Yami no Bakura (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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tushanshu_logs2015-09-01 05:36 pm
denyamenti) wrote in tushanshu_logs2015-09-01 05:36 pm
[OPEN] May we together pass, and calmly try...
Characters: Bakura & OPEN
Date: Various throughout September
Location: Assorted in Keeliai
Situation: September catch-all. Hit me up for additional prompts, or tag in with your own!
Warnings/Rating: Major spoilers for SP series in prompt A! Possibly language? Will edit as needed. Definitely spoilers though!
A. CLOSED TO ANTON SHUDDER; AUGUST 19TH (backdated)
Bakura would have been lying if he'd said that he'd expected Anton to acquiesce to his terms in order to arrange this meeting, but he had agreed, and the thief would take the small wins where they came. He might not fully understand why he'd helped Erskine the way he had -- more specifically, to the extent that he had -- but he could put that pondering aside so long as he had something else to focus on. In this case, that meant finally getting some leverage on one Hotel proprietor.
There is a small knoll a couple hundred yards from the small, black-faced pyramid that is Emily-Helen's tomb. In this weather, the grass covering it is brown and brittle, but there is something of a worn spot if one looks closely, indicating its use. Bakura's waiting for Anton as the sun breaks the horizon, but there are a scattering of fruit rinds and other signs that speak to him having been here quite a bit longer than just necessary to meet the taller man.
---
B1. JADE DOJO; SEPTEMBER 2ND ONLY
Without explanation or warning, and for this day only, there will be a game board set up on the covered veranda that runs the width of the dojo's front. Those who were familiar with the diorama built by Ryou to help in the battle against Malicant might note the similarity, although this one is a recent construction. It's also populated with dozens of hand-carved and meticulously figurines representing various archetypes of characters. Some even look just passably like various Foreigners, although with enough artistic tweaks that it's probably meant to be tongue-in-cheek humour. There are no accompanying instructions, rules, or anything suggesting there's a specific game that's to be played, leaving it to the creativity of whomever sits down!
---
B2. JADE DOJO; REST OF SEPTEMBER
As the Justicar's arrival looms closer, the dojo is filled to the seams with kedan all feeling like learning defensive and offensive techniques will be the deterrent they'll need to put off the Chihuelans. Given that tensions are running a little high, and they're starting to get snappish with each other, Bakura's stepped up his own visibility in the dojo to encourage people to think twice before starting scuffles on his property. Most of the time, glares are enough -- there are enough kedan that recognize him as "the monster summoner" and are aware that those very creatures have killed some of their number in the past -- that most desist without much trouble, albeit with some mutters about Bakura's past rampages.
The few that don't, are introduced to some of Bakura's favourite Fiend-types, and that nearly always does the trick.
For the most part however, business at the dojo is brisk and functional, and combined with the fact that his apartment is also located there, it's probably the first place to check if one wants to speak to the thief this month.
---
C. VARIOUS SECTORS;
When he can be found away from the dojo however, Bakura seems to be keeping largely to himself. It's nothing overt, and he doesn't go so far as avoiding people, he simply doesn't seek anyone out. Most of his errands are done either early in the morning, or late in the evening, outside the dojo's typical hours of operation. He's most often seen in the Wood Sector, but also in the Earth and Fire areas, and hardly has call to go to Metal. Keen observers may note that he seems frequently tired when he's not actively engaging in something; when he is, the symptom seems to disappear.
In the evenings, he seems to have found a new haunt at an outdoor cafe in the Water Sector that runs along one of the canals. The high temperatures don't seem to put him off from ordering hot drinks, but half the time, he seems to have forgotten he'd ordered one, and it sits untouched on the table.
---
D. LATE SEPT - CLOSED TO RAINE;
Following the unexpected discovery by Valdis that there was something amiss in his energy signature, but with the hellhound unable to pinpoint its source or cause, Bakura had continued to think about it. Although the Chihuelans had occupied the majority of the month, Bakura himself had had little interaction with them.
He still wasn't sleeping well, and with the arrival of an unusual letter, he was starting to miss the sleepy days of summer in Keeliai. So he'd contacted Raine one afternoon, and intended to get at least one, perhaps two of those issues looked into with someone he trusted.
He'd agreed to meet her at the Guild, and sought out her office near the end of the day.
Date: Various throughout September
Location: Assorted in Keeliai
Situation: September catch-all. Hit me up for additional prompts, or tag in with your own!
Warnings/Rating: Major spoilers for SP series in prompt A! Possibly language? Will edit as needed. Definitely spoilers though!
A. CLOSED TO ANTON SHUDDER; AUGUST 19TH (backdated)
Bakura would have been lying if he'd said that he'd expected Anton to acquiesce to his terms in order to arrange this meeting, but he had agreed, and the thief would take the small wins where they came. He might not fully understand why he'd helped Erskine the way he had -- more specifically, to the extent that he had -- but he could put that pondering aside so long as he had something else to focus on. In this case, that meant finally getting some leverage on one Hotel proprietor.
There is a small knoll a couple hundred yards from the small, black-faced pyramid that is Emily-Helen's tomb. In this weather, the grass covering it is brown and brittle, but there is something of a worn spot if one looks closely, indicating its use. Bakura's waiting for Anton as the sun breaks the horizon, but there are a scattering of fruit rinds and other signs that speak to him having been here quite a bit longer than just necessary to meet the taller man.
---
B1. JADE DOJO; SEPTEMBER 2ND ONLY
Without explanation or warning, and for this day only, there will be a game board set up on the covered veranda that runs the width of the dojo's front. Those who were familiar with the diorama built by Ryou to help in the battle against Malicant might note the similarity, although this one is a recent construction. It's also populated with dozens of hand-carved and meticulously figurines representing various archetypes of characters. Some even look just passably like various Foreigners, although with enough artistic tweaks that it's probably meant to be tongue-in-cheek humour. There are no accompanying instructions, rules, or anything suggesting there's a specific game that's to be played, leaving it to the creativity of whomever sits down!
---
B2. JADE DOJO; REST OF SEPTEMBER
As the Justicar's arrival looms closer, the dojo is filled to the seams with kedan all feeling like learning defensive and offensive techniques will be the deterrent they'll need to put off the Chihuelans. Given that tensions are running a little high, and they're starting to get snappish with each other, Bakura's stepped up his own visibility in the dojo to encourage people to think twice before starting scuffles on his property. Most of the time, glares are enough -- there are enough kedan that recognize him as "the monster summoner" and are aware that those very creatures have killed some of their number in the past -- that most desist without much trouble, albeit with some mutters about Bakura's past rampages.
The few that don't, are introduced to some of Bakura's favourite Fiend-types, and that nearly always does the trick.
For the most part however, business at the dojo is brisk and functional, and combined with the fact that his apartment is also located there, it's probably the first place to check if one wants to speak to the thief this month.
---
C. VARIOUS SECTORS;
When he can be found away from the dojo however, Bakura seems to be keeping largely to himself. It's nothing overt, and he doesn't go so far as avoiding people, he simply doesn't seek anyone out. Most of his errands are done either early in the morning, or late in the evening, outside the dojo's typical hours of operation. He's most often seen in the Wood Sector, but also in the Earth and Fire areas, and hardly has call to go to Metal. Keen observers may note that he seems frequently tired when he's not actively engaging in something; when he is, the symptom seems to disappear.
In the evenings, he seems to have found a new haunt at an outdoor cafe in the Water Sector that runs along one of the canals. The high temperatures don't seem to put him off from ordering hot drinks, but half the time, he seems to have forgotten he'd ordered one, and it sits untouched on the table.
---
D. LATE SEPT - CLOSED TO RAINE;
Following the unexpected discovery by Valdis that there was something amiss in his energy signature, but with the hellhound unable to pinpoint its source or cause, Bakura had continued to think about it. Although the Chihuelans had occupied the majority of the month, Bakura himself had had little interaction with them.
He still wasn't sleeping well, and with the arrival of an unusual letter, he was starting to miss the sleepy days of summer in Keeliai. So he'd contacted Raine one afternoon, and intended to get at least one, perhaps two of those issues looked into with someone he trusted.
He'd agreed to meet her at the Guild, and sought out her office near the end of the day.
B2; early September.
Someone grabbed his arm as he passed, and Cain turned to see a rather irate kedan. "Hey. I was up next."
"Good for you?" asked Cain. If they were actually queuing to use something when any of the dummies or spaces opened up, then there really wasn't any point coming here to work out. He'd go look for Bakura instead. Easy. "Did you put your quarter by it?"
"Everyone knows it's my turn next," the man insisted. Whether he understood the reference or not, it looked like he got the idea. He still hadn't let go of Cain's arm, and even used the hold to shove him backward. "Just because you're a foreigner doesn't mean you get to skip ahead."
Cain caught his footing after the shove, head tilting to the side and expression dimming. He wasn't really in the mood for this. Starting a fight wasn't in his mind but if this guy wanted to keep getting physical with him... He shifted, turned his body toward the door at the back. Presumably an office or something, since he could see the storage elsewhere as others tended to equipment they'd just used or were about to use, he couldn't tell at the glance. That door in the back, though. "Bakura!" he called, voice projecting over the din of the workouts. "You here?"
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"Kane," he greeted perfunctorily, before his gaze slid to the kedan still gripping Cain's arm, to whom he didn't say anything, but only raised an eyebrow as though to ask what was going on here.
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"Check this guy out," the kedan said. Either he was too musclebound to notice the look, or thought his place justified the action. "Trying to get ahead of the rest of us paying customers."
"I'm sure you'll find I can wait in lines much longer than you can," said Cain, droll and tinted with a hint of sickly-sweet. "But that's not why I'm here. He thinks I'm cutting ahead," he added, directed toward Bakura this time.
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Hearing that, the kedan finally let go, crossing his arms and puffing up to look as intimidating as possible. Cain was, perhaps surprisingly to him, not at all affected. "That's an excuse," he argued.
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Likewise unimpressed by the kedan's posturing, he replied, "Excuse or not, there's no one preventing you from practicing now, so make the most of your time." In the same mild voice, he added, "And if you grab anyone else like that in my dojo, kedan or Foreigner, excuses will be the least of your worry."
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The kedan didn't look very happy with the instruction, but he mumbled an understanding and moved to take a recently-vacated spot to lick his wounds. Cain watched him go for all of two seconds before turning back to Bakura. "Don't suppose you'd be up for a visitor during business hours?"
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"It'll be interesting to see what happens when the Justicar arrives," Bakura commented as they walked away from the kedan and the practice targets. "Either it will become even more busy, or completely dead. Honestly, I might prefer the latter, just for a break. Thank you, by the way, for showing restraint. I doubt he'd have given you much trouble if it came to a fight, but it's easier when they don't believe Foreigners get preferred treatment here."
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Taking a breath, he went back a step in the conversation. "As for the Justicar, I'm more worried about what the people will do when she and her contingents will likely ignore everyone but those in power. Or, worse, if they only take interest once she starts looking for their deserters." Obviously, everyone was expecting a fight. Judging by the message he had gotten to finally take a look at, on the surface it appeared as if the Justicar wanted this to go more like the visitation of a foreign dignitary or police force simply cleaning up their own mess. They didn't intend to be disobeyed.
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"If she thinks it will be as easy as coming and talking to leaders, she's in for a sour surprise," Bakura retorted. "There is no one in charge here, not even the family heads. They only represent their own interests. There's no command leader like Evandau was. There's none who speak for the Foreigners as a whole. Keeliai is a weak state, and the Justicar would be right to expect to need to do things on her own. If we can't organize ourselves, why should she take any of us seriously?"
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"There's something telling in her addressing all of the city directly instead of contacting any of the heads individually and letting them disseminate it," he said thoughtfully. It was partial agreement, partial addition to where Bakura was going. "Her information is likely outdated, but even then she would know enough that we're divided. Assuming that to be true, we've already left openings by trying to strengthen the individual instead of the whole, and that's far too late to shore up. Might have been from the start."
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As they reached the office, Bakura leaned against his desk, though he gestured toward a reasonably comfortable chair if Cain wanted to sit, rather than stand. "It might have been," he acknowledged, "but the city was given a month's warning, so I can't dredge much sympathy for claims that it's not ready."
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"You're right." Cain took the offer of the chair, not bothered by Bakura's decision to stand. "A month is enough time to rally something, but I've hardly seen any movement at all since I've gotten here. It's like they don't care, or they don't know how to deal with it and are too afraid to ask for help. Funny how that would have been a step in the right direction itself."
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"No movement on either the kedan's part or on the Foreigners'," Bakura snorted, and there was something telling in that he hadn't used 'ours' to designate the Foreigner population in that observation. "As for the kedan asking for help, the same point stands. Who would they ask? They refer to all of us collectively and yet half barely speak to the other."
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In other words: challenge accepted.
"An open forum wouldn't have gone wrong," Cain said, paused. Then, he added, "Well, it could have gone disastrously wrong but it would have built trust regardless. No one in this city knows how to lead, and the Justicar will notice that." Taking command was different. That was what the families had done, taken command of their people and gotten control of themselves, but without leadership it was obvious they didn't understand how to reach out or manage something outside of their scope.
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"I was surprised they didn't call for a Courtyard thing," he admitted. "Although I suspect there were probably some dealings behind closed doors, as Heojin's post indicated."
He made a vaguely irritated noise. "I wasn't here when the turtle landfalled at the continent they're from," he said. "That was some months before my arrival, and few people are left from then."
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"Do we actually know anyone who was there by name?" he asked. That was a long-shot and not necessarily going to work or even help; that didn't mean it would hurt to gather the information. "Dealings behind closed doors also don't promote unification or an interest in working together. Whatever they were really asking for didn't seem all that sincere or as open as they wanted it to look."
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Bakura shrugged at Cain's observation, as if neither agreeing or disagreeing-- or in fact, doing both. "No, but that also has to be weighed against the high probability that the Foreigners, had they been consulted, would just have run off to do their own thing regardless of the decided outcome."
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"That is entirely possible," he said with an certain dryness to his tone. They were such an unorganized bunch, and what else did anyone expect? The only thing they had in common was that they weren't from this world. It was a tenuous bond to say the least, and not one that could actually be used as a means of unification. "Imposing any kind of system isn't going to work, but on the other hand, I know there are some who would cooperate with any kind of joined effort. It's a mixed bag."
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"I'm not usually one for working with others myself," the thief admitted dryly. "Though I can, if it benefits me. The problem with the Foreigners is, that no one knows what benefits one another, beyond not dying frequently and being sent back to our worlds involuntarily, neither of which we have much control over. Perhaps we should be holding our own forums."
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"That wouldn't be a bad idea." Even if Bakura was being sarcastic, there was merit in the idea of trying to unite under at least one common purpose to give the foreigners a reason for camaraderie aside from the obvious fact that they didn't fit in together. It wouldn't be a system, but at least... something to put them all on more equal terms. "Even if no one ended up working together, learning where each of us stands in relation to one another would help in the long run. A better common denominator than survival instinct."
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"There's still the challenge of getting everyone together," he said. "Try suggesting it, and see how many people immediately want to do it their own way."
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"You know," said Cain, head tilting in thought, "I might actually do that. It's probably been suggested before, might even have been attempted, but there's no harm in trying again. Things have changed, and this isn't exactly a sustainable model we have going here. So many cooks in a highly flammable kitchen can only last so long before it goes up in flames. And ruins dinner, of course."
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