[Open] [LOOK AT DAT AU]

[note_atem]

It may not be the most fun world but it is a normal world. Full of normal things. And normal people. Most of your life has been normal. Except that one time when you found that magic artifact and unleashed that magic being. Angel. Demon. Genie. Type thing. Creature. And that's when you got stuck with him. But after such a normal existence it must

Comments

Lawful good, you know why

[shutupandduelme]

The last thing Kaiba could say he actively felt was the impact of the heavy artifact against the back of his head. Not that it mattered. His back was already completely enveloped in pain. All he could do was lay where he had fallen, the gold triangular paperweight coming to rest centimeters from his fingers.

"You will remember your place, boy," Gozaburo seethed in the darkness nearby. "As soon as you get up and every time you look at yourself afterward. Now I expect this mess to be completely clean by five o'clock. If you fail this assignment as well, your brother will have a lesson as well."

The boy didn't even flinch as Gozaburo swept out of the room. He didn't have the energy to. His ragged breath barely managed to clear his throat as he began the slow and laborious process of getting up.

"..be dead someday, bastard," Kaiba murmured, his fingers clawing at everything in reach, including the old gold paperweight. "This house will..crumble on top of you.."

I HAVE NO IDEA

[note_atem]

The spirit inside wasn't completely conscious of the activities going on outside of the object. But he could feel the absolute darkness that radiated from at least one entity. The hatred. The anger. ...or was that last bit coming from the boy?

A soft and warm glow enveloped the item before moving over the hand holding it and down the boy's arm. The spirit flickered to life in front of the boy, looking at him with downcast eyes.

"You will do it by your own powers." He promised before raising his eyes to the rest of the room.

LIAR

[shutupandduelme]

The warmth was like a shock to Kaiba's system. It was enough to give him the energy to lift his head. It only made things worse. At the sight of a being, though it had to be imaginary, the boy's automatic training kicked in. He forced himself into sitting up, even though it broke the clots already forming on his back. Blue eyes narrowed sharply.

"Who are you?" Kaiba commanded sharply, all signs of his exhaustion forced out of his voice. "What are you doing here? This is private property!"

NUH UH

[note_atem]

The man stepped back, wings folding lightly as he continued to look around the room. Had the elder said something about cleaning it? That was quite an easy task. He raised a hand, another warm glow, this one crimson colored, taking light in his palm.

His voice was calm and gentle despite the outburst from the younger. "For as long as you choose it, I am your spirit." Genie sounded like such a cheesy word, even to him. Spirit suited his needs better. The glow expanded from his hand before taking up space in the entire room. When it died down the surroundings were in order.

YEAH HUH

[shutupandduelme]

If anything, the clearing of the room made Kaiba even more suspicious. He stumbled to his feet, grabbing the pyramid shaped paperweight like a weapon. He held it up defensively, eyes never leaving Atem's. Blood continued to drip onto the floor slowly from his injuries.

"Cut the bullshit," he snapped. "If you don't tell me who you are and what you want right now, I'll call in security." There was no such thing as spirits, not even in his hallucinations. This man had to be insane.

...MAYBE THIS ONCE

[note_atem]

His eyes were drawn to his housing once the boy picked it up so violently and quickly. His arms folded over his chest as he appraised the other from head to toe. It wasn't long before his gaze was drawn to the blood.

"I am designed to aid you." He raised one hand, giving a gentle snap of his fingers. A rather large book, simply titled "Rules and regulations" dropped to the floor beside him with a thud. "...do your injuries pain you?" A softer look was offered.

I KNEW IT

[shutupandduelme]

The boy's frown grew darker as Atem appraised him. He stepped closer, holding out the paperweight like a weapon. "I'm warning you, cut the bullshit and tell me who you really are!" He commanded again, though he was abruptly cut off by the drop of the book.

Completely ignoring Atem's questions, his eyes darted from the spirit to the book that had just appeared. He knew books. He understood books. Books were real, completely unlike men with weird hair who appeared in your room out of nowhere. Carefully he crept forward, still holding up the paperweight, until he was withing arm's reach of the book. He brushed it carefully, trying to make sure it was real.

BUT AT LEAST I ADMIT IT

[note_atem]

The spirit stood his ground, not scared of the other in the slightest. He was more concerned about those injuries, and the dark hate he felt dwelling inside the other. Then again, with the way that man had been treating him, surely this was a normal reaction.

"My name is Atem." He said, still calm as he watched the other. His arms folded over his chest and he sat back in mid-air as the other touched his rule book. It was indeed solid and just begging to be read in its entirety. The wording would be dry and full of conditions and yet somehow it would all nullify itself with nonsensical terms underlined by magic.

Those, of course, were in the tiniest print.

I NEVER LIE WE HAVE BEEN OVER THIS

[shutupandduelme]

"..Atem," The boy said slowly as he watched the other carefully. Finally, his curiosity seemed to get the better of him. The spirit got one last glare before the brunet turned toward the book.

It was long, dry, and tedious, exactly like the kinds of books he had been reading for years. Kaiba made fairly quick work of it, skimming each chapter easily. The frown remained in place, though.

"None of this makes any sense," The boy finally muttered. "None of this stuff is real."

BUT YOU LIE EVERY TIME

[note_atem]

The spirit had just a quirk of a smile when the boy said his name. It was at least a start, even if it was a small one. They seemed to really be getting somewhere when he actually sat down and read the book. Not many even tried. Most just skimmed carelessly through it and ignored everything in it.

"My existence isn't meant to seem real to anyone else but you." There was a long list of reasons for that, too. "But you are so distrusting..." Then again, faced with such a normal world, being given magic and a random person along with it wasn't the most easy to believe. "I ask again, do those injuries pain you?" He'd have to prove his existence to this boy, of that he was sure.

>>...<<

[shutupandduelme]

The smile made the boy look up with a start. Kindness was the most suspect action of all. The tutors pretended to be kind too, at least until they knew Gozaburo wouldn't intervene if they were too loud. Kaiba scowled at the spirit, carefully stepping around the book so he could use it as a shield..and block any view of his back.

"If your existence isn't supposed to be real to anyone but me," he said, "how do I know I'm not making this up? He...I must have lost a lot already, to be hallucinating like this." Awkwardly, he glanced down to analyze the blood spatter on the floor. It didn't seem like he had lost an unusual amount...

:|

[note_atem]

That was a good question. How could he really prove that the boy himself hadn't fallen into delirium? It certainly might have been a normal response to such an abusive situation. He thought quietly to himself for a moment.

"I've cleared this room. If you were the only one seeing your hallucinations then everyone else would see this room as messy. Isn't that right?" It seemed the best way to approach this.

[shutupandduelme]

Kaiba turned Atem's reply over and over in his head. It seemed logical enough at the surface, but there always had to be a catch.

"..I won't fall for it," he said firmly, suddenly staring the spirit in the eye. "You can't trick me into calling for him then having him see the mess. You forget that you're dealing with a Kaiba."

[note_atem]

Something about that seemed deeply troubling. Did he think his own psyche was so shattered that it would turn against him? Atem didn't really like that at all.

"Could you call someone else? Or would you like me to do something different?" He set to thinking again before drifting towards one of the windows. "What if I did something outside?" Surely there were workers around that might see whatever it ended up being.

[shutupandduelme]

"No!" Kaiba cried sharply, abruptly moving to get in Atem's way. "I can't leave until I clean up. I won't have him hurting Mokuba because of...some silly dream," he insisted.

His hands clenched tightly at his side. "If you want to do something worthwhile, kill him," he hissed. "Get rid of him. Make him go away. Then I might believe you."

[note_atem]

His gaze drew back to the boy, a deep frown set on his face. "I won't do that." Killing, even in this circumstance, wasn't the right outcome. He wouldn't use his powers to cause bloodshed. But this wasn't going to help the situation.

"Would me doing that for you be satisfying? Wouldn't you rather take him down with your own abilities?" He didn't like the idea of the man being killed, no matter what he was doing, but he needed to start somewhere.