ow the edge (open)

[blue_ice]

Who: Kaiba (blue_ice) and you!
When: One early September morning
Where: All over campus!
What: DUELS. In any and every game. Or try to talk him down from this madness, idk.
Warnings: Excessive edgy shonen rival behavior. Possibly some dark themes, will be labeled in subject lines!


Kaiba's request, in hindsight, was a foolish one. Every interaction between their worlds and this one thus far had been a disaster with unintended consequences, why would this be any different? And why would he risk his most priceless possessions this way? He could kick himself, but that's not going to save his Blue Eyes White Dragons. His hand trembles as he holds them, watching their attack and defense values slowly tick toward zero.

You are not the worthy heir we chose, says the trio of voices in his ear. Your emotions have made you weak. We seal our power from you until you prove that the spirit of a champion lurks within. Crush your foes with precision! Or are you now a coward?

No. He's no coward. Kaiba sweeps through the hallways with an icy expression, searching for prey. Any instrument they might hold for a game draws him...a deck of Fantastic Foils cards. A basketball. A chess board. A wand. Any game, anywhere...he absolutely must win. He swivels to face his chosen opponent.

"You. Duel me. Now."

Are you game? Or more inclined to tell him he's out of his mind? It's your move.

Comments

[ahew_kha]

Too bad for him that running into Kisara is probably the wrong person to be asking any sort of game thing towards. She'd merely been looking through a simple book, slowly blinking up at him from her sitting position. He can't be serious, can he? Of course not.

"... Duel?" Outside of what little she'd heard of with the whole stone tablets and such, she really has no clue what has gotten into him or what that term even really means. "I... don't know if that's honestly a good idea?"

Or perhaps she's the right person to be talking to if the whole dragons thing is a problem, but it's up to Kaiba if he wants to test that theory or not, after all.

She's content to look at him absolutely bewildered from her sitting position on the floor for now.

[blue_ice]

Kaiba actually falters in his step a little, looking at her slack-jawed. In his blind panic he hadn't entirely recognized her, and now that he does...he pulls a card out of his pocket, flinching at the lowered numbers and glancing at her.

He crouches beside her, looking her over for any signs of illness or injury. It's probably a little unnerving because he's too distracted to explain himself. "...maybe not. Thought you were someone else. Are you feeling well?"

His gaze shifts between her and the card in his hand, just slightly suspicious.

[ahew_kha]

Kaiba, honestly, you're starting to creep her out a little. But she's staying where she is and just slowly blinking at him as he's looking her over. There has to be a reason for it, right? Or, well, she thinks there's gotta be a reason for it.

"I am... fine?" Gods, she's just exceedingly confused now. "A little tired, but that isn't entirely unusual, why?" Sleeping well? Her? Nope, not happening any time soon.

At least she's noticing that he's looking at something in his hand, so that helps? "What are you holding?"

[blue_ice]

"Are you usually tired at this time? You should probably see a nurse."

That could be a sign of illness. Or worse. He really hopes it isn't, but he glances at the ticking-down values of his cards and visibly flinches again. Kisara continues to give him that suspicious look, so he sighs and turns the card over. He doesn't have time to dawdle, after all.

"This is that card I mentioned---the legend based on you that made its way into the modern game. I requested them from the Anastara researchers, but the spirit of the dragon no longer trusts me. The cards are degrading every minute until I win a duel."

He's fighting back the fury in his voice, trying to sound neutral. He's distantly aware that he probably looks like a madman right about now.

A WILD ANGEL APPEARED!

[temptationaccomplished]

"I seem to have left my sword at home," he retorted, flustered and more than a tad bit annoyed at having his study break interrupted by this RUDE young man demanding a duel, of all things. How archaic! Hadn't dueling of strangers on the street gone out of fashion sometime in the 18th Century? And there were rules, besides. Where was the thrown glove? Written challenge? Chosen Seconds? This was hardly a duel of gentlemen if the young lad couldn't follow a few basic rules.

Foreign to Aziraphale was the concept of dueling collectible monsters (or monsters on collectible cards), though he may have recalled Warlock mentioning such a video game, but that was neither here nor there.

He flipped over the top card to reveal the 10 of Hearts as he tried to resume his solitaire game and shifted a bit to pointedly angle himself away from the boy.

"Besides," he continued with a snappish, holier-than-thou tone, "there are nicer ways to ask for things."

[blue_ice]

"Not the kind I meant," Kaiba shook his head. He's focused his gaze on the deck of cards, his mouth a thin line. He'd apologize, but he's really short on time. And being nice was what got him in this mess to begin with.

He took a deep breath, his voice rather tight-sounding, but less hostile.

"I want to play a game with you."

[temptationaccomplished]

Oh. That I'm refusing to be nice, but am straining something trying to be not un-nice tone and expression were painfully familiar, even if the face and situation were not. The young man was obviously in need of a friend, if he was challenging random classmates to undetermined games. The angel could certainly attempt to help in that regard, now that it didn't seem like discorporation was going to be an issue.

"Right. Well," Aziraphale gathered his cards back into a stacked deck and turned back towards the boy, offering a handshake. "That's at least a little better." A PLEASE would have been too much to ask for, he supposed. "My name is Mr. Fell. May I at least know the name of my opponent and the game he wishes to challenge me to?"

[puzzlers]

He had been working a lot with Professor King over the last couple of weeks with his Deathtoll card to see where the Gate could be opened and they had found a lot of, uh, interesting places. It seemed like the most interesting was still the one he and Kaiba had found though, but whatever. He's sure that the two of them would have breakthrough soon. He was scribbling in a notebook in an empty classroom when Kaiba burst in unannounced and... challenged him to a duel. What.

"Kaiba? Are you okay?" He looked positively maniac. He closed the notebook and stood up, wand out and used to lock the door, so his boyfriend couldn't escape without answering the question.

[blue_ice]

What?

Kaiba blinked twice. Had he honestly been so desperate to throw himself at anyone that he hadn't recognized the familiar face? Granted, they'd both been so busy that they hadn't spent much time together lately, but he could never forget his face.

"...Yugi?"

Ugh. He realized his mistake almost immediately and swiveled on his heel, reaching for the doorknob only to find it wouldn't budge. He huffed. "Sorry, Yugi, but I don't have time for this. I have to duel someone else---if I can't win, I'm finished."

'Win' being the operative word...Blue Eyes hadn't told him it had to be a fair fight, just that he needed to utterly dominate a challenge or lose her forever. Therefore, Yugi and Atem were way down on the list of opponents he wanted. Just his luck to run into his boyfriend now. He looked away, having the grace to be somewhat embarrassed by this.

[puzzlers]

"Kaiba..."

He frowns, glad that he had decided to lock the door on him. Granted, seeing his boyfriend in a panic does make him feel a bit bad about being underhanded, but clearly something is wrong and he should be telling him about it. "If you can't win, and why do you have to win? What happened, ..." He trails off, reaching out to him. "I think you're underestimating yourself again." His frown deepens at that. Kaiba could absolutely beat him.

"I think I have an idea..." He had put gotten the opportunity to summon Gandora, though things had, uhm, not exactly gone to plan. Each and every time he tried he ended up in a maze with somebody else he... well... that part was also strange. It was someone he knew. He hoped this time it would be Kaiba. He kept his hold on his boyfriend as he channeled all of his energy into the summon, teleporting them both into the strange maze.

"If you want to play a game, then here you go, Kaiba. Find the center of the maze, go."

[replaceme]

Lady feels like she's losing her god damn mind. If you didn't think she was skittish around people before she's become 100x more so because of the regain she's struggling with. She's not sure she regrets diving head fist into so much sundering magic, because necrotic magic is hers to wield, but it's been a while since she's had to deal with something like this. Her saving grace is having her familiar back by her side. Back home it was his death that caused things to become so overwhelming, so perhaps having him here will help.

Shade is here too, and though he can't speak like Nyx can his presence has been calming from the start. Shade is perched on her shoulders and Nyx is flying by her side as she stares at the ground and tries to keep it together. She walks head first into Kaiba, which is not what she needs right now. The other thing she doesn't need is to be challenged to a duel. "W- What?"

[blue_ice]

Huh...Lady definitely looked distracted. With her familiars gathered around her you'd think she'd be more at ease, but she looked almost as disturbed as he did.

He lifted his hands to steady her. "A duel. Any game, I'll play it. But I need to duel. But you look more like you need a doctor."

[replaceme]

"I, ah, uhm..." No, she couldn't bother him with her problem. Not when he looked like he was dealing with something, himself.

"A game? W- What kind?" Nyx frowned, moving in between Lady and Kaiba. "A doctor can't help."

H-O-R-S-E

[hyperdrivemonalisa]

A basketball. And it got passed to her--sort of. It bounced off Isabel's chest, and she arched a brow at who'd thrown it at her. Well, she'd gotten used to Kaiba's sort of gruff and aggro attitude, but someone had dialed it up to 11 since she'd seen him last.

Hmm. Intuition told her that there was more to this than she was seeing...

"What's eating you, Seto? I mean, we can play, but I'm not gonna let you push me over, even if we're friends, you know." Leaning over, she picked up the ball. At least playing him would take her mind off her own problems. She tilted her head at him, spinning the ball on one fingertip like she was a recruit for the Harlem Globetrotters. "So how do you want to go about this. Gotta abide by the rules and laws, y'know." Though Isabel was pretty much open to anything.

[blue_ice]

"What's eating me is that I need to play someone. Now."

He watched her skill with the ball and silently cursed himself. Maybe this was a bad idea...but he couldn't back down now. "Two hoops. One court. First to three baskets wins. Deal?"

He's really trying not to lose his patience any more than he already has, but this is a disaster.

[hyperdrivemonalisa]

"Okay." She'd say 'your funeral', but she's not that cocky. And really, this isn't a martial arts match--Kaiba might be in more danger there. Isabel wouldn't do that to him, though--it'd be a contest of skill only. Like this is about to be.

"Since you're the challenger, you take the first shot." She dribbled the ball a bit from hand to hand, but then passed it to him. Pretty clear to Isabel that this was simply a game, but something more to Seto. She literally had nothing to lose, so she could afford to be courteous!

He had height on her, though. This might not be a cakewalk--but it wouldn't be a real game if she didn't give him a run for his money!

[daughterofclay]

Jude looks up from the deck of playing cards she's shuffling. She's sitting comfortably on a little sofa not far from the Valhudor dormitory, though she's clearly wearing Gekronus Maius colours. An oak table with ornate legs is in front of her.

"...sure."

She motions him towards the chair opposite her.

"What are we dueling for?"

[blue_ice]

"A simple test of skill. Stakes are unnecessary, unless you'd like to wager something."

He's trying to sound calm about this, but...it's very difficult to be calm about this when he's in a hurry.

"Which games do you know"

[daughterofclay]

She sizes him up -- one of the math guys, judging by the uniform, which means something like poker probably won't be to her advantage. Of course, that presupposes she isn't cheating, which she might be.

She shrugs, and starts listing them: "Gin Rummy, Slapjack, Idiot, Crazy Eights. If you have another preference, I might know it."

"But I usually play for cash." Sorry, Kaiba, a girl's gotta pay for her impressive collection of daggers somehow.

[noasark]

Noa, suffice to say, is a little baffled. Especially with THAT kind of look.

"...............why...?" Noa is narrowing his eyes. Are you cursed. Are you cursed like HE was cursed a while back? He's unsure.

[blue_ice]

"Because my dragons have left me and this is the only way to regain their trust," he says tightly. Because that totally makes sense.

[noasark]

Uhhh.

What.

"Normally I'd say 'explain while we play', but frankly I'm wondering if someone's cursed you. Or just tricked you," he adds, raising a brow. "Why on earth would your dragons 'leave' you with that kind of condition, you and I both know that conflicts with the reality of things."

Is he casually making note of the fact that he has, at one time, trawled Seto's head? Yes. It seemed important.

[shiningkindness]

A bit startled by the voice, Fluttershy turns towards him.

"D-Duel...? What do you mean...?"

[blue_ice]

Oops. How does he keep getting himself into these things? Kaiba steps back, dialing down the aggression and leaving the traces of worry behind.

"A game. I'm looking for someone to play a game against. And it has to be soon...but if you can't it's fine."

[shiningkindness]

She frowned a bit, and she couldn't help some concern. There was something in his tone or expression that seemed to suggest it was more than just a game.

"What kind of game is it?"