the murmur acting as the faintness of a gentle chime at midnight. The shiny cloak that was finally thrown onto the table was dreadfully beautiful.
Alucard continued his absent instructions without pausing to let Ryou voice his protests. He searched through his large red coat while speaking.
"The bounty on my head holds enough emotion to clear you of all governmental charges--I can assure you. A silver bullet will kill me, as much as I act out superior invincibility. Vampires are immortal--not ~invincible~, thank the heavens." He gave an ironic little smile.
Finally, he slapped one of his lovely, deadly pistols onto the wooden surface of their table.
Alucard stared into Yami Bakura's eyes, the first eye-contact since Ryou's surprising uprising. This sudden gesture shook him out of his horror-filled reverie, forcing him to hold his breath before the distress of everything overtook him completely.
"Take my spent corpse to the School." Alucard instructed directly to him "You know where it is."
Not bothering to think of what that particular knowledge implied, he responded hollowly "I do."
No one spoke for a moment. It seemed unnecessary, despite the questions roaming unsettled in each mind in the single room.
Through their night of revelations and accusations and variations . . . they all remained the same inside, no life-changing realizations.
Ryou was too confused to comment, preferring to look at it logically than be stuck in a situation he didn't understand. ~Anything~ was better than a situation like ~that~.
Alucard held his menagerie of emotions carefully checked and distanced. They didn't need to understand him, he just wanted to be free-there was nothing left for him now. He had had heard that expression used by ordinary humans, ordinary muggles, in traumatically dramatic situations, often under his own gunpoint. But they were weak and knew nothing of life spent far too much.
And Bakura knew too much. He was piecing the clues together . . . and 'the School' was really the only place he could afford to take himself, and his dangerous Hikari at that point. He just hoped they would accept them somehow . . .
"Use my pistol, little Ryou. It should all end quickly."
His body and mind felt rather numb, and he shifted his fingers from a clenched to unclenched position, feeling the strength wane from his bones. He couldn't ~do~ this, could he?
/I wonder . . . / Ryou stopped himself.
Was he becoming . . . what they had told him he was?
Was he a murderer?
Was he going to ~enjoy~ such an act?
He was overwhelmed.
The vampire was amazingly calm in the entirety of the situation. Ryou was torn, finding those eyes boring into him, through him, and expressing to him their tragic wishes.
He was cruel--then again, he was merciful. Yet he was beginning to finally discover that those traits were not so different.
/Shades of gray . . . shades of gray . . . /
"I . . . " the boy still faltered.
"Kill me." He insisted, hissing in anticipation.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
[1] Quote commonly used by yours truly ~_^
~*~*~*~
Lalala *crashes cymbals*
It's done! WOO!!! *blows kazoo*
Sorry it took a while. Even when I haven't updated Sanc in between, I'm still rather rusty with all of this fast-typish stuff XP
Nothing exciting, really, in the life of giggle. Besides getting a 4.0 at a prep school, that is *pats herself on the back*
Oli: My god, you're pathetic.
O.O Why did you seem so ~old~ all of the sudden?! *cries*
Kuja: You're to old for me . . . what if it's contagious and stuff . . . *inches away from Oli*
Oli: *looks crestfallen*
SO MANY REVIEWS *falls over* I'm so amazed . . .
~*~*~*~
woof - WOO! Hellsing, and yummy, yummy vampies with pretty pistols. WAIIIII!!!
Ouvalyrin - Aww, thankies! I did alright on the math final, surprisingly enough, and somehow earned an A out of the class ^^ I'm so happy, it's disturbing ^_^ lol, I do that too. I also need to take some people off the hotlist *growls* buuuuut, that's a whole 'nother story . . .
Psychopathic Sixth Grader - I hope that's a good thing ^^ *silence* O.O's back lol
onlyHAUNTED - I'm sowwy--but I'm back, teehee! I hope this is soon enough . . . I worked on this chappie when I could, and I'm afraid it's even more confusing than the rest T.T sometimes I disgust myself.
Windswift - lol, unfortunately, I dun think Ryou likes all that chocolate ^^ has to keep up his lithe figure and all. Heehee, so true. The Bakura duo has some SERIOUS issues.
~* Amanda Tom Marvolo Riddle *~ - Thank you ^^ Yes, yes, uhhh *looks around suspiciously* it--does ^^
Angel Rosz - I feel really pathetic because you left such a pretty, delicious-looking review that you obviously put a lot of thought into-and yet I can barely say anything T.T I think I have it figured out, but you know me, I'd probably use my sick humor and turn Ryou into a ~girl~ or something like that
Rei: *coughcough*
Ermm . . . yeah . . . but thank you for the good karma! *huggles* I think it actually paid off . . . heehee, I totally agree. Except I find geometric reasoning obscenely easy . . . where did all the ~easy~ stuff go *cries* btw, how did you you do? ^^
RBMIfan - Aww, you're the best *huggles* but about the R thing-I do the same thing )
Compliments, however, make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. And that's a good thing, if you'd like me to update quickly ^^
Thank you so much for reading this so far! ^^
giggleplex
NOTE: Hey, guys, I'm not going to send you music file via e-mail . . . or at least, not on the chapter alert thingamajig ^^ Icky viruses make me sick, and they probably have a similar effect on your compies, SO I won't send the alerts with attachments. Tell me if you'd like me to e-mail you again with the chosen music file, and I'll give it to you independently, if you're determined.
Otherwise, go to radiohead.com and listen to the intro into the site. It's the song of the chapter . . . except you can't hear the creepy words and all that. Shameful, shameful ~_^
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"There was a boy . . .
A very strange, ~enchanted~ boy.
They say he wandered very far,
--very far--
over land and sea . . .
A little shy, and sad of eye
but very wise, was he.
And then one day,
one magic day, he passed my way.
While we spoke of many things,
fools and kings,
this he said to me:
'The greatest thing you'll ever learn
is just to love . . . and be loved in return'"
- Massive Attack & David Bowie, "Nature Boy"
~*~*~*~
The tapping of his thin-skinned fingers halted. As his head remained lowered, and his face contorted from completely speculative, to mulling, it seemed as though he was doing some very thoughtful thinking. In the dim lighting and his gaze downcast to nothing in particular, his eyes looked particularly like deep dark depths of a darker world than most people were aware of. Ryou found himself overtaken by the strong similarity in his eyes with the Shadow Realm, which was amazingly comforting given it's purpose and past experiences with the hushed boy.
At least it was something that he couldn't forget, something that wasn't so utterly unnatural in the murky halls of doom and psychological destruction he had become so accustomed to in the recent years. Folly mingled about his opinion of the other man, unseen but suspiciously sensed, so Ryou remained silent; his Yami was much better in stressing social situations than he.
It was difficult to express oneself to others if they were the quiet type, however, he wondered with satisfaction if he would learn that smoothness of speech that Bakura was renowned for.
The silenced continued to span for the immediate future, and gave no apparent plan to stop any time soon. His lips tightened to a nervous gesture, curled away, but definitely not a smile. The contortion was quick and trembling, which suddenly made him quite aware of just how tired he was.
Stealing a glance at his Yami, he noticed that his other half was determinedly not looking away from the dark man on the opposite side of the table. Ryou recalled, indistinctly that looking away from one's direct eye- contact in most societies was suspicious behavior.
Instead, he fingered Bakura's gaudy pendent in one of his numerous coat- pockets, finding it startlingly warm to the touch of his fingertips. Of course, he found that his hands were almost always too cold.
Still, it was rather comforting somehow.
"You must forgive me," Ryou jumped in his seat at the unexpected drawl of the dark man, Alucard "but you must admit your story seems rather far- fetched."
Bakura snorted contemptuously, his upper lip curling into a familiar sneer "Not as far-fetched as many."
"So true."
"You believe us, don't you?" Ryou said, out of curiosity more than anything.
Alucard chuckled deep in his throat, darkly turning away. "I do not trust anyone, not now, not in these times."
"But you believe us." The boy pressed on, trying not to yawn.
Those red eyes were calculating and comparative.
"No, of course not."
Bakura made a sound reminiscent of a growl, as his barriers strengthened considerably out of more than simply discontent.
"But I wonder . . . " Alucard suddenly allowed his eyes to narrow a fleeting moment, and Ryou was startled. There it was again, that unexpected sense of humanity behind those inhuman eyes and too-pale complexion. Pity, or something resembling it, he realized.
"Wondering means nothing." Said the Yami.
"Wondering can lead to so many more possibilities than you could imagine, O Impatient One."
"Don't lecture me on the nature of humans, vampire, I have had no such ties to their world for centuries."
"And yet you are a parasite to one?"
The room went tense.
"Can we please leave these philosophical discussions for another time?" the boy cut in, annoyed. "We have more important things to tend to, then an argument in which I am sure you are both ~quite~ determined to win."
Alucard felt surprised at the variance and initiative of the quiet child. "Excellent idea."
The Yami spirit rose swiftly, moving closely to his weary Hikari whose vision was decidedly doubling at the late hour. With their mirroring apparel, mirroring appearance, and mirroring survival stress, their contrasting expressions appeared unnaturally odd.
"I won't let you kill him."
"Now predicting the future--a rare gift indeed."
"With all due respect Mr. Alucard, don't attempt witless sarcasm when you have no possible idea of what you could be initiating."
Again, the two inhuman characters in the room turned a startled look to the young one, or at least, startled as they could allow. /I want this over and done with,/ thought Ryou, highly irritated in his somnolent dizziness and dry mouth. /If I am going to die tonight, I want it through quickly so I won't have to suffer any more of this absurdly immature situation./
"For being as wise and as great as you both claim, you act like little more than children." He growled softly. "~Get on with it~"
With that troublesome and absolutely useless silence returning to utter revelation, Ryou noticed that his reprimand was not going along nearly as he had hoped. A clock struck the hour somewhere about the lofty apartment.
And quite suddenly, all chilled aloofness seemingly forgotten, Alucard began to laugh.
~*~*~*~
The buoyant boy smiled. Smiled wider, that is, because he always smiled. And it was a particular trait of which he was most fond of.
Of course that bubbly sort of happiness had absolutely ~nothing~ to do with skipping school, or visiting an infinitely interesting foreign country at no cost of his own, or being able to, shall we say, ~express~ himself in ways that the general public would find most unbelievable. Of ~course~ not.
He almost giggled to himself out loud, just in awe and contentment that he could be there at that moment, under those extraordinary (not to mention relatively harmless, as far as his record went) circumstances.
He needed something to huggle.
//Patience Hikari.// his Yami cooed soothingly.
Best. Huggle. Victim. EVER!
//Why do you make that seem as though it isn't a promising prospect?//
/Dunno,/ his face metamorphosed into a wry grin /you tell me./
Their good-natured bickering halted once they heard a soft ~*click*~ of the door to the room from behind them. Yuugi Motou pivoted around quickly in his homely wooden chair, feeling his mass of unruly hair disturb itself in the movement. A stray strand of his blonde bangs intercepted his perception, so he brushed it away hurriedly to pay more attention to the old man who had entered.
He was the tall and thin sort, rather than short and plump as most old men were prone to be, favoring a slight hunch in his posture that accentuated his approachableness. He sported a long beard, silver with years, and knowing, twinkling eyes behind reading glasses and faint crinkles. His hat was pointy and a most startling shade of violet, while his eccentric robes matched it impeccably.
Yuugi trusted him immediately.
"Ah, Mr. Motou I presume?" the man smiled calmly.
He scrambled up with the undignified clumsiness of one who had grown a great deal in a short span of time. While the boy was still noticeably shorter than others his age, he had grown nearly five inches that past summer, which left him physically drained and even leaner than before.
Feeling slightly in awe of this old man with the ease of his pace telling of supreme self-confidence, he bowed low and courteously to express his immediate respect.
"Yes sir." He said, suddenly finding himself quite shy.
"We've been expecting you for a week, now." The old man gazed down at him fondly, examining him. The boy didn't seem like much, but his magical auras were mind-boggling in their brightest magnificence.
Yet for all that potential, here sat a young, innocent, and shy young man who had only just discovered his potential recently.
Yuugi scratched the back of his head apprehensively. "Ah, well, I had to prepare myself to leave, which took awhile--"
"Do not worry yourself, Mr. Motou, I had no intention of reprimanding you. I understand."
The boy with the conspicuous hairdo shut his mouth with a snap, inspiring a bit of excess pain from the translation spell performed less than an hour ago. He flushed easily, in shame.
"My apologies," the man looked genuinely concerned "I did not mean to sound frank, but we have much to discuss. Too much, I'm afraid."
"Oh no no no, I'm sorry for being so dense and everything." He gave a goofy sort of grin "I've been in a plane for the past day or so, and my brain feels like mush at the moment."
The old man chuckled, suddenly clucking in disapproval.
"Where are my manners, dear me, my name is Professor Dumbledore, the current headmaster of this school."
"Pleased to meet you."
A small silver machination began whirling incessantly without any apparent use or purpose. It stood lopsided, flipping from one side to the other, yet remaining in the same position on the headmaster's desk. Yuugi actually thought it quite cute.
Dumbledore stilled it with a strict look and a stilling gesture that was reminiscent of a parent holding their child back from a street before they looked both ways.
His deep azure eyes focused back on the young man sitting on the opposite side of the desk, turning abruptly sobered and businesslike.
"Now, I'm certain you're wondering what sort of 'business' this trip to Britain requires."
Sensing a little more, a deeper purpose than any pleasantry could convey, Yuugi felt himself gently pushed away, which he was only relieved to comply with.
"Why of course." Said Yami, his esoterically-shaped almond eyes narrowing curtly.
~*~*~*~
"So you're saying," the pharaoh began skeptically "that there is a mad maniac who has no sense to stop destroying the world as we know it . . . "
"I suppose that's one way of describing it, yes."
" . . . and it is therefore in my best interest to relay all knowledge I possess to you, in order to kill one man and therefore make the world a brighter, happier place for all girls and boys?"
"Alas, I doubt that plan could be as effective as what I am about to propose."
Yami bit back another nasty comment.
"You will stay here, and be the knowledge. I have no intention of dismissing you out of the war against Voldemort, when you are perfectly capable of doing anything yourself."
"You seem convinced that I was waiting for this privilege with all positive enthusiasm."
"From what I understand," Dumbledore said wisely "there is little that I cannot actually ~allow~ you to do at the school. Of course, what I understand about your particular branch of magic is very little, but if you are at all concerned about leaving your friends behind, certain accommodations could be afforded. Besides, if you are at all the sorcerer I suspect, you will need a . . . 'court' of sorts, to maximize your power."
"But I'm afraid you ~still~ haven't answered why I should remain here, and not return home where I could remain infinitely more comfortable."
Dumbledore blinked. This was a most unexpected change of events . . . he had suspected this wide-eyed Yuugi Motou to be driven by the purpose of helping others . . . what was this boy implying . . . ?
Yet the boy's gaze suddenly softened back to the point previously, taken with himself and transitorily focused on himself. His mouth tightened.
The old man felt his inner peace of thought tilt out of balance and into a panicked overdrive. / . . . The character of the boy is turning out to be precisely the opposite of what he had assumed . . . damn you, Albus, you shouldn't assume anything, that tells of weakness . . . yet how on earth- what do I ~say~ to the boy?!/
Amazingly, it was the boy who somehow realized the purpose behind kindness and heroism for himself.
"Because it's ~right~" Yuugi whispered. And that was that.
~*~*~*~
The chuckles turned into full-blown cackles as he threw back his darkly glorious head and threw his chosen expressions of mirth into the cool air like broken kites. His hands gripped imaginary coattails, balancing on the table and shaking with every laugh and mirroring the movement in his lower jaw.
The boy scowled, glaring to his more venomously-glaring counterpart, hands drifting to clutch the sides of the wooden chair in obvious disapproval. His eyes narrowed to wicked slits.
The older-appearing man seemed not to notice.
Ryou finally felt his lip tremble, and his nostrils flare in indignation.
"Shut up." He hissed, considerably annoyed.
Alucard responded by, if at all possible, laughing harder and more boisterously into the seeping silence.
With an angry pound on the table, Yami Bakura dove into the mix.
"You heard him, stop this infernal laughing you insignificant little wretch![1]"
"Oh, ~that's~ rich!" the vampire cooed, finally calming himself down enough to comment and defend himself through his giggles prone to carnival-like enthusiasm. Rather disturbing, once the other two contemplated it.
Their expressions tightened, as the dark one's face was bowed down and his hair forming a ragged inky-black curtain around his expression.
Ryou looked at his Yami, who still looked close enough to explode into darkness. That expression on his face was making him uneasy; he hadn't seen that look for years. Since, he swallowed, Battle City.
Whether it was the time to simmer down, or a supposition on the purpose of Ryou's agitation, the Yami closed his almond eyes and his shoulders finally sagged to relaxation.
"No matter," the other man finally spoke up, his face still bowed like a livid little boy "I believe you, and your complacent story."
The Hikari blinked.
"Why?"
His breath racked in with an unintentional hiss, as if he were agnowledging a sudden pain. In fact, his eyes, which had just become visible again over dark circles imprinted on his ivory cheeks, expressed that same soreness through undeniable misery.
Ryou noticed with a faint jolt, that his questions were not at all satisfactory to the situation. He was asking all the wrong things in all the wrong places.
This man, this very very lonely man was much like himself in both Yami and Hikari contexts. And he thought through patterns distinctively argumentative, stubborn, and avoiding.
He would gain nothing by skirting around the bluntness and plainness, as he might with an ordinary, worriless soul.
Leaning forward, his expression softened, forming those sincerely expressive large eyes, small nose, and thin set mouth. Alucard focused on him menacingly.
"What has hurt you so," he whispered softly, without further echo "what event has made you the way you are, Mr. Alucard?"
The vampire tried to turn away in disgust, but Ryou held the fire in his eyes and the passion in his heart.
"I can sense it in your eyes. Your eyes . . . your eyes are empty, as they simply should not be. Your existence is obviously swarmed in self-doubt and self-deceit, and I ask of you, with my open soul, what is it that you still remain afraid of?"
Alucard flinched now, noticeably disturbed, but ponderous. He still seemed unsure of the young man's purpose of accusing an ages-old creature with a penchant for dark and otherwise incapable things.
But things were not always that way for the man in the loft apartment, in the shady complex. Things such as that could never be explained with sustained cruelty.
Loss was what made dreadful things.
"TELL ME."
Yami Bakura looked at his young Hikari with a distressed expression, suddenly feeling the energies in the room change drastically. The natural magic that existed in all places seemed to still itself at that moment, and even the physical air chilled as the lights grew suspicious and dim.
The world in every sense imaginable shifted under Ryou's gaze. Alarmed, Yami Bakura realized that he had only seen this effect on reality once before. Once before, in his time before time . . .
Both the ring and the eye glowed and glittered in a glowering fashion, comprising themselves with the generally weak and unstable power of the Hikari soul. Their victim was the vampire, who actually reflected an expression of distress plain as a child's.
Ryou's eyes were opened wide, power seeping around the edges of his soul with the consistency of maple syrup.
"I can't tell you."
The effect abruptly halted, the lights became yellow and bright again. Ryou shook himself, as if out of a daze.
Bakura braced his arms for Ryou's disoriented fall to the side, cradling his soft head in his arms like a lost child's. Patting the boy's hair awkwardly, the shimmer of eyes blinked up at him in confusion.
/What happened?/ Ryou seemed to gasp in his mind-voice, as he groaned and suddenly clutched his head in pain. Even Yami Bakura saw the red of throbbing that framed his eyesight.
His eyes shut tightly as he tried to turn away from the light.
//I'm not sure,// responded the darker soul, warily.
As the Hikari struggled in his arms with the shot of unexpected fire through his head, which was still burning with a passion, Bakura glanced back over to Alucard with an unreadable expression. His mouth formed a taught line and his brows furrowed. He was beginning to suspect that they were not necessarily enemies, not like the enemies he recalled from his life.
The vampire's lost appearance, staring off to the side with his head nearly balanced entirely on his shoulder, only accentuated that gut-feeling. If there was anyone doomed, he realized, it was not he, nor his light.
His matted hair hung with tiredness and wasted vengeance. The eyes were open, glassy, and portraying that he was so close to giving it all up.
"I can't tell you," he whispered through chapped, blood-red lips, not looking up "I am unready for facing the entirety of my past."
Ryou shuddered and his eyes tightened.
"That makes for a weak soul." He mumbled blindly, gripping himself further into Bakura's version of the black trench coat.
"A poisoned soul." The Yami added, trying to adjust their true body before it slipped to the floor.
Those dark eyes, resembling empty, infinite tunnels slackened their focused perception of the world.
He spoke again, weariness etched into the edges.
"I care little. It is you I have been waiting for. You my subconscious has so eagerly awaited . . . "
"Huh?" Ryou's eyes shot open, he stared at the dark-haired man in profound surprise.
He didn't understand at all, Bakura realized with a dread-filled jolt. Did this mean--did this mean that all of this was unintentional? That his Hikari . . . ~really~ had no perception of what he possessed? The potential . . .
"You . . . I am unsure of what to call you." Alucard said thoughtfully, quietly "You are weak--yet you are most stunningly powerful behind your naivety."
The young man still mirrored the confusion of having absolutely no idea what he was talking about. Bakura found himself stiffened, his mind swimming in--
--horror. This was destructive, it could lead to so much, and yet he couldn't speak to explain.
"I-don't understand" Ryou flinched away, averting his eyes to his hands.
"You don't need to."
Bakura made a faint choking sound
" . . . Just kill me." Alucard continued
"I can't do that!"
He sounded scandalized. The vampire seemed not to notice.
Rising as though in a trance, he scooped a silvery piece of clothing out of a trunk behind his chair. It whispered with the murmur acting as the faintness of a gentle chime at midnight. The shiny cloak that was finally thrown onto the table was dreadfully beautiful.
Alucard continued his absent instructions without pausing to let Ryou voice his protests. He searched through his large red coat while speaking.
"The bounty on my head holds enough emotion to clear you of all governmental charges--I can assure you. A silver bullet will kill me, as much as I act out superior invincibility. Vampires are immortal--not ~invincible~, thank the heavens." He gave an ironic little smile.
Finally, he slapped one of his lovely, deadly pistols onto the wooden surface of their table.
Alucard stared into Yami Bakura's eyes, the first eye-contact since Ryou's surprising uprising. This sudden gesture shook him out of his horror-filled reverie, forcing him to hold his breath before the distress of everything overtook him completely.
"Take my spent corpse to the School." Alucard instructed directly to him "You know where it is."
Not bothering to think of what that particular knowledge implied, he responded hollowly "I do."
No one spoke for a moment. It seemed unnecessary, despite the questions roaming unsettled in each mind in the single room.
Through their night of revelations and accusations and variations . . . they all remained the same inside, no life-changing realizations.
Ryou was too confused to comment, preferring to look at it logically than be stuck in a situation he didn't understand. ~Anything~ was better than a situation like ~that~.
Alucard held his menagerie of emotions carefully checked and distanced. They didn't need to understand him, he just wanted to be free-there was nothing left for him now. He had had heard that expression used by ordinary humans, ordinary muggles, in traumatically dramatic situations, often under his own gunpoint. But they were weak and knew nothing of life spent far too much.
And Bakura knew too much. He was piecing the clues together . . . and 'the School' was really the only place he could afford to take himself, and his dangerous Hikari at that point. He just hoped they would accept them somehow . . .
"Use my pistol, little Ryou. It should all end quickly."
His body and mind felt rather numb, and he shifted his fingers from a clenched to unclenched position, feeling the strength wane from his bones. He couldn't ~do~ this, could he?
/I wonder . . . / Ryou stopped himself.
Was he becoming . . . what they had told him he was?
Was he a murderer?
Was he going to ~enjoy~ such an act?
He was overwhelmed.
The vampire was amazingly calm in the entirety of the situation. Ryou was torn, finding those eyes boring into him, through him, and expressing to him their tragic wishes.
He was cruel--then again, he was merciful. Yet he was beginning to finally discover that those traits were not so different.
/Shades of gray . . . shades of gray . . . /
"I . . . " the boy still faltered.
"Kill me." He insisted, hissing in anticipation.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
[1] Quote commonly used by yours truly ~_^
~*~*~*~
Lalala *crashes cymbals*
It's done! WOO!!! *blows kazoo*
Sorry it took a while. Even when I haven't updated Sanc in between, I'm still rather rusty with all of this fast-typish stuff XP
Nothing exciting, really, in the life of giggle. Besides getting a 4.0 at a prep school, that is *pats herself on the back*
Oli: My god, you're pathetic.
O.O Why did you seem so ~old~ all of the sudden?! *cries*
Kuja: You're to old for me . . . what if it's contagious and stuff . . . *inches away from Oli*
Oli: *looks crestfallen*
SO MANY REVIEWS *falls over* I'm so amazed . . .
~*~*~*~
woof - WOO! Hellsing, and yummy, yummy vampies with pretty pistols. WAIIIII!!!
Ouvalyrin - Aww, thankies! I did alright on the math final, surprisingly enough, and somehow earned an A out of the class ^^ I'm so happy, it's disturbing ^_^ lol, I do that too. I also need to take some people off the hotlist *growls* buuuuut, that's a whole 'nother story . . .
Psychopathic Sixth Grader - I hope that's a good thing ^^ *silence* O.O's back lol
onlyHAUNTED - I'm sowwy--but I'm back, teehee! I hope this is soon enough . . . I worked on this chappie when I could, and I'm afraid it's even more confusing than the rest T.T sometimes I disgust myself.
Windswift - lol, unfortunately, I dun think Ryou likes all that chocolate ^^ has to keep up his lithe figure and all. Heehee, so true. The Bakura duo has some SERIOUS issues.
~* Amanda Tom Marvolo Riddle *~ - Thank you ^^ Yes, yes, uhhh *looks around suspiciously* it--does ^^
Angel Rosz - I feel really pathetic because you left such a pretty, delicious-looking review that you obviously put a lot of thought into-and yet I can barely say anything T.T I think I have it figured out, but you know me, I'd probably use my sick humor and turn Ryou into a ~girl~ or something like that
Rei: *coughcough*
Ermm . . . yeah . . . but thank you for the good karma! *huggles* I think it actually paid off . . . heehee, I totally agree. Except I find geometric reasoning obscenely easy . . . where did all the ~easy~ stuff go *cries* btw, how did you you do? ^^
RBMIfan - Aww, you're the best *huggles* but about the R thing-I do the same thing )
Compliments, however, make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. And that's a good thing, if you'd like me to update quickly ^^
Thank you so much for reading this so far! ^^
giggleplex