Woven in Dream; Traverse Town; Yuri & Alice Log [Completed]

[periapt]

[ Yuri Responses || Alice Responses ]



Itch, itch, itch!!!

He scratched his head, his face, his nose, and even places where manners would frown on scratching. "Some old wise magician he is.. couldn't even make that machine without the itch." The new arrival continued to gripe all while looking more akin a flea-bitten stray than a new resident of this town.

Honestly? He wasn't very fond of the idea of using that transportation machine with it having so many kinks in the works--this itching was only one of them. What if he'd been unlucky and wound up on the moon? He'd explode quicker than an explosive! Didn't seem like he had much choice in the matter, though. It was either getting out of that world or having that curse purify his soul--which sounded like a load of bull and all, but he wasn't too read up on how curses worked so it was better to be on the safe side. That didn't mean that he was all scot-free in coming here. Aside from the itch, his heart felt all funny. Maybe it was the mistletoe doing something.. Roger did say he might have to adjust to the new world and all.
The whole charade had been worth it just to see that sack of bones, Roger Bacon, try and sprint his way to getting the teleportation machine to working.

In the end he'd wound up here in good ole' no-name town unknowns-ville. There were a lot of bright lights and big doors. "Looks like there aren't any of those things running around." Yuri strutted onward, " I could get used to that."

The second Vergil had disappeared, Alice had given up hopes of maintaing some sort of cultured, refined demeanor as she bolted through the doors to another district. She was hardly taking into account where she was headed, but she knew, somehow, that she was going in the right direction.

There was time, enough time to wonder what she could possibly say to him. Enough time to wonder how the greeting would seem and what words would be right. Nothing seemed it would fit. No word nor phrase could express what she'd wanted to tell him before the darkness had claimed her. Would he even remember her?

All false pretenses of not being selfish, of wanting him to be safe and happy home were quickly replaced with the need to see him now. He was here, and she felt drawn to him, moreso than she ever had before.

What could she possibly say? What did the lamb say to the slaughter when it had somehow managed to dodge the blade? At least, in a sense.

It was at that moment that a corner was rounded, and there was suddenly no more time for idle thought or contemplation. Yuri was standing there, standing right before her, back turned as he walked forward, talking to himself as she could remember back in the day. +

For a few, idle seconds, Alice could do nothing but stand there, weak knees and all, as she confirmed that it was really him. His clothes were a touch different, but there was hardly any mistaking him. She could see beyond outward appearances to the heart that had called to her moments ago.

Sadly, all her gawking seemed to be interfering in her brilliant plan to find Yuri again, as he was moving away more quickly now. Flustered, Alice cried out the only words on her tongue.

"Yuri! Wait for me!"

With his hands behind his head in that typical relaxed-and-inquisite fashion, Yuri had started a self guided tour of the district. Might as well take a look around and get to know the new turf, right? It had been quite a while since he'd take a leisurely walk with all the things that had been going on. Doors, curses, going back home, all mixed in with a bunch of stuff he didn't quite understand. Maybe he could look at this like a vacation from all that!

The demon continued his little trot down the third district street when he heard a voice. An all too familiar voice. "Huh?" Yuri scratched his head, quite concerned with hearing things. That... that was just in his head right? It sounded a little too real to just be in his head. Oh man maybe he was going crazy.

It took him a couple seconds to do the simplest and probably most logical thing possible when hearing someone ask to wait for them: he turned around. He expected nothing but open and empty air since that's how it always was.

Much to his amazement the person the voice belonged to stood there; Yuri stared with a mixture of disbelief and amazement, '..Alice..!' This wasn't real. He'd had this dream many times in the past, it was no use getting his hopes up.

A part of him couldn't really help it.

The answer, however, didn't reflect as much doubt as he might have expected. He answered in the same stammer-filled and hesitant tone that he'd given her on the train. "... ... ... Oh..kay.

Alice's nervous expression melted as he turned around to really take a look at her. He looked confused, and she had little doubt that he would be questioning the reality of the whole event. She was standing there before him, a ghost from the past. He probably wondered, as she had herself upon coming to Traverse Town, whether or not any of it was real.

The excorcist took a small step forward, her eyes shining as she slowly drew closer. He didn't move. He didn't vanish. He waited. Just like she'd asked him to.

There was a tension between them when she closed the distance, setting a suitable distance as she regarded him more closely now. It was all she could do to just look at him, to just continue to affirm over and over again that he'd really come here. Maybe it hadn't been for her, but he was here. And there was just so much to be said.

But none of the words would come, even as she parted her lips to try her very best to say them. Instead, composure faltered again, and she threw her arms around him, hugging him as best she could.

He was alright. Yuri was really alright, just as she hoped and prayed for so long. It had all been worth it. Just seeing him here was proof enough of that.

Even as Alice approached Yuri didn't quite believe it. She'd get up to him and vanish, then he'd wake up in a cold sweat about to get eaten by a monster, right? Neither waking up or the latter came to pass. Instead, a simple embrace. He knew where the line between the real and where the surreal was drawn and this felt a little too on the real side of that line.

Dream, hallucination, real, or whatever it was that didn't matter. Yuri wasted no time in returning that embrace ten fold. He hugged and squeezed Alice as hard as he thought the girl could muster--something he never got to do in real life, and also one of his greatest regrets.

There was no way. No. No way this was real. He'd went over this a thousand times in his mind while he lurched over pew benches in the church of Domremy, or while his small talks with Roger. Alice was gone and there was nothing he could do to change that. He'd gone as far as to have made peace with it all and now ...

Yuri's eyes started to well up despite his inward protest; All those memories of six months ago had that effect every time they crossed his mind. "I don't want to keep doing this; You're gone. I dug your grave myself." He paused and sniffed, "Sorry for being a bad bodyguard." It was insulting to the sacrifice she made for him to keep digging up the memory when it should be left to rest in peace. All he could do to honor that memory was to live out her years for her.

They were sobering words. Alice could do little at first but hold on to him, tears already spilling from her own eyes.

"Yuri, this isn't a dream. It's real. I'm right here," she assured him quietly, her voice soft and gentle, though it did waver a bit as she spoke. Had he been seeing visions like this since she'd passed? To know it filled her heart with regret; she'd wanted to give him a life free of his burden. In hindsight she should've suspected that her sacrifice might've imposed upon him a new one. Alice hadn't hesitated when the masks had asked for her life in return, however, and to have him here, free of their games... No, it had surely been for the best.

"I'm a little surprised myself, but it's not a dream." The girl hardly minded how tightly he was holding on to her. Before this, it had all almost been like walking in a dream. "I woke up here only a little bit ago, barely a day. I... I didn't think I'd ever... That is, I thought I was gone too."

A pause.

"I don't ever say that you were a bad bodyguard. I was only glad to be able to take care of you for once."

Yuri let go of her a little reluctantly. "Hehe. Thanks." He'd done the bodyguard thing fine but it was his own fault for what happened anyway. Yuri was okay with that now, he wasn't going to beat himself up for it.

If she really was alive or something, he didn't want to go about squishing the stuffing out of her right off the bat. Yuri detached himself and took a step back in order to take a really good look. She looked exactly the same as back then; still the same clothes and the same hair and short as then, too. "A day huh?" The demon wiped at his eyes with the heel of his palm trying to compose himself a little. "It's been almost a year since then." the demon asked, slightly at a loss but not quite convinced of her story.

Man, he wanted to believe it, but this didn't make any sense! Roger had sent him on a teleporter to get away and he runs smack dab into the person he'd been chasing after for all this time. It was impossible! "How'd you.. how'd you wind up here? You think I'm dead, too?"

Alice was actually glad to have a chance to step back and really look at him again. It was hard enough for her to believe, and she'd been the one killed apparently a year ago.

A fact that caused her to frown. She'd been here but a day and could recall nothing save a brief skip in her perception of anything at all before waking up. Disturbing as it was, the girl couldn't help but think that Yuri's estimation of time was more accurate. She'd been "dead" for some time. Perhaps she truly hadn't been aware for over a year. It was an unsettling thought, and she clutched both hands together as she tried her hardest not to let it bother her.

"It's been that long?" she wondered aloud, gazing up at him sympathetically. So much to say, and she couldn't quite think of how to say it. "It certainly doesn't feel like it."

She wanted to say sorry, wanted to explain why and how, but then he probably figured it out by now. No need to open closed wounds. Besides, he was currently starting to spout some nonsense that would have to be cleared up.

"No, no! I'm quite sure you aren't dead. Neither of us are. I'm not entirely sure how it works, but I've heard a lot about creatures of darkness called Heartless that supposedly consume worlds. A lot of people who survive that seem to come to this town." Alice reached into the book that had been all but forgotten. She left out the part about how she'd been quite sure she would be dead herself. "Do you have one of these journals too?"

So she didn't even remember the gap of time. Roger said that those who came back from the dead would just feel like they had a nice long sleep and wouldn't even remember being dead, but they tried that and didn't work. Which meant... he didn't know what that meant.

"Those black things that run around causing a heap of trouble, right? But our world wasn't consumed by nothin'. I left because--" Yuri stopped short. He left that world because he had to; his soul was going to be consumed by the forces that were becoming stronger in that world so Roger teleported him here in hopes that he could avoid them. If he said that to Alice, would she think her sacrifice was for nothing? "Well, I left because I ran into a couple problems. Nothing I can't take care of!"

Admittedly he was quite relieved that he wasn't dead.

"Hey, I got it. You're here so this can't be real or anything. Maybe we're in my head--because that's where all the craziest stuff seems to happen!" Yeah! The stuff in his head always felt real with all those monsters and stuff up there trying to beat him to a pulp. "Though I gotta admit, it's a lot nicer-looking than it usually is. The company is a heck of a lot nicer too."

When she asked about the journal, Yuri looked at it with confusion. What in the world was that thing? "No. Haven't got one of those. Where'd you get a gadget like that anyway."

"So they've come to our world as well..." Alice's voice trailed off. It was a logical explanation, but, from what Yuri said, they hadn't entirely taken it yet. Still, her brow furrowed as she worried silently for the people there. If only there were something that could be done... It seemed rather unfair that in would be subjected to something like that when they'd fought so very hard to save it.

Of course, Yuri's perpetual confidence was contagious, and the girl had to smile at him. He had always been that way, and it was one of the reasons she'd given her heart in a second to save his. She didn't want his light to be extinguished, and she would've done anything to give him some form of peace.

His deductions about why he'd come to be in Traverse, however, made her sigh and shake her head. Alice knew it had to be hard to accept, but honestly...

"We're not in your head, Yuri. This is real. I'm real." Naturally, she couldn't exactly prove it, but Alice stared directly into his eyes, trying to convey some feeling of reality, something he wouldn't write off or excuse. "If this were in your mind, do you think
I'd be saying all of this? I wouldn't get your hopes up like that. Not even if I were just in your mind."

The journal in her hand was extended when he questioned it, prompting him to take it and look at it if he would.

"It's something most people who come here have. A man named Greed showed me how to use mine properly earlier," Alice explained. "Apparently you can use it to communicate with others."

Those black things had been running around for a couple of months now. On top of that, when he found a seal to release another fusion monster they wound up in his head! Didn't know how that worked, even though Roger had tried to explain the whole thing to him he didn't quite understand it all.

Yuri scratched his head, "Well you do got a point. I don't remember this weird place being there." Why would she need a weird journal gadget if she was in his head? It wouldn't be like Alice to get his hopes up either, like she said! There wasn't that creepy tree anywhere to be found either. It could've been a dream, but if this was a dream and Alice was in it they certainly wouldn't be standing around and chit-chatting.

He took the journal from the girls hand, staring at it intensely without focusing on it at all, really. If she was alive and he'd been saying all that then he had a bad impression to compensate for. "....... ....You're alive, huh?" A very wide grin spread over the demons face. "Forget the journals, I haven't seen you in a year! I've missed having you around!" Man, this was too good to be true! He hoped Alice slapped him! "Hey, we can go traveling again just like the old days without those sorcerer guys like Dehuai on our tail." Yuri was positively estatic.

A bright smile found it's way across Alice's face as realization seemed to finally dawn on him. All that talk of dreams had almost frightened her into believing she might be one herself! She was positively ecstatic himself and was even prompted to give him another, quick hug herself, standing on her tip toes to briefly wrap her arms around his neck spontaneously. After just a moment, she backed away, just a bit, and felt her cheeks maybe flush just a tad.

"Traveling again..." Alice's voice trailed off. In truth, the idea seemed wonderful to her. Despite all the hardships they'd face, those days traveling with Yuri had been among her happiest. Well, everyone had contributed to that, but Yuri was of course something special. "That sounds wonderful."

There was, however, the matter of Greed. They'd have to have a talk to see if he wouldn't mind Yuri potentially accompanying them as it would be rude to back out of tentative plans. Naturally, if he was not, however, she wouldn't leave his side. She didn't intend to again so long as he wanted her there.

"I made some tentative plans with someone who seems to be in the same boat as we are, and I'm sure you'll be able to come along as well," Alice chirped happily, feeling decidedly livelier than she had before. For obvious reasons, probably, but also because Yuri was right there.

"I'd like to get some sleep first, though. Despite it all, I'm rather tired. I heard there was an inn nearby we could stay at," she added. She'd eaten, but sleep would also be a requirement before they could get along on their way.

If Alice were to live again--he never actually thought about what he'd say to her. Even if he did actually come up with something to go on about in that 'what if' scenario he doubted that he would be able to remember it now. "Yeah! I've been traveling for about sixth months and I got to see a ton of places. I'll tell you about 'em." Yuri started to go on about things without realizing it. He usually didn't go on like this, but heck, people usually didn't come back from the dead either!

"Hey I even met your old coot uncle. He took me in for a while there after I went to Zurich. We stayed in this village called Domremy. Maybe you've heard of it." Yuri purposely steered away from that. This was a good occasion and there was no need to clutter it up with bad memories.
Besides. Alice mentioned traveling somewhere with some person he hadn't met. Sounded interesting, but so did the last little bit there. "But if we're gonna travel we should get ready. Where's that inn?" The harmonixer put his hand to his chin, looking a little too smug. "Hehe. I didn't think you moved that fast. Oh well, I guess being dead for a year makes you wanna live fast and appreciate everything."

"I'd love to hear all about them!" Alice exclaimed, genuinely excited to hear about all of his travels and about all the new people he must've met along the way. A part of her heart ached to know that she'd missed so much and been unable to experience the travels with him, but he would tell her everything. And she wouldn't have to sleep through this newest set of journeys.

The knowledge that he'd run into her uncle Gepetto was startling, truly, and she was about to comment on that latest bit of news when he later comment caused her to completely forget what she'd been about to say on the matter.

Alice stood there, blinking indignantly for a moment before she truly comprehended what Yuri had just said. Her slightly-flushed cheeks turned an even brighter, crimson color as she fumed to cover up her embarrassment.

"Yuri! You know I didn't mean it like that at all!" she cried, flustered beyond belief now. "I-I need to sleep, and I'm tired is all! Really, you're so horrible sometimes!"

What? Did a little old comment like that throw her so off? They'd known eachother for so long she should've really seen that one coming. Especially with him so estatic; when he was excited he always said the first thing that came to mind no matter how stupid it was.

That sort of happened all the time, but really.

"I was kidding!" Yuri through his hands up defensively, "Maybe we should just find an inn and go from there." Guess this meant he got the couch, didn't it.

"You can tell me about where we're going and about this person we're going with." Yuri suddenly realized he had that journal still within his mits, "Oh, and this, too."
When he started going on about the travels, where would he even start? Aside from the whole mistletoe curse, which he would probably have to tell her about eventually, there was a lot to go over. Traveling in Europe, going to see Paris, The Russian Empire, beack to Japan, finally going home, meeting part of his family--it would take forever to say everything.
He could even show her a couple of the souveniers he'd brought with him.

The righteous anger didn't take long to die down, and Alice settled for one more huffy look in his general direction before letting the matter go. Really, she should've seen it coming, and how many times had Yuri pulled similar tricks with her back in the day?

Still, she simply wouldn't have him any other way, a thought that softened her indignant expression and even earned him another smile.

"His name is Greed, an odd name to be sure, but he was exceedingly helpful," Alice began as she took the journal back from him. "There were quite a few military men swarming the streets at the time talking about a war against the Heartless, and he seemed the only sole not interested in recruiting people about. Apparently there are dozens of worlds to visit, if one only has the proper transportation. We haven't talked much about it, but, at the time, there was little else I could see myself doing. It does sound exciting, doesn't it?"

As she spoke, Alice began to walk, almost hesitantly reaching behind her to take his hand gingerly and lead him toward the district where the hotel was supposed to be located.

Ah, military wasn't anything he wasn't already used to, Home had a lot of the war going on and guess this place did too. As long as no guys in uniform went and bugged him to join no cause there wouldn't be problems. The military was well and good for his old man but not so much for Yuri.

He was a little embarrassed at being led by the hand to where they were going, but if he lagged behind she wouldn't notice. Well..hopefully.

"Greed? Sounds like an interesting guy. The more the merrier." Wonder how he got that kind of name. "He can't be that greedy if he was giving you advice for free." Oh well, as long as he wasn't Greedy and grabby or anything it would be nice to have more company.
"So there are other worlds? You're giving me a lot to swallow all at once, ya know! Kinda hard to get used to the idea of there being so many people outside of our world wandering around." Just then, an idea donned on Yuri. "Maybe when people die they just go to one of the other places. That could mean my Ma and Pops are somewhere out there."

Realizing that she'd probably been a bit too bold, Alice released Yuri's hand when they'd made it a few steps. Walking around a new town together, looking for a place to sleep... It reminded her too much of old times. Hopefully the hotel would have some vacancies so that they wouldn't have to sleep on a bench again or something.

"He was very informative. Honestly, I thought the same thing, but perhaps him comes from another culture that hands out names like that for some reason or another," she answered him. Truth be told, Greed's name had honestly perplexed her. He'd been so pleasant and helpful that she hadn't felt it her place to judge.

Alice looked apologetic as she realized that this probably was a bit too much to lay on him at once. He'd just gotten here, and the terms of his arrival couldn't mean that things were going well back home. He seemed optimistic enough, though, and she wondered if his hopes were completely unfounded.

"I'm sorry about all of this. I'd hoped you wouldn't ever have to come here, but..." Alice bit her lip as her voice trailed off. Selfish. She could be so selfish sometimes.

"I'm sure there's a chance. After all, I'm here, aren't I? We'll have to see," she said brightly, clearly changing the subject with a smile.

As his hand was let go, Yuri stopped in step with the temporary leader. What was this all of a sudden? He was happy about seeing Alice, let alone seeing her alive and she was apologizing for him having to come here? "Hey, don't blame yourself. You didn't have anything to do with me coming here." Yuri whirled around, getting a good look at his surroundings, "I mean, this place doesn't look so bad. I don't know why you'd want to apologize for it." It was a little dark and rough around the edges, but it looked cozy! "Heck, I've been in worse places."

Yuri nodded enthusiastically to her reasoning. In fact if it meant he could see his Mom and Pops again, things would look up a great deal. If this place made it to where he could see them again, even if it were only for a little bit, the trip would be all worth it. Yuri somehow doubted that they'd be waiting just around the corner in the same place; that seemed too too-good-to-be-true sounding. But the possibility being there just made it exciting.

"I know, but..." Alice shook her head, unable to say exactly what it was that she was thinking. She looked up at him, her mouth opening and
trying to form words before they actually came out. "It's hard to say just how happy I am to see you. Much as I hoped it wouldn't come to this, I'm happy that you're here with me. I hope that isn't too selfish of me."

It wasn't the prettiest way to say it, but it was honest and Alice supposed that would be the most important thing to Yuri. Things were as they were, and there would be no changing them now. Perhaps he wasn't safe and sound back home with no threat of the Darkness to speak of, but he'd made it this far, and apparently for some time, and that was something. It wasn't everything she'd hoped for, but it was something, something that she'd give her life for again if she had to do so.

"We should hurry. I'd hope the hotel isn't completely filled," Alice added, looking decidedly less conflicted as she turned to lead the way again. There was hope in this, she decided, and that was all they needed.

"You're probably the least selfish person I know." Even if that could remotely be considered selfish at all, sacrificing her life for someone else had to give her a couple points in the good karma column--she was entitled to a couple selfish acts after that! Not that this was one. "And hey! I could probably use the vacation time. There were some pretty crazy things going on at home."

Crazy didn't exactly begin to outline the things that had happened--with the curse, the door opening, and shadow creatures running wild with all that malice having been released. Yuri was pretty worried about the way things were back home but there was no helping that now. Besides, everyone back there could handle it--if not, Blanca would whip them all into shape.
"Oh yeah, the inn." They'd better hurry it up if they were leaving the next day. There was more to do now than when he went on ordinary trips! He had to catch up with Alice, figure out how that whole journal thing worked, and try to get some shut-eye. Yuri trotted along, letting his eyes wander around the present scenery. Couldn't imagine an inn being full when there wasn't even people around.

As expected, the aforementioned inn wasn't a long walk away from where they'd met up. Most things in Traverse Town seemed easily accessible, though there seemed no sign of an inkeeper to show them to their rooms. Alice was careful to pick on that seemed relatively empty and unused, vowing to leave a note and payment on the counter when she
found the time. Truth be told, she was rather tired. Hadn't she told Greed she needed to catch up on her sleep before making any final decisions?

Funny that she'd been doing anything but that.

It wasn't a huge room, but it was furnished colorfully with a good-sized bed and bath. Alice regretted not having any clothes suitable for sleeping, but she'd roughed it numerous times before on their journey. Besides, modest as her bedtime attire might be, she assumed she'd hear an earful from Yuri if she changed into a nightgown.

Which of course left them to determine the sleeping arrangements. Standing beside the bed, fidgeting just a bit, Alice cast an eye at her companion. She assumed he would volunteer to sleep on the couch, perhaps after a bit of teasing, but she wasn't one to wish such a thing on him.

A part of her was also somewhat afraid that to fall asleep would render her unable to awaken. As though all of this were a dream. A silly thought, truly, but she couldn't resist fretting over it.

An inn with a wide-open hole in the roof--now if that wasn't a telltale sign of a classy hotel he didn't know what was. At least it was better than spending the night in those old Japanese warehouses.

Yuri didn't wait for much of an invitation but made himself at home quickly. He look off both his waiste belts with the small satchel, before making his way to his boots: both of which were tossed aside quite haphazardly. The demon then adopted the couch, lounging himself over the dusty thing with a loud flopping sound, "Man, I'm beat!"

But hey, seemed like the itching had gone away.

"So what about that journal you showed me before? Whats it do?" He couldn't immagine why anyone would want a communication device when they could just talk to eachother. Seemed like a weird invention Roger would cook up in his lab.

Alice took a seat on the bed, her bible sitting on the nightstand next to it as she clutched the strange device in her lap. It seemed easy enough to operate, especially now that she understood what an underscore was, but she wasn't sure how good Yuri would be with it.

"It's not to difficult," she said aloud, flipping it open to get a good look at it herself again. In all honesty, she'd completely forgotten about it after mentioning it briefly during their reunion. "It works just like a regular journal would, only you press these buttons to make letters appear. I'm told you can also use it to keep in contact with other people who have them." Alice bit her lip and shook her head. "I'm not entirely certain why I woke up with one, though. It doesn't seem like anything that could've come from our world."

Of course, there were other issues to address besides the journal, ones that were making the silver-haired girl seem a bit flushed as she contemplated how best to bring them up.

"I-if you're tired, you can sleep on the bed," she finally rushed, probably saying it all far too quickly. Alice cleared her throat before continuing. "That is, I wouldn't want you to be uncomfortable on the couch when there's plenty of room."

He'd just have to behave himself.

That journal sounded neat and all, but why write when you could just walk up to 'em and say what you had to say instead of having to write it all down? Just talking to the person would be a lot easier; yeah it did sound pretty cool, though. "Sounds interesting." Yuri commented, despite it not really being his cup of tea. "Who would I wanna talk to? No one else at home had one of those gadgets, and you're right here so it would be pointless to try and write you anything." It would take too long to write out all the things he had to say anyway. There was so much that he probably couldn't even put into words real well: like the whole gate opening thing. It would be much better if he just talked.

The last question, though, detoured him a little from starting his fantastic tale. Alice sure had said something weird. "If I sleep on the bed, where are you gonna sleep?" He asked. No way would she be sleeping on the floor or anything like that. Yuri was pretty comfortable on the couch anyway. Sure a bed would be nice, but he slept in them so infrequently it wouldn't be like he was missing anything spectacular.

Alice supposed he had a point, but if they could get him a journal of his own, she thought it might be useful if they were ever seperated again. She thought to press the point a little more, even though she really didn't have much of an idea as to how to go about it. Her own device had appeared on her person the moment she'd woken up here. It was still something to be considered, however-

And yet she couldn't find herself in the proper mindset to discuss with the direction their current conversation was going. The girl's cheeks had to be as red as tomatoes when Yuri seemed to completely miss the point. It was almost worse than those comments he always tended to make.

"I wouldn't be sleeping on the floor," Alice forced, face burning all the while. He'd probably make fun of her at the very least. Honestly, was he really going to make her say it? "I meant that there's enough room for use to share it." An uncomfortable pause followed. "So long as you behave yourself, of course."

Aww, well now wasn't that cute--Getting all flustered over him asking a question about the sleeping. She was even turning that really incriminating red color that people turned when they had naughty thoughts. Yuri grinned, having apparently done something to coax that all out. When she presented the idea of grinning a bed he grinned all the more. "He he he." Oh an, should he even respond to that? He'd make it tons worse.

"It really hurts me to turn down an offer like that, you know." If Alice hadn't figured out that he wouldn't behave like she expected him to by now, well then maybe he would have to re-introduce himself. He wasn't really in the mood to be smacked in his sleep or something of the alike either. The demon waved it off very reluctantly, "I'm fine where I am. Thanks."

Now he had the chance to start talking about all his travels! Man, he wished Alice could have been there for a lot of it. She would've enjoyed a lot of the places that they'd seen. Not so much Europe or anything since they lived around there, but he would have liked to show her the village in Japan he was born in; she could have met his cousin, Kurando, too!
That reminded him...

Yuri dug in his bag, taking out an item and holding it in the palm of his hand. "Hey. Uh.." He didn't know why he took the stupid thing along since it was useless to him, but he guess that he probably forgot to give it to someone else before going on the teleporter. The 'thing' was actually one of the crests from back home used to channel magic. He wasn't sure what this kind was, but Alice could probably use it! "H-here. Think of it as a souvenir or something that I brought from all those travels." That was a good reason, wasn't it?
"This one we got back in Domremy--that's the place I stayed with your Uncle for a while." He made a vague motion, going on with his tale kind of abruptly. "When I was there I camped out in their church--kind of ironic, considering the whole demon thing--and the people there were real good to me so I hung around. The German Army was trying to raid the place, so we taught them a hard lesson: Me, your Uncle, and Blanca. Oh--Blanca is...was one of the villagers dogs. He's really smart for a dog."

He was starting to rant on a little bit, but she needed to know all the stuff that happened while she was gone! This was Alice, who he hadn't spoken to for over a year! It was time to make up for it. "We managed to keep them back for a while. Guess that didn't work out so well in the end." Yuri revealed a little forlorned expression, which lasted only a brief moment before he held out the crest to Alice. "Well anyway, here! You can have it. I can't use the thing."

Alice frowned just a bit. She wasn't fond of the idea of him sleeping uncomfortably, but it wasn't something that would really do to be pursued. Yuri was probably right. Maybe... maybe someday soon, but they'd just found each other again. Perhaps tempting fate so soon wouldn't be a good idea. Or not. Alice tried not to think to much on it. It was settled for the night, and all the notion seemed to be doing was to make her flush even more.

"Oh! T-thank you!" she replied, eyes wide at the sudden offer of a gift, a souvenir from his travels with her uncle. Reaching out to take the gift from him, the silver-haired girl smiled, finally beginning to calm down from the heart attack she'd nearly induced a moment ago. It seemed to radiate magical energy... She'd have to sit down and take a look at it herself. The idea seemed simple enough, especially to one so inclined in the art as she was. "I'll take good care of it."

As he continued about the details of his adventure, Alice sat, hanging on every word and wanting to hear all about what he'd done since she'd, well, left their world. She wished herself she'd been along for the ride, but hearing about it from him was the next, best thing. Most of all, she was just happy to hear that he'd been living his life. And the idea of him living in a church? Well, she had to giggle at that.

"The German Army?" That made her frown. Attacking a small, little village like Domremy seemed so harsh, but then the idea of war in general was never something she'd been fond of. "I'm glad that you tried. And that Uncle Gepetto was there with you. I wish I could've-" Alice abruptly stopped herself, not wanting to go down that road for both their sakes. "I'm sure they took good care of you. They're good people. And dogs, I imagine." It sounded as though the rest of the subject might be a bit touchy, so she prompter him further.

"Where did you all go from there? I can imagine what your travels must've been like with my uncle." Alice smiled, silently amused as she pictured the scene.

Alice had actually been to Domremy and knew the people there? Man, small world. Of course it was more understandable that they would have been hesitant to talk to him about Alice given how he was acting back then...

"From there.." From there they went a bunch of places! But first they'd d fled to France because.. "The German army invaded the town and killed a bunch of people, including that girl who brought me food every day, Jeanne. This guy--Nicolai--from this secret society was hunting me down because we took on Albert Simon and beat him. Apparently he was part of this secret society, Sapientes Gladio, or something who were bent on getting Albert." How could he explain the whole deal without mentioning the curse? Well the fact of the matter was he couldn't, and knowing Alice she probably already knew something was up. It was no use avoiding the subject and he didn't feel like keeping it from her either. This was Alice! She'd understand. "That Nicolai came after me with this item that was meant for exorcizing demons. It was supposed to "purify their soul" or some mumbo jumbo. Well, you can pretty much guess the rest!" Yuri pointed to his soul talisman necklace, of which usually glowed a harmonious blue color, now of which was affixed a permanent red.

Curses were such a pain in the butt.

"After that we had to hide out for a little while because of that secret society. I guess it a lot of it was because I wasn't doing too hot either, because of that holy item. Your uncle took us--Me, Blanca, and Karin, who one of the Lieutenants of the German army, to Paris so we could crash at his apartment there. Then .." Yuri practically rambled, describing how they traveled across Europe all while getting chased by the secret society. He tried to make the curse the whole backdrop of the story, really, since she'd already had to deal with one of his screw-ups before. The demon continued onward elaborating on the door being opened and Nicolai, to going to the east and meeting his cousin, and even throwing in about how Albert wasn't such a bad guy.

Actually it was only while telling someone else about this did he realize how much he enjoyed the whole trip. He made sure to press the matter about having to travel on boat to Japan and him thinking that he was done for, though. Even though the tale was far from over, Yuri did hesitate to finish. He scratched his head, "Maybe I should let you have a word in edge-wise, huh."

"It's alright," Alice assured him, trying to find something to say as she processed everything he'd just told her. "I like to hear all of your stories. I've missed so much, after all." Those pangs of wanting to have been there with him through all of it were stronger now.

Unfortunately for him, she was also quick to pick up on the mention of a curse quickly enough, and immediately stood up, her eyes filled with very clear worry as she walked a bit closer to get a good look at the necklace he wore. She shook her head, pondering what the effects of item meant to purify the souls of demons would have on someone like Yuri. It might've helped to know exactly what the name of the holy item was, but, regardless, it couldn't be good for him. He'd been through so much already.

"A curse..." her voice trailed off as she suddenly found herself feeling very heavy. It was hard not to pick that out of everything he'd said, though the entirety of it all, particularly that tidbit about Albert Simon, was a lot to swallow at once. Now that he mentioned it, she could practically feel it herself, perhaps even more potently than she'd been able to before. "I'd hoped... Do you remember what the item was called?" Alice asked, trying to be helpful rather than let herself continue on that previous train of thought.

Yeah, no matter how much he tried to put the thing on the backburner, it looked like the curse was the underlining cause of her concern. There wasn't a reason to worry; even if there was something he could do about it, nothing could change that he was curse. So! Big deal. No curse was gonna get him down in the dumps. If that were the case he'd be down there all there damned time.

Yuri didn't even have to think in order to recall the name of the item. "That holy item? It was called 'The Holy Mistletoe'. He paused. Alice had lived in England for a while and was of the Catholic church (Well, a sister.) so she might have known the whole deal with it. ..Maybe even the side effects to the holy item. "They kept it at the Vatican for a while, so maybe your old man had heard of it or something. Do you know anything about it?"
Though kinda doubtful, he hoped that she didn't.

Alice shook her head, sorry to say that she'd never heard a thing about any 'Holy Mistletoe. If they were back home, she was sure there would've been some way to research it or find something out about it. It must've been something top-secret for her not to have heard even a whisper about its existance. That meant that she would have to worry about figuring it all out herself.

Her chest, right above her heart, began to ache just slightly. Not enough to really bother her, but it was noticeable. She frowned but continued on.

"No, I'm sorry to say that I don't..." Alice's voice trailed off. What was she doing? Yuri seemed optimistic enough about the whole matter, and they'd been through so much together. They'd conquer it. Surely they would. She smiled. "But we'll figure out some way to take care of it, right? I'm sure I'll be able to help in some way."

"Uh..yeah!" He'd heard a lot about that curse, enough to have been told that there wasn't a cure for it. What was the point in being glum and dragging everyone else down if it was just moping about the inevitable?

Honestly, now that he knew Alice was alive and well, he didn't feel so bad about the curse. A lot of the reason he tried so hard was so he could live out her life for her and try to fight for the things she believed in. With her here, it didn't really hinder his spirit any, but it put him at ease with the possibility that there might not have been anything he could do about it.

"Oh well. It doesn't really matter if you've heard about it or not. We did a lot of investigating back home before I left." Yuri flipped his hand in the air, "It's not that big of a deal. Kind of a lame curse actually, so I think I can deal with it." Of course, Alice wasn't going to let that sit. Curses were curses. If there was any way to get rid of it, she could figure out how. Alice was the brains of the outfit.

"I-I'm sure we'll... find a way... I won't..."

Alice tried to focus on what he was saying, tried to believe his optimistic words or at least center her thoughts around him. The dull ache in her chest, however, was beginning to throb as though it were aggravated by the talk of curses. At first she'd assumed it to be little more than a side effect of, well, having been dead for apparently quite some time. As it grew stronger and the nature of it grew clearer, she couldn't simply push the pain aside and reached up to place a hand over her heart. Her breath came heavier, and she closed her eyes as tightly as possible, trying to force it away. There would be no hiding it from Yuri now.

"I... If you'll just g-give me a... a moment," Alice managed as calmly as possible, her voice still shaking despite her efforts. She blinked a few times, her hand clutching her chest more desperately as she fought to keep whatever it was at bay. The nature of it was clearly dark, that much was blindingly obvious given her experience in dealing with things of that nature and the curse she'd inherited as the cause of her death.

Even stranger yet was the vague notion that her heart was beating in time with that of the one seated just a few steps away.

That tone didn't sound right. Yuri caught on right away that something wasn't aright with all those pauses and stammers. He wasted no time in rushing over to see what was the matter. "H-hey? What's wrong?" The demon put both of his hands on the girls shoulders to try and get a better look, while coaxing an answer out of her.
"Hey, Alice?"

Then it came like a wave: An overwhelming feeling of darkness that crept up his fingertips and straight to his chest. It was strange, getting a feeling like that. By this time such feelings didn't bother him, but it felt strangely reminiscent to the days a year before. ..almost like.. there was malice within his heart that he had to rid himself of or he would be consumed. But why from Alice? Why at all?

Alice tried to respond, but she couldn't muster up enough strength to form the words. It was taking all of her energy not to scream. Her mind raced with a dozen thoughts, most of which concerned the fact that perhaps she was still dying. Perhaps she hadn't been brought back to life from death. Her heart surged with a darkness that she remembered fresh in her mind from those days before she'd finally arrived at the end of her journey. Why hadn't she noticed it before? There hadn't even been a notion when she'd been talking with Greed or Cloud or Vergil.

She lifted her head when she heard Yuri's concern, forcing a strained, weak smile before winced from the pain and doubling over again. He shouldn't worry. She didn't want him to worry. Didn't he have enough to think about without something like this? Her vision was beginning to blur, and the room was swimming so suddenly that she felt nautious. The sensation building up in her chest began to fade, ever-so-slowly as she felt her breath come back to her. The world was fading quickly, however, and there wasn't time to assure him that it was all over. That it had passed.

When the darkness of slumber took her, it was somewhat peaceful this time and thankfully not permanent.