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Characters: Judai and YOU
Date: latter half of March
Location: broad area near the Dreaming Bridge
Situation: inadvertently causing tech to go haywire is a thing that's happening to him now + mugging
Warnings/Rating: n/a

A. he wasn't even in the shop (sci-tech 1)
[Not far from the Dreaming Bridge, standing on a random street corner, is Judai, frowning at his yimo. Looks like Tenn’s theory that his yimo’s malfunction being caused by proximity to his Duel Disk was right.]

[...Which is a problem. It’s not like he’s never been far from that device, in fact it’d happened a lot during his earlier years at school. But now...being without his weapon makes him feel a little...antsy.]

[He frowns as he glances at the time. Two minutes away. Faster if he sprints.]

[With a loud sigh (though it’s really more of a groan), he dramatically crouches with his hands over his head. This sucks!]

[Unfortunately for Judai, his day is about to get worse. Some minor commotion has him whirling to his feet and snatching something out of the air. ...A pen.]

Uh...

[Not far away, some people are yelling at some hapless...workers? in uniform. Looks like the power's gone out at the dress shop that was behind him, and some people are mad about that.]

[...Judai's Duel Disk isn't even here. It's not his fault.]

B. he has not put this much effort into getting his yimo working just to lose it to muggers (crime 3)
[As it turns out...maybe it's a good thing he left his piece of technology somewhere else.]

[The muggers look very confident at their proposed "exchange," a set of glasses for everything that Judai has. Joke's on them, though; all Judai has on him is a yimo, a pen, a half-eaten egg sandwich, and 5 rhinn. He also has his Talent.]

[A low-key dramatic wind starts blowing by their feet, rattling some pebbles and bits of debris. The muggers glance down, startled, and when they look back up, Judai's eyes seem to glow subtly a bit, gold and green.]

[Suddenly the muggers look a bit less confident.]

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[Unfortunately, it's also the dress shop where Judai's tech support was in the middle of a modeling job. Which was going beautifully until the lights flickered and died. Then the filming crew turned to blame the construction team next door (who had sworn that nothing they were doing would affect the shoot). And in the fray, Tenn, still in all his finery, was dismissed to await the return of the lights.

Tenn watches with a straight face, trying to hide his irritation. It’s improper for them to argue like this while on the job! They’re making a scene and that’s not good publicity. Ever the professional, he looks out the main display window and gives a reassuring smile for the passersby. Nothing to see here! Everything is fine. Though, that spikey brown hair looks familiar... oh no.

Gathering up the hem of the kimono-like attire, he pushes open the door and approaches at a brisk, purposeful pace, rustling in several layers of silks. At least his smirk and raised eyebrows suggest more amusement than anger.]

You wouldn't happen to know who's responsible for this? [Tenn's gaze flicks over Judai, searching for the bulges of the duel disk in his pack.]

[Ah, and here comes somebody, as he was hoping there wouldn't be. Didn't think it would be a model, though, and he's fully prepared to defend himself when he finds himself recognizing this person—] Wasn't me.

[Said in the cheerful tone of a schoolkid insisting a dog ate his homework. By the way, he caught that look.]

Wasn't my Disk, either, it isn't with me right now. Sorry!

[If it wasn't him, why is he apologizing? Well...it's the principle of the thing. (Yeah, that's it.)]

But, uh, what were you doing there? [Nice kimono, dude...]

[The apology seems to placate him, though his suspicion doesn't fully abate – not until the mystery is solved. Tenn makes a point of looking non-confrontational, folding his hands in front of him demurely. (He is standing in front of a business while wearing their product, after all.)]

What does it look like I was doing? [What, you think he sits at a desk job all day? With looks like these? Please.] This boutique hired me for their seasonal catalog. [Actually, they originally hired someone else, who got the cave bones, and then they frantically searched for a replacement. So here Tenn is.]

I see. It’s good that you were able to test the theory. Has separating your devices solved the problem?

[Wow, Tenn's kind of a workaholic, huh?] Uh...

[He hastily stuffs the hand with yimo in it into his pocket. ...Before realizing he doesn't have a pocket big enough to fit the yimo, and yeah, the cat's out of the bag now, huh?]

[Despite his blatantly suspicious behavior, he stays cheerful, though.] Kind of! I have to leave it somewhere for the yimo to work. [Which is inconvenient, but better than what Judai was doing before, honestly.]

[He leans forward to inspect the kimono a bit.] Modeling, huh? You've got skills! [He knows that ~~idoling~~ modeling isn't just standing there and looking pretty, after all! How does he know that? ...Please don't ask.] Since you're focusing on my tech problems, does that mean you don't like this job as much?

[The frenetic movement draws his eye, but Tenn refrains from comment. For now. If this is only a temporary fix, it should be looked into. But why would there be anything to hide? Was the problem not fully resolved or... did something else occur?]

[But right now, at Judai's investigative prompting (and his awareness of the attention of passersby), Tenn smiles and holds out his arms in a graceful gesture, unfurling the generous sleeves. The fabric is pearlescent at just the right angles. Inspired by Selys scales, the designer had said. Highlighting the fabric's texture and concept has been a challenge, but it's been an enjoyable shoot.]

I like both this and being at Opara Core. [What a strange question. But he's right about Tenn's broad skillset. It was... necessary. And coming in handy now that he's on his own.] But the photo shoot can’t resume until power is restored.

[Whoaaa. He stares at the shiny for a rapt second, and then straightens when he realizes he is, in fact, staring.]

Both, huh?

[He gives a little laugh that might be a little nervous, a little sheepish. Just a little.] Guess you can't use your tech knowledge to take a look. Hope it doesn't get cancelled.

[He lifts his hand to look at his Alteration mark. People have had different kinds of these...he would use it to help if he could, but wind probably isn't helpful here.] Do you have a Talent that could help?

[No problem! Tenn encourages the staring with subtle movements to show off the ~~ooh shiny~~ design. He's doing his job, after all. These outfits don't buy themselves!]

If that is the case, they will reschedule. It would be inconvenient, but if the staff has time before the deadline, we'll be fine.

[A few weeks ago, Tenn would've insisted that he didn't have magic. Now, thanks to a scorched and battered spell book he recently acquired, he knows better. He tucks his hands into his sleeves, smile turning thoughtful.]

My Talent requires light to see it by. I'm also not sure it would translate into film.

[The ability is still so new Tenn hasn't even pitched it to his clients. Discovering his limits and how to consciously manipulate it is taking time.]

[He laughs a little when he notices the showing-off. Tenn really is a workaholic, huh?] You work too hard!

[Though he supposes someone's gotta make up for the lost time that the power outage caused.] That's a relief. [Glad to hear that the totally-wasn't-caused-by-him problem isn't going to throw them off too much.]

[He drops his hand back to his side.] So, nothing like making light, huh? What is it?

[ Sheena's on her way to that particular dress shop to make an appointment when the place suddenly darkens and the yelling begins. Seriously, they're throwing blame around when they should be making sure people can see and not get hurt.

Under all the commotion, she hears a quiet "Uh..." behind her. There's something about that word that makes the ninja turn, her eyes lighting up when she sees Judai before becoming questioning. ]

Judai...Do you know what happened? Did you see something?

[He sheepishly holds up the pen.] A pen got thrown at me.

[...But as for what happened at the shop...] I don't know, my back was turned. [~~It wasn't his fault.~~]

...Might have been me, though, I think I've been on a bad luck streak. But what were you doing here? Had some business?

[ Sheena looks at the pen, confused. ]

A pen? Why would anyone throw a pen at you? And yeah, I was coming to make an appointment.

[ She studies him for several moments, her expression thoughtful. ]

Judai, maybe it's not exactly bad luck. Have you discovered a strange ability that you didn't have back home?

[With a small laugh, he holds up his hand, where the Alteration mark on his palm is visible.] You mean this? It's totally different. See?

[He lifts his hand slightly, causing a breeze to blow unnaturally around them, fluttering their hair a little, and then dying down as Judai lowers his hand again.]

You got something like bad luck?

I see.

[ A thoughtful hum comes from Sheena as the air moves around them, her eyes focused on his mark. Rolling up her sleeve, she shows him her own mark before shaking her head. ]

No, my new power has to do with light. [ And she'll just gather a small amount of it in a ball in her hand before it pops away. ]

But neither one of these would cause a pen to come flying at you. [ A pause. ] Did you see who threw it?

Light, huh? That's pretty interesting! Can you make more than one? [Not that he's imagining a light show, or anything! (He may be thinking of a light show. Just a little bit.)]

Yeah, I saw him. [The guy who threw the pen looks like he was aiming for someone else, though.] He was mad! Probably because the power went out.

[He glances at the shop.] And, uh, are you going to wait here to see about your appointment? [Because he should probably get away from here.]

[ Sheena's eyes widen. ] More than one? Honestly, [ A soft chuckle ] that thought didn't even occur to me. Although, I guess I'll be able to someday.

[ Yeah, she's a little hesitant, and it shows in her voice. ]

You did? Well, maybe you should give it back to him. [ A pause as a thought occurs to her. Or rather, a hunch. ] Or maybe I should? I mean, I do want to see how long the power will be out, and he may need the pen.

[ She really has no idea what's going on, but something tells her it's not entirely a simple power outage. ]

No reason not to try it, right? It doesn't hurt, does it? [Because that would be one of the reasons not to try it...]

[He glances at the pen for a second.] If he needed this pen, he shouldn't have thrown it! [He's kidding. ~~Mostly.~~]

[He hands it over, as he sheepishly says—] I don't think I should get any closer. My yimo doesn't work, either, but only when I'm the one using it...

No, it doesn't exactly hurt, but if I gather too much...well, it tends to pop or explode, and it's kind of blinding. [ She speaks in an aside he can probably hear. ] Maybe if I practice while wearing sunglasses...?

[ She also looks at the pen. ] Haven't you ever thrown something in frustration? Maybe it was the only thing he had.

[ She takes the pen, some understanding crossing her features. ]

And you think you might be responsible for this? Or make things worse?

[Uh, well.] ...Maybe? [Sheepishly, he rubs the back of his head.] Like I said, I've been having some bad luck lately... My yimo can't be fixed, and then this happens. It might just be me.

[Better safe than sorry. Something else might break while he's in there trying to fix it.]

But anyway, sunglasses are probably a good idea. Or you can gather it away from you so it isn't as close to you when it pops?

[ Oh, Bakura thinks, this is going to be very entertaining. When the muggers decide that perhaps its wise to call the whole thing off, they'll find Bakura planted, arms folded in their would-be escape path. ]

No, I think you should stay and finish what you started. You were all ready to sell this deal of yours a moment ago.

[ then to Judai: ]

Don't you think so?

[Actually, no.]

[A scary-looking guy isn't what Judai had planned for, and for a brief half-second, both his eyes turn gold before returning to his entirely normal brown color.]

Actually—

[He doesn't get the chance to finish his sentence; backed between a freaky dude and a scary dude, one or two (...or three...) of them decide that they've had enough of this, anger making them brave, and that taking a swing at one of their opponents is a good idea.]

[Judai jerks out of the way of a punch (a punch wrapped around a knife, to be precise), and glances at the rest of the bunch with some trepidation. Given how aggressive Bakura was, he can guess how Bakura will react... But Judai doesn't want anyone hurt.]

[He raises his voice to address him.] I don't suppose you'd let them go?

That hardly seems fair.

[ The assailants that approach Bakura however, are in for a nasty surprise when the space between them suddenly becomes filled with a deformed, rancid clown holding a weapon and leering hungrily at the attackers, beginning to advance on them. ]

What's that phrase? "Turnabout it fair play..." They liked it well enough when they thought they had the upper hand.

[Fairness...really isn't the issue!! Especially when the clown appears, and he really hopes that's just to scare the muggers with, but he can't count on it. If Yubel were here—]

[His thought doesn't finish, as he darts in front of the by-now scared assailants.] They never had the upper hand. If you wanted to help me, you can stop now.

[ Bakura lets the clown spend a few more seconds salivating hungrily at the muggers, before he steps to the side and the Clown mimics the motion, giving the unlucky assailants a clear passage to get the hell out of Dodge, reminding them as they pass: ]

I expect you'll remember that your would-be target just saved you a lot of trouble.

[ then, once they're gone, he addresses Judai again ]

If you don't make an impression on those type, they'll keep coming back, you know.

[He lets out a small sigh of relief as the muggers get away.]

[As for the comment...in earlier days, he might have felt that he could understand them by having fun in a duel, but he's...changed, a bit. And anyway, dueling isn't as much of A Thing in this world. Instead—]

I was getting to that... [They'd looked plenty nervous at Judai's spooky display, after all.]

[But never mind that. He looks up at the clown. This feels really familiar, for some reason. ...Normally, they're holograms.] How'd you do that?

[ Judai's lightshow eyes had also caught Bakura's attention, and he was very interested in seeing just what had caused that. ]

How do you think I did it?

Don't know. [He's still looking up at the clown.]

Back on my world, Monsters like that aren't used for intimidating. [Which isn't...strictly true, and there'd been that period of time Edo had been running around like a vigilante. But for all of that, Bakura doesn't seem to have a Duel Disk.]

[And if that's Bakura's soul, that might be mildly worrying, considering the form that the last ka he saw took.]

Monsters like this have always been used for intimidating.

[ Bakura's expression stretches into a grin when he says it, but it's not a friendly one. ]

Yes, I thought that was recognition when you saw it. So we're both from the same place, then.

This is what they looked like before cards, you know.

[...He's heard about that. And though he has his deck, he doesn't have his Duel Disk on him currently.]

Not the same. [Which is technically very true, if one takes Yubel's version of him into account. ...And technically, from what Pepper's said, Judai does suspect that he and Bakura aren't quite from the same place.]

...Shadow magic, yeah?

[ The disagreement that they're from the same place is interesting, but he'll come back to that later. ]

That's right. So who are you?

[In the wake of affirming that that was shadow magic, that question sounds less like who are you than what are you... And Judai can't answer that. Especially not when Yubel isn't even here.]

I'm Judai.

[...The most helpful answer.]

And what do you know of Shadow Magic?

[ He dismisses the Clown, letting it vanish. Not that it took much effort to hold, especially being such a low level summon, but there was no need for it any longer. ]

Someone I met mentioned it. [Which is true in both senses; shadow games he has experienced (in a certain form), shadow magic not so much, though that might be a quibbling distinction. Thing is, causing duels to inflict real damage is a bit different from being able to summon Monsters into reality, and Pepper had mentioned the thing about souls...]

That wasn't a Duel Spirit, was it?

[ The terminology gives Bakura pause, because he's not sure they're talking about the same thing. ]

It was a creature from the Shadow Realm, which Duel Monsters are based on. Sometimes they're quite close to what's represented by Pegasus' cards, sometimes they're not. The Clown isn't far off. What do you know as a "Duel Spirit"?

Duel Monsters given form by the, uh... [What had Honest called it?] Imagination?

[Which may not be entirely true, given his history with Yubel, but honestly he's never actually tried to define it that precisely.]

I guess it isn't, then. [That is, it isn't a Duel Spirit in addition to what Bakura says it is, because unlike Judai, Bakura was very clear about what it is.]

...I didn't get your name.

Imagination, willpower, heka. Perhaps simply different names for the same idea.

Bakura.

[Maybe, but...Judai doesn't know much about the theory behind the magic. (Which might be a good thing for him, since he hates studying...)]

I'm guessing you use an undead deck.

[Despite himself, there's actually an undercurrent of excitement in his tone as he says that. Despite how much he's changed, his excitement over dueling had been recovered relatively recently. Now that the danger's mostly passed, well. It's flared up a bit.]

[ And just like that, it's like the distance of the last five years of being separated from his world have narrowed. ]

Undead, Fiend, whatever suits.

When you're not in the middle of things, come find me and we can discuss Duel Monsters. It's been a while, for me.

[He would lo—]

[Cough.]

Fiends, huh?

[And he heard it was quite a bit longer than five years, but he doesn't want to be separated from his Duel Disk for too long.]

I will... See ya.

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sorry for the delay in replying! was out of town

no worries! \o/

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