There.
Wings outstretched, as if just taking flight. Razor-sharp claws, glinting white light. Eyes that blazed with a power beyond reckoning, yet were somehow gentle.
Dawn felt a soft glow of satisfaction as she looked down at the sketchbook. It was only the palest imitation of the picture in her mind, the one she couldn't shake out, but it was hers and it was done. With a light fingernail, she traced over the lines, already beginning to smudge.
"Dawn?" She glanced up to meet Mari's questioning look. The dark-haired girl smiled. "You haven't heard a word I've said for the past half hour, have you?"
Dawn sheepishly shook her head.
Mari laughed. "You and your pictures. Well, can I see?"
Reluctantly, Dawn turned the sketchbook towards her friend. The spark of admiration she had first felt for her work had already faded and now she could see her own errors all too well. As Mari gushed over the drawing, Dawn could only see the clumsy lines, the unbalanced proportions, the too-heavy strokes that would not erase properly, and the careless shading. She chewed the inside of her bottom lip. It wasn't a good picture.
"What in the world are you talking about?" Mari protested, and Dawn belatedly realized she had spoken out loud. "It's wonderful. Like all of your drawings are."
"Well, I'm glad you like it," Dawn sighed. Her fingers itched to rip the sheet from the sketchbook and crumple it into a ball. "Who am I kidding? I'm never going to be any kind of artist if I don't get proper instruction."
"Why on earth don't you?" asked Mari. "It's not like your family can't afford it."
Dawn's eyes dropped to her shoes. "Yeah, well it's not that simple," she muttered.
"Oh." Mari looked down too. "I guess your parents…"
"Yeah." The single word spoke volumes. "My mom's okay with it, if that's how I want to spend my time, but my dad…." Dawn trailed off. She stood abruptly. "I really don't want to get into it right now, okay?"
"Fine. Just chill, okay?" Mari quickly tried to change the subject. "So, do you wanna stay for dinner? The 'rents are out on a date night and they said Akira and me could order pizza…"
"Did you say 'dinner?'" Dawn interrupted.
"Yeah…"
"What time is it?"
"Quarter after five….Where are you going?"
"Home." Dawn snatched up the sketchbook and stuffed it in her messenger bag. "Sorry, Mar, gotta run. See you tomorrow, okay?"
"…okay. See ya, Dawn."
Dawn slung her bag over her shoulder and started her motorized scooter towards home as fast as it would go. After five…How could she have let time get away from her so fast? If she was late for dinner, she'd be in for it with her mother for sure, and if her father actually dragged himself away from his work on time and made it home before she did…well, there might be enough left of her for a decent burial. She could kiss even the dream of art lessons goodbye.
The old hunger stirred inside her ribcage It isn't fair. Why shouldn't I learn how to draw? For real, not just scribbling around.
She knew what her father had said: it would take up to much of thetime she needed for other things. But when he says "other things" what he really means is "things that I think are worthwhile, not your foolish hobbies". Why doesn't he just come out and say he thinks art is a waste of time. I get straight As, I'm the top ranked junior duelist in the region, I do all those other things he wants me to learn…What more does he want from me?
AAACK! A kid was standing in the middle of the sidewalk, staring up at a sign. Dawn swerved sharply to avoid him. Too sharply. The scooter skidded out, and Dawn fell to the ground with a thud.
"Ow. That hurt," Dawn gritted out as she gingerly picked herself up. Her knees were scraped and bloody and so was her right palm. She looked up to see the same boy still standing there, totally oblivious.
"WHAT the HECK is your PROBLEM?" she yelled at him.
He jumped. He turned to look at her with shocked and scared eyes.
"Oh, sorry, I didn't see you." He apologized timidly
He was just a kid, barely ten, she guessed. Dawn felt a flicker of guilt for yelling at him. But it was mostly swept away in her anger and pain. "You didn't see me because you were too busy bugging out over some poster! Pay attention to your surroundings next time! What were you staring at, anyway?"
His eyes still big, he pointed at the poster on the store window. Dawn read:
Calling Duelists of All Ages:
Senet Industries is pleased to be hosting a Duel Monsters Tournament beginning on June 5. Duelists of all ages and skill levels are welcome. Register now at any location displaying this poster.
"A duel monsters tournament?" Dawn said to herself, frowning. "But what's Senet Industries?" She could recite the names of Fortune 500 companies like the periodic table of elements, but this one she'd never heard of.
"How should I know?" the boy replied. "But I want to duel in that tournament."
Dawn looked at him, startled. "You're a duelist?" she asked, incredulous.
He flushed. "Well…I want to be one." He said defensively. "This is my big chance. I'm gonna enter that tournament and win it!"
"Umm…have you even ever dueled before?"
"Yeah! I duel kids in my school all the time. And I beat them, too…well most of the time…when the older kids don't duel."
He hung his head. "Who am I kidding?" he muttered. "I don't even have a chance. My big brother's right. I should just give it up."
Dawn looked at him closely. "Do you love it?" she asked.
His head popped up. "What?" he asked, confused.
"Do you love it? The game?"
Slowly, he nodded. "Yeah, I do. Some of the kids at my school make fun of me, but I love it anyway. It's always been a dream of mine to be in a real tournament. I know its stupid, but…."
Dawn shook her head. "If it's your dream and you love it, then it's not stupid, no matter what." She looked off in the distance. After a moment she said softly, "Everybody's got to take a shot at their dream."
She turned back to the kid with a smile. 'So you go register in that tournament. You probably won't win, but you can try. And you can still learn a lot and have fun."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." The boy said, a smile spreading over his face.
"Good luck!" Dawn called as she picked up her scooter and continued on her way.
I have to take a shot at my dream, too. She thought as she rode down the sidewalk. I just have to make Dad see. Her thoughts trailed off as she concentrated on navigating through the crowded Domino streets. She turned and headed up a private street. She glanced at her watch.
5:35 Her plans of confronting her father over her dreams would have to wait for another time. Dawn knew she was in for a huge lecture tonight. There was no way her father wouldn't have noticed by now.
The security guards didn't even look at her she rode by them. Dawn guessed they were used to her and her scooter by now. She propped her scooter by the door of the shed it was supposed to go in, and hurried to the door. She was already late getting home, but she wanted to save as much time as she could. She was in such a rush that she hit the wrong buttons for the entry password. Dawn writhed in frustration as she started again. Finally she cleared and got through the door.
"I'm home!" she called, plopping her backpack onto a nearby mahogany side table.
She ventured further into the mansion, looking down the various corridors. "I'm home!" she called again. "Mom? Dad? Is anyone there?"
The silence was beginning to freak her out. Where the heck was everyone? Dawn had expected to be reprimanded as soon as she stepped in the door, not to wander through a seemingly empty mansion. An eerie feeling descended on her and she rushed up the back staircase. Within minutes she stood in front of the room. Its walls were bulletproof steel and the doors were magnetically sealed. The panic room. With trembling fingers, Dawn pressed the buttons for the three security codes. The doors slid open.
She heard a high-pitched gasp. And it didn't take her long to find the source. Huddled at the other end of the room, a wild and terrified look in her eyes, was her mother.
"Mom!" croaked Dawn.
The wild look in her eyes began to lessen a bit. "Dawn." She breathed.
"Mom, what's going on? What happened?"
"I…" Her hands flew about wildly and that feral look retuned to her face. "Oh, Dawn, I was so frightened…I didn't know what to do…your father…"
"What about Dad?" Dawn queried trying unsuccessfully to keep her panic down. "Where is he?"
There was a tiny moment of silence.
"What happened to Dad?" Dawn practically shrieked, fear, confusion, frustration, and panic boiling together and threatening to overwhelm her.
Her mother shrunk back at her voice and began babbling incoherently again.
Dawn took a deep, ragged breath. Okay, Dawn, you have to stay calm. She told herself. Why? raged her unreasonable, emotional side. Everything's all messed up…Dad's gone, Mom's a wreck, the house is deserted, and I don't even know what the heck happened! Give me one good reason why I should be calm!
Because someone needs to be and it's certainly not going to be Mom! C'mon Dawn get a hold of yourself. You know what Dad would say if he were here…
If he were here…The words echoed inside Dawn's head. She had never felt so scared. Sure she and her dad had had plenty of fights over the years—her mom said it was because they were both so stubborn and proud—and sure she often felt frustrated and angry over his dismissal of her dreams, but the one thing her dad had always done was take care of them. He was always there, and she had known he was always going to be there. He had always said "There is nothing more important than family." And now he was gone.
Dawn took another breath. She knew she needed to be strong for her family since her dad wasn't here to do it. And for that she needed to be calm.
"Mom?" she said gently. "Can you tell me what happened?"
She burst into tears. Dawn patiently waited. After a moment, she wiped her eyes.
"Well," she began, her voice strained. "I was planning this week's menu and I went down to the kitchens to talk to Claude about one of the dishes I was hoping he could serve. But when I went down there, there was no one around. It was so strange. I started looking for the staff, when out of nowhere this man jumped out of nowhere and grabbed me! He was dressed all in black, a mask covered his face. He was a brute, his grip was so hard…I struggled and screamed as much as I could, but he pulled out a gun and pressed it against my neck and told me to be quiet. But it was too late for that. Your father heard, and he came down, looking for me." She took a deep breath, to steady herself.
"Two other men that I hadn't seen before came out and attacked him. He knocked them to the ground. One was knocked unconscious, I think; the other was badly hurt. Your father tried to help me, but the man who had me, told him he'd shot if he took another step. And then…" She choked and took a ragged breath.
"And then your father told them that if it was him they wanted, they should come and get him, not hide behind me. The man laughed at him and threatened to shoot me again. And then…" she sniffed. "Then he told them to let me go and he would come with them. They laughed at him, asked if he thought they were stupid. But he just repeated himself. That look in his eyes…we could all see he meant it. The man let go of me, he shoved me forward. Your father yelled at me to get upstairs. I could tell he meant the panic room. I didn't want to leave him, but he shouted at me to go, now, so I ran and locked myself in here. I could hear noises…I thought they had gone… I thought I heard the door open and shut and a car drive away. But then I heard the door again…and when this door opened I thought for sure they were back…" her voice broke.
"It's okay, Mom." Dawn said gently. She offered her a hand and helped her too her feet. "Let's get out of this place."
As they walked out of the room, Dawn's face was set and her eyes were determined. She didn't know how, but she was going to find whoever did this, get her dad back, and teach them a lesson. Like her dad had said so many times before, no one messes with the Kaiba family and gets away with it!