[Video]

[blue_eyed_obsession]

[When Kaiba first started seeing the signs of the affliction among the city he disregarded it. A few extra petals scattered here and there weren't that alarming even if it was in areas where plant life was not present. Then things escalated, and he actually saw some people coughing up the foliage and he could not suppress a groan nor his apprehension.

So he took to the network to provide an important announcement]

If this starts to affect the locals I'm telling you now that if I have to perform surgery it's not going to be for free. Not this time.

[There, his first dose of honesty. Sort of. Not really. Then he realized that the people here wouldn't understand his impromptu message, less so if they didn't know the malady he was referencing]

I've seen evidence that there is a disease ... taking root in the populace and it's one I've dealt with before. [The word pun was almost as painful as the condition could progress] Once infected a plant starts to grow inside the body, if left untreated it continues to grow until the victim begins choking on the flowers and expelling them from their mouth, so if you start feeling like something has infected you don't take it lightly.

There were two strains in the void, one was dependent on sharing any secrets you have bottled up, and the other was just physical so if you incur any cuts don't skimp on the antiseptic.

[OOC: Action is also possible if you would rather. He's personally going to treat you all like plague fleas and try to lay low in his house with Ann until it passes... or so he thinks. When he's hit with Prompt II he'll be exhibiting traits of a different God and feel compelled to go out and shudder be NICE. ALSO! Kaiba is operating under the false impressions that this disease will act the same as the one he knows, and is actually more serious and potentially fatal, so he will not have any chill about it.]

Comments

[blue_eyed_obsession]

[It's true, they did have more in common than was apparent.]

... Is there a problem with that? [Taking his turn arching a brow and canting his head to one side as he looked at her silently judging] .. and it wasn't a little incident. I was going to let you air your own grievances after.. [Not appreciating the undercutting words.] You know what?... [Snapping his eyes forward to glare daggers at an inanimate object] Forget it.

I don't do anything without a reason, you should know that.

[waving the plate away he decided to get stubborn about this. Snack cancelled.]

[menaretrash]

No... I just thought you were finally telling me something without any other motive behind it, that's all. [ But of course he's not. While it's a little hurtful, she reminds herself he's not doing it on purpose. It's just how he is. ] I don't have any grieve-- [ She does pause mid-sentence for a split second, because while she'd like to think she doesn't, she actually does. And this conversation has suddenly reminded her of something pretty big. ] --ences.

[ It has to do with home, with Ren and a conversation. She should tell him and be honest, but she's not going to because she doesn't want him to get pissed off and storm out again. So she glances off to the side and sits the plate down suddenly. ]

Yeah, I do. Sorry. Hey, I need to go get some errands done.

[ Errands being just getting out of the house for a while to figure out what she's going to do. She stands up. ]

...We all have our secrets, and you're allowed to keep them or tell them to whomever you want, whenever you want. So don't be mad at me, okay? I understand.

[ Maybe if she goes for a walk, she can forget about her little rendezvous at home again. If she forgets about it, it can't make her sick, right? Right. ]

Anyways, I'll be back in a little bit. Do you have any other plans today?

[blue_eyed_obsession]

Have you ever known me to be chatty? [Feeling the need to emphasize that this was completely normal behavioral wise for him.] I would think that it would count that you were the one I decided to tell... [.. but apparently not. They were both feeling hurt by the exchange but he meant it, he was going to drop it. She'd also belittled his preparedness, or implied that the disease wasn't worth worrying about.. but she didn't see the full extent of the damage it could do. He had. It's not as if he'd been able to use an anesthetic on a synthetic lifeform, and there wasn't an off switch so Legion had been conscious when the procedure was made and Kaiba had to endure all the feedback of agony that robot went through. What it could do to an organic would be .. he would think.. considerably worse]

[The pause was telling, and he looked at Ann anew but she didn't provide anything further]

... [Did she really just remember these errands, or was it something more topical to their earlier conversation?]

[It takes great resolve on his part not to raise his voice and say "I didn't want to tell anyone else, just you".. but the moment had passed and he didn't want to seem like he was opening it back up] I'm not mad. [At least, not like before. This was a quiet disappointment in comparison]

Nothing crazy.

[menaretrash]

Nope... good point. [ She blinks, and then flashes him a small smile. ] Of course it does! You know you can tell me anything and it won't go any further than this room. [ At least, she hopes he knows that. He must, considering he'd just told her about Legion. ] It must have been difficult working on something like Legion. I only saw him briefly once when he was infected, and he didn't look too good. How long did it take you to clear all of the vines out?

[ Ah, she's screwing everything up here again... but now she's more nervous than before, and she's gotta figure out what she's going to do, even though she knows what should be done. It is only fair to Seto to tell him, and he's going to find out either way... well. She'll worry about it when the time comes.

Time to try and be normal... as normal as she ever is, at least. ]

Nothing crazy, huh? [ Fix this, Ann. Don't just go running out because you're suddenly a little manic on the inside. She suddenly turns back and just sort of plops down on his lap. ] Errands can wait. I wanna hear more about this robot surgery. Please?

[blue_eyed_obsession]

[Kaiba was relatively assured of Ann's ability to be discreet with sensitive material since she had not spouted off about that she had learned during that unfortunate memory sharing incident. He didn't need further convincing in that department.] .... Mm. [He did not however respond well to the backpedaling] What errand did you say you had to do?

[It was clearly a bid to change the subject, and she likely would be able to tell but he was no longer in the mood to go into it. Besides, she's acting weird and not making any sense. First Ann suddenly had somewhere else to be but now she was delaying? Couldn't she make up her mind? Maybe this errand just wasn't time sensitive but it sounded more like an excuse.]

[Kaiba was debating standing up again and maybe something about his body language telegraphed it because Ann sat on his lap before he could make his escape. Narrowing his eyes he studied her with scrutiny] I wouldn't want to make you late. It can wait. [Forever]

[menaretrash]

[ He's not responding well to any of this, and it's her own damned fault. And it also looks like once again, she's managed to screw this up, potentially beyond repair. ] It's a personal errand.

[ That's all he's getting on that, at least. Now she wishes she would have just left instead of coming back, at least then it'd be one less thing for him to be irritated with her about. She glances off to the side, her own body language rigid and tense even as she tries not to convey it. ] Please? You said you weren't mad.

[ She glances back up at him then, her shoulders falling. ] ...Sorry I upset you again. I didn't mean to. I know you're worried about this disease, and it was wrong of me to act the way I did.

[blue_eyed_obsession]

[If Kaiba could have heard her thoughts he would have been the first to tell her not to be so dramatic. This was a failed moment, not something that was unchangeable. If he had bothered to read the room and offer this advice up willingly though more tactfully it might have been helpful] Mm. [He hummed unsatisfied with the response but not pushing it]

[The air was tense and so were their forms which was in contrast with the more intimate seating arrangement] ... and I mean it, I'm not.

[At least... not reallllly mad. Seeing her look so defeated was triggering his guilt, but what she was saying was making him want to stay sealed off. "you're worried".. as if he was the only one who was? Maybe he was? Was this coming across as insecurity? Should he have refrained from mentioning it at all?] I.. said it sucked, it's not hard to guess why. Knowing that should be sufficient. [He should be the one to exude strength- it had been a grievous error to give this disease any attention at all. Yeah- he was mad with himself. So how could he convince her that things were fine, when he didn't feel like it? Trying to make his expression look less severe, he reached out to cup his hands to her shoulders, then he leaned in to place a kiss to her forehead] You go complete your errand before things can get any worse, and we'll meet up later, see if we can convince the replicator to shoot out anything worthwhile and spend the evening together. Ok?

[menaretrash]

I just... don't want you to worry, that's all. [ Or overthink things before bad stuff even starts. But she's worried, too, yes, but she doesn't want him to know that. Even... if she's doing a piss poor job of that right now. ]

... [ He says he's not mad, which is good, and he doesn't seem too terribly pissed off at her, so, this is a definite blessing. The last thing they need right now is to get into another argument, especially so because she's the cause of it this time, and he's been trying so hard for her. ]

Yeah, I know... still. It must have been terrible, but that was really kind of you to do that for Legion. [ It's a damn good thing that Seto is very much a prodigy, or Legion probably wouldn't have made it. Which makes her wonder if the same thing will happen to the robots here, too. She blinks up at him as he rests his hands on her shoulders and moves to press a tender kiss against her forehead, and almost immediately her mood lifts and her cheeks turn a light pink. And just like clockwork, even as he speaks, she shifts to start pressing affectionate kisses against his cheeks and his jawline, just as she is want to do when he offers affection of his own. ]

Okay. [ What errand-- oh, right. The fake one she suddenly had because she was starting to panic, the one she's very much regretting suddenly making up because she's suddenly very, very content to stay right where she is. ] Want me to bring anything in particular home? I won't be long.