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When Yugo got back from Shiragiku City - a trip that, in total, lasted no more than twenty minutes, time in Milliways notwithstanding, he supposes - he was immediately set upon by two slightly over-enthused handlers with new equipment for him, in the form of a dozen or so rings.

So he's out back right now, testing them out, scanning them over the gold disk on his wrist one by one.

"Defend, please," the gold disk chirps in that somewhat uncanny mechanical voice of its as he scans the fifth ring of the day. The familiar shape of his magical circle appears floating in the air, still.

Yugo tries tossing a rock at it. It bounces off on contact, sizzling a little as it hits the grass. With a quick nod, Yugo stows that ring away and reaches for another one.

Botherable.

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"A little bit," Yugo admits. "A few more and then I might stop for today."

He slides the two rings he picked out onto his fingers, scanning them over the disk. "Bind, Gravity, please."

This time, the circle appears on the ground. Yugo tosses a rock at it, and as it passes over the circle it plummets downwards, sticking to the ground.

"So, tell me about this person-who's-a-person of yours, then," Yugo says, absently. "The one who you want flowers for, but not the one who you hurt."

Predictably, the first thing Autor wants to do is touch the magic circle to see if the effect works on humans, and whether or not he'd be able to tear away from it. Probably, and probably not. He doesn't move, of course, mostly because this is Yugo's experiment.

He's just about to sigh mournfully about the lack of scientific opportunity when Yugo's words tamp that right back down. "What?" he blurts, all capacity for intelligent thought evaporated. "What? No, they're just... A person. To whom I want to send flowers."

A person whom I am incapable of hurting, much to my consternation.

"Well, then, you totally should be able to tell me about them without any kind of awkwardness or embarrassment, then, right?" Yugo grins.

"Have I ever been able to tell you about anything without awkwardness or embarrassment?" he asks, choosing this moment in particular to demonstrate that he has a modicum of self-awareness.

"Dude, I'm sure there must have been something at some point. Go on, spill."

"Spill?" he asks, genuinely confused. "Spill what? That's another one of your Yugoisms, isn't it?"

He purses his lips. "All right, I'm going to assume from context that 'spill' is a request for more details," he says. "One which I'll have to regretfully decline."

Because of Reasons. Reasons which are dyeing his face shades which look horrible with a navy blue blazer.

Edited 2013-05-23 23:17 (UTC)

Somberly: "Don't kiss and tell, huh. Okay, dude, okay, I can respect that."

"What?" he squeaks. "I haven't kissed her yet."

OH SHI--

Edited 2013-05-23 23:42 (UTC)

Yugo just sticks his tongue out at Autor.

Which, bizarrely, sobers him right up. "...KEEP A FUCKING LOCKDOWN ON YOUR SAUCY ORAL TENTACLE WHILE YOU'RE AT IT..." Autor turns away and draws a slow breath through his nose.

"How many more rings do you have to test?" he says, clasping his arms behind his back and digging his shoe into the dirt. "Four?"

"Two - Thunder and Whirlwind. And two more I can't test today anyway."

"Well, those sound obvious," Autor says. "Why can't you test the other two?"

"Er, well, Soukichi says that the Engage Ring can only be used on another Gate - it's meant to enter the pocket dimension where their Phantom is. And the other one is Rise - it's pretty much useless outside of people's pocket dimensions, but it's meant to summon Phoenix in his true form."

"Oh, interesting," he says. "I can see why Engage might have a limited utili--why in all the lurid, multicolored hells would you want to use Rise?"

The boy just about flails again.

"I mean, can you control him in his true form?" he says, wide-eyed. "It wouldn't kill you, would it? And how does that even work, anyway, given that these rings run on his power?"

"Dude, from what I'm hearing from Soukichi, Haruto had to use his equivalents to these rings on his first mission. With the summoning Dragon inside a pocket dimension and everything. He's still alive, dude," Yugo says soothingly.

"I'm pretty sure since those pocket underworld-y dimensions run on different rules to the real world, it's not going to hurt me or stop me using my armour or rings. It's like - projecting him outside myself," Yugo says. "I think. I've totally not tried it yet, I'm only meant to use either if a Phantom starts emerging from someone."

Soukichi was fairly stern on that.

"So he can give other Phantom a stern talking-to?" Autor shakes his head and folds his arms. Sorry, Yugo. The kid Does Not Like This Idea.

"How much of a drain will that be on you?" he asks, and then switches gears. "Haruto is the other person who survived, right? The one with the belt?"

"I think the idea is to set the other Phantom on fire," Yugo says. "And probably a big drain, dude. If I ever have to use it, I'll totally head here afterwards and you can fan me and massage my feet or something. Promise."

He nods. "He is. I'm still totally not allowed to meet him, though. So harsh. So harsh."

"I can't give you a foot rub!" he squeaks, mortified. "My fingers are too bony; I'll poke right through the muscle. And it's... just no."

Autor blinks, grateful for the conversational distraction. "That's suspicious. Why not? Would his Phantom try to mess with Phoenix?"

"He has a backer. Dude calling himself the White Wizard," Yugo says. "Until he showed up, all the Riders thought that mages had all died out, so he's pretty much an unknown. They - er, we, I suppose - want to keep this White Wizard as far away from the rest of our operations as possible."

"Magic," Autor says dryly, adjusting his glasses. "Your world, Yugo, has far too many variables in it to keep straight. I don't suppose anyone knows how Haruto met with this backer?"

He frowns. "Is it possible that he didn't survive on willpower, but with this wizard's aid?"

"N'aw, I bet it must be hell on your scientist brain," Yugo says fondly, "trying to balance all the different wacky things in my world."

He pauses, stroking his chin.

"He was approached after he'd suppressed Dragon," Yugo says. "The White Wizard was the one who gave him his belt - he has something very similar, from the sounds of it."

Yugo's seen the pictures. Never let it be said he doesn't take an interest in what intelligence the Riders can gather.

"My 'scientist brain' can handle whatever hell comes up," he says. He does know Punie, after all. I am thinking on her entirely too much.

"How do the Riders know all of this? Conjecture?" he asks. "Does that mean the White Wizard has a Phantom?"

"Not conjecture so much as, er, shameless spying. Soukichi has access to about five or six devices almost exclusively for spying on people, even," Yugo says. Then, thoughtfully: "Because he is one paranoid dude."

He tilts his head. "I suppose so? But if he does, then I don't know what it is, and neither does Phoenix. And I don't know how he got it, unless Phantoms have come through before."

"Or maybe the Wizard managed to travel to pocket dimensions with his magic," he muses, "to either subdue them or strike up a pact."

Autor grins wryly. "Everything you tell me about Soukichi makes me respect him more."

Yugo rubs his face. "When you two inevitably meet you'll either hate each other or become the best of friends, I can just see it now," he says, as if this is the most horrifying thing imaginable. "But the White Wizard is pretty much a mystery to us, and the other Riders really don't like that. So Haruto's being watched, and helped out a little when he really needs it, but otherwise kept at a distance."