the_newlydead_game | TNDG 4

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game 04

TNDG 4 - ENDGAME

[So you're at the Halloween dance, and maybe you're fighting robots or each other, or maybe you were just hanging out and eating pizza? Either way, there's a new door in the building... or maybe one you simply didn't notice before? It opens, and inside there is a well-lit TV stage, upon which there are several freestanding doors with names of all the surviving participants. A monitor in the corner displays the face of Ronald McDonald.]

All right, kids! Game's over! Thanks to all your tomfoolery, our sponsors pulled out, and we can't even afford prizes. Get on out of here, you little shits!

((Here's your endgame post! The doors will drop off each person where they were kidnapped (or will drop someone else where the person whose name is listed was kidnapped). Say goodbye, yell at the hosts, go back and bob for apples?))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[looks away, pursing his lips]

I didn't say I was worried. I've just learned from experience not to underestimate what a corrupt man can do, especially if he feels desperate. Everyone has enemies, whether he knows it or not.

It's fine. He confessed his crimes, destroyed the material he used to blackmail us, and was immediately arrested. If anything, his own life was more at risk by that time, because he exposed his entire operation in Shibuya and those associated with him by confessing.

I'm simply happy to have brought him to justice. He was convincing high school students into drug running, and when they tried to escape, he would blackmail them... Even force young girls into selling their bodies to repay debts he saddled them with... People in Shibuya were nothing more than a source of revenue for him, at any cost.

[Yusuke shakes his head.] Against evil like that, I would rather risk making a dangerous enemy than stand by and do nothing.

[looks back to him, then sighs]

I know. Even if you weren't that type of person anyway, faced with drugs and sex trafficking to children? That's utterly despicable... You've done the world a huge favor getting someone like that locked away. Just...on the off chance that something does go poorly...

[he trails off, shakes his head]

I thought you weren't worried.

[Or at least, that's what Kaiba had been insisting only moments ago. He smiles a little, reaching up to touch Kaiba's hair.]

If my group's next target becomes the despicable people behind this game, you said you'd help, right? If anything did go awry, I'd count on you.

It's...difficult when I can't be hands-on in situations where I have a...personal interest. So yes, if there's something I can do to assist, i'm happy to do it.

Very well. Even if you become involved, you needn't worry. I won't let them hurt you again.

[He puts an arm around Kaiba's waist, and now he's going to use one of those conveniently squishy shoulder pads to rest his head on. The contact has the benefit of both staving off the evening chill, and -- well, he wants to know what it feels like, to be close while he has the time.]

...Is this all right? [He looks up at Kaiba, seeking permission.]

I don't--

[but before he can finish working up some righteous indignance over the presumption that he! Seto Kaiba! Could possibly need saving, especially while trying to offer the same to Yusuke, gosh--Yusuke is snuggled against him and his irritation fizzles to a decidedly different sort of feeling in his chest]

It, yes. It...wait.

[he awkwardly extricates his arm, gingerly wrapping it around Yusuke instead]

There?

[Yusuke shifts to give him room when he extricates his arm, then when he feels Kaiba's arm around him, he settles back into place with a contented expression. Yusuke could probably count on one hand the times he remembers ever being held by someone, or even just hugged. That had never really felt important to him in the past, but now he realises just how much he appreciates the gesture.]

I'm going to miss you... [He says it wistfully, closing his eyes.]

I'll contact you as soon as I can. It shouldn't take long.

[He concentrates on that part; that's a concrete goal he can strive towards, and he's good at that. The other part--the feelings and the trust he absolutely should not be giving, Gozaburo must be spinning in his grave and the humbling knowledge that someone in the world actually cares enough to be with him like this--he can't even begin to unpack that, not now. The warm weight of another living being-part, that's okay too, even if being so close, it must be obvious how his heart is racing. He holds Yusuke more securely anyway, because it's nice and he wants to, and also to make up for when he can't, later--and he really must be losing it, to entertain such a soppy notion.]

...It won't take long. So you shouldn't leave your friends waiting.

[he says, making absolutely no move to release him]

All right. I promised Akechi I would leave with him, so...

[Yusuke's still not making any move either, though. He knows Akechi isn't desperate to return back to Tokyo in a hurry either, so he feels a little less guilt about taking his time. The fact he can feel Kaiba's warmth, and the racing of his heart like this, makes him even less inclined to move.]

I'll wait for you. [He rests a hand on Kaiba's chest, looking up at him.] Even if it takes some time for you to reach me again, I don't mind.

[He means it; as an artist, he's far more patient than most. And for something like this, it's more than worth the wait.]

[(poor Akechi, just having to sadly hang out alone at the snack table. At least he got a lightsaber out of it, I guess)]

Ah...

[Kaiba wants to say something along the lines of "don't make promises you can't keep," except he's already pretty sure that Yusuke wouldn't, which is kind of overwhelming if he thinks about it. So instead he dips in for another kiss, since actions are easier than word for the moment. He is probably blushing again, if he'd ever stopped]

...I'm not great at being patient, so I'll make sure we don't have to wait too long.

[The lightsaber is pretty great, all things considered.]

Mm... [There's a small noise in his throat as Kaiba kisses him, eyes fluttering closed. He returns the kiss, this one more needy than the last, until they pull away.]

...You would really go to such lengths, simply to see me? [Even after everything Kaiba said about his company, his responsibility for his brother, he's still impatient to drop everything and hurry to see Yusuke. He's surprised and touched in equal measure.] Seto--

[He sits up a bit straighter in Kaiba's arms, pressing himself closer as he kisses him again.]

Yusuke...

[he laces their hands together, shifting a bit so they fit together that much more comfortably. At length he pulls away, voice a little breathless and gravelly]

...There are very few people alive who have shown me the consideration you have. Only a fool would just let that go.

Even so, I was repaying the kindness you've shown me. You deserve it.

[He blinks and lowers his gaze; he can feel his eyes getting a little damp, but there's no real discreet way to hide it, when they're as close as this.]

S-sorry... I'm just very happy.

[Kaiba quirks a half-smile]

Has anyone ever told you you can be kind of intense?

[gently brushes a thumb to catch any potential wetness that may be present--the last time someone had cried to see him (happy tears, anyway) he'd been awarding someone a new house or something, his head is spinning]

You should have higher standards. ...Though I suppose I'd be in trouble if you did. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything.

[Yusuke allows him to brush his tears away, and he does have the good grace to look apologetic. Aside from those initial tears he's not openly crying, at least.]

M-my apologies. So much has happened, it's become difficult to keep my composure...

[And for an artist with A Lot of Feelings, it's a wonder he's kept it together this long. Having someone declare their devotion to him like this is almost too much. He shakes his head, and frowns.]

It's-- not the case that my standards aren't high, so please don't think that way. Beyond that... whatever you think your shortcomings are, it's true that in art as in life, one must learn to love the beauty of imperfection.

"Beauty of imperfection," huh...

[he bites back the instant, easy, mean-spirited quip--interacting with people is a lot harder when you actually care about what they think of you--then starts over, quiet]

...My stepfather wasn't much for imperfections. Or emotions, or really positive connections of any sort. I'm not really...accustomed to dealing with them. I'm not saying that as any sort of excuse or bid for sympathy, just...you don't have anything to apologize for.

[Yusuke's expression softens in understanding.] This is probably a strange question, but... If that was how he related to others, why did he take in you and your brother?

I'm curious, because that was something that puzzled me about my own Sensei, for the longest time.

To save face, initially. I made a wager with him to adopt us. When he attempted to renege, I reminded him that it would be an awful story to break a promise to an orphan. But otherwise he wanted an heir...maybe your mentor was the same?

A wager... That's very bold. Even as a child, it seems you were capable of impressive things.

[To the question, Yusuke shakes his head.] It's true that he wanted pupils, but when he took me in, I was very young. There was no way of knowing at that stage whether I had artistic talent.

I now think his reasons were contradictory... part of him genuinely took pity upon me after the death of my mother and cared for me. Another part of him was the monster that allowed my mother to die, all so he could plagiarise her work.

It's possible. It's rare to find someone who is completely evil. But whether he took you in out of guilt or just a lucky gamble doesn't make his actions less despicable.

Did you know he'd done it at the time?

...No. For much of my life, I adored him, both as a beloved father, and a respected teacher. Even when the abuse began, and the plagiarism became an everyday affair... I simply endured it, because I had nowhere else to go.

That's when the Phantom Thieves helped me. I refused them at first, even threatening to turn them in to the police. But when I confronted Madarame, and learned about his true nature as a man who only cared for money and fame... that anger awakened in me the very powers you saw earlier.

[his frown deepens further, and his grip on Yusuke tightens protectively, even if he doesn't realize it]

I see why you were so passionate about the greedy earlier. ...That must have taken incredible strength, to break away after so long.

[As if sensing Kaiba's discomfort, Yusuke squeezes his hand to reassure him.] Yes... I'm all right now. As soon as I forged a contract with my Persona, Goemon, my mind became clear, and I had the strength to fight him without any regrets.

But it's for that reason I know what it is, to have a father who has an influence on you in terrible ways. So if it's as you say -- that it's hard for you to express yourself, or for you to be open with others -- I understand. Overcoming an upbringing like that isn't easy.

[And so he won't take Kaiba's behaviour personally, if that's the case.]

[he goes stiffer, if possible; empathy burns just as hot as pity]

We manage. ...Mokuba was spared the worst of it, and that's what matters.

And you too, now.

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