[Thread] Welcome home, su!

[trouble_angel]

Characters: OU!Misha, AU!Judai
Where: Paj-Okto
When: Prrrrrobably a little while after Misha re-arrives
Summary: Here, Misha, meet your grumpy new roommate. Good freakin' luck. 8D
Warnings: Judai being a grump, Misha being hyper cute. What this combination will bring, the world has yet to find out.

Comments

[misguidedherald]

Judai was seated upon a simple chair in what could be considered the apartment's common room, a large, rather drab chamber, with gray, faded walls, dust-covered furniture and a prevalent smell of old decay hanging in the air. The space itself had obviously been uninhabited for quite a while, judging by its generally-unkempt appearance, just as it was quite easy to discern that Judai himself had not exactly bothered to make it somewhat more inhabitable in the short amount of time that he had been its sole occupant.

The teenage boy was almost completely engrossed in shuffling through his Deck, passing gloved fingers over every single card, attempting to sense the Spirit that dwelt within. One by one, the Elemental Heroes passed in front of his eyes, alternating with their second, far stronger Fusion-line -- the Evil Heroes. Smiling slightly at the memory of the life-or-death Duels that had brought those cards to his Deck, he could not help but feel a significant amount of pride when gazing upon their representations. Some part of him -- the very same one which felt utterly caged and confined by the compound's rules -- was beginning to edge into restless impatience at not having had the opportunity to carry out a proper Duel in more than two weeks. There was also a second worry, far deeper and pervasive, underlining the first one, yet it was one that the boy had made every attempt to smother and crush, for there was nothing that he could do, in order to aid those that his missing presence had placed into certain peril in his own world. Consuming his attention on what he could not hope to change was a pointless effort, he had learned that long ago.

Settling the cards in a stack, he proceeded to swiftly draw the first five on top -- one's opening hand in any Duel. However, even before he could glance at them and judge the value of his hypothetical start, the boy was surprised to hear a sudden noise, seeing the door swinging open widely, accompanied by the sound of a loud, high-pitched voice. The mere shock of having his private quarters invaded in such a bizarre manner was enough to lock Judai in a stand-still, as he proceeded to simply gape at the brightly-colored girl that had walked in.

[trouble_angel]

Misha smiled brightly, ignoring the expression of utter shock on the other boy's face. He wasn't Kotarou, no, but if she was going to live with him, he had to be nice enough, right? Surely they wouldn't room her with someone downright mean. And besides, Kotarou was here somewhere... wasn't he?

They didn't mess up or something, right...?

She giggled awkwardly, dismissing the thought out of hand and speaking again in her childlike manner. "Ehehehehe... This is Paj-Okty-Okto, rightums, su? That's where this thinger said I lived, su!"

Holding up the communicator as if to display proof, she took a few steps closer, still beaming cheerily.

[misguidedherald]

Perhaps, if the general lack of logic or reason that seemed to fully govern this place had not been so suitably impressed upon him by recent occurrences, Judai would have been more than happy to dismiss what he was seeing as merely a delusion brought upon by wayward thoughts, unpleasant surprises and hidden anxieties.

However, the strange girl and her unsettlingly bright smile had not disappeared even after he had raised himself from his seat, gathering the cards into one single stack once more and placing it in his Deck-holster.

"Yes, this is Paj-Okto. Why would you be interested to know?"

Judai's tone was decidedly cold and impersonal, as he pinned the girl under a hard, nearly annoyed gaze, golden eyes narrowing slightly. Some part of him was still surprised by her ignorant audacity -- enough of it so that she could barge into his private quarters without any warning whatsoever -- while another was steadily growing angrier with the entire situation. In a sense, being able to find solace and quiet solitude within his own rooms -- in those moments of necessity -- had been one of the few blessings that the compund had seen fit to bestow upon him.

It was little wonder then, that even the mere thought of sharing his personal space with a complete stranger did not sit well with Judai.

[trouble_angel]

"'Cause the thingy says I live here, su! This is the human world, right, su?"

The detached nature of the question he'd asked, even in combination with his steely expression, did not faze Misha one bit. She was used to demeaning glances, anyway; she'd learned to not let it bother her anymore.

While she found it awkward interacting with a human -- the only human she'd ever really spoken to before was Kotaroh -- she figured it was like interacting like any other angel would be. Angels, humans... no difference, right?

Her smile, however, did drop slightly at another realization. "...Did Sacchan mess up, su?"

[misguidedherald]

"I have no idea what you are babbling on about, girl. These are my quarters, if that is what you are wondering. Now, I would suggest that you simply walk back the way you came and refrain from bothering me again in the future."

There was no hint of gentleness within Judai's cold voice, as he cast his eyes over the screen that displayed the girl's housing arrangement. There was another brief flicker of surprise at reading the words 'Paj-Okto' quite clearly, yet he did not allow it to show itself upon his features, keeping them set in a mask of slightly irritated impassiveness. It made little difference where the foolish girl had been assigned, in the end -- he certainly had no intention of sharing the dismally few things that could still be called 'his own' with any other individual in the compound.

As if to clearly display his stance in the entire matter, Judai took another step forward, moving in such a manner as to force the girl into backing towards the door.

[trouble_angel]

Misha, instead of stepping back, tried to stand her ground at first and instead would up falling backwards onto her rear as Judai stepped forward. To lighten her fall, her wings expanded suddenly, and flapped once as she hit the floor, a few shimmering white feathers drifting gradually to the ground beside her.

"Butbutbut, I think it says I was supposed to live here too, su! In the human world, su!" Unsure if he understood that that's what the communicator said, she held it up again, smiling again. "Ehehehe, but I didn't know I was gonna be with someone either, su."

[misguidedherald]

For his part, Judai didn't even deign to offer the device another look. He already knew what it said, but that held no bearing over the fact that he would not accept another person into what had become his own small sanctuary -- set in the middle of what was turning to be little better than one of his recurring, childhood nightmares.

Reaching down, he wrapped the gloved fingers of his right hand around her upper arm, pulling the girl to her feet -- with a gesture that was none too gentle, yet not very rough either. Perhaps engendered within him by his own less than pleasant experiences during those formative years, a certain amount of leniency could be found in Judai, aimed towards children and innocents (one that certainly contradicted his usual blunt harshness in dealing with those around him). This girl was one of both kinds, something which stopped him from unceremoniously flinging her out the door, as he probably would have done with another person.

"There must be other unoccupied places in this building, girl. You would do well to find one for yourself."

Still holding her by the upper arm, Judai proceeded to steer Misha towards the door. Details such as wings and feathers had no more relevance within his mind -- he had seen far stranger things within the compound.

[trouble_angel]

"But... why can't I stay here, su?!"

It appeared that Misha's mood was beginning to become affected by what seemed to be a nasty sort of boy. She'd never had to deal with anyone so negative in her life -- no one had ever assigned her work with difficult humans like this. She drooped, but still struggled stubbornly against his grip, wings flapping wildly, attempting to free her. She was already getting a bad feeling about this.

But... no, she couldn't make that obvious. Being negative right back at him would do no good either, of course. So she smiled at him still, thinly and with a disappointed touch to it. He seemed to her like he must've been very unhappy underneath the gruff exterior...

"P-Please let go, su... I won't be bad, really, su!"

[misguidedherald]

"It does not matter how you will be, girl. What matters is that I do not wish to see you here. You or anyone else....

Those last words had been ones that Judai had not meant to utter out loud -- yet it was almost akin to a natural reaction, a desire to speak his mind fully, to eliminate the deadening weight of everything that remained unsaid whenever he chose to talk. It was an unsettling feeling, one that seemed to have more of an external source, rather than an internal one -- yet all of the revelations that the compound had tossed at him within a small space of time had certainly been enough as to keep Judai from further analyzing the subtle energy that flowed through the air so freely.

Stepping across the threshold, he half-pushed, half-dragged the struggling little creature, giving it a small nudge into the hallway, gazing upon her with a thoroughly unreadable look.

"Now go."

And with that, Judai made certain to turn away and close the door behind him, ignoring her disappointed eyes.

[trouble_angel]

Misha stared long and hard at the closed door in front of her for a while. What was that all about? All she really needed was a place to set up, and...

Well, this wasn't going to be the end. She did not give up quite so easily, despite how she thought he was being particularly cruel at the moment. She knew humans had their flaws, some more glaring than others, but had never had such imperfections turned upon her own being before. Opening the door a crack, just loud enough to be heard, she poked her head around the door and stared in, waiting before giving a halfhearted smile.

"...Pleasey-please, su?"

[misguidedherald]

It appeared that the infuriating little thing simply did not know how to accept a refusal. Judai was quite certain that he had been more than explicit with the fact that he did not wish to share his private space with anyone -- least of all with one who simply did not know that it was very imprudent to insist in tugging at his already frayed nerves.

"No. Go away."

Refusing to even glance at her this time -- perhaps in the hopes that a complete lack of interest would encourage the girl to find someone else to bother -- Judai sat himself back down in the chair, leaning down, in order to pick up his Duel Disk, which had clattered to the floor upon her impromptu entrance.

Some part of himself had already begun to chastise him, arguing that he was being utterly unreasonable and that he had no motive to be so unrelenting towards what appeared to be little more than a naive child. Judai, however, would have none of it, as he mentally swatted the troublesome thoughts, harshly reminding himself that he did not wish to see the peace of his inner sanctum so utterly disturbed by one that had no place standing so close to him.

[trouble_angel]

"...Whassamatter, su?" Misha prodded curiously, knowing she may very well be pushing her luck further than was necessary, but trying her best anyway. "You... seem kinda unhappy, su."

An understatement, definitely, but she knew she didn't mean it the way she knew he would probably take it. Even so, there weren't really any better words that she knew of to describe it. Well, maybe if she stated why she was here, he'd understand...?

"Well, um, I'm Misha, and I'm an angel, su! I got sent to the human world to get my angelic license, su! So can ya pleeeeeease help mes, su? Just so I can stay until I find Kotarou-kun, su? Pleasey-please-please?"

[misguidedherald]

There was far more truth in that single statement than the girl would ever know -- yet Judai was certainly not going to openly admit to such a thing. Yes, there was sadness within him -- covered by a dark shield of anger, pride, derision and contempt -- hidden from prying eyes. It was sadness gathered during lifetimes of loss, one which carried the marks of all those who had brought it about within him, seeming to weigh him down and to impede his breaths during sleep.

"Your words are little more than mere nonsense, child. Why should it matter to me what you are or what is that you are supposed to do?"

Not bothering to raise himself from the chair once more, Judai continued his examination of the Duel Disk, making certain that the sudden crash had not damaged it in any way, keeping his voice cold and neutral, hiding his own inner musings behind carefully-crafted shields, ones that had never failed him, in times when open emotion had been tantamount to death.

[trouble_angel]

"...I dunno, su. Cause I still kinda need a place to live until I find Kotarou-kun, su... Sacchan said I was s'posed to set up here, su."

Misha felt rather afraid of what would happen if he didn't cave eventually, and her words didn't seem to be affecting him much, at least from what she could tell. It was very disheartening... she really couldn't do much good to anyone by sleeping outside.

"...Are you okies, su?" she asked with concern lining her voice. He sure didn't seem too okay from her perspective, what with the way he was reacting to everything; or rather, not reacting at all.

[misguidedherald]

Concern... it was an emotion that had rarely been directed at him -- and those who had displayed it were either long dead or missing, separated from him by the dimensional walls which marked the border between this distopian universe and his own. In a sense, it was rather surprising to hear one ask such a question, on what seemed to be the candid, honest tone of a child, completely lacking in ulterior motives of any kind.

"Yes, I am. Stop asking questions with self-evident answers."

It was far easier to lie through his teeth -- he had done it on so many occasions that, sometimes, what was real and what was untrue became blurred, molding into each other, creating a swirling mass of gray thoughts and emotions, meaningless in their confused uncertainty.

Glaring at the girl from his seated position, hiding any margin of uncertainty underneath a mask of burgeoning anger, Judai could not help but release a weary, inner sigh, rationalizing that it would all be moot if she were wise enough to see that he was certainly in no mood for her insistent attitude.

[trouble_angel]

"It didn't seem so obvious to me, su... You don't seem okies, su."

Misha pushed further, still avoiding the idea of just giving up completely. "...I could live in another room, su? I thinks? I won't bother ya, I pwomise, su!" She tried giving him a reassuring, sincere smile and a tone that suggested she meant what she said completely, but felt herself slowing, weighed down with more and more disappointment.

"Oh, oh, and... if ya let me live here, I can help ya, su!" she added, desperately trying to appeal to him.