September Catch-All | OPEN

[onethirdthesoul]

Characters: Ryou and YOU!
Date: September 10th~30th (after he and Yami Bakura clear things up)
Location: Around Keeliai, Mu-Hao
Situation: Many
Warnings/Rating: None yet.

[part a]
[In spite of some warnings from the Spirit himself, Ryou didn't wait to see if everyone heard their message. It's possible someone might still mistake them, but he decided to simply tie his hair up and tuck it into a hat instead of worrying himself sick. It doesn't do much, but it's a start.

Properly "disguised", he can be seen around the less shady looking parts of Keeliai, a sketchpad and colored pencils in hand. Even with the maps Solomon provided him, making a diorama of the turtle was going to need some personal experience. The map gave him layouts, but it didn't really provide that glimmer of insight that distinguished each sector. Even if he didn't have to toll away on the details like he would a game of Monster World, he feels the context of color, at the very least, will help.]

[part b]
He also stops at several food stands along the way, so passersby might notice him snacking as he diligently colors in little sketches of the more fantastical parts of each Sector. Is he still researching, or is he just gathering ideas for his next tabletop at this point?]

This would make a really cool final boss arena...! [Well, that answers that.]

((ooc: Prose or brackets is fine! If you want to do anything specific and would like to set something up outside of these prompts, feel free to PP/PM me! I'll add it to the top-level prompts.))

Comments

[lostundercover]

[It was no wonder Bakura was worried about Ryou. Costigan missed most of Bakura's pretending days, only really getting to know the true criminal and perhaps good man hidden beneath strife and circumstance. What little he knew of the facade was almost embarrassing for the kid who turned out to fit that description exactly and the undercover is glad to be following the kid today as they venture through the Fire Sector. Costigan stays a street or two behind, always only keeping the kid in sight and never following him directly.

Except then the kid's running into one of the gangs Costigan knows and was even friendly with until his announcement as head of the foreigner's police division. It's amazing how many bridges that title burned.]

Leave the guy alone. [He calls idly as he walks forward, intervening the moment one of the kedan lays a hand on the other guy.] He's not worth anything.

[One of the kedan steps forward, between Costigan and Ryou. The undercover reaches his right hand around to the gun at the small of his back, drawing it easily and leveling it in one smooth motion.] Back off, or I'll forget that Jinzi was so nice to me.

[The kedan look at each other, to the kid, and then to Costigan. Finally, the one between them steps aside. The Bostonian keeps his gun trained on the apparent leader.] Come on, kid.

[onethirdthesoul]

[Ryou was starting to think he should have heeded Bakura's warning a little better by now, even if this was wholly unrelated. He's on the verge of tears as Costigan walks on the scene, and while that voice does sound somewhat familiar, Ryou's far too upset to process who it is just yet. All he knows is that he's been bailed out of a very bad situation, on seemingly blind luck alone.]

I--I don't... [I don't have anything, is what Ryou's trying to say, but he just trails off instead as he notices the older man pulling a gun.

He's too frightened to move when he sees it, only managing to budge his frozen limbs when he's being spoken to directly. Even then it takes Ryou a moment to understand, but once he does he's scrambling to his feet and quickly behind Costigan. The last place he wants to be right now is between a gun and a bunch of thugs.]

D-don't shoot them. [He manages the words, barely loud enough for the man just in front of him to hear.]

[lostundercover]

[Costigan drops his free hand to Ryou's shoulder, tugging on the kid's clothes to help move him out of the way. At his words, the undercover can't help a sigh. With one last, long look at each of the kedan, he returns the weapon to the small of his back, lucky that none of them noticed the safety being 'on' the entire time.

Then he turns to move quickly away, the same hand reaching out to Ryou to again guide him if needed, pulling him away from the danger. Every few steps, Costigan casts a glance over his shoulder to ensure the gang is still walking away, returning to the business they were conducting before the kid interrupted.]

You alright? [He asks finally, sliding both hands into his pockets as they reemerge onto a slightly larger and more public street. Costigan doesn't stop walking, but his pace slows.]

[onethirdthesoul]

[Ryou starts to hurry out as soon as Costigan starts moving. The hand is hardly needed, but it's not unwanted. He's still feeling shaken up after the whole thing and trying to swallow down the lump in his throat.

As soon as they're back out onto the public street Ryou breathes out a sigh of relief as he nods his head.]

Yeah...yeah, I'm okay. Thank you. [He gulps, straightening up and casting a glance back at the alleyway. It's too bad he dropped so much of his work back there, but better his drawings than his head.] Really.

[lostundercover]

It's fine. [Not really one for attention or praise, Costigan is quick to dismiss the thanks. His eyes continually scan their surroundings, never actually looking at the kid he just rescued. The Bostonian knows what he would find anyway, has spent enough time with Bakura to remember the kid's face without having to see it again. The differences are small enough.]

We should be able to cycle back in about a half hour, maybe an hour, to pick up whatever you dropped. If it wasn't valuable, they don't have a reason to bother it. They're less vengeful than you would think.

[onethirdthesoul]

[Ryou wanted to thank him a bit more, but just ends up nodding his head instead. It was hard to squeeze the words in when the other man was already moving the conversation forward.]

Hopefully they didn't fall in a puddle, but even if I can't get them back, it's fine. They were just sketches.

[He glances back again, trying to place a name to that voice. It was really familiar...]

Have we met?

[lostundercover]

They don't matter to you? [He asks with surprise, finally glancing over and down to the guy beside him. Costigan can't tell if he's trying to be dismissive of his lost artwork for the sake of being nice or if the kid really doesn't care. Then he lifts his gaze to look back to their path, navigating easily through the crowd.]

Billy Costigan. We talked once. Mostly I don't like to see an unfair fight.

[onethirdthesoul]

It's not that... [Ryou shakes his head. They mattered, he was just trying not to get upset over the loss. Hopefully none of the more complicated sketches he'd done today had fallen there.

He perks up a little at the familiar name.] Oh, you're Costigan-san? It's nice to finally have a chance to meet you! I just wish it had been under better circumstances...

[lostundercover]

[He nods with the clarification, now understanding the kid that much better. With the introduction, Costigan can't help a small smile.]

In this place, those circumstances aren't bad. [Another glance to Ryou.] Unless I missed the show. You need to go to the hospital?

[onethirdthesoul]

Oh no, no! I'm fine... I think I have a few bruises, but I'm fine. Really.

[Ryou flashes Costigan a reassuring smile.] Thank you for the concern.

[Before Costigan can question his condition any further, Ryou attempts to change the subject.] So do you live over here--in the Fire Sector?

[lostundercover]

Yeah. I, uh- I used to live in Wood, but things got rearranged a few months ago. Now I live in the same building as your other Bakura.

[It's stated as a fact, intentionally devoid of insinuations and emotions. Costigan's eyes are back on the road, hands still tucked neatly in his pockets. His fingers roll the medication bottle in his pocket around, a nervous gesture invisible to anyone observing him. His relationship with Yami no Bakura is complicated at best.]

[onethirdthesoul]

[Ryou cants his head.] You can get rearranged? I didn't know that...

[It seemed pretty strange actually, to move someone from one Sector to an entirely different one, but he didn't want to pry.]

Oh, but if you live in the same building as Baku-san, that saves me a trip if I ever need to see both of you in one day! That's convenient. [He smiles, trying to make the conversation a little more relaxed. It's hard enough when he's having to look up all the time! He's usually the tall one, but that's amongst people his age...]

[lostundercover]

No. Not anymore. It was the first time we were allowed to move and they made sure it stayed permanent. I don't know why I moved Sectors, unless it was to keep an eye on him or somethin'.

[Costigan gives a halfhearted shrug. The truth is that he asked Evandau to make it happen so that he could keep an eye on Bakura. But, as public as his role in the police is now, the former undercover still has difficulties in admitting to his connections.

To the latter, he chuckles. The idea of visiting both he and his housemate, both socially challenged as they are, seems ridiculous.] Yeah, I guess so.

[onethirdthesoul]

I see... Well, Baku-san probably needs a good eye on him! He can be kind of...um, cruel.

[Ryou looks over his shoulder again, at the alleyway receding in the distance. He wants his sketches, but he's not sure if he really wants to go back there.]

But I, uh... When we're in separate bodies, it's not as bad.

[lostundercover]

Cruelty isn't a personality trait. It's learned until it becomes a habit.

[Though Costigan doesn't finish the thought, he hopes that the kid will understand what he means: he hopes to break Bakura of that habit. Also unsaid, though as likely to be interpreted is the insinuation that perhaps Ryou may have had a hand in Bakura learning to be that way.

The Bostonian notices the glance back to the alley but pays it no mind. They have a plan and, when the time comes, Ryou can choose to follow it or not. For now, they continue the leisurely stroll.]

You both deserve your own lives.

[onethirdthesoul]

[Ryou doesn't look like he believes that, and that's because he doesn't. How is cruelty anything but? He doesn't really understand, but he doesn't feel like questioning Costigan's beliefs on it either. That seems a bit rude.]

It'd be a lot easier if we didn't look like twins. There's a lot of other things too that...make this difficult. I don't think I'm going to be able to disassociate from him completely, as much as I want to.

[lostundercover]

[Cruelty and evil are different things to the undercover. He has yet to see true evil from the other Bakura, not like Costello or even French or Sullivan. No, the other Bakura was just an asshole who strayed on the wrong side of the tracks sometimes and needed someone with a firm grip to guide him back over the right way. Or so he found himself hoping sometimes, on the rare occasion he stopped to think about it.]

What kind of things? [He asks, sincerely curious.] And hey, you could cut your hair, wear different clothes. There are always ways to set yourself apart.

[onethirdthesoul]

Just...things. [He seems unwilling to elaborate, but Ryou was never terribly hard to weasel information out of, if Costigan really wanted to know.]

And there's no way I'm cutting my hair! [He's surprisingly adamant about that, fiddling with some of it as he speaks.] I like it long, and I like my clothes too. Why do I have to be the one who has to change when it was my hair, and my clothes first?

[lostundercover]

[He nods and leaves it at that. Costigan will always ask and, on rare occasion, push. Generally, he's not the type to try to manipulate or force information though, preferring only to know what people want him to and nothing more. Sometimes, even less than that.]

Relax, kid. It was just a suggestion. [His lips twitch in the corners of his mouth, almost forming a smile at that.]

[onethirdthesoul]

S-sorry... [He replies sheepishly, pulling his hands away from his hair.]

The Coach once threatened to cut it all off... So I haven't cut it since. [Which isn't really the right way to deal with that, but...well, it's Ryou.]

[lostundercover]

Coach? [He asks simply. Costigan is, at best, often a man of few words. He gives a tilt of his head and pauses in his step, turning around. He did say that they should head back after a bit, even it hasn't been the full half hour. The papers seem important to the kid.]

[onethirdthesoul]

[He doesn't seem too happy as he recalls the memory.] Yeah, when I changed schools the Coach yanked on my hair and told me I had to cut it. Boys weren't allowed to have long hair...

[Ryou's own turn is a bit delayed, as he apparently didn't notice Costigan turned around. He's quick to catch up, staying near.]

[lostundercover]

You play a sport?

[He tries to keep the surprise from his voice. Costigan has a hard time picturing the kid playing anything too rough, although he supposes something like soccer could work. Maybe baseball, although there's a momentary pang of anger at the nostalgia and loss the idea of the game makes him feel. When's the lost time he saw Fenway or caught a Sox game on TV? It seems like a lifetime ago.]

[onethirdthesoul]

Huh? Oh no, he was my gym Coach.

[Joke's on you Costigan, Ryou's just about as sport-disinterested-nerd as he looks. Although he did scale the side of a castle once. That's kind of a sport.]

[lostundercover]

Oh. [And the world rights itself and all things make sense again.]

[Although the undercover hates small talk and is awful at it, he keeps trying. Costigan recognizes its value as a distraction and even more so as a tool for getting people to know and trust you. He's not trying to play Ryou, just befriend the kid in his own special way.]

You in high school?