Brainstorm 19 Con't

[salkia_mods]

The Island has started to change since yesterday. Maybe you've noticed. It's getting a little bit colder. The sun is setting a little bit earlier every night. The leaves on the trees are starting to look a little less green. Pumpkins and dried stalks of corn were starting to appear in corners. What better way to enjoy them than a warm fire and all

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JUST ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF THE PARTY

[salkia_mods]

[candiedwings]

Nill was young, but she wasn't that young. Fourteen years of age to be precise, even so, she didn't really mind Kaiba's snide remark; she had heard much worse back at 'home'.

She stopped rocking, though, typing in her LP again and handing it to Kaiba. It read, "I'm just having fun."

[shutupandduelme]

She might as well have been, as far as Kaiba was concerned. Those five years between them seemed like eons, especially when she was going to act like that.

He rolled his eyes again at the LP response and turned away. "Having fun's never going to get you out of here," he said coolly. "Go waste your time with the other children, if you're going to behave as one."

[candiedwings]

Nill's heart sunk, her shoulders reaching a bit of a slouch. Oh. Averting her eyes, she turned her whole body away from him, looking towards the fire instead.

Wasting her time? ...She was doing anything but that. She would ... she would never waste her time with others who were nice to her, even if it was like this. Everyone deserved kindness, she would never 'waste her time' trying to converse with someone so eagerly, she was just trying .. trying to be the person that no one ever was to her until later on, and even then strange things seemed to happen.

[shutupandduelme]

The change of posture was obvious to someone who was used to seeing a body switch souls every time he appeared at a duel. Kaiba couldn't help but smirk slightly, the corner of his mouth turning up for a brief moment before it faded again. Was that the trick with this one, then? All he saw was weakness, when anyone else might have read her emotion.

"You didn't possibly think I actually cared to speak with you, did you?" he needled, his voice cool.

[candiedwings]

Nill swallowed. No, he probably didn't. She began to collapse, not physically, but on the inside. She was devastate, even though she was so kind to him, all she got was more snide remarks and glares. Was she wrong about him? Was there really nothing else?

No, she refused to believe that. How come ...how come he despise her, even though he had never met her before? Was this some sort of defense mechanism he used or was he ...was this the way he was?

So she decided to ask just that. Bravely, she took out the LP and typed in "How come you dislike me so much?" before handing it to him, her hands shaking. She didnt even look at him.

[shutupandduelme]

Kaiba took one look at the LP and snorted. "You're here," he said. "You're speaking to me, when I made it clear from the very beginning that I'm not interested. You're simpering, far too trusting, obviously naive if you approached me.."

He looked her over, then shook his head, "And clearly quite timid. I have no use for you."

Would that be enough to get her to leave? Probably. He had bigger things to worry about. Kia needed to be punished for toying with his brother. Atem was likely to do...something. He needed to be watched. She had nothing nearly as compelling to offer him.

[candiedwings]

No use? Timid? Nill was quite strong, mind you. She may be a bit ... thin, but she wasn't one to back down from something easily.

That was it. Now it was time for Nill to break down physically, so she started to cry. It wasn't vocal, not at all, she had just tried her very best to try and relate to this person, treat him as she treated everyone else -- she loved anyone. But then she remembered home and how Heine had never made her cry.

Why? Why would someone say something so cruel? She didn't move, she didn't look up or even look at him, she just stood there, staring at the ground, tears running down her face and only soft whimpers making it past her lips.

[shutupandduelme]

Kaiba stared her down impassively. How many people had he seen break down in front of him when he told them they were being fired? How many people had he seen cry in front of his stepfather? Crying wasn't going to make him twitch. He had been trained too well for that. If it worsened his reputation, so much for the better.

"Stop sobbing," he snapped, irritated. "You didn't need anything to make you look any more pathetic than you already are."

MADOTSUKI TO THE RESCUE

[somniabar]

So Madotsuki's chilling by the fire with Masada, roasting some Belgian waffles (what? ... What?), when she looks around the party and sees Nill. Talking to Kaiba. Okay, that's not so bad. When she notices Nill is crying, she excuses herself and gets the fuck over there.

Kaiba best be trippin'.

Once there, Madotsuki grabs for Nill's hand and equips the Knife effect. Yes, she suddenly holds a 13-inch chef's knife.

She stares up at her "boss".

"If you upset her any more, I will not hesitate to stab you."

[candiedwings]

Nill jumped slightly, but once realizing that it was someone familiar, a friend, Madotsuki. Relief swept over her, and her eyes were too teared up to realize that yes, Madotsuki was holding a knife. Oops?

She looked at Kaiba as she gripped her friend's hand, waiting for yet another reaction from him. This wasn't exactly how she wanted things to turn out, with her crying and all, but at least she wasn't alone anymore.

GO EAT YOUR WAFFLES, MADOTSUKI. :|

[shutupandduelme]

One brown eyebrow raised. Kaiba hadn't heard Madotsuki was a street punk. She seemed all too...unenthusiastic for it. But to his credit, he didn't even twitch or step back. He had been threatened and had disarmed people before too, with far more potent weapons than knives.

"She was the one who approached me," he pointed out. "I thought you and the other idiots would have convinced everyone not to do that by now."

He shrugged slightly. "Besides, you should know by now threats like that are ineffective. People don't die here." Another smirk. "And you won't get close enough to make a scratch, anyway."

NO

[somniabar]

Kaiba. So pompous. Madotsuki is not about to let this go - nobody makes her friends cry. Nobody. Madotsuki's never really had friends before, though. Is she supposed to feel this way? Yes or no, she does.

"I can strike you with lightning. Destroy your arcade. Freeze you in time. Force you to follow me, maybe off a cliff? There are so many things I can do to you. So many things." Madotsuki flips her grip on the knife to stabbing position. She says, "Being stabbed is the least of your worries."

She says, "Walk away."

[candiedwings]

Nill watches the two of them attack each other. Was this really how it was supposed to be? How it was going to be like? She really did want to get to know Kaiba, but ...his malicious behavior was hard to get past.

She chewed on the inside of her cheek, wondering if she should 'say' anything. She probably shouldn't, considering the last few times she did it was ...none too good.

So she pulled her hand free from Madotsuki's and signed with her hands, "Does this have to be a fight?"

[shutupandduelme]

The CEO still didn't budge.

"You just don't seem to get it," he said coolly, shaking his head. "Whatever horrible death you're trying to threaten me with, as creative as they are, it doesn't matter. It's the Island's property you're destroying. You'd be punishing yourself for a strike with no satisfaction. I'll still be back in a day or two."

He smirked. "And as I said, she approached me. I'm hardly moving from a spot on anyone's command."

[somniabar]

Madotsuki watches Nill sign, but ignores it in favor of glaring at Kaiba. It should be a sport. He's right - anything she does is impermanent. Stabbing doesn't hold as much weight as it used to. Killing doesn't.

This sucks.

"I will -"

- go after his friends? Kaiba has maybe 3 friends in the universe, and one of them is Atem. Madotsuki is not going after Atem. On top of that, Madotsuki risks someone pursuing Masada. That is all levels of do not want.

To Nill, Madotsuki signs "No."

Her knife disappears, and she says, "Let's go."

You win, Kaiba... this time.