[Yukio blinks--and, for a second, there doesn't seem to be any other visible reaction.]
[But maybe it's rattled nerves, or a subconscious need to wrestle this conversation back into some semblance of his control; control that had been quite blithely snatched away the moment the Hollow got too close. Either way, some sort of odd effect is seeping in; and if he'd thought Shiro had said something amusing before...well, this outdoes it in every possible way.
[Enough so for a smile to finally shift into place on his features--albeit an absolutely mirthless one.]
'You'll never be alone', he says! Hah!
[--shut in a big room full of toys for Not Being Good Enough, receiving the very tool he needed to dull the emptiness by a stroke of pure luck, making up entire streams of rehearsed dialogue just so he could have a reason to talk to somebody that would talk back without looking down on him always looking down on him and this guy has the nerve to tell him how to not be alone--]
Hmph. This point is irrelevant. I solved that problem a long
( ... )
[It's a genuinely meditative remark, because--wow we're actually serious about this, and now his mind's kind of slipping into 'business mode' (as it oftentimes does when it comes to exacting deals although granted it usually involves more money and less DANGEROUS HOLLOW) and the question as to what would be a good equivalent bid is...a tricky one hmm...]
[Honestly, he doesn't want to construct one himself. He doesn't know the latter well enough for that sort of measure of confidence--and so, instead, he tilts his head slightly in your direction, oddly expressionless all of a sudden.]
[Well, that has earned a nice, substantial pause--the longest yet, on Yukio's end. Because damn that's a pretty hefty alternate bid. Does he really want to go through with that?]
[What is the price of retracting it?]
[A sizable chunk of his pride, arguably. Which is actually enough to hold his indecision in place, for a moment...]
[Outwardly, though, he does his best to look relatively unfazed, raising an eyebrow.]
Just the human part? How the hell would you pull that off?
lateness what lateness THERE IS NO LATENESS HERE...!filesavesJanuary 10 2012, 02:06:10 UTC
Well that's an awfully useful answer.
[Empty snark--just buying for a bit more time to mull over it, really. Yukio rocks back on his heels once, lightly, staring at you and frowning faintly.]
[On one hand, a good portion of his being wants to accept the bet cheerfully--get some payback for last time, with free reign for gloating afterwards, wouldn't that be nice?--but for all pretenses, Yukio is not a stupid kid.]
[You don't win games by disregarding the statistical facts. And despite reluctance to believe it, every single piece of evidence thus far has nonetheless pointed to a nigh-guaranteed loss, on his part.]
[The consequences might just outweigh the pros, for this one.]
[He huffs, very quietly, and averts his gaze away slightly.]
NO SUCH THINGholeheartJanuary 10 2012, 04:57:13 UTC
Heehehe. Take it or leave it.
[Shiro just watches. No doubt the kid is going over the facts in his head... his weaknesses, the Hollow's strengths... finding out that there was no way he could win.
That grin just broadens when Yukio backs out, and the Hollow shrugs]
We didn't shake on it, so it's not like yer locked into it.
NEVER HEARD OF IT and also SCREAM WHY IS THIS KID SO RETARDEDLY STUBBORN I DO NOT EVENfilesavesJanuary 11 2012, 01:58:03 UTC
[Welp.]
[It should have been just that easy. One more shrug, a couple more words, and the whole thing would have been done. Gone. Over with.]
[But no.]
[Shiro just has to grin like that, and reply like that--like he'd known that Yukio wouldn't do it all along, like the entire offer had just been another way to poke fun, taunt, drive it in deeper that yeah, he's just better--]
[And now? It's like a switch snapping on. Or reverse psychology at its very finest, more likely :U]
[And Yukio suddenly straightens, shifting his gaze back onto the Hollow.]
Oh? This is the type of bargain that requires a handshake, is it? I didn't think someone like you would even acknowledge that kind of formality.
[yeah this is him...shoving a hand into one his pockets, and. extending the other.]
HE GON GET ATEholeheartJanuary 11 2012, 04:50:08 UTC
[Shiro knows all the right buttons to push. He may have spent almost his entire life inside the soul of another, but he has a pretty damn good sense of how people work. And he has Yukio figured out. The little kid is not nearly as deep or intense as he thinks he is...
Everything was a game.
Check]
Of course. We have to seal something so important, right? Word of mouth just isn't good enough.
[he looks at that hand, quirking a brow and grinning from ear to ear]
Are you sure about this, Yukio~? [grabbing the hand and digging his claws in] Well. Death Tag it is, then. You can use whatever methods you want... and I can too. If you can evade me for... let's say two hours, you win. But if I touch you, even once, even a little, I win. Are these terms agreeable? [not letting go of his hand]
AND I AM GOING TO BE SITTING HERE SHAKING MY HEAD THE ENTIRE TIMEfilesavesJanuary 12 2012, 02:08:22 UTC
'Death Tag'? How creative.
[The grip hurts--a lot more than he'd care to admit--but Yukio doesn't flinch, putting up a smile of his own just to retort to that bastardy grin...while considering the terms with the faint air of someone well-versed in proportionate rule-making.]
[You can't make up games without knowing how, after all.]
Not two hours. Thirty minutes. [it's said flatly, almost absently] We can't all be superpowered Hollows here, you know. Tag gets old when it lasts for too long, anyway.
And...skin-to-skin contact only, for your victory clause. That might be sufficiently challenging for you, aah?
[He's duly noting your lack of letting-go-ness there 8| And even though he's already wearing gloves, (hence putting the so-called skin-to-skin clause to effect upfront), he decides to address that anyway.]
[Because no, he certainly doesn't trust you one little bit :\]
We both know this bargain begins after the handshake's over with, of course.
SILLY SILLY YUKIO :3holeheartJanuary 12 2012, 05:34:07 UTC
[He grins. 30 minutes? He'll just have to work faster, then.]
Half an hour, skin to skin. Sounds fair.
[Skin to skin won't matter if he catches you and tears you to pieces, clothes and all. The Hollow isn't concerned.]
Well duh. When we let go, I'm going to transform. You'll have that short period of time to get ready. Whether you're going to fight, or hide, I don't care. You'll have about thirty seconds. Ready.....
[letting go and taking a jump back, surrounding himself in a pillar of dark flames]
MAYBE HE'LL LEARN. EVENTUALLY. 8| /splatters teal all over this tag in the meantimefilesavesJanuary 12 2012, 10:15:38 UTC
[sssnatching that hand back like it'd been burned tyvm]
[and promptly taking a step back as you burst into flames over thar]
[Thirty seconds. It's a nice, small, concise frame of time to consider the next course of action. "Transform" likely meant that Shiro was gonna turn into whatever Hollow form he'd used last time. And what were the main attributes of that form? Speed, and considerable projectile capability. ...And strength, too, but that's only gonna matter if contact is made, which is something that is not gonna happen as far as Yukio's concerned--]
[It's trickier; he doesn't have Ichigo's cloak-type anymore, which means that there now need to be very specific circumstances for his Fullbring to be used to its proper full potential. Hmm hm. But he'll make this happen somehow. After all, it's not all bad, is it?]
[They've still got the entirety of D_M whitespace at their disposal, so even if illusions are out of the question there's still something to be done with a bit of imagination...]
THE BEST TEACHER IS THE THREAT OF BEING EATEN.holeheartJanuary 12 2012, 21:27:05 UTC
[don't think he didn't notice that. Ha!! You're funny, Yukio.
Correct again. Barely visible behind the column of hellfire, the humanoid shape twists and grows, cracks and splits. There's no reason to hold back, this is a bet. He's going to go all out, to the strongest form he currently has. Thirty minutes... he can maintain it for thirty minutes. With an ear-splitting roar, the flames dissipate, leaving the dragon-like Hollow standing where the pale humanoid once was. But not ALL the flames vanish. Those spines on his shoulders seem to collect the flames, the energy swirling around them like a tempest.
Another roar and those flames leap and grow, shaping themselves into the vague silhouette of wings. Those wings curl around him and he gets down into a sprinting pose.
And he's off, chasing that green light, using Sonido and strong beats of those "wings" to make him even faster.]
1/2. And ALSO, feel free to let me know if any of this stuff gets too godmoddy, yet again |D;filesavesJanuary 13 2012, 02:02:51 UTC
[The resulting reiatsu on Shiro's part is like a blast furnace bursting into life, the heat of which could be easily felt even from a distance. With a grim sort of detachment, Yukio notes that he's probably finished transforming about now.]
[Several Fullbring-steps further and he takes a glance back--yep. The dragon-like appearance is a familiar sight by now, unpleasant as the association happens to be, except...hmmm, what's this?]
[He didn't have wings before, did he?]
[Well, nevermind that--the guy's eating distance like a freight train. Simple outrunning isn't gonna be an option, is it?]
[Time to put all this whitespace to a test, then...]
[But maybe it's rattled nerves, or a subconscious need to wrestle this conversation back into some semblance of his control; control that had been quite blithely snatched away the moment the Hollow got too close. Either way, some sort of odd effect is seeping in; and if he'd thought Shiro had said something amusing before...well, this outdoes it in every possible way.
[Enough so for a smile to finally shift into place on his features--albeit an absolutely mirthless one.]
'You'll never be alone', he says! Hah!
[--shut in a big room full of toys for Not Being Good Enough, receiving the very tool he needed to dull the emptiness by a stroke of pure luck, making up entire streams of rehearsed dialogue just so he could have a reason to talk to somebody that would talk back without looking down on him always looking down on him and this guy has the nerve to tell him how to not be alone--]
Hmph. This point is irrelevant. I solved that problem a long ( ... )
Reply
[THE ANTISOCIAL FREAK DOES!!! And that's about it...]
[No, Yukio. No. You know how the odds are stacked already. Don't be stupid. Don't let your pride get the better of you. Don't--]
What do you have that would be worth betting?
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Just as planned.]
I have myself. I could leave you alone. No more pestering, no more poking or prodding... I'm a Hollow of my word.
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...Hm. Not bad.
[It's a genuinely meditative remark, because--wow we're actually serious about this, and now his mind's kind of slipping into 'business mode' (as it oftentimes does when it comes to exacting deals although granted it usually involves more money and less DANGEROUS HOLLOW) and the question as to what would be a good equivalent bid is...a tricky one hmm...]
[Honestly, he doesn't want to construct one himself. He doesn't know the latter well enough for that sort of measure of confidence--and so, instead, he tilts his head slightly in your direction, oddly expressionless all of a sudden.]
And what do I have that you would want...?
Reply
Power. You're a good bit tastier than your average soul. If you lose... I want to eat you up.
[a grin. Yes, he's perfectly serious] Maybe just the part of you that calls itself human and get myself a friend in the process.
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[...Oh.]
[Well, that has earned a nice, substantial pause--the longest yet, on Yukio's end. Because damn that's a pretty hefty alternate bid. Does he really want to go through with that?]
[What is the price of retracting it?]
[A sizable chunk of his pride, arguably. Which is actually enough to hold his indecision in place, for a moment...]
[Outwardly, though, he does his best to look relatively unfazed, raising an eyebrow.]
Just the human part? How the hell would you pull that off?
Reply
I'm pretty talented. Of course, if I failed doing that, I'd just eat you both.
Reply
[Empty snark--just buying for a bit more time to mull over it, really. Yukio rocks back on his heels once, lightly, staring at you and frowning faintly.]
[On one hand, a good portion of his being wants to accept the bet cheerfully--get some payback for last time, with free reign for gloating afterwards, wouldn't that be nice?--but for all pretenses, Yukio is not a stupid kid.]
[You don't win games by disregarding the statistical facts. And despite reluctance to believe it, every single piece of evidence thus far has nonetheless pointed to a nigh-guaranteed loss, on his part.]
[The consequences might just outweigh the pros, for this one.]
[He huffs, very quietly, and averts his gaze away slightly.]
...Tch. I don't know.
What if I don't like this bet?
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[Shiro just watches. No doubt the kid is going over the facts in his head... his weaknesses, the Hollow's strengths... finding out that there was no way he could win.
That grin just broadens when Yukio backs out, and the Hollow shrugs]
We didn't shake on it, so it's not like yer locked into it.
Reply
[It should have been just that easy. One more shrug, a couple more words, and the whole thing would have been done. Gone. Over with.]
[But no.]
[Shiro just has to grin like that, and reply like that--like he'd known that Yukio wouldn't do it all along, like the entire offer had just been another way to poke fun, taunt, drive it in deeper that yeah, he's just better--]
[And now? It's like a switch snapping on. Or reverse psychology at its very finest, more likely :U]
[And Yukio suddenly straightens, shifting his gaze back onto the Hollow.]
Oh? This is the type of bargain that requires a handshake, is it? I didn't think someone like you would even acknowledge that kind of formality.
[yeah this is him...shoving a hand into one his pockets, and. extending the other.]
Well, let's get on with it already, then.
Reply
Everything was a game.
Check]
Of course. We have to seal something so important, right? Word of mouth just isn't good enough.
[he looks at that hand, quirking a brow and grinning from ear to ear]
Are you sure about this, Yukio~? [grabbing the hand and digging his claws in] Well. Death Tag it is, then. You can use whatever methods you want... and I can too. If you can evade me for... let's say two hours, you win. But if I touch you, even once, even a little, I win. Are these terms agreeable? [not letting go of his hand]
Reply
[The grip hurts--a lot more than he'd care to admit--but Yukio doesn't flinch, putting up a smile of his own just to retort to that bastardy grin...while considering the terms with the faint air of someone well-versed in proportionate rule-making.]
[You can't make up games without knowing how, after all.]
Not two hours. Thirty minutes. [it's said flatly, almost absently] We can't all be superpowered Hollows here, you know. Tag gets old when it lasts for too long, anyway.
And...skin-to-skin contact only, for your victory clause. That might be sufficiently challenging for you, aah?
[He's duly noting your lack of letting-go-ness there 8| And even though he's already wearing gloves, (hence putting the so-called skin-to-skin clause to effect upfront), he decides to address that anyway.]
[Because no, he certainly doesn't trust you one little bit :\]
We both know this bargain begins after the handshake's over with, of course.
Reply
Half an hour, skin to skin. Sounds fair.
[Skin to skin won't matter if he catches you and tears you to pieces, clothes and all. The Hollow isn't concerned.]
Well duh. When we let go, I'm going to transform. You'll have that short period of time to get ready. Whether you're going to fight, or hide, I don't care. You'll have about thirty seconds. Ready.....
[letting go and taking a jump back, surrounding himself in a pillar of dark flames]
Game on!
Reply
[and promptly taking a step back as you burst into flames over thar]
[Thirty seconds. It's a nice, small, concise frame of time to consider the next course of action. "Transform" likely meant that Shiro was gonna turn into whatever Hollow form he'd used last time. And what were the main attributes of that form? Speed, and considerable projectile capability. ...And strength, too, but that's only gonna matter if contact is made, which is something that is not gonna happen as far as Yukio's concerned--]
[It's trickier; he doesn't have Ichigo's cloak-type anymore, which means that there now need to be very specific circumstances for his Fullbring to be used to its proper full potential. Hmm hm. But he'll make this happen somehow. After all, it's not all bad, is it?]
[They've still got the entirety of D_M whitespace at their disposal, so even if illusions are out of the question there's still something to be done with a bit of imagination...]
Right. Whatever you say.
[He doesn't ( ... )
Reply
Correct again. Barely visible behind the column of hellfire, the humanoid shape twists and grows, cracks and splits. There's no reason to hold back, this is a bet. He's going to go all out, to the strongest form he currently has. Thirty minutes... he can maintain it for thirty minutes. With an ear-splitting roar, the flames dissipate, leaving the dragon-like Hollow standing where the pale humanoid once was. But not ALL the flames vanish. Those spines on his shoulders seem to collect the flames, the energy swirling around them like a tempest.
Another roar and those flames leap and grow, shaping themselves into the vague silhouette of wings. Those wings curl around him and he gets down into a sprinting pose.
And he's off, chasing that green light, using Sonido and strong beats of those "wings" to make him even faster.]
GRAAARAAAAAAAAA
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[Several Fullbring-steps further and he takes a glance back--yep. The dragon-like appearance is a familiar sight by now, unpleasant as the association happens to be, except...hmmm, what's this?]
[He didn't have wings before, did he?]
[Well, nevermind that--the guy's eating distance like a freight train. Simple outrunning isn't gonna be an option, is it?]
[Time to put all this whitespace to a test, then...]
[And suddenly, they're in a city.]
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