Drabble Dump - The Dark RPG
((And in other news, the Dark RPG for Yugi and Co went oddly similar to the original; Yugi didn't sacrifice himself initially, but pulled similar dice tricks to balance the field... They made it all the way to summoning the white wizard in fact- but when he saw that the others were about to die at Zorc's hands, he requested he be made a figurine rather than risk all of their lives. ...So yes, the Bakura that transferred was the 'Other Bakura' the entire time, and Ryou was actually DEAD- he lost his life defending the others with his shield as the White Wizard, as Ryou didn't possess his hand this time around; Yugi wasn't able to amass criticals completely. Akako raised him back when she brought the first monsters to life (because of the blood still staining the field), and then again as the Wizard when the hand shenanigans gave more flesh and blood to work with.))
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Live Bait
"Oi, where's Aoko?" The question was an expected one of course- she'd vanished almost immediately after class. The answer however, was not.
"She agreed to deliver Bakura-san's homework," Akako stated almost bitterly compared to her usual self.
"Eh... Bakura-san?"
Almost immediately there was the clattering sound of a moving chair, and it was to his dull surprise that Hakuba stormed past- very quickly followed by himself.
"AH- Oi, Hakuba-"
"Not now Kuroba."
He scowled. "Not 'now'..? You left as soon as you heard about Aoko..!" The scowl quickly changed to an odder look, one that had Akako shaking her head. "Not going to try Akako instead...?"
The detecitve rolled his eyes, and just as quickly as it had come the humorous mood vanished- "The fact that it's Aoko might be helping my decision," he spat, "But that is not the reason we need to hurry- I got my search results done this morning," he continued on.
"Bakura attended each school where these comas occurred."
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Mirrors
"Would you like to play a game?" According to the friends of his other half, these words were almost a trademark of sorts for the 'Other Kaito'. Words that spoke of turning tables, and of things about to change drastically. He himself had heard the words a few times before-
However when they came from Bakura Ryou, whose entire aura seemed to have changed without reason, it was clear that they did not mean anything good.
And it was for the sake of Aoko, who was inside preparing her own sheet, for Hakuba, who demanded they determine the connection to the comas, and for the Other Kaito's own suspicious self's sake that they said 'Yes'.
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Class and Race
"Hnn... I'll take the magician!" He decided rather clearly, crossing his arms with a proud grin. "Half elf..!
Aoko frowned. "You would pick that one," she muttered, before quickly smiling. "Ah, well... Aoko will be a human martial artist..!"
"Martial?" Hakuba blinked as he looked over the sheets. "Ah, like a monk..."
"Ohhh, you play this game 'Detective'..?"
Hakuba frowned. "I've looked into it."
"So you play-"
"You're playing too as I recall." Kaito quickly clammed up, and Hakuba went on with his decision. "Mmm... The Birdtail bard is my choice then."
There was a few stiffled laughs from Kaito at that, but when Hakuba didn't say anything he eventually quieted. As the sheets were handed forward, they looked to Akako. "Ah... Akako-chan," Aoko asked cheerily. "What did you pick?"
Her response was expected really. "Elf, 'Cleric'."
"Eh..?"
"The 'Necromancer'." Yea.
That worked.
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Red Versus Black
Almost predicatbly, Aoko was first. And just as predictably, Kaito followed when he jumped in in a rage. Hakuba was next- unable to look the others in the eye when he failed, and Akako was quick to join after.
But unlike the others, she did not attempt to roll a die. Instead, she looked at Kaito's seemingly unconcious body and smiled...
And said... "We will see whose magic is stronger."
And as Bakura's laughs echoed through the air and the others protested at her 'forfeit', Kaito looked up and waited...
For the moment that the laughter was cut off by another one's voice. "Saaaa," 'OK' chuckled, a pokerface smile firmly in place as Bakura seemed to choke. "And more importantly," he continued, stringing the puzzle that Kaito had grabbed at the last second within the backpack around his neck, "We'll solve your case, Hakuba."
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From the Hand to the Grave
Despite the magically oriented team that they had, survival in the 'game world' was surprisingly easy. Aoko and Kaito dealt direct damage be it through force or spells- Hakuba had the enemy sleeping half the time, or at the very least boosted their own team's 'hitpoints'. And Akako...
"Raise Dead," she said rather calmly as they stood over the recently defeated 'Zorc Hand' monsters, Bakura sneering from above.
"Raise dead..? Well then. These montsers were formerly a part of the Dark Master's body... Even in death, they won't switch sides so easily..!"
The look on Akako's face, and the dull glow within her figurine said otherwise. "As I said," she repeated almost coolly. "Raise. Dead."
It was likely that the roll's '00' wasn't entirely up to chance, given the strangely amorous nature of the monsters that accompanied them after.
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Priorities
For the most part, Hakuba seemed to be taking the sudden loss of size and more importantly 'normalcy' rather well. As a 'Birdtail' he was quickly adapting to flight (despite it only being a few inches from the ground), and while Kaito had poked fun at the bard class, he was proving to be more than formidible in battle.
However in the end, it was none of this that finally caused him to 'snap' so to speak, rather...
"You were CHEATING!?" While Hakuba looked at both Bakura and OK in shock, Kaito merely laughed- of course...
Of course that would be it...
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Inside Jokes
"So... That's Zorc's castle," Aoko murmured, all four of the players watching as the now enormous diorama unfolded before them.
For a moment, they simply stood and stared without doing anything. Then-
"...It's bigger on the inside."
The look on Hakuba's face probably confused the hell out of everyone but it was worth it in the end, Kaito decided with a grin.
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Rock Hard Skulls
"You just had to go in didn't you Kuroba," Hakuba growled darkly.
"Mouuuu Hakuba-kun, is this really the time..."
Kaito scowled from where he stood, crossing his arms. "Yea..! What Aoko said! Get me out of here!"
And still Hakuba sighed, while Akako chuckled from where she stood with the three herself. "We'll do that in just a moment, Kuroba-kun... But next time, try listening when someone says 'that tower is suspicious'.
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Raise the Dead
"That..." Zorc was strong.
"That... B-Bakura-kun...!" Scratch that, Zorc was REALLY strong, regardless of the fact that Hakuba had effectively cut off his hand with a violin bow earlier.
"All along..." That wasn't really the point at the moment though.
"Bakura..!" The point was that in that last moment of battle they somehow survived the flash of red and cold that should have fried them all on the spot..
And in the end, it took a severed hand, a song of healing, and one loud cry of 'raise dead' to the blood upon the ground to remind them that things were not always as they seemed-
That alies, however unseen they were, could be found in the darkest of times.
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From the Grave to the Hand
It was a strange request Akako made. "'OK'," she had called out from the field. "It's my turn..!" In fact, it was strange that she made a request at all.
But with a single glance, 'OK' made the move regardless. "The Cleric uses 'Raise Dead'!" he announced, Bakura laughing cruelly in response.
"Raise dead..!? What do you intend to revive other than former alies? The monsters? The only one before you is Zorc, and you've yet to even scratch him..!"
And yet 'OK' merely looked down at the board, with Bakura snorting. "Very well... Roll to see your success on /nothing/."
"Nothing?" OK questioned, the others on the board watching with wonder as Akako pointed a hand forward. "I wonder how accurate that is..."
Bakura's look of rage could not possibly compare to the look of awe and wonder as Akako's magic took affect- though whether it as that of the board's or that of her own that brought the 'White Wizard' and 'Diabolist' Bakura from the remains of his own hand to the board was a question they would likely never be able to answer.
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Servants
With the White Wizard's aid in lowering Zorc's stats, it seemed as though they were unstoppable. Of course, there was a mild scare when Zorc revealed some sort of giant 'cannon'...
But that was nothing that a zombie couldn't handle. "The necromancer casts 'self-destruct!'"
It wasn't as though it had done anything other than follow Akako around and occasionally tell her how much prettier she was than the rest of the world after all.
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Jibaku
"Song of Oblivion!" The violin's song made Zorc's ears bleed and his bones snap, and through it all Hakuba held a cold gaze.
"Hi-Pressure Knock Out..!" Aoko's fists dealt more damage than they likely could have even in real life, rendering Zorc's 'canon' an ironic black-blue in colour.
But it wasn't enough.
As it came to the dice roll again, baited breaths were held, the dice clattering to the ground. From their side... "00..!" A win.
As was the dark Bakura's. "Hnhnhnhnhn..." The table shook. "The worst possible ending!" the 'DM' laughed, mad grin on his face. "Just as you leap forward to attack, Zorc lands a final hit and destroys-"
"Self-Destruct."
It was as though a wave passed over the board. The magic that Akako had used before returned again, her hands bright with power but this time pointing at the die that had been thrown for Zorc's turn. And for a moment, nothing happened...
And then a crack appeared...
And a voice could be heard.
'... Thank you...'
The Wizard's turn. "FINAL BIG BANG..!"
The explosion rocked the entire field...
And in the aftermath, the body of the DM collapsed, motionless.
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True Magic
When Bakura collapsed OK ran to check his body immediately. "How is he?" they asked from below, the teen bringing two fingers to the body's neck. "How is he..??"
OK did not look at them. "...Dead."
As most on the board hung their heads in shock however, Akako merely looked up with narrowed eyes...
Before turning back to the 'White Wizard'. "...Hn. The game may be over, but that does not mean we need to rely on a dice roll to fix things..."
The Wizard stared- and after one look at Akako, nodded. "...That's right... You used a part of Bakura's soul to create me, just as he did in life..." The wizard swallowed, before nodding. "Very well. I will give up my life to return his.
"AH- But Bakura..."
"Bakura-kun," Aoko protested, the others watching in silence. "What about you..."
As Akako's hands glowed with magic, the wizard merely smiled. "In the end... I was always 'Bakura', wasn't I?"
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Mistaken Identities
Eyes opened and calls were made. Bakura, normal again had his hand wrapped up as he waited for an ambulance. Between Hakuba and Akako, a silent message could be seen, one clearly wishing to question the other and said 'other' mildly considering her options.
And as 'OK' continued to apply pressure to the bandage on Bakura's hand, the teen spoke. "...I was surprised you know," he said after a few moments. "To see you with that puzzle."
OK froze. "Heh?"
"It juts seems odd," Bakura continued with a slight smile. "Out of place... So there's really two of you then," he said in the end, changing the subject. "One in the puzzle and..."
He nodded. "Yep! That's how it works..!" Poker face, he reminded himself. Poker face... "Hey, can you hold that..?"
"Of course." While Bakura continued to hold the bandage on his hand, 'OK' took a bit of time to 'leave' so to speak, first from the room and then back into the puzzle...
And while Kaito stood in slight confusion at the sudden switch, his 'other half' merely sat in the middle of his soul room, wondering...
What was supposed to have happen, if not this?
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