[ { Something isn't right, alright. Something is, in fact, very wrong; you see, the entire purpose of the worth of life has vanished into thin air, and Yubel does not know where that thin air even is. Juudai is gone. His body is still here - obviously, it's what Yubel is moving and living in right now - but he, the warm comforting center of the world, is gone.
Not gone. He can't be gone. Juudai can't not be. It's impossible. Yubel is alive. Yubel is, at this moment; therefore Juudai must exist somewhere, and wherever that somewhere is, Yubel will find it. Find it. Yes. Yubel has to find it. That's the only important thing right now.
The beach. The dream-thing took place at the beach. That's where Yubel will start. }
Whoops, Johan, did you say something? Because Juudai just abruptly jumped out of the bed and is now half-running right past you, straight out the door, as if you are not even there. He hasn't even put shoes on. He hasn't even put clothes on (he sleeps in Kuriboh-print boxers, by the way
( ... )
That is the first thing Johan's mind screams at him. He can feel the Crystal Beasts crowding around him in spirit, not materializing just yet, but ready to if necessary to protect him.
Every pillar of self-confidence and stability trembles dangerously, feebly under this new weight, threatening collapse, and he fights to get them under control. Grinding his teeth, he grabs his friend's body even more tightly, letting his nails dig into his bare shoulders, trying not to throw him against the wall in his heated emotion. The conflict and struggle to maintain some semblance of composure is evident as he clenches the muscles in his face.]
You're lying.
[She isn't. He knows. But he wants to believe it so much.]
Why... why, why would he reward you, after everything you did to us?! Juudai has way more sense than that! I don't believe you!!
And now that he's gone -- what's stopping you from lying to cover it up?!
[He's missing parts of the story, and yet he doesn't care. Indeed, it would've been rewarding her to take her in
( ... )
[Asuka has no interest in being silent, and she conveys that toward Ryo with a sharp expression. Silence and passiveness had been forced on her too often in the past, and she refuses to simply watch again as her friends faced another crises, whatever it may be.]
We don't get what Juu-
[That purr stops her cold. She has never known Juudai to make a sound like that, to seem to almost relish the pain of another. No, this...this isn't Juudai.
It takes only a moment for all the pieces to fall into place as she takes in the face of her friend wearing an alien expression, and the anger and fear in Johan's eyes. Suddenly everything makes sense, and in that instant she could curse Juudai for being so stupid. She knows that talking about Yubel with Johan cannot have been an easy task to broach, but now he has found out anyway, and in the worst way possible.
Steeling herself, she moves to place a hand on Johan's shoulder, gripping it firmly but without force. Just enough to distract him long enough to regain his composure.No, Johan.
( ... )
[So, Asuka knows this Yubel person as well? Kaiser frowns just the briefest bit. Not being quite caught up with the others hasn't bothered him...until now. But first things first. Once they know something of what's going on, then he can get more details.
And really, he's enjoying the show more than anything else. What did Yubel mean that Juudai 'chose' her/him/whatever anyway? Details that he's missing...but he'll find them out eventually.]
[ { Oh, Asuka, you have truly risen in Yubel's estimation today. } ]
That's right. Listen to the girl. It's true. [ Triumphantly: ] Juudai and I are one perfect being now, one love that will forever transcend heaven, one -
[ { but not one right now, just half, just part, just Yubel and no Juudai and the center has fallen out of the world - }
Mid-tirade, Yubel abruptly stops, her expression visibly crumbling from haughtiness to show, momentarily, something like fear. Worry. Anxiety. For a second she seems unaware of this long pause; then, Juudai's mismatches eyes turn to Asuka. ]
But he's gone. We had a dream, and someone was in it, and then we... [ { ...come to think of it, it wasn't really a breaking, a tearing, the way it was when they faced Darkness, was it? It was more of a... } ] ...I woke up like this. [ Gestures to body. ] Juudai is gone, and I -
[ Suddenly, the haughty composure is back, as if it had never left. ]
[Johan is positively seething. His fingers are itching. He wants to strangle this monster for everything she did, for opening old wounds like that. Wounds he thought were closed for good.
But he doesn't, even though the vision running through his head would be so easy and so satisfying at first. It's not her who would pay the consequences in the long run, anyway. Instead, he drops his hands to his sides tensely, letting his fists slowly flex and clench convulsively.]
You lost him, in other words.
[But still for some reason there is no betrayal in his gaze. He never trusted her to begin with, so she couldn't betray him in the first place.
He's just angry. Shocked. Hurt.]
...You better get him back. If you don't, I will, and I'll stuff him back into his body myself.
[Then, muttered, so that only Yubel can hear:] I don't trust you with him.
[He backs off, reluctantly, storming down the hallway with an aura of negativity so thick, it's almost tangible, in the same way as electricity that charges the air. At the end, though, he
( ... )
[The tension hangs in the air, thick and black. She can feel Johan shaking with emotion beneath her hand, and she feels her heart rise to her throat as she remembers those dark days in the other world, when Juudai was so driven by the need to find Johan that he forgot all else. That same intensity was here, that same seeming willingness to do whatever it took to find Juudai, no matter the consequences.
Truthfully, it terrified her.
Now was not a time for fear, however, not when emotions were running so high. Instead she slipped on the mask she had used in her duels before, the mask that she had been afraid to use since the Society of Light had tried to make it her true face.]
Johan... [Briefly she fights with irritation as Yubel taunts Johan, irritation that she is doing something so counterproductive, and frustration at the spirit's bold claims to her friend. But then Yubel's face crumbles, and she's not sure if it is how human her fear looks, or the fact that it is Juudai's face showing that fear, but her anger dissipates and
( ... )
[Yubel's declarations of love...for Juudai...are not exactly what Kaiser expected to hear. Yubel is hardly well wrapped, that's easy to see. Not that Kaiser himself is any shining example of sanity. He watches Johan storm away and another thought stirs underneath the focus on dueling.
I think he's jealous. Well, that would be interesting, wouldn't it? Fubuki would enjoy the show more than he does, though, and enjoy trying to make it all work out to his satisfaction. He glances back at Yubel. Comforting words are not what he's good at. At all.
So he doesn't even try. He just heads back into his room. It's time to put some clothes on and get started with his real day.]
[ { For a moment, Yubel flinches, an ugly look flickering across her - across Juudai's face.
That... that usurper - to have the nerve - to tell Yubel to learn how -
Well, fine. If that is how you want it to be, Johan Andersen, that's how you'll have it. It's only Juudai's favorable opinion of you that keeps Yubel from wrapping his fingers around your pretty, pretty throat.
- But now is not the time. Determining where Juudai is, that's what Yubel needs to be doing. Calm down. In fact, if Yubel reaches, just so...
Juudai's not gone. Their connection remains. Yubel can feel it, as much a part of the both of them as a limb - except now, that limb has fallen asleep, numb (metaphorically, of course, but it's an analogy that is close enough to the truth). Yubel and Juudai are connected, but that connection has briefly gone unresponsive, as if Juudai is too far away to hear her. } ]
[ To Asuka: ] He's alive. I can sense it. It is almost as if he has left this world...
I know. [Asuka may not share anything even close to the bond Yubel has with Juudai, but she does know deep in her heart where no secrets can survive that he would never die like this. It just is not possible]
But that does give us leads to work with. After all, people have vanished from this world before, correct? Perhaps the two are related.
[She sincerely hoped they were, for Juudai's sake. After all, if they knew the cause, it would be much easier to find the solution. She needed to believe that.]
[She closes her eyes, giving her all to keeping the mask in place]
Yes, I agree that he has likely not been taken like others, but he did state that some believed there were beings responsible for our coming and going. Perhaps they might hold the answer.
[ { This is going nowhere. Yubel should do something. Anything. And not around Juudai's friends - the shock of this is already enough for them, much less Yubel's continued presence. }
Yubel stands up, suddenly, flexing Juudai's hands nervously. But his voice, when she speaks, is completely full of purpose: ]
We cannot accomplish anything if we stay here. I will go to the goddess's shrine and see if I can bargain for him.
[ And without even waiting for Asuka to acknowledge this, Yubel turns to head for the door. ]
[And just like that, Asuka finds herself standing alone in the darkness, not even a gust of wind breaking the deafening silence of that empty place. Suddenly she is all too aware that she is standing in a strange building, in a strange land, and that the one person she could truly call a friend has just been taken from her, without her knowing how or why or able to do anything to get him back
( ... )
Not gone. He can't be gone. Juudai can't not be. It's impossible. Yubel is alive. Yubel is, at this moment; therefore Juudai must exist somewhere, and wherever that somewhere is, Yubel will find it. Find it. Yes. Yubel has to find it. That's the only important thing right now.
The beach. The dream-thing took place at the beach. That's where Yubel will start. }
Whoops, Johan, did you say something? Because Juudai just abruptly jumped out of the bed and is now half-running right past you, straight out the door, as if you are not even there. He hasn't even put shoes on. He hasn't even put clothes on (he sleeps in Kuriboh-print boxers, by the way ( ... )
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That is the first thing Johan's mind screams at him. He can feel the Crystal Beasts crowding around him in spirit, not materializing just yet, but ready to if necessary to protect him.
Every pillar of self-confidence and stability trembles dangerously, feebly under this new weight, threatening collapse, and he fights to get them under control. Grinding his teeth, he grabs his friend's body even more tightly, letting his nails dig into his bare shoulders, trying not to throw him against the wall in his heated emotion. The conflict and struggle to maintain some semblance of composure is evident as he clenches the muscles in his face.]
You're lying.
[She isn't. He knows. But he wants to believe it so much.]
Why... why, why would he reward you, after everything you did to us?! Juudai has way more sense than that! I don't believe you!!
And now that he's gone -- what's stopping you from lying to cover it up?!
[He's missing parts of the story, and yet he doesn't care. Indeed, it would've been rewarding her to take her in ( ... )
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We don't get what Juu-
[That purr stops her cold. She has never known Juudai to make a sound like that, to seem to almost relish the pain of another. No, this...this isn't Juudai.
It takes only a moment for all the pieces to fall into place as she takes in the face of her friend wearing an alien expression, and the anger and fear in Johan's eyes. Suddenly everything makes sense, and in that instant she could curse Juudai for being so stupid. She knows that talking about Yubel with Johan cannot have been an easy task to broach, but now he has found out anyway, and in the worst way possible.
Steeling herself, she moves to place a hand on Johan's shoulder, gripping it firmly but without force. Just enough to distract him long enough to regain his composure.No, Johan. ( ... )
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And really, he's enjoying the show more than anything else. What did Yubel mean that Juudai 'chose' her/him/whatever anyway? Details that he's missing...but he'll find them out eventually.]
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That's right. Listen to the girl. It's true. [ Triumphantly: ] Juudai and I are one perfect being now, one love that will forever transcend heaven, one -
[ { but not one right now, just half, just part, just Yubel and no Juudai and the center has fallen out of the world - }
Mid-tirade, Yubel abruptly stops, her expression visibly crumbling from haughtiness to show, momentarily, something like fear. Worry. Anxiety. For a second she seems unaware of this long pause; then, Juudai's mismatches eyes turn to Asuka. ]
But he's gone. We had a dream, and someone was in it, and then we... [ { ...come to think of it, it wasn't really a breaking, a tearing, the way it was when they faced Darkness, was it? It was more of a... } ]
...I woke up like this. [ Gestures to body. ] Juudai is gone, and I -
[ Suddenly, the haughty composure is back, as if it had never left. ]
I am going to find him.
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But he doesn't, even though the vision running through his head would be so easy and so satisfying at first. It's not her who would pay the consequences in the long run, anyway. Instead, he drops his hands to his sides tensely, letting his fists slowly flex and clench convulsively.]
You lost him, in other words.
[But still for some reason there is no betrayal in his gaze. He never trusted her to begin with, so she couldn't betray him in the first place.
He's just angry. Shocked. Hurt.]
...You better get him back. If you don't, I will, and I'll stuff him back into his body myself.
[Then, muttered, so that only Yubel can hear:] I don't trust you with him.
[He backs off, reluctantly, storming down the hallway with an aura of negativity so thick, it's almost tangible, in the same way as electricity that charges the air. At the end, though, he ( ... )
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Truthfully, it terrified her.
Now was not a time for fear, however, not when emotions were running so high. Instead she slipped on the mask she had used in her duels before, the mask that she had been afraid to use since the Society of Light had tried to make it her true face.]
Johan... [Briefly she fights with irritation as Yubel taunts Johan, irritation that she is doing something so counterproductive, and frustration at the spirit's bold claims to her friend. But then Yubel's face crumbles, and she's not sure if it is how human her fear looks, or the fact that it is Juudai's face showing that fear, but her anger dissipates and ( ... )
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I think he's jealous. Well, that would be interesting, wouldn't it? Fubuki would enjoy the show more than he does, though, and enjoy trying to make it all work out to his satisfaction. He glances back at Yubel. Comforting words are not what he's good at. At all.
So he doesn't even try. He just heads back into his room. It's time to put some clothes on and get started with his real day.]
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That... that usurper - to have the nerve - to tell Yubel to learn how -
Well, fine. If that is how you want it to be, Johan Andersen, that's how you'll have it. It's only Juudai's favorable opinion of you that keeps Yubel from wrapping his fingers around your pretty, pretty throat.
- But now is not the time. Determining where Juudai is, that's what Yubel needs to be doing. Calm down. In fact, if Yubel reaches, just so...
Juudai's not gone. Their connection remains. Yubel can feel it, as much a part of the both of them as a limb - except now, that limb has fallen asleep, numb (metaphorically, of course, but it's an analogy that is close enough to the truth). Yubel and Juudai are connected, but that connection has briefly gone unresponsive, as if Juudai is too far away to hear her. } ]
[ To Asuka: ] He's alive. I can sense it. It is almost as if he has left this world...
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But that does give us leads to work with. After all, people have vanished from this world before, correct? Perhaps the two are related.
[She sincerely hoped they were, for Juudai's sake. After all, if they knew the cause, it would be much easier to find the solution. She needed to believe that.]
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He can't have left. Where could he go? His body is still here. I am still here.
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Yes, I agree that he has likely not been taken like others, but he did state that some believed there were beings responsible for our coming and going. Perhaps they might hold the answer.
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Yubel stands up, suddenly, flexing Juudai's hands nervously. But his voice, when she speaks, is completely full of purpose: ]
We cannot accomplish anything if we stay here. I will go to the goddess's shrine and see if I can bargain for him.
[ And without even waiting for Asuka to acknowledge this, Yubel turns to head for the door. ]
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