voidtreckernet | VIDEO - GRASSHOPPER DAY 16 (LATE)

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VIDEO - GRASSHOPPER DAY 16 (LATE)

[It appears that someone's making good use of the ICP for the Garden Carriage- at the very least it's easier than trying to use any communication off something from his wrist. As it stands- Katsuya grins, something silvery dangling around his neck quite obviously against the blue of his sweater.]

Hey! Turns out, I was able t' get another 'f my team here, [he cheers.] Order instruction's make me figure I won' be able t' get anyone else but...I figure tha's f'r th' best. Bit big f'r th' train, [he remarks with a shrug. Stepping slightly out of view so that the ICP can display the rest of the immediate area, he continues.]

But here she is! Amar!

['Amar' no doubt refers to the extremely round little sheep plodding around near the sand. Smaller than even Katsuya's relatively miniscule pony, who seems to be watching as well, the 13 pound ball of wool abruptly tucks her legs in to roll a bit down the path before stopping to bleat.]

Amar's m' wooloo- she's abou' 's friendly as Kaseri, so if y' see 'er around, don' feel shy, go on an' pet her! She's as soft as a pillow!

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Aw c'mon you can't have eyes tha' good..! [he screams in protest, before he can so much as consider making an excuse.

And then-

Well, then he just goes red and starts choking. One would almost think he'd been eating a carrot skillet for the moment.] PFFFHHk-KH!

'NGAGED!? [The choking continues, but if there's anything being made clear by the reaction, it's that engagement is not the answer.] Are y' nuts man?! S- He'd jus' as soon kill me! Or at leas' half kill me, 'r somethin', or...

[Dammit.] Look, I only got these after s- he figured out tha' tryin' to boot me out would get Mokuba draggin' my ass back in an' back t' work alrigh'! It's not!

It wasn' like tha'

[Wasn't, as if it were past tense or at least 'hopefully' past tense, but it seems a flustered Katsuya is one that doesn't shut up.]

You repeatedly caught yourself attempting to call himSeto during the story.

[ His brain is crashing a little here. He opens and closes his mouth once or twice, and his voice is slightly softer. ]

I'm coming over.

Edited 2020-08-01 12:26 (UTC)

I did not!

[He's pointing very accusingly at the screen. It's not helping.] No- Wai'-!

[The ICP is off.]

....

...MMNNHHHHHH-! [Amar, for a brief moment, finds her use as a pillow to be screamed into. The wooloo gives the closest thing to a bleating giggle at what tickles, and is from there squashed against the blond's front as he curses.] Shit!

Fuc-

[Wait crap there's no way Kaiba doesn't know what car he's in he needs to GO-

There's a strong chance that by the time the door opens, Kaiba is the one behind it.

There is a stronger chance that Katsuya saw this being the case about half a second before it opened, explaining the closed-eyes resignation all over his face.]

AaaaAAAAAH c'mon..!

[It's unclear who he's lamenting over right now.]

Jonouchi.

[ And here Kaiba was all set to march in, coat flapping proudly behind him, but he stops short when he sees him in the doorway. He takes Jonouchi's shoulder and nudges him back, uncharacteristically gently. ]

The point of telling our stories was to keep us from having awkward misunderstandings like this, wasn't it?

[He pouts the entire time.] Mnghhhhh...

Ain' a misunderstandin' 'f it never comes up ain' it?

[This was, undoubtedly, the most incorrect thing he could possibly say- something evident by the way he now refuses to look the man in the eye.] Th' hell y' want me t' say huh?

Fine. You don't have to say it, but I'll start making assumptions if you don't.

[ He nudges his way in and sits on the nearest bench, giving the sheep a passing smile. ]

The way you reacted when suggesting I take my shirt off to rid myself of the orange plague. And then what you told me when I realized our Yugi wasn't from my world...you knew from experience, didn't you.

[Well, at least he's not shoving him on the bench. He's not quite sure how he'd take that. As it is, he's not letting go of the sheep- and Kaseri, not to be outdone, is now clambering onto the bench to join Kaiba.]

....I already told y' I knew a version of y' from another world tha' wasn' mine, back on Alola. Decent guy, an' 'f I were t' take a guess I'd ev'n say y' were both pr'tty much th' same. ...Both of y' fell somewhere b'fore y' got home fr'm th' afterlife, an' all tha'...

[He swallows, pondering his next few words.] ...Got a feelin' y' mean somethin' else abou' experience though, wanna clear tha' one up?

[ He pinches the bridge of his nose and takes a deep breath. Kaseri's presence helps...and when he lowers his arm, he finds himself petting her. ]

The feeling of seeing every day an alternate timeline version of the person you're close to, who's familiar but isn't yours.

[ He sighs. ]

And to face that twice.

....

[Hah. He just shrugs, and huffs.] I'm used t' it. I know things are alrigh' back home, an' tha's th' most I could ask for.

Ain' like we saw each other much th' las' while- you know how much you were in th' states, [he adds, another shrug coming.] Take a guess what tha' means back home huh?

Hell for me, I'm guessing.

[ He pets Kaseri more decisively now, a small smile appearing as he looks at Jonouchi and Amar. ]

You two were very close. Got it. Glad I know that so I don't accidentally put you in an awkward position. Fair enough?

Eh... [Another sidelong glance. If he's entirely honest with himself he doesn't know what they have. He's pretty sure his Seto is so numb to relationships that being able to recognize them is a near impossibility- including the one with her brother, because as much as she would mow down the world for the kid the awkward tension wasn't exactly a cakewalk to cast aside. It's probably the only exception because it was one she had before.

But friends? More?

Katsuya huffs.] Trus' me when I say, I ain' gonna be mixin' you an he- him up, [he laughs.] You makin' it awkward f'r me wasn' gonna ever happen. Yer you, sh- he's him, it ain' hard f'r me t' keep 'n mind.

Wh'ch means you don' have anythin' to worry abou' while y' date Yugi either, [the blond adds with a grin.]

...her.

[ He squints some more, gently stroking Kaseri's mane to stay level here. ]

Well that's a massive divergence you could've mentioned. How did you think I'd react?

[NOPE-] I said 'him'. I def'nitely said 'him'!

[The ponyta is laughing. Of course she's laughing. She gets a scowl for her efforts. Traitor.]

No you didn't. My ears still work.

[ Yeah, he's not letting go this time. Egged on by Kaseri, he continues. ]

That has to be even stranger for you. She had to look enough like me for you to recognize me...

I did..!

[But only after saying Her!!

But fine. He's caught. After a fair bit of huffing and frustrated prodding at wooloo wool, he'll cave.]

...c'nsiderin' th' goal was t' look 'xactly like you, not 's strange as y' think at glance... ...Pr'tty damn obvious y' weren' hidin' a binder under th' fuckin' polo though, got tha' right...

[ He puts a hand to his chest and blinks. Huh. ]

If she's anything like me...from what you told me, she cares deeply about you, regardless of how much you irritate her. I'm still not sure how to take that, but we'll live.

...Y'know?

I don' think she knows either.

[It's the first real audible confirmation of the matter, after the muttering about binders and such. Katsuya collapses rather unceremoniously onto the sand between some rocks, still holding his wooloo.]

...Y' heard Wester, an' Yugi' an' I. ...So y'know why there had t' be a 'mind crush' deal t' begin w'th.

...S...

[A pause. And finally-]

...'ccordin' t' Mokuba, Seto-chan kept shit hidden since th' orphanage. So she prob'bly didn' talk t' anyone but Mokuba, fr'm tha' point on.

Screws y' up, ev'n after y' get yer priorities resorted by a pile 'f magic.

[ Seto-chan? Gods. She really is his girlfriend, or close enough. His eyes widen, but he holds his tongue on that matter for now. ]

Was she disguising herself as a man that long?

Orphanage wasn' co-ed, turns out, [is the grim response.]

Mokuba said it w's th' one thing yer aunt gave 'm. [It might occur to Kaiba, as the blond says this, that back in the theatre he seemed awfully aware of what Mokuba would want or expect.

There might be a connection here.] ...Still doin' it, so I gotta uh...gotta r'mind myself not t' do what I was doin' t' try an' wake her up durin' tha' penalty game, [he coughs, scratching behind his head.] 'S easier t' catch when someone I know ain' around t' be hones'.

[Okay, so there might be less and more to the Seto-chan deal all at once.]

And that on top of everything I went through...I can see how it got worse.

[ He continues to look curiously at the blond. ]

Doing what, exactly?

...Callin' 'er 'Seto-chan'. Wen' w'th Mokuba t' th' hospital, wound up visitin' w'th him, b'fore shit moved to guard duty at yer place.

[He shrugs- guilty as charged after all, so.] ...Jus' started out as like...'hey, I called y' this b'fore b'cause you were bein' a shithead t' yer brother, an' it pissed y' off, so I'm gonna keep doin' it 'till y' wake up!'

...An then she didn' wake up f'r half a year an' I got used to it. [The last part is muttered incredibly fast, the now redfaced blond frowning to the side.

OOPS.]

...oh.

[ So...maybe not his girlfriend. But things are still weird. He's more struck with guilt over Mokuba than anything else at the moment, really, so he's quiet and slumped over a little. ]

Mmph. Well of course it worked. She...must've been reeling. All that ground to make up, not just time. And with you caring for Mokuba....

PffhahaHAH! You don' know th' half 'f it man! She w's pissed ev'n b'fore Death-T, an tha' was back when she woudld've-

[And then he chokes. And with wide eyes he freezes.

Because this Kaiba never created Death-T.

This Kaiba never came so near to fratricide.]

Would've...done what?

[ He's afraid, but he needs to know. ]

[He is quiet, for a number of moments. He looks almost scared, and yet it is clear that it is not of him.

This fear is from somewhere Else.]

....Don' think less 'f her, [He manages with a croak, shaking his head.] ...She already does tha' enough now tha' she's got 'er sense back, so don'...

...Loss w's Death back then though. Firs' time she fought th' Pharaoh, th' penalty jus' s'pported tha'. 'Illusion 'f Death'.

It's what got recreated in th' Duel boxes. ...It's what nearly killed gramps. ...An'...

[His eyes water- but he has to know, if at least so he doesn't fill the blanks with worse.]

...Levels 1 through 3 were in th' park. Level 5 was her.

...but level 4... ...Level 4 was capmon, an' Yugi won, an' th' box was th' same build. An... ...An' she said...

...'You knew the rules'...

...

...I...

...I'm jus' glad those doors weren' locked tha' time...

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