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WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, PLAYER1. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 10.11.0.0.01 * PLAYER1 has joined 10.11.0.0.01 <PLAYER1>** If you're looking for someone you knew as Yugi before June, you've found him! It's Atem, leave a message.

Main handle: < Player1 > Anon: < turtleluck >, < actuallydied >, < burner >

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[Ryou can't pretend that he doesn't use the snakes as a barometer for Atem's feelings at all, not when they act like this. But he hadn't meant to make Atem question himself like this, and it shows in the way that his brows draw together, his mouth pulls into a sad line, and although he's still assisting the snakes with their shed as best he can, he can't just focus on that anymore.

They're hiding. And they're doing so for a reason. Ryou wants to find a way to fix it but he's not sure how...]

You aren't someone I'd think of as being dishonest. I know you don't like lying, Atem. Even down to the games you make, you make sure that you are telling the truth and letting people impale themselves on their own sword.

I get it.

But your friends don't just appreciate you because of the things you do for them. And...m-maybe this place is awful and painful, and we suffer here...but you should know that at least I value you as a companion. Sometimes it's nice to sit together, play a game, talk about our friends, and not have to do anything.

No fighting. No fixing. Just you and me talking.

[Ryou shuffles closer, using his clawed foot to gain purchase so he can lean in and kiss Atem on the forehead, just below the crumpled up disaster of a shed.]

I think that's enough for everyone. You don't have to fight for everyone all the time. You don't have to stop either, just remember that we like you even when you're just relaxing.

[..."Relaxing" and "Atem" are two words that don't generally go together, but if Ryou has to remind him about taking time to breathe and not be busy, he's going to do it. Right in the middle of this shed.]

[Ryou's mind immediately tries to figure out why they aren't closer, why aren't they leaning on each other--

...and then he realizes that's perhaps a little much for the start of the day, and a bit of color rises to his cheeks. Don't look at him, he's going through some feelings unprompted and unbidden.

Atem reminding him it's his choice since it's his birthday does not help because that's nice and Ryou likes being treated nicely! But after some thought, he comes to a decision.]

I think I do. It'll make the lies more difficult to discern, right?

[He smiles, then picks up his cup.]

I'm ready if you are.

[Where Atem searches for the sound of heartbeats, he'll likely only find one—that of Komaeda, who's sitting in the bathtub, enjoying the warmth of it. The door to the bathroom remains ajar, with some light splashing of the merman in question as his partially-butchered tail hangs outside of it.]

In here!

[He calls without a thought to the questions that might follow: where's Lila? What happened? And so on. But he isn't thinking about that right now. It's been months since he's seen Atem.

Not since his nameday party.]

Don't worry, I may be naked but you can't see anything!

[It matters so much to Atem that Ryou understands what he's going for, with the games. That it's murder, sure, but the people who participate are complicit....but that's not what Atem's thinking about right now.]

You've been...telling me that nearly from the beginning, haven't you?

[Atem's torn. On the one hand...he doesn't like putting time aside, when there's something Yugi needs, that he needs to work on. But on the other, as his forehead is kissed...he feels very warm.]

I love you.

I should tell you that more, shouldn't I?

[He tilts his face up, and his snake half pushes the rest of him the rest of the way. He's going to kiss Ryou on the mouth. When he breaks away, red slit-pupilled eyes meet glowing ones--]

I love you.

[He doesn't try to dislodge Ryou's hands from the separating skin layer, but Atem does plant his own hands on either side of Ryou's waist, and his face is up close to Ryou's, and the snakes are hiding less and reaching for Ryou more -- which gets them out of the way of the ones that haven't come out yet. The shed starts to smooth out, as serpentine eyes give a very doe-eyed look.]

[He's not heard that voice in ages. Three months -- just over that.

Nagito's name wasn't in the graveyard. That meant he was somewhere in Ryslig...either sleeping, or wandering, or waiting to be revived.

Atem hadn't been sure what had been happening to him. He'd had so much else going on in late June and July and August -- he'd had to trust that Nagito's other friends were on it, because wasn't that what friends were for? To share cares and worries, to help when someone was in trouble? He was never the closest one to Nagito, so...

So...

So, Atem goes in the direction of the heartbeat. He's over seven feet, he's an emaciated corpse with a bat-head, he sounds like himself but also like he's been gargling gravel, and he does not give a single damn as he yanks the bathroom door open and takes in the scene.

He'll ask where Lila is in a minute. Right now, his scan is for two things: physical injuries and immediate emotional trauma. He sees the skeletal tail. And, as he approaches, he'll spot any flinches; any real fear will be enough to stop him near the edge of the bathtub. But, if he doesn't--]

Like I'd be worried about that at a time like this...!

[--then Atem's going to take big, ponderous, Hulk-steps toward the bathtub, and drop down to a one-knee crouch, and wrap dumb mummy arms around this stupid seaweed-seahorse's shoulders. Asking him to care whether he can see Komaeda's mer-junk right now or not is so far from relevant. Not when it's been three months. Not when it's the same captor as Steve.]

[Ryou nods to the first statement, because yes. He has been trying to tell Atem that he needs to breathe. If you overthink your moves, plan so far out ahead and try to regiment your entire experience...you forget to pick up what you've lost.

Then...whatever you were trying to do goes to waste.

Ah, but before he can verbalize that, he's rendered silent by three little words that get his heart beating faster, make his face heat up something awful. He doesn't know how to respond to that, at all...

Then he doesn't have to because they're kissing, and the only important thing was to curl his fingers against Atem's scalp, not hard enough to scratch but just to have something grounding him there.

Once they part, and Atem says it again, Ryou lets out a soft little heh, his ears twitching a little.]

I...I love you too.

[It feels so nice to say it. He's put his whole soul into this, without even realizing. He can feel the snakes wriggling between his fingers, but it takes him a moment to refocus. It's only when some of the yellow snakes slip into his line of sight that the affectionate look on his face seems to shift.]

It's time to get you out of this, once and for all, now.

[He pushes upward, helping the remaining hairsnakes free themselves. But even as he works, he can't stop himself from leaning in again, for another quick kiss.]

[As far as injuries go, Komaeda probably looks not unlike Steve did when he first revived. Definitely emaciated—or perhaps dehydrated is a better word for how shriveled he looks. They're working on it, with the tub. Aside from that, there's the angry bruised Y-shaped mark over his torso, indicating that his fish guts must've been harvested as well.

Then there's the tail, likely the biggest offender, and hurt like hell when he first submerged himself. It's hardly comparable to its full length, which almost gives him the appearance of missing his legs from mid-shin down. The fleshy end of it is still healing as best it can with vertebrae jutting out from it, but otherwise it's the story of a once-gruesome tale.]

Oh, Atem-kun... you're... [hideous he wants to say, but instead he pulls his normal, indolent smile as he finishes:] pretty monstrous, huh?

[That earns a laugh, and apparently the go-ahead for a hug, as he quickly finds himself wrapped up in those arms in a way even Lila's possession couldn't manage. To be held, and at once to feel life within him, is a blissful contrast to the loneliness he's felt himself drowning in for what seems like months.

It's a hug that, as Atem will feel, he relaxes into.]

Ah... and here I thought someone as forgettable as me wouldn't be missed this much!

[He laughs again, and yet, he clings just as much to Atem and his weird furry bat-head.]

[The second kiss continues the process from before -- the relaxing, the wanting-to-be-out-of-the-shed that the first kiss started. Atem doesn't want his time in this dimension to end without having kissed Ryou silly? Without bringing clawed, freed hands up into Ryou's incredibly cute short haircut and burying them there? Without experiencing all of this?]

Yes.

[The last third of his snakes are pulling themselves free as Atem lets out a long, slow breath with that word, his face still way too close to Ryou's. He brings his snake half around, catching on some of the branches and terrarium paraphernalia Giorno left, until the skin tears, a few feet below the waist. He needs it off, needs to be out of it, and he starts pulling most of himself out, without breaking eye contact -- turning the shed inside-out like a 15-foot stocking. There's still the last of his hair shed, and some of his back, and a bit around his chest and waist that needs to come off, but most of it, as long as he doesn't move too fast, he should be able to get--he needs it off, once and for all, like Ryou said--]

[He's absolutely hideous! Most would agree. Ryou Bakura doesn't, but he's a biased source and doesn't count. Nagito just missed hot snake summer; his loss.

Komaeda's mouth is saying one thing, but the way he hugs back is saying another, and Atem responds to them both. His grip tightens, but carefully; monster strength's a bitch and he doesn't want to hurt. Big leathery bat-wings, normally held in with the thumb-claws hooked over the shoulders, flare and lift -- it looks for all the world like the hover-y gesture you make with a hand when you want to reach for something but won't, telegraphing the push-pull of the restraint Atem's trying to exercise. And he says, without letting go:]

I never forgot you!

[He'd been looking, while he was out with Yugi, digging into possible main-quest storylines, comparing entry points. They'd been looking for a lot of things, but for Atem, one of them was signs of Nagito. He'd asked the people they met in other cities, other towns, in case the guy had decided to work in another part of the game for some half-insane despair-fueled reason, if they'd seen a merperson who met Nagito's description...but none of them had. It didn't matter how awkward he'd left things -- while he was out, when he realized something was wrong, in between a roommate who was disconnecting from reality and a rival who had the best chance of getting out of all of them and dollhouses and trees and death-traps and wagers with killers, Atem had looked.

He pulls away, far enough to look at the guy if Atem angles his snout down, but his hands stay on Komaeda's shoulders.]

I knew you were still here, thanks to the graveyard...but there weren't any signs of you anywhere! I should give you a copy of the dead man's switch program, so that if something goes wrong, your friends know sooner...and maybe a bell.

[This is a joke. The curve in Atem's red eyes, the tone he takes, the twich up at the corner of his horrible toothy mouth, says as much.

They're gonna kill the guy who did this, Atem thinks.]

[ Steve expected "aw, cute," but Atem—Atem's actually taking the time to look at this from all angles. Sympathy: offered. His struggle: seen, and so this tired shelter worker is feeling amenable by the time they've circled back around to "aw, cute." ]

Normally, I'd say absolutely not, but you're a monster so— [ Worst case scenario, the fog will fix him up. ] I'll let you in on a secret.

[ Steve stoops to scoop up the lion in question, as he'd watched Cersei do a couple dozen times before. Tybolt's paws just sort of dangle unthreateningly as he curiously surveys his surroundings from his new, pooka-height vantage point. After a moment, Steve steps closer to Atem in order to transfer Tybolt into his arms. ]

It's like looking at Big Sven's estranged cousin from Africa, isn't it?

[ Word can't get around, though, or all the staff would come in here wanting to try this out. ]

Edited 2021-09-10 17:22 (UTC)

[It hadn't quite occurred to Komaeda that people might have searched for him. Like a square peg and a round hole, the information simply doesn't register as comprehensible in his brain, as if all these relationships he's made over the many months, have remained superficial. Despite this, though, he feels the weight of Lila's presence inside of him, just as he feels the weight of Atem's grip on his shoulders—as if his friend were scared that he just might disappear again without it.

There's a comfort in that weight, that reminds him of the way Mukuro would curl up as they slept, her wolfish head resting heavily upon him. It reminds him of the same way his childhood dog would sleep with him in the warm rays of the afternoon sun; and still, he looks up at Atem with a perceived distance. A space between them that feels bigger than it actually is, simply because Komaeda refuses to understand his importance to others.

But, in light of those heavy feelings, his serene expression remains—warm with Atem's heartfelt admonishing.]

Ah... so you want to put a collar on me? [Komaeda asks, his tone wholly serious despite the sly grin that's spread across his sallow features.] I don't mind, but you should probably ask Lila-san first... she's the one who claims to own me.

[Just talking as if... you know, she isn't here.]

[Atem is, in a lot of ways, underinformed. He doesn't know about things like collaring, not personally, not even academically: he knows what Yugi knew, and what Yugi knew was, collars look cool! and collars are for cats and dogs. Putting one on a person, then, is either a fashion statement or a dehumanizing thing.

But something about the way Komaeda says it -- and follows it up with you should ask Lila first -- makes it feel like it mostly falls into the latter category, but not quite...

He feels some kind of way about Lila claiming to own Komaeda? Like a pet? But she clearly cares about him, a lot, and Komaeda doesn't seem to mind...

Red eyes widen. Thin edges of a bat-mouth press together. A sense of the situation that Atem never asked for rises in his mind like the miasma from the tunnels below Bavan, and Atem clamps down hard on all of that. Nope! No.

His expression only changes for a second or two. Then, Atem sidesteps. Change of subject. He glances over his shoulder, taking his clawed hands off of Komaeda and straightening his back, though he stays crouched near the floor, close to eye-level.]

Where is she, anyway? She was the one who sent the message, but I didn't see her when I came in...

[Completely unaware of the mental hoops Atem is currently jumping through, Komaeda simply stares at him in silence. There are certainly layers to the proposition, especially given that his feelings declared months ago have not changed.

And yet, he doesn't elaborate on anything further.]

Lila-san?

[Komaeda cocks his head, and then, with the space afforded to him, folds his hand to his chest. It still hurts to touch that Y-shaped wound, but the wince he gives is barely noticeable as his smile seems to shine all the brighter.]

She's right here! Ah, well, I suppose you wouldn't be able to tell given that she's inside me right now.

[A small pause, his head tilted to one side.]

We were taking a bath together, when you arrived. But don't worry! You didn't interrupt anything.

[Frankly: Lila lets the silence stand for a moment. It's funny. She's happy, in a dull, tired way, that Komaeda's feeling well enough to make nasty horny jokes at Atem, who is, somewhat surprisingly, kind of at a loss about them. What a weird thing to learn. Steve can handle whatever, but there are panic bells going off behind this weird bat monster's eyes.]

[People are all freaks, she thinks.]

[The transition from Komaeda to her is subtle except how it isn't. The voice doesn't change, but it pitches — moderately lower, in fact, because Lila's used to speaking with force anyway, to demanding her presence be acknowledged in every way — and sharpens. Sharp is the word for her expression, too. Haughty. She looks at Atem. Peels back lips from sharp teeth in a smile that almost matches the one Komaeda was already wearing, but not quite.]

[It's weird. Atem's never actually seen her with an articulated form, so in a way he has nothing to compare this to. On the other hand, there's no way such an expression could be worn by anyone else.]

Wow. Is this how you flirt with people who aren't me? That's hilarious. You can dish it out but you can't take it.

. . . Hey, Atem.

[Pointedly, she lifts his hands and puts them back in the water. Stop Touching The Ouch.]

You seriously don't know about collars? I don't get any of you people.

[A whole lot of facts are true right now.

1. Atem is in complete agreement that it's a very good thing that Komaeda's feeling well enough to make nasty horny jokes, even if they throw Atem out of his comforting-a-kidnap-victim comfort-zone here.

2. "You didn't interrupt anything!" is the horny joke that broke the camel's back; Atem realizes he's being messed with, and his expression goes very flat. You asshole. Now he's got to keep Komaeda from getting to him; his manner turns very dry.

3. The shift in who's in the driver's seat is immediately clear. Atem's got an idea of what to expect already, but seeing it is different; this Atem hasn't even seen the Bakuras switch, and it's somehow both jarring and touching. A bit nostalgic, even. That's got to be...that has to be nice.

4. "You seriously don't know about collars?" confirms that it's a sex thing. Whoops. Sorry, Lila, he didn't mean to talk to your boyfriend about sex things.

5. And no, he doesn't know about collars, even though he wears one like the vast majority of the time, when he's got a human head and neck, because he's a filthy deviant in a lot of ways but not this specific one.

Her casual tone, though, makes Atem's face relax. She's not upset; he hasn't crossed a line or broken a rule. He shuts his eyes a moment, and his terrible toothy maw pulls into a smile.]

Miss Zacharov. Yo!

Thank you for inviting me over! It's good to see him again. No one else says weird things to me quite the same way...

[Atem doesn't usually make fun of people, but he does tease on occasion, and this is an occasion for it.]

[He catches that. Oh, Ryou's not being touched enough, is that it? That'll be another thing to fix later, but not yet. It's early...they're going to play the game first. Atem gives a nod! Aces wild it is.

He picks his own cup up, holds a hand over the open end, and gives it a good shake. No cheating! He makes no attempt to control the roll of the dice as he turns it over and slips his hand out just in time to set the cup face-down on the table. He'll time it with Ryou's, as close as he can, so the dice land around the same time.]

[Ryou gives his dice a good shake as well, and he's not the sort to do any kind of dice shenanigans, so it's all fair at the table. That was the Ring-Spirit's habit, not his.

His cup clacks down on the table almost exactly at the same time as Atem's. Good!

He's not sure why, but playing a game like this is kind of thrilling, isn't it? It's a game where you have to fool the other player for as long as you can. He's pretty sure that of the two of them, Atem's the better bluffer. Still...he's excited.]

Alright, I'll let you look at your dice first. Just let me know when I can open my eyes.

[And he closes them. The glowing is extinguished completely, for now.]

[As far as Ryou's concerned, everything Atem's doing is not only acceptable, it's very wanted. He's glad the snakes are mostly freed from the shed, because at any moment, once he's able to bring his hand down, it's definitely going to Atem's shoulder.

There's no reason why Atem's confirmation should have him shivering a little. Of course...of course he wants to be out of the shed. But he's so close, the word chased by that slow exhale...and Ryou's just a silly, needy little romantic but damn, does it take every bit of his self-control not to kiss Atem for a third time. Instead, he holds the remaining bit of hair shed up until the last snake pops free, then flicks it aside.

He doesn't have anything to say at all, he just presses his face into Atem's neck. He doesn't even want to see the rest of the shed come off anymore. Distantly, he recalls that he had wanted to watch the process...but right now it's not important.

Letting his fingers latch onto Atem's shoulder loosely while he pretty much nuzzles him is the only remaining priority in mind.]

[The atmosphere's changed from anxious and tense to something else; Atem doesn't question it. There's an ebb and flow to life, an ebb and flow to the pace of a game, and now that he can see, and his snakes can see, and the top part of his shed is shrugged off and cast aside and the bottom part is peeling off slowly but steadily, rustling quietly a few feet away -- the end's in sight, and Atem is incredibly content to let Ryou press his face into new skin. It's so new it feels jumpy -- like all contact is dialed up in intensity, Atem's pretty sure he could feel a pin drop in the next room -- but Ryou's face and hair and breath are all soft, and it's a lot, but it's nice.

...

Really nice, actually. He might have to be careful, he thinks, as more old-scales peel away from new scales, and his arms slip around Ryou in something closer to a hug, and there is gentle little-snake investigation of Ryou's hair wherever they and their little tongues can reach. He sighs, contentedly, as some of his freed snake half gets pulled underneath him, across Ryou's knees. Atem wants to be holding Ryou right now, he's missed feeling up to it for the last, what, week? Terrible, to absolutely hate the idea of touch 95% of the time the whole first week you have a boyfriend, and a cleared, vibrant, exfoliated loop of snake tail curls around behind Ryou. I've got to be careful, he thinks, distantly, but does absolutely nothing to stop himself.

When the last of the tail-shed goes, pulling over the uneven, stumpy, bony protrusion at the end, there's a rattly little sound, not unlike a cup of dice, if dice were made of bone.

The rattle's back!]

Edited 2021-09-11 14:47 (UTC)

[The feel of the snakes in his hair makes Ryou do an involuntary full-body wiggle. They tickle, but it's pretty clear that he's not bothered by it because of the way his lips pull into a smile, and he's in contact with Atem to the point where he can probably feel it.

But Ryou doesn't move away or do much more than hum a little when Atem starts to coil around him. The shift of the snake half across his knees, against his back...feels nice. Even through his clothes, he feels like he can identify every single scale, the power of the musculature that makes up the snake tail just as comforting as the arms wrapped around him.

Atem might not be able to regulate his temperature, but that doesn't stop him from feeling warm to Ryou.

When he hears the rattling, he's curious. Curious enough to pull away, but not before impulsively kissing Atem's neck. He doesn't do it for any big reason other than he's here and he can.

But then he pulls back, and he seeks out the sound of the noise.]

Hmm! Your rattle...haha, well. Better late than never, I suppose.

[kiss nice!! touch nice!! but Atem's got a bad habit of focusing on things besides that, so when Ryou brings up the regrown rattle:]

I suppose! It was actually less trouble not to have it.

[He doesn't remove himself from the lap he's slithered into, but he does bring his tail around into their field of vision. Atem lifts the little bone-sistrum and gives it a shake! It doesn't mesmerize monsters, but it sent humans he slithered past into a half-religious-half-rock-concert frenzy, and that was awkward.]

If I go out before I change back, I'll have to wrap it up again...

[But he'll worry about that later, if he even goes out. There's only one section of the shed left, stretching from under his arms to a few feet below where the snakescales start, and Atem looks at it appraisingly.]

Okay. Time to cut the rest off.

[He's gonna go at it with claws, make a tear, and peel it off like dried glue, unless Ryou steps in with a different idea.]

[Even though his mouth moves, the tone and the words that come out of it don't belong to him. It's jarring, considering that up until now, they've been talking within the confines of his skull—but with Atem here, that isn't so doable, is it?

So his face contorts, making an expression not even Nathan would wear, and as soon as Lila points out his flirting, a bluish tinge rises in his cheeks. Shame isn't something Komaeda feels in a normal sense, but even Lila will recognize that—within this shared body—a self-conscious embarrassment has overcome him.

She'll also feel how swiftly Komaeda pushes through those feelings, and how the smile that splits his face tightens uncomfortably.]

Ah... and he was so oblivious to it, too. Isn't that what makes Atem-kun cute?

[It's a masking statement that Atem has believed time and again, but Lila will be able to recognize its flimsy façade easily. It doesn't matter, he tells himself, as he continues on.]

I'm glad that you haven't gotten tired of me, yet. Sorry for teasing you.

[Idiots.]

[The feelings she gets from Komaeda are weird, disorientingly vulnerable considering how much control he had of the situation a moment ago. That's because of her, she thinks, and can't decide if that's good or bad; inside the privacy of their shared space, she can't rub her cheek against his jaw like she would normally, so instead she projects that same warmth and comfort and affection towards him, the next best thing.]

[There's still a part of her that wants to prod the new thing a little. She lets out a neutral sort of hum, neither denying nor acknowledging Atem-kun's cuteness, although privately she does kind of get it from this perspective. It doesn't bother her. She doesn't know why, and right now it doesn't matter.]

[She asked Atem for help because she needed it, and having him here is already helping. That's all she could ask for.]

[From that same emotional space, warm and comfortable and sweet, guileless in a way she never dares to be out in the world, she asks Komaeda: So do you want him to see you like that?]

He's not sorry, [she tells Atem in a stage whisper, rolling Komaeda's head slightly on his neck. Having muscles feels weird, but good.] Thanks for coming. I got a little—

[No. No, no, no. She's not comfortable enough to be that vulnerable. She goes to shift in the water before the pain reminds her to stop, hisses, and starts pulling the pain back into her again, away from Komaeda. Her eyes lock on Atem's, slightly glazed over with it in a way Komaeda's won't be when he takes over again.]

We're gonna have to talk later.

[About next steps. About what to do. About pounds of flesh. All of that. She knows he already knows.]

[There's a casual grin of a mask on right now, especially when control of the body is switching back and forth; he won't let Nagito get under his skin! Telling him he's cute doesn't matter; they're both seeing other people, it's more teasing, it's social chess, even if being called on it did just make Nagito blush. So, when Lila outs he's not sorry, Atem laughs.]

I'm glad he's feeling up to teasing at all! If it means Nagito's feeling better, then I can take it.

[This wall is up because last time Nagito'd managed to cut him -- not with the knife he was holding, but with words, to shake his security in one of his own choices, to point out an unjust thing he'd done. Atem's been bitten; he's shyer, and he doesn't know where they stand right now as far as their friendship goes.

But he does know that he and Lila are going to discuss what it will take to balance the scales; how much flesh will need to be put on the other side to bring it back to a level. Atem recognizes it in her voice as surely as he recognizes that the words come from her.

He doesn't press on the fact that they both know, that Lila was less than perfectly calm and composed when she called for help. He just nods.]

Later.

[He's absolutely not going to try to make Komaeda talk about his killer, or try to get a location out of him, when Komaeda's just gotten back. That can wait until it won't do more damage, until Komaeda's heart's had the chance to heal some.]

What can I do right now?

[What does he need? What does she need? If it's just company, that's fine, but he's here to help, and is taking requests.]

[Once more, Lila undermines him—and while Komaeda isn't bothered by that per se—it does mean that the things dwelling beneath the surface are being exposed whether he wants them to or not. He teases, because it's all he knows to do when even a plain confession earns nothing so much as a thanks; and even now, with his truth revealed, all Atem does is laugh in the face of it.

It's annoying, these insidious feelings. Bitterness claws through him, though it isn't for anything Lila's done.

It does, however, mean that Komaeda has suddenly flipped from embarrassed to irritated—turning away from the edge of the tub to sink below the water's surface until the gills at his neck flare out with relief. It doesn't matter, he finally responds, it's not like he likes me back, anyways.]

Ah... a book would be nice, [he speaks up, tone indolent but the shift in demeanor clearly haughty,] but it'd get ruined in the bath.

[It seems that with Lila managing his pain, Komaeda has returned to his familiar hot-and-cold routine.]

You say I'm not forgettable, but you talk like I'm not even here. It's pretty irritating. If you want to ask me questions, just do it.

Edited 2021-09-11 19:04 (UTC)

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