Nothing More

Prologue

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There were so many people.

I drew my scarf a little tighter around my neck, bracing myself against the tide of people that all seemed intent on going in one direction. It was like some sort of river current. I swore under my breath, as my little brother yelped and was almost carried away from my reach. But I grabbed his small shoulders just in time, straining not to get pulled along myself. With some difficulty, I managed to tug us both out of the crowd before we were further pushed inside.

I fell on my rump, with Sumaru on top of me.

At once, Sumaru immediately resumed the show of manliness he had been obsessing over lately. He scrambled to his feet, as I winced in pain and brushed grass from my jeans. "Azami! You didn't need to save me or nothing!" he puffed through pants, looking mildly embarrassed. "If I got lost in there, I'd find my way back myself."

"You're welcome," I said sarcastically as I stood, "And I doubt you'd be saying that if you cushioned my fall and I landed on you."

"Of course I wouldn't! You're so heavy, I'd be crushed!"

"Huh, and you're so bony you wouldn't have helped that much anyway."

The pain from landing hard on the hard ground subsided a little, leaving room for the curiosity to gush in. I brushed my bangs from my eyes, peering at the massive crowd in front of us. They had seemed to come out of nowhere; one moment, my brother and I had been walking, and the next we were in danger of being squished between multitudes of people. I frowned, ignoring Sumaru's muttered retort, and stood on my tiptoes in an effort to peer over their heads.

What was going on? Some kind of an event? Maybe they were giving out free food…

"Give it up, you're too short."

I stopped jumping up and down for a moment to glare at Sumaru, who to my credit was still an inch or so shorter than me despite the few years between our ages. I was happy to point this out at any chance I got. "You're one to talk!" He stuck his tongue out at me.

Growling in irritation, I gave up though, and walked some ways around the crowd for an opening I could safely squeeze through. Seriously! What happened here? The atmosphere of the crowd didn't seem to be distressed or angry, so nothing negative was occurring. But they were all facing near the same direction, and there were flashes of lights like cameras going off.

I groaned inwardly, finding that there were too many people in a certain area for me to get inside and maintain control of my balance. Ugh, I hate my height.

While I drew back and waited for an opportunity, Sumaru finally wandered over to where I was standing. "Onee-chan, I think these people are here because they finished constructing that building," he pointed to the dome-shaped figure that rose above the crowd. "Remember we came here, and there were those men with cranes and drills and everything?"

Blinking, I tried to think back to what I did last week. Nope. I couldn't.

"Remember?" Sumaru insisted, giving me a slightly concerned look. "The sign said something about a new dueling arena, and we got all excited and wanted to know when it'd be done and then dad told us to shut up?"

Um…

"And then those men had to blow up part of the sidewalk 'cause it was in the way!" At my completely blank stare, my little brother face-faulted. "Onee-chan! That was like three days ago! Don't tell me you forgot already!"

"…I think I distinctly remember a lot of loud noises."

Sumaru didn't hesitate slapping his hand to his forehead. "Sometimes, I can't believe you're supposed to be older and smarter than me."

"Hey, shut it."

But now I was trying to find a way to slip within the mass of people with a renewed motive. A dueling arena would be so awesome! That is, if it was open to the public of course. Maybe they'd let us see the inside today.

"D'you think they'll let us go in?" I asked. I tried getting on my tip-toes again, to no avail.

Sumaru rolled his eyes. "No, that's why there's so many people just standing there. They'll just be there for hours and hours for no reason."

"Ugh, aren't you just Mr. Sarcasm today?" I had climbed onto an uneven roll of grass in the yard to gain more leverage. It gave me about an inch or so of new height, but it still wasn't enough. I wanted to see!

"Come on, Azami!" Sumaru said impatiently. He was looking from left to right, although it was pretty impossible to see much of anything within the crowd. They just about took up the whole block. "We left mom and dad behind before we got separated. They'll be mad!"

Thanks to the crowd, we'd been pulled through and efficiently cut off from our initial path. I didn't see the reason why we should be in any hurry when it was clear we wouldn't be able to go back from the way we had come. Besides, mom and dad would understand if they knew we couldn't get through. When I explained this to Sumaru, he ground out, "What do you suggest we do then?"

"I think instead of pushing against them, we should push with them," I said, "You want to see the building too don't you?"

I happened to know for a fact that he did. He carried around his deck with him everywhere like a child with a teddy bear.

I watched Sumaru purse his lips, struggling between his natural dueling obsession and his need to be a stickler for rules. Eventually, the dueling side won out. "Well, if we really have no choice then..." he finally relented."It might be ages before these people realize that they might actually have this annoying habit of being in the way."

"Heh." I grinned. "Don't you ever run out of sarcastic things to say?"

"No, I inherited too much of it, since I got your half too."

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As I thought, it was way easier to join in with the pull of people than forcing yourself against them. "Look! I got us through!" I crowed, as I shoved us through until we were near the front.

I might look small, but I had pointy elbows. Strangely, they were particularly useful in this situation.

The eagerness of the crowd was contagious. I found the excitement in the air catch onto me, with the loud conversations and kids Sumaru's age swapping monster cards in the midst. It seemed as though someone was making a speech right in front of the arena. This was probably some kind of ceremony before its grand opening.

"Ah I can kind of see it now," I chattered, "It's really big, don't you think Sumaru? Wow, I wonder what it'd be like to duel in there. It's almost like the one we have at school. Maybe they based it on the same design. I can't wait until - "

"Omigod! It's Edo Phoenix! I can't believe I'm seeing him in person!"

" - we turn back. Let's go back now, Sumaru." I grabbed his arm and whirled around so abruptly, he almost toppled over. There were more than a few indignant shouts as I fought against the tide, which were effectively silenced a moment later, prompted by a sharp jab to their sides.

"Wait, wait, what're you doing?! They said Edo Phoenix! Edo Phoenix!"

I suddenly found myself dragged back as my brother started going off in the opposite direction.

"Um, no. They said... Eri Pshemix. That pop singer. You must've heard wrong." We were both straining against each other until we were almost back-to-back, doing a decent impression of a stretching rubber band.

"You liar! There's no one by that name!"

"There's no way that kind of famous person could be in this town! I swear, you must've heard them wrong!"

"A-za-mi!" Sumaru growled. We were attracting quite a bit of attention; a space circle of space had been cleared away from us. Hmm, maybe we should've done this sooner. "I know you know it's him! Man, just 'cause you hate the guy!"

"I don't hate him!"

"Then let's... go... already! I don't see what the big deal is!"

It wasn't that I hated him, exactly. It's hard to hate a face on a magazine covers and behind television screens, which always showed a lean silver-haired teenager with piercing blue eyes, and often the title Duelist of the Year or Voted the Most Dazzling Smile to go along underneath it.

More like… I hated how everyone just loved him without really knowing him. I mean, the guy could be a total freak who secretly collects old teabags under his bed or… or maybe even a serial killer, and his stupid fans would remain oblivious and continue to worship the ground he walked on.

So I didn't hate him. But I hated what he represented.

I admired his dueling skills; they were good, and I'd be a fool to deny it. At the same time, I dunno, it seemed to me that just like every other celebrity, he let his fame get to his head. It was mostly that destiny crap he spouted occasionally in the middle of dueling. I mean, egotistical much? Who actually believed that stuff, unless they thought they were so great that the very stars were on their side?

Was I the only one who thought it was sorta creepy? I totally stand by my teabag-collection theory. Ooh, I really didn't want to go now.

"Oh lookie! I think I see mom!" I said in desperation. "We better go!"

"That's such a dirty trick! No way I'm falling for it, you big loser! I really want to see Edo in person!"He pulled harder, and so did I. God, that kid was strong. I actually felt my arm socket pop out slightly.

"Oi! Look out!" someone shouted at us. But before I could even contemplate what we were supposed to look out for, our entwined hands jerked. A guy crashed into me within the bustling throng. And then just like a rubber band, the force of our mini tug-a-war caused it to tighten and then snap in two.

My brother and I popped right out into the front... and I fell back for the second time that day. Just a few feet away from a pair of shoes.

A pair of very polished, black shoes.

It seemed like Sumaru got his wish after all.

Ah, whoops?

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