fallers_rpg | it's that hat, you know the one

it's that hat, you know the one

Who: Zahra
What: Zahra has been living like a hermit int he wilderness for the past week. It's high time somebody meets them.
When: December 24th-January 31st
Where: Hau'oli City, Route 2, Route 3

A. Drop the Bass (Hau'oli City)
As much as Christmas Eve is a time for quiet contemplation, holiday spirit, and togetherness, it's also a time for teenagers and young twentiesomethings to party their heineys off; and this goes double for the week leading up to New Year's.

But somebody's got to handle the AV work for these venue-busting events, especially with Team Skull having finally made peace with the local populace and thusly able to shamelessly crash parties and tear things up. (Not that they weren't doing this before, but there's less of a chance of a Jenny getting involved now.) And after hanging with Hideo's group of vaguely thuggish bikers for an extended period of time, Zahra does have the experience.

So they're perched in the booth hanging in the scaffolding of whatever party you're frequenting, carefully monitoring the lights, the sound, the mood of the crowd, the DJ, everything... except for their little baby Deino, Obsidian, who's clumsily nipping her way around the booth. Towards their precariously-placed ankle. It would be cute if it didn't send Zahra tumbling from the scaffolding, hanging by a single hand as they struggle to pull themself up. Normally, this would be an easy task for them, but Obsidian is making things a tad difficult as she panics, flailing around and loosening Zahra's grip every time they're close to safety.

With the light and the heat and the noise and the mosh of the party, it doesn't seem like anybody else has noticed. Maybe you should go up and, you know, make sure they don't die.

B. Menacing Katakana (Route 2)
Fishing is an inherently peaceful activity. Sit down, cast your line, zone out while you wait for wild Pokemon to bite. There still long lulls when it's nothing but you, your thoughts, and nature.

And yet, somehow, there's a palpable aura of menace all around Zahra as their line dangles in the water, mind racing with all the information they've gathered about this new world—and the intriguing way its inhabitants battled using the creatures that ruled it. There were competitions, and professional teams, and metagames, and charts to memorize, and and and

Suffice to say, despite the cold weather, Zahra is liable to spend much of their time hunched over the beach, rod in hand as they contemplate uber-tier teams, type matchups, and movepools; their air of intense, almost furious concentration usually more than enough to deter passers-by and even wild Pokemon.

But even if you're normally put off by the suffocating pressure Zahra exerts whenever they're concentrating, when they bark, "HEY, YOU! HELP ME OUT HERE!" as they fight against their rod while something thrashes in the not-so-deeps resisting their attempts to reel it in... well, they've gotten quite used to giving orders in a commanding voice during crisis situations.

C. Trainer Zahra Wants to Battle! (Route 3)
It's a nice day on the cliffs overlooking the deep blue sea off of Route 3. Flying-types are singing, plant-types are blooming... and Zahra is leaning against the rock, tossing a Pokeball up and down as they stare out into the ocean, expression unreadable. That same energy radiates off of Zahra in waves (appropriate for the setting) while they contemplate the water, albeit less intensely when they were reeling in their biggest catch.

Your presence jolts Zahra out of whatever spell they had put themself under, and they turn to you, gentle smile on their face. "I don't suppose you'd be down for a battle? Me and Obsidian need the practice if we're going to pass the trials."

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"I said there's alternate ones, like ones where I don't have t' deal w' as much spooky shit annnnnn-" OH!

OH NO!!

OH!!!! NO!!! "NYYHHHHHHIHHHIHH-!" SKEDADDLING BACKWARDS NOW, "YOU!"

HIM!

"WHAT TH' HELL!"

WHY!

The ghostly Noa claps a hand to the side of his cheek in mock surprise. "Oh, dear. It looks as though someone's seen a ghost!"

"Ha ha, very funny kiddo." Zahra's thought echoes through Katsuya's perception as they speak to Noa.

Noa crunches on some popcorn. Where... where did he get those 3D glasses from? "Don't mind me, just watching the show."

"Hey, are you alright?" Zahra reaches towards Katsuya to steady him, genuine concern on their face. "You look... look..." Their brow furrows as something burns in their breast pocket. "Wait, hold on a moment." Zahra takes out their deck, rifling through it until they finally find what they were looking for: a glowing Ra card. "What the hell do you want, you feathery bastard?"

my they sound crabby,

"No shit I've seen a ghost, yer s'pposed t' be up in th' heavens 'r whatever w' yer mom!" And, that aside-

"T- Jus' talk aloud..!" That's making this all worse!!

Kaseri nervously whinnies, horn glowing as she nudges her trainer's hand. It...does help as the blond groans, slowly steadied and hopefully helped to sit.

And then.

That.

"Aw hell, y' got those guys here too..?" Whyyyyyyyyyyyy...

"Waitwaitwait, you can see Noa?" well that sure is weird,,,

"And yeah, unfortunately." Zahra crosses their arms, scowling at the card in their hand. They were really, really sick of these fuckers. (Except Slifer. Slifer was chill.) "I don't want to let them out of my sight just so some dime-a-dozen villain with delusions of grandeur can steal them for whatever nefarious plan they're cooking them up. It's happened twice already. And destroying them doesn't work either.

"I've tried."

"What, an' th' me you know can't!?" On the one hand, all of this seems to be proving that there's no weird time anomaly involved. On the other, this is a MESS. "How come I'm th' 'me' stuck w' all th's crap..!" he whines, holding his head. Mannnnn...

Ah.

But then...then she says something...perhaps a bit disturbing, at least to his own ears. He stiffens, practically locking up at the words, drawing back in either fear, disgust, or...something. Something he doesn't even completely feel on his own, more like a distant memory, a knowledge of what should and should not be, a,

"D...dest... ...look I get keepin' 'm outta other's hands man, tha's a great way for others t' get iced by th' three but..." But...

"Destryoin' 'm..? Tha's..." He shakes his head slowly, the action coming to him only partly with deliberation. It is as if he were in two places at once, were two people at once- the feelings of one, influencing the other. "Man y' can' jus'..."

There is a rumble in the air, and he can feel it, like a Heart,

"There, there." Zahra rolls their eyes, but the affection in their voice is genuine. As much of an imbecile as their Katsuya was (and as much as Atem horribly traumatized him whoopsy daisy), he was still their friend. "I think every Katsuya out there in the multiverse is horribly unlucky in their own special ways. It balances out, yeah?"

"And... well, it's complicated." Zahra maliciously flicks Ra's card as they think. "Each of the Gods are fundamental personifications of magic that are crucial to maintaining the balance of nature, but in their current forms their power is... diluted. Balanced, yes, but twisted. Channeling all of that back to Horakhty would both remove her seal and purify their elements, allowing for a less volatile spirit to manifest itself that also won't fall prey to people such as Dartz as easily."

what,

"Hahaaaa, I dunno abou' you, but th's feels a lil' more than unbalanced..."

And.

Uh.

He crosses his arms, raising his brows. He almost argues. Almost.

Except for just a moment, his eyes unfocus. They go blank, staring off...and then he's back.

"...Huh." Huh. "...Tha's...weird." There's little explanation, except-

"...Tha's real differen' from home..."

"Plus when we finally figure out how to do all that properly without any unfortunate side effects, I get the added bonus of watching bitchboy here," they flick Ra's card for emphasis, "vanish from the world forever."

Even looking at the card brought Zahra back to when they were standing on the sidelines, watching Marik's twisted alter ego scorch their beloved again and again and again without hesitation. It's a wonder that more spite isn't leaking through their voice, really.

"Eeeehhhh...." Katsuya looks...conflicted.

His eyes flit from Zahra to the card, to Zahra, to...well. "...Righ'. Sorry, jus'...I get tha' 's differen'," however it is, he doesn't really care to say for now, because HOOOF! Getting into that is just a whole Other barrel of fish, "...but tha' jus' feels..."

...

"...weird...'s weird t ' hear... ...I mean, don' get me wrong, Ra's def'nitely a brutal guy, I got torched by 'm twice..! Jus'...y'know..."

It's Super Duper Weird to hear positivity in making Ra go poof.

The card in his pocket feels warm, somehow- as if to say, 'Thank you for your Support'. Aww.

"Eh. He might be different on your world. I don't know." Zahra narrows their eyes, glaring at the card in their hand before putting it back in their deck. "But I'm never going to forgive him for what he did. Although..." to be fair he's why they're them at all in the first place, "no, actually. Still.

"Fuck that guy."

Deciding that this conversation needs a change of topic and fast, Zahra fiddles with the AV panel a bit more before asking, "So what brings you to a place like this, anyways? You were always a punk, but you never struck me as the party-hardy type."

"Ah...Ahahahaa..." That laugh is Way too nervous and WAY too high pitched- "Y-YEAH...I'm guessin' he mus' be, aha..!"

OHHHHHGEEZE-

"Nyh- Oh, uhhh..." Katsuya pauses. On the one hand, he's pretty damn sure his counterpart for...Zahra here (at least getting their name right isn't hard) is...not dealing with visions and stuff. On the other he definitely showed his hand already.

On the OTHER, that was only for seeing...spirits? Maybe?

"Jus' followed Kaseri, nothin' big," he says, like a Liar,

"That makes sense. She's a psychic-type, right?" With no reason to doubt his words, Zahra kneels down to give Kaseri scritches.

oh wow that mane is fluffy,

"Who's a good little precognitive horsie? You are, you are!"

"NIIHIHI~ Niiii~!" The ponyta responds quite positively for the most part, mane shining and glistening all over. And then-

'Precognitive'.

Kaseri stops. Kaseri turns and stares at Katsuya, who flinches like he's gotten his hand stuck in a cookie jar.

No! No, don't you dare rat him out you horrible horse-

"...is there something you're not telling me, Katsuya?"

Zahra doesn't pause in petting Kaseri. While their voice is as light and friendly, there's an undercurrent of "Mazaki Classic" in there. Just enough to be intimidating.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-

"Nyhhh..."

"NIIIIHIHIII!"

"...It wasn' a lie tha' she led th' way?"

NO!

Zahra knows that Katsuya knows that they know that he's lying. But you know what?

They'll it drop. It's clear that he doesn't want to talk about it, and they aren't nosy enough to bother him about it.

"Well, thank you, Kaseri. Without you, I'm pretty certain I would've been Monster Mash'd into the hospital." Fishing an Oran Berry out of their bag, Zahra presents it to the Ponyta, smiling. "Here!"

Phew. The relief is evident, even though he tries to hide it when it feels like Zahra's looking. Katsuya rubs his head, his ponyta happily taking the berry with a whinny.

"Heh...got tha' righ'! She's pretty good w' th' floatin' thing!" It's what got him in trouble, yes, but she's Still Good At It.

"I'd imagine that'd be handy, yeah. Think of Yugi's face if you brought her home and she could help reach the middle shelf at the store!"

taking no prisoners with the manlet jokes tonight huh zahra

Despite their mockery, their voice is full of real affection at the thought of their friends. Almost like they're holding enough love for four people at once.

It's real, it's full, and honestly it's making him feel far more comfortable. "PFffFFFHAHAHAH!" Wayyy more comfortable. "Heh! Firs' I gotta make sure S- Kaiba doesn' kill me for bringin' another horse aroun', I think! ...Course maybe Mokuba'd be cool abou' it..."

back up to the part where those two matter in this choice-

"Excuse me."

The temperature drops by ten degrees. Metaphorically. Physically, it drops by about three.

If Zahra's love for their friends was overwhelming, the palpable hate in their voice is almost as powerful.

"N-Nyhhhhhhh...." Oh. Oh god! "M-man...what th' hell did sh- he do in your world, kick a cat in front 'f-"

A pause. There's that stare again. That glaze-eyed look that here is so very very out of place, cutting his words short for a split second and.

"................."

...........................

"Nyh...y'...y'know what, th's might be a good time t' say I see shit sometimes," he decides with a quiet squeak. "...Jus' so it makes sense when I say tha' really didn' happen at home, an' probably wouldn'..." He feels terrified right now, oh!

"I. Don't. Fucking. Care." Each word has all the weight of a tombstone behind it, grounded with unforgiving, unconditional hatred. "What possible reason would you have to associate with- with scum like him, Jonouchi?"

Their anger towards their friend is residual; a byproduct of their undying, unrelenting hate towards Seto rather than any actual antipathy. But still, it's damn scary.

It's Katsuya's turn to get serious. He stands straight, no longer leaning back half cowered. His eyes are cold, serious, and far far more remniscient of his time in the gangs than anything else.

And while his fists do not tighten yet, they could, if only for frustration.

"I'm gonna say th's once," he says 'calmly'. "Our world's ain' th' same. An' when I say tha' th' one I know wouldn' do what I jus' saw," he emphasizes, "I mean it. I dunno 'f their stories are th' same. 'F they had t' deal w' th' same. Seem's t' me like they prob'bly didn', not 'f yer this mad- nah, t' get you riled th's much, after how y' were before? Takes more than some one time deal.

"But we're talkin' abou' differen' people. So knock it off."

Zahra's fists, on the other hand, and clenched tight. Their knuckles are white as they stare Katsuya down, the rage radiating off them in waves contrasting sharply with their easy friendliness earlier.

They stay like that for a few moments, filled with bottomless wrath. Then... then. They force themself to take a deep breath. Once. Twice. Three times. Their fists unclench, and they turn away.

Now, more than anything else, they seem tired. "I... I can't believe that any Kaiba Seto out there wouldn't do the exact same thing to me—us—if he was put in the same situation. But..." Another deep breath, this one more akin to a sigh. "I trust you, Katsuya. And if you really, genuinely believe that yours is better... I guess I have to trust that you know what you're talking about. Because you're my friend, and no matter how much I hate my Kaiba with every fiber of my being, you're worth more than all that darkness combined."

Katsuya holds his stare for a good few moments- at least until the other speaks...and... "Mnh- Ka- Katsu..." His...first name?

...

The blond sighs- and sits on the nearest thing he feasibly can, shaking his head. "...'s complicated," he ultimately says. "...'s not my secret t' say, ev'n 'f th' secret doesn' exist in any other world I've heard 'f," Katsuya continues quietly. "...I dunno how else t' explain it... ...I..."

...

This much. He can say...this much. "Where 'm from... I've been livin' in th' same house since b'fore Death-T- tha' happened t' you somehow righ'?- yeah," he 'answers' just as quickly, quite likely for real. "...'s Mokuba's idea. I...helped S- Kaiba ou' w' somethin', turned down th' 'reward' b'cause I saw Mokuba gettin' ignored when I got t' the house... ...an'...I guess it all wen' from there. ...I've been there f'r almos' two years now," he goes on. "...I..."

Even if he tries to hide the Secret, he cannot hide the Emotion.

"...I dunno what I saw. 's jus' how it goes I guess. But they ain' th' same person. Honestly...I think s...he'd be d'sgusted, w' whatever happened t' make y' feel all 'f tha'... ...Not jus' th' anger," he adds more quietly, unable to look to Zahra's eyes. "...Jus'...tha' kinda hurt... ...sh... ...he wouldn' stand it."

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