REAPSODY Week 5 - Kaiba (post-erasure)

[wantsnudes]

[After the erasures, Yusuke leaves the church feeling numb. It was bittersweet, knowing the victims this week had gone to their deaths willingly, and all in order to save Akira...

He's clutching Mutsu's katana in his hand, tight. Wherever Kaiba is, he intends to go seek him out.]

Comments

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

...It can be difficult to think ill of people you care about. And you seem to think overly highly of people to begin with.

[ was that supposed to be comforting? ugh he is bad at this ]

--Anyway, I'd suspected something was up for a long while, but only confronted them on Monday. Kurosaki stayed coy, but Kurusu seemed ready. Maybe he already knew about Crowe...I doubt he had a choice in it either way.

[wantsnudes]

Is it a bad thing? I hold you in high esteem as well, you know.

[then again he'd be equally oblivious if Kaiba did any bad shit, so uh, point made]

I ought to have told you the truth about Akira so you wouldn't need to confront him... But given my assumptions, I didn't think it would matter if you knew or not. And I didn't want to endanger anyone, when he told me that sharing too much could get him Erased.

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

[ him holding kaiba in high esteem is 100 percent the reason for the comment, so ]

It's fine. I think we were both after the same thing in the end, and it's worked out for now, despite everything. Now that the beans have been spilt, no more need for sneaking around, right?

[wantsnudes]

Yes. I'm relieved... I don't know how many more secrets I could handle.

And what about you, Kaiba-san? I'm sure we've been worrying you all this time, but I'd like to know if you've had difficulties, too.

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

"Difficulties," other than being stuck living on the streets like a transient as slayings happened around me I was apparently powerless to stop?

[wantsnudes]

Yes, well... Such are the conditions of the Game. I'm asking about you, personally.

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

...I'll be fine once this is over. Either things will get back to normal, or--there'll be different issues to deal with, but in any case, it won't be this.

[ he waves a hand at the situation ]

[wantsnudes]

We'll find a way to save everyone, and return to life. I'm sure of it.

You deserve to return to see your brother. And a beautiful dream like yours... It cannot be allowed to slip away from the world.

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

...If I don't do it, Mokuba...my brother will. He'll survive, and he'll make it happen.

[wantsnudes]

But it would be better if you were there with him, wouldn't it? Keep that goal in your mind as we navigate these final weeks.

[not that he thinks he hasn't over the entire course of the game, but... a reminder couldn't hurt]

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

...

I don't have any intention of giving up on making this game last to the end. I'm not that much of a hypocrite. I want to go home. And I want you to be able to get back where you need to be.

[wantsnudes]

Good.

[Smiles a bit, and reaches across the table to take his hand. It seemed to make him feel better before, so why not?]

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

[ Oh--

--But Seto Kaiba's really never been good at refusing himself--how in the world else would he have so many dragon-shaped items?--so what else can he do but grip back tightly and try to keep the heat from his ears? ]

...

[wantsnudes]

[Yusuke seems happy that Kaiba doesn't pull away or make some scathing comment, so he just leaves his hand where it is and looks back to the Duel Disk.]

Can you show me more of how this works?

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

Oh-- Okay.

[ Pause. Then, with some effort, he wriggles his arm out of the Duel Disk so that he can operate it without releasing Yusuke's hand because priorities. Luckily, he knows the v3 inside and out, and no amount of unfamiliar human emotions could stop him from being able to give at least a functional demonstration. ]

So, this is our new prototype; the production version will be a bit different, but there's a ton of changes from the original Duel Disk. See, when you insert the deck here--[ he taps where his deck sits in the device ]--the sensors inside recognize the cards and cross-reference them with the deck you've officially registered online. This prevents cheating and counterfeits, as well as cuts down on wear and tear. Then, since we'd already gone that far, we went with a full VR/AR interface, where you can draw virtual cards to place on a virtual blade. This helped us make it smaller and lighter on your arm, plus it looks more slick and modern.

[ hesitates ]

...Did you want to try it?

[wantsnudes]

[Yusuke listens attentively, and while some terms trip him up (what's VR/AR...) he gets the gist of what Kaiba is trying to explain. Probably.]

Ah... Certainly. Please tell me what to do, and I'll follow your instructions.

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

--For starters, just try drawing a card. Then place it face-up on one of the slots here on the blade.

[ he points to the deck, then to the little card-shaped spots lit on the outside of the Duel Disk ]

[wantsnudes]

[Does so! though Yusuke being Yusuke, he takes a second to scrutinise the artwork on the card first, then places it down. what card is it, I'm bad at DM]

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

[ this one. ]

Blue-Eyes White Dragon...!

[ As Yusuke places the card, the hologram projector flares to life and the Blue-Eyes appears in front of them, raising its bluish silver-plated head, flaring out its gleaming wings and letting out a majestic cry. ]

...There are only three playable Blue-Eyes in the world, and they're here, in this deck.

[ There's pride and possessiveness in his tone, but also an uncertain twang; since he'd finally gotten his hands on his Blue-Eyes he'd barely even let his brother touch them much less anyone else, and it was--different, letting someone else play his cards. Especially this card, that was important to him--that for a time had been the only thing important to him--and his jaw sets a bit, whole stance tenses for whatever reaction Yusuke might make. ]

[wantsnudes]

[Yusuke gasps in surprise at the dragon suddenly in front of them; certainly he'd seen other monsters spring from the Duel Disk before, but this one is by far the most impressive. He doesn't even seem to notice the way Kaiba tenses up, his attention fully on the dragon.]

I can see why it is so rare... The design is magnificent.

[...not that he could tell if the card is any good from a gameplay perspective, but... aesthetic priorities, am I right]

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

[ a bunch of numbers also pop up; they're high, but that hardly matters as Yusuke's already got his priorities straight. ]

Yes, it is.

[ And it's pressure off his chest, watching his partner apparently genuinely admire his dragon, and by extension the time and the effort and the feeling Kaiba had dedicated to it, and he huffs out a little breath that's far more relief than he'd care to admit. ]

I worked on it myself. --Obviously I'm no artist like you. But I work closely with the modellers and texture artists to make sure each of my Blue-Eyes has the proper look and presence. We're getting closer.

[wantsnudes]

It's wonderful. Traditional art will always have its place, but creating something like this has a certain artistry all of its own.

[Smiling softly, he reaches out to try to touch the dragon.]

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

I... I'm glad you appreciate it.

[ Even called "Solid Vision" the hologram is still only refracted light, so there's nothing to keep his hand from passing right through. But if Yusuke is gentle enough to stroke just above the surface, there's a certain buzzy warmth at the edges of the hologram that's strong enough to be deliberate.

Kaiba leans in to better catch Yusuke's reaction, a dizzy mixture of pleased and anxious and something else that keeps his ears warm ]

What do you think? We're working on adding more tactile feedback to the new dueling arenas, but it'll be a while before we can shrink that down for portable use.

[wantsnudes]

[As soon as Yusuke realises his hand passes straight through it, he draws back so his hand can simply rest on the dragon's flank. He looks surprised all over again -- he expected it to be a purely visual creation, not that it would feel warm like a living creature.]

Even as an incomplete work, it's truly beautiful... It has a clear vivacity that evokes the love and admiration of its creator.

[Yusuke didn't even know card game design could be as meaningful as other forms of art, too, but now he's convinced.]