Looking for Ryuuji, once again

[lord-of-dragons.livejournal.com]

[[ Ryuuji-mun, I know you're going to hate me, but I guess Irony and Karma just hate you, and have it out for you. I still love you. >D Terry-mun, you're included in the hunt, of course. ^.^]]

Seto rushed from the classroom, eyes scanning for where Ryuuji had gone at once.
It just wasn't like Ryuuji to leave class early, or to admit he needed to go to the infirmary. Something must really be wrong....

Right! Cell phone.

Seto pulled his out in a snap and dialed Ryuuji's number as he kept walking, hoping his pace wasn't too fast for Terry.

Comments

[tomorrow-knight.livejournal.com]

Kaiba's whole body suddenly seemed to say 'What have I done??!'. But Terry couldn't tell if it was just that loud or his training. He nodded, however and whispered the Ravenclaw password.

"Anyone at the bar can tell you where my room is." And there'd be something rigged to the door, and across the floor and at the windows the minute Ryuuji was safe in Terry's bed.

He was even considering asking someone else in the family for help. Robots could be very dangerous.

He pitched his voice low, and had no trouble injecting his next words, words meant to be heard, with sarcasm and disgust. "Sure I'll give him your apology. But I don't think that'll help matters." Terry twitched his shoulders rather than shrug, because his arms were burning. There was a difference between dead weight and someone who was holding back and he felt it as the moments drew out.

"After all, you are abandoning him for your little play thing."

[lord-of-dragons.livejournal.com]

[[ Thing is a popular word tonight. Sorry for the repost. >D ]]

Seto didn't respond to that. Let Terry think what he wanted.

After all, there were things people didn't know about--and Seto preferred it that way.

He just stiffened, eyes returning to more of an opaque blue-green. He had to murder his creation; he wasn't in the mood to correct anything else.

[dice-addict.livejournal.com]

"I am not a plaything." Ryuu-bot's eyes narrowed even further, and the pretty smile on its lips turned into a harsh snarl, lips drawn back and teeth exposed. Unconsciously, it slid into one of Ryuuji's fighting stances, feet spread apart, weight evenly distributed and hands at the ready, wrists crossed over each other and one hand still fisted suspiciously around something. "I love Seto like Ryuuji doesn't. Ryuuji's not good enough for Seto; Seto had it right the first time when he told Ryuuji that."

A haughty flip of his ponytail accompanied that statement and as he glared at Terry, the look in his eyes was murderous, "So go ahead, little slaveboy. Please take Ryuuji away from Seto. Seto's never had anything except pain from him anyway. Ryuuji's a vicious, cold, manipulative, fickle, heartless bastard son of a bastard. And you're just in love with him like everyone else, or in love with his ability to suck cock, whichever. Either way, just get him out of here. He doesn't want to be near Seto; he abandoned Seto first. Seto's mine now. He made me just to have someone to belong to."

[tomorrow-knight.livejournal.com]

Terry's eyes narrowed. Blue and bright and but holding emotion as dark as hellfire.

" Guess that makes Ryuuji the lucky one. He didn't have to make me."

His anger wasn't completely at Kaiba. It's not like he hadn't encountered a situation like this before. But it was a response so that the Robot would have a clue of just how hard someone would fight to protect Ryuuji's life if it so much as looked at him wrong. It didn't matter that the thing might not make it through the night.

[lord-of-dragons.livejournal.com]

"Of course not. Ryuuji's lovable," Seto automatically responded, voice getting softer. "Ryuuji wouldn't have to do that."

Seto wanted to disappear about then, but he just stood there, calm and very, very still.

[dice-addict.livejournal.com]

"Both of you are just brainwashed." Ryuu-bot insisted, glaring at Terry, red-painted lips narrowed into a line. "And in your case, if he seduced you, he made you want him. That's the same thing in his case, because love's something he only takes. Ryuuji doesn't love, he doesn't know how."

As for Seto...

Tone softening, turning pouty instead of hateful, the robot argued unhappily, "I know your father made you say that, but it was still right. Ryuuji's every bit as worthless as his father always told him. I'm better than him; even dirt is better than him. And he can be gentle, and he can be sweet, but those aren't what he is. And you know he can be vicious! He ripped out your ribs! That's vicious!"

Did it care that Terry was listening? Not in the least. It went on, attention still fixed on Seto, "And he abandoned you because he hasn't been back to the room since you introduced me to him. Soon as he knew he was free from needing to be your friend, he's been spending every night elsewhere - whose bed do you think he was in? Alucard's? Kira's? Mai's? Sara's? Steerpike's? Oz's? Mystique's? Anne's? All of them at once, or in rapid rotation? Don't tell me that he didn't abandon you when he's never here. I'm just saying what I know of him from what you programmed into me, what I saw in his Pensieve, and how he acts. And so far, the only thing that I see him acting like is a wounded child that never got over being hurt and thinks he deserves to be loved by everyone just 'cause he suffered. BRAT.."

[lord-of-dragons.livejournal.com]

....

Seto stared for a moment, horrified the persocom just told Terry about that. People weren't supposed to know about the ribs, about the torture. That--his punishment--was no one's business.

As for everything else?

Seto's eyes narrowed, and his voice turned to sharp and clipped. "Stop talking about Ryuuji like that. Now."

[dice-addict.livejournal.com]

Subdued by Seto's sudden shift to anger, Ryuu-bot muttered under his breath, "But it's the truth!", and then went quiet. Its eyes teared up slightly, and he sniffed pitifully, but stopped glaring at Terry.

Terry wasn't important right now; he just didn't want Seto to be mad at him.

[lord-of-dragons.livejournal.com]

Seto was beyond angry.

Had been for a while, a long while.... Longer than he let himself realize.

Cooly, without another word, he marched right over, intent on switching the thing off and getting this over with. He knew it was fast, but it couldn't possibly be possessive enough it would fight to stay alive, or fight Seto--that would go against its original desire to make him happy.

Unless the robot had become unstable with the AI and switched that into obsession. Then there might be trouble.

Either way, Seto didn't want to deal with it any longer. Ryuuji didn't need this keeping him away from his room. Seto could see at least that much, now. And Terry...? Had already left, it seemed.

When he was close enough, his hand reached out, aiming for the robot's ear.

[dice-addict.livejournal.com]

"...Seto?!" Terrified of the look in Seto's eyes (he looked like he hated him), the robot stumbled back a step, falling against the bed and then pressing back hands to it, flipping backwards but twisting to the side as it did so.

Landing on its feet, in front of the study, Ryuu-bot blinked at Seto, still in a fight-ready stance. "What's wrong? Say something!"

He didn't want to hurt Seto, no, but he didn't want to die either. That would leave Seto alone and make him unhappy! Ryuu-bot had to live for Seto's sake.

[lord-of-dragons.livejournal.com]

"Everything's wrong," Seto explained, tone completely void of emotion, eyes almost blank. "And I plan to fix it. I'm sorry you had such a short life."

He stepped forward again--quickly, knowing how fast the robot could be, and once again, his hand reached for the ear. It was just a little button--this shouldn't be such a hard thing to do.

Ryuuji was more important.

[dice-addict.livejournal.com]

"...You can't kill me. You need me. You love me. Ryuuji will never love you. You have to have me to love you!" Ryuu-bot flipped backwards, then over Seto's head, twisting and running out of the door. Over its shoulder, to Seto, it called out, "I won't let you kill me, Seto! You love me!"

And with that, it was out of the room and gone.

[lord-of-dragons.livejournal.com]

Calmly, Seto stepped out of the room, and with the persocom still in hearing range, shouted out, "You're not making me happy by running off on me."

It was programmed to attack if anyone tried to shut it down manually, but it was also programmed not to hurt Seto. And it was also programmed to want to make him happy.

[dice-addict.livejournal.com]

"..." Damnit. Ryuu-bot was now stuck, a clash of programming making it freeze in place. It couldn't make Seto unhappy, not when he loved Seto but on the other hand, it was going to be turned off if it didn't run!

Struggling visibly, Ryuu-bot shook from the effort of staying still, and whimpered audibly. NOT FAIR!

[lord-of-dragons.livejournal.com]

Seto walked out in front of it, arms crossed. "Running off is just going to make me unhappy, so stay there while I make something clear to you."

His tone was firm, eyes narrowed. "I don't love you. I love Ryuuji. I did't make you for me--I made you so he wouldn't have to worry about me any longer. I don't appreciate all the things you said about him. I don't appreciate you being cruel to him and rude to McGinnis, and I'm not going to allow you to continue this."

And once again, he attempted to manually shut it down, because using the password and verbal command seemed too cruel--but if it ran off again, then he'd have to.

Gently, slowly, as though he was going to caress the persocom's cheek, Seto started to lift his hand towards its face.

[dice-addict.livejournal.com]

"..." The robot didn't resist any longer. Heartbroken, he just shut his eyes, a single tear slipping out of the corner of his left eye, and let Seto shut him off passively.

There was no point in living if Seto didn't love him.

[lord-of-dragons.livejournal.com]

Seto lightly wiped away the tear and whispered, "I'm sorry," as he attempted to drag the persocom back to Ryuuji's room.

Very quietly, he left it on the floor of the study, and then headed off for Terry's room, intent on apologizing to Ryuuji. Or at least staying by his side until he woke up.

[lord-of-dragons.livejournal.com]

Voice soft, small, low and eyes looking somewhere--at something not in the room, Seto insisted, "I never said that about Ryuuji. That's what Gozaburo wanted me to say. I wish you and Ryuuji both would remember that.

"And Ryuuji's none of those things. He's not vicious. He's can be very gentle, and sweet. And he always thinks about the people he cares about. He didn't abandon me.... Where are you getting all of this from?" It was frightening--Seto had never programmed it to be that way, or to think like that about Ryuuji.